Happy Tuesday Friends!

Another short blog this week with beautiful messages, so grab a cuppa, sit back and relax while you soak up some well deserved gratitude. 

Only 73 sleeps away until the Thank You dinner. 

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Dear Bridget R,

 

The Aussie Hero quilt has arrived safe and sound and was presented to me by a very good mate. He was initially a navigator but re-categorised to be a pilot; We first met when I sent him on a night solo in a CT/4 Air Trainer in 1987 and we ended up on F-111 conversion course together. The quilt was given to me at our local golf club after we’d finished a round with a few other desperate old Raafies. It now hangs in my study and gives me great pleasure to reminisce on 40 plus years of military tourism ( I snuck in another 8 years as a Reservist after my permanent Air Force time).  

 

I don’t know how much you know about me but my wife was a long serving Air Force officer (some 34 years) who was an Air traffic Controller (ATC). Our daughter also an ATC, is finishing her 5^th year in the NT. She is partnered up with a nice man who is a policeman who we quite like; they plan on staying up there for a few more years at this stage. Her partner is hoping to get into the tactical response group which would make him a great asset and very attractive to the AFP.

 

I don’t know how interested your son would be in the Air Force but I would happily put him in touch with my daughter in the first instance to talk about life in the service!. She’s turning 30 soon I am sure we could find younger people who he would relate to better. There are plenty of  technical ground crew opportunities where our people look after airframes, armaments, electronics, safety equipment etc etc.

 

A very sincere ‘thank you’ for your efforts and being a patriotic Australian.  

Regards,

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Good afternoon Kirsten (Bindy) O,

I would like to send a warm and heartfelt thank you for the amazing work and effort you put into the quilt I received today. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever received and will be used/displayed in my home with pride. I have already messaged all my family about it!!!!

Thank for your sharing your story and for your service, wow 27yrs that is outstanding. I can only imagine the journey you had with your role with working with survivors of Defence Abuse, I hope you have a well-established support network around you. I share your passion to live as a good human, we are kindred spirits that way. Often people don’t understand the energy it takes to be negative.

Thank you again for your time and love you put into the quilt.

Regards,

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Hello Jacqui D,

Firstly, thank you very much for my quilt and laundry bag. They’re amazing! I’m glad my request was a good fit, I couldn’t really think of anything specific at the time, and I figured that the experts would likely be able to make a far better quilt/bag with a blank canvas than I could possibly imagine by myself. Clearly I was right.

I am yet to get married or have children. I’m not sure how similar the lifestyle in the other branches compare to the Navy, but it turns out that most ladies don’t particularly like it when you spend 6 to 9 months of the year away from home, going between far flung exotic locations. Who would have known. It sounds like your son and grandchildren have had better fortunes in the Army and RAAF!

The Mid North Coast sounds lovely. I don’t think I’ve ever driven up that far before, but I have certainly sailed past plenty of times. Whilst I was born in NSW, I grew up in Nottingham UK until I was 17, but my Dad has lived in Sydney for many years, so I have spent most of my time there. Though before I left for Bahrain, I was posted to a ship in Cairns for 2 years, where I got very used to the laid back lifestyle and weather. So I’m not sure how much I’m going to enjoy returning to the hustle and bustle of Sydney in a few months.

It’s usually 40+ degrees every day in Bahrain currently. Everyone back in Australia has said the weather has been rubbish and that 40 degrees sounds good, but I have to assure them that its actually quite unpleasant. Especially in uniform when you have to walk around. The coldest it gets is about 35 degrees, at 4am, and it won’t start to ease off until October. Otherwise, Bahrain is interesting enough, I can’t complain, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a holiday.

 There was quite a lot of us for the first half the year, but we are down to only a few now.

Thank you again, I really appreciate your handiwork!

Kind regards,

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Hi Marilyn S, Jenny D and Friends of AHQ,

Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.