AFF Gathering #6 at OOL on 26 - 28 October

[Ewing]

Sent after another great jq flight. Try it some time JohnK! Using AustFreqFly

QF865 was quite brilliant as well. I will need to send in some feedback on the cabin crew - especially James and Alison.

Great meeting you today, and a special thanks to Sam, Yvonne, Qantas/Epiqure and everyone else involved in making today what it was.

-Shaun

 

[Lowjhg]

So where's AFF Do #7 going to be held?

 

[moa999]

Great day.
Thanks particularly to Sam, Yvonne and Epiqure, as well as the various drivers today.

 

[MAX_1]

Although my participation in this years gathering was limited to watching half the golf match and then coming to Sams for the BBQ , I must congratulate all those that made this event possible and a great success.

It was good to meet many of you.

 

[tuapekastar]

Home after a great weekend at AFF #6. As ever, great to meet up with new and old friends. I have to say Saturday dinner was excellent - degustation is how we should eat all the time!

Special thanks to samh004 for his organising and generous hospitality. Thanks also to penegal for his assistance in the organisation.

And thanks to the following people:

Red Roo and Derek, the QF reps for attending and imparting knowledge and listening to some (occasionally spirited :shock feedback.

QF Epiqure for the very nice wine!

storyteller, Mrs straitman, anat0l and whomever else assisted with the preparations for the BBQ

oz_mark and anat0l for their chauffering

Looking forward to next year's.

 

[QF WP]

Whilst my time at AFF6 was brief, I thoroughly enjoyed myself - my Physio will get some work this week.

To my fellow (and lady) golfers, was a great course and some entertainment. JohnK played better after his wee libation on the 13th, but not enough to beat extracta who took home the trophy.

Many thanks to the H family for their generous hospitality and their neighbours for their food.

Talking food, storyteller scored a tray of mini cupcakes from QF



and she also cooked a storm. My wife and parents-in-law attest to her meringue and brownie cooking and my daughter gets her taste at little lunch today! Of course I needed sustenance on the drive back to Brisbane and cleaned the house whilst on my sugar high.

Lovely to catch up with many old friends and put faces to some AFF handles.

Great to meet Red Roo and hope your stewardship of the conduit between AFF and QFF remains. Much learning can be done by both sides.

 

[awilcockson]

So where's AFF Do #7 going to be held?

I think the general consensus was Longreach

 

[straitman]

I think the general consensus was Longreach

Works for me :!:

 

[penegal]

What a big week & even bigger weekend!


Huge thanks to to samh004 for all his work behind the scenes to bring this event together, especially his hospitality in opening his house to us all on Sunday. Thanks also to Sam's neighbours, storyteller, straitman + 1, and others (sorry for those I am missing) who all provided or assisted with catering / cooking at the BBQ.

I enjoyed the weekend's many indulgences, especially the Saturday dinner at Videre and the Sunday BBQ at Sam's house.

Thank you also to Qantas for their support of this event. The wine was nice (I had a small taste) and it was great to meet Derek at the Saturday dinner, and meet Red Roo (briefly) at the BBQ on Sunday.

And of course thank you for everyone who attended. I think I met most of the new faces, and as always it was great to reconnect with some old ones.



On a personal note thanks to samh004 and anat0l for providing taxi services, thus negating the need for me to hire a car.

I have a few photos on facebook, which I will post here if I can work out how to do it.

 

[penegal]

I think the general consensus was Longreach

Works for me :!:

LRE would be fantastic. I really want to go again. The collection at the QOFM has grown since my last visit.

The challenge will be getting enough cheap seats on the Dash 8 flights to get us all there at the same/similar times. Maybe Qantas can help out with that side of things?

The $65 sales are great, but generally don't cover the whole plane.

 

[samh004]

Soory that i couldn't stay longer for the BBQ, have a flight leaving at 2pm later today. This was the latest flight i could choose out of OOL and i could not choose the 9pm flight which is the same as anchew. On hindsight, the airport express company sent me a limo, so that made my day

Told you it was your limo!

Great to see you, hope you had a good time

Thanks all for your hospitality. Had a great day and look forward catching up soon. Special thanks to Sam.

Glad you had a great day, PM coming your way soon regarding the Qantas Boardroom.

Sam you did a great job organising the whole event and the food was great. To all those who assisted along the way your help is greatly appreciated.

Looking forward to the next one and hope I can make it....

Good to hear your day was a fun one, despite the slightly coughpy weather earlier on.

A very big well done and thank you to Sam for organising a fantastic weekend.

... and a special thanks to Sam, Yvonne, Qantas/Epiqure and everyone else involved in making today what it was.

Great day.
Thanks particularly to Sam, Yvonne and Epiqure, as well as the various drivers today.

Although my participation in this years gathering was limited to watching half the golf match and then coming to Sams for the BBQ , I must congratulate all those that made this event possible and a great success.

It was good to meet many of you.

Home after a great weekend at AFF #6. As ever, great to meet up with new and old friends. I have to say Saturday dinner was excellent - degustation is how we should eat all the time!

Special thanks to samh004 for his organising and generous hospitality. Thanks also to penegal for his assistance in the organisation.

And thanks to the following people:

Red Roo and Derek, the QF reps for attending and imparting knowledge and listening to some (occasionally spirited :shock feedback.

QF Epiqure for the very nice wine!

storyteller, Mrs straitman, anat0l and whomever else assisted with the preparations for the BBQ

oz_mark and anat0l for their chauffering

Looking forward to next year's.

Whilst my time at AFF6 was brief, I thoroughly enjoyed myself - my Physio will get some work this week.

To my fellow (and lady) golfers, was a great course and some entertainment. JohnK played better after his wee libation on the 13th, but not enough to beat extracta who took home the trophy.

Many thanks to the H family for their generous hospitality and their neighbours for their food.

Talking food, storyteller scored a tray of mini cupcakes from QF and she also cooked a storm. My wife and parents-in-law attest to her meringue and brownie cooking and my daughter gets her taste at little lunch today! Of course I needed sustenance on the drive back to Brisbane and cleaned the house whilst on my sugar high.

Lovely to catch up with many old friends and put faces to some AFF handles.

Great to meet Red Roo and hope your stewardship of the conduit between AFF and QFF remains. Much learning can be done by both sides.

What a big week & even bigger weekend!

Huge thanks to to samh004 for all his work behind the scenes to bring this event together, especially his hospitality in opening his house to us all on Sunday. Thanks also to Sam's neighbours, storyteller, straitman + 1, and others (sorry for those I am missing) who all provided or assisted with catering / cooking at the BBQ.

I enjoyed the weekend's many indulgences, especially the Saturday dinner at Videre and the Sunday BBQ at Sam's house.

Thank you also to Qantas for their support of this event. The wine was nice (I had a small taste) and it was great to meet Derek at the Saturday dinner, and meet Red Roo (briefly) at the BBQ on Sunday.

And of course thank you for everyone who attended. I think I met most of the new faces, and as always it was great to reconnect with some old ones.

On a personal note thanks to samh004 and anat0l for providing taxi services, thus negating the need for me to hire a car.

I have a few photos on facebook, which I will post here if I can work out how to do it.

Glad you all enjoyed it!

I'm also thankful I had so many helping to make the event great, especially at the BBQ yesterday where I was run off my feet pretty much the whole time, but without those working in the background, wouldn't have stood a chance.

A good job was done with the epiQure wines, with only a few not opened by the end of the day. I'll have to save them for any flyers passing through.

I'm sorry my speech, or lack of, was a bit lacking. I hadn't even thought about the end of the BBQ and words were the last thing in my head at the time, I was still more concerned with making sure everyone was fed and had a drink and enjoying themselves. It was good to meet both old and new faces, though regret I didn't move around a bit more, was just a little preoccupied!

I can't believe the weekend has passed so quickly!

 

[anat0l]

Hats off to samh004 for doing an excellent job with the coordination and organisation of AFF 6, especially with the hosting of the Sunday BBQ at his place at Royal Pines.

Big thanks also to Qantas, Derek and Red Roo for coming to our AFF Do - hope you had a great time and really look forward to seeing you or your colleagues at other AFF Do's (or even drinks).

Thanks to Storyteller for catering many of the appetiser and dessert dishes on Sunday, as well as managing to get a nice box of the Qantas cupcakes


I've got no specific preference for AFF 7. LRE sounds interesting if only how to get there (without competing with everyone for the precious Red e-Deal specials seats, or arriving on multiple days). Accommodation would also be a bit wanting.

 

[oz_mark]

I am making my way back to Melbourne at the moment.

Thanks to Sam and penegal for organising the weekend. I enjoyed the dinner and bbq.

Also a big thanks to Derek and red roo for joining us. Some interesting conversations were had. And a big thanks for the door prize

Sent from my GT-I9300T using AustFreqFly

 

[samh004]

And a big thanks for the door prize

Yes, that was hardly mentioned in the thread...

 

[jetlagger]

Just also wanted to add my voice from an appreciation perspective for the most wonderful weekend shared with the members of the AFF community on the Gold Coast.
It was a long & arduous journey from China, where I had to abort some events to rendevous as committed back to GC for the AFF#6.
Certainly without regret, I was delighted to be in the company of fellow enthusiasts for the dinner gathering on Saturday evening & for the delectable BBQ event on Sunday.
I only had the time & talent to engage in my selected highlights over the weekends activities.

SATURDAY EVENING
The drinks at the Videre bar was a nice icebreaker & certainly quenched my thirst, as well as a great GC view to match.
The dinner degustation menu was a wonderful choice, & observantly appreciated by all (optimistically voice my opinion)
The presentation, food quality & ambience certainly scored high points on my review ranking & professional attentive service from the hard working waiters, with superb wine matching skills creating some partial liquid indulgent activities.
Our guest from Qantas Mr Derek was a most delightful chap whom attentively listened to my ongoing constructive criticisms with Qantas, & answered many of our most numerous & varied questions & curiosities with wonderful friendliness & diplomacy & put us all at ease.

SUNDAY BBQ
After a good long sleep & energy, cleverly not engaging in defeat on the Royal Pines Golf Course, with some experienced players fronting for the morning sojurn on the gorgeous greens.
I felt wonderfully comfortable as I ventured into Sam's home where the most satisfying aromas emanating from the BBQ, also to find a great bunch of people mingling around enjoying the fantastic offerings of food.
Our wonderful special Guest - Red Roo was comfortably sharing the time to also enjoy the food & wines answering further questions & curiosities.
Qantas certainly have two fine ambassadors for the company, friendly, most professional & approachable - the welcome relevance was perfectly timed.
The epiQure kindly offered wines were being enjoyed by quite a number of individuals, notably Bundy Bear whom was looking very happy.
penegal, was struggling, as many others from the previous nights indulgence & was very much observed hovering around the water dispenser.
I also was still feeling somewhat hazy, though a few additional lagers fixed that issue
The continued celebrations continued well into the afternoon, amidst a lovely fanfare of food, & drinks, & appropriate speeches to mark the occasion.
A very special mention, also from me to Storyteller, & Mrs straitman for providing a most wonderful selection of food offerings & sensational assistance throughout the day.
anat0l, Marks' & others - you are a great chauffer for the out of towners & that airport Meet & Greet service was first class..
I was so happy to meet many of the AFFs' at the event, as always certainly nice to put a face to ones name.
straitman & Lindsay Wilson, I felt honoured to meet you & especially to share some lovely stories in a relaxed environment.
It was the people that truly made the event so very special, & I for one gained many new friendships & a wealth of knowledge shared by so many in perfect surroundings.

You are all such a very charming & charismatic bunch

The most special thanks should go out to samh004 whom after long time toiling throughout the months of planning managed to hold a very successful events weekend.
I know you are humble, though it was a most appreciative gesture to open your beautiful home & offer your kind services to share with all of us in attendance.

Graciously - thanks so much again samh004


Additionally, I &/or Bundy Bear will try to post some selected photos from the event.

Cheers,
jl

 

[LiamR]

Had a great time catching up with everybody at the BBQ, thanks to everybody who played a part in bringing everything together.

Thanks all for your hospitality. Had a great day and look forward catching up soon. Special thanks to Sam.

Nice chatting with you too Red Roo, I hope you enjoyed your time at OOL before your flight home

 

[AaronBradford]

Late to the party, but thanks Sam, and thanks Red Roo!

 

[Storyteller]

Ditto the above thanks to Sam & his sister for opening their home to us. And their lovely neighbours too - Evonne, Ada & Lorraine sure gave us some lovely fresh salads.

Thanks also to Trippin_the_Rift for taking the time collect a boot full of food from me on Friday, & sorting it & putting it all in fridge / freezer / cupboard ready for my arrival Sunday. Anat01 for driving me both ways from OOL, plus being constantly available to help in the kitchen & Karens as well before she left, & Straitman+1 who then stepped in.

Also Lenna Klintworth, QF Area Sales Manager for Gold Coast who noticed me snarfing one cupcake to hold pride of place on our table, & insisted I take a boxful when she heard what we were doing..

And EpiCure & Red Roo. Didn't get to spend much time with Red Roo, except we did swap some recipes , so I'll have to try to catch you some other time again.

The whole BBQ experience - We'll have to do it again sometime

 

[Bundy Bear]

Thanks to samh004 for taking the bull by the horns and organizing AFF6, it is never easy and at the start you wonder who might actually turn up; but with a few weeks to go you know you will get a few people to turn up then you have the hassle of trying to get money from others.

What also helps is the help from a supporting cast to make the event run smoothly.
penegal for support to samh004 on suggesting events.
Trippin_the_Rift for offering me a lift to get me home.
Red Roo for offering his time on a Sunday to come and talk to us.
Derek another Qantas rep who gave us his time on Saturday evening.
Max_1 for organizing the Golf trophies.
Storyteller for supplying a few of the nibbles and desserts.
Straitman+1, Karens, Taezar, anat0l, with help in the kitchen, in preparing the food and cleaning up the mess at the end.

It would have been a good idea for me not to enjoy too many Epicure wines before I get everyone's attention to announce the winner of the golf (extracta) and to thank samh004 for his hard work in organizing the event and all the running around during the weekend.

 

[penegal]

And EpiCure & Red Roo. Didn't get to spend much time with Red Roo, except we did swap some recipes , so I'll have to try to catch you some other time again.

The whole BBQ experience - We'll have to do it again sometime

I agree, the BBQ had a real community vibe, I had a great time... and thankYOU again for all your wonderful work in the kitchen