From John McNamara

Last week I visited Coffs and today I had mornos with the boys and have received my guidance.
Thank you for those who have shown interest in attending. We have 50 attendees in total to date and the list of those attending is below. There is obviously room for more and if anyone wants to book please follow the process on the website.
Our main purpose remains to give us the opportunity to catch up as a wider group and have fun with people who share a story. What we are after is a casual gathering without too much organisation but I do know some of you like a bit of structure, so here goes.

Tuesday 19 August
Check- in time is 3pm but if the room is available, you are in. The bar opens at 2.30pm and closes much later. If you are driving, you may want to consider bringing an esky with you with your best wines from home so we can sample these if we get invited to your room. If flying, Uncle Dans is 2km away and we will do a tock run if asked.
Happy Hour is 5pm so this would be a good time to gather if you are not already there.
Dinner – Dinner will start from 6pm but there will be no rush to sit down as we will be collocated in a separate area but spread over 5 or 6 tables. The menu in the dining room has a range of menu options. If you have special dietary needs please engage with Pacific Bay Resort. Everything is  ‘ pay as you go ‘ and you can charge you room or pay by cash or card.
Dress this evening is Hawaiian / Tropical with lots of colour which is likely to keep other guests from coming near us. The August temperatures range from 9 – 20C and the area we have been allocated for dining is outdoors but can be closed off and has outdoor heaters.

Wednesday 20 August

There are a number of tourist type activities in and around the Coffs Harbour area. Some may wish to play golf or tennis or go for a walk on the beach or just relax and do nothing. Inspirations can be found here:
https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/north-coast/coffs-harbour-area/activities
https://www.coffscoast.com.au/info/

Breakfast – most have booked for breakfast in the dining room.
Mornos – as a suggestion there is a coffee shop attached to a World War 2 bunker that houses the National Cartoon Gallery. The National Holden Museum is close by  – it is $8 per head for people our age which covers entry to both.
Lunch –  we suggest you visit the Coffs Harbour Surf Club. It is well patronised with a good menu. If we have the numbers they will set aside a separate area for us so we can keep talking.
Dinner – The evening plan is to repeat Tuesday with Happy Hour followed by dinner.

A month out from our gathering I will ask Elph to send out something whereby you tell me what, from the above, you wish to attend so I can pass this on to The Bunker / The Surf Club and Pacific Bay for catering , staffing and seating purposes.
That is it from me for now. If you have questions I am happy to handle via the web or via email at John.m.mcnamara@bigpond.com

John Mac

Booked @ Pacific Bay:
Rod Allan and Jenny Tracy
John and Jacqui Black
Warwick and Brenda Elliott
John Elphinston and Sandra Davies
Geoff and Caroline Hay
Bill and Marina Houston
Peter and Kerry Jenke
Gerry and Annette Jones
Steve and Debra Jones
Kevin and Jan Loughrey
Jon Mander-Jones and Partner
Peter and Sue Martyn
Don and Diedre Muirhead
Duncan and Carmel McInnes
Tony and Mary McLeod
John and Margaret McNamara
Phil and Chris Newman
John and Vivienne Price
Paddy Ryan and Judy Fraser
Graham and Maxine Smith
Peter and Helen Teys
Attending but not booked at Pacific Bay Resort :
Dave and Trish Cran
Maurie and Joan Meecham
Darryl and Robyn Poole
Murray and Judy Smith