What a fun evening!

[Robin4]

I just got to meet up with a lot of my CC heroes and talk face to face with them for a couple of hours.

@Lizzie  God, Lizzie is reliable, what you see is what you get. She is just one of the nicest people you would ever come across, Lizzie never shows a bad face! everything in the world has an upside to Lizzie.

@Quincy  has a head of hair that I am truly jealous of, and not only that, he has the jockeys hat that Lester Piggott won the 1990 mile  riding a nag called 'Royal Academy'! 

@Stephanie   Steph is proud of her bump in the road of life! But she showed it off to great effect. Steph are you sure that's for real, or have a few too many 'Big Macs' passed your lips over the past year or two????

@Cathie19 . Cathie, that hair of yours is going to fall out and you will end up like me if you don't stop fiddling around with it. Great to see Garry put in a cameo performance!

@Ann72,   Hey, you are as out there as those properties of yours up there in Maine. You're a big voice in a big city....we need a heap more like you, what a great addition to the get together!

@Clara116  Clara, as lovely as your garden is, I think it needs the services of a lateral thinker like myself to turn it into that piece of heaven you crave....it was great to see it Clara in that walk-around you gave. Lovely also, to see a moving face at last!

@Roberta2    You are not just a pretty face, you had some great things to say....the platform is the better for hosts like you!

@Lawrene0    Canada is a big part of the earth and it needs a big presence, I wanted you to throw that hair of yours back, leave that eco toilet behind  and throw a massive verbal bomb into the conversation....I know you are capable of it!

@Jessica-and-Henry0,   Jess, it just doesn't sound right a broad American accent coming from a lovely refined Korean lady. I think you need to drag Henry into these sessions to put things back in perspective!

@Gordon0 .....Gordon, mate, we are all big talkers....but just between you and me, most of them are women and that is what women do . You have to speak up, keep on talking over others to get those great points of yours across. 

@Christine615,  Hey, you were a late arriver, but bloody hell, you made up for it when you joined the party. Everyone loves a party girl and you gave it your best.....good on you mate!

@John.....@Kim....@Sandra, I can't bring up your avatars  but you were so good, particularly Sandra with those 4,127 hats you have made, I cannot conceive of a cupboard large enough to accommodate that sort of collection......just joking!

It was great to see John in his London marathon training taking us not just through his house but half of the east end of London, and Kim....... I wish I had come across you in NY. You are a good egg, mate....even if your attempt at a hat on this special occasion was lousy!. 

Sorry if I have missed anyone else out, once it gets to 8.30 pm the wine tends to dull my senses a bit, but I can't tell you how good it was to see you all face to face. We are a great community, let's hope we survive our current issues and come out the other side still, not just as acquaintances, but as friends!

Great night, thank you to all of you and thanks to Lizzie for arranging it, can't wait for the next! 

Cheers......Rob

[Stephanie]

Oi, cheeky @Robin4 I've got a scan to prove it!! @Quincy and @May are our resident McDonald's scoffers!! 

[Quincy]

Sadly, they are closed! @Stephanie @Robin4 

[Helen427]

@Stephanie

@Quincy

@Mayand others are you not aware of the Big Mac Challenge?

 I'm sure  you are all very good at making homemade ones..

Try some good ole UK grown beef meat in them.

 Part of MacDonald's operations here in New Zealand are included in the partial lockdown lift to Level 3 this coming week...

Restaurant Brands which includes Starbucks have hit the wall for now, I believe in part because of where they  tend to be situated and lack of traffic ..foot traffic

@Robin4, @Lizzie has Elizabeth to look up to as Mother of the nation/ Commonwealth as an example of keeping us smiling and in line as a leader...

Challenging times we will all come through with good leadership.

[Quincy]

It was very nice meeting you all! @Christine615  @Gordon0, @Kimberly29 , @Jessica-and-Henry0 , @Christine615 , @Clara116 , @Ann72, @Melodie-And-John0 , @Robin4

Looking forward to the next one :-). 

[Sarah977]

@Robin4  "Gordon, mate, we are all big talkers....but just between you and me, most of them are women and that is what women do ."

There is a facinating book I read years ago, called "You Just Don't Understand", about the difference in the way men and women communicate. One interesting thing is that the author, who was a sociologist/anthropologist, if I remember correctly, did a study in which she recorded a room full of adults at a cocktail party. There were an equal number of men and women. Afterwards, she interviewed the attendees and asked them whether they thought the men at the party dominated the conversations, or the women did. The men all said that the women did, and most of the women said that, as well. In fact, when the author counted up the amount of time on her recording that men were speaking as opposed to women, it turned out that the men had talked far more. There's a perception in society that women talk more, but it's not actually true. But women talking is viewed differently than men talking. It's like when a woman is forceful about stating her opinions, she will often be viewed as "shrill" or "a harpy", or something equally deragatory or demeaning, whereas a man can say the exact same things and be perceived as "strong" or "forceful".

We definitely have a long way to go until the same standards and perceptions are applied equally to both sexes.

[Helen350]

@Lizzie @Quincy @Stephanie @Robin4  Well, I had my hat ready & tried to access the conversation 40 mins beforehand, but kept getting flashes telling me I needed some system I didn't understand.... Then, I wondered if the problem was being too early, close to 12 noon I was invited to log in with facebook. Well,jumping thru hoops meant I still had no access at 12.20 - then something came up telling me I joined the conversation at 12.23..... But I had a blank screen, no sound, so I was not convinced I'd actually JOINED the conversation! - Never used zoom before! Maybe next time! Shame cos it was such a convenient time in the UK, the sun was shining , the window was open & the birds were singing loudly! - Maybe next week??

[Robin4]

@Helen350 

Ade had the same problem as you Helen when she first tried to use 'Zoom' on her Android tablet. She had to go back and forth with her details  and every time she tried to 'join the meeting' it kept directing her back to the Join Up screen. She spent an hour simply getting into the meeting the rest of our family were having.

If Zoom now recognises you it will be easy for next time, just remember to check your speaker and mic volumes before the meeting starts, you will be asked to wait for the meeting to start and when the meeting screen opens, enable your video and audio on the bottom left of screen, and you will be part of the team. Good luck with it!

Cheers......Rob

[Stephanie]

@Helen350 let’s trouble shoot next week ahead of Friday to make sure it’s working. Drop me a message when it’s convenient.

[Helen3]

Don't know how I missed this. Do send me an invite to the next one 😉 @Stephanie 

[Ann72]

We were definitely short on Helens, @Helen3 and @Helen350 !

[Anonymous]

Why do I get the impression you guys all found a few tabs of acid underneath that big box full of contentious Covid refunds?

[Stephanie]

We’re just high on life @Anonymous !

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Anonymous ,   Let me tell you "@Christine615  @Gordon0, @Kimberly29 , @Jessica-and-Henry0 , @Christine615 , @Clara116 , @Ann72, @Melodie-And-John0 , @Robin4 , @Stephanie , @Lizzie , @Quincy don't need no stinkin Covid or LSD!",  We have Beer, Ale, Tea, Coffee, Whiskey and a few other mind bending liquids to keep us sane.  There is however lots of "LS" -Legal Separation- but hopefully no "D"- Depression.  Its not like there's an awful lot of pressing issues in need of our attention at this moment (that we can do anything about that is) and its an interesting way to separate ourselves from the Invader Viruses Maximus and gab a bit with folks that have some of the same challenges we do -Empty nests-. 

Were very different in many ways as well, "Viva La Difference" and thats where it gets interesting and keeps it fresh , Ask Rob..  Rumor is that Stephanie is going to live broadcast the audio of the birth of her Bambino, we may need Lizzy to control the beep button.  It gets controversial when "He who's name won't be mentioned" inevitably gets mentioned so bring your thick skin in if your joining in.   Im telling ya, some folks pay extra for entertainment as good as our Zoomies!   Stay Well, JR .     

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Thanks for organizing the chat @Lizzie @Stephanie @Quincy 

It was great to really *talk* with so many familiar names and faces - I had a lot of fun :-))) and I look forward to next time~~~ hope I got everyone~

@Robin4 @Christine615 @Cathie19 @Gordon0 @Sandra126 @Kimberly29 @Clara116 @Ann72 @Melodie-And-John0 @Roberta2 @Lawrene0 

I especially enjoyed the house tours and garden views. Since it was 8pm in Seoul..... there wasn't much to see out the window at the time from my apartment.

The sky was so pretty today..... I took a couple shots while having my morning coffee. At noon. Obviously~ Because Saturdays are for sleeping in~ Lol~