www.ran-skilledhands.net

Have a great time one and all....look forward to seeing the photo's. that might just about sum it all up

Beer, fighting and...... well maybe not the girls for the married ones..unless

I'm having a BBQ and beer in your honor as the GDY can't make it

Thanks Wayne, I'll let the gang know when I catch up with them in a couple of hours...! Cheers...

Guys,

So sorry I had to bail at the last minute. Family first though. I will have one for you all

You were sadly missed Chuckles... A great time was had by all...


I'm in the process of resizing and sorting the photos out
for uploading, so expect my full report later tonight...

O.K., Gang, here we go... here's the Official Report of our...

2009 7th Annual RAN Skilled Hands
Sydney Rocks Xmas Pub Crawl Smokey

Don't forget, you can click on any pic for a BLOW UP...!
First to arrive at 'Jackson�s on George', chasing bonus points,
were 'Basin Trialers' Steve �Shep� Shepherd and Col �Pussasan� Kelson



Soon the full RAN Skilled Hands Drinking Team
had assembled, on the left, Dean �Dinophot� Gedling, then John
�Chippy Ned� Kelly, his partner Ellen, then (front) Lesley, sitting
next to partner Nev Hoskins, behind Lesley, Sandy Robertson,
next to yours truly, Rick �Hippy Chippy� Pengilly, then Steve
�Shep� Shepherd, Col �Pussasan� Kelson, Sandy�s other half, her
hubby Gordon Robertson, then finally, Mark �Mobes� Mobley�



At the threshold to The Rocks precinct, you couldn't help but be
impressed with the huge black and white �period photograph�
wall mural�



First stop, the �Fortune Of War�, one of a number of pubs in The
Rocks claiming to be Sydney�s Oldest Hotel, at least they display
the documentary evidence to back their claim�



Somehow I managed to forget to take a photo of our next pub,
�The Observer�, never mind, it was then off to Ned�s favourite
�The Merchantile Hotel��



Another group shot, this time on the stage at �The Merc�, L to R:
Lesley, Dino, Col, Ellen, Ned, Nev, Shep, Gordo, Sandy, Rick
and Mark�



Next was the 'Harbour View', where we encountered the Canuk
barmaid from Winnepeg, who we conned into being our photographer�



Our usual �group shot�, L to R: Mobes, Shep, Nev, Col, Ned, Ellen,
Rick, Lesley, Sandy, Gordo and Dino�



Where Gordo and I got to do our version of Sniff �n� Stiff
on the baby grand�



Then it was off to �The Hero Of Waterloo��



Which has a particular significance for Ned, he�d met four of his
five ex-wives there�!



The troops enjoy a relaxing drink in the shade�



Lesley noticed a sign on the wall�



Maybe at 76, Nev felt the �proof of age� bit applied to Col�



The �Lord Nelson Hotel� was next, where we had lunch� :tonqe:



And we met the Orangutans who were also doing a �Rocks Pub
Crawl� to raise awareness of the plight of Orangutans in the wild�
(Whatever excuse you need�)



Whilst it was next on our list, we had to knock the �Hotel
Palisade�, on the head, it had been closed for renovations for
over a year�



The �Captain Cook� is mainly remembered as one of three Rocks
Pubs that no longer stock Oyzo�!



The girls found an appropriate fence to lean on to �take five�
before attempting the long, steep walk up the hill�



Which crosses under Sydney Harbour Bridge again, then it was
on to �The Australian��



By now we all felt the need for a �recovery sit down�, here�s Dino
keeping Ellen amused�



Here�s Shep, Gordo� oh stuff it, you know them all by now�



Think Shep was telling Ned how much he was missing having
SeeJay there�



Ned and I admire the innovative �been-there� campaign �T� shirt
the Orangutans had printed up for their pub crawl�



Nev, Col and Mobes�



Gordon and Sandy travelling well, with Lesley and Nev�



The 'Lads'�



The 'Gang'�



Next port of call, the �Glenmore Hotel��



The Gang�s all (still) here�



Always useful to have transport/ accommodation standing by�



The 'Lowenbrau Keller' is always a favourite, what with those
lovely fraulines and the guys in der lederhosen�



Not to mention the Butterscotch Schnappes Shooters
and the huge steins of beer�



Still disputing who�s had what�



Time to audit the checklist again�



Then it was onto our FINAL destination, The �Orient Hotel��



And not a moment too soon, as Dino decided to re-decorate the
table with his glass of red�



Gordo does the right thing and mops it all up, wringing it out into
the ashtray, which we figured was easier for Dino to drink out of�!



Luckily Dino�s drink missed the official record of the event,
which we managed to retain�



Which Dino had religiously maintained throughout the day�



And which was duly notorised by Ex-Naval Policeman Mark
�Mobes� Mobley and Ex-Police Sergeant Col �Pussasan� Kelson�

You'll notice Dino did get a '-1' score for his red wine effort...!



I believe young Dino was the 'last man standing', having
adopted a number of Army grunts at 'The Orient', suffice to say...


...a great day was had by all...

To those who couldn't make it, you were sadly missed, to those
who simply wimped out, get off your and join us next year...!

Nice work guys and gals.
Looks like you had a high ol' (no pun intended) time

Sure did Smiley... and as a footnote to the report, I remember back to our very first Sydney Rocks Christmas Pub Crawl,
marvelling over the fact that on the day, participant Roger Fidler turned the big 60... None of us were that old at the time...

Then on Saturday, at age 76, hale and hearty Ex-WO Chippy Nev Hoskins didn't miss a pub, didn't miss a beer...

Well done Nev...

Hippy Chippy wrote:
Where Gordo and I got to do our version of Sniff ‘n’ Stiff
on the baby grand…

I notice the dacks are still on......pianola huh?

Should have gone with the viagra.....

Hippy Chippy wrote: Here’s Shep, Gordo… oh stuff it, you know them all by now…

Well I thought I did, but who's that ugly bastard with the bald bollard sitting next to you?