{"id":7686,"date":"2020-12-07T17:05:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T06:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/?p=7686"},"modified":"2020-12-17T15:14:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T04:14:13","slug":"veterans-christmas-reunions-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/veterans-christmas-reunions-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans Christmas Reunions &#8211; 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">Local Christmas Reunions &#8211; 2020<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>2020 has been a different year, particularly with concerns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic altering our day to day and normal activities becoming more cautious.<\/p>\n<p>The usual OTVA Christmas Reunion in Sydney, at Club York has not been held due to concerns with people attending and travelling to the city by public transport.<\/p>\n<p>The OTVA Committee decided to hold local events, where members were willing to organise a get together that would be more easily accessible for those members and friends living nearby or happy to travel to.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">Sydney Northern Suburbs Reunion<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The first Reunion was held on Friday 27 November by the Sydney Northern Beaches and Suburbs group hosted by Orm Butler. Many of the attendees are pictured below<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7687\" style=\"width: 928px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7687\" data-attachment-id=\"7687\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/veterans-christmas-reunions-2020\/northern-beaches-christmas-group-2020\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Northern-Beaches-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?fit=918%2C472&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"918,472\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Northern Beaches Christmas Group 2020\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Sydney Northern Beaches Christmas Group&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Northern-Beaches-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?fit=720%2C370&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-7687 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Northern-Beaches-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?resize=720%2C370\" alt=\"Sydney Northern Suburbs Christmas attendees\" width=\"720\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Northern-Beaches-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?w=918&amp;ssl=1 918w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Northern-Beaches-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?resize=300%2C154&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Northern-Beaches-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?resize=768%2C395&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7687\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Back row L &#8211; R Dennis Grant, John Hibbard Front row L-R Bill Breeze, David Coutts, Dave Stimpson, Peter Trebeck, Alan Michie, Tom Gruzka, Ken Arnold, Bill Davey, Milton Cale, Tom Neeson, Dean Veverka, Orm Butler, Ernie Wan, George Knowles<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Orm wrote: We had the function on Friday, and a good turn up of people. Lots of stories exchanged and memories relived. Photo: Orm Butler.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for the update Orm.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">Sydney Central Christmas Luncheon<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The second Reunion was held on Wednesday 2 December by the Sydney Central group hosted by Jim Simpson.<\/p>\n<p>A good reunion with old friends from the former OTC Operations, Engineering, CRS\/Maritime &amp; Drawing Office represented at a luncheon at Club Five Dock.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"7703\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/veterans-christmas-reunions-2020\/otva-members-sydney-central-2nd-dec-2020-4a\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?fit=2068%2C1241&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2068,1241\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"OTVA Members Sydney Central 2nd Dec 2020-4a\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?fit=720%2C432&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7703\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?resize=720%2C432\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?w=2068&amp;ssl=1 2068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?resize=300%2C180&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?resize=1024%2C614&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?resize=768%2C461&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?resize=1536%2C922&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?resize=2048%2C1229&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Sydney-Central-2nd-Dec-2020-4a.jpg?w=1440&amp;ssl=1 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Attendees included:<br \/>\nJohn Bellingham, Paul Cope, Alex Ebert, Greg Edwards, Mike Elliott, Steve Galbraith, Graham Hansen, Dagmar Perumal, Jim Simpson, Karen Wrenall (ex Telstra, Steve Galbraith\u2019s partner),<br \/>\nNeil Yakalis. Photo: Jim Simpson.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for the update Jim.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">Sydney Southside Christmas Luncheon<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The third Reunion was held on Thursday 3 December by the Southern Sydney and the Southern Highlands group hosted by Greg Martyn.<\/p>\n<p>Those OTVA Members from Southern Sydney and the Southern Highlands who attended enjoyed lunch at the By the Bay Cafe in Carss Bush Park south of Sydney. With good company, good food, refreshments while many stories were re-told, the veterans celebrated their company and companionship! A good time was had by all.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"7705\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/veterans-christmas-reunions-2020\/otva-members-southside-christmas-lunch-20201203\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Southside-Christmas-Lunch-20201203.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"768,1024\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"OTVA Members Southside Christmas Lunch 20201203\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Southside-Christmas-Lunch-20201203.jpg?fit=720%2C960&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7705\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Southside-Christmas-Lunch-20201203.jpg?resize=720%2C960\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Southside-Christmas-Lunch-20201203.jpg?w=768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/OTVA-Members-Southside-Christmas-Lunch-20201203.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Attendees included:<br \/>\nPeter Bull, Mick Callaghan, Ross Smith, Darryl Steer, Ray Pow, Brian Travis, Bill Jolly, Gary Beaton, John Vossen, Tom Barker, Greg Martyn, Robin Tuckfield, Rob Askew, Shaune Walsh, David Izatt, Jules Corben and John Eades. Photo: John Eades.<\/p>\n<p>Report by Greg Martyn.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">Tweed Valley &#8211; Northern Rivers Christmas Party<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">John Bennett reports on the intrepid fellows of the Tweed Valley enjoying their Christmas Party despite the torrential rain in the area over the last week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We had our annual xmas party to day [Wed 16th] at the Riverview Hotel Murwillumbah.<\/p>\n<p>We all enjoyed the afternoon, as it was touch and go, with the flooding only receding in the late morning, enough for us to get through to the Riverview.<\/p>\n<p>We all gave a warm welcome to Phil Wall who is visiting from Sydney. Jim Hulme sent apologies, as he would have come from Brisbane, with road closures a big unknown.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\">Visitors welcome<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Any exotc members who may be visiting the area over the holidays are welcome, call John Bennett for details, if you wish to attend Wednesdays at 12.00pm.<\/p>\n<p><div style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"gmedia-image-798\" class=\"gmedia-singlepic \" title=\"OTVA Tweed Valley Christmas Group 2020\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-content\/grand-media\/image\/OTVA-Tweed-Valley-Christmas-Group-2020.jpg?resize=640%2C360\" alt=\"OTVA Tweed Valley Christmas Group 2020\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">OTVA Tweed Valley Christmas Group, (L-R) David Kidd, Paul Close, Alan West, Bill Newman, Phil Wall [antlers], Steve Marshall, Bob Collins, John Bennett, Gary Samuels. Photo: John Bennett<\/p><\/div>Thanks for the update, John.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #5981bd;\"><a style=\"color: #5981bd;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/otva-reunions-christmas-2020-pics\/\">Photos of the reunions are here<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Local Christmas Reunions &#8211; 2020 2020 has been a different year, particularly with concerns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic altering our day to day and normal activities becoming more cautious. The usual OTVA Christmas Reunion in Sydney, at Club York has not been held due to concerns with people attending and travelling to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meetingplace","category-socials"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paMOfU-1ZY","jetpack-related-posts":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7686"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7739,"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7686\/revisions\/7739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otva.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}