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A group of nine (and a half) cold and hungry clubbies gathered in the 1891 restaurant at the Rose and Crown for a Christmas in July dinner. Last to arrive was Andrew, Jess and baby Isabella and traditionally they should be penning this report but given their obvious distraction I shall give them some grace and attempt to do the event justice.

Amidst the Christmas decorations sat our group made up of Jill (Walter Ego), Bevan and Lina (1BBQ & Run-Up), Andrew and Jess (L300 & HerPatrol), Chris and Kim (Patrollin), Maree and myself (RustyNails) and of course baby Isabella. After the introductions and refreshments were organised the Christmas Crackers were soon opened and the spoils displayed. Jill turned her parachutist into a small brooch and the corny jokes were soon shared. Seeing all this merriment the waitress quickly arrived to take our orders.

First course was the soup and upon hearing that it was an unusual variety, Pumpkin and Chick Pea, several of the group questioned the possibility of splitting the Chick Pea from the soup and sticking with the Pumpkin. Chris not being all that keen on vegies cheekily asked to ditch the Pumpkin as well. Despite the initial reactions most soup bowls were quickly cleaned up thanks to a little game of pass the baby.

After a long break the next course to arrive was the mains and Lina was definitely the chef's favourite because her meal included half a head of broccoli while the rest of us had to make do with one or two small florettes. Once the plates were cleaned away the Christmas spirit struck Jill who commented on the lack of Christmas Carols so quickly broke into song with her unique version of Jingle Bells.

An interesting distraction was the small bridal party enjoying a meal in a nearby room. It appeared as though this small group was having an intimate and relatively inexpensive wedding reception however unfortunate for the bride it appeared the money saved wasn’t spent on the wedding dress which seemed to fit as well as a diving suit.

Dessert soon arrived and was a highlight for me however down the other end of the table Jill was soon tiring of Bevan constantly using her name and so soon began a jovial exchange with Chris’s (UKKIWI) name being wheeled as a weapon despite his absence. Some happy snaps were taken (hopefully Andrew will share them) and coffees were enjoyed before everybody once again braved the elements and went their separate ways into the cold night.

Although it was a small group it was a very enjoyable evening with some very nice people and weI look forward to doing something similar sometime soon.

Paul (Rusty)

very  enjoyable night
thanks for putting it together Rusty, we are looking forward to the next one

Yes, well done Rusty for all your efforts.  The Rose and Crown at Guildford is a lovely venue, especially for a winter theme.  We just needed a fire lit in the fire place behind us.  It was a fun evening with good company, although, perhaps Lina could leave Bevan at home next time

wheres the fun in that jill  jill jill jill jill jill jill jill jill 

Good photos guys.  Sorry we missed Jess, Isabella and Paul, I should have taken a shot from my end of the table.

A very enjoyable night for our first official night out as a family with friends since Bella was born.  :)Oh and one quick question Jill did you manage to get the jacket clean?? .

How nice of you to ask Jess - I've not heard from the person, mentioning no names (Lina) who through a chain of events caused my jacket to dip into the cappucino - but no, I won't have to send a cleaning bill to Wattle Grove (that's my version anyway - my own stupidity doesn't come into it).  All good