Alfesta 00 Perth
ALFA ROMEO OWNERS CLUB OF AUSTRALIA
Alfesta 2000
Margaret River, Western Australia
When: Easter Weekend - April 20th to 24th, 2000
Venue: The Emerald Colonial Lodge
Attendees:
New South Wales - 18 adults and 2 children
Victoria - 10 adults
Queensland - 7 adults
South Australia - 7 adults
Western Austrlia - 27 adults and 4 children (12 and over)
TOTAL: 75
Cancellations: 14
Committee: |
Sub-Committee: |
Logo design: |
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Programme:
Breakfast each morning was in the dining room or on the verandah overlooking a lake with the resident ducks swimming, or ‘ducking’ for cover from young Alfisti! (when not tidying up leftover crumbs from breakfast).
Thursday, April 20th:
Guests arrived and welcomed by committee members, registered and directed to rooms to settle in. Bar open in afternoon for a well deserved drink after all the travel.
Welcome BBQ in Restaurant with plenty of good food and cheery staff to make sure that all were well fed and accommodated to their satisfaction.
Friday, April 21st:
Breakfast, Official welcome and briefing for day’s programme Swap meet and additional sales of polo shirts. Team games to break the ice and let people get to know each other, with a break for morning tea of hot cross buns.
The only complaint received was that there was not enough scope to cheat, but all seemed to enjoy the events and joined in Glen Phillip’s silly games.
Lunch at the motel (and an urgent request to open the bar early, despite the Good Friday special licence restrictions) and briefing for the afternoon programme - followed by the group photo.
Margaret River Mystery walk in the afternoon (referred to by one member as ‘an interesting trip into the dark corners of the organisers mind’) but basically a walk around the town with clues to solve the ‘mystery’. The problem solving was a bit difficult and not all participated in the mystery. Bar open from 4:30pm for a well-needed drink. In hindsight, given the advancing age of many Alfisti, perhaps there was a little too much physical activity organised (something to keep in mind).
Bacchanal theme night - a celebration of the God of Wine, the grape harvest, and of course, the obligatory festivities - a strange collection of creatures dressed in some form of their interpretation of ‘Bacchanal’ with DJ in attendance, smoke, lights and much silly dancing by many silly-looking people who thought they were still back in the 60’s and 70’s, but who’s bodies told them otherwise the next day (many favouring to make a fashion statement in the motel’s sheets) - a fun night thanks to the efforts of John and Rosemary Schoen, assisted by Lesley Jackes and Les Mitting.
Saturday, April 22nd:
Breakfast and briefing for the navigation/observation run to Augusta organised by Tom and Mary Swanson. Lunch provided off-site by a local community group followed by an afternoon of free time to tour the southern region of Margaret River.
After some R and R and the usual bar open in the afternoon, the night’s activities began with a bus arriving to transport the Alfisti to Leeuwin Estate for a bush dance and spit roast around a welcoming fire outside the venue. The Happy Hour band entertained us for the night and apart from the below average wine sold by Leeuwin, all went well thanks to the organisation of John Edwards and Helen Trowell. All were returned safely to the motel.
Sunday, April 23rd:
Briefing for the Show and Shine at Busselton, organised by Andrew Murray and Glen Phillips. The committee again supported the local community by arranging the lunch catering with the Busselton Veteran Car Club. The day started with a scenic drive up the coast road to Signal Park on the beachfront at the edge of town where we were joined by a contingent from the WA AROC club who were participating in a driver training event held over the weekend at Collie. We were also joined by some WA ‘daytrippers’.
After lunch, a wine-tasting had been arranged at the Regional Wine Centre at Cowaramup for those wishing to attend with an alternative of some free time to ‘wine taste’ at the many outstanding wineries or to frequent the interesting tourist shops and venues throughout the area.
The Presentation night on Sunday evening was hosted by Norm Craven-Kelly with Mike Birks stepping for the absent National President. Joan Lewis donated a book that had belonged to Harry Lewis, asking the WA Committee to raffle this and to direct the proceeds into the Alfesta funds. This was a much sought after prize and we were most grateful for Joan’s generous support.
The major trophies were won by:
Craig Phillips (WA) - Bob Gardiner Memorial Trophy
Larry and Merrilyn Duckett (NSW) - Harry Lewis Spirit of Alfesta
Ross and Sandy Smith (WA) - Ray Sharp Navigation/Observation Run
Other awards on the night were won by:
Tim Guinness - Motoring skills
Ron De Pannone - Most Original Car
Ian Wall - Best Presented Car and People’s Choice Car
Summary:
At a de-briefing with motel management, Greg and Jennifer O’Meara reported that the Alfesta attendees had been a pleasure to accommodate and they would welcome us back at any time. They commented that it was the best-run event that the motel had been associated with. From the Committee’s side of things, we would have to say that the consideration given with pre-planning and the smooth running of the event gave us the confidence that everything was under control at all times. The professional implementation of our programme and the prompt and courteous attention and assistance given by management and staff greatly assisted co-ordinating the event and, as mentioned at the start of this report, we had a great deal of positive feedback from our interstate and WA guests.
The WA Committee (like all other Alfesta committees) worked long and hard to ensure that Alfesta 2000 would be a success and an enjoyable event for those attending and we believe that our efforts paid off and we are therefore satisfied by our achievement.
Written by Eric Langdon, Chairman Alfesta 2000 Committee
