Close Encounters of the Weggie Kind!!

[Geoff]

My personal experience tells me that meeting up with fellow 'Weggies' gives me a real buzz and is a very positive and rewarding experience. Reading Michelle's post about trying to set up closer links with friends in Australia set me thinking. Perhaps we could post a photo of Weggie encounters just to 'light the fire'.
I was very fortunate to meet up with the "Big Kahoona", yes our leader Andrew when he was in London recently. The 5 hours we spent over coffee and in a Pub just flew by. I think you can tell from the photo that we had a good time, so take the bull by the horns and get out there and meet a fellow Weggie!!! (dont forget your camera)

1901

[mishb]

Thanks for thinking of us Geoff and what a wonderful idea.

I'm not really a meet and greet type of person and tend to favour being in the background, but you are right - take the bull by the horns.


You two look like you have been best mates forever :biggrin1:

[annekat]

Great pic, and I like your idea. Darn it, I wish I'd gotten one of me and Al.

[pberggren1]

Best lookin Weggies I've ever seen.

[freakyschizogirl]

I was a kinda chat online but hang back in real life kinda girl until I met Geoff at Adds! Had this friendly looking stranger come and sit next to me in the waiting room and I was thinking oh no, not another weirdo until he introduced himself. Very life affirming to met a Weggie in real life, I highly recommend it!

[pberggren1]

I gotta get me to the UK.

[freakyschizogirl]

Hop in the Bat plane ::wink1:

[annekat]

OK, my turn.... I must report that I met Kirk, otherwise known as me2, just this last weekend! He came up to my pottery booth at the Olympia Farmers Market and said hi and then made a joke about how much prednisone one of my coffee mugs would hold, or something like that. I instantly became suspicious that this must be the Weggie I'd been talking about meeting for the last few months. He looked great, was fun to talk to, and even bought a big coffee mug from me! For drinking tea or whatever. We got a picture on someone's cell phone, and she emailed it to me, but I cannot get it to upload here in one of my posts! It just sits there looking like it was uploaded but never quite makes it to the post. I do have an old, slow computer, but have posted pics on here before. I don't think it is a huge picture, it says it is something like 339kb, and I'm not finding how to make it smaller. I have an old Mac PowerBook G4 with the pic saved in iPhoto and on my desktop. Any suggestions here are welcome.

[drz]

OK, my turn.... I must report that I met Kirk, otherwise known as me2, just this last weekend! He came up to my pottery booth at the Olympia Farmers Market and said hi and then made a joke about how much prednisone one of my coffee mugs would hold, or something like that. I instantly became suspicious that this must be the Weggie I'd been talking about meeting for the last few months. He looked great, was fun to talk to, and even bought a big coffee mug from me! For drinking tea or whatever. We got a picture on someone's cell phone, and she emailed it to me, but I cannot get it to upload here in one of my posts! It just sits there looking like it was uploaded but never quite makes it to the post. I do have an old, slow computer, but have posted pics on here before. I don't think it is a huge picture, it says it is something like 339kb, and I'm not finding how to make it smaller. I have an old Mac PowerBook G4 with the pic saved in iPhoto and on my desktop. Any suggestions here are welcome.

Email to some of us and it might shrink by email program and we can mail it back to your. Or we can shrink it using one of the free photo viewer and editor programs. You probably have one on your computer too. The trick is to find it and then figure out how to use it. I had to figure it out to upload some pix here but not sure what and how I did it, but we have some smart people here who can help with tech part.

[Dirty Don]

I have posted pics on here before so not sure what the deal is.

Sooo, the big deal IS...some of us can't get it done...tell us HOW oh computer guru! LOL! No, really...I can't get a pic posted on this site, but can do emails...please tell us how!

[annekat]

I did it! I selected it in iPhoto, clicked File, clicked Export, a window came up allowing me to pick a smaller size, exported it to my desktop, started a reply to the thread, clicked insert photo and selected it from my desktop, and followed the uploading process, and it uploaded. The next size up would not upload. This one is something like 56kb. Can be clicked on to make it larger. Taken at the Olympia Farmers Market in Olympia, Washington.

1912

[Pete]

It's nice to put names and faces together. Nice picture.

[Geoff]

Great Photo! Thats more like it, come on keep the ball rolling or else I shall have to post some more pics of me and other Weggies!!

You have been warned!!!

[annekat]

I must say I keep seeing that orange smudge on Kirk's shirt, which I'm quite positive was not there! It must be a glare from the camera or something.

[annekat]

Geoff, you and some other Weggies would be fine, especially if they are forum members! I see you ran into Sam but there apparently wasn't an opportunity for a picture. Perhaps you two can do better next time!

[Geoff]

Hi Anne, here is the photo taken early 2012 of Sam and me at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.

1914

[annekat]

Thanks, Geoff! That is a great photo! I'm thinking maybe it's before Sam's nose was fixed, but she has a cute little pug nose! My saddle nose is like that from some angles. She or you can correct me if I'm wrong... it's funny how time slips away!

[Natalie]

great Idea this , I recently caught up with Sharon Dont think she posts anymore on here but didn't even think to get a snap of us together. 2nd time we have meet but just good to talk and know your not alone . next meet up I will grab a snap

[mishb]

A few of us Aussie's are meeting up in Melbourne tomorrow.

It's a little daunting but at the same time - I can't wait :unsure:

We will keep you posted

[annekat]

Be sure to get some pics and post them here, Michelle!

[mishb]

Be sure to get some pics and post them here, Michelle!


Camera's and I don't get on too well Anne......that's why all my pictures are of frogs :flapper:

We'll see how it goes

[freakyschizogirl]

Hi Anne, you're right it was before my nose was fixed but the photo was taken the day I was told I was in remission and could have surgery! Very historic photo. Does make me cringe a bit too because I swear every time I see Geoff at Adds i'm always wearing that cardigan!!

[annekat]

Hi Anne, you're right it was before my nose was fixed but the photo was taken the day I was told I was in remission and could have surgery! Very historic photo. Does make me cringe a bit too because I swear every time I see Geoff at Adds i'm always wearing that cardigan!! Oh, everyone has a favorite cardigan! You do look very happy in the picture. How long did they make you wait to have the surgery after being declared in remission? And was it a medicated or a full remission?

[annekat]

Camera's and I don't get on too well Anne......that's why all my pictures are of frogs :flapper:

We'll see how it goes That's OK, Michelle, I understand about pictures. I'm usually not very photogenic. And you said one of the people is having her nose done today, or yesterday, so she might not want a picture! It would be more meaningful to us if there were other forum members in there, too.

[HopeinTN]

Anyone want to visit Nashville, TN?

[annekat]

Anyone want to visit Nashville, TN? I would LOVE to! I know someone I went to high school with who plays pedal steel guitar here and there around the music joints. I'd love to sit in on some of that. And of course would try to see you, too! But for now it has to remain a fantasy.

[Geoff]

Wow Michelle!! Hope it went well and that you got the buzz from meeting fellow Weggies. I am smiling as I type this as I would love to have been there with you guys!!

Oh and yes, next stop Nashville!! :thumbsup:

[mishb]

Hasn't happened yet Geoff - lunchtime is another few hours away. You just have time to hop on a plane and come and join us :flapper:

Nashville sounds fantastic - I'm sure fellow Aussies Nicole and Keith would put us up :tongue1:

Anne, there will be a couple of forum members in the meet up, but I wont say who yet.

[drz]

Anyone want to visit Nashville, TN?

I love Nashville and the Grand Ole Oprey and great hotel too. I wish I could have gone there when my daughter had the grandsons there for a chess tournament.

[annekat]

Anne, there will be a couple of forum members in the meet up, but I wont say who yet. Aha! Well, if there are any pics taken, get them in there.... it will make Geoff happy, too!

[HopeinTN]

I'd love to have ya'll!

[mishb]

Had an awesome afternoon today. :thumbsup:
We had plans to catch up with a lady who had her saddle nose surgery yesterday, but we received a message from her saying that she was quite ill and not up to visitors. :sad:
Since plans were already made, we decided to catch up for coffee anyway (well tea, for me).

The picture below, I have named - 3 Weggies are better than 1

I caught up with Tim (Timbo) and Jan (Greenjanet) and Jan's husband Andrew......wow, did we talk and talk.
Unfortunately Crissie (Dennis2512) had some transport troubles and was unable to join us

I guess you can tell which one is me - yep the green frog (my work shirt actually) - therefore the one in the middle has to be Tim and the other lovely one is Janet.


1915

[annekat]

Thanks, Michelle! You are a very nice looking group of Weggies. I'm glad you had such a great time talking to the others and hope you get to catch up with the other two you mentioned.

[pberggren1]

Very nice pic Michelle. I hope you had a lovely time. Is this your first Weggie encounter?

[HopeinTN]

Great pic!

[mishb]

First Weggie encounter for the three of us.
You are correct Geoff - it is a terrific experience

[Alysia]

Hi Michelle,
it is so nice to see you :thumbsup: even in the picture you keep smiling :biggrin1:
great picture.
thanks for sharing.

[Geoff]

Wow fantastic Michelle! lovely photo of you all and hope you have got your voice back!
If you were anything like me you would have talked the hind legs off a donkey!! (No I have no idea where that expression comes from!)
Here's to the next meeting and hopefully those who were feeling 'crook' will make it.

Congratulations on starting the ball rolling 'down under'!! :thumbup:

[rebekah]

Love the picture, Michelle! Meeting other weggies truly is a great experience. Sorry some weren't able to make it, but glad you were still able to get together with Tim and Jan. I just found out I sat at the same table for lunch at the symposium with Victor (blu4runner). Wish we had gotten a picture together...

[gilders]

Wow fantastic Michelle! lovely photo of you all and hope you have got your voice back!
If you were anything like me you would have talked the hind legs off a donkey!! (No I have no idea where that expression comes from!)
Here's to the next meeting and hopefully those who were feeling 'crook' will make it.

Congratulations on starting the ball rolling 'down under'!! :thumbup:

I have a few books to do with word origins and such. Talking the hind legs of a donkey originates from Ireland. Donkeys can not sit. Therefore if you can talk so much that a donkey loses it's hind legs (i.e. sits down), then you can talk a heck of a lot.
At least I think that was the origin.

[NikkiNicole]

I wish we could set up a big meet and greet! Find somewhere and see who can come. As I know traveling can be difficult with some of us I understand that the logistics of it all are probably not possible but ... a girl can dream. It would be so nice to have a big party!

[drz]

I wish we could set up a big meet and greet! Find somewhere and see who can come. As I know traveling can be difficult with some of us I understand that the logistics of it all are probably not possible but ... a girl can dream. It would be so nice to have a big party!

When some here wins a big lottery, and wants to splurge we could all meet somewhere on a nice cruise for a week retreat. Hire a couple speakers and make it tax deductible.

[annekat]

When some here wins a big lottery, and wants to splurge we could all meet somewhere on a nice cruise for a week retreat. Hire a couple speakers and make it tax deductible. Yeah, as long as its only US on the cruise..... we need to be careful with cruises.

Nikki, you must be feeling better to be suggesting a party!

[NikkiNicole]

That sounds like an absolutely wonderful idea!!!!!!

[drz]

Yeah, as long as its only US on the cruise..... we need to be careful with cruises.

Nikki, you must be feeling better to be suggesting a party!

Big companies and organization do it all the time in chartering a yacht just for their use. With enough money some one could even buy the boat if needed and create a floating Weggie hospital for us all. I know of one boat that just does operations for mainly dental deformities in poor countries and they use donated staff time to do so at least according to the fund raiser blurb they sent me.

[gilders]

"When some here wins a big lottery, and wants to splurge we could all meet somewhere on a nice cruise for a week retreat"

My parents always buy me and my wife 2 lottery tickets every week. Last year, while we were on holiday, they continued buy our weekly tickets. When we returned, we popped down to their house with a few gifts from Spain. My Dad calmly said, "Oh, here's your tickets for while you were away". He put teletext on TV and went to the lottery results page. I got the hint and checked the numbers - we had 5 (the UK lottery pays out on 3, 4, or 5 numbers, with 6 being the Jackpot). I was so excited. I knew it wouldn't be millions, like the jackpot, but guessed about £100,000 or at least £10.000's.
We had had the house on sale for months without much interest and I thought, at last we can reduced the asking price and have enough left over to get a nice house with a garden (we don't have any out door space at the moment). It turned out that we had won £1,500 give or take a few pounds. It was still a lot of money for us, but not enough for me to organise a worldwide Weggie party, or a new house.
Please don't think I wasn't grateful, as I was.

[drz]

"When some here wins a big lottery, and wants to splurge we could all meet somewhere on a nice cruise for a week retreat"

My parents always buy me and my wife 2 lottery tickets every week. Last year, while we were on holiday, they continued buy our weekly tickets. When we returned, we popped down to their house with a few gifts from Spain. My Dad calmly said, "Oh, here's your tickets for while you were away". He put teletext on TV and went to the lottery results page. I got the hint and checked the numbers - we had 5 (the UK lottery pays out on 3, 4, or 5 numbers, with 6 being the Jackpot). I was so excited. I knew it wouldn't be millions, like the jackpot, but guessed about £100,000 or at least £10.000's.
We had had the house on sale for months without much interest and I thought, at last we can reduced the asking price and have enough left over to get a nice house with a garden (we don't have any out door space at the moment). It turned out that we had won £1,500 give or take a few pounds. It was still a lot of money for us, but not enough for me to organise a worldwide Weggie party, or a new house.
Please don't think I wasn't grateful, as I was.

All you needed was about five more zeros and it would have worked.:biggrin1:

[Geoff]

https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/q75/s720x720/10154160_524787867631258_3124257528558273766_n.jpg

Hands across the Water!! West coast of America to Eastern England!!

Great fun yesterday when Sam (Freaky) and I (Geoff) got to meet up with Vdub (on the left) when he was visiting our part of the world!!

[annekat]

Awesome! You all look great!

Just yesterday, I got my second Weggie encounter with Kirk (me2) who came by my house and we had a long conversation about.. what else, Wegener's!

[Debbie C]

What a great pic and it's not raining !!!

[renidrag]

Great picture so glad everyone is having a smile.
Dale

[Alysia]

wonderful pic :thumbup:
I already saw it on fb and wrote there, but it is my pleaseure to say again, how awesome the 3 of you are looking :thumbsup:
weggies are def the most amazing on the globe :hug3:

[Geoff]

Anne you hit the nail on the head! As I walked up to Vdub he said you cant be Geoff you dont look sick!
It was a real happy time as you can tell by the smiles and;

Debra, where did you get that idea it rains in England??????? :cool1:
Forcast for the next 6 weeks is scorchio so get your flights booked now!!

[annekat]

Geoff, I was going to make a joke to the effect that "none of you looks sick!" but decided against it for some reason. I'm glad someone said it! I guess it is one of our Weggie mottos.

[mishb]

Weggies are awesome:thumbsup:


I'm wondering what Sam is looking at ?? :tongue1:
The two boys are looking towards the camera and Sam has her eye on ?? someone special maybe ?? :wink1:

[Geoff]

Ha ha Michelle, too sharp by half!!
Yes Sam is keeping a close watch on her husband of 6 months!!
Loves sweet dream.....

[vdub]

We had an absolutely great time! Thanks for posting the pic, Geoff.

The UK is a terrific country. We haven't had any rain the entire time we've been here. The best part, tho, has been meeting Geoff and Sam -- just nice people.

[freakyschizogirl]

Ha ha Michelle, too sharp by half!!
Yes Sam is keeping a close watch on her husband of 6 months!!
Loves sweet dream.....

LOL i'm killing myself laughing here! I was looking at Stu as he was taking a picture at the same time so my apologies to Linda (Geoff's Wife) who took the photo. Can only hope I was looking at VDub's wife while she took the photo from her angle.

And we're married now so hardly loves young dream, doesn't all that stop when ya get married? (certainly does when you live with your parents like we are!)
Only kidding, love my husband dearly. He puts up with me and supports me more than anyone else and more than I could wish for.
He's also the only person who can calm me down and lets me freak out when i'm scared of the old Wegs dog.

I went home on a high after meeting Mr and Mrs vdub and Geoff and Mrs Geoff, a lovely meeting. Only wish it could have been longer and maybe a bit warmer :laugh:

[vdub]

I haven't been able to look at my pics on a big screen yet. When we get home (about another week), I'll look and see what we have. Meeting some fellow weggies really has been one of the highlights of our trip.

We are thinking about going to Melbourne in Nov. Of course Michelle would be on our list of tourist attractions. :-)

[Geoff]

Safe journey home vdub, it was great to meet up with you and your charming wife.
Dont forget to post a picture of you and Michelle on this thread when you reach Melbourne!!

[mishb]

We are thinking about going to Melbourne in Nov. Of course Michelle would be on our list of tourist attractions. :-)

I'm not really much of an attraction vdub, but you will certainly love Melbourne, and I will certainly look forward to it :thumbsup:

There are a few of us weggies in Melbourne including Inge and Green Janet.

[Alysia]

I'm not really much of an attraction
of course you are :thumbup:

[Pete]

OK, my turn.... I must report that I met Kirk, otherwise known as me2, just this last weekend! He came up to my pottery booth at the Olympia Farmers Market and said hi and then made a joke about how much prednisone one of my coffee mugs would hold, or something like that. I instantly became suspicious that this must be the Weggie I'd been talking about meeting for the last few months. He looked great, was fun to talk to, and even bought a big coffee mug from me! For drinking tea or whatever. We got a picture on someone's cell phone, and she emailed it to me, but I cannot get it to upload here in one of my posts! It just sits there looking like it was uploaded but never quite makes it to the post. I do have an old, slow computer, but have posted pics on here before. I don't think it is a huge picture, it says it is something like 339kb, and I'm not finding how to make it smaller. I have an old Mac PowerBook G4 with the pic saved in iPhoto and on my desktop. Any suggestions here are welcome.

You will have to resize the photo to less than 40 kb.

[annekat]

You will have to resize the photo to less than 40 kb. Pete, you Weggie, if you look a little further down the thread, you will find that I did indeed get the picture to post! Not only that, but YOU commented on what a good pic it was! The process of downsizing it was a little convoluted in my photo software, but I finally figured it out.

NOW, however, I am no longer presented with the option of inserting a jpeg directly from my photo software or desktop. It asks for a URL. So I guess I could post it to Facebook and then be able to access it as a link. Unless there is a simpler way.

[mishb]

I can't do it either Anne.
I also only get the URL option and have no idea what to put - otherwise I would have put our big Melbourne Weggie meet, up

[Alysia]

you can post the pic to your facebook, and then press on it to see the pic on fb in its biggest size. then you do "copy" (ctrl+C) and you paste (ctrl+V) it in the post here.

[annekat]

you can post the pic to your facebook, and then press on it to see the pic on fb in its biggest size. then you do "copy" (ctrl+C) and you paste (ctrl+V) it in the post here.And after that, if you don't really want the pic on your Facebook, you can delete it from there. But I liked it the old way, where we got the option of posting from a URL or from somewhere offline on our computer. That worked for me just great. We can still do it that way for changing our avatar. I wonder why it changed. Plus, not everyone has Facebook. There was another way presented here to convert a photo file to a URL, but it did not work for me.

[vdub]

This will be real short because I'm using my tablet. A couple tips....

IrfanView is a free very, very good image manipulation tool. Google irfanview and you can download it.

You can use IrfanView to downsize your images and you should downsize them. Large images (say, larger than 300 or 400 pixels) are very annoying. The image Geoff put up is about the perfect size.

You can use Facebook, photo bucket, picassa, or something like that to upload your picture (after you make it a reasonable size). Once uploaded, just right-click, copy the URL, and paste it in when asked for.

[annekat]

Thanks for those tips, vdub. I'm bookmarking this page for future reference. BTW.. the image of me and Kirk looks small, but gets bigger if clicked upon. There used to be a way on here to choose an image size, I thought, but not for a long time.

[vdub]

You can still do that but I can't test the process until I get home (couple days).

[freakyschizogirl]

Safe Journey vdub :thumbsup:

[vdub]

Thanks, Sam! And we are home! Got home about 2200 last night. It was an interesting trip. Left the UK and went to Bangor, Maine, stayed overnight and then went to Los Angeles and on to Sacramento. Stayed overnight at Sacramento, then flew to Spokane. We had a wonderful time in the UK. It's a great country! And here is the picture of the group that I promised.... (theoretically, you should be able to click on the image for a larger size)

http://www.wasem.com/wg/uk-weg-sm.jpg (http://www.wasem.com/wg/uk-weg-lg.jpg)

[pberggren1]

What a good looking bunch.

[windchime]

Nice picture Vdub. Glad you're back home safe and sound.

[annekat]

Great pic, vdub, great looking people. Yes, the image gets larger when clicked on. That is like the pic I inserted earlier of me and Kirk, me2. But sometime in the past three years, there used to be some other options of ways to get images into posts. One was to choose an image size to post (not pixels, but magnification, I think) once you had your image set up to post. The other was to be able to insert a pic directly from our computer files, not a URL, as I believe we still can for our avatar. The pic of me and Kirk was done that way. I won't keep harping on it, though... I can learn to deal with it as it is, and it's not like I have many pics to insert, anyway.

[mishb]

This is a bundle of weggies that caught up in a suburb of Melbourne last year (which I promised to put up somewhere earlier in this thread)
It was fantastic to catch up with everyone.




https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1014187_10151761565108334_759624596_n.jpg


Anne, the copy and paste from fb worked.......but the same picture copied and paste from "my pictures" on my PC, doesn't work

[annekat]

Great pic, Michelle.... I know you by your curly hair. I'm sure the copying and pasting from Facebook would work, I just think it is more trouble than we should have to go to for something we might not want on Facebook anyway. (Like booger pictures!) Vdub did offer some other ways to save pics somewhere as URLS so they could be inserted here. I just don't know what was wrong with the old way, since we can still do it with our avatars. But I said I wouldn't keep harping on it, didn't I?

[Alysia]

Vdub, great pic :thumbsup: beautiful weggies and partners, and charming smiles :wub:
Michelle, are you the one standing on the left side ? you just look like someone I want to hug :hug1:
who are the others ?
wonderful pic as well, and good looking weggies :thumbup:
I want to meet you for real as well.... :p

[mishb]

Thanks Alysia,

Yes the short dumpy one under the bike wheel is me.
Behind me with the glasses is GreenJanet.
The lovely tall fellow in the blue jumper is Crissie's husband Dennis2512
Grey hair and glasses in the middle is Timbo.
The other 5 are not members on here
This was taken in Winter last year (2103) - we were all rugged up to fight the Melbourne cold.
The lady that you can see clearly in the front came to Melbourne to have her saddle nose fixed and we all met up with her.
This picture was taken just short of two weeks post operation and she was looking wonderful.

[annekat]

I checked all their noses and couldn't detect a saddle! So, yes, her operation looks like a real success!

[Geoff]

Cheers vdub! Great to hear you got home safely and didnt run out of meds?
Thanks for posting the picture, a suitable reminder of a Great Weggie Encounter!

Wow Michelle you certainly did well to get so many Aussie Weggies together! Are you contemplating another round up?

[mishb]

Yes Geoff, another meet up is planned in the near future. :biggrin1:

I am heading off to Queensland next month and plan to meet up with a few whilst I'm up there, which will be great.

We have 85 members in our Australian and New Zealand WG facebook group, so there are many more people to meet.
Of course not all of the 85 have WG, some are husbands or wives of, others are mothers of, or sisters or daughters of etc.
I just counted - 61 actually have WG

Looks like I need to start doing some travelling again :thumbsup:

[windchime]

Great picture Michelle. Thanks for sharing.

[Geoff]

Looking forward to next monday when i get to meet Hammy and Dee!!
Its been planned for a while now (cheers Hammy) and last night Dee picked out a Chinese restaurant up North where she and the Baron live.
Hammy who lives on the south coast of England is doing the driving (pls not too much pred Paul or you will get road rage!) and will pick me up East of London for the trek up to the frozen wastelands of Yorkshire ( he he only joking Dee!).
Bring it on!!

[pberggren1]

Some day I will have to hop across the pond and visit all you folk over there. I have relatives in Scotland and Ireland I have never met. I'm sure I have relatives in England as well.

[annekat]

Cool, Geoff, can't wait to see the pics and hear what you had for dinner!

[Geoff]

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/10155902_534578586652186_1219446067526535223_n.jpg


Hammy picked me up almost on time, amazing given the Monday Rush Hour, as we drove up North to see Dee and The Baron!

[Geoff]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1.0-9/10177918_534579476652097_1401159257780586922_n.jpg

Dee and I at Mr Chu's Restaurant!

[vdub]

Wow, Geoff! You're really getting around. We're thinking about heading back to the UK again.

[Hammy8241]

Ahhhem! I was on time.............:confused1:

[Geoff]

Of course Hammy you were on time......it was me who was late!! Ooops.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/10251994_534578756652169_3829434952754089478_n.jpg

Luckily we made it to Mr Chu's Chines Palace.
The Baron and Dee join Hammy and Me for a fabulous meal!

[Geoff]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10306316_534579466652098_3053313194200282189_n.jpg

Hammy says it with Flowers!!

The Baron and Dee were splendid hosts and we hope to make the journey North again some time soon.

[Geoff]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/10294398_534579616652083_2815956859217138429_n.jpg

On the way home we made a quick detour and Hammy met Sam!

[pberggren1]

I think it's time I do another trip across the pond to meet all you lovely people.

[vdub]

I'm thinking the same, Phil...

[Geoff]

Hi guys, just to say this thread is not meant to be a photo album of my meetings, rather its meant to stimulate you to get out there and hook up with a fellow Weggie. Take it from me its life affirming!!

Now just do it!!

[pberggren1]

You got that right Geoff. I have met over 2 dozen Weggies in person and they are all so awesome.

[annekat]

Dang, I wish someone had taken a pic of me and Al!

[Debbie C]

Dang, I wish someone had taken a pic of me and Al!

That would have been a nice pic to have Anne :(

[Debbie C]

Geoff you sure do get around...you should jump the pond and visit us !!
Vdub,you home now,how was your trip ? Where is your pic from ?
Phil,fuel up the jets,we got places to go and people to see !!!!!!

[Alysia]

Geoff you sure do get around...you should jump the pond and visit us !!
Vdub,you home now,how was your trip ? Where is your pic from ?
Phil,fuel up the jets,we got places to go and people to see !!!!!!

what about the middle east ?

[mishb]

......and the land of Oz.
It only takes a day or so to get here :razz::lol:

[KimH]

All visitors welcome here.

[Geoff]

https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10305954_541681092608602_3205023646110491444_n.jpg

So on Saturday I got to meet Acker at a Weggie ( 7 in total) Pub Lunch nr Bedford. Acker was terrific company and kept us all amused by his stories and anecdotes! He turned up on a terrific motorbike that really looked the business. Looking forward to catching up again with him real soon.

[pberggren1]

Awesome pic guys. Wow Geoff, you are on a Weggie meet a thon......:thumbup:

[Geoff]

After lunch we all trooped out into the garden, but those of us on meds headed for the shelter provided by the trees as it was very hot. Acker got top prize for turning up in his Vasculitis T-Shirt (well May is Vasculitis awareness month!!)

https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/p526x296/1601175_541679919275386_4261950568136432903_n.jpg

[annekat]

Wonderful pics, Geoff! I'm glad you all had such a great time and that there are hopes for it happening again!

[annekat]

For those of you not on Facebook, here is the pic of Heather, aka Squiggled, on the left, and me, with the crooked smile and crooked name tag, at the Olympia Farmers Market, where I sell pottery. She came down to see me there with some members of her family. She is a very nice, sweet person who also happens to have Wegs and has recently joined the forum. We both live in the area and have big plans to do lunch some day soon!

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10406661_10201700661950642_2687587665431579684_n.j pg

[pberggren1]

Where is the pic?

[annekat]

Phil, for me it is right there in the post! Can't imagine what the problem could be! Can anyone else not see it? too weird.

[pberggren1]

Nope, can't see it.

[annekat]

how about now?
https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10406661_10201700661950642_2687587665431579684_n.j pg

[Alysia]

now I can see you, not b4...
so nice to see the 2 of you :thumbsup: weggies are def sweet :love: :hug3:

[annekat]

now I can see you, not b4...
so nice to see the 2 of you :thumbsup: weggies are def sweet :love: :hug3: Thanks, Alysia, will fix it so the text goes with the pic. Maybe in the morning; it's 4AM now and was just checking to see. I assume Phil can see it now, too.

[mishb]

Anne, get back to bed :flapper:
Everything will still be here in the 'proper' morning

[LisaT]

Anne, get back to bed :flapper:
Everything will still be here in the 'proper' morning
this forum is awesome when I can't sleep. Always somebody around in some part of the world! Good morning... Or good night? What time is it there mishb? I'm up at 4:30 after waking with a start at 3 am due to brutal jaw, chest, neck pain and spending half an hour or so trying to decide whether or not it was ER time... Since my heating pad helped, I wasn't short of breath and moving around loosened things up I decided it was just more of the usual. But no going back to sleep. Love the photo and hope to get to the market someday too and meet a fellow Weggie take a look at Anne's pottery!

[mishb]

this forum is awesome when I can't sleep. Always somebody around in some part of the world! Good morning... Or good night? What time is it there mishb? I'm up at 4:30 after waking with a start at 3 am due to brutal jaw, chest, neck pain and spending half an hour or so trying to decide whether or not it was ER time... Since my heating pad helped, I wasn't short of breath and moving around loosened things up I decided it was just more of the usual. But no going back to sleep. Love the photo and hope to get to the market someday too and meet a fellow Weggie take a look at Anne's pottery!

Lisa, 4.30am for you is 9.30pm (ahead of you) for Melbourne, Australia.
Other States of Australia are on different time frames, just like for the different States of America

[LisaT]

Thanks! Do u know what time zone the forum time notations are in?

[mishb]

I don't know what it shows for you on the last post, but for me it shows as Today, 10:28 pm - which is my time.
I would presume it would show your time at the top :unsure:

[pberggren1]

Local time.

[mishb]

That's what I thought.

I met up with a wonderful Weggie lady in Queensland on the Gold Coast this weekend.
She is not a member on this forum so I will not put a picture up (to respect her privacy).

We were meant to meet for morning tea and then she would be home by lunchtime :wink1:
The best laid plans - She arrived at 10:30am and before we knew it, it was 3:00pm and we were still talking and no-one had lunch, because we didn't realise the time.
This seems to happen every time I catch up with a Weggie.........I must be a bad influence :razz:

[Geoff]

Great photo Heather and Anne!! So glad you got together and found the time to record the happy occasion for all of us!

Hi Michelle, I had to laugh at your comment. I know only too well how time flies when Weggies get together. Cant think what we get to talk about?? :rolleyes1:

[annekat]

Michelle, my cat woke me up at 3:40AM, he was stuck outside because my tenant had closed the cat door earlier and not reopened it properly, so the cat could not enter the house. An accident, and not a huge deal as long as it seldom happens, but given that I sleep with my hearing aids off, I'm surprised I heard him at all.... He must have been pretty loud. Anyway, I had a great sleep and am up now to fix the photo so it appears properly with the text. I find it so weird that I could see it and no one else could! I had used a weird method of getting a URL for the pic through my web based email. I had only gone there because the one on Facebook came out too big to post and I had to reduce the size through my computer's software, and then sent it to myself as an email. When that didn't work, I reposted it in the smaller size on Facebook (although it looks the same on there) and it came up fine for the forum. I don't think posting pics on the forum should be this convoluted, and know there are some options I haven't tried, but I liked it the old way where we could just insert a pic directly from our photo files, without getting a URL for it, as we still can for our avatar. And there was a way to resize the photos for the forum page within that system, too. Not sure when or why it changed.

[annekat]

OK, I "think" I have fixed the original post so the pic shows for everyone, but let me know, and then I'll delete the second one.

[Alysia]

yes, the original post NOW do show the pic. but no need to delete it, first because it is nice to see you again and again, and second because after that post, there are some posts relating to it, so they will be out of context.... you can give yourself some rest now :thumbup:

[annekat]

yes, the original post NOW do show the pic. but no need to delete it, first because it is nice to see you again and again, and second because after that post, there are some posts relating to it, so they will be out of context.... you can give yourself some rest now :thumbup: Well, OK.... you are a lot like me in worrying about things being out of context.... then I'd have to make some explanation about that.... maybe too much trouble!

[windchime]

I gave up and just uploaded to my album on the forum. That seemed to work well.

[Geoff]

Excited today as we are going off to a country Pub for an evening meal with other Weggies from the County of Essex where I live.
We generally get together about twice a year, sometimes more, and its always a great time. Normally its a quick check thru whose doing what meds and then any other updates before we put the world to rights, check up on whose going where for a holiday and have a good laugh.
Then on saturday we are off to Cambridge for the Cambridge Vasculitis Support Group meeting. There is usually about 50 people with a variety of Vasculitis disorders, with us Weggies by far the biggest contingent. A chance to meet up with old friends from around the country who travel far and wide for these meetings. Apart from Lunch we have 2 guest speakers; Dr Lisa Willcocks from Addenbrookes who will be giving her talk on the causes of Vasculitis, and Malcolm O'Neil whose talk is titled "How Health coaching can help people with chronic health issues". Just pleased I have been able to get out of bed today and looking forward to a very interesting and rewarding couple of days!!

[pberggren1]

What a wicked combination, an English Pub and Weggies......:thumbup: I'm sure you will have a great time Geoff. I will be interested to hear back on what Lisa and Malcolm have to say. Please give us a follow up.

[vdub]

Beauty! You have fun! If Sam and Stu happen to be there, please say hi.

If the occasion should arise, could you ask one of the docs how I could support my drug habit if I came over there for a couple months. I.e., would they have any problems writing scripts and what kind of documentation would I need from docs over here? Thanks!

[Geoff]

Any particular drugs Vdub? Or just the basic principle??
I've seen your list of daily meds and I'm not sure the NHS can stand the impact on its resources!!

[Debbie C]

Hope your evening is wonderful Geoff and please inform us on any new details from the meeting tomorrow. Cheers !!!

[vdub]

Any particular drugs Vdub? Or just the basic principle??
The basic principle.... Would I be able to have a doc at Addenbrooks write a script for main-stream type drugs based on a letter (or fax) from my endo/rheumy/pdp? Most critical would be pred, hydro cortisone, desmopressin, injectable B-12, testosterone, levothyroxin, folic acid, and mtx.

I think if I did some whining, I could get a 6 months supply. Getting the prescription isn't a problem, its getting the insurance to pay for it. They bulk at paying for drugs more than 3 months at a time. Of course, I could always pay for it myself and maybe that would be the easiest.

But if you could ask the question in principle, it would be greatly appreciated. Don't go out of your way, tho. Thanks in advance!

[Geoff]

OK vdub here we go. Rather than try and speak to Dr Willcocks yesterday, I contacted my local pharmacist who dispenses all my drugs. I explained your predicament and he said that the best way was to try and supply all your drugs personally, i.e bring them with you in a suitcase or rucsac. The problem being that as you are not within the NHS (National Health Service) here in the UK, you would have to see a doctor as a private patient and then he could write a perscription for your drugs (both situations would incur a cost - I have no idea what your drugs would cost at this moment in time) There may also be the situation that some of the many drugs you are on are not available here in the UK, or probably only available in a generic form. The pharmacist thought there might be issues there.
I understand what you say about your insurance company and perhaps the way round that would be to air freight a follow up parcel of drugs to supplement your initial 3 month package?
I can contact Addenbrookes and discuss it further for you, no probs; if you wish to persue it then perhaps you could PM me with a list of drugs and I could check on their availability and costs. My gut feeling is that if possible its a better option to source them yourselves.
Let me know one way or another vdub, its no probs and of course if you do come this way we would be delighted to see you both again!!

[Geoff]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/p526x296/10292391_562309527212425_6504093121584308456_n.jpg

So here we are on friday evening at a lovely old pub (c1650) called The White Hart at Margaretting Tye, just west of Chelmsford. All of the 6 Weggies in the photo live in Essex (Sam where were you??!!) and we get together a couple of times a year for a bite to eat and a good old natter. I met them initially at one of the Cambridge Vasculitis Support Group meetings, and I would advocate any Weggie to check out where their nearest group is and get along!!

[mishb]

So what's in the water in Essex, that so many of you have WG??? :wink1:

[vdub]

Thanks, Geoff! That is exactly the info I needed and there is no need to ask further. I figured that would be the case. Getting a 6 month supply takes a bit of whining and sniffling (I know, very unbecoming), but it can be done. Did I happen to mention that my cousin is my pharmacist? That helps tremendously from time-to-time.

[Geoff]

So what's in the water in Essex, that so many of you have WG??? :wink1:

Well Michelle I dont know! I know of at least 2 other Weggies (forum members) who werent there and I am guessing there are many more knocking around. There are about 1.5 million people in Essex and so according to the figures stated at the Cambridge meeting on saturday that should equate to about 30 people. So as you can see we would need a bigger table in the Pub to accomodate them all!!

[Debbie C]

What a great pic Geoff,looks like everyone was having a grand time.:smile1: How did the vasculitisis meeting go ?
Michelle,you have your share of weggies on that side of the pond also !!!

[Alysia]

So here we are on friday evening at a lovely old pub (c1650) called The White Hart at Margaretting Tye, just west of Chelmsford. All of the 6 Weggies in the photo live in Essex (Sam where were you??!!) and we get together a couple of times a year for a bite to eat and a good old natter. I met them initially at one of the Cambridge Vasculitis Support Group meetings, and I would advocate any Weggie to check out where their nearest group is and get along!!
anyone else from the forum in your pic ?
everyone looks great :love:

[Geoff]

What a great pic Geoff,looks like everyone was having a grand time.:smile1: How did the vasculitisis meeting go ?
Michelle,you have your share of weggies on that side of the pond also !!!
Hi Debra, the meeting went swimmingly and thats not a reference to the thunderstorm and torrential rainstorm and flooding that occured whilst we were in the hotel! I managed to take a few notes and I will sit down and start a thread. Not a huge amount that I can report as the Vasculitis lecture carried a lot of slides, and of course a picture tells a thousand words!!

[Geoff]

Hi Alysia, sad to report no Forum members in the photo. I guess a majority of the Weggies I have met over here go onto the Vasculitis UK site for info/gossip and med stuff. We all look well because this was taken after drinks and a slap up meal!

[mishb]

Talk about Close Encounters of the Weggie kind :w00t:
Who would have though that I would ever get to meet a weggie, all the way from the UK, in Australia
Geoff, myself and Geoff's wife Linda caught up in Melbourne today, and after many hours of talking, regrettably had to say our goodbyes :crying:
You know how we knew that we had been talking for many hours :unsure: the throat started to get tickly and you need some water to drink, just to help you keep talking. Everyone must know this feeling, right

As Geoff said at the very beginning of this thread - meeting up with a fellow 'weggie' gives a real buzz and is a positive and rewarding experience.
I thank the illness that I got given (WG) especially for the wonderful people that I get to talk to each day and also for the amazing, strong people that I have had the absolute honour to meet along the way. That's what I call and awesome experience :thumbsup:

Thank you Geoff and Linda

This is Geoff and myself, before we had to say goodbye. Enjoy the rest of your holidays guys.

2236

[annekat]

Wow, just reading that and seeing the pic gives me a bit of the "buzz". It's so awesome that you two got to meet and talk. And are either of you sure you are sick? You both look great. :thumbsup:

[mishb]

And are either of you sure you are sick? You both look great. :thumbsup:

Not at all Anne.
I looked this condition up in a medical dictionary some years ago and thought, 'what an awesome way to meet up with some amazing people from all over the world'
........and so it began, my pretending to be sick with a crazy disease :flapper::wink1::lol:

........and then I woke up, and the dream was over and reality set in :crying:

Thankyou for saying such lovely words though

But you are correct, we even said it yesterday, how people would never know from looking at us. Thank goodness looks are deceiving :wink1:

[annekat]

Well, it's just the old "you don't look sick" joke, getting pretty worn out by now.... but you DO both look fabulous.... I'm thinking Geoff might even be in med-free remission, if I remember right, and you look equally as well as he does. So, looks may not be all that deceiving.

It would be better if none of us had gotten sick, but since we did, we might as well enjoy the positive aspects of it, courtesy of the internet and people like Andrew and the great folks on this forum! If I hadn't gotten sick, I'd surely have missed out on getting to know some of the best people in the world. The friendships have meant the world to many of us just in terms of dealing with the disease and feeling less alone with it. But it goes way beyond that, which clearly shows in the faces of you and Geoff! :cool1:

[Birdie]

........and so it began, my pretending to be sick with a crazy disease :flapper::wink1::lol:


Why can I only push the like button once?

[Erin2014]

I love this idea! Unfortunately I'm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and since my diagnosis I haven't met any Weggies :sad: Any ideas??

[annekat]

I love this idea! Unfortunately I'm in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and since my diagnosis I haven't met any Weggies :sad: Any ideas?? I think someone from Ontario just posted for the first time... check the New Member Introductions. And there are others in eastern Canada. Check the Weggie Map linked in blue at top of page and see who has placed a pin from that general area. I know there are distances involved, but there might be a way....

[mishb]

Well, it's just the old "you don't look sick" joke, getting pretty worn out by now.... but you DO both look fabulous.... I'm thinking Geoff might even be in med-free remission, if I remember right, and you look equally as well as he does. So, looks may not be all that deceiving.

It would be better if none of us had gotten sick, but since we did, we might as well enjoy the positive aspects of it, courtesy of the internet and people like Andrew and the great folks on this forum! If I hadn't gotten sick, I'd surely have missed out on getting to know some of the best people in the world. The friendships have meant the world to many of us just in terms of dealing with the disease and feeling less alone with it. But it goes way beyond that, which clearly shows in the faces of you and Geoff! :cool1:

Thank you beautiful lady :love:

As I said, I wouldn't change having WG at all, for the amazing people (all of you guys reading this) that I have met or hope to meet one day.

Geoff had another dose of RTX just before he left for holidays, so he probably looks like he has magic gold flowing through him :thumbsup: but I agree, he looks wonderful.

You would appreciate this Anne ............. Geoff is so tall, compared to us :tongue1:
He had to bend down, to give me a hug.

[annekat]

You would appreciate this Anne ............. Geoff is so tall, compared to us :tongue1:
He had to bend down, to give me a hug. Yes, I do. I seem to remember that both he and vdub are 6"4" and that there were some pictures of them with Sam. Perhaps if we look back on this thread. I know one or two men that tall here and know the feeling of being towered over, for sure.

[Geoff]

You guys slay me you really do!! First and formost it was a total thrill for me to meet one of the most informative and supportive members of this Forum in her wonderful home town. I have always respected Michelle's contributions and meeting her "in the flesh" so to speak, confirmed my opinion of her as a beautiful soul. Almost 3 hours flew by as we chatted and put the world to rights without losing a smile on our faces. A day I will treasure for a very long time :)

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[mishb]

You guys slay me you really do!! First and formost it was a total thrill for me to meet one of the most informative and supportive members of this Forum in her wonderful home town. I have always respected Michelle's contributions and meeting her "in the flesh" so to speak, confirmed my opinion of her as a beautiful soul. Almost 3 hours flew by as we chatted and put the world to rights without losing a smile on our faces. A day I will treasure for a very long time :)

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

:blushing::blushing: Gosh mate, the feelings are certainly mutual.
Thankyou :wub: