How Good Was That !!
Words and pictures cannot hope to describe the mood, the atmosphere, the fun, and the spirit which was the background for an unbelievably great end of season finale to the Wagglers year of 2021. It was an absolutely stunning occasion which was enjoyed by one and all.
Bruce Carvell was our MC for the evening, and apart from some unnecessary Harry Potter stories did a magnificent job in keeping us all amused and entertained and kept the evening flowing along. Thank you Bruce :}
​
Eric and Phil gave us a run down of the Wagglers year, the highlights, the coffee mornings, the trip through Wellington and the plans for Christchurch 2022. We're in good hands and great shape.
​
David ran through the Race to Waitahuna year and announced the results before our winner from last year, Nick, stepped forward to present the Robin Charteris Trophy to the deserved winner this year - Sandy Ross. The two Bruces who came third along with the runner-up Vaughn stepped forward onto the podium where they all toasted Sandy's success with a bottle of champagne provided by Hamish. That was the formal part of the evening before the next 3 hours unfolded into three hours of unbridled joy, fun, laughter and celebration !
​
​
Freddie Mercury Lives in Waikouaiti
Who Knew !!
Normally a picture like this deserves a caption competition. Here's our Freddie getting up close and friendly with his new best mate Roger. Freddie took a shine to Roger - "Have you been double jabbed yet ?" was the best line possible.
​
Freddie ran through what seemed like the whole Queen catalogue and did a fine job in delivering rock classics to an audience ideally suited to music of that genre and era.
​
Hello Big Boy
There wasn't a safe seat in the house as Freddie played the room looking for someone with which to have a friendly chat. I think Vaughn might have been contemplating the offer of " I want it all, and I want it now." as Freddie laid it all on the line.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love ....
I'd walk a long way to get this photo. Who on earth knows what they're singing but Nick's ( or Roger ) obviously giving it his all. Eric is obviously trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy and Freddie is just being Freddie.
​
Any sense of embarrassment had long gone out of the window as anyone and everyone let their hair down and relived past and present glories. The smiles on the faces of those present will last for a long time. I know I woke up on Saturday morning and thought - "did that all really happen last night ?"
There She Was Just A Walking Down The Street Singing ..
Do Wa Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do
After cleaning out Queen's Greatest Hits I thought we might be done for the night. Oh no, we were actually just getting started. Sweet Caroline made an appearance, we all went down to Sweet Home Alabama, as well as running through a Beatles medley. Hamish had his finest dancing shoes on and it was an absolute blast.
I Wanna Be A F*@^ing Waggler
Towards the end of the evening we were joined by those who raised over 14 thousand bucks in The Longest Day Challenge. A number of golfers had played 72 holes in one day ( not in the best weather just quietly ), and these folks were ready to party and party hard. What better place than with a bunch of fun loving oldies having the time of their lives.
​
After Duncan had told us of their challenge in raising a huge amount of money for funding research into fighting cancer, and of their plans to do even better - raising 100 thousand bucks and playing a 100 holes in a day - Duncan sensing the occasion and the spirit in the room had no trouble at all in announcing " I wanna be a f*@^ing Waggler". To which we all cheered though some were obviously confused. "That's funny" thought some "he wants to be a Waggler and I want to play golf like Duncan Croudis". On the balance of probability, Duncan has more chance of becoming a Waggler.
​
In one of the many highlights, Duncan was joined by his fellow 72 holers and gave us THE BEST version of "We Are The Champions". Richly deserved and everyone joined in the chorus. Brilliant, just brilliant.
Start Spreading The News ....
Just as we thought we were all done and dusted but who should make an appearance - that's right, Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra all the way from New York. In what could have been THE highlight of the night, our resident baritone gave us a unique version of one of Frank's greatest hits. With overtones of New Orleans jazz, fused with a little Chicago blues, Nick - sorry Roger - took us to new heights of dizzying proportions.
​
Thanks to Eric for bringing Freddie to the Friday night event which was the crowning glory for Wagglers 2021.
Well done to all of those who have kept us entertained with fun, stories and laughter throughout the year. We'll have one last bash on Wednesday this week before signing off for the year.
What a night and what a year