King & Country
Captain
- Joined
- May 23, 2005
- Messages
- 5,103
Hi Guys,
I just got back yesterday from “The Land of Oz” and what can I say but… BLOODY MARVELLOUS!!!
By now most of you will have read Brett’s (Military Workshop) report of our Brisbane and Canberra adventures. All I can add is to say that our mate Brett Williams really pulled more than a few rabbits out of his hat to make our visit so memorable.
From the minute Helen (K&C’s M.D.) and myself met up with him our feet barely touched the ground. We headed over to Brett’s store and began work immediately by “unveiling” our new “Australian Light Horse” series. Within minutes of us putting the masters out on display the first K&C enthusiasts seemed to materialize among them Howard Woods and an old Treefrog mate “KIWI”… After that we never stopped… collectors seemed to drop in every half hour or so—it was great—but exhausting!
Over the next couple of days we got to meet a large cross-section of Brett’s K&C collectors from Brisbane and farther away. One guy drove for 11 hours to get there!
The Saturday evening event was also very special. Held at the nearby RSL Club (with lots of militaria adorning the walls) over 30 avid collectors plus at least 4 wives got together for a terrific meal and an even better “Q &A” session.
Sunday saw Brett, Helen, Howard and yours truly head off to Canberra and the outstanding Australian War Memorial Museum. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Monday morning began with a brisk 3 mile walk along Memorial Avenue followed by a whole day at the Museum. Our guide at the museum was Air Commodore John Meier of the Royal Australian Air Force… also a K&C collector and a great guy. John has already served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has a son out in Afghanistan at the moment. Really interesting bloke.
While in Canberra we were also joined by another old pal… the infamous… OZDIGGER… real name MATT and a great laugh with a very dry Aussie sense of humour!
After picking up piles of unique Aussie military books and DVD’s we flew onto Sydney and our K&C dealer there… Mr. Peter Nathan.
Peter was waiting to grab us off the plane and drive straight into the city and our hotel “The GRACE”. Built in the 1930’s this beautiful Art-Deco hotel was to be our base for the next few days.
At this point, let me rave about Sydney… it is quite simply one of the most beautiful and exciting harbour front cities in the world!
Built around a series of spectacular coves and bays the city is vibrant, a delightful mix of old and new and a great place to go “walkabout”. Plus the seafood is out of this world. On our first night Helen, Peter and me dined out in Darling Harbour in the heart of the city.
The following day it was “meet ‘n’ greet” at Peter’s store just opposite our hotel. That evening was his Special K&C event at the Officers’ Mess in historic Victoria Barracks.
Peter had invited 36 of his top K&C collectors to dine at the Officers’ Mess. Among the guests were several military officers, leading lawyers, a few CEO’s and a top Aussie actor… Mark Lee.
Mark starred with Mel Gibson in “GALLIPOLI”, one of the great Aussie War epics and is a helluva nice bloke. He’s also a very talented director/producer of film, television and theatre plus a K&C collector of many years standing.
Once again we previewed our upcoming Light Horse figures and did an open-ended “Q &A” session which lasted to almost midnight! What a night!
The following day was again spent at Peter’s shop meeting ‘n’ greeting. Because I was enjoying myself so much I also managed to extend my visit by another day to explore Sydney and meet up with an old school mate from Scotland and a former work colleague from Hong Kong.
During this entire trip to OZ there was never a dull moment… from Brisbane and Canberra with Brett to Sydney with Peter both Helen and myself met dozens of K&C enthusiasts both old and young. It really was a superb visit and for that I have to especially thank Brett Williams of Military Workshop for suggesting it and encouraging me to go “down-under”.
I also want to thank Peter Nathan of The Toy Soldier in Sydney for actively participating and, of course, K&C’s Helen Mok Sargent for the support and back-up.
Finally, I would like to thank the many individual K&C collectors who came along (some from hundreds of miles away and a couple from thousands!) to meet and welcome us to this fine land. You shared your passion, ideas, thoughts and comments with us and I really appreciate it.
K&C collectors are, to all of us here, a very special breed and we value each and every one of you!
I can’t wait to go back and see you all again… Very best personal wishes and happy collecting!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country
I just got back yesterday from “The Land of Oz” and what can I say but… BLOODY MARVELLOUS!!!
By now most of you will have read Brett’s (Military Workshop) report of our Brisbane and Canberra adventures. All I can add is to say that our mate Brett Williams really pulled more than a few rabbits out of his hat to make our visit so memorable.
From the minute Helen (K&C’s M.D.) and myself met up with him our feet barely touched the ground. We headed over to Brett’s store and began work immediately by “unveiling” our new “Australian Light Horse” series. Within minutes of us putting the masters out on display the first K&C enthusiasts seemed to materialize among them Howard Woods and an old Treefrog mate “KIWI”… After that we never stopped… collectors seemed to drop in every half hour or so—it was great—but exhausting!
Over the next couple of days we got to meet a large cross-section of Brett’s K&C collectors from Brisbane and farther away. One guy drove for 11 hours to get there!
The Saturday evening event was also very special. Held at the nearby RSL Club (with lots of militaria adorning the walls) over 30 avid collectors plus at least 4 wives got together for a terrific meal and an even better “Q &A” session.
Sunday saw Brett, Helen, Howard and yours truly head off to Canberra and the outstanding Australian War Memorial Museum. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Monday morning began with a brisk 3 mile walk along Memorial Avenue followed by a whole day at the Museum. Our guide at the museum was Air Commodore John Meier of the Royal Australian Air Force… also a K&C collector and a great guy. John has already served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has a son out in Afghanistan at the moment. Really interesting bloke.
While in Canberra we were also joined by another old pal… the infamous… OZDIGGER… real name MATT and a great laugh with a very dry Aussie sense of humour!
After picking up piles of unique Aussie military books and DVD’s we flew onto Sydney and our K&C dealer there… Mr. Peter Nathan.
Peter was waiting to grab us off the plane and drive straight into the city and our hotel “The GRACE”. Built in the 1930’s this beautiful Art-Deco hotel was to be our base for the next few days.
At this point, let me rave about Sydney… it is quite simply one of the most beautiful and exciting harbour front cities in the world!
Built around a series of spectacular coves and bays the city is vibrant, a delightful mix of old and new and a great place to go “walkabout”. Plus the seafood is out of this world. On our first night Helen, Peter and me dined out in Darling Harbour in the heart of the city.
The following day it was “meet ‘n’ greet” at Peter’s store just opposite our hotel. That evening was his Special K&C event at the Officers’ Mess in historic Victoria Barracks.
Peter had invited 36 of his top K&C collectors to dine at the Officers’ Mess. Among the guests were several military officers, leading lawyers, a few CEO’s and a top Aussie actor… Mark Lee.
Mark starred with Mel Gibson in “GALLIPOLI”, one of the great Aussie War epics and is a helluva nice bloke. He’s also a very talented director/producer of film, television and theatre plus a K&C collector of many years standing.
Once again we previewed our upcoming Light Horse figures and did an open-ended “Q &A” session which lasted to almost midnight! What a night!
The following day was again spent at Peter’s shop meeting ‘n’ greeting. Because I was enjoying myself so much I also managed to extend my visit by another day to explore Sydney and meet up with an old school mate from Scotland and a former work colleague from Hong Kong.
During this entire trip to OZ there was never a dull moment… from Brisbane and Canberra with Brett to Sydney with Peter both Helen and myself met dozens of K&C enthusiasts both old and young. It really was a superb visit and for that I have to especially thank Brett Williams of Military Workshop for suggesting it and encouraging me to go “down-under”.
I also want to thank Peter Nathan of The Toy Soldier in Sydney for actively participating and, of course, K&C’s Helen Mok Sargent for the support and back-up.
Finally, I would like to thank the many individual K&C collectors who came along (some from hundreds of miles away and a couple from thousands!) to meet and welcome us to this fine land. You shared your passion, ideas, thoughts and comments with us and I really appreciate it.
K&C collectors are, to all of us here, a very special breed and we value each and every one of you!
I can’t wait to go back and see you all again… Very best personal wishes and happy collecting!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country
