Hi Russell,

Great to be able to catch up on what we missed.
The lunch here in Wgtn for those of us who couldn't make it north was cancelled after Air New Zealand dumped the scheduled flight at short notice. Some of us had swapped shifts in an attempt to ensure we could commit to being there - thereby hoping to avoid the classic MSM no-show that you speak of. I blame the erupting, sorry "burping", mountain.
Anyway, Charles sent us poor cousins down south various links to stories/blogs on the event. I'm now more intrigued than ever. Next time...