Halcyon has plenty of ‘ladies who lunch’, so it’s good to know there are also ‘blokes who breakfast’ at Vision by Halcyon.
Once a month, many of the community’s male home owners head off to a Runaway Bay cafe where they sit down to a hearty breakfast and a big helping of camaraderie for an hour or so.
Home owner Marcel van Hooft said the Vision men’s breakfast group started in 2016 by five of the community’s ‘early settlers’ who yearned for a big brekkie of lamb’s fry and bacon.
“These were the men with strong stomachs,” Marcel joked.
“They hunted around for a place that did a good deal and they ended up at Klein’s Coffee, Bar and Grill.”
Word of the boys-only breakfast spread, and today the group has close to 40 members with an average of about 25 men turning up to the breakfast on the last Tuesday of each month.
While lamb’s fry and bacon is still on the menu, group members can also choose to have the less exotic choice of bacon and eggs.
“The breakfast is usually eaten in the first half hour and then we have chin wag - just good old camaraderie and talking,” Marcel said.
“There’s an unwritten rule that we try to keep the conversation out of contentious areas so we don’t talk much about politics, religion or girlfriends and wives.
“We talk about boats, sport, trips we’ve taken and sometimes our health.
“Because we’re on a long table there’s a mish-mash of five or six conversations that are going on at the same time. It’s a good-hearted and friendly get-together.”
Marcel, who coordinates the group, said the monthly gathering had strengthened friendships and the sense of community at Vision.
“The indications that I have that people find it useful and meaningful and of value is the fact that halfway through the month they come to me and ask when the next breakfast is on,” he said.
“So, it’s not as though I have to remind them.”
