Transfer of Dory's Cafe to new owner Jo Clifford and her partner Ray

I have been very neglectful of this blog I am afraid.  Dory's Cafe now belongs to Jo Clifford who took over from me on 1st March 2013. I have had a fantastic time at Dory's, really enjoyed the experience of running my own business and loved the fun we had at work and the interaction with the community. I wish Jo well in her new venture and can't thank the staff enough for their help and support over the past few years. Particular thanks to Di, Jill, Brenda and Chris who I worked with most recently and who gave me a wonderful send off.

I am off on another adventure, Cocos Birds.  I hope to run birding tours on Cocos Keeling Island and will get everything up and running after a break in Albany 'till July 2013.  Thanks to you all for following me to this point!

Welcome to the Team Jill

Welcome to Jill, our newest member of staff pictured here with Di.  She helped fill the gap left by Chris being on holiday  in Bali but is now working with us full time.  Hoping you and Jeff  (when he finally gets here!)enjoy your new life up here on Cocos.

Here is Amber aka Bar Fly enjoying a quiet beer in the Cafe at 10.00 in the morning!  Hang on a sec, isn't that an iPod she's slurping from?? 

Margaret ( pictured here with Jill) patiently waiting for her Iced Coffee at Dory's. She was up here for a month  with husband Doug visiting Sally, Digger and the Grand Kids. 

August Visitors

Sandy returned to the Island  with Mum in tow this year, to inspire us with more ideas for art from the ocean (Art Afloat at The Big Barge with Emma).She was a delightful, frequent customer and we all loved her morning hugs and sunny smile. A perfect start to our day at the Cafe as we caught her enthusiasm for life and for Dory's Crepes!

John and Marj made an entrance on Marj's last day here before returning to Perth to see the twins. We hadn't seen them at all since they returned to their Cocos Home but they graced us with their presence for a moment or two prior to Marj's departure!  Perhaps she suggested that John could come to us for a feed after a long hard day out on his kite board. We didn't see him though!










That Danish Fella Neils was back up here again this year  Wind Surfing. Here he is  having his morning breakfast of Eggs Benedict with Arti before going out for another day on the water.


One of the SERCO workers came in the other day with her eye balls hanging out from lack of sleep. She asked for a Cappa on white bread which threw Di into a turmoil for a moment. Was this some new morning tea "Christmas Island style" that we had yet to discover? Was she expected to  dunk the sandwich prior to serving or did the customer  want it perched on top of the bread on same plate??  Once she saw Di's puzzled look the situation was quickly resolved with the customer re ordering from our menu!

Exciting news filtered its way to the Cafe last Sunday (via the never ending Cocos grapevine)  about the  engagement of two prominent locals. We had lots of fun and laughter as we got each customer to guess who the culprits might be.  Congratulations Jocka and Christine.  Enjoy yourselves on Christmas Island.

Wise words I heard on the TV recently:

               "It will all work out in the end.  If it's not working out, it's not the end!"

Miniscule Bugs at Dory’s Cafe

Dave, the pest controller from Perth, was recently brought back to Cocos to investigate a report of bugs in Dory’s Café. It didn’t take long for him to track down the culprits.

Sally’s Miniscules, pictured here have since been eaten. Henry scored the catapillar! 

Sally and Pam searching for bugs in the display cabinet.

Staff Development Program on Direction Island

Brenda, Jill (our newest member of staff, more about her later) and Pam had fun attending Emma's Art Afloat Project at the Big Barge Art Centre on West Island.  We collected stuff that has floated in from the sea and made floating art pieces with help and guidance from Emma and Sandy.

 Brenda's (top) was created from thongs, floats and fishing net as well as other plastic accessories she found on her beach walks.  Jill's (middle) was created with rope, fishing net, thongs and drinking bottles and Pam (bottom) used a float, bottles and materials found on the inside of rope to create her floating blob.

The four week project culminated in an exhibition on Direction Island last Saturday and Di joined us for a relaxed day viewing the exhibits from above as well as below the water.

Di and Brenda pictured here viewing the map of the exhibits on their way back from DI.

Familiar faces return to Cocos

Larissa Powell, Heather Prance and Ryan Breadsell were regulars at the café over the holidays. It was great to see them back on Island again and to hear how life was going for them back on the mainland. 

Cocos Unwrapped

Suzie Buckland aka Tequila (middle), recently left the Island with her family to live in Margaret River. “Cocos Unwrapped” was the final in a series of “Cocos Wrapped Up” broadcasts on 6CKI radio that Kelly aka Bees Knees (right) and Sally aka Foxy Lady (left) presented weekly with Tequila. The program was a lot of fun for both the presenters and the listeners and word on the street is that there may even be a new program on the way…. This of course is another of Sally's creations commemorating the event.