Daily Notes & News
The Month of September, 1998
Tuesday, 1st
Today started badly with the my arrival at my meeting after Mass half an hour late - caused by my not believing my diary and taking note of the time as mentioned in the minutes of the previous meeting. The meeting went well however and I believe that quite a lot of good work was done, especially in the area of networking and sharing of resources.
Then it was a trip to town to complete some of the paperwork for the Sick & Retired Priests Fund, a visit to ITIM and a chance meeting with two senior police oficers who were able to give me some valuable information regarding a coulple of people who are sick at present.
From there it was a quick trip to Calvary Hospital to see Phil Stephens who had an obviously minor heart scare on the weekend as he had already been released. I visited a family in Glenorchy on my way back home and spent most of the time asleep in the lounge and was hopeless company.
From there it was back to my desk to finish off the funeral booklet for tomorrow before going out to tea at the Fraser's. I arrived just as the evening news was telling people that Ross Burgess had been charged with the sexual assault of a minor. Talking with the Fraser's they were able to fill me in on another and related incident which shines some light on what is a very sad situation. There will be more about all of this in the next few days.
Wednesday, 2nd
After sending off my e-mail to the newspaper about the inaccuracy of their report regarding a case of sexual abuse I was pleased to get a phone call from senior management at the paper apologising and promising a "Getting it Straight" comment in tomorow's paper. There will be more about that tomorrow here or in Thursday's Daily Notes & News.
The rest of the morning was spent working on the final material for Hedley Tomlin's funeral and responding to phone calls of support resulting from the newspaper report. After an early snack for lunch I headed up to Ellendale to celebrate he funeral.
There was a large crowd present to say farewell to Hedley and the Church could only contain half the people who had come from all over the district to pay their final respects. It was a clear sunny day and the everything went well.
Later in the afternoon I dealt with more phonecalls from people offering their support - so much so that I am overwhelmed by the concern people have. Sadly, I have not been able to make contact with a couple of the key players in the story to offer support to them in return.
The Home Mass at Pat Dowling's was another good celebration of the local Church and it is good that people are travelling to be with families in their homes. Our next Mass is also in the country during the day and during the school holidays so we will see what happens then.
Thursday, 3rd
A quick trip into town this morning after posting Daily Notes & News for my car to get it's 20K service meant that I then had to go and borrow a car to get home again. That done I arrived home to start work on the newsletter and other aspects of parish life.
There has been an amazing outpouring of support for me and for the parish in these past two days and real regret for the events that have taken place. The hardest part for me has been how to prepare my words for the newsletter - still not finished but should be there by tomorrow morning.
I then made some phone calls regarding the mixed fruits which we will need for the Christmas Puddings which we will begin making next week. I'm still waiting for a phone call back with a price from one supplier.
After lunch I had a phone call from Ann Graham regarding her web page - so as usual I stopped doing the things I should have been doing and immediately jumped into some work for her. You can see the results of my efforts
at Graham Family.
These are not the final pages but we will develop something over the coming weeks with photo's etc. to enhance the presence of the company on the web.
Went to town to collect my car from the service people and had a coffee with my friend who had allowed me to borrow her car. Arriving home I set about having lunch & an evening meal - the time was now 5pm.
A little bit of work on the Graham Family site to make some corrections before my couple came for marriage preparation and then to bed. I had just dropped off to sleep when my dad rang to ask how to turn his phone back from his mobile after their trip to Sydney - and I couldn't get back to sleep.
Friday, 4th
Today was a long day as I waited (still) for a call to say that we had a supplier for the mixed fruit for our Christmas puddings. Hopefully, we will have the cost on Monday because we need to order to start next Friday on our mammoth adventure.
The rest of the day involved working with letters and office work - most of which I got finished and so in one sense I did well.
My appointment with Melissa about arrangements for her wedding went well and I'll call back to see her tomorrow to drop some more information off to her. It was interesting that at the dinner for Denis Allen's 60th later I was talking about a time when I had worked with Judy & John Freeman and one of the people mentioned as memorable was a young lass called Louise Royle - who just happened to be the younger sister of Melissa's mother. Sadly Louise died six weeks before her marriage and we were recalling how impressive she had been as a young person.
I also spent some time with the new Divisional Commanders of The Salvation Army in Tasmania - Majors Peter and Sandra Callander. It was good to be representing the Christian Churches in Tasmania at this important event for the Army in Tasmania.
It is a long drive back to New Norfolk after an evening meal but I wouldn't have missed Denis' party for the world - there were some really great people there and it was good to reconnect with some old friends, many of whom I hadn't seen for some time.
Saturday, 5th
Today I worked on the Graham Family web site for a good part of the morning before heading down to Bellerive to drop off some information for Melissa in preparation for her wedding ceremony. After chatting to both Melissa and her mother I headed off to call into Graham Family and obtain some further photos for the web site.
Lunch at Lenah Valley was a grand celebration for Denis on the eve of his 60th which I am sure he will celebrate with great joy tomorrow at Mass with his people. There were a good number of priests with both Archbishops in attendance to mark the day.
I visited Kati & Linda for a coffee and enjoyed a great chat with them - I also received a belated birthday present - a signed Menu from Stephanie Alexander's Richmond Hill restaurant courtesy of Nicky Dunn who is working there. I was also impressed by the renovations that have taken place in their kitchen - it is looking really good.
A quick visit to say hello to Dad and Mum after their trip to NSW and then back home for Mass and an early night. I'm starting to worry that I am needing so many early nights - if I read the signs correctly it means that I am long overdue for a holiday but I'm not certain when I will be able to take one.
Sunday, 6th (Fathers Day)
I must be getting more and more tired because I completely failed to mention Father's Day at last night's Vigil Mass nor at the 9am Mass today. The first time I really remembered was at Ouse and there were no Fathers present.
I called to see a young couple about the baptism of their child which we will celebrate at Ouse on the first weekend in November before heading back to New Norfolk to help Greg Hudson celebrate his 50th birthday. I think that he was just a little bit overwhelmed as everyone started arriving - and continued to arrive throughout the afternoon.
I arrived home in time to finish the last part of the Graham Family Home Pages
which you can check by clicking here and seeing what I have been doing.
After the evening Mass my friend Anna arrived to complete some work on her assignments and we managed to get most of it completed and she went off a little bit happier.
My early night wasn't quite a early as I would have liked but at least I felt that a good night's sleep was on the way as I headed for my bed.
Monday, 7th
After finishing the counting and processing the material from our Thanksgiving Program I headed up to town to wish Greg Hudson happy 50th. He seemed in good form but said that if he had had a choice it would have been completely low key.
When I arrived home the plumber was at work fixing some of the old pipes in my end of the house and I now have water which flows quickly rather than dribbles.
We have finally managed to order the material for our puddings and we will collect the lot on Thursday afternoon or I will start today and get some things first. The big day is Friday so there is some work to get completed before then.
I also found out that my wine order had had a hold order placed on it - something about the address and so there had been a hold up - for the past two months. Not very happy about that but sadly there was not much I could do.
Later in the afternoon I went for a drive just to see some of the areas of the Parish and put names to some of the people who lived in the area. Then back for tea and preparing for Theresa & Glenn and their marriage preparation.
My early night actually occurred and I was in bed, for some reading, at 9pm so I can't have been too bad.
Tuesday, 8th
Today would have been the 50th Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of Archbishop Sir Guilford Young, who was Archbishop of Hobart from 1954 until his death in 1988. He was made a bishop at the tender age of 34 and lived here in Tasmania for 34 years. His death was a great loss to us as priests and a sadness for all Tasmanians.
After Mass this morning I wandered up to the local Police Station where a Public Meeting was held to discuss issues facing the community. Sadly, as frequently happens, the issues which we could deal with were lost in the big political issues of Police manning and a better deal when offenders get to court. Hopefully a small group might meet and attempt to present something positive to the local community as so much of what is happening on the town at the moment seems tinged with a negative flavour.
After the meeting I arrived home via visiting a few people on the town in time for lunch. After lunch and some work on the newsletter I went visiting, taking Holy Communion to some of the Parishioners who have been sick and not able to get to Mass. Another couple of visits before I headed home in time to make some phone calls and do some more work before my couple came for Marriage Preparation.
After they left I had a quiet cuppa and then headed for bed.
Wednesday, 9th
Today ended up being a busy day although I didn't manage to complete all the work I had hoped to tackle during the morning. This will mean that tomorrow I will have a deal more to attempt prior to our Pudding cook off on Friday.
After Mass I was in contact with Telstra regarding my application for transfer of my mobile phone account to the Catholic Church Plan - nothing seems to have happened yet regarding that and I'm still waiting for the faxed material that was supposed to have arrived today - but hasn't.
I caught up with Greg Hudson and two of the Graham Family Staff today and got some pictures for their web page before heading into the main office later in the day to get other staff photo's. I also made a trip down to Sandy Bay to catch up with a widow to finalise some details regarding a request from her husband for their son.
Having completed that I headed off to North Hobart for a coffee before chairing the Tasmanian Council of Churches Executive meeting. It was another interesting meeting with some areas of concern and lively discussion regarding various aspects of the work of the Churches in their various endeavours and efforts.
After the meeting it was a quick drive home (keeping to the speed limit) to do a little bit of work before heading off to bed.
Thursday, 10th
The preparing of the lemon rind and the juicing of the lemons had started as I headed off to my meeting with the New Norfolk Christian Leaders Association this morning. I was really pleased to see some ladies there as the little things that need to get done before the puddings can be made are the things that take the most time. I've checked all the boilers and given them a good clean so they are ready for the new day.
After the meeting I collected the alcohol for the puddings and that put a dent in the finances. By the time I had finished later in the day we had spent almost $1500 but hopefully we have enough to see us through with the ingredients and materials for presentation.
The NNCLAss meeting was an interesting meeting - there were only three of us there but we had a good discussion about some of the issues that are effecting our communities and we are hopeful that something can be done.
My late afternoon was spent preparing the fruit, soaking it in alcohol and adding the lemon rind and juice. I also spent time organising the spices and some of the other ingredients into their correct weights and yet there is still a little more to be done tomorrow so hopefully everything will go well.
To see how successful we've been don't forget to call back tomorrow.
Friday, 11th
Well, it's started. The big Christmas Pudding effort is on the way. Today was a great day with 10 people wandering around in the house doing things to assist in the making of the puds.
We have a real sense of team work because we are able to get everything running smoothly quickly. Two people in the kitchen mixing the eggs, butter and sugar. People flouring the bags in the main assembly area until the first mixture arrived and then we got going.
One person got the measuring bowls prepared (and kept them ready) whilst two workers put the mixture into the containers, one finished them of by packing them down tightly and then they arrived on my table to have the weight checked before I handed them off to two others who were packing them down again, tying of the bags and getting them ready for the boilers.
By 9.40am we had the first 56 + in and started and by 10.30 the next 56 were ready for cooking as soon as the first batch were removed. We then started work on preparing the ingredients for Monday and Day 2 of our cooking spree.
By 1.50pm I had all the first lot out and the second 56 were in and cooking away. We only lost one to water damage from the first batch so I immediately broke it down into the 150 gram size for individual serves and put them back into cook for another 90 minutes and now they are ready for a 30 second microwave and tasting. The last batch was out by 6.30pm so I headed for a shower and then off to Lenna for the meal with Pat & Judy and Catholic Church Insurances.
It was a great night with 6 of the CCI staff and partners joining 13 Tasmanians (8 couples & 5 priests) to thank Pat for his 29 years of service to CCI in Tasmania. It was a great night of stories and laughter and fine food and wine.
We were also able to meet the new staff and their wives so all round it was a good night. I thought it best if I stayed in town instead of driving to this page is just a little bit late getting uploaded but when you are having fun - enjoy.
Saturday, 12th
After breakfast with my friends I arrived home and started work on all the things that needed to be completed for yesterday's web pages as well as the newsletter for the web. I managed to complete it all before the Baptism so I was quite pleased with myself.
After I had finalised some paperwork I headed off to Sandy Bay for lunch and smiled as five of my compatriots at the dinner on Friday night wandered in looking just a little bit tired! The meal was another pleasant event with a lot of sharing about what has been happening during this past week. We were given the news that Iris Kennedy, mother of one of our priests, Frank Gibson, had died in Queensland earlier in the morning. Frank had been able to get to Brisbane in time to say his goodbye. The funeral is to be on Tuesday in Brisbane.
I visited the Eyles family on the way home in preparation for the baptism of their baby in a few weeks - I have known members of the family for some 30 years so it was worth taking a few minutes to say the extra hello.
Mum and Dad were watching the Commonwealth Games when I arrived - almost the first thing Dad said was that it had been a month and two days without the car and he was surviving - the speed with which he mentioned it makes me wonder however.
From there it was home for some final touches before the evening Mass and, after Mass, some more preparations for the puddings. This time it was only the tying of the string to use to attach to the puddings to allow them to hang to dry. Now to bed and sleep, glorious sleep.
Sunday, 13th
The rain was a welcome presence today as so much of our countryside is almost at summer conditions without any water in the dams and some people above the town water supply already buying water for normal use.
After Mass at New Norfolk I headed for Maydena and saw the ambulance at one of the houses on the way but the paramedics were simply chatting so I didn't stop - I was going to call in on the way home. I later found that it was a transfer of patients and wasn't the person we (Sr. Lorraine & I) had presumed it to be - will still have to follow the person to hospital tomorrow or Tuesday anyway.
After arriving back at New Norfolk I went into Pudding preparation mode and managed to get most things done before my couple arrived. We talked about some of the issues they were concerned about but have still to be able to arrange the time as the date they wish to marry on already has two weddings booked in and one of the weddings will needed to be moved before we can manage. It will be a big ask to approach either or both couples about this so this coming week will be a little bit difficult to say the least.
After the evening Mass I had a bite to eat and then made some phone calls and received some as well and headed for bed but managed to watch some of the swimming finals and saw three gold medals for Australia.
Monday, 14th
Well, are we good or are we good?
Today's pudding cooking went like a dream - the first batch was in the boilers at 9.30am (just a little ahead of Friday's effort) but everything was finished by 10.00am - yes all the puddings were ready by 10am.
We now have the ingredients for Thursday ready to go, we have the lemons being juiced and they will be added to the fruit tomorrow and the alcohol will go in on Wednesday morning.
The funeral was a little bit scary as there had been a man ringing to learn when the funeral was to be held and since it was a private funeral and the family didn't want him to be there I was a little perturbed that something might happen. Thankfully it did although when he turned up at the graveside I expected something to be said but nothing happened.
There were no couples last evening as I got a phone call to say that Nathan had to work so I was able to get the second batch of puddings out without any time pressure. It also gave me time to do some work with the other puddings and tidy up the hanging area to get a better balance.
Tuesday, 15th
Getting out of bed to prepare my page this morning wasn't too bad - I knew that it was cool but didn't think too much more about it. I collected the paper and settled down to have a bite to eat after I had prayed in the house ( I thought that the Church would be too cold) and then headed for the shower. It wasn't until I was repairing some of the puddings from yesterday that I looked out the kitchen window and noticed that the snow was at it's lowest level for this year - and it didn't get any better all day.
There was also a little bit of tidying up in the lounge after the Pudding cook yesterday so that we could have the supper after Mass tonight - i.e.. we forgot about the supper and left all the ingredients and everything else just sitting round on the tables ready for Thursday. Packing everything into the corner reminded everyone of the effort needed to make the whole process a success.
After arranging to see some people who might be able to use some puddings for us I called into see one of our parishioners recently returned from hospital. Unfortunately she wasn't home but I caught up with her later in the day.
I finished the report for the Archbishop and after three or four phone calls between his office and myself we finalised the material that I was presenting for his draft.
I was about to visit a family regarding a baptism when Dan McMahon (PP of Bridgewater) and Andrew Murphy (Seminarian) arrived. Shared a cup of coffee with them as just as they were about to leave a friend from Glenorchy days arrived. We all chatted for some time and my appointment time rapidly went out the window - I arrived over an hour late but the family were very understanding of my predicament.
I arrived back just in time to put the heaters in the Church on to take some of the chill of the air - a forlorn hope as it had been cold all day. There was a goodly number of people at Mass and almost all of them arrived over for supper which was really good. I had also received a number of apologies from people because of the type of night. I can only hope that it will be better tomorrow.
Wednesday, 16th
After not checking to see what the weather was like yesterday almost my first move for the morning was to look out the window and check the level of snow cover. Thankfully it was no worse than yesterday so hopefully the trip to Ouse later in the day will be without drama.
There were a few things that I completed on the Pudding front - I sent order forms to all the Southern Tasmanian Parishes and, later when I was in town, dropped some forms off at the Catholic Bookshop to see what might happen.
The Mass and lunch at Ouse was a wonderful celebration and people seemed quite happy that we have been able to get to the country for Mass. Hopefully there will be other occasions in the not too distant future.
When we returned from Ouse I replied to a couple of phone calls that had been received whilst I was away and then headed off for my haircut. Whilst sitting in the chair the phone rang and I was asked if I were available to celebrate a child's funeral on Friday - more about that during the next two days.
A visit to the undertakers, the Navy Club and the Bookshop before arriving at Glenorchy to assist some friends on a presentation which is to be given at a meeting in the next few days. I am pleased that people feel comfortable asking me to help them.
After a meal I headed home and then got ready for bed - catching up with the Commonwealth Games along the way.
Thursday, 17th
The pudding's went well this morning although there is still some work to be done before I am happy about the final quality of the finished product. I expect that because I am a perfectionist I will have to convince everyone else that we still need to do more to get the process right. We had a flying start with a two of us getting the first batch ready before anyone else had arrived. The whole lot was finished by 10am so we've got that part down pat - solve one other problem and we will be laughing.
After Mass I worked on the newsletter and then went off to judge a cake competition for the local Anglican Church, raising monies for the PNG victims of their floods. It was an interesting afternoon's activity and a good sign of the unity which exists within the town.
I then went to town to be with the family of baby Samara Farrell-Wolf whose funeral I will be celebrating tomorrow. It was a difficult time for all involved and I'm just a little bit concerned about what is going to happen tomorrow at the funeral.
Back home to unload the big pud's which had been cooked for 8 hours - they came out better than all the rest so maybe we need to extend the cooking time for all of them [part of the problem/ part of the solution?]
This was followed by the arrival of a friend who had asked me to help with the printing of some memorial cards for her mother - we had done the first batch some time ago and this was some as a follow-up.
She had no sooner left than the first people for the Parish Pastoral Council arrived - and by the time the meeting was finished (with some good outcomes) it was time to get the last lot of puddings for the day out of the boilers. Not cooked long enough and will probably need more time to finish them off.
The PPC decided to inform the Parish that there will only be two Masses at New Norfolk of a weekend and that Saturday is now my official day off. The Mass times to take effect from the first Sunday of Daylight Saving. A letter is to be included with this week's newsletter from the Chairman of the Council.
Finally to bed! And for my good deeds throughout the day - including my eating cake in the afternoon - there was no tea for me - I had completely forgotten to eat.
Friday, 18th
Today was a long and hard day. After Mass I completed some work on the newsletter and also finished my preparations for Samara's funeral. The little booklet I did for them contained all the prayers that were part of the ceremony so that they might be able to follow what happened when they have a chance to look back at the whole day.
After the funeral I arrived home for just a short time before heading back to town for the 60th birthday celebratory Mass for the Catholic Book Centre.
Just as we were about to go onto the altar the Archbishop spoke to me about someone who had been impressed by something I had done or said at a funeral - but couldn't remember any details so left me completely up in the air about the whole thing.
After the supper I headed home and to bed and very tired little fellow and hoping that tomorrow isn't too big a day.
Saturday, 19th
I have finally managed to download the Screenthemes files for Space Shuttle and Sports in Motion. I'm not sure exactly how many times I have tried but it has finally all come together.
After spending too much time on that process I missed getting to Ed Campion's talks which was disappointing. I did manage to get to see the Graham's at Wrest Point and the Retirees Expo. Millingtons & Turnbull Family (the other major Funeral Directors) were also there and I had a chat with them.
Lunch at Sandy Bay was good with arrangements for the next three months of lunches finalised. I will be sending that material out tomorrow afternoon. It was the last day that Andrew Murphy was with us before returning to Rome to continue his studies. Also, + Adrian Doyle was with us - he heads off tomorrow to lead a pilgrimage along the footsteps of St Paul. Smiley (Fr Phil McCormack) is also on the tour but as a pilgrim so it will be good company for Adrian.
Mum and Dad are reasonably well and didn't seem to have too many complaints so a brief cuppa with them and then back on the road to finish off the material for the weekend.
There were less than 20 at Mass tonight, sadly going a little further towards justifying the Mass Time change which will see the Saturday Vigil Mass disappearing from our Calendar within three weeks.
After Mass it was off to the Davis' for a meal with the Murrays, the Vouts and Emma who was in fine form although I think Damian might have wished her to be a little less active but kids will be kids.
Now for bed - what a wonderful thought.
Sunday, 20th
Today has been a long day. After the dinner last night I was already tired and because there were only small numbers at Mass and the energy level was low celebrating was not easy. Funnily enough it was at Hamilton where there only 5 people that I felt the best.
The mad rush down to Glenorchy for Emily's 18th brunch was worth it although I was only able to stay for a short time. Then it was back to New Norfolk for Corey Bowden's baptism and afternoon tea with the family before arriving back for the evening Mass.
After Mass I tried to write a note to go with some flowers that are going to (Sr.) Gay Morgan who has just been elected Congregational Leader of the Presentation Sisters in Tasmania. She has been a close friend for 21 years and has been part of a group of five who have regularly gathered to celebrate birthdays, and just about anything else you might think of.
Now to bed and an early night - what a pleasant thought.
Monday, 21st
The final major day arrived and with a couple of new team members I was hopeful that our 'air in the bag' puddings might be down to a minimum. The team settled in well and finished the first batch in good time and when they went into the water there was very little air. It was a good day as we only lost one to a burst bag although I'm uncertain how well all the smaller ones cooked so I'm putting one in for two hours to see if it is finished off properly.
The team then set to work to re-bag all the other small puddings and they are now waiting to go into the water for an extra two hours to complete their pre finishing off time.
I had a visit from Frs. Terry Southerwood (PP of Bellerive) and Frank Crowley (a visiting US priest) late in the afternoon - thankfully just after a group of puddings had gone into the water so I was able to entertain them without any difficulty.
Then my couple arrived and we went through the next stage of our marriage preparation program. It was an easy night - tomorrow night will not be so simple but you can read about that elsewhere.
I've just removed the final puddings and prepared the boilers for the second boilings tomorrow morning. It's quite late but I'm hoping to get a good nights sleep.
Tuesday, 22nd
What a long day!
I've put 4 lots of puddings through for their second cooking and they have turned out excellently - I have no problems offering them for sale now. I still have two batches to re-cook tomorrow so it will have to be an early start to get them finished by lunchtime.
I called down to school to answer some questions from the Prep children - they were really lovely. I'll see them again in a week or two as they come up to the Church to have a look around the building and ask some more questions.
After lunch I started some work on this weekends newsletter and before I knew it there was the telelink with 8 people from the rural part of the parish. The area of discussion was my role as a Naval Chaplain and the link with the USS John C Stenniss which visited Hobart in August.
After sharing with them some of my memories of the trip I also shared some of my own experiences as a chaplain with the RAN and all that that has involved. In the process I remembered that I am eligible for the RFD - Reserve Forces Decoration - for having completed 15 years of continuous Reserve service so will have to make some moves towards acquiring that medal.
In between everything else I am changing the puddings which has taken almost an hour each time so I have been kept busy all day. There have been some that needed repairing and re bagging for water damage but only three suffered the ultimate fate - they are now 150g puddings.
Then my couples started arriving - on the hour for three hours. The last guys have just left (at 8.30pm) so I am ready for bed and only hope that I can sleep without any difficulty because tonight I need it.
Wednesday, 23rd
This morning at 7.30am there was a knock at the door and the electrician had arrived to do some work on the light in the porch - he not only fixed the globes but lowered the light so that it is now within reach.
The rest of the puddings have been in and out for their finishing off and everything is looking good. I'm not sure whether I counted correctly but I thought that I had put two batches of 13 puddings each into the final two boilers - when we went to get them out there was only nine in one. I really can't imagine four puddings being taken out of boiling water and kidnapped but ...
All of this was happening whilst I was working (via teleconference) with the other Tasmanians attending the National Council of Churches Forum next week. We were looking at ways to ensure that there was some Tasmanian representation on Commissions for the coming two years.
After lunch I headed for town to set up an internet connection for one of the priests but there is a hardware conflict within his system and I don't want to be dealing with that sort of thing so I let it go and suggested he see a computer person to have it checked out.
I arrived home to do some background reading for the School Board meeting before dashing back here for a couple for marriage preparation. We finished off the paperwork for them and made arrangements for them to return when they had completed the pro forma for their booklet and we would sign everything off.
I then checked out some details of the Sydney part of the meeting next week to ensure I knew where to go. I'll be sending an e-mail to my brother shortly to give him flight details and to ensure that I get picked up. I also rang some other friends and managed to make tentative arrangements for seeing them next weekend.
Now to bed and hopefully a good night's sleep although with everything else that's going on I'm not holding my breath.
Thursday, 24th
I visited the Diet Factory today and we've got an order for 100 x 100g puddings for their Christmas hampers so that can't be too bad. A little change to the wording and they are happy.
The Christian Leaders meeting this morning was a good meeting with input from Mary Semple who recently attended a gathering in Canberra on Youth Suicide. Some of the initiatives being tried by people throughout Australia have the potential for working here so we will see what can be done.
I visited school after Mass and spent some time with one of the staff working through some issues that are effecting her and her family.
Then waiting for me back at the house were a couple who will be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary in three weeks time. We made the arrangements to ensure that a booklet can be produced whilst I am away.
Then I headed down the road to see the family of the late Kevin Walker and to meet Mrs Walker and her children. We spent time working through the details for the booklet for Kevin's Funeral which we will celebrate on Saturday.
I then checked back with Greg Hudson to let him know that the visit had been successful and see whether any other things needed to be done.
Back home to work on the newsletters for this week and next week as well. Then a bite to eat before my couple arrived for marriage preparation. I actually fell asleep in front of the TV and nearly missed them ringing the front doorbell.
After they left I worked on my pages for a short time and now to bed.
Friday, 25th
After Mass this morning there were a couple of quick things I had to do but they slowed down for a while as I was able to enjoy setting up Sr. Lorraine's mobile phone options. Her father is seriously ill at the moment and there are many occasions when she is away from her phone but still needs to be contacted - so a mobile is an option.
I then called down to see the Walker family with the draft of the funeral leaflet and chatted with them for a while. I had learnt just a little earlier that Mrs Walker is my brother-in-law's aunt so it pays to be careful.
Round to school and then to see Dick & Nancy Shepherd but they were out. Then off to the Bank to get a bank order for one of the Sick & Retired Priests Benefits to be sent overseas. Back home again there was plenty of work to get finished as I organised the quarterly cheques to be sent out.
There was also material for ITIM and the parish to be finalised so all that happened as well. Back to the Post Office and a quick visit to see Greg Hudson re the funeral and back home.
The newsletter is now finalised and ready for printing and next week's is also well prepared. Just as I started printing however I remembered that I hadn't completed the summary of the PPC minutes to go with the Calendar so back to the computer to try and get finished before the ITIM Teleconference.
Everything started happening at once as I managed to juggle three or four things to get the work completed. After the conference I had 10 minutes before I was to be collected to go to the RSL Annual Dinner at Maydena - thankfully they had arranged a bus which made life a lot easier.
The night wasn't too long but I made the mistake of turning the TV on and watched some of an AFL grand final game which meant that it took me longer to head for bed than I really needed. But I'm looking forward to a good nights sleep.
Saturday, 26th (AFL Grand Final Day)
Today was a different day. I celebrated the funeral of the late Kevin Walker this morning and returned with the family to their home after the completion of the ceremony at the cemetery. We are almost related - well at least by Marriage - my sister is married to Flo Walker's nephew.
I then headed home to complete the work for the final of our Vigil Masses and had everything set up before visiting the Hudson family to watch the Grand Final with them - I was supporting the Adelaide Crows against the North Melbourne Roos because I dislike Adelaide less than I dislike the Roos (or their captain Wayne Carey).
Any way the Crows won and I felt happy about that. It was also great because a good friend won the $250 prize for holding the ticket for the winning margin in the Grand Final.
After Mass I did a little bit of work and now I am heading for bed and hopefully a good nights sleep. I think I'll need it because next week is going to be a long week.
Sunday, 27th
An early morning (unneeded - I just woke early) meant that I was not functioning at my best all day. Mass this morning went longer than usual which meant that I was late heading off the Ellendale for the Country Mass. There was another reason for the longer Mass - the children of the Parish who are to make their First Communion in November entered the formal part of their preparation with their enrolment at Mass today.
The Ellendale people are terrific - even though they are not getting any younger (who is?) they are in the final stages of their Fair work and going strong.
After Mass I arrived home to complete some more work before heading over to the Church for a Baptism. On the way home I had remembered that today was Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary so after the Baptism I jumped in the car and headed for Claremont to spend a little bit of time with them. I hadn't been there very long when the phone went and I was asked had I forgotten the Baptism.
Stupidly (and tiredly) I had not gone one step further when preparing for the first Baptism and had not noted that there were two today and so I had to make quick dash back to New Norfolk from Claremont. I should have known that there could have been a problem because the same couple had been badly treated at a previous Baptism and a lot of rebuilding had had to take place - thankfully not my fault last time but not good anyway. When I told them it my parents wedding anniversary I was forgiven and we got on with the celebration which turned out to be a wonderful time.
After the evening Mass I headed over to St Paul's Uniting Church for the Ecumenical Service. There weren't a huge number of people there but it was a joyous occasion.
Sadly, I didn't stay because I needed to be home to finish packing and get as much completed as I could so I can get away tomorrow for the trip to Sydney.
This will be the last of the September story as I will not be back in New Norfolk until the 5th October.
There will be a special page telling the story of the Sydney trip when I get back so call back and read what I got up to in Sydney.
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