Daily Notes & News
The Month of December, 1998
Tuesday, 1st
Welcome to December when it all gets more busy than usual.
Today was a fast start day because immediately after Mass I headed down to school to be part of the celebration of the blessing of the Advent Wreaths the classes will be using during this month in their class prayer.
Then it was back home to collect the orders for the morning teas for tomorrow and collect some food from the supermarket to make the cakes and scones that are my contribution.
In the afternoon I made the sponges and saw a couple re their child's baptism before heading into town to see my parents as well as attending the mass for Peter Addicoat's Silver Jubilee of Ordination. The supper afterwards was a great celebration enjoyed by a goodly number of priests and religious of the Archdiocese and friends of Peter's who had travelled to Hobart for the occasion.
Now it is off to bed and an early rise tromorrow for the morning teas.
Wednesday, 2nd
Forget the pudding mixture - that will happen in the future. This morning we have had our business morning tea and it was all ready for delivery by 9am. The team are brilliant - they are basically the same people who have been working on the Christmas Pudding team and I think that I'd like to name them all.
Of course there is Ruby Hudson (my great aunt and the Parish Housekeeper), Nancy Shepherd, Margaret Davis, Jan Davis, Frances Freeman, Pauline Ackerly, Zelda Wright, Harry Cowling, Molly McCauley, Beryl Judges, John & Alice Maher and Debbie Howe arrived late. That doesn't include some wonderful people who dropped off food from 7am on wards.
By the time we had cleaned up and collected the mail and sorted a few things out for the rest of the day it was time for Mass. Immediately after Mass I spent time with a former parishioner who had called in to collect some Christmas Puddings and wanted to chat about some issues facing the family. It was good to catch up with some of the things effecting them and share some memories.
She hadn't long gone when another family arrived and talked about the issues facing their child as they finish school and move into the workplace and what is happening to them as a family during this time.
As they left I kept thinking about my diary at St Joseph's and hoping that I would have a chance to call in to collect it as well as visiting my parents to drop off the puddings to them before going to the Derwent Entertainment Centre for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics.
Well I managed to do all of the visits as well as see some people at Glenorchy about arrangements for charing some Christmas cheer.
The Opening Ceremony was brilliant although many of the athletes had been without water for some time some the St John Ambulance staff and the young Police who were part of the support team were kept very busy providing glasses of water to thirsty people. The is a great spirit amongst them and I wish them all the best for these next few days of their endeavours.
Now to bed for tomorrow there are more morning teas to fix before 9.30am so again we're into fundraising mode.
Thursday, 3rd
There was a slight hiccup regarding the morning teas for the Royal Derwent Hospital but in the end everything worked well. Immediately after I had delivered the material the meeting for the Christian Leaders Assosiation started so all morning was completely busy.
After lunch I visited some people and arranged for a Baptism in a few weeks time. Then I prepared some Christmas Cards for the retired priests of the Archdiocese and will post them tomorrow.
I slowed down later this afternoon because I was trying to complete the work of the marriage papers for the two couples this evening. I did, they came and we seemed to be a little bit happy with the way things went.
Now for bed.
Friday, 4th
This evening ended quite nicely as we celebrated the birthday of Lady Jane Franklin (208 years since her birth) at the University College named after her. There were gathered a colection of Fellows, members of the College Council and Vacation Tutors to enjoy what is traditionally the end of year dinner for many of the people who contribute to the life of the College and who work to ensure it's place as a college of excellence within the University of Tasmania.
Earlier I had visited Graham Family Funerals to see the almost completed extensions - the work has proceeded wonderfully and there are simply a few minor things to be done but everything is looking good. We also talked about the service of blessing for the small event that is to be held there next Saturday prior to their Christmas drinks and lunch for the many people who are part of their story.
The newsletters have been completed and I will post the internet edition tomorrow morning when this is put onto the web. The newsletters, like everything else today, have come together easily and so I'm wondering what I have left out - I'm not sure if I have but I'm certain that I'll find out soon enough.
Saturday, 5th
Thank God cooking for the clergy Christmas/end-of year dinner only happens once a year. Today has been so busy with just the effort of producing the meals in my small kitchen when the equipment and everything else is just normal sized.
There were 17 of us for the meal - with the two Archbishops in Rome at the Synod, Terry Rush in Turkey with his brother touring, Joe Martens & Dan McMahon interstate and Phil Green with a funeral followed by a wedding - the number was a little down on usual.
The meal itself and the company was grand with lot's of laughter. They really are a great bunch and were more than helpful with the cleaning up - although there are still some things to get done in the morning.
After they had all gone and I'd done some work I went and sat down for awhile and woke up some time later - and then decided that I fix this page and then head for bed and an early night because I think I need it.
Sunday, 6th
The trip back from Ouse after Mass today was quite hairy - we had really high winds which made driving a bit hazardous and the little red light on my dash tellimg me thast I was almost out of fuel was flashing from the time I left Hamilton - the last place before New Norfolk where there is petrol. By the fact that I am here you know that I made it but there was very little in the tank when I filled up.
The other thing that through me was the fact that I was late all day - or at least running and putting myself under pressure to get to where I was supposed to be. The baptisms, although here at New Norfolk, were too close together by the time people arrived (some of them late), they left and the next group arrived and so by the time my 4pm appointment arrived I was not really able to focus too well on what was happening.
After the visit I immediately sent off an e-mail to learn some further details regarding the problem and will now have to wait and see what transpires.
Thankfully, after Mass tonight I have been able to sit down and go quietly for a little bit before I head for bed - and hopefully a better night's sleep.
Monday, 7th
As part of our banking today we started to pay into our parish account profits from the Christmas Puddings - if all goes well it is a minimum of $1500 with a possible profit of $2000 which isn't bad for the work that is involved.
I spent some time at school working out what things I need to bring with me for the end of year Mass tomorrow night as well as getting some information I needed about some families who have asked for references for Secondary schools for their children.
After lunch I went to town to drop off some letters
Tuesday, 8th
Today has gone well, or at least until right at the end but more about that later.
After Mass this morning I took Communion to some elderly parishioners before heading off to school to get my instructions about what I needed to do for the Mass this evening.
Then it was off to town to drop off part of a Navy Dress Uniform that I had borrowed some time back, to collect some books from the Catholic Book Centre, drop one off to a couple as they complete the arrangements for their marriage and then call into Graham's for any further changes that needed to be made for the booklet for the opening of the extensions on Saturday.
Just as I was driving out of Graham's to come home I remembered that I had missed calling into to see a young husband who's wedding I had done a few backs for some information that I had failed to record.
Finally I headed home to get ready for the Mass which was a great celebration - the rain stayed away, the sun shone but the wind blew - one of these years we will get it all together.
After a brief supper with the staff I headed home to spend some time with John Roach who was here with some classes from the Primary school at Rosebery (part of the West Coast Parish). We hadn't been home long when I got called out to visit a young fellow who is struggling with the break up of his marriage and some work problems. I'm certain that he will be part of what is happening over the next few days so you can see how he goes in the days to come.
Now to bed and hopefully a decent night's sleep.
Wednesday, 9th
I was late waking this morning and that threw me for the rest of the morning. My early morning visitor arrived just on 7am so we got on the phone to the ITIM chaplain and started the process of contacting people to get help for him. I had a visit at tea time tonight from the chaplain and he gave me an update on all that had happened and things look a lot better today than they have for some little time.
John Roach headed off down to school to be with the chn from Rosebery to see how they had managed to survive the night. Since I didn't hear back from him I can only expect that they survived.
After Mass I worked on some of this weekend's newsletter and the PPC minutes from the previous meeting for both the internet and the parish newsletter.
I also saw my young mother during the afternoon (and the chaplain as I mentioned above). There was a phone call to go and see a guy at the Hospital so I managed to fit a few things into the afternoon before the Parish Pastoral Council meeting last evening which looked at how we have managed to survive during 1998.
We've just finished supper and now it is bed time.
Thursday, 10th
Well today didn't go exactly as planned. I started the puddings early but found that making them (the 100gm size) took much longer than anticipated and the cooking of them as small puddings was not as successful as I had hoped. This means that they will have to have further cooking tomorrow so that they are ready for final packaging on Monday.
I managed to help a parishioner with some details for installing a program on her computer - it isn't easy going back to a Windows 3.1X to work things out but it seems to be working alright.
This afternoon I visited some parishioners regarding arrangements for Christmas before getting ready to join the Gr 6 class for their Leavers Dinner. Sadly I was only able to be there for a short time before heading off to the final meeting of the Council of Jane Franklin Hall for 1998.
I finished this page and now it is off to bed because I think that I might also be involved in placing the Christmas lights on the tree outside the Church tomorrow morning and it might be a long day.
Friday, 11th
Today was a scorcher which makes many of the things I did today a miss-match of events taking place hoping to get everything completed in time.
I prepared the bags for the second boiling of the puddings and it took almost as long as the first preparations. Then we got the Christmas lights ready for the tree outside the church and Aurora, the power company, kindly provided one of their cherry pickers to come and install the lights.
Then I worked on the newsletter and some of the final details of the Christmas Pudding deliveries to school before having a bite to eat. Then I completed the small puddings and made sure that we were heading in the right direction with the right number of puddings for our orders.
Then a quick visit to Mum and Dad on the way to ensure that everything was OK at Grahams for the opening of the extensions tomorrow. After chatting with the staff and everyone there I drove Ann into the Catholic Development Fund's end of year function.
A pleasant event and an opportunity to ensure that the final small pud's are now delivered to the appropriate parishes for distribution. Ann and I talked for awhile outside the office before I headed home to do some work - tidying up the pud's - before attempting to get some sleep.
Saturday, 12th
Well today was successful - at least as far as the celebrations at Graham's for the opening and blessing of their extensions and the garden party which followed were concerned. Everything went really well and although the weather wasn't as kind as it should have been the day was very enjoyable.
The day started badly however because of the hot night and the fact that I woke at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up and started working - I managed to download the latest update of Vet at 3.30am - as well as finish off some of the other little jobs that needed doing. I've just remembered that I haven't uploaded (or completed for that matter) the newsletter for this weekend so will get onto that tomorrow sometime.
I visted some people on the way home from Graham's and dropped off some of the small pud's that were not ready at the time of the first delivery. That is the bulk of that completed and there are only the mini pud's to be finished - hopefully they will be done by Monday.
Now for bed and, hopefully, a better night's sleep than last night.
Sunday, 13th
Today has ended very differently to what I expected at the start of the day.
I intended to get the mini puddings into the boilers after Mass here at New Norfolk - that meant that I had to turn them on before Mass and I forgot. So when I returned from Maydena I put them on and added the puddings before going to the Cathedral to celebrate Callum Davis' baptism. When I returned they were ready so they came out of the water, I checked them for any damage and have hung them out to dry before they get put into calico tomorrow morning.
I also managed to see the patient in the hospital who is really struggling at the moment and there was one or two tense moments before he quietened down.
After Mass this evening I called to see a family who had invited me to join them for a BBQ tea but because I was late they were up to dessert and so I joined in at the end. I stayed and chatted for a while befor heading home.
I had not been here too long when the phone rang and my young friend from the other night was in difficulties again so I had to head out to spend some time with him, his girlfriend and his parents. Hopefully life will be better for him tomorrow but I'll have to be in touch to make sure.
Now to bed - and I've just found out that the musical program I wanted to video tape on the Christmas celebrations from St David's Cathedral in Hobart did not tape because I had failed to put the machine on timer when I went out in a hurry.
Monday, 14th
Anyone who has been reading this page for the past week or so will be pleased to know that the mini pud's have now been finished and the special order has been delivered. I've also dropped off many of the other local orders and now there are just a few which need to be followed up. After today we are down to just 1 large pudding and 7 medium sized with a number of mini pud's left. Ruby and I will be using some of these as Christmas presents for friends and parishioners who have been helpful during the past year.
The wrapping of the puddings into their calico covers however took most of this morning. This meant that I missed catching up with members of staff at school so I will have to get there tomorrow to finalise details for the children's/family Mass at Christmas. I did, however, manage to catch up with the children at their picnic at the Esplanade for lunch.
Dropping off the puddings to various places around the town, including the major order for NuShape Foods was a satisfying conclusion to some hard work over the past few days.
I returned home to do some work on the reconciliation service for Ellendale this evening and New Norfolk tomorrow before spending a little bit of time working on some Christmas cards which I have not really done anything about yet. Thankfully I will be able to send some of my Christmas greetings as e-mails this year.
I was working away when I got a phone call asking me to celebrate the funeral for Belinnda Maher, a young girl killed in a car accident on Saturday evening. I called to see the family briefly this afternoon to arrange to see them at some time tomorrow. It was sad to see her young son who seemed to know so little of what was happening.
From there it was off to the Carols by Candlelight festival although not a large number of people were there early. I managed to learn how to walk, sort of, on stilts and passed on some of my knowledge to the young people who saw us working away.
From there it was off to Ellendale for the Advent Reconciliation service - I've just got back and, I'm happy to say, it was a good night. A bit long getting there because of being stopped for a breathalyser test at Westerway and a calf on the road just past Fentonbury but I got there.
Now to bed with the sound of the Carols still wafting up the road from Turriff Lodge - hopefully a good nights sleep for a long day tomorrow.
Tuesday, 15th
After Mass this morning, whilst the fundraising process of the Parish went into Raffle ticket selling mode, I sold some more mini pud's - after I had wrapped them into the calico bags. From there it was down to school to finalise details for next Monday's rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Family Mass.
My 10am appointment didn't arrive so I don't know what his concerns are and will have to wait to see if he contacts me again. I managed to collect a present for the Salvation Army Captains, Steve & Marj Ellis, who have been transferred to Benalla in Victoria, and which will be presented to them at lunch on Thursday after the High School end of year assembly and our final meeting for the year. Well, everyone else will be at the meeting whilst I'm at the funeral.
After lunch I headed for town to catch up with Phil Scanlon at the Education Office for the Sick & Retired Priests Fund, dropped off the Marriage papers at the Births, Deaths and Marriages Office before calling into see Ann Graham after she has been with some staff issues.
Then it was back here for the final preparations for the Advent Reconciliation service which was well attended. I then spent some time with a friend (from another parish) chatting about some mutual concerns we have and which will be ongoing and (basically) unable to be easily solved.
Now for bed.
Wednesday, 16th
After Mass this morning I finished working on Belinda's funeral booklet - but only after agonising over the words of the song that they had wanted to play as we left the Church. When I spoke to the family later in the morning I learnt that they had also had a rethink and are now going to use another song.
Midmorning saw me at the Police Station for a meeting of the New Norfolk Police & Community Consultative group. The meeting was good but covered a lot of old ground - useful to set the scene but hopefully we can get it going in the right direction over the next few months.
I then went ot visit a couple of families but managed to only get to one as when I arrived there was still some tension over my late night visit last Sunday which needed to be dealt with - not the fact that I'd been there but some other issues that had arisen since which are a little bit frightening. I'm sure that there will be more about that in later parts of this & future pages.
I've just arrived home from the Lachlan where we held the final meeting of the School Board at the home of Paul & Gail Cleary. It was a good night and as usual I talked for too long and left later than everyone else. I've just had to make a quick phone call to ask whether they might bring my organiser to school this morning as I left it on the seat in the lounge where we had held the meeting.
Now to bed - tomorrow is going to be a long day.
Thursday, 17th
Today has been a long and hard day. Like almost every occasion when I am concerned about how the day might turn out I wake early and start work when I should be asleep. Today has been no different.
I completed the material for Belinda's funeral and then headed off to the New Norfolk High School for their end of year assembly. Immediately that had concluded I was back here for the funeral - and when I arrived well over 30 minutes before the start there was a huge crowd waiting and it only got bigger.
The Church was packed and there were more outside than in. It was a difficult funeral because so many of the mourners were young people struggling to understand what such a tragic death means.
After the funeral it was time for Mass before heading off towards ton to join the other Christian Leaders for and end of year lunch and farewell to Marj & Steve Ellis, the Salvation Army Officers who transfer to Benalla in January.
From there it was home for a short time before joining the staff of St Brigid's for their end of year dinner. Before I headed out though there were three phone calls - each of which took some time to deal with and which will mean some followup tomorrow or over the weekend.
The staff dinner was great although by the time I arrived home I was exhausted and so I have cheated and am writing this page on Friday morning because I headed off to bed almost as soon as I had walked through the front door - after I had opened it, of course.
Friday, 18th
It was a bit of a relief to be able to go a little slower today after the busyness of yesterday. This morning, after Mass, I actually sat down and had a cup of coffee without thinking that I had to rush to do something immediately.
I managed to visit one of the fellows at the hospital - the other was having treatment - as well as arrange to collect the key for the Chapel so that we can clean it on Monday morning. From there it was a visit to the supermarket before heading down to school to say farewell to the staff before they head off in their different directions for the holidays.
Off to town for lunch with the Glenorchy Police personnel (and other assorted persons) before coming home to finish preparations of the Mass prayers for tomorrow's Silver Jubilee celebrations.
Then, after visiting a family, I sat down and had tea and went to bed early with the hope of having an early night.
Saturday, 19th
What a day!
I was up early to get ready for the Prayer Breakfast at 7.30am - the porridge and the urn needed to be boiling when people arrived. There were not as many people as usual here but none the less the prayer time was well spent.
Then it was off to Glenorchy to drop some things off at the Webb's before arriving at Guilford College for Karen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. Another great moment in the life of the local Church as Dominican Sisters from all over Australia together with religious and laity from the Hobart area celebrated with Mass and a luncheon. There were lot's of stories and laughter as the speeches became, almost, an episode of 'This is your life'. An extremely enjoyable time was had by all.
Then I called to see mum and dad before arriving home to complete the stapling of the Christmas Bowl envelopes to the Newsletters.
Then it was back to town to share an end of year BBQ with the Ken & Phyl Webb and their family, John & Christine Russell & their two, Wendy Bradfield and her partner, Lexie Brereton and Jenny & Laura Searle. A great night was had by all with much laughter and sharing of memories about the 10 years I have known them.
Now to bed to be ready for tomorrow and the running around that makes up a Sunday.
Sunday, 20th
There has been light rain almost all day today - very welcome rain for us here as it has been dry for the past few weeks and everything has changed from green to brown very quickly.
Most things have worked well today - however, I was so tired that I didn't get a chance to visit the Hospital so will have to do that tomorrow after I have finished with the rehearsals and the cleaning at the Hospital chapel.
I've just returned from the Combined Churches Carol Service at St Matthew's Anglican Church. It was another occasion when the local Christian community has shown that it is able to work well together and share in the wonderful mystery of God's people at prayer and at worship.
Monday, 21st
A great little team of cleaners arrived at the Royal Derwent Chapel this morning to prepare the building for the Children's/Family Mass on Christmas Eve. We managed to get everything ship shape by the time the children arrived for their rehearsal so it all went well. There are some things that we will need to do to finalise things but everything seems to be under control.
I stopped off to see some patients of the hospital and managed to upset one of them when I corrected him for his language towards one of the female staff but left before he could get really angry.
I started to cook lunch for some of the people who had been working here on producing the booklet for the Christmas Eve Mass when there was a power failure - thankfully I was not working on any big document left unsaved when it dropped out.
I then took time to finish writing my christmas cards and sent them off; visited Greg in his shop and chatted about some of the recent events at Graham Family and then came home and sat down for ten minutes and promptly dozed off.
The phone rang and I found that I only had 20 minutes before my couple for mariage preparation arrived - luckily one couple had postponed their appointment as I'm not sure what I would have done if I had woken to a couple arriving.
Now off to bed and hopefully a good nights sleep - there won't be too much over these next few days.
Tuesday, 22nd
(Prepared on Thursday morning in case you missed a day and thought something was wrong).
Today was hectic, not from the workload but people calling in to wish us Merry Christmas and stopping to chat - it is an important part of the Christmas story but more than a little time consuming.
During the morning I worked on the newsletter and some of the material for the newsletter for the weekend before trying to get to town to complete my Christmas shopping. Instead of heading off at about 2pm, which would have seen all the jobs done, I celebrated the Baptism of Jessee May Fitzgibbon.
I went over to the family for a few minutes (it was just a few minutes because I got a phone call while I was there asking me to see some people urgently in town. By the time I got to town it was 4.30pm so I had little time to get shopping done so it looks like more work tomorrow.
I arrived at Sandy Bay for the rehearsal which I thought was at 6pm to find that it was 6.30pm. The rehearsal went well so it looks like the celebration on Sunday evening will also go well. While I was waiting I had a chance to speak to Archbishop Doyle about the recent Oceania Synod.
From the rehearsal I called into see Barry & Wendy Turnbull and family at their end of year function. The function had started at 6pm so my arrival saw many of the people already leaving - luckily I haven't got a thin skin or I might have thought they were leaving because I had arrived.
Then it was off to have an end of year supper with my friends from Bellerive days - we first got together almost 20 years ago, not long after I arrived at Bellerive in 1977.
Not too late a night and not too much to drink but I accepted the offer of a bed with some friends at Glenorchy so I got 'home' early - before midnight.
Wednesday, 23rd
Arriving home from my friends home meant that I was a little late starting the day so you now know the excuse for not having Daily Notes & News done yesterday.
After Mass I headed over to the Chapel for the final rehearsal for the children's part of the Mass for Christmas - it looks like it will work well and should be enjoyable. After Mass I went with Sr Janet down to the school to collect the battery charger for the PA System and we managed to set off the alarm - luckily I had my mobile to contact the security company to let them know that it was alright and not to send anyone over to fix everything.
From there I did some little jobs before arriving home to have lunch with Ruby. I have also been chasing the wine from the Society which has failed to appear - I was supposed to send some off to John Roach in Queenstown so I had to buy another dozen and deliver them to the bus stop for travel on the bus tomorrow morning.
I headed off to town and managed to get everywhere I was supposed to go and even managed to back track a couple of times without being too late getting home to prepare for drinks with some friends - unfortunately it was a little late when they left so Christmas eve is going to be a long day without a lot of sleep to start it with.
Just in case any of them read the page this is who they were: Jenny, Michelle & Laura Searle; Kerry Ross; Carlene Larkin & Lexie Brereton; Kay & Ted Grainger; and later, after she had finished work, Kerry Michalowski. It was a funny night with lot's of laughter and stories as my friendship, with most of them, goes back to Glenorchy days - which isn't that long ago. The house is tidy but there is some washing up to do in the morning so this might be late getting posted to the web depending how I go.
Christmas Eve, 24th
I've managed to get through the day (night as well) but I think that immedieately after lunch tomorrow (Christmas Day) I will be heading for a nap.
There were not a lot of things to do today but everything took time: - from visiting the hospital; checking that banners were in the right positions at the chapel; celebrating a midday mass; printing the outside page of the newsletter for Christmas Day; witnessing the drawing of the raffle winners; delivering some of the prizes; completing and then printing the inside page of the newsletter - with raffle winners included (this edition will not be an interet edition although this web paged posted this week might actually be a combination of the two newsletters for the week); having a shower; heading off to the Chapel to prepare for the Family Mass; cleaning up and removing all the equipment for security purpose; arriving back at the house to find that the bucket holding the Christmas tree has leaked and the lounge carpet is saturated; travelling to Hamilton for the 9.30pm Christmas Mass; arriving back for the midnight Mass followed by supper.
This page is being prepared on Christmas Day because I needed to go to bed last night as I was so tired. Read on for what happend on Christmas Day.
Christmas Day, 25th
The day started early with the supper following the midnight Mass. The supper didn't last too long but as the day had been a long day any late night ws going to make today a long day.
Mass this morning was a normal Sunday morning congregation - which wasn't a bad number. After Mass I went off to take Communion to the Sick but ran into some difficulties. The first lady had already been collected from the home and it took some tracking down before I was able to see her. The next two were almost ready to be collected to go to a friends place for their Christmas lunch and the last lady was in hospital and not going anywhere.
I came back to the Parish House to change into something cooler before heading off to spend Christmas lunch with my family - although not everyone stayed for lunch we were all thhere for some time.
After lunch we made arrangements to gather on Saturday week at my brother Sean's home for a BBQ and a photo of the whole family as this will probably be the last time we are together. When those arrangements had been made I came home to sit down in a comfortable chair before dozed off to sleep and missed whatever I had hoped to see.
Now it is off to bed and Christmas Day 1998 is almost over. I hope that wherever you are in the world you have had a great day and that all the blessings and peace of this day has been yours.
Boxing Day, 26th
Thankfully today has been a quiet day with only two phone calls all day. It gave me a chance to finish off Donna & Glen's Marriage booklet, print the newsletter, publish it to the Web, travel to Ellendale to drop off the Newsletter and calendars for January to Lorraine, wash my car (in the pouring rain - it was so filthy that something needed to happen to it), and fiddle for some time with the printer as my HP printer decided that two way communication with the computer didn't work.
I have not been able to resolve the issue so I still have a problem - luckily I also have a Canon BJ 200ex to use as a printer but it means that Baptismal certificates are only in black & not colour. Tuesday looks like a day when I will be taking the printer to a dealer for some maintenance.
Sunday, 27th
Today was an interesting day. Not too many people at Mass at New Norfolk this morning but a good crowd at Ellendale. During the summer months we will be arranging to have the Ellendale Mass celebrated outdoors so I am looking forward to January's Mass being followed by a BBQ lunch.
A quick trip home in time for the Baptism at 1pm before some final preparations for the wedding at St Canice, Sandy Bay. Sadly the weather has not been too kind today and it rained all through the celebration but people have a great deal of initiative and there were still places where photo's could be taken out of the weather.
The reception was a great event and, if anyone didn't enjoy themselves, then they have a serious problem. I didn't leave too late but had arranged to catch a taxi and stay with friends in town so as not to be driving after having had a drink.
Monday, 28th
It is different spending time with friends and starting the day in a different environment. Normally I potter around and have my own timetable which helps me start the day without struggling to face people before I am really ready - one of the 'advantages/disadvantages (?)' of living by myself. It is good for me to be reminded of the way families live and behave in their own environment when there are no pretences.
I went shopping on my way to lunch and collected a few things including a new pair of shorts to wear during my trip to Sydney which is getting closer by the day. The lunch with Terry & Lillian and friends was another great day and thoroughly enjoyable.
When I got home I had a quiet time; I'm heading off for an early night and hopefully a good sleep. See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, 29th
We did the banking for the Christmas ceremonies and the weekend this morning - our raffle did a little bit better than usual so I think our book-keeper was happy.
Late in the afternoon we also had a Fair committee meeting and finalised some of the details for the fair which is just 4 weeks away. It was good to touch bases with some of the people who work so well for the parish and to be involved in their enthusiasm. One job that I got out of the whole things is to make the Australia Day Cake so will have to get onto that tomorrow.
Then Jamie & Sarah arrived for the final part of their preparation for marriage - the signing off of all the paperwork and the printing of the booklet (draft copy) before the final copy goes to print and to press.
Then it was a quick trip upstairs to see England snatch a win in the fourth test by 12 runs - I wonder what the papers will say tomorrow about that little effort.
Now to bed.
Wednesday, 30th
After Mass this morning we headed over to the Royal Derwent Chapel to clear up the final things from the Christmas Eve Mass. Like a good team we were in and out and everything returned to school within 40 minutes which made me feel good.
Some of the day has been spent trying to remove a demo program from my computer - it has left either a Registry entry or an .ini file in System.ini (which I can't find) and when I need to reboot I have to be on hand to click through it - I suspect that I will be talking to some friends to try to find an answer shortly.
The rest of the day has been spent with a young couple preparing for marriage and completing their paperwork - marriage leaflet included.
Travelled down to Lindisfarne to have an end of year meal with John Williams, John Roach, John Wall & Phil Green. We had a good night and after Greenie left it was me and the 'Johns' - a Mike in the midst of a crowd. With the arrival of Michael Tate to work in the diocese this year I will not be the only Mike after some 15 years by myself.
A quiet trip home with very few cars on the road and into bed shortly will mean that I should be able to start the last day of 1998 with a good sleep and in good form.
Thursday, 31st
The last day of the year has seen a major start to the cleaning up of my office - upstairs has still to happen. A lot of rubbish has been disposed of and some things have been filed although there is still more work to be done there.
It is amazing how much room there is once the junk has been thrown out.
Thursday, 31st
Today I spent most of the day cleaning up what was left of 1998's rubbish - I didn't complete the whole task but I managed to get quite a lot done. The office is now quite tidy, however, there are papers on the table in the big room which need to be filed. I think that what I will do will be to go through them and throw out much of it as I haven't used the material post meetings and to continue to save the stuff is using extra space.
Some friends called in for awhile this evening to wish me Happy New Year on their way to parties but I am so tired that I declined the invitation to attend any parties and will have an early night. I think that I have just admitted that I am getting old in a big way.
I hope that you enjoyed seeing the old year out and new year in and that 1999 will be a great year for you.
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