Daily Notes and News
The Month of November 1999
Monday, 1st
Today is All Saints and a day of remembering the many wonderful men and women who have contributed to the life of the Church down through the ages and to give thanks to God for their witness - both Masses today were well attended for a week day.
There was the usual tidying up after the weekend and some phone calls to make this morning before the first of the Journey Sessions. At noon the team arrived to do some more work on the wrapping of puddings into their calico bags - all of the NuShape puddings are done and a reasonable number of the 900 gm puddings have also been wrapped. There are still another hundred or so to do which we will tackle next Monday - we might be able to get the small ones all finished on Thursday morning but that depends on whether we get the contract for Hayes or not.
I headed for Glenorchy to do a quick job for a friend before coming home to find a message from Bishop Collins of Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese. I had rung last week to see if anyone might like to come to Tassie in June and/or July next year - the time when the Navy want me to work in Nowra to provide chaplaincy for them. He is writing to his men this week and offering the possibility.
There was a good turn up to the second Journey session after the evening Mass tonight and we journeyed through the book of Job - an interesting journey which provided a great deal of discussion. Now for bed.
Tuesday, 2nd
I called to see Dan McMahon at Bridgewater on my way to Sacred Heart for a Mass with the Prep children - they were a little bit fidgety but we managed to keep them aware of what was happening so that turned out well.
I then called to see the people at Graham Family and met Kim, the girl who has taken Julie's place - both Ann and Paul are interstate at the moment so the team is running the show and it seems most things are going well.
From there I headed for town and collected a new graphics program so that I can better co-ordinate the printing of certificates for school - the range of symbols I had available weren't the type suitable for First Eucharist and other things for school. I then stopped off at Glenorchy to have my hair cut - it was getting close to being seriously out of order.
I waited for a while for Sam to arrive re his assignment but he didn't get here so I'll ring him tomorrow to organise another time. I then headed down to school to see Sandy to show her the certificates I had worked on but she had already left for the day.
I've done some work on the newsletter for this weekend and written a minute of appreciation for Bishop Phillip Newell, the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania who will be attending his final meeting of the Tasmanian Council of Churches tomorrow afternoon.
Now for an early night.
Wednesday, 3rd
Working on the Newsletter on a Wednesday is almost illegal but except for a couple of late notices which will probably come in over the next few days most of the work has been completed. I then headed over to the Boyer oval to watch the children take part in the School Athletics Carnival - the children really enjoy taking part and want to win but enjoy the taking part. On the way to the sports I called to see the people at Rosies Inn where Fr Val Farrell and his sister will be staying for a few days next week as they look around the area where their grandfather served as Police Superintendent at the turn of this century.
After lunch I headed to town via school (to show Sandy the certificates for First Eucharist) to attend the Executive Meeting of the TCC. It was a good meeting and finished at about the usual time of 7.30pm so I've headed for home and collected some papers which were put through the letterbox, returned a couple of phone calls and now I'm heading for bed.
Thursday, 4th
The first order of business today was checking to confirm the order for Hayes for Christmas Puddings and then to check with the Royal Derwent Hospital regarding an order - they have ordered 40 x 900 gm puddings which almost wipes us out. We will need to do another single batch, this time to turn all of them into 132 x 100 gm for Hayes and 80 x 150 gm for Sacred Heart so that we have enough of the 900 gm for the ordinary orders. We spent some time working on some smaller puddings that were ready but, as you can see we still have a whole lot more to make.
After Mass I went down to school with the material for the Reconciliation Service (which we have just successfully finished) and spent a little bit of time with the staff and then some of the children in the playground. I came home to work on the Thanksgiving envelopes which arrived yesterday afternoon just as I was leaving for the TCC Meeting - they have now been put in their envelopes for distribution this weekend and I also catalogued some wine which had arrived and did some quick rearranging of the bottles into use by dates.
Sam called in to look at some of the history of St Peter's and the New Norfolk Parish - I was able to give him some photos as well as being able to find some of the information I thought had been lost when my earlier version of HotDog Express died - I had recorded it all on disc so it was there for me to use.
Sandy has come over to the house after the Reconciliation Service to look at the Eucharist Certificates and the new graphics program I've installed and we fixed the friends certificates for First Eucharist - the certificate presented to the non-Catholic children in Grade Three who have been helping their classmates in their preparation for the big day. Satisfied that I have actually got everything under control (as much as that is possible for me) she has gone home 'at peace'.
For me it is now time for bed.
Friday, 5th
I went North today to visit some friends whom I hadn't seen for some time. It was an easy but long day and enjoyable for doing nothing else than having some time for myself.
This morning I started to print the newsletter and managed to finish it this afternoon when I got home as well as print off page two of the next stage of our CALL TO CHANGE Process - this week we are looking at the CALL TO SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.
Like I said above it's been an easy day but a long day so now I'm heading for bed.
Saturday, 6th
I've got to work out a better way to do the backups of computer data - the data drive is easy since it fits onto a single CD but the C: drive doesn't work that easy - it takes almost 12 hours on the TRAVAN - does anyone have a suggestion?
I managed to print almost all certificates although I will need to get some more paper during the week as I run out of card.
The baptisms went well although it was raining heavily and the children of families who attended were a little bit scatty because of the weather. Immediately after the baptisms I headed for the Cathedral Presbytery for lunch - which was mightily enjoyable and had a good chat with Phil Green about some issues concerning the appointment of clergy into the future.
From lunch I headed down to the Cathedral for another Baptism - this was also a good celebration for a family for whom I have done two weddings and numerous baptisms - all because I met the grandfather of the child when I worked as a Police Chaplain at Bellerive some 20 years ago.
I called to see an old friend from Glenorchy days who is in the Palliative Care Ward and prayed with him before calling into the Catholic Book Centre to buy some candles for the Parish as we are almost out. I also had a look at the computer to clean up the desktop which was cluttered with icons which didn't need to be there.
I then called to say hi to some friends at Glenorchy whom I haven't seen for some time - and was told that they are still friends but have decided that living together is no longer an option. I'm not certain what this will mean into the future but it kind of knocked the wind out of my sails.
When I got home I cooked some tea and have finished the work that I needed to do for tomorrow so now I'm heading for bed - the backup has finally finished.
Sunday, 7th
We got inundated with orders for puddings after Mass thios morning as people tried to ensure that they had an order for a pudding into the system before they ran out. The same thing happened after Mass this evening and as of now we have 22 x 150gm and 5 x 900gm left and that is all - and even that is after we have another cooking on Monday week to suply all of the mini-puds that are needed.
I came back from Ouse to celebrate the baptism of Taya Hill, the daughter of Graeme and Cindy. It was a great celebration for them and a wonderful move on from their tragedy of almost three years ago when their daughter Demi died in tragic circumstances - it was good to see them able to be happy.
After Mass this evening I had a chance to meet Fr Val Farrell and have a brief chat with him - hopefully he will be around sometime tomorrow so that I can meet his sister before I go on Retreat.
I've done some work on the Baptismal Register this afternoon and got it almost up to date - the next thing I will have to do is ensure that the Marriage register is all up to date.
Now for bed.
Monday 8th - Friday 12th
Today was a busy day with the tidying up after the weekend and the work to be done in putting the calico onto the remainder (or at least as many as we could) of the puddings - there are still some of the larger ones to get wrapped.
This happened around the Journey program as well as preparations for leaving to go on Retreat as well as spending a very short time with Fr Val Farrell and his sister as they checked out some of the Parish Records back into the turn of this century.
By mid afternoon I was ready to leave so I headed for Blackmans Bay and the Retreat Centre collecting a video (Romero) for the retreat, some card for the First Eucharist Certificates as well as a couple of other things that were needed.
The retreat started with most people (as well as some extras who hadn't been counted in) and then we headed off to the Grand Chancellor for a Testimonial Dinner for Archbishop Eric D'Arcy who was being feted for his work in the Church of Hobart for the past 11 years. It was a great night and was enjoyed by all.
The Retreat started in earnest on Tuesday morning with Fr Peter Matheson (from the Melbourne Parish of Montmerency) leading us. His input and expertise provided a great deal for reflection during the week and will be with us (me) for some time.
Today (Friday) we were due to have a Special Meeting of the Sick & Retired Priests Fund because it was thought we might have sufficient numbers at the Retreat (and within the Hobart region) to manage a quorum. However, by Tuesday afternoon it had become obvious that several people needed to leave early on Friday and would not be available. The decision was made to hold the meeting on Wednesday evening immediately after the evening meal which meant that I needed some extra papers that I had left at home. So as soon as the Tuesday evening session had ended I drove home to do the work and sleep here before returning the next morning.
Unfortunately, when I got home I could get through the outside door but the inner door was locked and when I tried the front door the screen door was locked and I didn't have a key so I was locked out. Frustrated I headed back to Blackmans Bay wondering what was going on. The next morning when I rang I found that the house had been broken into on the Monday night and have since determined that it must have happened between 8.30pm when the group left after the Journey program (led for me by Sr Denise) and 9.30pm because a TV program I had hoped to video wasn't recorded because whoever had broken in had turned off the power before they broke in. I lost a video recorder and a TV from my bedroom but it worries me that they have wandered through the house and know everything else that is here, including the computer. We will now have to get the whole house alarmed.
I am printing the newsletter so that copies can be taken to Sr Lorraine who is having a sewing day at Ellendale tomorrow but I will have to work on the internet edition in the morning as I have to get pudding orders prepared for delivery tomorrow to the various Hobart Parishes.
Also, I won't be long out of bed either.
Saturday, 13th
After starting the day early with putting labels onto puddings so that each of the Parishes would know to whom the puddings belonged - that took a lot longer than I had thought. But having got it done I then packed them into the car to ensure that they got to Sandy Bay before it was time to head for New Town to celebrate Mass for the Sacred Heart Old Scholars.
I also managed to help Sandy set up some things in the Church in preparation for the First Eucharist Mass - there wasn't that much to do but we got it done easily.
After the Mass (which had a good number of people who then joined together for a luncheon in the new school hall (the SSJ Centre) I headed back down to Sandy Bay to say hi to the clergy gathered for lunch and to inform people that the 1.8 kg puddings which some of their parishioners had ordered would be available next weekend - they still needed to be wrapped in calico.
From there I headed to the Tattslotto agency to purchase the next 10 week ticket for the Saturday Lunch crowd - and collected $191.50 from the last 10 week ticket which meant that we are that much better off. I then put my 10 week ticket across to get renewed and was told I had also won a prize and turned back to talk to a young lady who had been part of the youth group active at the Cathedral back in the 1980's when I was there and didn't hear, or wasn't listening to the lady and when I turned back to ask how much I owed her for the ticket found that she was handing me $638 - the prize had been $718 - so that was a pleasant surprise. More of a surprise to my partner in crime who remembers to kick in $80 every now and then for the ticket and who had paid for that particular 10 week ticket we get $319 each.
From there I headed off to purchase the ingredients for the next pudding cook up but found that the Market had shut when I arrived so continued on to see Mum and Dad and to spend some time with them before continuing on to visit the family of the later Ricky Nelson-Gower who had drowned recently in Lismore, NSW, and for whom we are having a Memorial Service on Monday morning. Whilst there I got a phone call asking me to call and see a parishioner at New Norfolk who was having a really difficult day and needed someone to talk to.
So I headed home after completing the details for the Service and spent the next two hours walking through some of the issues facing this person - issues that will need to be resolved if they are going to be able to face the future with any hope. I placed a call to a psychologist but am waiting to hear back from her.
I then joined some friends in Glenorchy to celebrate a couple of birthdays and had quite an enjoyable time but it is now almost midnight and I need to get to bed to get some sleep because tomorrow is a big day - bigger for the children than for me but big none the less.
Sunday, 14th
As usual there were of whole lot of things to do this morning as we prepared for the 10.30am Mass when we celebrated the First Eucharist Mass. I had forgotten to staple the next page of the Call to Change material to the newsletter so there was a little bit of a scramble to get things finished before Mass started. I was joined by Fr Farrell for the 9am Mass and we were able to share some of the things he and his sister have been doing during their time in New Norfolk. After the Mass I set him up to send some emails to friends on the other side of the world to tell them that they were both still alive and well.
The First Eucharist Mass went well and I doubt whether there was anything we could have done to make it better so that was good - there was a good crowd present - especially good was to see a number of parishioners other than family also being part of the celebration. After spending a short time down at school with the families I returned home to work on the leaflet for the memorial service for Ricky Nelson-Gower that will be celebrated tomorrow morning at 10am.
Then it was off to the Parr's to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. It was a pleasant little celebration at their home and we managed to avoid the weather turning bad - although there were a few moments when it looked as if it was going to rain on their day.
After the evening Mass I had a visit from Ricky's family who looked at the material that I had worked on and they are happy about the format for the service and the photo for the cover. Just after they had left I got a phone call from a friend from Sandy Bay asking if we wanted to take her list of names of clients for Christmas Puddings - after several years she has stopped and there are some people asking if she could give them the name of another group making them. I will talk to the team tomorrow to see what happens.
Tonight, however, it is time for bed.
Monday, 15th
Today was a 'lot's of little thing day' with the labels for the little pud's for Melbourne getting approved; both the Journey sessions working well and knowing that there is only one session left for the year; the majority of the large puddings are wrapped and, of slight concern, a count of them and finding that even though we have managed to do a lot of deliveries already we still have quite a number to deliver as well as another complete days cooking just to cover the already received orders.
I rang some of the people about puddings for sale and found that they were interested in getting samples to try so that means that we might have quite a number extra to make but we will have to wait and see. It makes it difficult to know how much to order (ingredients) until we have an idea as to how many we have to make but it will all work out - I hope.
For the rest of today I have been quietly working away and have actually managed to finish the majority of the next newsletter but now I am heading for bed because I'm not certain what else is happening but I am extremely tired.
Tuesday, 16th
I woke this morning with a sore back - I'm not certain what had happened but it has been painful all day and has made life a little difficult. I decided that I would need to take things just a little bit slowly. So after Mass I asked Beryl and Ruby to help load some puddings into the car so that I could take 40 x 900 gm puddings for the Butcher in Bridgewater who sold them for us last year - he took only 30 last year in two orders and this year has started bigger already. Then it was off to Moorilla Estate, The Friends School, Lipscombe Larder and Green's Quality Meats in Sandy Bay to drop off samples to customers of Paula Goninon, the lady who had provided puddings for these people over the years to see if they wanted to take our puddings.
I then travelled on to have lunch with Fr Joe Martins at the Opus Dei Centre - apologised that he is not able to entertain all the clergy for a Saturday lunch so he is getting us in one at a time. It was a pleasant lunch but interrupted by phone calls - in particular one which was to take me to the next appointment.
Last weekend there was a boating tragedy off the south coast of Tasmania when three members of the Kingston family, including a father and son, and two other men were drowned. Graham family are directing the funeral for the three Kingston men but Ann Graham was concerned about the way to help them deal with their grief and asked me to help so she asked if I could work with one of their staff to prepare the funeral service which will basically be non denominational but which will be an opportunity to provide some pastoral care for the people as well as doing something suitable as a memorial for the members of the Kingston Family. Kevin Mansfield and I spent some time with the family before returning to the Funeral Home to prepare a Service which will involve members of the family as well as ourselves.
From there I travelled to see my parents and managed to see my nephew Sam who turned 13 today - not expecting to see him and knowing how the rest of the day had been going I didn't have his card or present with me so will have to get that to him over the next few days. I stopped off and had tea with some friends and have now put some more liniment on my back and I'm heading for bed.
Wednesday, 17th
Most of today has been spent working on the funeral liturgy for the funeral tomorrow of the late Mervyn, Greg and Nathan Kingston. It has taken quite a deal of time to get the leaflet together, even though it seemed I could do it without too much trouble but by the time I finished printing all 550 copies it had taken most of the afternoon.
I also attended the funeral of the late Peter Ransom, another member of the group, and was able to meet some of the other people who were part of the family effected by the tragedy. At this time I also hope to be able to attend Graham Gordon's funeral on Friday afternoon but I'll have to wait and see what is happening.
I also attended a meeting at the New Norfolk Council Chambers looking at some Crime Prevention issues in the town - sadly some of the concerns seemed to be short sighted as the amount of crime in the town is much less than many other parts of the state but, as usual, the 'squeaky door' gets the most attention so I will have to go back to a group of Christian people in the town if they might hold their Friday night BBQ earlier - move the time from starting at 10pm back to 8pm for a few weeks to see if there is a marked difference.
I've just finished working with a couple for marriage preparation and now I'm heading for bed.
Thursday, 18th
It was a quick start down the road to the Graham Family Chapel to arrive by 9.30am so that I was ready for the funeral of the late members of the Kingston Family who drowned in the boating accident last weekend. As it happened everything worked well and all the planning and preparation ensured that the families and mourners were able to participate without too much difficulty. The Chapel was packed but with closed circuit TV everyone was able to see what was happening.
After the service I waited for members of the family of the late Graham Gordon, the last of the five men to have their funeral celebrated, to say some prayers - I used the Prayers for the Vigil of the Deceased. After talking with the family for a few minutes it was decided that I would be part of the funeral liturgy today so that will be another difficult time this afternoon.
From there I headed for Berriedale to spend time with the family of the late Robin Hanlon whose funeral will be celebrated here at New Norfolk on Monday afternoon. I will return to see the family tomorrow to take a copy of the funeral leaflet with me.
I spent a little time doing some personal shopping and checking out some details of prices of a TV and video to replace the things stolen - for insurance purposes. I then called to have a coffee with some friends before coming home to work on the Hanlon leaflet.
I checked the emails and found that The Friends School are informing their school community that Christmas Puddings are available so that will mean that we might have some more puddings to make - I will need to check with Lipscombe Larder, Moorilla Estate and a couple of other places I visited on Tuesday to see whether they want any.
We've just finished the Fair meeting which went well without too many problems and now I am heading for bed.
Friday, 19th
After Mass this morning I managed to finish the majority of the work that needed to be done - I completed both editions of the newsletters although there still some stapling to be done for the paper edition and the Internet edition still has to be posted; I completed the paperwork for Kaine & Kimbra's wedding tomorrow and printed a draft copy of the funeral leaflet for the late Robin Hanlon.
I attended a staff gathering of ITIM and spoke with Peter Marshall, the CEO, about the process we need to follow regarding the winding up of the Association in Tasmania and the reformation of the Committee of Management as Foundation 2010. Unfortunately I am not able to be with them tonight for their end of year function on board the MV Cartela because I am just too tired.
I then went back out to the Graham Family Chapel for the funeral of the late Graham Gordon - again everything went as well as might be expected when families gather to say farewell to a young person who has died tragically. After the service at the Crematorium I travelled out to Berriedale to see the Hanlon Family and spent time with them working through the draft leaflet for Robin's funeral on Monday.
Then it was back down to Sandy Bay for the wedding rehearsal for Kaine and Kimbra which I have finished and now I am home and heading for bed - it has been a long week and I need some sleep.
Saturday, 20th
Sometimes getting everything ready on a Saturday morning takes a good deal of time - this morning by the time I arrived at the Prayer Breakfast I was exhausted. I had managed to get the leaflet for the fellows at Mass finished and so I jumped in the car to head off to St Matthew's for the breakfast which was well attended. From there I headed for Hayes and found that they had forgotten which Saturday it was and no-one was really ready for Mass. By the time one fellow arrived I found that I couldn't celebrate Mass anyway because the altar wine had been stolen from the Mass Kit anyway - I'll have to add it to the list of things that were originally listed as stolen.
When I returned to New Norfolk I had an appointment which kept me occupied until just before midday when I headed for lunch at Sandy Bay. Again there was a good crowd so I spent a bit of time chatting after lunch with Archbishop D'Arcy and a couple of the other guys who stayed.
I headed off to see Mum and Dad and drop off the CD's I had borrowed off Dad for various reasons. My sister Karen and her children were there so it was good to catch up with them as well.
Then it was back down to Sandy bay for the wedding of Kimbra and Kaine. There were quite a few of the people there whom I knew well from various things that I have been involved with over the years but as soon as the service was ended I headed back here because I was so tired that I need to have an earlier night which is just about to happen.
Sunday, 21st
For a few minutes before the start of Mass this morning I thought that there was only going to be a few people but they seemed to arrive from the time I started to process into the Church and before I arrived at the altar - it can be a little off putting. I then headed off to Hamilton where there were only a few people - only one of the Ouse people came down and I forgot to say thank you to Jo Duinham for the donation towards the Christmas Raffle so will have to ring in the morning.
From there it was back home to celebrate a Baptism for Stuart and Cathee Banks - when I baptised their first child some time ago Cathee was already pregnant with Lily but thinks she is OK this time - we'll wait and see.
I've just celebrated the evening Mass and again there was a good number - managed to chat with the chairperson of the PPC about the next PPC meeting which will need to be changed because of the ordination to the Diaconate of Michael Tate, former Senator for Tasmania and later Ambassador to the Vatican and The Hague. Michael is to be ordained on Thursday, 2nd December at Holy Spirit Church, Sandy Bay.
Now, however, it is time for bed.
Monday, 22nd
Almost everything due to be done today occurred without too great a difficulty - although the final preparations for the funeral of the late Robin Hanlon took place at the last minute - sadly I made an error in typing the Prayer of the Faithful and typed the wrong name for a member of the family - making mistakes like that really upsets me and didn't help the family either.
The two sessions of the Journey Program worked well - I somehow presumed that Sr Denise would be here for the final session tonight to say farewell to people but I was wrong. This led to a little bit of difficulty as I hadn't done the extra work I normally do to prepare to lead the second session - until about 7pm when I realised she wasn't going to be here - then I worked really hard to cover everything in the half hour I had to do some extra work.
After both sessions we had a little end of year function which went well but I'm really tired so now I'm heading for bed.
Tuesday, 23rd
The Mass at Sacred Heart this morning was for the Grade 2 children and they were remembering the Elderly - pictures of grandparents were placed all round the Chapel - my niece is part of the class so I was able to show the class my parents and talk about my grandparents - it was a good time.
I used the time to chase a few people and drop off some keys. Last week I hadn't been able to see all the people I had spoken to regarding the provision of puddings but I still don't have any final quantity for the making of the next batch of puddings - but I've placed another order which I will collect on Friday and it might mean that we have some ingredients left over.
I stopped off and had a meal with some friends and now I'm ready for bed.
Wednesday, 24th
After Mass this morning I tried to get a few things done before heading off to Sacred Heart to see the Grade 10 Class in preparations for their Graduation Mass (which has just finished) - it is hard to talk to people in a large group when I haven't had a lot to do with them as smaller groups during the year.
I managed to get all the faxes out to the businesses for the last of our Morning Teas next Wednesday and have got some replies already so that looks good, including one from a Business which almost never orders anything.
Early this afternoon I also attended the Graduation Ceremony for the Gr. 10's at New Norfolk High School. I t was intended that I should present a prize to a student for their endeavour during the year but she was sick so I presented it to the Headmaster instead.
After a cup of coffee with Parents, staff and students I returned home to finish off some work on the Mass at Sacred Heart before Brent and Kay arrived for their Marriage appointment - thankfully they were early which gave me time to work with them before heading down to School for a Board Meeting.
Then I headed off to a wonderful celebration for Sacred Heart in their new SSJ Centre - it was a great night and I was pleased to be a part of a wonderful night.
Now for bed.
Thursday, 25th
I woke early this morning when the battery in the front door gave notice of its intention to expire - like 1.30am. I'm going to bed tonight without having purchased a new battery so I hope that it doesn't happen again.
The Christian Leaders Meeting this morning was hectic with the first full meeting for some time with whole range of concerns being raised and being looked at - not all able to be resolved but some concerns being expressed so we will look at a meeting with members of the Derwent valley Support Group to address some issues.
After Mass the first of two people who will quote on security for the Parish House came to look around and make an assessment (the other comes tomorrow afternoon). Almost immediately a young fellow who was a workmate of the fellow killed in a car accident at Boyer yesterday morning called to talk about some of the issues he is confronting - could be some other people who will need to address some issues there but I'll wait and see.
Then Jan came to collect the mini puds to go to Melbourne for the two firms her daughter works with to be used as Christmas gifts for a number of their clients. We still have the puds for Community Health and Sacred Heart Staff Dinner to organise so that will be high on the list for cooking next week.
I've just returned from Ellendale where we had a good meeting looking at how to address the issue "What to do when you don't know what to do!" Two staff from Community Health came and addressed some of the concerns expressed by members of the community and were very helpful so hopefully people will now be better prepared for any incidents which take place in the future.
Now for bed.
Friday, 26th
I had a look at a new business on the Web this morning - I won't be in it but there is a chance that a friend might be looking at it. All that took place as I worked on some other web based activities so it was an interesting morning.
After Mass and time spent working on the newsletter and other things I headed for town to work out the ingredients and things for the puddings and found that I didn't have enough money in my wallet so I had to go and 'raid my bank account' to scrounge up enough cash - luckily I was able to get it all together so we now have the materials for a big cook up starting Monday morning. Unfortunately it took two trips to town to get everything so that meant a lot longer time spent than I had anticipated.
I saw some people for appointments as well as another person concerned about the gathering that a small group of Christians have on the street of a Friday night as part of a street ministry. This time there is concern about the rights of a tenant who lives next door to the gathering place who has rubbish thrown into her yard regularly - this is becoming a nightmare.
I also had a visit from the second of the security people here to look at putting in a security monitoring system for the Parish House. I have managed to print all the newsletter, the final page of the Call to Change audit indicators as well as the December Parish Calendar, which includes on the reverse the times for the Christmas Services - a job well done.
Now for bed.
Saturday, 27th
I started today slowly because I haven't really had any time off lately and, although today wasn't busy, I really didn't need to hurry too much because tomorrow is going to be fairly hectic.
After working here for a short time I headed off to Glenorchy to drop off some puddings for people before arriving at Elwick for the Centacare Race Day. It was a good day but there are some little niggles in my mind about the appropriateness of a Welfare Agency being involved in Gambling.
I rang my neice Emma today in Sydney as it is her 21st birthday and chatted with her and my sister in law and brother for half an hour. I haven't seen them for some time so it was good to catch up with them and learn what is happening.
I've just made tea and now I'm heading for an early night.
Sunday, 28th
What a day!!
Mass today for the country was at Ellendale and was followed by a Country Meeting. The meeting went well and a lot of things were discussed and some issues dealt with so that was good - I have a couple of things to follow up but that's all right.
When I got home I listened to the Australian V Pakistan Cricket Match as I cut up the lemons for the Christmas Pudding mix tomorrow. It took quite some time - in fact I completed the task just before heading over for the evening Mass.
Beryl and Pauline offered to help put the tables together for the mixing tomorrow and then offered to stay and help get the fruit ready and I really appreciated their help - all I had left to complete was the boilers and to collect some extra lemons from Sandy by 8pm. Was looking good until a young lady walked in the back door as I was foretelling Beryl and Pauline via the front door.
The last hour and a half have been hectic and now I am really ready for bed.
The girl needed some professional help because of a severe panic attack so we called the ambulance for oxygen and found out that both the Police and Ambulance Services were looking for her. She didn't want to go with them and it took quite some time to get her to settle down - which she did for a while before she got more agitated and eventually the Police had to take her away. I'll try and find out tomorrow sometime how she got on. Thankfully Beryl and Pauline stayed because I never would have been able to handle the issue by myself.
Monday, 29th
Today was a busy day - I started early getting some of the final things ready for the big pudding cook up - we did 73 x 1.8 kg puddings (but that is only four extra after we meet out commitments). We will have another cook up on Friday when we will make 900 gm puddings and some of those will be broken up into smaller sizes for our orders.
I went down to school for the blessing of the Advent Wreath and shared with the children something of the Christmas Story. That was good because all the children were gathered and I don't have that many occasions to spend time with all of them.
Then it was back home to wrap some of the smaller puds as well as some of the 1.8 kg puds for The Friends' School - another 17 large puds we cooked today will be wrapped sometime tomorrow for delivery (hopefully) also tomorrow.
After John Maher helped me hang the cooked puddings and put in the next lot I went back down to school for the Orientation Afternoon meeting for the children starting in Preparatory next year - they seem so tiny that you wonder how they will get on.
Then I called to see some people about the Morning Teas on Wednesday before heading for town to meet the Rev Prince Devandandan, a Sri Lankan visitor for the Launch of the Christmas Bowl appeal for 1999. With Rosemary and Paul Dobber we had a meal at the Blue Skies before joining other Church Leaders at the launch in St David's Cathedral. There were not as many people as usual at the launch which was really disappointing - we will be looking at the venue for future occasions as it doesn't seem to get too great a coverage.
Now for bed - Beryl and some others (not certain who) have been and taken the second boiling out and hung them to dry and only one has very minor water damage so it has been a very successful day.
Tuesday, 30th
The Mass at the Cathedral this morning was a great celebration for the Gr. 6 children from the schools around the South of the State as they compete their Primary School Education and prepare for Secondary School - many in completely new environments in 2000.
I managed to drop off the Christmas Puddings for the Friends' School as well as parcel post the puddings for ITIM in Melbourne and still got home in time for the 2.00 p.m. appointment. Then it was to work getting the ingredients for the morning tea tomorrow and also start cooking the sponges - and for once I got the oven temperature exactly right because the sponges cooked perfectly - I hope that the same thing happens again on Thursday when I make some friend for a Cake Stall at her work.
I also had time to prepare the dates for the scones as well as follow up some of the businesses who hadn't replied before the parish Pastoral Council Meeting - our last for 1999. We should have had some form of finale to the night but it was too rushed so we didn't really do it well.
Now for bed - tomorrow is going to be a long day. So early a start that I doubt whether I'll get this page posted much before tomorrow afternoon.
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