Daily Notes and News
The Month of April 2001
Sunday, 1st
Today's Country Mass was at Ouse and there was only a very small gathering - several people were away so that changes everything.
After Mass I headed home to collect some things for the Baptism at Bellerive and the family meal at my sisters to celebrate my mother's birthday (which was on Friday). It was good to see all the Hobart clan gathered and it was also good to be able to organise for everyone to know that there is to be a family meal here at New Norfolk on 3rd May - my 50th birthday.
After the Baptism I chatted with (Fr) Peter O'Loughlin about the Grapevine Program - he would like it to be more flexible but cannot see that flexibility in a complex program is not always possible. I've asked him to send me info on what he wants deleted and I'll contact the programmer in WA to see what can be done.
The Masses here at New Norfolk today were well attended with slightly better than average at both Masses. Another three parishioners are going soon, a young fellow to continue his studies on the mainland, a couple have moved into town because his work is now in Hobart and he starts at 6.30am each morning and another family - my doctor and his wife - are leaving Tasmania as he moves into semi-retirement. I'm certain that they won't be replaced so it is difficult to know what is going to happen.
This evening I had a meal with some friends to wind down after the weekend so now I'm ready for bed and it is still early so that is great.
Monday, 2nd
I was slow in getting everything ready for the funeral of the late Sandor Balogh - I started the funeral booklet this morning but everything worked out all right so that helps. The funeral at the new Millington Funeral Home and Crematorium went well with a much bigger gathering than the family had expected. The Centre itself is going to be good but there are still some little teething problems that will need to be fixed.
The rest of the morning went well with everything getting done without too many problems so I wasn't under any pressure. I also managed to get everything done although I did forget to put out a baptismal certificate to be collected so will need to speak to Sr Lorraine re getting in contact with the lady to get it to her.
After the funeral I visited the new Catholic Education Centre and had a look around the complex - it is so much better than the previous Centre which was a rabbit warren. The staff seem really happy about the new place so that is good. I also had a chat to Sr Margaret Henderson about the process that might need to be put into place to prepare lay celebrants for funerals - as well as preparing people for better follow-up care for that period after the funeral when the phone calls and visits stop and people no longer have a good support mechanism. It has long been a hope of mine that something might be done but so far not much has been proceeded with.
My couple for marriage preparation weren't able to make it as Alison is not well and went to the doctor late this afternoon - it meant that I have had a night off so I am heading off to bed to get an early night and, hopefully, a good nights sleep.
Tuesday, 3rd
Mass today was at St Brigid's School at 9.15am. The Mass forms part of our Pastoral Plan for this year whereby we will be providing greater opportunities for the children to have access to Mass and perhaps a better understanding of what can happen since, sadly, so few are brought to Sunday Mass.
Midmorning I headed for town to the TCC Office for a meeting with Bob Faser and Jenny Roddam to look at the changing roles of the TCC with the departure of one of the part-time workers at the end of last year. There are some concerns about the ongoing funding arrangements but the discussion provided sufficient information within the current setup.
While in town I also managed to check in with the CDF (Catholic Development Fund - not the Vatican Congregation for the Faith) and arranged for Fr John's stipend paid into his account. I also checked some of the details regarding the Parish Bank accounts and now am confident that everything is heading in the right direction.
On my way home I purchased some of the ingredients for the Morning Tea tomorrow morning and had some visitors - but basically I had little else to do this afternoon so have started the newsletter for this weekend.
I'm now heading to bed for an early night in the hope that I won't wake before the alarm at 5am to start making scones for tomorrow's Morning Tea.
Wednesday, 4th
After the early rise to make scones (5am) the rest of today has gone well. There was a good supply of sandwiches and cakes although there were three of the normal team not available we had sufficient numbers to make it all work - we just lacked a little variety in the small cake area.
By the time it was all delivered and I had returned some of the phone calls that had come in it was time for Mass so we headed off with just a small number gathered today - it seemed that a couple of people were away.
After lunch I worked on some of the things that needed doing for the Newsletter (although I didn't get very far as there were some more calls coming in and I wanted to finish off some of the lists for the Football Competition before I head off to town for the Exec. Meeting of the TCC.
It was a good meeting that finished early although there were some contentious issues that needed to be addressed regarding future funding of the CWS work of the TCC as well as an issue that had come from the Hobart Ministers Association regarding Funeral Fees - it looks as if it will be dealt with by individual Heads of Churches.
After chatting over the evening meal for a short time I headed home and had the luxury of being in bed by 9pm and basically asleep shortly after - a pleasant way to end the day.
Thursday, 5th
Today was a day of meetings - starting at 9.30am and finishing just on 6pm with very little time in between..
The 9.30am meeting was our weekly meeting of the EasterFest Committee to ensure that the final arrangements for the Festival on Saturday week are in place. Unfortunately Ann and I were the only ones there so there are still a number of questions that need to be resolved. In a conversation later today I learnt that most things had been done but some things are still in the balance.
Vern Harrison joined us at about 10.45am so we did some planning for the Christian Leaders Association that needed to be done for our Post Easter Discussion program - Life after Drowning - by setting dates and arranging a meeting place.
We finished just in time for me to head off for the midday Mass and that was followed almost immediately by a meeting with a Youth Leader, following up some of the concerns that have been raised in recent weeks at the Leaders meeting. Ann and I had been a little worried with the non attendance at the earlier meetings but it was all unfounded. This meeting was a good meeting and offers some hope for the future.
Then at 3pm I had an appointment with a the daughter of a man whose funeral I had celebrated earlier in the year. There had been a bit of tension at the time of the funeral and it doesn't seem to have dissipated at all. She has been struggling with the tension and spent quite a deal of time talking about the various issues and seeking advice. I listened and told her that she was doing the right thing and following the terms of the will as executrix and encouraged her to continue to work with her lawyer to complete the process. It was a long discussion and I was exhausted when she had finished.
I sat down to some toasted sandwiches and fell asleep watching the news so I've decided that as soon as I finish this page I'm heading for bed - I know that I'll probably wake early but I'm really tired now.
Friday, 6th
Today was the First Friday of the month so I had a second Mass at Corumbene at 10am. It took me a while to work out when I could celebrate Mass at Corumbene but things work out now. I also took Holy Communion to Eileen at the District Hospital.
Then I headed for Glenorchy to get a haircut. I have been going to the same people for almost 20 years and they make life very easy by looking after me so that is good. From there I headed for the city to visit HMAS Warramunga, the latest Australian Navy Ship, in port for a visit after only recently being commissioned. It was great to have a chance to look over a very new ship and just note the simple differences between this ship and HMAS Sydney where I spent two months last year.
From there I headed towards home collecting the ingredients for tomorrow's Lasagna and Salad lunch from the supermarket at Glenorchy along the way. I had a short time to relax before this evening Reconciliation Service so finished off the outside of the newsletter, watched a little bit of TV and took it easy.
The Reconciliation Service went well - I built it round the Stations of the Cross and led into the service from there.
Now however, it is time for bed and that's where I'm going.
Saturday, 7th
It is amazing how things happen when it is busy. I woke early which meant I was able to get the table set, the Lasagna made, the newsletter printed as well as spend some time on the internet and still have time to pray and get to town by 9.30am for the World Justice and development Commission Meeting at the TCC Offices.
It was our final meeting before the Annual Meeting so there needed to be some working through the various areas of concern that have been looked at through this past twelve months for the report.
The meeting had almost concluded when I left at midday to get home for lunch. The stove had come on at the right time, the food was ready when people started arriving and it was a very pleasant meal. Not many people but this time of the year is always busy so people are normally doing things in preparation for Palm Sunday and the rest of Holy Week.
The Mass tonight at Bothwell was a little light on but it will be their only Holy Week Mass - they have Stations on Friday at 11am and any of them will be able to head over to Hamilton for Mass on Easter Sunday if they need to.
Now it is time for bed - the rushing round has really tired me out and tomorrow with three readings of the Passion and four baptisms - including a family of three - I am going to be tired by the time I get to the end of the day.
Sunday, 8th
Today has been a very tiring day. The reading of the Passion (four times in 24 hours) as well as 3.5 hours of travelling and two baptisms thrown in for good measure means that I am really tired and my bed is looking good.
The Mass at New Norfolk this morning was well attended and the reading of the Passion went well - it always helps when things happen easily. I was concerned as I headed off to Maydena for the Country Mass that I was going to get caught in slow traffic as there was an official opening of the new Visitors Information Centre at Mt. Field National Park - and the trip from Westerway to Mt. Field is a slow trip if you get behind drivers unfamiliar with the road - fortunately I managed to be in front or too far behind them so it was OK.
There were only a couple of people at Mass because of sickness but it was good to be able to chat to them about some of the changes that are happening around the place. The trip back was easy but I didn't have too long before the first of the Baptisms. I celebrated Kaine & Kimbra's Marriage some 2 years ago and they brought little Campbell Menzie to the Church today. It is one of the good things about working in a community that there are these real links that are able to happen regularly. The second Baptism went off all right as well but it was really difficult to keep contact with all 12 sponsors as the ceremony continued.
The evening Mass went off well - again with good readers for the Passion - and there was some welcome rain during the Mass so that was good as well.
Now, however, it is time for bed - I'm so tired that I'm not even going to sit up to watch the first episode of the new series of Ballykissangel. I'll have to watch it some time later in the week - probably tomorrow night as there seems to be little else worth watching.
Monday, 9th
Today was a busy day - there didn't seem to be that much that I did but I didn't seem to have any time.
After doing some of the little things after the weekend I headed up to town to check with the Derwent Valley Christian Church Leader the time of his Holy Week and Easter Services but he wasn't home so I left a message and caught up with him later. I called to see two of the Disability Services Staff who are responsible for the arrangements for the funeral of the late Lajos Zac, an elderly Hungarian gentleman who died on Saturday afternoon and who had been a resident of Willow Court for some 40 years.
Also on the agenda was the writing of the Easter Message for the DV Gazette - this included the times for all the Church Services as well as some information regarding the EasterFest - all of which takes a little bit of time.
The other main job today was the preparation and printing of the subscription letters for the Sick and Aged Priests Fund for this financial year. Somehow or other the merge function of Wordpro ate the data as I updated the information for each of the guys so I had to uninstall Lotus Smartsuite and then reinstall it - hopefully it will work now and I won't have to do anything else about it.
Finally tonight I met with John and Esther to finalise the arrangements for their wedding which is to take place in June - they are one of only two marriages I have before heading off in September so it is fairly easy night time work just at the moment, although I will have to work with the couples who are getting married in the New Year before I go - that will make life more hectic.
Now for bed.
Tuesday, 10th
Today started with a time of reflection at Penna in preparation for the Renewal of Priestly Commitment, celebrated as part of the Mass of the Oils tonight at the Cathedral. For the past 15 years we have gathered at Penna, just west of the airport. It is a good day although being tired I tended to drop off into snooze mode a couple of times during the quiet time following the input but managed to get through without embarrassing myself.
After the time at Penna I headed for town and got a book from the Catholic Book Centre on the Priesthood and then called over to see my friend Linda who turns 50 tomorrow. Because of my other commitments I will not get a chance to see her so I thought that I would get in early and say hello and wish her all the best. I was invited to tea so stayed and had a pleasant meal before heading off to the Cathedral for the Mass of the Oils.
This is one of the few times during the year when the majority of the priests gather for a positive reason - usually we get together at the death of someone so having something positive to celebrate is always good. Thankfully it wasn't a late night so I was able to leave there by 10pm and now that I'm home I'm heading for bed in a few minutes and should be able to get a good night's rest.
Wednesday, 11th
Today was an interesting day. I had Mass at 9 am followed by quick trip to Corumbene to take Communion to the residents who were not there - some sort of mix-up. From there I headed to the District Hospital to see Eileen Taylor before coming back to finish the work on the Big Book for the funeral of the late Lajos Szak (Zac for short).
It was a ceremony at the graveside only and was held in pouring rain (at least for the first part of it). There were more than I had expected because Zac had been a resident of the Lachlan Hospital, Willow Court and now the new group home for almost 40 years. One man who remembered him from the Hydro Camp at Bronte was there so that was good.
From Malbina I came home for a meeting with Sr. Julianne Dunn, the congregational leader of the Missionary Sisters of Service. We worked through some of the issues relating to the work that Sr. Lorraine does in the parish and some of our hopes and dreams for the new Rural Unit. We also enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the Bush Inn before she headed off into the distance to catch up with some other members of the Congregation.
Then I headed off to some of the local businesses to collect things for the EasterFest and came back and worked on the booklet for the Holy Week Ceremonies as well as making a start on the Newsletter for the weekend but there is a long way to go.
I've just arrived home from having a meal with friends to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of my long time friends. It was a surprise gathering at Mozarts on Collins and was a very pleasant evening but now I am ready for bed.
Holy Thursday, 12th
This morning was hectic and heading in all the wrong directions. The first problem was the monitor died and I had to 'borrow' the monitor from the computer due to go to Campbell Town early next week to survive today. One of the things I got done this afternoon was to see Tom and Elizabeth at Computers+More and we now have a 17" monitor which makes life a lot easier.
Next the photocopier is only printing a couple of pages at a time of anything (the leaflet for the Holy Week ceremonies today) and I had to keep fixing that. I thought that when it was serviced last week that it was fixed but it seems to have only been short term.
Back to the rest of the day. The first thing this morning was the High School Assembly at 8.45am so I headed off there and met up with the other Christian Leaders and a couple of members of the Youth Alive Band who provided a message and some song for the teenagers gathered there.
Then it was back to the Parish House for a quick look at preparations for the EasterFest - sadly without the two Salvation Army Officers so we have to hope that things are working out with all the extra arrangements there.
Next I headed down to St Brigid's for the Assembly there - taking an extra role as Sean Gill, the Principal about to take some of his long service leave, has a suspected broken wrist and was in Calvary Hospital for X-rays.
After having a bite to eat I headed off to town to see Annie Graham to wish her Happy Birthday and the rest of the staff all the best for the Easter Season. Then I stopped and collected the new monitor, then to the supermarket and Chickenfeed Shops to get some things for the EasterFest, then to Glenorchy to get the sausages for Saturday, some apples for Granny Smith to distribute (sadly they'll need to be Golden Delicious because the Granny Smith's are not available yet) and then home to check everything here.
I finished off the booklets for the ceremony tonight and the next few days and sat down to have a bite to eat before things got really hectic. The congregation for the Holy Thursday Mass was a little bit light on although there was a reasonable gathering. Also, a reasonable number stayed or returned for the time of Adoration before we finished at 10pm ( a few minutes ago) and now I'm heading for bed - today was perhaps the easiest and least hectic of the next few days.
Good Friday, 13th
Good Friday and it has been a long day. It is now 1.30am (on Saturday) and I am printing the newsletter for tonight (Easter Vigil) and working on an Alpha Information Brochure for the EasterFest later today.
Thankfully, Sr. Lorraine did the three series of Stations of the Cross through the Valley so I was able to do the work here - we had Stations of the Cross at 10 am followed by the Celebration of the Passion at 3pm. After the afternoon celebration there was a fellow who wanted to talk for some time which was difficult because I was so tired.
I did a little bit of preparation for the weekend and peeled and sliced some onions (before tea and when I got home from the Prayer Vigil) before heading up to the Post Office steps to join other members of the Combined Churches of New Norfolk for the Prayer Vigil from 6 pm until midnight. During the night (I stayed until just after 11pm) we spoke to people from similar gatherings in Hobart, Poatina, Lithgow (NSW), Redlands, Port Augusta & Keith (South Australia). There is a great link up and it was good to hear from Redlands because they are having a Festival tomorrow so there was a special time of prayer for them.
Now, as soon as the printing is finished I'm heading for bed.
Holy Saturday, 14th
Holy Saturday is a long day as well. It is now 11.15pm and I'm about to head for bed.
The day started at 7am with a reminder that I hadn't printed the page for the colouring-in competition so I headed downstairs to get started in the hope that the photocopier would work more than a page at a time. Unfortunately it didn't it took three times as long to get everything done. I then headed off to the EasterFest a little later than I had hoped and consequently made more trips home to collect the things I had forgotten than I would have liked.
The EasterFest went well with lot's of good things happening with people and situations so I was happy - I think that the other Christian Leaders were satisfied as well. I've just finished talking to some of the people who helped (at the gathering after the Vigil Mass) and they thought that it was a really good day.
I'm tired now but happy because the ceremonies and all the things that go to make up the Easter Liturgies have worked well .
I'm heading for bed after I load this and I'll put tomorrow's page up tomorrow and won't cheat and do the two of them at once.
Easter Sunday, 15th
If the other days were long, Easter Sunday was almost as long!! but slightly less tiring.
I started at 7am with a some breakfast and then remembered that I hadn't locked the door to the Council Shed which we had used for power for the EasterFest - thankfully there had been nothing taken so I was able to lock up without too much drama.
There was a good (better than a normal Sunday) Congregation at St Peter's this morning so that was good. When I got back to the House a message was on the machine saying that Sandy would like to join me for the run to Hamilton which was good. There was also a message on my mobile saying that Steve McClelland from ABC Radio would like to do an on-air interview about the Easter March. I arranged to speak to him at 10.25am so I headed off up the road and stopped outside the Gretna Green Hotel and spoke for about five minutes about the Easter march and Awakening Movement in general.
There was only a small group at Hamilton but that's OK - it was good to be there.
Back home to New Norfolk to get some materials I needed for the afternoon and then driving to Hobart to park my car at Parliament House (the end point of the March) and then I got a ride up to the Regatta Grounds with Kelly, one of the Fusion workers who had been at New Norfolk yesterday - she was co-ordinator for the start of the March from the Domain.
A small but good crowd gathered and then headed off up to Parliament House where we joined with another March that arrived from Fitzroy Gardens. I managed to get interviewed by the ABC TV News team and that was shown just a while ago.
I'm heading for bed - it is only 8.30pm but late enough after the past few days to be well worth the going to bed now.
Monday, 16th
I woke early this morning and did some work but then went back to bed and didn't get up until after 9.30am - very late for me.
I had breakfast and then headed off to see the family of the late Roy Vout. As soon as I walked into the room there were flashes of de-ja-vu - I had baptised children of the three daughters (I knew that I had been part of the Caplice side of the family) but I had also been in the Sea Cadets with the three brothers and had spent lots of time with them through the middle to late 60's.
After spending time talking with them about the life of their late father I called to see my parents and then headed home to do the preparation for the funeral and have spent much of the rest of the day chasing up some music that they want and printing off the booklet - the photocopier is still not working properly and I have almost had to hand feed paper to get it finished.
I've managed through the rest of the day to watch the video "Erin Brokavich" which I thoroughly enjoyed but now I'm ready for an early night.
Tuesday, 17th
Early nights can sometimes be a misnomer. I hadn't been in bed long - just long enough to get to sleep when there was some banging on the door beneath my window and a young fellow wanted to get home to Moonah (200 metres from where I had spent time with the Vout family earlier in the day) so I got out of bed and drove him home which meant that by the time I got back home I was well awake and it took quite some time to go back to sleep.
I spent the first part of the day stapling the leaflet together, entering the data after the counting of the weekly envelopes and preparing and sending off the Annual Return to the Church Office. There were a few little hiccups through details being entered differently between John's books and mine but in the end we got it right.
I then headed for town to collect some music for the funeral and continued on to North Hobart to pay for my ticket to the Testimonial Dinner for Fr Clem Kilby for Friday night but they weren't accepting monies at the Centacare Office so I'll have to contact Willson Training Centre today to let them know that I'll get the money to them later in the week or on the night.
I then called into the Graham Family Offices so say hello and found that there was a complete Croatian Funeral at the Crematorium at 2.30pm followed by another service at 3.00pm so it meant that I needed to have the Vout Funeral at the Crematorium as close to 2.00pm as I possibly could to allow the other funerals to happen on time.
As it turned out everything went well and we managed to get away before the next funeral started. On the way back to the family home I organised a baptism for Saturday week but in the process it took seven phone calls as the times kept changing - thankfully it is now all arranged and everyone is happy.
I went to the pictures at Glenorchy with some friends and afterwards we decided to head to North Hobart for a meal and when we returned to collect their car it had been stolen. We headed off to the Glenorchy Police Station to make a report and the Sergeant taking the report is a distant cousin (2nd or third of my mum's), the CIB Officer conducting an interview is a long time friend and the constable on duty is the son of a couple who were at Linda's 50th birthday party bash last Wednesday - who said Tasmania was a small place. The car didn't have a lot of petrol in it so it is possible that they didn't get very far and it will be found during the night or early tomorrow.
Now, however, I'm going to go to bed and sleep.
Wednesday, 18th
Today has been an interesting day.
I woke reasonably early wondering whether my Glenorchy friends had heard any news about their car overnight. There had been no phone calls this morning but by this afternoon the car had been found and although there had been no exterior damage the clutch has been burnt out and the engine has probably suffered some damage. I didn't have a chance to have a good talk last night so I will probably call and see them some time over the next day or so depending what happens when I ring Campbell Town tomorrow.
The rest of the day has been fairly quiet - I got some extra sleep this morning but still feel tired so I'll have to take care over the next few days to get things in perspective so that I can actually get a bit of a break.
I've just arrived home from tea at the Cowling's. Sandy invited a group of us for a meal - she said that it is the first time she has wanted to cook for some time so that is good. Mary & Pat Murray were there, Ruby and Sr. Lorraine and I enjoyed some really nice Chinese food and I even managed to use the chopsticks without too much difficulty.
Now it is time for bed.
Thursday, 19th
Today started early but it is also going to finish early.
We celebrated Mass at 9am and that was followed almost immediately by the Leaders Meeting. It was a good meeting but there are lot's of things that need to be worked through that are basically being left on the table because of lack of time - hopefully we will have a chance to deal with them shortly.
I rang Campbell Town but John Hayres wasn't home and since I didn't hear from him during the day I have not yet made arrangements to get to see him - I'll need to try again tomorrow. I did however so some work with John Maher and updated some of his files so that he will be able to do the BAS and other statements while I am away later in the year.
I went to town and collected some things for the Sick and Aged Priests Fund so that information might be receipted and passed onto Phil Scanlon as it comes in; I also managed to get to Willson Training Centre to pay for the dinner tonight.
I've dealt with some phone calls and arranged some Baptisms over the next few weeks and there are still one or two things that I need to do tomorrow including the possibility of going to Campbell Town but I will have to wait and see what John is doing.
Now, however, I'm going to bed.
Friday, 20th
After the 9am Mass I headed over to Corumbene to take Communion to the residents and then headed over to the District Hospital to visit Eileen and to see how she is getting on.
I rang Lorraine at Ellendale, then Maria at Oatlands and tried Marjorie at Swansea to see how they are getting on after Easter. I then checked with John at Campbell Town but he was not home today so I'm going to see him on Tuesday to take the spare computer to him and see what else is happening.
The rest of today has been spent preparing the Newsletter and starting on the May edition of the BEACON. I also did a walk around the town and visited some of the shops to say hello to people and check out how they are getting on.
I've just returned home from attending a Testimonial Dinner recognising the work of Fr Clem Kilby - he recently completed almost 40 years work with Centacare and is now doing some research work for the Archbishop. It was a good night and there were a goodly number of people there from various aspects of his life so that was good.
Now, however, I'm heading for bed as it is tomorrow already.
Saturday, 21st
The third Saturday of the month is the Combined Churches Prayer Breakfast so I've been out early into the fog with members of the various congregations around New Norfolk. There was a good gathering in spite of the weather and some good sharing before the prayer time.
I then prepared the vegetables for the Clergy Lunch - as usual I prepared more than enough for a baked meal and, because of the competing Silver Jubilee Celebrations for one of the Religious Sisters there were only 6 fellows here but that's all right.
This afternoon was quiet as I completed a couple of small jobs before visiting a couple of people and then heading off to Bothwell for the Vigil Mass. It was a quiet night there because a number of the people had been off on a day trip to Derwent Bridge and had only arrived back a short time before the Mass was due to start. There will need to be some investigating to see if the time needs to be changed to more suitable time.
Now for bed.
Sunday, 22nd
Today has been a longish day.
After the morning Mass here at New Norfolk I headed off to Ellendale for Mass at 11am but was always aware of the fact that the road was to be closed from shortly after midday in preparation for the Targa event which was coming through that way during the afternoon.
As usual it also effected the evening Mass because people are not able to get to the Church easily because of the crowds and also because some roads are cut off for the event. This meant a smaller than usual number at each of the Masses today - this morning because of the severe fog and cold, and the Targa event for the other two Masses.
The baptism I forgot at the end of March when we were at the Hamilton Show was on today and I'm back in the family good books so that is a good start.
Now it is time for an early night.
Monday, 23rd
Today was a work day - although I didn't get as much done as I would have liked.
I've printed off my material for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Maydena on Wednesday and I've done quite a deal of work on the BEACON and the Parish Newsletter for this weekend but I didn't manage to get anything further done on the financial set-up of the Parish _ still need to make further contact with Sr. Carmel Jones ssj and Sr. Gabrielle Morgan PBVM re the stipend payments for Sr. Maria and Sr. Marjorie respectively but it will come together soon - I hope.
I did see some families this afternoon so that was good although I have still missed the couple who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on the weekend - that will have to happen by phone tomorrow.
This afternoon whilst I was out I did some back-ups of the Windows Folder and the Registry but there are some things that I should have deleted before I started because the folder didn't all fit onto one tape - I think I know what the problem is but haven't done anything about it to make it work better.
I'm going to bed and will set it all up tomorrow to try again.
Tuesday, 24th
I really am strange - I woke early this morning and was not able to get back to sleep - it is tomorrow morning that I'm supposed to wake by 4 am to get to the Anzac Day Dawn Service - not today.
After Mass I loaded the car with the second computer to head to Campbell Town via St Brigid's School. I needed to sign a letter that was going to the Grade Five parents informing them that the class teacher had resigned and was heading back to Victoria for family reasons. I got caught up in helping network a new Imac into the system so that was interesting for me.
I then headed off and drove in heavy rain for much of the way. When I arrived I found that there was a power lead for the monitor missing from the peripherals and remembered that I hadn't reconnected it after using the monitor on this machine when my monitor died two weeks ago. I headed around to the local High School and they kindly loaned me a cable for the afternoon just so I could set everything up and check to see that it all worked and to spend some time with John showing him what programs were on the machine. After lunch and a chat I headed for home.
I hadn't got very far - 35 kms - when John rang to say that my glasses and diary were sitting on the table in the computer room. I had looked for them earlier as I needed to read something and we couldn't see them so I presumed they were in the car and had driven off without checking. I returned to Campbell Town and started the journey home again - 30 minutes later and driving again through heavy rain for most of the way - it seemed to be travelling with me as the sky ahead didn't look that dark but I was in rain all the way.
I've just returned from a School Board Meeting which was interesting and lively and which will require me to spend some time with the Assistant Director of the CEO regarding some School issues that need to be resolved. I will make contact on Thursday and see Jeff, hopefully, on Tuesday of next week.
Now it is time for bed.
Wednesday, 25th
ANZAC DAY 2001- the 86th Anniversary
I woke at 4 am to get ready for the Dawn Service at Maydena - it is a 45 minute trip which took a little longer this morning because of patchy fog along the way. There was a good turn out of people including a good number of young people who marched and then joined in the service or remembrance. The breakfast afterwards was good and I spent some time with a couple of people I hadn't seen for some time.
There was a better than usual gathering for Mass this morning - again a Remembrance Celebration - before I headed off to the local Cenotaph for the main service at 11am. The crowd was the biggest on the town for some time and that seems to have been the case throughout the whole of the State.
Some friends arrived just as I was about to have lunch so we headed off to a counter meal and enjoyed a very pleasant time together before we returned here for as coffee and a chat. I then headed for Lenah Valley to catch us with Sr Maura McAvoy who is heading off overseas on Saturday and who is going to spend time with her brother and his wife in Ireland. I hope to catch up with James and May later in the year. I also caught up with some friends whom I hadn't seen for some time at the little gathering.
Then it was off to visit my niece Erin who celebrated her birthday today - lucky girl always has a holiday on her birthday so that was good. I also managed to catch up with Martin and Shayanne - even if just for a short time so that was good. It seems that everyone will be able to make it here on 3rd for my birthday which is even better.
I then came home to prepare for the 'Life after drowning - making waves together' - the five week ecumenical study looking at Baptism within the different Church traditions. There were 29 people here tonight from the various congregations around the town which was a wonderful event and led to some interesting discussion. There were also a few people who were unable to attend tonight so hopefully we will have an even bigger group next week.
As I said at the beginning it has been a long day and I'm heading for bed.
Thursday, 26th
Today started with some work on material from the School Board Meeting on Tuesday - there were a couple of letters to write and I received drafts which I had looked at and had made some changes. Not long after the Chair of the Board arrived and we made one or two other changes before emailing the copies back to school and to the secretary so that they might be posted out tomorrow.
Then I did some more work on the BEACON and faxed off the calendar for May to the Team so that they can bring any additions to the meeting tomorrow before I headed off to the Police and Community Consultative Meeting at 10am held at the local Police Station. There were a number of issues that were raised that need to be looked at so we will see what happens.
After the midday Mass I set down to work on the Dinner roster for the Clergy for the next few months but had to send out an incomplete list asking for further volunteers - Michael Tate has just rung to say that he can do two in May so that is a start.
I've almost finished the Parish Newsletter for the week and I'm heading for bed having not achieved all that much today although I did manage to return all of the phone calls I received as I got them. There was a baptismal query from Tuesday night which I also followed up for a family I was involved in several years ago when two of their three babies died, one at birth and the other two shortly afterwards. They now have another child and have moved to Hobart so I am having a meal with them shortly and will organise the Baptism for them then.
Another of the calls was from Jenny Roddam at the TCC asking whether we needed more books for the Ecumenical Study 'Life after Drowning' so I was able to order another 10 copies. The best part is that there are no outstanding calls to return.
Now it is time for bed realising that there was in fact a lot happening today - it just didn't seem like it.
Friday, 27th
Today has been an interesting day. I managed to get to see Eileen Taylor at the District Hospital after the morning Mass and chatted with another few patients on the way in and out as well as spending a few minutes with one of the staff who had been at the "Life after Drowning" Meeting on Wednesday evening.
I did a few jobs like checking that I had the right copy of the BEACON saved as well as the up to date version of the May Calendar on disk as well as ensuring that I had all of the cords and leads for the laptop to take to Oatlands for the meeting. I also made a couple of phone calls to check to see if there were any extra things I needed to know or do before I left with Lorraine for the meeting.
The photocopier technician arrived and checked out why the copies were extremely light - it was partly due to the paper being moist but more likely due to the fact that the copier is meant to be a SOHO copier doing a few pages each day - not a copier sometimes doing two or three major runs a week. Normal good use would be something in the vicinity of 120K to 140K in a lifetime - ours has done 180K in less than three years so he suggests that we might be in need of an upgrade to a digital copier. He suggested that one of the staff would contact me on Monday with a new proposal to look at so we will see what happens.
Lorraine arrived back after doing some jobs up the town (she had joined us for Mass this morning) and we headed off to Oatlands. We arrived in plenty of time and I had taken the opportunity to speak to my sister to ask for some information regarding access to IT in the country as she is part of the State Government Team looking at ensuring that Rural areas have access to Government services. She is going to email me the name of a person who is dealing with the specific issue so I'll get that tonight when I load this up.
The meeting went well with some good suggestions for the future - we spent some time on the issue of a Team Building Day and that is to be our next meeting on 31st May. We also looked at some of the concerns that need to be addressed into the future and planned the agenda for the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting to be held on 24th May. We still have a long way to go but there are positive signs for the future.
After I've finished this I'm heading for bed and a very early night - I've been to the supermarket and got the ingredients for tomorrow's lunch so I'm well under way to getting things finished. I only have to hope that the photocopier works tomorrow morning when I try to print off the newsletter, the May Calendar and the BEACON because I really don't need the hassle of watching every page of the three things to make sure that there are no paper jams.
Saturday, 28th
The first part of today was spent getting ready for the Clergy Lunch and finishing off the printing of the newsletter for the Parish. It is taking forever because the copier keeps jamming - the technician was here yesterday and said that the copier is OK but that it had now exceeded its normal life expectancy because of the large number of copies we regularly do - it is meant for a SOHO where people print a small number of copies a few times a day, not reasonably large runs several times a week. The runs today was in the order of 450 pages (double sided) and 150 single page runs so that meant I was in the office for much of the morning!!.
There were a dozen guys for lunch (double last week) so that was good and the list for lunches for the next 4 months are basically covered except for the three weeks in July that I can't do anything about so I'll fax out the list after Moinday's boat trip to see what is possible.
After lunch I headed for Moonah to celebrate the Baptism of Ronan Paul Gentile, the son of Tony & Dimity, a couple whose wedding I did some time back. I went back to the house for a short time afterwards but left to visit some people in Glenorchy and to check out about some people I have been trying to contact but have been missing these past few weeks.
Tonight I had a night off because tomorrow is the 5th Sunday of the month and there is no Vigil Mass for the 5th Sunday so I am making the most of a quiet night.
Sunday, 29th
I woke early but not too early so I have been able to get things done without too much mucking round. I delivered the newsletter to the other Churches and had plenty of time to stop and pray before Mass today. It is not as cold as it has been recently but , in the wind, it is still showing signs of autumn. There has been a big Autumn Festival on the Esplanade all day but the closest I have got to it has been the Church grounds and hearing the noise.
After the 9am Mass, Pat & Mary Murray and Sandy Cowling and I jumped in the car and headed off towards Bronte for the Country Mass. Frequently people from here or some other friends of mine come for the ride and Mass - today it was lucky they did because Sr. Lorraine was there, she had a meeting in Claremont for the Alpha Program, and Denis & Robin Wiss and everyone else at Bronte had forgotten we were coming and so there were only six at Mass.
We had a pleasant meal after Mass before heading home for the 4.30pm Mass. When Mass was over I spent time chatting to some people and then a friend from Glenorchy arrived to say that (Fr) Mick Wheeler had arrived and was in the house. He has come over for the week to help me celebrate my 50th birthday on Thursday.
After a coffee and a chat she left and Mick and I sat down to continue talking about all the things that are going on at the moment here and in Melbourne.
I made some tea a short time ago and we've watched the evening movie, or part of it but it is scheduled to finish after 11.30pm so I'm doing this then heading for bed.
Monday, 30th
Today was a very pleasant day on the water in the southern reaches of the Derwent River in the quiet area west of Bruny Island. We left from the wharf at Kettering and motored for just over an hour into Simpsons Bay and dropped off a couple of guys at the spot where were we to have lunch and then continued further into the bay for a spot of flathead fishing - not too many were caught so it was lucky that we had with us the meat for a BBQ lunch.
After a pleasant time ashore we reboarded the boat and headed towards home stopping a couple of time along the way to try for some fish. Eventually we came too just off the edge of a fish farm - speculating that since there was a lot of free feed around we might find some fish - and we managed to catch a reasonable number of fish. I managed by fluke to catch the largest flathead even though I only managed three for the day but since I am not a fisherman I didn't think that that was too bad.
We've arrived home and Mick has organised to see some friends tomorrow night and his niece on Wednesday night so that will make life easy for me as I have meeting on both those nights.
Had some tea, watched some TV and now I'm heading for bed a tired little person.
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