Well, I've arrived home from the Marianella Experience this morning very tired and wondering if I'm going to sleep well tonight but I really won't know until tomorrow morning how well I went. It is going to be unusual to be writing these pages again after the wee monk did all the work in Ireland (I think some of his strange sayings may even have rubbed off on me) but I'll give it ago.
The trip into Australia was a bit of a battle because we had been delayed in leaving Singapore so instead of having time for a shower when I arrived in Melbourne it was more about getting to the plane and blow the rest. Thankfully Qantas rescued my bags through Customs and they were forwarded on later in the day and are now safely upstairs.
I got a ride back to New Norfolk and after dropping a few things off headed back to town to visit Mum and Dad at Rosary Gardens Nursing Home in New Town. However, before I got that far I visited St Brigid's School and said hello to a few people before calling into the Optometrists at New Norfolk to get the little screws on my glasses changed so that they don't keep falling out.
Mum and Dad seemed well although Dad really isn't in too good a shape - there is an incredible difference in him after just these few months - they were glad to see me and I was certainly glad to see them.
After staying there for a short time I headed back here to unpack and just work out a few things for myself and now I'm heading for bed for am early night and hopefully a good start to being home.
I spoke to Annie Graham this morning and she invited me to lunch to talk about Ireland - so met her for lunch at Splash of Paris where I also met a new friend of hers whom I think might have the potential to be on the scene for some time.
I also did some work with Paul Cleary, the Chairman of the St Brigid's School Board of Management, in preparation for the End of Year Mass and Farewell to Sean Gill tomorrow night. That, together with a million calls regarding Christmas Puddings and people calling in to say hello, took up most of the rest of the morning.
I've just come back from the Church after the Advent Reconciliation Service - sadly there were few people there so that is an area where we will have to put a fair deal of effort to encourage people back into celebrating the Sacrament. I've also had a chat to Sandy Cowling to regarding the Liturgy for tomorrow night so I'm ready for bed after the little sleep I had last night - I hope I do better tonight.
I worked away in the Office this morning getting the Office Network up and running and with only one phone call it was all on line. I then managed to transfer all the Marianella Files over to the Desktop which made life a lot easier but I still haven't managed to get the CD program working properly yet. I'll have to rethink what is happening and what I am doing.
This is partially because I am trying to hard without thinking things through. I've just arrived home from attempting to run it on the computer of one of the School staff and none of the links worked so it will be back to the drawing board sometime over the weekend.
I spent time down at St Brigid's this morning for the end of year Assembly and it was a grand moment. The children practised some of the material that they used at the End of Year Mass tonight as well as there being a time for the Presentation of Certificates for people for their monthly awards. There were also a couple of comments made by the children as farewells to Sean Gill, the School Principal, who moves to Holy Rosary School, Claremont, next year.
I've just arrived back home (after checking the CD) from the End of Year Mass held in the Lachlan River Complex. It was a great turn up of Parents supporting the children and the School Community. Paul Cleary, Chairman of the School Board of Management, spoke well in his Address of Thanks to Sean and there was a sense of real sadness among the staff as we watched Sean and his family head off.
So at the moment I'm feeling a little down (and tired) but also a little happy as well. Two of my friends from Marianella are going to meet up in Chicago on New Years Eve, their time and some 17 hours behind Tasmania, so I'm hoping to be able to ring them at 5pm on New Years Day to Wish them Happy New Year. I didn't ever think that leaving the Course and these friends would be so hard but I am feeling it a bit so the possibility of a chat (besides emails etc.) makes things really grand.
First thing this morning was a meeting of the Christian Leaders Association at St Matthew's Anglican Church where I caught up with some of the things that needed to be done in and around the community in the lead up to Christmas and to start off the New Year. It was good to catch up with people but it is a very different group from that which formed the Leaders Group when I first arrived on the town in 1995.
It was then a quick dash to Hobart (in the rain) to be part of the gathering for the Mass celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Ordination of +Adrian to the Priesthood. I was fortunate to be his assistant at Sandy Bay when he celebrated his Silver Jubilee all those years ago so it will be good to be there today. It was a grand celebration and the music was excellent - Sarah Adams would have been very pleased with the Liturgy and the style of participation amongst the people.
After Mass the priests, together with Brian and Hillary Doyle (+Adrian's brother and neice) for a beautiful meal and celebration. It was good to catch up with people and great to have a long chat about some of the things that have been happening in my life as well as hearing the news about people around the Diocese.
After the meal I headed off to collect the Turkey from Terry Kay at Willson Training Centre and managed to have another chat before heading off to the Catholic Book Centre and Church Office and had a chat with people there. There was fairly heavy rain during the afternoon and all the way back to New Norfolk so the roads were fairly congested and people were driving carefully.
I've just arrived back - really tired - from the Reconciliation Service at Ellendale. There were not a large number but it was good and the people responded well to the Liturgy. The drive home was really difficult and it is likely that I will have a good night's sleep so I'm finishing now and I'll worry about the emails in the morning. I suspect if the Little Monk ever gets a look at this page he'll be fascinated as he said that I always pushed him off the computer at night to get at my emails.
After Mass this morning I headed off to see Eileen Taylor in the District Hospital, Corrie Laskey and her sister Barbara at home and then over the river to see Doris Hastie to take them Holy Communion. It was good to catch up with all of them - they hardly seem any different since I left for Ireland.
There were a couple of things happening around the place so I chatted to people as they came home and Sandy and Ruby prepared the potatoes for tomorrow's Clergy Christmas Lunch so that was a great help. I was pleasantly surprised at the cost of the groceries that I need for tomorrow - we have been given the Turkey so that was a major saving - considering it is 6.875 kg or over 15 lbs it would have been worth a penny or two.
I spoke to my sister Michele about lunch time and she said that she was heading into see Mum at Rosary Gardens to get some paperwork signed so I went in a joined her and met the Admissions Officer so that was good. As well as Mel and her sons, Sam & Callum, my brother in law Steve arrived with Aleisha and Aaron so that was good.
After spending some time with Mum we all headed off (individually) to see Dad in Calvary Hospital. His Cardiologist has told him that he will be in and out of hospital regularly and not to be too concerned as he will need to be constantly monitored. He seems in fine form and it looks as if he might be out of hospital tomorrow and will head out with the family to Claremont to pack up some of their goods and chattels to be stored.
Now I'm ready for bed - I've done most of the work on the Newsletter for the weekend and I should be able to print it off early tomorrow morning - while I'm waiting for the Turkey to cook. Because it is such a big bit of turkey breast it will take some time to cook so it will be an early start.
I also surprised myself by having all of the table prepared and everything ready to go by 10am so that I was able to have a coffee with Jenny Searle when she called in and not feel pressured at all. The photo on the left is just at the start while the one on the right is as people were leaving. As you can see there were an interesting group - unfortunately a couple had already left before I had the chance to take the photo so there are a few missing. There were several others taken but this shows something of the groupI also managed to wash everything up, stack away the tables and print the newsletter and still be in time to watch the evening news and answer phone calls and the front door and not be anxious or run out of steam doing all the things I needed to do.
One of my faults is that I really struggle to complete a task that I don't like doing - ie cleaning up after a function. Today I have done everything except vacuum the floor whish I will leave and ask someone to do it tomorrow morning after Mass.
Now it is time for an early night and hopefully a really good sleep.
All the Masses today were well attended - for two of the places it is their final celebration of the season as we will not be back there during the next two days.
It was good to be back on my own soil again and it was wonderful to catch up with people whom I haven't seem for quite some time. The travelling (at the end of the day) was just a little bit tiring and I felt exhausted when I got home tonight.
In fact it was all a bit of a rush today because after the 9am Mass here at New Norfolk and as I was preparing to walk out the door Maura McAvoy and Karen Fedlt arrived to say farewell. I knew that they were coming but in the rush had forgotten. Maura will be around until April but Karen leaves on Thursday to work in Newcastle next year after having been in Tassie for the past 9 years or so. They have been grand friends and it will be sad to see them leave.
Sandy came with me to Ellendale and as we were leaving to come back my mind was ticking through all the options for the next few days when I had the brainwave to print off the Christmas Newsletter and take copies with to Kempton and leave all the things there that will be needed for Mass on Christmas Day - now all I have to do is ring Clem Kilby to say that everything is there for him and I'll collect it all later.
I got home from Ellendale at 1pm and spent the afternoon racing to get everything finished before leaving for Bothwell via Kempton at 4pm. I managed to get everything done without too much hassle but then it was a quick dash back from there to get the Combined Churches Christmas Service at St Matthew's - of course I arrived late but managed to stay awake until towards the end and by the time we were gathering for supper I was really wrecked so came home after a very short time and now I'm off to bed - the next two days are going to be long enough.
I know around here it has been so busy that I am exhausted. After working out that I nearly had everyone's Christmas Present I chatted with a couple to finalise their marriage papers etc for their wedding this Saturday. Then I headed around the town to deliver a couple of last minutes items including posting off some gifts to people overseas - not Christmas gifts - as well as collecting some more paper for the Office as we were down to our last few pages. On the way round I waved to a fellow who was driving through and he stopped and reversed back to me and told me that his brother had been found dead in his house just a short time ago - aged 40. May the Lord have mercy on him.
Back at home the photocopier was working overtime as I copied the words to the hymns for the Family Mass and then printed off the newsletter for the Parish. As soon as it the hymns were finished I then had to staple them all together to make into booklets - hopefully something else will be done next year rather than repeat this same format as we have these past four years.
I went over to the Chapel to prepare everything I needed so that when I'd finished everything else I only had to make one trip and that worked out well.
I got a couple of welcome phone calls - one from Josie Berry from the States and another from Jan Quinlan from Queensland - I hadn't spoken to Jan for quite some time so that was good.
There weren't as many people as normal at any of the Masses tonight - good crowds but not crowded Churches. The Midnight Mass and Supper (following) are now over and I'm ready for bed. Just after the start of the Mass a lady arrived with a little dog which sat with her throughout the whole of the Mass and didn't make a sound. Not quite a Franciscan Crib scene but as close as we can get at New Norfolk.
Bed
The crowd at the morning Mass was not large but I did meet some new parishioners so that was good. Both Lorraine and and I were tired at the end of the day and so we settled for a simple evening last night. This doesn't mean that we weren't interested in what else was happening - it just meant that we were too tired
I do have to congratulate Lisa and Brendan as being the first of my generation to produce an living male child - sadly their son Jacob was stillborn.
I'm now ready for bed as that seems the best place for me after today. Before I go I must tell you about my father. We gathered at Derwent Waters for the traditional Christmas Lunch and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately when we took Dad back to Rosary Gardens he needed oxygen and there was some concern that it wasn't on his medical chart but after the episode that Dad went through last night it soon will be.
Until I talk to you again - keep well and don't do anything I wouldn't do.
I then did some work on the computer, trying to get it to work (I think that the D drive is about to die) - but there are some aspects of it still working so I'll try and get it looked sometime during the week.
I then headed down to Lower Sandy Bay where I joined Terry and Lillian Kay who provided their usual Boxing Day (St Stephen's Day) BBQ lunch which was a great success. It was a little different this year as Peter Self - the BBQ maestro of many years - died during the year so before we began we prayed for his eternal repose and remembered him at our meal.
When I came home there was a message on the machine asking if I was available to go out for a meal to the Cowlings as Sandy is heading off tomorrow so I said yes and have just arrived home - very tired and having enjoyed a great day but I suspect that I will be very slow starting off tomorrow after the things I've done today.
I woke this morning and put on the News and saw, for the third day in a row, the reports of the incredible destruction caused by the high winds and Bush Fires which have been raging throughout NSW since Christmas Day. As I'm preparing to go to bed there have been no loss of lives but the material cost is going to be amazing.
After Mass this morning Lorraine and I worked on the BEACON but it is going to be a small edition for next month but I'll print it off in the morning so that Lorraine can take it through to Oatlands and Campbell Town as she travels north to see her father.
After a quick lunch I headed off to town to see Frances Morgan who was in the Whittle Ward just prior to my leaving for Ireland and who was expected to have died long before I returned home. She had ordered some Christmas Puddings so I delivered them to her a couple of days late but she has them so that is good. We chatted for a while before I called into see about a new hard drive for the computer and have arranged to take it into them tomorrow to have the C drive 'ghosted' and then make the change over.
Just as I was about to sit down for my tea the couple whom I had organised to come for Marriage Preparation arrived - I'd seen the time in my diary this morning and then completely forgotten about it - so we did the work that we needed to do and I left with with some work and they'll be back next week to complete it all.
I've been phoning to contact the family of the late Max Jameson to arrange his funeral for next Monday but have not been able to catch them yet so will need to do that first thing tomorrow. But now I going to call it quits and head for bed so that I can get a good night's sleep.
This morning I followed up with Eileen and Doris with Communion after the morning Mass before visiting Dennis Murphy who has be told that he has some malignancies which will need to be dealt with early in the new year. I also managed to connect with the family of the late Max Jameson to work on the Liturgy for his funeral on Monday.
For many years a group of people have gathered for birthdays and special occasions and tonight three of them were able to be here. I got a phone call from Gabrielle during the afternoon apologising for not being able to get here as she has been unwell for the past few days and one of the (now) senior ladies couldn't come because of a visitor but the others came for a meal and a chat about the past year and also a chance to talk to me about the trip.
Now, however, it is time for bed and I have no difficulty in knowing that I'm tired and need some sleep so hopefully it will happen without too much difficulty.
I finished off printing the BEACON and then got into the Newsletter although it is a very meagre effort for the weekend. The Baptism went well and it was also a chance to get someone to check the security of some of the doors and we now have the possibility that something will happen fairly soon.
The lunch for the Clergy was a simple cold meats and salad table with minimum preparation and a good deal of enjoyment. A guest (or at least a returning friend) was + Geoff Jarrett, formerly PP of New Town and now Bishop of Lismore in NSW. He is back inTasie for a few weeks holiday. Also at lunch today was Fr Ted McCormack MSC, the new PP Of Moonah so that was good as well.
After lunch I had a short time to finish stapling together the BEACON pages before heading off to the Cathedral for the Wedding of Robyn Morse and Robert Gill. It was a good ceremony with a high degree of participation and the presence of a whole range of people from another time. Both partners are in their 30's so there were a good number of people who had been at St Virgil's and St Mary's in the early 80's when I was appointed to the Cathedral and had been Chaplain to St Mary's so it was good to catch up with them.
I left the reception reasonably early because I am really tired and I need a good night's sleep so I think that I will make the most of the chance and as it is just after 10pm I'm heading for bed.
We met quite a number of people there who were just finishing a couple of days as part of a family reunion - later, when chatting to Robin & Denis, we found out that regularly during the year there are gatherings of people who enjoy being at the Chalet or in the little cottages and they all have a great time.
When I arrived back at New Norfolk this afternoon I set to work on the leaflet for the funeral of the late Max Jameson. Thankfully, not long after I'd started, his sister Fiona rang and clarified a couple of points that they had said they would get back to me about so that was good and the project worked out well. I've printed off the inside pages and will do the covers early tomorrow morning.
After finishing taht I headed down to town to go to the Taste of Tasmania and had a pleasant couple of hours there - a meal and a couple of wines and a chat to a whole lot of people as I wandered around the Food Hall area. It really is a great atmosphere and I wouldn't miss going - I'll try and get there on Wednesday afternoon so that should be good as well.
Now it seems like a good time to go to bed so that I can get a good night's sleep to be ready for New Year's Eve.
This morning the funeral of the late Max Jameson went off well although I really do need to talk to people before I finish things off. I started to print the front cover of the leaflet and the yellow colour cartridges for the printer ran out of ink so I couldn't print colour covers. Then when I was standing out side the church before the ceremony commenced someone came up and mentioned that the date of birth on the cover was incorrect - it was right in all the documentation and all that but not the cover.
The crowd was bigger outside than in and the majority of the gathering were men so it gives an indication of the quality and respect of the man - he was a big man in aspects of his life and had an impact on the whole community.
After joining the family and friends at the RSL for the Wake I came back here to wait for my sister and brother in law to bring up some things from Derwent Waters as the things from Mum and Dad's unit are cleared out and stored. We managed to get the bed and everything else upstairs so now I have a new big double bed which takes over half the room and which is so high that I will need a parachute if I happen to roll out of bed to prevent me injuring myself as I fall to the ground below!!
I've just come home from a gathering at some friends place to celebrate the coming of the New Year so I will hit the sack so that I can be up in plenty of time to tackle the New Year in the morning and celebrate 2002 in style.
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