Next we headed off to Tunnack and along the way I took photos of the Church at Paratah. There was only a very small group at Tunnack so it will be hard to see where we go in the long term re the Church there - not to mention a number of other places as well.

Mass this afternoon was at Kempton and it seems that either everyone was away or we have a serious problem as only a couple of people were there - with most of the regular's missing.

Bed is looking good and I don't think that I'm going to be sitting round here for too much longer.

While I was working away this morning I also found that the Baptismal Records from the beginning of the year had also disappeared - I should have guessed if the Mariage details were gone then the baptism would have disappeared as well. spent quite some time retyping them into the system - angry for making some basic mistakes in backing up but conscious that I was tired when I was trying to do it - a recipe for disaster.

This afternoon I headed for town to try and get a new copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary to replace the copy that no longer loads with Windows XP for John Hayres' machine - no luck so will email the publishers tomorrow to see whether a patch is available.

Just got home from a meal with some friends and I'm heading for bed - I'm really tired and I need to get some sleep. Today has been freezing in the house and I'm not too keen about staying up any longer.

The Meeting went alright and although it finished earlier than usual it was good. The discussion around the table was frank and earnest - that helps because sometimes things can be left unsaid.

After the meeting I called into the Church Office and fixed a couple of things before coming home to meet with sandy re the Confirmation Mass and Mary with details of the remainder of the people who have ordered Morning teas for tomorrow.

Then it was back to Glenorchy (after completing a couple of other jobs) where I joined with other friends of the Dominican Sisters to celebrate the Feast Day of Dominic Guzman - their founder. It was a good night although I was tired during the Mass and have come home early - tomorrow morning is an early rise to make scones for the Business Morning Tea. Bed

Before the Morning Tea however, I had sent some time with one of the Christian Leaders Association as part of the Wednesday Prayer time - also special so that was good.

Mass at midday and then off to the School Concert which was really good - the kids are amazing and even though there were some minor hitches it was a great event. Some of the acts were absolutely first class.

From there it was off to St Canice to drop off the printer for Marjorie (to be taken to Conara courtesy of Richard Ross) and to drop off the Confirmation Booklet for the Archbishop - we are three weeks away from the big night.

From there it was back to the Church Office to drop off some afternoon tea before continuing on to the Dominicans at Glenorchy to put a couple of little programs on the computer (following a chat with Ann the previous night).

Finally home and a quick meal with Lorraine before the Parish Council - we both arrived in New Norfolk at the same time so that made it easy. The PPC was a good meeting with some interesting discussion and was followed by supper to celebrate the 21st birthday (with several years experience) of our PPC Chair so it has ended up a great night.

Now bed.

After Mass this morning I headed off to town to prepare for the Blessing of Spirit of Tasmania II - one of the new vessels that will be the link between Devonport (in the north of the State) and Melbourne. It will mean that there are two vessels - and daily travel - working the Bass Strait Ferry run which will be good.

I joined some of the Board and the deputy Premier for lunch which was good before heading for the Church Office to check that all the work I have been doing with the finances is heading in the right direction. There are still some issues to flow up but it is getting close to completion.

I then headed out to see my mum (who is still not well) before continuing on to a couple of the hospitals to see an aunt, an elderly Sister of St Joseph who is seriously ill and then to ICU at the Royal Hobart Hospital to spend some time with a family from the Parish whose son is in a coma and not expected to live.

Tonight has been a re-acquainting myself with members of the Council of Jane Franklin Hall at their meeting - I've missed a number of meetings lately.

Home and time for bed - I might watch something of the Football Show but I'll play that by ear as well.

After the 9am Mass I did some work on the newsletter (Beryl has been sick all week) before heading off on the Communion Round. Eileen is out of bed and seems a little better although she is not good.

From there I headed off to Campbell Town to put the last of the files back onto John's Computer (re-installing the Concise Oxford Dictionary in SafeMode worked)and adding the updates for Vet and the MailWasher Program. Anyone who wants to have a greater degree of safety with their email should consider downloading MailWasher from http://www.mailwasher.net - an excellent program and easy to set up and use.

Marjorie wasn't home so she missed out (today anyway) so I drove back to Oatlands and met with the niece of the late Beryl Byers whose funeral we will celebrate at Tunnack on Monday afternoon - the main reason for me going north today.

After completing the work with her I went round to install the program on Maria's machine before returning to town and a meal with some friends at the Carlisle Hotel. I spent some time sitting at the bar at Cooley's Hotel before I realised that I was 2 kms down the road from where I was meant to be.

Now that I'm home I'm heading for bed and, hopefully, a good nights sleep.

Anyway after Mass I headed off to Ellendale to drop off the newsletters and to put a couple of extra files on Lorraine's computer (Marjorie's is the only one not completely set up now) before coming back home and heading to Bridgewater for lunch. There were only a few people there so that was a bit sad - I wonder whether they are running their course?

Next I continued on into the hospital to see Mum and caught up with Michele & John & Callum as well as Sean & Rowena - Sam, Michele's eldest, is heading out on his first date tonight taking a girl to the pictures!! Poor Michele.

Mum is a little better but still not 100% so will be in hospital for a few more days.

I then came home and have spent the past few hours getting things started on the funeral leaflet for Monday although there is still some work to do after the niece gets back to me with some further details about hymns the family would like.

Now bed - a longish day but lot's actually done.

Then it was off to Maydena where there was a very small congregation - due to a rally in the area some of the people were involved as ambulance & fire services volunteers so that was unfortunate.

Back to New Norfolk for a quick bite to eat before another Baptism followed by some more work on the funeral booklet, although there is still some work to do to get the final words of the hymns - there are so many versions of some hymns, putting the right words in the leaflet is a real battle - thank God for copyright permissions.

After the Baptism I had a coffee and then headed off to Bothwell for the evening Mass where we had a good attendance so that was excellent and now I am home and finishing off the leaflet - luckily one of the people at Mass had a copy of the tape which they are going to use tomorrow so I was able to check the words to make sure everything was OK. The printing is done and I'm ready for bed - early start in the morning as I will be making scones at 5am.

We have survived the first one with a few ideas as to better prepare and provide the food so that will make life a little easier for future events.

After setting everything up I headed for Tunnack for the funeral of the late Beryl Byers. It rained most of the way there but held off during the actual Mass and committal before commencing again on the way home. There was a good gathering of the Tunnack Faithful - sadly most of them no longer live in the district but return home whenever there is a funeral as they are one big 'family'.

The rest of tonight has been spent working on the material for the financial report to the Parish Council Meeting on Thursday night but there is still a fair way to go before it is completed.

I'm now heading for bed as it has been a long day and tomorrow is not looking that much better.

Phone call early on asking if I might be able to celebrate the funeral of the late Dulcie Lowe on Thursday. After Mass I (together with Jan & Margie) finished off the preparations for the catering and then I headed off to get Lorraine connected to the Internet. That completed I headed to Glenorchy to spend time with the family of the late Mrs Lowe before returning home to start the leaflet and make preparations for the evening meal.

Sandy came to tea so that we could talk about the material we are going to present tomorrow night to the Parents & Friends Meeting - providing information re the school Religious Education Program and some material for parents.

She has left and now I'm heading for bed as I am really tired and the next few days don't look as if they are going to be any better.

After breakfast I headed for New Town to celebrate Mass at Sacred Heart with some of the little children and then was going to head back to New Norfolk to visit Eileen Taylor in the District Hospital - unfortunately I got a message to say she had just died so I came back and prayed the Prayers of the Deceased for her.

After doing some more work on the funeral leaflet for tomorrow I celebrated Mass at midday and then headed down the Boyer Road to the Taylors and spent time with them preparing for the funeral for Friday morning.

back to the house and I finally gave up on trying to get one of the photos to print so I headed for town to take it to Photolith and took the opportunity to visit Mum in Calvary - still trying to overcome her latest attack of pneumonia - before having coffee with some friends and then returning to town to collect the bromide and some printer cartridges that had been refilled.

After a bite to eat and the printing of the funeral leaflets for tomorrow I headed down to school - without Sandy who had to take her daughter to hospital -and with the help of Peter McBain, the school principal, we provided information re the RE Program for school and some information about material available for parents.

Home and ready for bed as there is another early morning tomorrow to get ready for the Fellowship Luncheon (for which I am going to be missing for most of the meal) and the final printing of the Big Book for Mrs Lowe's funeral.

Started with some scone making at 5am followed by the final printing of the Big Book for the funeral of the late Dulcie Lowe.

Before Mass I headed off to the supermarket to get fresh bread for the sandwiches for lunch and managed (so I found out later in the morning) to drop $40 as I passed through the checkout area. When I discovered the loss I had to think where I had been and when it might have happened and luckily I went back and the money was there.

Then it was off to the Church for the Feast of the Assumption - a school Mass - which was good. Then the sandwiches and I had just finished them and was getting ready to leave for the funeral when the first of the people arrived for the Planning Meeting for the Summer Festival. I gave Ann some notes and then headed for New Town where everything worked well - there was a good crowd and a great send off.

Back to New Norfolk to join the Christian Leaders who were sitting comfortably around the dining room table enjoying a fellowship lunch - in my absence people come to the fore and things happen.

I had a little bit of time to do some work on getting a couple of financial reports out for the Parish Council Meeting at Oatlands - the reason for the late night - as well as doing a little bit of work on the photo and book for the funeral tomorrow.

Headed off to collect Pat Murray who came with me to Oatlands. I needed to set up the Internet for Maria at Oatlands and Pat needed to check out some of the iron that had come off the roof of the Parish House deliberately when it was repaired recently). I'm happy to report that there are now three of us with Internet access and Marjorie, hopefully, will manage to get hers done today.

The meeting went well but longer than usual because we had a report from two very excited young women who had been to the World Youth Day at Toronto. They really made the rest of us feel good and it was worth the later than usual meeting.

Now, however, it is time for bed - long past it in fact.

After Mass I completed the things I could do before celebrating the funeral and then heading off to the internment at MAlbina. From there I headed to town to go to the Retirement Luncheon in Honour of Barry Bennett, Assistant Commissioner of Police. It was a great gathering with some really interesting people who were there to say thanks for his efforts as a Police Officer in Tasmania. I was lucky to be on the main table so that gave me a chance to talk to some really interesting people as well.

After finishing there I headed off up the town to drop off some papers at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery giving authority for the use of items from the Parish to be part of the PUGIN Exhibition which is going to be here in Tassie in September and then move through various parts of Australia over the next 12 months.

I also called into Births, Deaths and Marriages with some paperwork which was long overdue for presenting before continuing onto the Church Office to say hello and to see if I could get a copy of the CD "Faith of our Fathers" - not available there so I headed to the ABC Shop in Centrepoint and have ordered a copy.

Back home for an appointment with a couple about their mariage preparation and now I'm ready for bed - it has been a long week and I'm really bushed. Won't even wait to find out who might win the football.

Started with the prayer breakfast at the Uniting Church Hall with a nice little group of people and some good chatting before and after as well as during.

Back here to finish off the newsletter before the Baptism at 11am. I was glad that that worked out alright because the last time I was involved with this family I had forgotten the Baptism and was at the Hamilton Show.

Then it was off to lunch at Glenorchy and some good craic - there were two tables and the one I was at had a very enjoyable time - mind you there was plenty of laughter at the table behind me.

Then I called to see my mum who is much better after her little visit to hospital - I still have a little job to fix for her which I will do early next week.

Back home to finish the newsletter and do a few other little jobs before heading back to town to go with some friends to the Celtic Force concert at Wrest Point. It was a great show - more Scottish than Irish - but great none the less. Thankfully it hasn't been too long a night and now I'm ready for bed and it is just after 11pm so that's not too bad. Mind you, bed is looking good.

Then back home for a bite to eat before the 2pm Baptism and a sit down before heading off to Kempton for the evening Mass. During my sit down the phone rang and there is now a funeral for Tuesday morning so that will keep me out of mischief for the day.

Bed is now looking good - I've managed to catch one of the shows I taped last week so that was good but sleep is now needed.

After Mass I headed for Glenorchy to see the mother of a Parishioner and celebrated the Anointing of the Sick. Then it was back to Austins Ferry to arrange the funeral of the late Owen Pearcey to be celebrated here tomorrow. Thankfully, the family didn't want a photo on the cover so it has been easy to prepare the booklet.

This afternoon I spent time preparing a finance report for Oatlands for their meeting tonight before finishing off the BAS for the Church Office.

I then cooked myself a decent meal and am now heading upstairs to go to bed and to have an early night and I feel good - having done a good deal of work and achieved some goals.

Today has likewise been busy and there has been little time for a breather.

This morning started with prayers and Mass as usual before I headed off to Claremont to celebrate Mas at 10am for the Parish - their Patron is St Bernard and since it was also the Parish I lived in at the time of my ordination I have regularly been back there to celebrate with them on the occasion of my anniversary.

Then it was back here to celebrate the funeral of the late Owen Pearcey. There was a good gathering of people here and a slightly bigger gathering at the grave side. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be with the family at the wake because I needed to be back here for an appointment at 1pm re a Baptism in a few weeks time.

As soon as that was finished I headed off to School with the Book Tokens and to see the Gr 3's who had asked a series of questions about Vocations so I had a good chat with them - it lasted for almost an hour but that was good as well.

From there I headed back to have a bite to eat and as I was cooking my toast two priests arrived - just driving round the country side as a local was showing a visitor the sights.

I then had a short time to look at my emails from the morning and tried to download an upgrade to my HotDog program but struck real trouble with the ISP connection which kept dropping out so before I headed off to dinner with some friends I rang my computer friend Tom and arranged to use his ADSL link to get the file - 12MB in under five minutes is much better than the way it was happening for me.

Dinner was wonderful and I've had a good night but I'm really tired. Thankfully tomorrow is looking like being a quietish day so I will be able to finish a few things round the place and go slowly for awhile - at least.

I worked on some material for the newsletter as well as got a few things ready for the computers this morning before going to see the family of the late Jim Grace.

Then it was back for the midday Mass before heading off towards Oatlands to get things fixed for Maria Goretti and then I continued onto Conara to finish setting up Marjorie's Computer so now there are four of us on email - Campbell Town and John are the last still to get connected. We had a bit of trouble as the Bigpond email wouldn't work at first but finally managed to get everything working.

Then it was back to Campbell Town to check the floppy drive - the one mistake I made there was that I didn't take a spare floppy disk to check the drive - it seems that disk itself was corrupted so after replacing the floppy drive there was no change so I changed the disk back in, knocking one of the leads so we couldn't get a read anyway (took me a few minutes to work that one out) and came home after having set up a few new programs on his computer but not having solved the final question about his files which haven't worked on my machine either.

Came home to a School Board Meeting which thankfully didn't last too long and now I'm heading for bed - a tired little person hoping that I'll get a good nights sleep.

This morning there was Mass at 9am and then I headed off to Maryknoll to join with the candidates for the Confirmation Ceremony next Wednesday night. It was a good day and the kids were really wonderful. The weather was forecast to be ordinary but turned out OK so that was good too.

Then it was back home to see the Grace family about the funeral for tomorrow and then back to the house to get a few things fixed before heading back to town to see my mum and attend a meeting of the TCC Executive Working Group.

Then back home, or at least to New Norfolk to visit the parents of baby Jake Banks who was still born and whose funeral is also tomorrow. I had a draft of a liturgy to take with me and they are happy with that so I'll work on that first thing in the morning.

I still have both Big Books to do so that will mean an early start for the day. Now, however, it is time for bed.

Started with Mass at 9am and then some work before heading off to the Hospital to see the Browning's - now the only two people on my Communion Round who aren't in Corumbene.

From there I headed down to school for a while to take the material down for the Confirmation Group to check the spelling and the names of children and their sponsors before printing the certificates on Monday.

A quick bite for lunch and it was time to head to the Church to prepare for the first of the funerals. It went well with a big crowd - much bigger than the widow expected which was good for them all.

At the cemetery it looked as if it were going to pour during the Committal but it held off until just after we had finished and then came down for a short time. Thankfully it had stopped again before the family arrived for the burial of the little baby - the still birth that was the second funeral. That was a much harder to celebrate as all little children's funerals are so it was good that the weather had picked up for that short time.

Then it was off to the RSL for a short time with the family of the first funeral before coming home and completing the newsletter, except for the football results, and tea.

I had a visitor who stayed for awhile and now I'm heading for bed and hopefully a good night's sleep as tomorrow is going to be a long day with a trip to Devonport thrown in to finish the day off.

Started at 2.30am when someone rang looking for a taxi and that woke me up and I wasn't able to get back to sleep.I got up at about 3am and started work and managed to get a few things finished. I lay down at about 5am but didn't sleep so got up again at 6.30 and have been up since.

Mass at Hayes before calling back into the house to drop off the Mass Kit for tomorrow. Then it was on to town for a Meeting of the World Justice and Development Commission of the TCC. Amanda Jackson from Forceten was present at the meeting and did some work with us on some Justice Issues which was good.

From there I jumped in my car and headed for Devonport to participate in the naming and Blessing of Spirit of Tasmania I. I got a real fright as I drove into Devonport and the Spirit of Tasmania (the present Ferry) was alongside - I thought that I might have arrived on the wrong day but when I got to the Parish House John Harmon said that I'd arrived just in time to see the vessel come round the headlands before entering the Harbour.

I dropped my bags and headed down to the Ferry Terminal and managed to get some photo's of the ship arriving but later in the night when I went to take some more the memory card failed and has died - so I have no photos of the event at all.

The Blessing went well although the champagne bottle took three attempts before it broke and there was a grand celebration afterwards with the crew and the staff of the TT Line.

I headed back to the Parish House and had a chat with John and now I'm heading for bed and, hopefully, a better nights sleep than last night.

I woke this morning in Devonport and headed back to New Norfolk in the early hours of the morning. It was a crisp clear day with a light frost on much of the countryside for a good part of the journey but because it is getting lighter each day the frost had mostly disappeared before I got to Oatlands.

On the way I rang the ABC National Sunday Morning program and spoke on air about the Blessing of Spirit of Tasmania I last night and found that quite a few people listen to Macca on a Sunday morning because I have received heaps of calls and comments from people around the place during today.

I arrived back at New Norfolk in time to cook some scones for the Cake Stall and Morning Tea for the CARITAS Appeal for the Famine Victims in Africa - we raised over $180 in a very short time.

The rest of the morning I spent working on the Certificates and things for the Confirmation Ceremony on Wednesday night so that was time well used. Early this afternoon I sat down for a while and dozed in my chair - the book opened but basically unread so I will need to go back and try again later.

Mass this evening, my first and only for the day, was at Bothwell and it was a very small congregation of three (3) as there is a real bout of colds going through the district and most people were laid up - one of those who came shouldn't have been there either.

Gay Morgan has just left after calling in with a request to help her print the front cover of the funeral booklet for Sr Chanel - her funeral will be celebrated in Launceston tomorrow.

Now it is time for bed.

I finished the leaflet for the Reconciliation Service for tonight after some running round to get the words of the two hymns we wanted to use - it meant a trip down to school at Lunchtime and that was hectic as people were on duty so it was a juggling act.

I've also done all the cards for the Candidates so that has worked as well and all that needs doing now is for the cards and certificates to be signed off by the Archbishop - unfortunately I will not be able to get them to him until tomorrow. I will need to ring his office tomorrow morning to check if he is coming for a meal or what.

Late this afternoon I took the defunct SmartMedia card to the dealer (or at least another member of the franchise group) from which I had purchased the card a little less than a month ago and they were no help at all. Headed off and spoke to Tom and he suggested not using the plug in that I showed him so I went to another member of the franchise group and immediately got a great deal of help and they will be looking after it for me. Customer relations at work.

Then it was on to the TASDEC meting and it looked as if we wouldn't have a quorum but that came together later in the meeting but it meant that I was late leaving to come back home for the Reconciliation Service for Confirmation.

When I arrived they were working through the ceremony and so the rehearsal had finished and then it was just the ceremony which went well. Everything else is working out so I can finish and hit the sack as I'm a tired little person.

Headed off early with some friends to Liffey Falls - a long trip but made more pleasurable by the fact that we made it a round trip and came back via the Great Lakes Road. The walk into the Falls was easy and the Falls a nice place for a visit - I'm not sure that I would be heading there too frequently.

We had lunch beside the Great Lake at Meina and were entertained by a little Robin Red Breast who was fascinated by the car and continued to come back and sit on various parts of it all through our lunch.

The trip home was easy and I managed to get back before School ended so it was good to get a few things done then and I've managed to get a lot more done this afternoon although I still have a lot more to get finished.

Bed is looking good as tomorrow will be a long day and I'm uncertain of some of the final arrangements prior to the start of the Confirmation ceremony tomorrow night.

After the prayer time I did some work on the BEACON before heading to New Town to celebrate Mass for one of the Primary Classes at Sacred Heart. On the way I got a call asking if I might be available to do the funeral of the late Kazimera Kasprzak at Glenorchy on Friday as Fr Elio is away. I've now arranged to see her children tomorrow afternoon at Graham's so that works out OK.

After the School Mass I continued on to the Church Office to meet with Mick Newell from Catholic Church Insurances, Brian Andrews the Diocesan Heritage Officer and Paul Eaton the Diocesan Property Manager to look at the insurance requirements for all 22 of our Parish Properties. Some are national Heritage listed and so require a high degree of maintenance, whilst others have reached their use by date and are now insured for indemnity. My next task is to walk with the various communities within the Parish to look at what the future might hold for some of these buildings - not looking forward to that discussion with any pleasure.

Then it was back home to prepare for the Confirmation program. A couple of the school staff were in the Church when I arrived so I spent some time with them fixing various aspects of the setting before having a bite to eat and then I was able to do some work on the BEACON but there is still a lot to get done.

I cooked a meal for +Adrian before heading over to the Church for the final preparation and then into the ceremony which went very well. The children were good and except for a few minor hiccups as we wandered around the altar it was a great night.

The cuppa afterwards in the dining room here was a bit crowded - the only advantage was that nobody was cold - everyone was so closely packed in the you could not have been cold if you had tried.

We've just finished cleaning up and clearing things away and now I'm here by myself and heading for bed and, hopefully, a good night's sleep.

From there I moved to the kitchen to cook lunch for Lorraine and I and we chatted about a whole series of things before I headed for town to meet with the family of the late Kazimera Kasprzak to prepare her funeral liturgy for tomorrow at Glenorchy. That all went well and I brought the bromide home and have done the leaflet this evening so that is good.

I have also managed to get some more done on the BEACON but now I'm heading for bed and will finish it off tomorrow as I am too tired tonight to do anything else.

Mass was at 9am followed by a little bit of work on the newsletter before heading off to take Communion to the Browning's in the District Hospital and then continuing on to Glenorchy to celebrate the Funeral Mass for the late Kazimera Kasprzak. Being a 'Polish' funeral I had expected that it would have been a large gathering but it seems that age & time have an impact on memory and it was a rather small gathering.

After the service I returned to the family home for a short time before returning to New Norfolk - this time to work on the BEACON - it is almost finished but there is still a page that needs to be filled but that can wait until tomorrow.

I've just finished with a couple preparing for their marriage and learnt that the young man is the captain of one of the local Australian Rules Football Teams (not New Norfolk) and his team is in the finals - I wonder how they will go?

For me it is time for bed.

After fixing Maria's printer (and leaving mine as a standby) I typed a note to all of them so that they will know how to unzip a file and how to deal with it.

Headed home in time for the baptism of baby Jacob Maw - his cousin was also supposed to have been baptised today but had been caught up in the confusion over an air traffic controllers strike scheduled for yesterday which was cancelled at the last minute so it has been rescheduled for 22nd September.

After the Baptism it was off to Kingston for lunch and some good chat with the guys there before coming home and stapling the BEACON together and waiting until the end of the football to get the results to include in the newsletter for this weekend.

That is done and now I'm heading for bed - much more tired than the type of day would suggested.

And that is the end of August and 4 years of Daily Notes & News on the Internet.

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