From there I headed upstairs to the Qantas departure area and found that the flight number for my flight to Hobart had been changed a number of times and they found it (my seat) eventually and I headed down to the departure gate. I'd forgotten to put a clean shirt into my overnight bag and so didn't have a shower in the lounge before flying home to Tassie.
The flight back was really easy and waiting for me at the arrivals area were some friends who'd come to collect me and drop me back home. It only took a short time for the bags to arrive and then we were on our way back to New Norfolk.
During the flight I'd looked out the window and seen lot's of snow in the highlands and when we came over the hill into Mornington the Mountain was covered although it was reasonably clear skies.
To read the story of the Month of June 2004 please clicking here. and find out what happened on the Little Monk's Tour of Ireland 2004.
Back at New Norfolk I was welcomed and then told that there is a funeral tomorrow at Bothwell of the late Gwen Rogers who'd died suddenly on Wednesday. I managed to catch two of her sons who helped me prepare the material for the funeral and faxed it off to Moonah for them to print.
I went up the street for a few minutes and then came home and Ann Graham called in to say hello and we had a chat for a while.
It will be an early night for me so hopefully I'll manage to catch some sleep.
Managed to get back to bed after a time and managed to doze for a while but am still struggling with the lack of sleep after the trip home from Ireland.
There was no Mass scheduled for the Parish this morning so was able to do a few things on the computer and finished the Newsletter so that when Beryl came in about 9.30am she was able to print it off. She has given me a bit of a tutorial on the new machine but I'm sure that I will need more help before I really get the hang of it.
I then headed off to Corumbene for the First Friday Mass after which I headed off to see some of the people for the Communion Round. The first couple I had gone to see were not available so I headed down to school to join the staff for Morning Tea - and a good chat about the holidays.
Then I went off to see the other people who were on the Communion Round this week and had a long chat with them before heading back to the Parish House for a quick bite to eat before heading off to Bothwell for the funeral.
On the way up to the Church the skies looked quite dark and ready to unload a downpour but somehow we were lucky until right at the end of the service at the graveside when it started to gently drizzle.
There was a great crowd for the funeral - almost twice the number outside as were able to fit inside the little church. A great farewell to a very lovely lady. After the funeral we gathered at the local Hall for refreshments which was a great feed.
Back home then to get a few things from the supermarket and now I'm heading for bed and another early night.
Preparations for lunch went without a hitch and I had everything ready well before time. The turkey cooked easily and the spuds and everything else happened with good organisation. People started arriving about 12.30pm and by 1pm there were a dozen of us. A number of people were away so that meant that there were quite a few less than the best group that had gathered for a midyear dinner (26 a few years ago).
The cleaning up took less time that I thought it might and so I had 45 minutes to relax before I needed to be on the road for the evening Mass at Oatlands. Sandy had rung earlier to see if I might like a chauffeur so I said yes which made the end of the day a lot easier than if I had had to drive back and forth to Oatlands tonight.
There were a few missing from Mass tonight but still a good gathering . Whilst we were in the Church the heavens opened again and the wind blew and it be came obvious that it was going to be a long and cold night.
After Mass we headed off back to New Norfolk and got back in good time and, after thanking Sandy for her kindness, I'm now preparing for another early night and going to enjoy it.
There was a good gathering at New Norfolk this morning with there still being a couple of visitors joining us from Albury, NSW.
A few people wanted to talk about specific issues so that took a few minutes and I didn't really have time to have a drink of water before I headed off to Colebrook for the 11am Mass.
Thankfully, Sr Helen was there this morning after changing the Liturgy of the Word time for Bothwell from 11am to 4.30pm (she actually wasn't able to do it because she went off on retreat this afternoon) but it meant that I was at Mass at one of the country centres and was able to have the assistance of one of the sisters at Mass. There were some visitors today - a young couple and their families looking at the Church with the view to using it for a wedding in February 2005. They seemed happy with the setting and enjoyed the conversation with various members of the Congregation which followed.
After Mass Sr Helen and I and some other parishioners went to one of the homes for something to eat and we enjoyed the conversation and craic so that was a good end to the morning.
Then it was off to Campbell Town for the evening Mass there. I arrived in good time and did some work on the commuter before sitting down for a short time of relaxing before Sr Marjorie arrived back from Swansea where she'd been this morning for the Liturgy of the Word with Communion out there.
There was a good crowd at Mass tonight although it was quite cold and blustery - thankfully the rain didn't start until much later.
Just finished tea (some of the remains of yesterdays meal with the priests at New Norfolk reheated and represented - very tasty. Enjoyed with a Gin & Tonic so it all went down well.
Now bed - it is just after 7pm so I'm doing very well.
Had breakfast and then helped Marjorie with some things on the computer - there were a few faults that had snuck in but I managed to get a good restore point and everything is now working well. We downloaded some of her photos and worked on them as well as loaded another couple of programs so that was good.
I didn't stay for lunch as I'd had a phone call during the morning and needed to contact some people at New Norfolk so headed home to do that.
When I got here there was a message on the machine to say that the problem they'd had had been solved via another phone call so I decided to head to town to do some little jobs that needed fixing, including getting my phone (from Ireland) checked out, getting the software upgrade for my CDMA Phone as well as some banking and a few other things.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. As I was leaving the house the house alarm started ringing so I went back in and checked what had happened. Reported the fault to the security company and, after being happy that it was fixed, headed off to town. Got as far as Granton when a call came through on the mobile that the alarm had activated again so came back and found that it was the same fault. Fixed it again but decided that I'd stay and do some work here for the rest of the afternoon.
Now I'm heading for bed and another early night, and looking forward to a good sleep.
The alarm went off again in the middle of the night and I had to leave it off - except it really wasn't the middle of the night - it was just after 10.30pm but it wrecked my sleep for the night and I woke twice more and didn't sleep that well all night.
After Mass this morning I headed off to Glenorchy to get the car serviced. It was also a chance for me to walk up the road and get a haircut so things were looking good.
I then headed for town on the bus - the first bus I'd caught in quite some time. First stop was the Church Office where I paid in some money that I had to bank and then wandered across the road to the TCC Office to say hello.
I then headed for the Nokia Care Centre to see if anything could be done about my new (Irish) phone - nothing can be done - and left my CDMA phone to get the software upgrade.
Then down town to get a new pair of shoes before stopping off to have a quick bite to eat. Well the bite was quick but I sat and read for a time so that was good.
Back to Nokia and collected the phone and then down to the post office and posted the other phone back to Josie so that she might get some use out of it.
On the bus back to Glenorchy I sat beside a Glenorchy parishioner and we chatted all the way home. It was good to catch up with her and chat.
Car was ready so I headed back here to change and do a few things before I headed back to Glenorchy to have a meal with a friend. It was a quiet night but a good night and now I'm home, not too late and ready for bed - I must be getting used to having longer sleeps so I hope it can continue.
After Mass at 9am I dropped off my VCR to the repair shop to get it repaired - I've dumped all my old tapes because one was dirty which means all will be getting to that stage.
Then I headed for New Town to concelebrate the Funeral Mass for the late Sr Marie Therese Pardoe, my Grade 2 teacher. It was wet and miserably cold as we arrived for the funeral where I joined 6 other priests to celebrate the Mass. It was a short service at the graveside because of the cold and I was quick to head for Grahams to join the sisters and her relatives and their friends for the reception.
When I got home I started working on the material sitting in a big box - my mail for the past month. I got through most of it but there is still a lot more to do.
I then did some work with two couples for Marriage preparation - I'd asked Ruby to ensure that the heaters were left on in the kitchen so that there might be at least one warm room in the house for them.
Now it is time for bed and, boy, am I going to enjoy the chance of another early night.
After she had left I prayed the Office and then had breakfast and started doing some follow up work on all the messages that had come in during my time away. I managed to clear most of them although there are still a few that I need to make calls about.
After Mass I finished work on the newsletter as well as trying to do some more work on the web pages from the Little Monks Tour of Ireland - it will take a bit more time to get all that finished - looks like a job for Saturday.
Headed down to school with some more raffle books for the wood raffle due to be drawn next week.
Back and had some lunch and then sat down to finish off the mail from the holidays. It always takes some time to get it all together and even longer because I could not find my cheque book but managed to find some cheques by the end of the afternoon.
A couple of phone calls to connect up with people who'd asked for Baptisms over the next two months - one or two still to contact - but most are fixed with preparation under way.
Watched the Tour de France highlights and then headed out to collect Sandy and head down to Claremont for the 60th Anniversary Mass and Celebrations for the Missionary Sisters of Service. There was a good gathering of the local clergy and a good congregation as well. The speeches afterwards at the Hilltop were good but I'm glad to be home and now I'm heading for bed and, hopefully, a good sleep.
Mass at 9am and then I headed out on my Communion round - well part one at least. I caught up with 6 of them before I came back to the house for the New Norfolk Christian Leaders Association Meeting at 10.30am. Most of the people who were going to be here today were here when I arrived and found out that I was supposed to be leading it but that worked out OK. A couple of little issues were dealt with otherwise it was a good meeting and people left feeling good.
Then out to see the last couple of people for the Communion Round before coming back to the house for lunch. I've arranged to take one of the people from the Communion Round to see a house in Oatlands tomorrow afternoon so that should be interesting.
After lunch I had a short time to work on some material for my homily tomorrow before a couple came at 2pm to renew their marriage vows. It was a simple little ceremony and they left afterwards very happy little vegemites.
Then it was out to collect some things from the Post Office and my VCR from the repair shop and continued on to drop off some videos to a friend - I'd been promising to get them to them all week and finally managed this afternoon.
I then spent a bit of time setting up the VCR again and getting the times etc correct so that I can tape some material tonight because I'm going to make the most of another early night and hit the sack shortly.
I've done some more on the Little Monk's Tour and started putting separate pages for each day together so that I can include photos without making each page too big. Also, during the afternoon I did a sale job for Grapevine with a priest in Victoria.
Early to bed tonight and I'll enjoy my sleep.
Then it was off to lunch at the Cathedral where there were a few extra people than last week and that was good. I managed to catch a few people I haven't had a chance to see in some time.
On the way home from lunch I called to see Trish Mahoney - her husband died just before I headed off on holidays and I was wondering how she was. Then it was back here for a time and a bit more work before heading for Oatlands and the evening Mass. I collected Peter on the way and when we got to Oatlands we had a look at the house that had been on the market but it has been sold so we wandered round and looked at a few others before heading round to the Church for Mass.
Helen was still on retreat so a couple of the ladies were there to set things up and everything was well prepared by the time Mass was ready to start. There were a few people from New Norfolk there for the Mass as well as another visitor so it was a reasonable crowd even with a few missing.
The trip home was ok and so I've managed to get things done and I'm ready for this early night which will be another chance to have a good sleep.
There was a reasonable crowd at the 9am Mass at New Norfolk although there were no visitors there this weekend - the first time that that has happened in some time.
A quick cuppa and then on the road to Hamilton for the 11am Mass. I thought that I was supposed to be at Ouse but that is next month. There was a good crowd which is pleasing as Hamilton has been one of the places where there has been some concern re it’s ongoing viability.
Back home to do the certificates for the Baptisms this afternoon and then on the road to Oatlands for 2pm.
Some of the relatives who were at the Baptisms made it almost a home town reunion as there was a family with links to Glenorchy as well as people from all parts of the Parish.
After having a cuppa with the family at their home I continued onto Campbell Town for the evening Mass. The congregation tonight was a little lighter than usual but most of them came across to the Parish House for a welcome home party for Sr Marjorie and myself so that was good.
Now heading for bed - I seemed to have picked up a bit of a bug this afternoon so I hope that it will not create a problem for the next few days.
Also headed out to see a family at Epping Forest as well as calling into the Campbell Town Hospital to see some people. Arrived at lunch time so was not able to see all of them will have to try and time my run a little better next week.
The couple who were due to come and see me later this afternoon rang and left a message on the machine to say that they couldn't make it tonight and would have to make another appointment. It meant that I was now free to head back here and have an early night. I got some food from the supermarket and had something to eat and now I'm heading for bed.
With Mass at midday I did some work on the computer to try and get the Monthly GST material ready for the Church Office. I also spent some time with the girls who were working on the Parish Census material. This afternoon I also did some work on the Baptismal register so that it is now completely up to date.
I had a couple this evening at 6pm and then I was supposed to head down to School for a Board meeting at 7pm. Right at 6pm I got a call from the Chair of the Board to say that the board meeting was at 6pm to be followed by a P&F meeting. I put in my apologies for both because by the time the couple were finished I couldn't get to the Board and I didn't need to be at the other.
Now bed - a chance for another early night.
Fiddled around after getting up and collected material to take to the Team Meeting at Oatlands. I wasn't really prepared for the meeting so things were a bit scattered when I got there.
The meeting went well however and we have some changes for the Mass timetable that we will need to take to people to see if the suggested times will work for people in the various centres. If it does work then we are back to a monthly timetable which should make it easier for everyone.
We had Mass at midday with the CWL members and we joined them for lunch which was a real chatty time. After they left we worked for a while longer and then we all headed off to our various homes.
There was a message on the answering machine when I got home to say that the couple who were due to come for a meeting tonight couldn't make it so I'm going to have another early night - will make up for the lack of sleep this morning.
Ann arrived for prayer at 7.00am and we shared some breakfast before she headed off and I got ready for Mass at 9am.
I did some work until just after 10am when I did some work with some children who are being trained to be altar servers.
Then it was back to the office to do some more work on the GST material for last month before having a quick lunch - took a bit longer to organise it because of some people calling in at the 'wrong' time.
Then it was off to collect my Mum who had to go to the Hospital for an ultrasound this afternoon - she has a blocked bile duct in her neck and it is not responding to antibiotics so they did the ultrasound and they will send the results back to her GP and we'll see what happens then. After the hospital I took her back to the home and we chatted for a time and then I headed off.
On the way home I called to say hello to Tom and Jack at Computers+More - kept my hand in my pocket and didn't try to spend any money.
Back here now and have done some more work on the Little Monk's Tour pages and will have to do the GST work tomorrow morning. The same with the Newsletter as I'm going to make the most of another chance for an early night.
After breakfast and prayer I worked on the web page and then finished off the newsletter which meant that Beryl was able to get going when she came in.
Had some trouble trying to find all the final information for the GST report - got it all together just after lunch and sent it off but sent it wrongly to an unknown fax machine - I have no idea who or where but I then sent it off again.
After Mass I headed out on my communion round which took me to well after 12.30pm to complete before having a light lunch today as I went out for a meal with the Gang tonight.
I then headed off to the supermarket for the things for the prayer breakfast and the clergy lunch here tomorrow - only forgot a couple of things and I suspect that I'll get some more things tomorrow.
I've managed to complete the Little Monk's Tour of Ireland web pages - click here to see what has happened. I've also started printing off a little booklet for a few people who are not able to get onto the web - took a while to work out how to back the pages so that I could get two copies when I put them through the second time.
Headed out to collect a couple of the Gang on the way to Shippies for the meal - a little late for Gay and Sybil whose birthdays were early in June but who waited for me to come back from my holidays. It was a good night and a good meal and we have a couple of extra dates that we've organised for the next few months.
Now home and heading for bed.
I spent time working on material for the weekend before the Baptism at 11am. I was lucky because after the breakfast Sandy helped me set up for the Clergy lunch so this morning was reasonably serene.
There were 10 clergy for lunch and we had a good time chatting - people stayed longer than usual so that was good and we managed to get things settled for a few meetings in the not too distant future.
Then it was off to Oatlands for the evening mass. There were fewer than the past few weeks but it had been bitterly cold there all day so some of the older people were a little hesitant to come out tonight.
Back home and now heading for bed - another chance at an early night - I'm not missing any possibilities I can get at present.
The 9am Mass was a grand celebration with the children from Grades 1 & 5 from St Brigid's doing much of the participatory roles for the liturgy - so with their parents joining them there was a really good crowd.
On the road then to head for Bothwell. I was a bit slow starting off and got caught behind a number of slow vehicles on the way and then found that there was a P plate driver at the front - the answer to the problem.
Good gathering at Mass so that meant that we were able to chat about possible changes to the timetable but after the discussion there is still more work to do and a solution is still to be looked at.
Back to Oatlands for a Baptism at 2pm so that was easy. On the way I got a call from Graham Family Funerals to ask me to do a funeral on Tuesday. The Baptism went well and the family were well pleased so that was good.
I was concerned about the funeral because I would normally have had to go to Swansea tomorrow night for Mass which meant I wouldn't have a chance to see the family of the deceased before the funeral - something I hoped I would never be forced to do. Anyway, when I got to Campbell Town tonight Marjorie said that the Swansea people were wondering about the possibility of changing their Mass time to a midday or about time so I rang and we're having Mass there tomorrow at 11am.
I've spoken to the people in New Norfolk and I'll be able to see them tomorrow evening at 5pm when I get back from the East Coast.
Good crowd at Mass tonight and Marjorie and I have just polished off most of the Lasagna left over from the clergy lunch yesterday and now I'm heading for bed and another early night.
As it turned out the drive over was easy and the roads were good. In fact the skies were completely blue all the way so it was very pleasant.
There were only three for Mass because of hospital appointments but we'll look at it for the longer term.
The drive down the east Coast was quite beautiful. There were very few cars on the roads so it all went very smoothly. I got to Brighton to refuel with the red light on the gauge shining brightly but without any trouble.
I managed to do a few things around the house before heading out to see the family re the funeral tomorrow. It was good to catch up with them even though it was late in the day. I'd rung Graham's to make sure they were ok with the material for the booklet arriving when they get to work tomorrow and that's all right.
Had a bite to eat and now I'm heading for bed - I must be liking these early nights so am going to keep making the most of them.
Got the Big Book for the funeral done easily and then took our shopping lists off to the supermarket to get the things we need for the Business Morning Teas tomorrow. It took a little longer than normal to get everything and I was a little bit later than usual getting to the cemetery for the graveside funeral of the late Patrick Strong. There was no problem but I normally leave myself a good deal of time so as not to be late in any way.
After the funeral I headed back here for Mass at midday - I also did the separating of the various things that Ruby and I need for tomorrow so we're ready for action.
After lunch I headed out to spend some time with the Strong Family at the wake and then came back here to do some of the finances for the PPC meeting tonight. Unfortunately I wasn't able to finish them for the meeting as there are a couple of questions that still need to have answers for so that will need to be done tomorrow.
I've just cooked 4 sponges to help with the cakes for tomorrow - last time we had to go and buy some at the last minute as we'd run out. A couple of sandwiches for tea and then it was time for the PPC Meeting.
There were a couple of contentious issues that were raised during the meeting but things seemed to work out OK. Some of the issues will need to be brought to the Parish in the newsletter and the BEACON this weekend so I'll have to spend time working on those over the next two days. I'd missed the fact that the BEACON needs to go out this weekend so that will mean getting my skates on these next few days.
Now bed as it is an early rise tomorrow.
There was a good number (82) so that was good and the amount of food we had enabled us to complete the trays without any difficulty at all. Even the one or two late calls for plates were easily filled.
Mass at midday saw a couple of extras as it was the 1st anniversary of the death of Murray Freeman so it was good to be able to celebrate with Frances and one of her daughters.
This afternoon I worked on material for the BEACON for this weekend as well as trying to get the financial statement for the past quarter up to date. There are some areas where I'll need to do some checking and that will take me a day or two.
This afternoon/evening I've been to town for a meeting of the CWS Commission of the TCC. Our second meeting and it went off very well. There will be some travelling involved because Val Graydon (the TCC General Secretary) and I will need to go to the north and north west to help set up the committees that we hope will become functioning units in the local areas.
Back in the car and headed out on the Plenty Road to join a family for an evening meal. It was a good meal and there was lot's to talk about but now I'm home and tired so heading for bed and, hopefully, a good sleep as I'm up early for prayer tomorrow morning.
I've just finished with the prayer time with Ann and there were several issues that we spent time praying about this morning which have an impact on the community so that was good.
Mass was down at school today - the first for 2nd Term. It was very cold and I found it hard to concentrate because I was tired and cold so it wasn't a good formula for preaching.
Back here for a meeting with (Sr) Lorraine to look at some of the issues that are impacting on her ministry in the Derwent valley and how some of the things have an impact on this part of the world as well.
After she headed off to town to put her car in for a service I went to work on the BEACON and the financial statement for the June quarter. It still isn't finished but it is much closer to completion and I hope that tomorrow will see it done.
I've also finished the newsletter and checked out some other work so now I'm going to head for bed. Will possibly ring Mick Wheeler in Melbourne for a chat before I turn the light out as I haven't spoken to him since before going to Ireland.
Mass at 9am and then off immediately on the Communion Round as there was a Christian Leaders Meeting at 10.30am. Managed to get one half of the round completed before the meeting and the others after the meeting so that was good.
The meeting went well - we seemed to have got into a good rhythm lately so things run smoothly.
After going to the supermarket to get some things for the weekend I came back and had some lunch and spent the afternoon working on the financial material and, except for a few queries which I'll need to chase up, I've managed to get everything to balance out - within reason.
Made some scones for supper for the meeting that is to be held here in a few minutes. Sadly, it wasn't until I'd put the savoury scones into the oven that I remembered that Val is a vegetarian and with the ham in the scones it makes them unsuitable for her anyway. Just had a phone call from Ann to say that there is a problem at the Youth Group so she won't be able to make it so I hope that someone turns up.
When the show is over I'll be heading quickly for bed and an early night as I'm bushed and need a good sleep.
The phone rang at 1.25am and I was asked if I might come to the Gibson Ward at St John's Hospital to say some prayers for the late Percy Woodberry. I had been involved over 25 years with the family and so I said yes.
After being with them for some time I headed back here to New Norfolk and arrived home just as the answer machine completed taking a call from Corumbene to ask if I might come to spend time with the family of the late Gwen Salter who had died just a short time earlier.
After being with them for some time I headed back here and was, by then too awake to go to sleep immediately so I rang Josie in Ireland and we chatted for some time until I was ready to fall asleep again.
Woke again about 9am and started getting ready for the rest of the day. I had arranged with the Woodberry family to see them at 3pm this afternoon so rang and asked if I might move that back to 3.30pm which gave me a chance to see the Salter family at 2.30pm.
Headed to town to go to the funeral of the late Jean Young at Graham's Chapel and on the way was asked to do the funeral for the late Mary Riddell who died yesterday. I was also in touch with Sr Gay Morgan to find out how Sr Elizabeth Finn was doing - the sisters didn't expect her to last through the night. [I got a call just a few minutes ago to say that she'd died about 8pm tonight - the date and time for her funeral will be organised tomorrow].
After the funeral I went to see Mum (after also needing to buy a new mouse as my cordless mouse had died on Thursday night.
Then onto Glenorchy for lunch with the clergy and then back here to New Norfolk to see the Salter family.
On the way I was able to confirm with the Riddell family that the funerals had all been so timed that I was able to do the funeral for Mary on Wednesday afternoon without too much trouble.
After seeing the Salter family it was back on the road to see the Woodberry family and make the arrangements for Wednesday at 11am at Moonah.
Then it was on the road for the evening Mass at Oatlands and that was ok although there were a few people missing tonight - some are away and there are still a few who are sick.
Back home and I've had something to eat and now I'm ready for bed - I will need the sleep after last night - I hope I can sleep because I think I'm too tired.
Mass at 9am was light on this morning - colds and flu have hit the community and we're feeling the results of that.
Then it was off to Maydena for the 11am Mass. Again there were a few people missing because of the weather. I had a chat about the possible mass timetable changes but will need to speak to more of the community than the few who were there this morning. Will talk to Lorraine about having a weekday mass there within the next few weeks to see what possibilities are available.
Back here to New Norfolk to do this page and then I'm on the road to the Cathedral to do the Baptism of Tobey Burns. I witnessed the marriage of his parents and were with them when his big brothers Zachary & Fletcher were born prematurely and then celebrated the funeral of Zachary. It was good to renew acquaintances - I also had a chance to celebrate the final part of Fletcher's Baptism, supplying the ceremonies of the Church after baptising him in danger of death.
Then it was off to Campbell Town for the evening Mass. There were the usual good number of parishioners there although it was cold and more than a little bit miserable.
Just finished tea and now I'm heading for bed and an early night.
After breakfast at Campbell Town I headed back here to New Norfolk and started working on the funeral liturgies for the next two days. I managed to get them done reasonably easily and then headed into Claremont to see the family of the late Mary Riddell to arrange her funeral for Wednesday afternoon.
After completing that I called to se Mum and to borrow some CD's from her for the funerals - I had hoped that she might have a Gheorges Zamfir CD of pan pipes but she doesn't so have borrowed some other pan pipe music.
Back to New Norfolk to take some material to the Salter family so that people might be able to have a look at the material before tomorrow's funeral.
Now bed, hopefully a better sleep than last night.
Did a few jobs round the house before making a phone call to one of the music shops and found that they had some copies of the pan pipe music I was looking for so headed into town to purchase a copy or two - at $7 each I got three.
Then it was off to Bellerive to concelebrate the funeral of the late Sr Elizabeth Finn PBVM. There were three of us there so that was good.
From there I headed back her to New Norfolk arriving in good time to finish the preparations for the funeral of the late Gwen Salter. In the mail this morning had been a letter posted on Friday inviting me to attend her 100th birthday party to be celebrated at Corumbene in a fortnight's time - sadly she died early Saturday morning.
The funeral went off well and we managed to complete the service at the graveside before the weather turned wet. Back to the New Norfolk Hotel for the wake and now I've been back here working on the material for the funeral of the late Mary Riddell and have sent the material to the funeral directors for them to print it off.
My couple this evening for Marriage Preparation have been and gone - it is amazing how they have opened up in the time I've worked with them - they were really great tonight so that has been pleasing and good.
Now bed as tomorrow is going to be another busy day.
Headed to New Town for a 9am Mass at Sacred Heart for the Grade 1 class with my nephew Callum so that was a good start to the day. As I was driving down a car passed me near Sorell Creek doing well over the 80 km as per the speed limit and managing to cross double lines as well. I gave him a wave as he passed me (doing my 80k's) and pointed backwards - he'd managed to pull out to pass with a police car the vehicle behind him - teach him not to look in his rear view mirror!!
After the Mass I headed round to the Funeral Chapel at Moonah for the funeral of the late Percy Woodberry. That went off well and with the refreshments then and there at the chapel before we went to the graveside for the internment it meant that I was able to speak to some of the people and not have to race off.
From the graveside I headed for North Hobart for the funeral of the late Mary Riddell. That also was a big funeral and there were heaps of Claremont people there so I was able to catch up with a few more people. The wake was held at the Chapel afterwards but was only able to stay for a few minutes before I was on the road again.
It was then off to the Catholic Education Office to join the clergy for a briefing on the material which is being prepared for the Religious Education Curriculum for the Diocese. It was a good discussion and there were some interesting parts to the afternoon.
From there I headed up the road to see Mum and dropped off the CD's I'd borrowed yesterday before going over the Lindisfarne to see some friends for a short time.
At the RE Seminar I'd been invited to join a few people for a meal so after seeing my friends I headed back to Salamanca and had an enjoyable meal and a good night.
Now bed and, hopefully, a good sleep.
Did some work on the newsletter and finished it off and found out later that I could have sent it off this morning because I got a message later in the day to say that Beryl wouldn't be in tomorrow to run it off as she has fallen victim to the cold that is making its rounds at the moment.
Headed for Sandy bay to attend the seminar given by Fr Paul McPartlan, and English priest who has been in Queensland for the past few weeks working with them on various aspects of Theology. He did some work with us on the Eucharist and was really good, easy to understand and very capable.
By the end of the day, however, I was really tired. I've been back here at New Norfolk for a time and have prepared the little puddings for the Ausmas Dinner tomorrow night and have made the Brandy custard for dessert as well as spending time with a couple who are preparing for Marriage.
Now it is time for bed - hopefully enjoying a good nights sleep as well.
This morning I managed to sleep for a good time which was good.
Mass at 9am and then off on my Communion Round which I managed to finish just before 12 noon.
A couple of the people were missing this morning so will catch them next week.
A quick trip back to the Parish House to see if things were still running along smoothly before heading down to Sandy bay to join a few of the clergy at lunch with + Adrian who was hosting a dinner for Clem Kilby who recently celebrated 50 years of priesthood.
It was a good lunch and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves quite well - Clem is also having a luncheon at Kingston tomorrow so a few more people will be catching up with him there.
Back to New Norfolk, via Spotlight to get some ribbon. It has been suggested that people wear a green ribbon next week seeking prayers for Vocations so I've got lot's of ribbon and have cut it into appropriate lengths and will give it to Helen and Marjorie at the dinner tonight for their communities and will fix the rest up for New Norfolk tomorrow.
Then it will be home for bed.
I headed over to Corumbene at 10am to celebrate the Anointing of the Sick for an elderly lady whose family have all gathered for the final days of her journey here on earth.
On the way back from there I collected the August edition of the Standard before doing some work in the Church for this weekend as well as preparing for the Baptism at 11am.
After the ceremony I packed the car with the things for Oatlands and headed off to Kingston to join the clergy for part three (if you count the family gathering last Sunday) of the Clem Kilby 50th Anniversary celebrations.
After chatting with people there for some time I headed to Oatlands for the evening Mass - I had hoped to have a short time to relax and get my mind working on some of the things that I need to do for the rest of the weekend but when I got there I found that I'd forgotten the CD with +Adrian's letter for Vocations Awareness Week. It was a frantic call to Marjorie at Campbell Town who, thankfully, was able to get down to Oatlands in good time for the Message to be part of the Mass.
Back home and I'm ready for bed - and an enjoyable night's sleep - I hope.
