Dec 31 – NYE
I had a very nice Christmas in Adelaide. Went to wonderful church services & enjoyed meals with old friends each day. Now it is the end of 2023. It has been a good year for me & I look forward to an even better 2024.
Jan 22 2024
I have had a nice 3 weeks in Melbourne, catching up with friends for meals & enjoying walks along the beach. A highlight was going to stay with friends, Helen & Steve Mulligan in Dromana. This is south of Melb on Mornington Pen & very popular in summer. I walked along the beach & explored the town, as well as enjoying their hospitality.
Now it is time for my next o/s trip. Tomorrow I fly to Frankfurt. After a week in Germany I go to Amsterdam from where I catch the Eurostar to London. My week in London will include Sunday Mass at St Magnus & catching up with friends. After London I will go to Sheffield for a few days. On Feb 9 I go to Walsingham for 10 days, then return to London. From there I catch the Eurostar back to Amsterdam & then Frankfurt. I fly from there back to Melbourne on Feb 29.
Thurs Feb 1
I have had a nice week travelling around Europe: Frankfurt, Mainz, Munich, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam. On the Sunday I attended Mass in the Munich Dom. Yesterday I visited Utrecht. This city has always fascinated me as the city where the Old Catholic Church was started. The Archbishop of Utrecht broke from the Catholic Church over the declaration of Papal Infallibility. Since then it has expanded around Europe & is in communion with the Anglican Church. Unfortunately their cathedral was locked, like most of the churches there. After enjoying the lovely building I visited the St Catherine’s Convent museum, which was excellent. Today I catch Eurostar to London & will have 3 weeks in UK.
Munich Dom
Wandering arund Utrecht
Fri Feb 9
The weather has been cold, gloomy & wet since I arrived in London…..but I still had 4 nice days in London. On Friday 2nd I celebrated the anniversary of my ordination by attending Candlemass at All Saints, Margaret St. Sunday I went to Mass at St Magnus & afterwards had lunch with my friends, Eileen & Matthew. On Monday I caught the train to Sheffield, a city I had not visited before. Explored an excellent silverware museum, went to Mass in the anglocatholic church, St Matthew’s & Evensong in the cathedral. I returned to London on Wednesday. Am staying in the Kensington Hilton, which is near where I lived when I came to London in 1974 & where I had Christmas dinner with friends that year. Yesterday I wandered around visiting places where I lived. It is almost 50 years since I came here on a working holiday & I will be doing a lot of reminiscing over the next 18 months. Today I catch the train to Walsingham & will be there 10 days.
82 Masbro Rd. Where my brother lived & where I stayed when I arrived in London.
St John’s vicarage, Holland Rd. After a month travelling around Britain & 6 weeks in Europe I got a job & moved in here as a lodger, thanks to kind hospitality of Fr Myles Bebbington.
43 Courtfield Rd. My 1st flat….in the basement with a shared Bathroom.
Wed 14 – Ash Wednesday
It is nice to be back in Walsingham & to enjoy this place of devotion, prayer & peace. Very good to catch up with staff & clergy I know. Weather has been very chilly, but it did not stop me from walking around the village on Saturday. Sunday was parish Mass at St Mary’s. Great to chat with parishioners I knew. Lunch was in a country pub with my great friends, Stephen & Jo Parkinson. Monday & Tuesday I had dinner at the Black Lion pub with the 2 young men who were sacristans when I assisted here 2012-2016.
Today being Ash Wed, I attended Solemn Mass in the shrine. Walsingham is the perfect place to start Lent. My travels will not make it easy for fasting & prayer, but I have started well. The next 2 days I will visit parishioners with health issues. The weekend is the annual Partnership Weekend. I look forward to seeing many old friends & enjoying an interesting programme. On Monday I return to London.
Tues 20
I am now back in London after a lovely 10 days in Walsingham. On Saturday I had an unexpected treat. One of the people I have seen at the 7.30 am Shrine daily Mass over the years is Mary, who lives in a flat in the abbey. In talking with her Friday she offered to give me a tour of the abbey. So on Saturday a/noon I met her at the private entrance called Knightsgate. That was a thrill in itself! She then gave me a tour of the grounds & to her flat, which adjoins the old refectory. It was a great experience.
You can see the shrine through this refectory window
Thurs 22
I had a lovely outing yesterday (despite the rain). Caught the tube to Epping, at the end of the Central line. From there an old London bus took us to North Weald station. From here an old railcar took us to Ongar, which used to be an extension to the tube line. We returned & a steam train took us to Epping Forest & back. The train was full of families with young kids & was a fun day.
Tomorrow I catch the Eurostar to Amsterdam & will have the weekend there.
Sun 25
It is nice to be back in Amsterdam, but the weather is very cold with occasional rain. Yesterday I visited the Haag – an hour’s train ride away. I was interested to see the International Court of Justice, which is in the Peace Palace & has been in the news because of Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza. There were also other buildings that I found interesting & some pics are below.
City gate
Peace Palace
Old City Hall 1564
Former Hall of Justice
Royal Academy of Art
Strange to find this 1930’s brutalist building on a Dutch street
Tues 27
Today I went to Aschaffenburg, a 45 min train trip from Frankfurt. It has a delightful old town & I was pleased to find hardly anyone around. The main attraction is Johannisburg Schloss, built 1605-14 but retaining the 15th cent Keep. In the former Schloss Gardens is Pompeiianum – a replica of a Pompeii villa built by Mad King Ludwig & now an arts centre. There were several churches that delighted me, in particular the Stiftsbasilika of St Peter & Alexander, built 982.
Wed 28
Today I caught the train to Würzburg, one of the great Bavarian cities. It is famous for its Marienberg Fortress & the Residenz – both homes for the Prince Bishops at some stage. Upon arrival I explored several churches & was able to attend 11.30 am Mass in the Augustinian church. Next thing was to climb up to the fortress. It was quite a climb – was pleased it confirmed that I am still fit & healthy! There was a magnificent view of the old town. After that I walked to the Residenz, which was quite huge. Today was my last day in Germany & tomorrow I fly back to Melbourne via Singapore.
Rat Haus 1453
Dom 1040-1075
NeuMunster church 11th cent
Marien Kapelle 1377-1441
Alte Mainbrucke 1473-1543
Festung Marienberg 13th cent
Residenz 18th cent
Wed Mar 13
My flights home were good – I always enjoy interacting with the crew & the Germans FRA-SIN were a lot of fun. Melbourne airport was very quiet when I landed on Saty 2nd & I was on Skybus in about 15 mins! I have recovered from jet lag much better than I did going to Europe….not sure why that was such a problem. It was good to be home & catch up with friends. After 4 busy days I flew to Sydney. Last year I was offered dinner in the SCG members before an AFL game, so I decided to go to the AFL Opening Round. On Thurs 7th I attended the game at the SCG, being hosted by the General Manager of NSW Stadiums for a tour of the members grandstand & dinner in the dining room. It was a great experience & the game was good. On Saturday I caught the train to Lithgow in the Blue Mountains to have lunch with my great friend from St Barnabas College, Andrew Duncan. I haven’t seen him for 10 years & we had a great reunion, with lots of chat & laughs.
On the way home I deviated via Olympic Park to attend the GWS Giants v Collingwood game. I was impressed with the Giants’ stadium & the game was another enjoyable night. Sunday I went to a marvellous Mass at St Mary’s cathedral & then flew home in the afternoon. More busy days! Tomorrow I fly to Adelaide for Port Adelaide’s opening home game. So my footy trips have begun 🙂
Saty April 6
Well it is now April & I have only been in Melbourne for one weekend since I got home! All the other weekends I have been in Adelaide for the footy. This included the Easter weekend & I attended some excellent Services with packed congregations. Because of Gather Round I am here again, enjoying the festival of footy. Was here last weekend, now this weekend & then next weekend! Port played really well last night. Hopefully they will go on from here.
May 23
I have just celebrated my 77th birthday (Saty May 18). Being a football weekend in Adelaide I flew over on the Thursday & back to Melbourne on Monday. Thursday & Friday I had meals with old friends. Saturday I went to the Port Adelaide FC to have lunch with my oldest friend, David. In the evening the staff of the Hilton brought me a plate of choc cakes & bottle of wine! Sunday was the football & an amazing game. After being behind all day Port came back in the last 1/4ter. With 15 seconds left a miraculous goal was kicked & we won by 1 point. The Oval erupted!! It is now countdown to my next overseas trip, avoiding Melbourne winter. I fly to Singapore & after a brief stopover go on to San Diego, Latvia, Poland & Germany.
Drinks before the footy with Di, Eddie & Lorraine
Tues June 11
I left Melb on June 4 & had 2 nights in Singapore. Then on to LA, & train to SD on Fri June 7. On the Sunday I preached at All Saints. It was nice to be welcomed back & see old friends again. I had started as Rector 20 years ago & the parish has changed, not least in the worship & a much smaller congregation. The music was good – but kept me reminiscing about my 8 years. I have never found it easy to return to my previous parishes & this was no different, even tho my 8 years in San Digeo were really wonderful. On the Monday I had lunch with my dear friends, Clare & Ruby, & on Tuesday flew to Riga.
