And so it passes

People seem to have spent the last year saying "Where has this year gone?", and here we are on New Years' Eve.

On this day last year I blogged about the price of petrol complaining that it had gone up from $1.18 to $1.33...I note that this year it appears to have been an even greater leap to $1.39. Being blamed on the Northern cold snap. I remain unconvinced now, as I did then, "that local petrol stations can act so responsively to international fluctuations"

In January 2010 the unsexy country of Haiti had an awful earthquake, there was awful flooding in Pakistan and of course there was the usual drivel from the meanest amongst us in this 'lucky country' that we should give to our own. I asked then, as I ask now "n the end that human/religious principle... do to others what you want to have done to you....

might cause us to ask what we would like others to do for us if we were subject to earthquake, flood or fire."

Today, indeed, to the north some of us this day will have the awful catastrophe of flood, while in SA it is a 'catastrophic' fire day.

I suspect that the meanies will find an excuse to not give to those either

During February I managed to blog from Adelaide Airport, Singapore Airport, Bangkok, the Phi Phi Islands, Phuket and then again in Singapore. Good trip.

In March we had a State Election...the first of a number of elections, making us a bit testy and bored with the process. I wondered if God had an opinion on who should win (other than, of course, simply agreeing with me).

ANZAC Day 2010 came in a year when there seemed to have been death after death of our servicemen ( and indeed of countless others) in theatres of war. I noted that the ''great" thing about the Great War was that a number of young poets, many like Wilfred Owen killed in action, challenged the glorification of war naming it rather as what old men require of young men. A shocking thing for the Empire.

One of a number of theatre/music highlights of the year was the visit of Ute Lemper, it is always amazing to see performers who are world class. W& J who were also there didn't think it was very good. Sarah and I thought she was amazing. Also Patricia Piccinini's "Big Mother" in the Art Gallery of SA is an amazing sculpture which was well worth the visit.

There was a running debate in all sorts of fora (not over by any means) about the place and relationship of science, art and religion.I don't for the life of me see why these things are mutually exclusive.

There were of course lots of religious stories. Some show that the church can be just ridiculous (see here). And some like the saga of the Murray Diocese which show it is just really, really sad (here ) Our own Bishop works a little too hard and struggles with us as people. I hope he has a productive time away from the Diocese for a few months.

And...we survived. Yes after a rather bloody transition, Australia woke up to find it had not only a woman Prime Minister. But also a 'ranga'

And of course, amongst other things in August, I couldn't resist the temptation to blog about the irrationality of petrol prices again.

I began to feel in the latter part of the year that blogging was getting to be a bit of hard work. So I do apologise to those of you who come back and keep on reading. I am taken aback that you are all over the world, and in all sorts of places and positions.

The cold winter almost killed me this year . Which might explain why I started to endlessly glog about flowers and tomatoes (here and here and here). I think I had lost a little too much weight. Some days I just couldn't get warm. This is not the case since Christmas when I have put on a 'couple' of kilos.

My mother would have been 90 in November. I was going to go and visit her grave but in the end I didn't get there. But we all remember her fondly, as indeed we do our father.

And so the year has gone. A lot of talk about same-sex marriage, and a different-sex marriage in our family have given us much pause for thought about that august institution. I still consider myself to be 'married' even though my wife and I no longer live together. I still wear my ring, and don't consider I am at liberty to enter into another marriage relationship. Should the time come when this situation has to change then I will have to do something more than just go to the Family Law Court which, after all, cannot dispense with my religious vows.

The refugee issue continues to haunt our island nation. It is profoundly confronting. But like most things there are good news stories too!

Happy New Year to us all!

Identity might be cheap... to some

Going overseas requires proper passports, this is to do with the establishment of identity. Indeed the peculiar issue of the status of marriage certificates (see here) is exactly about this issue; though it is to be noted that even though Marriage Celebrants (such as myself) will now be issuing certificates that are numbered, these will not be "official" and couples will still be required to purchase an evidentiary certificate from the registrar. This is also the case with birth certificates, at least in SA, new-borns although registered are only ever given an 'extract' and a full certificate also needs to be 'purchased'.
As only full certificates are acceptable means of proof one wonders why they are not issued instead of these non-acceptable means. Why are you required to pay an extra $30-$60 for a document that, in reality, everyone is required to have?
Don't get me wrong I think we should have legitimate and authenticated certificates of birth and marriage, it has long concerned me that the process of registering marriages is far too loose. I wonder how many people have found out years after they were married that some hiccup has occurred (like the documents were lost in the mail, or the envelope never got posted) and the marriage was never fully registered. No receipt or counterfoil, for example, is issued to either celebrant or bride and groom to say that the official lodgement process was completed. I have at least on one occasion found forms that I thought I had posted off a couple of weeks later (I now make a point of posting off forms on my way home from the wedding).
Passports, too, that are lost or stolen will now cost at least an extra $50 (on top of the application fee) to replace.
Identity is a costly business.

Off and running

.... Adelaide Airport All those who complain habitually that Adelaide is a backwater will be interested to note that some aspects of our transport hub do indeed work.
Leaving on an International flight with no one free to take me to the airport I agonised about what to do.
It seemed easy, catch the train and tghen the airport bus. Despite three very kind offers of people who thought this was just too much like hard work that's what I did. Left home at 10.30, met a parishioner on the platform...she was bemused and said (tellingly) that's the sort of thing you expect people to do overseas. I nodded and said that's what inspired me. Why shouldn't we do it at home. Boarded the train and used my interpeak ticket. ($1.53/trip)
Met another friend on the train who used to live in Singapore, and we had a nice chat. I chugged up to Currie Street, bumped into B...I mean some days I catch the train and see no one. Hurtling down Currie I heard "Stephen, Stephen!". Twas my wife. "Can't stop! can't stop" and waved.
Waited 10 minutes to catch the J2 which takes you right to the Upper Concourse. (used the same ticket)
Have checked in. And am here filling in the time...not resisting the temptation to blog. 12.07 p.m. all for a cost of $1.53
k is already on her way ringing at 7 a.m. (our time) as she chugged through Heathrow (never again will I fly out of Heathrow!!!! And why should you?)

The final countdown

Despite managing to be (yet again) in the wrong place at the wrong time; this time to be in Dublin when they were supposed to be in London.Trapped over the water with heavy snow preventing air traffic ...my present belief is that they have probably managed to catch their flight to Korea and thence to Sydney.

This should see them home (and 41 degrees) tomorrow afternoon....the Lord being their helper. Which he surely is.

But here is also a truly amazing weather photo of what this is all about. Not a corner of the homeland without snow!

Medals

A friend told me yesterday that travelling through Australian customs with his military medals (quite a valuable collection both sentimentally and emotionally) his bags were rudely prodded and poked because the X Ray machine had picked something up.
"What's this?" said the rude little man; and when T went to get the medals out to show himhe was ordered to not touch the bag as that was his (the officious little inspector's) job.
This rather contrasts with some other experiences. We ourselves on a couple of occasions in our recent travels had to explain the contents of our bags, on all occasions only we and not the the official, were allowed to touch our belongings.
This is as it should be (at least in the first instance) since we are the ones responsible for them.
This did not stop proper investigation and actually allowed an higher level of accountability. What ever else you might say about the two Asian countries we recently visited, their regimens were always thorough and always polite. Australian official should take a leaf from their book.
And T followed up the story by remarking how different his experience when the same thing happened enetering the US, admittedly a little wiser he had the medals out his bag and ready to explain. The woman customs officer asked him to explain what they were and on finding out expressed the heartiest welcome to their land, and her sense of privilege at being shown the medals.
Like many Australian travellers we remark when we return that we could and indeed should do this stuff better if we are to be taken seriously

Panic! Panic!

Today when we checked our bookings to leave Bali on Friday, we actually realised we are not leaving until Saturday.
Fortunately this is not the disaster it might seem and we will not ve sharing accomodation with Ms Corby, but rather good that I am not actually saying the Holy Mysteries on Sunday

Strange to wake up

It is, indeed, strange to wake up and have nowhere to go. For all but about one day in the last six weeks we have had to get up each day and either travel or prepare to travel. It has been good to do that, and it is good to be home.
If one were to wax philosophical about it there are at least two contra musings that may be made.
We are always on the move. Some days the journeys are little and some days they are big. They can be big or small, important or unimportant, totally different from or exactly the same as the day before and the day before that.
But we move on.
I have found engaging with that idea to be challenging, because I guess I am the sort of person who tends to try and organise my life so everything is running smooothly and fairly well under control. And yet of course it never is, each day brings about it a sense of difference and change. And its own particular challenges.
Sometimes the challenges of a day seem intimidating, but day after day for six weeks the challenges have been met and the problems solved. Even where some of it has filled me with foreboding and dread, we have managed to weather storms and move on.
The second sense that I have today is that
Everything stays the same!
You forget when you are in new places and nothing is the same that there is a familiar and a usual. Yet the house and garden to which we return is just like ti was, the grass needs cutting and there are still jobs to be done that were there when we left. They didn't go away. No one called room service or house management to fix them!
Indeed the familiar has about it the same sort of challenge as the different.
Each day brings about it a sense of difference and change. And its own particular challenges.
So back to reality....!

Almost there

Apart from sleepless nights and a head that spins, and worse every fraction of stress always goes to my gut! there is a sense that almost all plans are almost there.
I am in the middle of just transferring the itinerary for S & I and it convinces me of one thing.... though it is good to be able to book stuff on the net, I understand better why there is such a thing as a travel agent
It just takes so much time, and there are too many balls to keep in the air.
Well once we are in the air it will all just happen.
A number of people have asked me what will happen to blogging in the next month or two and the best answer is to say it will be spasmodic.
This is largely to do with internet & computer access and not because, dear reader, I do not love you.
I have said to a number of enquirers....Perhaps you could be the guest blogger...but so far no takers
Today's picture is the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, where we will be staying!!