Reporting on a BIG week!

Dear All, [Don't forget you can enlarge all the photos except central ones, by double clicking on them)

Last week I taught for the first time and Kath and John were in town. That makes a BIG week! Otherwise 'normal' things happened.

I ended up teaching four lovely ladies from Milingimbi - on the central northern coast of Arnhem Land. They would speak Yolngu matha language normally but are quite fluent in English, but the written English and writing it take them longer to deal with than if they were native English speakers. Three of them were sisters and their father (who has six daughters) is a Uniting Church Minister so their knowledge of their faith was very good. The father was in town and did a Reflection at each of the 8.30 am Chapel Services . You can see him in an earlier blog when Rev Helen Richmond was inducted - he gave a talk then. He is a very distinguished man and speaks with profundity and simplicity. The other lady was a friend - they are all friends and would know everyone in the Community. Here are a couple of pictures.

1) They were doing a role play of Jesus casting a demon out of a man in the synagogue. Melissa, standing, was 'Jesus'; the other 3 were seated in the 'synagogue'; Dianne, nearest to Melissa, was charged with screaming at length when 'Jesus' was preaching and, when he commanded the demon to go out of her, falling to the floor in silence. I have all of that on movie - we had a lot of fun and the falls to the floor were most excellently executed - but you will have to be content with the still.

2) The second picture shows us at the end of the week. Don't I look pale and washed out!!!!! In front you have: Maria Yiwarrnga Garrawirrtja and Melissa Natulnga Garrawirrtja; Behind you have: Julie Naramul Dhamarrandji, myself, and DianneWakikurr Garrawirrtja. I'll give you three guesses as to what name I used to address each! They are all mothers and involved in their community at home. Two sisters were back at Milingimbi and one was in Darwin for treatment for a brain tumour. Their mother was also in Darwin to start dialysis, so the family has plenty of worries at the minute.

We were working on "A Contextual Theology of the Holy Spirit" based on Biblical texts and making use of Aboriginal Art works and stories as well as interpreting texts.

Kath and John arrived on Monday and came to tea here where they were treated to a lovely meal and company. We had a very enjoyable evening and I took them home after tea to settle after their trip. Their apartment was adequate, but 60s era and most fixtures were not new. However they told me they slept very well every night, and enjoyed their little balcony which was big enough to sit out in and chat and eat. I'll put in two photos of the Peninsular Apartment Hotel where they stayed

1) This one shows the side of the Hotel where their room was on the second floor, about 2nd or 3rd from the end - it is hard to see the balcony because of the trees.

2) The second picture of the Hotel shows the front of the building and you can see what the balconies are like. Every apartment has a balcony. Kath and John enjoyed theirs, and also dried clothes there on a rack provided in the room.

We went to Stokes Wharf on Wednesday evening and had a good meal. It was very crowded and there was a rather noisy DJ and singer set up so we moved as far as we could along into the crowd. J & K preferred the quieter side on the west where we went and had coffee later.

1) Kath & John at Stokes Wharf - you can see the multiple tables in the background (there were many many more tables than here) and the entrance to the food-purchasing areas. John's bottle of beer was nowhere near as large as it looks in the photo at this angle!

2) Here are Kath and John very relaxed at the Mindil Beach market - in an open area behind some stalls, away from the crowds a bit. We went down there on Thursday evening. They really enjoyed the experience and noticed with pleasure the lack of alcohol which is prohibited in parks and such-like in Darwin. The market had a family and friendly atmospher with stacks of tourists - mostly 'European' but also Asian, and only some younger Indigenous people.

3) Someone passing offered to take a photo of the 3 of us!

John was chuffed to get some really nice Indonesian food and exchanged Indonesian words with the girl serving - both smiling broadly. I had the same food - as did Kath - and while the skewered meat was very hot (spicy!), the satay sauce and the compressed rice patties in it below provided a perfect balance. The satay sauce was sweetish. I really enjoyed mine. We enjoyed looking at the great variety of stalls - plenty of food but also plenty of crafts. There were entertainment areas for children (I think one is at the back of the photo) and as well as Jumping Castles and such like there was a Punch and Judy type show. Some little 2-year-olds were very excited by the action of the puppets and jumped up waving their arms with excitement.

Friday 24th was the Show Day holiday and, by request, we headed off to Humpty Doo and then to Fogg Dam which is the area where John worked at one of his early jobs in Australia. I didn't take any photos there, but we went on to a marvellous tourist site called 'Window to the Wetlands' which will give you an idea of the Fogg Dam and Adelaide River area. It took a few photos there.

1) This is an Aboriginal place, although Indigenous people were not clearly in evidence when we were there. There was a marvellously constructed explanatory display downstairs - interactive with buttons to push and light up various items of interest. There were even some swimming fish and turtles in some glass windows - long necked turtles. We went upstairs and there was a continuous video showing and an excellent coffee machine which ground the beans for the coffee - $3! So we sat and sipped and watched the TV then went out on the balcony for the views.

2) You can see Kath and John peering through the telescope towards the Adelaide River floodplain and

3) I will show you below what they saw and where we were.

1) The photo of the 'map' is self-explanatory except that the red is not a reflection from some light, but the beginning of the turle dreaming path on the map which was too long to photograph in its entirety.

2) The picture shows the area towards the Adelaide River bridge. The River is not visible althought the trees along its banks are. You can make out the road and some buildings on the right where the road moves into the bridge. The coffee shop was there.

We headed to the coffee shop beside the Adelaide River after we had spent quite a bit of time at Window on the Wetlands, and that was a good move. We had a late 'lunch' (having had only a cuppa, with cheese and biscuits, plus a bit of paw paw near Fogg Dam). The river was in full tide and we had about 3 croc sightings. I took a photo of one of the sightings, from where we were sitting in the coffee shop. Very exciting. It looked big. Kath thought this one was the same croc we had sighted earlier a bit further along the river. Maybe. Boats leave from beside the coffee shop for 'Jumping Croc' tours along the river. Someone who had been on one told me it was quite horrifying to see the crocs all making a bee-line for the boat they were in and swarming around it. We chose not to engage in such 'delights'!!!!!

The first croc we sighted would have been about 4 metres long we thought. This one in the picture was on the far side of the river - which is quite wide - and goodness knows what length it was - some metres, at least.

Humpty Doo has a lot of fruit growing - we saw rows and rows of mango trees, truncated about a metre up into the brances for convenience. There were other crops as well such as melons and fruits we couldn't identify. We found the Catholic church there and thought it quite delightful and well kept. It is used at weekends and obviously cared for well by parishioners and other users. I think the strong neo-catechetical community has their Saturday evening Mass there and this could help to explain the obvious high level of care for the place. Fogg Dam had a tremendous number of water birds for viewing but we couldn't walk across the low dirt wall because there has been a very large (4 m) and cheeky croc sunning itself on this wall of late and it doesn't move for anyone! It was photographed from a 4-wheel drive which had to go around it! There is a one-way road across the dam wall and we went across with great caution because there were a few cars and only a couple of wide places! The thought of being pushed off into croc territory increases ones natural sense of caution.

I will finish with a bit more of nature's delights: We have this dear little brush honey eater who built a nest in a potted bamboo plant at Nungalinya. Two eggs were laid and have hatched and now I will give you a viewing:

1) My head brushed the bamboo as I leaned in to take the photo so those capacious yellow mouths were thrust upwards to receive food from what they thought was mother landing on the nest! Isn't it wonderful?

2) You can see how flimsy the bamboo tree is and how hard it is to see the little nest in the centre.

3) It is 4.30 pm and the little mother has returned to sit on the nest. I have another photo which shows her curved beak, but this photo is a better one so will do.

On that note I will conclude for this week. That is enough I think. I hope all goes well with you.

Much love from Rita

Dear All,

I have been back at Nungalinya for a week now and things have hotted up because it has been all preparation for real, live students this coming week - and I will actually be teaching a unit for which we have done a lot of preparation. The numbers are small in this first group but I will have 3 females who are sisters all from an Arnhem Land community (all are mothers, but that does not mean they are very old). I have no idea what their English skills are either orally or written. So it will be a learning week for me. But some others who know them said they are very quiet and scarcely say anything in a larger class. Could be interesting (that is, to see me squirming around trying to interet them and get some response from them!) ! I will start by showing a Power Point of those pictures of me as a child + family that someone (Mary?) sent me on a CD and hope this will thaw them out before we start the Unit on the Contextual Theology of the Holy Spirit. I must say I have found that actually doing the preparation has been quite motivating even though there has been a lot of work.

I must put in a few pictures I took of the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges on my last day in Alice Springs - the ranges are a bit different from the Western ones (surprise!). I drove out to Trephina Gorge in the Hire Car early on Saturday 11th choosing that destination because the map showed a sealed road. To my disappointment, the road turned to dirt with corrugations about 2 km along an 8 km connecting road to the Gorge from the main highway on which I had travelled for 70 km. I had no option but to turn back because it was a condition of hire that I not leave the bitument! Snif! Snif! So I took quite a few photos of the general scenery on the return trip and called in a Jessie Gap (mainly because of the little green building just off the road!!!!)

1. There were cattle in this area (no fences and signs to say watch for wandering stock!) and you can see why with the lovely grass.

2. The is a distant view of the range in the next picter - Picture 3. It is very attractive country.

1. This first one is self-explanatory, but you will have to double-click on it to enlarge it enoguh to read the print. 2. Look closely for the stripes on the rock in the middle - those are the stripes on the poster at the left. This is just a nice picture and I put it in - probably the same ranges as the first lot.

I had a good flight back from Alice Springs. It said 'Refreshments' on the flight detail, so when pretzels & soft-drink/water came along I though 'This is it!' and resigned myself to scratching up an evening meal when I returned about 7.05 pm. Lo and behold! A lovely chicken and penne in tomato and onion sauce turned up with a bread roll, spring water, and a little chocolate to have with coffee! That was really good and so, when I arrived home from the airport on the shuttle bus I could concentrate on other things - like greetings, and unpacking, and all those sorts of normal things. There were only 6 people on the shuttle bus - as well as myself there was a honeymoon couple from Italy and 3 members of a family of 7 who didn't fit in the car driven by a friend to meet them. I was dropped off second, right outside the door. Very nice. It was a good break in Alice - and since a change is as good as a holiday, I felt refreshed.

There are lots of tourists in Darwin at present - the streets are full of them and all the eating places are busy. I am looking forward to seeing Kath and John tomorrow; they arrive about midday and will catch the shuttle bus to their accommodation then browse/rest/whatever until I pick them up at 5.30 pm to come to tea down here at the Convent. Someone is very kindly getting tea for me, because Monday is usually my night. I'll be teaching every day and will only see them in the evenings but luckily Friday is Darwin show day so I hope to spend the day doing something further afield with them then. We can go in the car. They are going to catch the bus to the Ghan on Saturday morning because, apparently, the Ghan being a very long train, the bus drives along the platform and drops people and luggage at their carriage! In a car I would have to stop some distance from the train. I might be able to drive out and see the train and where they are - Taa! Ta! etc. The weather is uniformly fine but they may find it hot, although I don't - but then I don't go out in the hot sun during the day. They will find their week passes all too quickly as there is a lot to see up here and it will be so nice to be warm for a week I would imagine.

We had a little 'missioning' ceremony in the Chapel last Thursday evening for Sr Philippa who has been Principal of St John's for the past 6 years (at least) and has made a very good job of this. She is now going to Mapourdit - the refugee settlement in Southern Sudan where our Sisters have been involved for about 12-15?? years now. Someone who visited there once told me it is the poorest mission she has ever seen! There is a large school there with about 1200 pupils - the majority in primary school. Sr Mary Bachelor has just turned 80 and has built it up since she went there a long time ago (early 90s?) She will be glad to see Philippa I am sure and it is a big challenge for her and a total change in her life, so we gathered for the little ceremony. Afterwards we went to Stokes Wharf and had tea and...... we were cold! It was only about 16 degrees and there was a good breeze off the water. I rang Kath quickly on my mobile and told her to make sure they packed a couple of light cardigans!

I'll finish with the new window in honour of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart which has just been fitted in Darwin Cathedral. It is a gift from our Congregation to the Diocese on the occasion of the Centenary of the OLSH presence in NT in 2008 and this year is the sesquicentenary (the 150th anniversary) of the title "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart this Year." Sr Carmel (Corinda) with others drew up the beautiful design and someone up here has executed it. It really looks very nice. It was a bit hard to photograph because of the shape and the strong light coming in behind the statue. I had to use a flash. It has yet to be dedicated and there was a question of whether I should publish the picture because of this, but all the tourists are taking whatever photos they like and sending them wherever they like so ..... The Bishop will have to decide the date of the Dedication and no doubt we'll have a big ceremony.

Wish me luck with my first teaching tomorrow. It will be different with the girls are so shy and my ignorance about most of their culture. I do not know what their English is like either. It will be quite exploratory for me. I had better get to bed so I am fresh.

Much love to all from Rita

Events of the Week in Alice Springs

Dear All,

I must put in one of my lovely early morning photos of the the MacDonnell Ranges just outside the Convent in Alice Springs. The morning sun really lights them up and the ghost gums really add to the picture. I have several other just as good, but one must choose!

There have been so many interesting things going on this week I will just have to select a few of them to put on this blog.

I visited around the town on Monday and checked out various places where courses from Nungalinya could offered locally - took photos and checked on details etc. Then on Tuesday I headed off to Santa Teresa with the Nurse and Doctor (Sue & Alice) in their 4WD over the rocky road and drove myself home after lunch in the Parish 4WD which was needed in town. I didn't find out until I returned that the reason it was so heavy to turn was because the fluid had drained out of the power steering!!!! (before I got near it!) Luckily the road is fairly straight - that is its only virtue as it is unsealed and mostly stoney. If I had false teeth they would have rattled out of my head. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the surface. It is 70k out to Santa and only about 20k are sealed, Fortunately it was neither wet nor dusty dry when the 'bulldust' can be a hazard. [Don't forget to double-click on the picture so you can see the stoney surface in all its glory!]

I spent most of the time talking to the Sister in the Parish there about the Intervention. There are many negatives for the people in Santa Teresa - mainly with the Cash Card. They have no idea of what other money they have because rent, electricity, children's lunches etc gets taken out of it and they never get statements. They have to ring up to find out what is left. The remainder after expenses are paid can go into a Key card but there is effectively no cash in the town at all. Sr Liz went to the store (with a visiting American girl who knew nothing of the joys of Tim Tams) with $15 to buy two packets of Tim Tams and two Cornettos and was $2.80 short! Store prices are inflated by over 100%. It is not hard to spend all of one's money well before the next lot comes. Liz has had some women come to her with absolutely no food to give the people dependent on them and no way of getting any.

One lady came and showed me around the Church. It contains the most beautiful and inspiring murals all around the walls and she was one of the group of painters who did these so she explained their meaning to me. I couldn't take photos of the interior but have a snap of the exterior. Everything was inculturated: the Nativity Scene showed an aboriginal mother with a baby in a coolamon and two grandmothers gazing on with her. On a hill at the rear were the three 'wise men' - three warriors silhouetted with their spears, all in the distance. All the animals in the picture were significant. Another picture showed the people moving through the desert and over them a little white cloud - as Moses lead his people through the desert where they received God's law, so their Arrente people moved through the desert and were given their law. I have a booklet with the pictures in it. The lady who showed me around had a great sense of humour and was chuckling about her sister, who has poor health, and has just been admitted to a Nursing Home along with their mother. The sister, Mia explained, has had many 'resurrections'(chuckle! chuckle!) - and she recounted twice where her sister was pronounced dead, only to return to life: - the first time everyone was mourning and crying outside the house and the priest rushed down from Mass and went in, only to find the corpse sitting up! He nearly needed a Doctor! A previous time the sister had been in hospital and pronounced dead and taken to the morgue but the Dr came for a final check with a stethoscope as she lay there in the morgue and found her breathing!

Sunday was NAIDOC Sunday so we had quite a few special things at Mass. We started outside with a smoking ceremony and you can see with the picture that Fr Raass's vestments are quite spendind and obviously Aboriginal. He is in Alice Springs specifically to work with the Aboriginal people and is Fijian himself. Near him is the Aboriginal woman who did the smoking ceremony. They had a bit of trouble with the start time because the first fire died down but they had to have the leaves just right and green and the fire just the right heat to get smoke, so they worked on the dead embers and we waited.

On the last two days in Alice Springs, Fr Raass took me to some Town Camps. On Thursday I went to Amoonguna. Here you can see a photo taken outside the store of 'Annette' and Fr Raass. She works in the local Aged Care Facility which has about 8 - 12 residents. There is the compulsory dog (or 2) in the picture! The town was very tidy - they have started regular pick ups.

The same day we went into town and visited an Art facility which is also the Catholic Aboriginal Mass Centre in Town. 'MK' (her name is abbreviated because there are several 'Margarets') was painting for an exhibition soon to take place. Others were discussing what they would do for Stations of the Cross they are painting for the Church which is going to be built - they have raised half the money so far so it is getting close to becoming a relaity. Fr Raass wants them to do really 'Aboriginal' paintings but the preliminary drawings seemed very 'traditional' so He sat down to talk with the little group.

It is getting late so I will finish here and do some more during the coming week when I get a chance. I will just put in one more picture of Rowan - who was Samson in the film Samson and Delilah. He was a member of the first family we visited on Friday at Hidden Valley Camp. His family are community leaders and you can see him with his father and younger brother in the photo. His mother was in town shopping when we called. There is a younger sister also and he was busily making a race track in the dirt for the remote control truck he brought home from Germany. As he wheeled it up to the newly constructed track, it looked a bit like a base from a motor mower and he started it with a cord, just like that! He seems a nice young chap - in Yr 10 at school.

I'm back to work at Nungalinya tomorrow, so I had better hit the hay. Mass at 6.30 am will be a rude shock! Hope all goes well with everyone. Peter is never too far from my mind at present and it won't be too long before we get the Autopsy report I would imagine.

Love from Rita

Alice Springs

Dear All,

Thought I would write a little blog this evening because I have been here in Alice Springs a couple of days now and have done a few different things.

My plane from Canberra which left at 6.05 am Tuesday, struck a nasty little bit of turbulence about the SA border, (at the conclusion of the journey the pilot thanked the passenger who 'saved' the hostess, but said he did not need to hold on to her perhaps so long!) and we landed quite smoothly. But the weather turned bad for everyone after that in Adelaide and there were violent winds. The plane I was supposed to catch to Alice was delayed arriving from Melbourne by over two hours. I bought a book and diverted myself by taking a photo of the plane when it landed. It took ages to taxi right in and if you look at the ground you can see the swirls of water sent flying by the wind! Take-offs were banned for a while and one place diverted to Mildura. (below) By contrast, when we arrived 2 HOURS LATE at Alice Springs, the weather was clear and the sky blue and you can see the big American Airforce plane which came in like an overfed bird behind us! (On the right)

I was tired that night and the next day spent a fair bit of time doing phone calls to connect with people I need to meet. I also went to the shops to buy some shoes which would not kill my feet and, after looking at every shoe shop in Alice Springs (not a big ask) found exactly what I needed for a bit more than I intended, but I have worn them without problems ever since.

The Convent here is at the south end of the town, near Heavitree Gap. I took a couple of pics of the view out the front.

The first one (I 'removed' the fence in the foreground!) shows the section of the MacDonnell range to the south. The middle one shows the 'front' of the Convent - which is all fence and green roller garage doors; the third looks south west and you can see how close Heavitree Gap is. The Stuart Highway goes through there, so we are very near to it but 3 km from the centre of town. There is a bus goes along near the Gap several times a day, but I haven't had any need to catch it because I have been able to hire a car for my work.

Today I started some of my work activities in earnest - although I had gone out and met up with a Lutheran Pastor on Wednesday. I visited a lovely Retreat place this morning called "Campfire in the Heart" run by a couple about 2 miles beyond the Gap - part of the investigation into possible places to run courses down here. This afternoon I spent time with an extremely nice Uniting Church Pastor who has just moved up here and will be visiting Aboriginal Communities regularly to support local Pastors. I had hoped to travel with him and another Pastor to one of the Communities, but this does not seem feasible. He took my brochures etc instead and I gave him a good briefing about everything.

We have a choice of Mass daily here - 7 am or 5.30 pm. Guess which one I have been going to? It is very dark early, and I like to walk as soon as it is light to save sun damage.

I am very mindful of everyone in this week of the funeral. It went very very well and I hope Leith is happy with what she achieved in preparing it - a magnificent effort. I hope she and the boys, Mary and Jim, and Neil and Kev in particular, are managing OK. I am thinking of you all frequently.

Much love from Rita

Peter John McMahon b.02.08.63 - d.22.06.09

Dear All - Above, you can see an excellent likeness of Pete, taken in the kitchen Jan. 2009
He was deeply happy in his family life and it shows.

I will devote this blog to Peter. What a shock it has been to have him go from us so suddenly, and how sad I am and everyone else in the family is. Our thoughts and prayers are very much with Leith and their two beautiful young sons, Ben and Toby; and also with Pete's parents, Mary and Jim, and his brothers, Neil and Kevin and their families.

It was such an unbelievable shock on Monday when Mary said - mobile to mobile - Peter is dead! And I said "Peter? Your Peter?" Not able to comprehend the news. "Yes", said Mary, "He dropped dead at work" and that is all we really know so far. Others will fill in a few gaps until we get the autopsy report, but nothing will fill in the gap that Peter has left.

I am only an aunt but I am quite grief-stricken, so I cannot imagine the grief of his immediate family. Pete was a beautiful man. I have so many memories. He was always so aware of others, and so humble himself. He had a wicked sense of humour but took advantage of nobody. He was generous (I experienced that personally) and kind and didn't ever look as though anything was a trouble for him to do for anyone. He had great integrity and was very much his own person - not swayed at all by the crowd.

As a youngster he was full of heart and energy, and used to thunder down the corridor of his grandmother's house at Fairfield, for he was big for his age and solid. All the problems of children who look older than they are were his. He was an excellent student and achieved the highest grades possible, but kept that all in the background because he focused on the people he was with and was very aware of how they were faring. He was a most conscientious and hard-working employee and I am sure his employers have lost a treasure on their staff.

Pete was just Pete. What else can I say. This world seems emptier because he is no longer in it and will no longer be at our family gatherings. He and Ben met me at the airport sometime in the last 12 months (Ben loved planes) and took me to their place where I had the chance to be just with them. I had been with them a few times, in both the present house and the last - when Ben was much younger, and when Toby was only lying on his blanket on the floor, so very young. We had long converations and there was always depth in them. Their home was such a happy one and their children were heard and taught and cared for beautifully.

Peter was tender and supportive with Leith, and loving with his two sons, who adored him. Their loss is huge, and I can only pray that, while life will be very different, they will, -with the heritage they have been given at the start of their lives, and the continued love of their wonderful and beautiful mother, Leith, and the ongoing support of family and friends -grow up in a way that their father would be proud of and that will do justice to themselves.

I will put in three photos of Pete - just three I happen to have. Others might have better.

LEFT: About 2003-4 Showing off tiny Ben to his Great-grandmother in Tricare, Mt Gravatt, while proud Grandmother Mary looks on.

RIGHT: January 2008 in Canberra with Ben while Leith holds little Toby. Perhaps the 'halo' provided by the light-frame was significant?

That is all for the present

Love from Rita

PS. I head off from Darwin about 1 am Sunday morning (28th) and arrive in Canberra via Sydney about 9 am. On Tuesday (30th) I head off at 6.05 am via Adelaide for Alice Springs , arriving there about 11.55 am. All Qantas. It was actually the cheapest I could get - and think of all the Frequent Flyer points I will accumulate! I'll return to Darwin from Alice on 11th July.

Our Lady of China, Events at Nungalinya, the Woollies come out!

Dear All,

What a shame I simply forgot about taking my camera to Nighcliff last Saturday when a couple of us went to the special "Our Lady of China" Mass at the Centre opposite the Parish Church of St Paul's. Sr Mary works there in half the building with the Chinese Catholic community in Darwin and this was their annual celebratory Mass. The retired Bishop, Ted Collins was principal celebrant, assisted by the Chaplain of the Chinese (an Indian) Fr James, and two msc priests. We sat outdoors in a well-lit, fenced, grassed area with a long red banner in Chinese and English draped above the altar. The door to the kitchen was immediately behind the altar and all the latecomers arriving with food had to sneak behind the Bishop and official group in full view to put their food for supper inside! Embarrassing! But it was all very friendly and no one minded. All the singing (except one or perhaps two things) was in Chinese, and since most people there were Chinese, that was OK. It had that sing-song quality. After Mass we had a most resplendent table of food at which, within 1 metre along the edge, I had taken a plateful of goodies which was enough to fill me for the night. I didn't even look at all the other dishes - dozens of them - crowded on the table. One can only eat so much, so matter how nice. After we had the main course, some items of Chines singing started. Dessert was to follow after the items, but Sr Liz and I took departure before that. I didn't miss dessert - no room for it. I really regretted forgetting to bring the camera.

The next event I forgot the camera for was the Nungalinya Board Meeting lunch with the College Staff and Students out under the trees beside the dining room. Board members only meet a couple of times a year to give guidance to the College and oversee its operations. They come from far and wide and represent all groups involved with the College - Aboriginal people, Church leaders etc. There was a meeting of the Aboriginal members the day before to go over the Agenda so that they felt comfortable participating in the meeting and had had a chance to become familiar with everything in advance. The meeting went very well apparently, and was finished by lunchtime. The College had prepared a BBQ lunch for everyone outside and put the tables in three lines with chairs (very civilised BBQ) It was a good chance to meet the Board members and I had a long conversation with a Uniting Church Minister from Alice Springs who will help me to get to some communities they are involved in down there when I go to Alice between 28/6 and 11/7.

I forgot the camera again for the Induction of the newest Staff Member last night out at the College. It was a Uniting church Service and very well prepared for the occasion. Luckily, another staff member pointed out Helen's camera lying on the groun (it was her induction) when I lamented forgetting my camera, so I used it to take quite a good set of photos of the evening. I think I was the only Catholic there, and there was at least one Anglican, so we were called foward at the appropriate time to express our welcome to Helen. I'll add a couple of pics.

1. You can see the lovely setting in the mild weather. The glowing white lights are the reflective patches on the sleeves of an military chap with 'Marshall' emblazoned across his left chest! Helen is giving her speech of thanks after her induction in the photo. There were quite a few Indonesian people there because Helen (who is responsible for Cross-cultural Awareness courses as well as teaching some theology) is married to an Indonesian.

2. Helen is accepting congratulations here from Rev. Mawunydjil Garawirrtja, Chairperson, Northern Regional council Congress (I copied that from the program - I'm not that smart!). He gave the 'Preaching of the Word' and spoke extremely well from the heart and his own experience. He would be a highly respected elder. Behind Helen is the Moderator of the Uniting Church up here, Wendell Jones. He led the Service. Helen has a dress from Africa on.

1. Helen is receiving the Gifts to present at the Altar table from various people: the Principal of the College is handing her the Cup of wine; an Indonesian from the Indonesian church in Darwin is next; then comes an Aboriginal Yolgnu woman who did a reading in language; finally comes a Uniting Church leader. You will notice some people are chilly enough to wear a light jacket/cardingan! I wore a 'coat' - you would have seen it, a 'linen' jacket with short sleeves that someone passed on to me and when worn, makes me instantly look much better dressed!

2.& 3. Aren't these three girls lovely! they did the Dance after Communion that you can see in the third photo. The song was played on a CD and most of the people knew the music and sang along quietly while the girls did lovely, graceful and reverent movements to it. They are members of the FACS group which has just finished its course here and all the participants are returning to Milingimbi /Maningrida tomorrow.

Today we had the Presentation of Certificates to the FACS group which has completed their five weeks here. Last week they were on Work Experience. I talked to one young chap today after the ceremony and found out he and the other one with him were both aged 23. He was married with a son. He told me he had been married for 8 years. I was a bit surprised and said, "You were 15 when you got married?" "Yes", he said. Apparently Aboriginal laws are allowed in traditional communities up here and men sometimes 'work through' a few wives in their life-times. Some young men are married first to older women and then later in life to someone nearer their age. I don't pretend to have this all straight, but I quote the 23-year-old as a fact. He would not have been allowed to marry in mainline society. The other chap with him was not married. I'll give a couple of pics from today:

1. Dr Lee Levett Olson (Principal) presenting Justin with his Attainment Certificate. Justin is the 23-year-old mentioned above with the 8-year marriage and son.

2. The entire FACS group with all the staff who had been involved with them, including Helen and myself who helped with a bit of individual literacy work. I look (and am, I guess!) the size of a house beside all these slim people!!!! Sigh! This is quite a nice photo of everyone because by then - after several photos - I had fully trained them all in how to say 'monkeys' for the camera! My fame will rest on that!

I see you have all been freezing to death. I think we have had the edges of the freeze up here because the other morning was only 17 with a stiff breeze and I had to go and dig out a cardigan. The days still get warm and I am still turning the air-con on but later - perhaps lunchtime.

Sr Liz's father is poorly - he has been unwell all year, but this seems to be a final decline - so she is heading off to Melbourne on Monday. Then we will be 2. Meanwhile we hope and pray that Liz's time there will be blessed.

I must hit the hay. My Friday nights are all blog - I'll have to get into the habit of writing bits during the week instead of a Friday night onslaught. Love to everyone.

xxxx Rita

OLSH Feast Day, Special Visitors, Sign of the Dry

Dear All,

There have been quite a few events this week, but I forgot to take photos of some of them. However, I got some good photos of the couple I remembered to take.

The Youth Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart last Saturday was a lovely occasion. The Cathedral was filled, although not packed - we had plenty of space. There were youth there in plenty and St John's choir led the music with their young conductor, Regina, whose voice is a delight to hear - very sweet, very true, musical, and excellent quality, plus well trained. No wonder the choir sings well. That added a vibrancy to the whole celebration. The Youth up here have a special affection for Cardinal Pell because he made it possible for them to get the funds for all their youth group to get to Sydney last year for World Youth Day. At the close of Mass they made a special presentation to him and gave a couple of speeches of thanks. The Cardinal seemed to enjoy the Mass to and looked relaxed and happy. I think he had a good week and the 'swine flu' (ahem!!!) which he had at the start of the week (aka, a bit of a throat and cough and sniffle) subsided within days.

After Mass there was lunch provided for the youth and visitors with the Cardinal under a marque beside the Cathedral. We OLSH repaired to the Convent courtyard with the Associates (total number of us was about 24) and enjoyed a light lunch together followed by a simple liturgy in the Chapel.

That evening all we Darwin OLSH (Salonika 2, and Darwin 3) went out for tea at the Trailler Boat Club. Here is where I remembered to take photos. It is a sunset event, because Darwin is renowned for its sunsets, and you order your meal (I had char-grilled rump with salad etc - excellent), carry away a buzzer, and when it lights up and sounds you go and collect your meal. We were given our plates with the cooked meat and collected what we wanted from the salads and hot vegetable dishes nearby. Here are a few of my many many pictures:

(Above) 1. You can see this is the entrance to the place; and 2. After you go in that front door, you order and go outside in an enclosed area on the left of the entrance and find a table. The harbour is on the left which is the west. 3. I was standing in the queue to take this photo as the sun was going down and so couldn't avoid the sunshade, but it is still a nice photo.

As the sun declined below the horizon, the colour changed and you can see that in the enlarged centre photo at the top of the page. I'll show you now how the colour changes over the next 15 - 20 minutes:

1. This was just after the sun set. 2. The sun started to light up the clouds - this one may in sequence have come where the large photo is and vice versa. Too much trouble to change!. See the people down on the water's edge. 3. After it became dark, children and teenagers stood down in the lit area of the beach - the children to play, the teenagers to socialise some distance from their parents back in the seats behind the rock here which was part of the retaining structure for our outdoor eating area.

On Sunday, Pat and Hartley Smith from St Peter's Parish, Rochedale, called in, having spent a week in Kakadu on their Caravan trip from Brisbane up through the west of Queensland and across to Darwin and then the Kimberleys. They came to Mass at St Martin de Porres Church and found it a real experience (good) - very friendly, and a bit different in a good way. Afterward, we went to Nightcliff and they left their 'packed to the hilt' 4-wheel drive in the carpark shown in the first picture and we looked for a place to have lunch. We ended up in Fannie Bay at a place called 'Cool Spot' and it was an excellent choice. At first we thought we would sit outside on the open verandah, but smelt smoke (cigarettes) and thought the seats inside looked rather nice. It was air-conditioned inside and the seats we eyed off were up about three stairs on a raised section and we had an unrestricted view out, with no smoke, and lovely ambience. Good choice! I enjoyed my lunch of roast duck in plum sauce salad. It was a light lunch but very tender and tasty ovals of this marinated duck around the top of a pile of fresh salad. I would have it again. I took no photos here, but afterwards we went to the Wave Pool area beside the new Convention Centre and walked around seeing the sights. There are some pictures of this.

1. You can see the edge of the carpark and the walking/bicycle path between the rails and the beach. The tide is out - I think you can see!

2. Here is the wave pool and, sorry, you can't enlarge this middle picture, but you can see it is quite large and very popular. It is lovely clean water and the waves are sort of big bumps which keep moving down the pool.

3. Here are Pat, myself, and Hartley on the end of Stokes Wharf. The camera is sitting on a rail and you can see a bit of it in the left corner. The nice floral decoration was quite accidental. I had 10 seconds to position myself and smile. It will enlarge if you really want to see our expressions!

There are many signs of the dry here - kites

beginning to appear in the sky; my hair very

disinclined to wave and sit where I want it to;

relentlessly sunny skies; far less humidity; everything needing watering in the garden or else it goes brown within days; and finally, I sat in my car having lunch at Dripstone Cliffs picnic area and, lo and behold, I had a friendly little Rainbow

Bee Eater flitting around - quite unafraid of the car (the engine was running to maintain air-conditioning. Look hard and you will see him on the fence near the central post. Two mates joined him/her and flew around too. These little kingfishers come in groups during the dry. They swoop after insects in flight. You can enlarge this picture.

Work has been continuing and I make slow progress, but I am making progress. We had an 'expert' up from Melbourne for 3 days and he was helpful and encouraged. It will be good to actually teach and it looks as though I will help in a class in the first week back (July 20) and teach a class by myself the next week. The teaching is pretty intensive once you start with 3 sessions each of one and a half hours daily. The pace is very slow ( you know how naturally patient I am!!!!) because of the language hurdles.

Today we had the funeral of an msc Brother who has been up here since 1941 - mainly with the Tiwi people on Bathurst Island - and who died last week aged 102. He had a big funeral in the Cathedral with the Chief Minister and others present, and then was flown to Bathurst Island for an outdoor Mass over there and burial (his request). The call his the 'father of football' around here because he introduced AFL to the Tiwis on Bathurst and instilled in them a love of a game for which he saw they had a natural talent. From there the game spread throughout the north and St Mary's was the first Football Team in Darwin to have entirely Aboriginal Players. Br John Pye himself had been an outstanding athlete at school (Riverina area) and was also a talented student who became a diesel engineer. One of the men (Aboriginal) after the funeral was interviewed and said of him "He was..... he was.... he was perfect ... he was a perfect man!" Another story was told about his lack of cooking skills and the time he cooked a roast with the plastic still on it!

It is bed time so I will finish here and publish this. Hope everyone is well and swine-flu free! (such a terrible title for a disease!) We are getting a scattering of cases up here, but it seems mild and no one is terribly worried about it yet. Time will tell. You can worry about things like that and then have your plane fall out of the sky! I know which one I would rather have.

With those profound words I will close for the week.

Love from Rita