Christmas and New year with Uncle Arnett

Uncle Arnett the night after New Year

















Uncle Arnett with Megan and Michael















Brigitta Dennis and Arnett News Years Eve


Hello everyone and a Happy New Year to you all. At the moment I am in Sunny Sydney for a week staying with some friends. I have come here for a little rest after Christmas and New Year before I start a new assignment which is working as a chaplain to the main hospital. Though I did say I would rather not do this work when I applied to the bishop in Christchurch they are in a bit of a jam so I agreed to do it until the end of Febuary to help the diocese out. The Last chaplain died as I arrived and the new one suffered a slight stroke which made it imposwsible for him to carry on. A new chaplain has been appointed but will not be able to take up her position until the end of February that is where I come in.

Being here in Australia has been a penance for me not in a religious sense but rather in a cricket aspect. When I am asked about the team I say I have no interest in cricket or rugby infact any sport that England is bad in. So my only invovlement in sport is tiddley winks. I do think we are the world champions in that. I digress.

I spent Christmas with Uncle Arnett and we had a lovely time together. I think we were both moved by having our first Christmas and New year together. He is a lovely man very open and can get on with anyone no matter what background they come from.

After celebrating Christmas day Mass in Methven I hot footed it to uncle's and picked him up to take him to Sylvia and Jim's for Christmas meal. We had a traditional Christmas meal with all the trimmings, with mine minus all the meaty things. It seemed odd eating all these things in the mild weather of summer. After the meal I took Arnett to see an old friend in hospital who had just had his leg amputated. Then we went back to Sylvia and Jim's to finish our Christmas celebrations where more family came round. In the end there were about twelve of us and we had a great time talking and playing pool.

Brigitta a friend of mine from Windsor arrived from England on the 27th and we spent some time with her and a friend of hers called Dennis. Arnett and myself spent New Years eve with them at the Crown Plaza Hotel. We had a great night and Uncle Arnett had grand time. He was up and dancing with the girls he seemed to have more energy than I did. I think it is the first time in ages that he has been out to a doo like that. I think he had a bit too much to eat and drink for he had a hangover the next day. He wasn't a happy bunny and said the old saying I'm never doing that again. But eventually he came round and said how much he enjoyed it.

On New Years day I flew into Sydney and met my friends Ian and Sue will write more on this later.