Enter the Cheese Man

Well, I'm currently writing this update on a laptop borrowed from a friend here at Cornerstone. Our laptop died again a week ago and has been in for repair ever since. At the same time the network PCs here at Cornerstone have stopped working too, so we've been totally isolated from the World-Wide-Interweb for a whole week. In other news, the world has kept on turning.

Apart from death-by-no-Internet-access, things have been pretty interesting here. The Sunday just gone was the fortieth anniversary of the Referendum that classed Aboriginals (the term used here is 'indigenous Australians') as citizens. It came as something as a shock to me to find that the original occupants of this country have only been allowed to vote for the past forty years. I've been ambivalent about this information. On the one hand it seems crazy to me that such a simple thing as being allowed to vote could be so recent, but on the other hand I can't forget that it was us Brits that started the ball rolling when we claimed this country for our own and imposed our culture on the people of this land. On Sunday evening I went to West Dubbo Parish church for a 'Service of Reconciliation' to recognise the Referendum of forty years ago. The Church of the Good Shepherd is, interestingly enough, a majority Aboriginal congregation so the service was especially poignant for many people there. It was quite an experience to be on the other side of the world sitting in an Anglican church being led in a Graham Kendrick song by guitar-playing indigenous Australians. It was probably about as English as it's possible to get in a foreign land, but the focus of the service was something that transcended national boundaries and I was glad to be there. I missed the end of the service though as I had to leave early to make an 8pm appointment with Matt. We had prearranged to play Tekken on the PlayStation 2. Feel free to judge me.

Calvin has been given the 'all clear' as far as his grommet troubles go. In case you didn't know before we left there was some uncertainty expressed about whether or not he would need an operation to remove a grommet that might have fallen into his ear. We had an appointment with a doctor here, who told us that he's sure that the grommet has fallen out rather than in so everything's fine. The doctor turned out to not only be a fellow Brit but one who had done time at The Princess Royal in Haywards Heath so he was well acquainted with all of the various specialists who had seen Calvin.

It's actually been a great experience to spend even just a few months as a visitor in a foreign country. It has enabled me to empathise a bit more what it must be like to be a visitor to the UK. True, it's no real hardship to be a Pom in Australia, especially in a place like Dubbo - everyone here's really friendly and we speak the same language (mostly) - but it's still a different land. There are enough differences in society and culture and enough nuances in the language to make me very aware, at times, of the fact that we are strangers here. For a Christian it can never be a bad thing to experience something different, something that enables you to better understand others and aid them in their troubles.

Reid has been showing signs of a highly-developed sense of humour for a nearly-three year old. It's good that he's advanced in at least one area of his life because he's still in nappies and stubbornly refuses to use a potty or toilet. Never mind. I heard once that Einstein was still in nappies at twelve years old or something like that. It must be true because I saw it on the Internet. Anyway, the other day the boys were commenting about Xanthe's baby rice and Ruth was reminding them that they used to eat that kind of thing. She said to Reid that he would eat anything except cheese, which is strange because now he really likes cheese - "don't you Reid?". Reid replied "Yes I do. They call me the cheese man". Where this particular slice of comic genius came from I don't know, but the idea of a two-year old proudly declaring that the world knows him as 'The Cheese Man' has made me and others laugh all week. That'll do pig, that'll do.

All the best for impending fatherhood Bendle McRendle. May I recommend the name 'Cheese Man' for your firstborn?

Maybe next time I can write from my own computer. Maybe not. We'll see. Have a great week guys. Thanks for reading.