The week that was and is to come.

Our Australian friends with my wife at Christchurch airport before their departure.

The latest Baby Edith picture 

South Island Chaplains. The man seated on the right, and the woman third from the right were my good humoured travel companions

My son in Edinburgh made this collage of the much photographed Edith

Aussies are back home.
Our visitors went back home to Australia on Wednesday morning. It was great to have them and we wish the distance between Adelaide and Dunedin was shorter. Yesterday was REALLY cold here so it was probably a good thing they went home when they did. It is a strange but delightful thing that you can maintain friendships across many miles and so easily take up where you left off when you see each other.
To speak out or not to speak out?
I learned of a potential injustice the other day. It is complicated but I think a family is being treated badly. I want to expose it, yell from the roof tops, threaten and challenge! My wife urges caution, saying I could make things worse for the family involved. I just don't think I can bury my head in the sand and refuse to interfere. Sometimes it would be easier to be apathetic and uninvolved. Watch this space.
St John chaplaincy conference.
On Wednesday and Thursday I attended a conference for St John Chaplains in Auckland. It was good to meet with around 45 chaplains who like me, give their time voluntarily to this service agency. There were a couple of very good sessions at the conference which made it worthwhile going. As always, the meeting of new friends in the journey of life and faith is an encouragement. Travel to and from was interesting. I got up at what I thought was a reasonable time to have breakfast and get to the airport. Unfortunately time slipped by and I left home with insufficient time to get to the airport, check in and board the plane. I confess that my trip was fast! Most people leave a half an hour to get to the airport from Dunedin City. We are a quarter of an hour on the other side of the city. I got from our place, through the city and to the airport in under a half hour! I felt guilty driving so fast and was pleased it was early morning with light traffic. As I drove I felt stressed to the max with my heart racing, thinking I might miss the plane. I raced to and through check in and arrived at the departure door where I met two colleagues while trying to look as cool as a cucumber. Only then did I begin to relax. On the way home the three of us were enjoying each other's company, chatting amongst ourselves, when an announcement came that there was a fuel indicator malfunctioning and we would have to stop for repairs in Christchurch. As it turned out we swapped to another plane in Christchurch and continued the journey. We arrived home in Dunedin over an hour late. I am glad, however, that I fly with an airline that does not take such things lightly. I would rather be late than there be an accident.  The result was that I was sitting up in bed at midnight with my cup of Horlicks in hand, choosing songs for Sunday!
The week ahead...

• I have some issues to sort out with the Night Shelter/Phoenix House. I have been too busy since returning from Auckland to give attention to these.
• I have a Workplace Support Trust board member who wants to tag along on my visits to the fire station. That will be interesting.
• I have a hospital appointment on Tuesday. They are going to look again at my "plumbing issues" and make decisions about further exploration and/or treatment. I don't like the uncertainty and wonder what they might eventually find.