Friday nights are always a little bit more special when friends get together to catch up over a meal. Tress and I caught up with the Chews and Hipos, over a meal in a restaurant that is closest to us (because we organised it…). We got there a bit after 6.30pm and the Hipos were already there. The Chews showed up a little later and we ate, chatted and only left after 9pm, when there were hints the restaurant was starting to close for the night.

The next day, I got up early and headed for the men’s breakfast at St Alf’s. Paul O, the speaker, was visiting from Kenya and he was a beneficiary of Compassion’s child-sponsorship program. He now works in Kibera, a very big slum in Nairobi. He was very eloquent and engaging and I had to restrain my self from responding impulsively to sponsor yet another child. I probably will do it however, so compelling was the talk. After helping with a quick packing up, I went home and a little later, drove out to Ringwood with Tress for my Red Cross Blood Centre appointment. It was a plasma donation so it took a little longer and we then had lunch in that area, before heading back to walk the little guy.

St Alf’s on Sunday was a little special. We had Ian Harper, a Reserve Bank Australia Board Member, come and speak to us, in a sort of Q&A style, with Peter asking questions and providing the platform for Ian to provide his thoughts, mainly on workplace experience. He’s got such clear thoughts and was very articulate so we learned a lot, and it affirmed for us we probably chose well to stay back for the extended session of Q&A after the service. I’m quite sure we weren’t the only one glued to Ian’s every word as we tried to soak up his experience as a Christian in a leadership position in an increasingly hostile (anti-Christian) workplace environment. His role as Dean of Melbourne Business School and a Board Member meant he is often asked to provide his views, in spite (or because) of his having publicly professed his faith on numerous occasions. His profiles openly state his roles in Ridley and the Anglican Diocese in Melbourne.

So we left for lunch later than usual, but we got home in good time to walk the little guy anyway, before I went back home a little earlier to start cooking for the week. Tress came back a little later and did the ironing, as we finished up the weekend and started to prepare for the coming week. It would be, hopefully, a little more restful but no less compelling, next weekend…