A week ago, the Chinese government put on a massive display of its military might. Ten years ago, when I must have watched a similar parade, I wrote this. I had totally forgotten about it. Obviously, China’s growth in strength and prominence has been even more impressive in the past 10 years.

Only, it has now become a bigger ogre. It is bullying nations with a mix of wealth, economic power and guilt pangs which it instills in the minds of the global communities. The historical bullying of China by the West has now been “weaponised” (?) so that it is wielded with retributive intent, to extract favourable treatment.

The Chinese I meet here in Melbourne, appear to have little engagement with its troubled past. The brutal regime that was the Kuomintang, the communists’ early subservience to the Russians and the rise of the peasantry to usher the monstrous Mao to be its latter-day emperor, all give modern China an ugly base. The economic power provided by Deng’s modernization initiatives did little to taper the rough edges that China projects to the world at large. In fact it probably exacerbated the vision of the ugly Chinese. Street after street in suburb after suburb here in Melbourne, the vulgarity with which the Chinese rich parlay their moola, jars shamelessly. Maybe it’s a subconscious effect that shuts out the ugly past, but in not turning its mind there the ugliness appears to have transmogrified. Mao’s mass murders have turned into Xi’s opulent louts.

All that has done is make the Chinese even less likeable now. Up until maybe 20 years ago, it was the ugly Americans that we all loved to hate. Today, the Chinese have beaten the Americans, at least in that space.

There is this little Italian restaurant Tress and I like. It’s as the crow flies from our home, perhaps closer. It makes really fresh pasta and pizza and we’ve been going to this joint regularly in recent years, so that when I ring to make a reservation, they recognize my voice and respond in a truly warm and friendly manner. To borrow a phrase from the classic sitcom that I loved, it’s a place where “everybody knows your name”.

After a lovely Friday night dinner at our “Cheers”, we went home and I started prepping for a cook. We were going to trek across Melbourne to get to the Macedon area northwest of Melbourne, the next day. It was Ruth’s 40^th and Jonathan had been planning the event for some time.

The next morning, we got up early. We had a quick brekky, but I made sure we made our coffee as per usual on weekend mornings. I then did the sauce that was to go with the “sambal eggs”, and Tress boiled the eggs. The dish was ready just around 9am. I also had to pick up the mower from “Forest Hill Mower Power”, so I ducked out quickly and the mower looked and felt brand new. New blades, cleaned and serviced engine, new plug and filter and lubricated parts … I was confident the $150 would mean I’d easily get another 3 if not 5 more years out of the 12 year old machine yet. I took the mower back, kept it in the shed, and tidied up the kitchen before cleaning up. We finally left home just after 10am. When we were near Woodend just before noon, I felt a pressing need for another coffee so we ducked into town, got a coffee to go, and then got to Jonathan and Ruth’s home. To our pleasant surprise, there were a number of cars outside their home, which meant the party was going to be wonderful for Ruth.

We left Woodend just before 3pm, and got home in time to walk the little fellow. Later that night, one of the subsidiary channels of the Nine Network had The “Phantom Menace” on. It was the first of a planned screening of the entire Star Wars franchise for the next few weeks so I sat down to watch it, as the thought of my task at St Alf the next day, played in my mind.

On Sunday morning, the nerves got up several notches. I was asked by Graeme Churchward a couple of months prior, if I would like to do the congregational prayers. I hadn’t turned down any request to serve before, so I said yes. I was put on the roster on an ad hoc basis – Graeme thought, wisely, that the first should be a “dipping the toe in the water” type of experience. He was rostered for 6 Oct and I was asked to do it in his place, to test it out. I had written out the prayers earlier in the week but while I had expected to be nervous, I hadn’t expected it to reach that level.

As I walked into the church hall, Ruth McIntosh, the service leader for that morning, looked up and saw me. She walked up to me, and in giving me some instructions on what to do, drove up my nerves even more. Ruth had been encouraging in any event, and she continued to do so after those instructions. As I sat in our usual seat awaiting the moment, I told myself to focus on the task and not worry about anything else. I said those 3+ pages of prayers, sat down, and listened to the reader on the text for the sermon. It was only when Jordan Hitchcock was near the end of his sermon that the nerves/adrenalin finally ebbed and I felt normal again. The “ordeal” had lasted nearly an hour…

It was the first time in our nearly 7 years at St Alf’s that I had to perform a public task in a solo capacity. I had done this many times prior, at ICC and at Klang Chinese Methodist Church but those were many years ago. It had been easily 8 years since I last performed a task like that. It had to be a divine intervention to see me go through that, and I was very glad it is behind me now. Graeme may or may not ask me to be rostered again, that doesn’t matter at this point in time. I guess I would still not turn down any request to serve, as long as I’m able to.

After St Alf’s we had lunch at our usual lunch place, went home, and I did the week’s cook while Tress went out for her ethereal chase. I also cooked something for the little guy, and when Tress came back, we took the little fellow out for a walk. With all of the tasks for the weekend completed, I was at ease at last. It had been a warm day, and as Tress and I walked the little guy past the ovals with cricket games going on in each of the 3 ovals, it felt like a really pleasant time. It is still only early spring but it also felt like summer is not far away now.

It was the AFL Grand Final weekend and thanks to Daniel Andrews’ Labor Government we had last Friday off. The night before, we tried a new restaurant – a little place not far from our home called “Flavours of Mekong”. Jason and Mel were with us and we liked the place.

I had planned to work the gardens the next day, so after a quick stop at the local Bunnings to pick up my edger/whipper snipper lines, I started out edging the side, back and front lawns, as well as cleared weeds on flower beds.

When I was ready to mow however, I had a brain freeze when topping up the mower’s engine oil. I tipped in way too much and before long, puffs of blue smoke coughed up out of the engine and very quickly, oil spluttered out and the engine looked like it was in a whole lot of grief. I killed it, and decided it had cacked it. Being a Daniel Andrews declared public holiday however, the mower servicing shop I had previously used was closed. So the lawn remained un-mowed and that lingering feeling of unfinished job stayed on. I pushed on to do the rest of the gardening tasks however, including the cleaning up – for the umpteenth time – of the remnants of the black cockatoos’ feeding off the gum tree on the nature strip in front of our home.

Later that evening, we messaged Jason and Mel to borrow their mower. Their newly built property no longer needed that machine. We took the machine home and I tried to restore things as much as possible with the car, having removed the back partitioning bits and lowered the seats to house the large-ish mower the Chews had.

The next day, I rang the mower shop to check that they were opened. I then took the oiled up machine in, arranged for it to be fixed up, and went home to work on Jason’s old mower to finish the tasks. We then headed out for lunch before the big dance at 2.30pm.

After the first quarter of relatively good contests, Greater Western Sydney – “Giants” – caved in and Richmond mauled them to win the flag in one of the most one-sided grand finals in recent years. Unless you barrack for the winning side, games like that are no fun to watch so midway through the third quarter, I said to Tress – fallen asleep now, that was how bad the game was – to take the little fellow out for a walk. We left for the walk, and along the way, we heard some homes – Tigers fans obviously – celebrating. The margin turned out to be 89 points, would you believe.

Later that night, we received a message from Jonathan. We thought about it and started to think about what we could do in response, and decided on a couple of options, so had to get busy again the next day. Tress also teed up some Malaysian delicacies to be picked up on next Sat morning.

After St Alf’s and lunch, we did more grocery shopping for the dish for Jon’s plans, and after catching up with Jason and Mel again to witness some docs they wanted to sign, went home for the week’s cook. It has been a busy weekend of domestic chores. I guess that happens when your team isn’t in the mix in footy finals and you get a chance to focus on more down to earth stuff around the house.

Last Friday, the clock ticked over another year since I was born and I’m a year closer to meeting my maker. Tress took me to a Japanese restaurant that is a favourite of ours, and we had a quiet but lovely dinner. She also got me a nice bottle of red. I also had the team celebrate the occasion for me with a lovely cake earlier that arvo, and kiddo rang and we talked a little bit. So, I felt loved…

Back home after dinner, we watched Richmond overhaul Geelong to earn a spot in this Sat’s Grand Final. Lynch, who signed from Gold Coast last year, looked unstoppable, as was “human meatball” Dion Prestia. The next day we caught the Giants holding on to play their first Grand Final. They had lead the Pies for the whole game on a dirty day. It was so low scoring that the 27 points the Pies needed at the start of the last quarter, was more than the 22 they had kicked in the first three. It looked impossible but the Pies clawed back and bombed into the Giants’ 50 unrelentingly but the Giants held fast and won by 4 points. The Pies players looked spent and dejected, but Tress and I felt upbeat of sorts.

We had spent the day cleaning, and just pottering around to put away, as much as possible, the winter’s mounting dust, weeds, cobwebs etc. We were going to someone’s home for lunch on Sunday so we went and got some drinks to bring along, as well as to shop for the week’s cook – we did all that later in the arvo, getting home just in time for the aforesaid Giants’ battle with the Pies.

On Sunday, after St Alf’s, we came home, packed some stuff and drove the 5 minutes or so to Peter and Tanya’s home. When we first got to St Alf’s more than 6 years ago, Peter had just lost his wife. We knew Tanya from almost day one in St Alf’s. They’re both really nice people but when they got together and married, around the same time Kiddo and Mic did, we were as surprised as anyone in St Alf’s. They invited us to their home for lunch a few weeks ago but Tress had a birthday party on so we finally made it yesterday. Other than us, they had also invited Daniel and Susan, a couple originally from America. We spent the arvo chatting and it was really nice getting to know these 2 older couples better.

Back home after 4pm, I hurriedly started the week’s cook and Tress got the little fellow out to the oval. Later that evening, we settled down to watch some tv. I continued with my streaming of the Bosch series and then we watched the building/construction reality show. Bosch has been a fascinating and often gripping series – not a good thing to finish up a weekend  that has hitherto been domestic relaxation sort. Harry Bosch the dramatis personae however, has grey hair and is probably of the same vintage as yours truly. He gives me hope that the clock may have ticked but one can still be effective, and cool…

For just a day, the newly ushered-in season put on a glorious show. It was sunny and the skies were blue on Saturday. It was only the second weekend of spring and I had sweeping duties at St Alf’s and Tress had a dental appointment so we were both out the door early on.

After about an hour at St Alf’s, I got home and started clearing the patch on our front lawn where the lavender plants had died or were dying. The recent rain made the ground soft and easier to work on. Soon, the green bin was filled with deadwood and twigs of the ex-lavender plants. I got rid of the weeds too, along with the roots of the lavenders, and then turned and mixed the soil to get it ready for new plants. Tress then got home and joined me in the work, and moved and replanted some succulents from along the back fence.

With the patch done and prepped I moved on to other tasks, soaking up the wonderful weather.

I got some seasol onto all of the plants on the front, got some feed and weed on the lawn, and got Tress’ car washed. I would have done more work, on the side/back lawns etc, had it not been a special day for Alex and Li Har.

Our dear friends had planned a “thanksgiving service dinner” and we were making a dish to bring along. A “sambal egg” dish is something I know and liked but I had never cooked it before. I had googled the recipe and I’ve an idea, but I wasn’t sure I could make it work. So we reluctantly stopped working just after 1pm, and went shopping for the stuff we needed for the dish. We got to the Chase and actually bumped into Alex and Li Har – they were buying another dish which they were going to serve for the dinner. We were told there would be 30+ people… as usual, their parties are nothing if not big…

We got home, made the dish, and got ready to go for the party.

When we got to their home, rows of chairs greeted us, along with Alex decked out in a formal shirt and khakis – not his usual jeans and t-shirt. It was going to be a “service” of sorts… he got everyone seated and shared his journey with the small crowd. TT Quah, an old friend we hadn’t met for a while, was also there along with Maudrene his wife. Eddie, Vivienne, Li Lin and Kok Eng and several other old friends were also there. It was good to catch up with all of them, as we sat down to enjoy his boys leading in prayer and reading several psalms. The dish went down well too and I had barely a half a glass of red – from the nice bottle I brought along – so the night was thoroughly sober and proper. It was memorable too. I later quipped, recalling a text Julian their third boy read, that they both had very fine arrows (a la Psalm 127)

Jason and Mel were also there and we had caught up with them for dinner the night before too, as we often did. At the little Thai restaurant not far from our home, the proprietor had delicately asked if we could finish early as she had double booked our table. Initially taken aback, I was ok with it a little later and we took the opportunity to visit Jason and Mel’s new home after an early finish to dinner. They had only moved into their new pad a week earlier, having moved out to demolish and subdivide their lot more than a year prior. We sat down at their new dining room (open space) as I observed their coming to terms with a more compact, less expansive abode. They looked happy and took pride in their new home, which was great to see.

On Sunday, after St Alf’s, Tress had a birthday party to go to and I headed out to the local Bunnings to get the plants (a different variety of lavender) I wanted to put into the patch on the front I had cleared up and prepped the day before. I also got some other stuff and then headed back to the Chase to get some veg to roast for the week’s lunches. The weather has returned to being wet again and it rained for most of the day. Somehow however, a small dry window opened up and I quickly got those new lavender shrubs planted, watered and tidied up the patch before I started on the cook. Those baby lavender looked pretty as I looked on later last night, as the showers persisted and the light faded away. The weekend was ending on a grey note but those pretty flowers are showing promise of lighting up a colourful spring. A promise not unlike Alex’s and Li Har’s arrows.

It was another full week at work last week, and we couldn’t have our usual Friday night dinner, as there was something at St Alf’s. John Dickson’s Centre for Public Christianity had produced a documentary on how the church has been both good and bad on and for the world around it, through the ages. Titled “For the Love of God – How the Church is better and worse than you ever imagined” ran for only 90 minutes and it had good material. I was however, struggling to stay focused, after the first 40minutes or so. When it finally finished, there was to be a discussion panel. Some refreshments were served before that happened but as people headed out to the foyer for the refreshments, I asked Tress if we should leave. She did not hesitate to, as she too, had been struggling to stay awake. So off we went – we got home and caught the Geelong v Collingwood game. The pies got up and people are now talking about a Pies v Tigers GF. We toggled between that game and the cricket. The Ashes this time around has turned out to be one of the most fascinating series in recent years. With the returning prodigal prodigy of a batsman in Steve Smith and the accidental unearthing of Marcus Labuschagne wielding the willow, and the very consistent pacemen like Cummins and Hazelwood swinging the “Duke” cherries, the contest with the poms has been riveting. As tired as I was, the toggling of the two events, with a glass of a very agreeable red in my hand, it was a wonderful way to start unwinding the week.

The next day, we had a few things on. The little guy has an appointment with his groomer for his quarterly clip. Tress was to have a dental appointment later and we had planned to shop for the stuff we want to cook with, for a dinner later in the week. That dinner was for 25 persons – about a little over half from our (Susan Maury’s) group. I was also hoping to get some feed and weed stuff on our lawns as well as remove some dead shrubs from the front lawn, particularly the old and dried out lavender. It had however, been raining right through the night and it continued to rain all day on Saturday, so I took the opportunity to set up my “home office”. My workplace recently implemented policies and procedures for working from home. Euphemistically titled “Flexible Working Arrangements’, the policy required a WHS (Work, Health and Safety) sign-off for the alternative workplace set up, before anyone could work from home. I hardly work from home but occasionally, something pops up (plumber, electrician, mechanic visit etc) and one of us would need to be at home. My boss had asked that the whole tea get the checklist stuff done up to be signed off by the WHS guy, so I had to make sure my “home office” was set up properly, with appropriate pictures taken.  Tress went for her dental appointment and I went to get the stuff for the cook. We later met up at the shopping venue for a bite to eat, before we went home and I got ready for the evening’s St Alf’s Men’s Event.

Andrew Grills had a really successful career in the army but he then switched direction when he trained to be a minister. He was a student minister at St Alf’s 12-13 years back, and now pastors a joint in Geelong. He was an engaging guy to listen to. I went to St Alf’s a bit after 5pm, and a large crowd had already started with some soup and grilled wings. The talk then started before burgers and chips were served. Desert round up the evening. I skipped that but had the burger. It was nice, but the best item on the night’s menu was to listen to Andrew share his journey. Urging his listeners to build foundations on rock (reading and applying the scriptures) and not on sand (personal ambitions), he had a go to debunk the often invoked formula of “honour God and He will honour you”. Often, walking in His ways see raging seas and angry winds ahead of us. Honouring God doesn’t guarantee the sorts of rewards many often think we’d have. I was again reminded of one of my favourite CS Lewis sayings:

“Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

A person no longer desires to obey God because he sees no reward in that – God didn’t appear to be “honouring” us – but still obeys. That is building foundation on a rock, not sand. Andrew Grills sounded convinced when he said that, and for good reasons.

I was back home after that event, to again catch footy and cricket on tele. The Lions had a good first quarter but the Tigers – big favourites for the flag now – quickly overpowered the new finalists to book a place in the preliminary final.

On Sunday at St Alf’s, Andrew Grills preached again. It was a really good service, with wonderful outcomes. A number of people made meaningful responses and I was again, challenged to take my faith more seriously. What that looks like remains to be seen.

Later in the arvo, I did the cooking and readied ourselves for the meal with the home groups, later in the week. We also had some left overs for a few lunches for the week. So the long cook (with preps and washings, it took me nearly 3 hours) appeared to be worth the while.

Later in the evening, after Tress and I watched the usual reality home renovation show, I resumed the cricket. Needing the 8 wickets to see victory, Australia could only take 2 before I had to go to bed. I thought we should be able to take the remaining 6 but it was only when I woke this morning, that I noted how close it was. It was the last hour of play – well past 6pm in Manchester – when Hazelwood took the winning wicket to get up by over 180 runs. That meant Australia was 2-1 up and would not lose the series. With just one match remaining, the worst-case scenario is a 2-2 draw which would still see Australia retain the urn.

It was a terrific outcome. Australia had been down and out in the world of cricket, in the past 18 months. We were made to feel like pariahs after the “sandpaper gate” scandal with Bancroft, Warner and Smith in South Africa, and losses in numerous matches during their 12month ban and after, made it all a prolonged misery. To win this – especially on the back of magnificent batting performances by Smith – has been really sweet. Australia can hold its head high again. We can start to really put behind us, that ugly period of South Africa now.

A wonderful thing about living far from the equator, is the cycle of seasons. It has been gradually “lighter” (as in more light) at an earlier hour, in recent weeks. As I walk up Market Street from Clarendon to head into the office each morning, the skies looked brighter as we emerge out of the dark, gloomy wintery days. It’s officially spring now, and it felt warmer already.

It was a sunny and balmy Saturday. Tress and I however, had teed up an appointment to see our tax agent that morning so after a quick brekky we saw to our returns, with the able help of the agent. We then quickly did some grocery shopping, I had a quick haircut, and we then headed home to unload the shopping before heading out for a quick lunch. I had wanted to make the most of the sunny conditions to start our spring-cleaning process.

Around 1pm and back home, Tress started some vacuuming while I started to clean up the lawns and hedges. The winter weeds had gone troppo and while Tress and I (mainly her) have been plugging away at weeding, it was a losing battle. So the advent of spring is a signal to start a more wholesale approach. I trimmed the hedges, cut back some shrubs, snipped and slashed at others, and mowed the lawns in preparation for some feed and weed stuff  for the following weeks.

After pulling out the blower to clean up the footpath, driveway and carport, I gave the deck a scrub. Pesky noisy miners have been crapping on it and the outdoor furniture, and the hosing and scrubbing cleaned up some of it but it still left stained patches, which would probably require more work like staining and oiling. The next few weeks should keep me busy.

The sunny conditions meant I was happy to be out all arvo and I only got back in after 5pm. It still gets dark by 6pm, so that gave me just enough time to clean up, settle down and put my feet up.

The night before, Tress and I caught up for dinner with Jason and Mel in an Indian restaurant near the station. We hadn’t had Indian for a long time so it was a delicious change. Early on Saturday morning, before waking up to attack the spring-cleaning day, we had received messages from Klang. YY, aka Stanley, was at the airport, heading to Taiwan for his university days. Earlier, a week or so before, Isaac had left for Hong Kong. They are both starting first year in uni and they sounded excited. I hope the next few years turn out to be exciting and memorable for them.

Kiddo too, has taken a turn in her journey and would see out this term in her current school. She has been offered a new position in another school nearby. A private Christian secondary school, it would be a relief for her – to get away from challenging socio economic environment that her present school had presented in the past 3 years. With Mic also only started a new role in a competitor “Big-4” firm, they both seem to be heading in the “right” directions.

Tress too, was recently seconded to a different department, to perform duties closer to what she had been doing for some years.

Spring is here; new paths have opened up for many around me. They sound exciting and it would be really interesting to see, in a few years’ time, how these new paths make a difference in the lives of those who mean most to me. The circle of life, like the cycle of seasons, continue to turn.

Some time last week, I saw that the Saturday was going to see good weather. So I teed up a quick getaway, and looked for an easy walk destination not too far away, say about an hour or so, driving.

After a lazy morning, I walked that little fellow while Tress did the laundry, to take advantage of the sunny conditions. Those basic chores done, we then drove towards Mornington and headed for Cape Schanck.

It was sunny with blue skies and when we got there, the car park looked busy. Numerous people were there and the walk along the boardwalk to Pebble Beach was busy. Likewise, the lighthouse area and a number of other spots were teeming with people. We had lunch at Flinders, where Tress’ bowl of soup and my humble looking sandwich were nice but the bill reminded us we were in the area commonly known as a playground for Melbourne’s wealthy people. A soup, a sandwich and two coffees ran up a bill of $54… Jules believes in fat margins I suppose. A walk through the main road in that town sort of affirmed its playground-for-the-rich status, as that short street had numerous art galleries with simple but pricey art works for sale, as well as chic fashion joints.

We got home around 4pm, and after a quick visit to the shops to get some protein to marinade for the week’s cook the next day, we settled down to await the Hawks’ last game of the season. Somehow, we managed to beat the Eagles, at the Optus (in Perth) at that. It all came to nought however, as the Doggies easily beat the Crows on Sunday, to pip us into a finals spot.

That miss proved to be only one of 3 horrible outcomes, sporting wise, for the weekend. United lost at home to Palace for a last minute goal and worst of all, the Poms – courtesy of a cracking knock from the Ranger Stokes – managed an unlikely run chase at Headingly to tie the Ashes 1-1.

St Alf saw us do the penultimate talk of the Life Explored series. It had been a curious one, where most of us struggled to find resonance. Especially between the videos and the themed messages. Maybe it was designed to stoke some flames of thoughts amongst those less familiar with the gospel.

Just before I started the cook, Tress went on her ethereal pursuits and I ducked into FHC. With warmer months returning soon (hopefully), I had wanted to go back to my low working shoes and keep my RM boots away for the season. My low black working pair however, has had a hole in it for a while. I saw a “Rockport Allander” at The Athlete’s Foot which were really nice. Black and business like but soft, light and very walkable, it felt like the perfect pair. The price tag however was a put off so I walked around to check out the Shoes Warehouse instead. Contrary to the trend of my sporting teams, my luck turned – a same pair was on the shelf! At the checkout, the lady said it would have normally sold for about $30 less than the tag at TAF, but it was a storewide “nothing over $99” promotion day. The  discount of over 55%was a no-brainer, and I’m now ready, foot wise, for the warmer months.

In fact, with footy season over I am more than ready – in all sense – for the warmer season. It has been a long, cold and wet winter and I cannot wait to bid farewell to the long, cold, dark and wet days.

Marysville was a bit of a ground zero in the Black Saturday bushfire more than 10 years ago. We’ve been there several times since. It is now a beautiful part of the Yarra Ranges again. I spent the whole of Saturday there, as part of St Alf’s men’s camp. Most of the campers had trekked up on Friday night, but the drive there includes the Black Spur, which is a stretch from Healesville onwards, finishing just before Marysville. The mountain ash trees are magnificent and the view is stunning, but it is also a winding, narrow and dark stretch. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the drive on a Friday night after a long week, so I decided to only trek up there on Saturday morning.

Tress and I had been out for dinner on Friday the night before, and after dinner, we got home and I toggled between the cricket and footy, although not much was happening with the cricket which was interrupted by rain. It was the second test of the Ashes Series and it was a cracking contest too, truncated play notwithstanding. It turned out to be a draw overnight, but it was by no means a dour or boring draw.

Early Saturday morning, Tress ducked out to get a couple of coffees and after a quick toast, I left home soon after 7am and drove out to Marysville. The drive was cold and foggy but when I left Healesville and started the Black Spur stretch, those trees again took my breath away. It has to be, along with the Great Ocean Road, one of Victoria’s most beautiful gems.

I got to Marysville around 8.30am, and spent the morning listening to talks about health – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health – among some 60 men from St Alf’s. After lunch there were a few activities to choose from and I opted for a forestry walk with someone who was a retired State forester. It was a really good walk, with that expert providing interesting commentaries about trees, shrubs and vegetation as well as wildlife. We saw wombat poo galore and on the home stretch of the 5km walk, we also spotted a black wallaby.

Tress’ text messages made their way into my phone intermittently, as the talks and walk happened. She had busied herself with lots of housework – cooking, cleaning, weeding – as well as some of her ethereal activities. I guess the both of us being separately engaged in entirely different activities, only enriched our relationships as when I got home that night, we excitedly told each other what we had been up to.

After the forestry walk and some chats and discussions – formal and informal – with numerous fellow men, we settled down to a substantial dinner, where I sat with Peter, the senior minister of St Alf’s, and had a casual conversation. I left Marysville after dinner and started the drive home a bit after 7pm, getting home a bit after 8.30pm.

On Sunday after St Alf’s and a quick lunch, we got home and walked the little guy before heading off to Marvel Stadium for a late game (first bounce 4.40pm). Ordinarily, we wouldn’t go for games at such times, and would more likely watch it on tv. This game however was special. It was the Hawks’ last home game of the season, and it was Jarryd Roughead’s finial home game. He would retire after this season finishes, which is next weekend, unless for some miraculous reasons, we tumbled into finals footy.

Roughead – “Roughy” – has been playing as a Hawks champion since I started following AFL soon after we got here. The Eagles got up against the Swans in the 2005 Grand Final and that was the first season of AFL football for me. I started following the Hawks that year and other than when he was out to deal with cancer, Roughy has always been part of the Hawks that I followed. Together with other champions of that cohort – Hodge, Lewis Franklin and Birchall – Hawks have had a dream decade. So to farewell Roughy was a special privilege and what a farewell it was too. He kicked 6, and even though it was a long trip home – Melbourne Metro had cleverly ignored the prospect of over 30,000 fans cramming into Southern Cross station to get a train home, so thousands of fans waited on crowded platforms for the better part of half an hour – it was time well worth spending. I also had to pick up a t-shirt with “JR” blazoned across the front, with a tiny silhouette of the champion’s kicking action embedded in the middle. Tress thought $31 for a t-shirt was a bit much. I though so too, but I just had to get it…

We got home close to 9pm and I got to follow some of the cricket as the Aussies battled to retain the 1-0 lead so far. I went to bed late and even though I was groggy this morning while on the train, this past weekend has been a pretty special one.

Melbourne is currently under a cold spell, which started sometime last Thursday. We were returning from a home group at the Maury’s when I felt the brunt of it. For much of Friday, the cold and wet conditions persisted.

That cold spell enveloping the eastern and south eastern parts of Australia saw the Hawks play the Giants at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, in icy conditions. Towards the end of the second quarter, it snowed. Hawks triumphed over its more fancied opposition, and at a margin of 56 points at that too. What a win it was.

I woke up this morning to read United had thrashed Chelsea 4-0. It was an opening game of the new season and I hadn’t seen a win so big coming.

So it was a weekend that saw two of my favourite sporting teams prevailing. Sort of like a sandwich made up of very good bread.

The meat in this sandwich was more ordinary. As it was cold and wet right through the weekend, we slept in on Saturday morning and did some housework. Vacuuming, laundry and giving the little black jedi a bath seemed like good ideas for such a weekend.

After a late lunch and some grocery shopping, we came home and just pottered around the house, streaming stuff to watch. I’ve been watching Kevin Bacon strutting in the series “City on a Hill” – a raw Boston police series on Stan. So I watched a bit of that, before turning to free to air stuff. Jake Gyllenhaal in “Night Crawler” was a tight psychotic drama and we followed that up (toggling the footy on another channel) with Tom Hanks in “The Road to Perdition”.

Sunday was the usual too (more plain meat in a good bread sandwich). St Alf’s lunch and back for the week’s cook.

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Earlier in the week, we had received some sad news. Yu Ming, a cousin of Tress and a really good man, had passed away. He was only 64. Ah Meng had started work at Tress’ dad’s business from the age of 14, so he had worked for the family for 50 years. He was a hardworking, pleasant and simple man. Always smiling and often laughing, I said to Tress he was an operations backbone of the business. His daughter had also worked in the business for a number of years and Tress’ dad had relied on her for a lot of his personal financial matters. She recently left the business to pursue her own interests and broaden her experience but with her father having passed on, they are asking her to return to the business. They are literally family to Tress and her family – Ah Meng was a nephew to her dad.

Not the first nor for the last time, I am reminded there but for the grace of God go I.