Marguerite
Active Member
G'day, folks.
It was cold in Sydney last night, although maybe that was a matter of opinion. It got down to 8 C in Randwick Racecourse - that's 46.4 F. We weren't there. husband's niece was and I assume our KateM's daughter was too.
Niece rang us this afternoon, looking for advice on how to get back to their billet. Because we know Sydney so well we were able to know exactly where she was once she gave us the cross streets. It's been an amazing week for her and her group, although they've been living on adrenalin instead of sleep. I think they fly home to Perth tomorrow.
husband watched the Papal Mass on TV this morning. The size of the crowd was amazing - half a million people in the racecourse itself, with another 200,000 overflowing into nearby Centennial Park (a bit like Central Park, I gather - only bigger).
I headed off to church instead. They had the fireplace lit but it almost went out during the service. Afterwards someone poked the fire a bit and as we had a hot lunch we huddled around trying to get warm. I grabbed the chance to talk to the church elders about difficult child 1's wedding plans and how flexible we can be. Good news - but we need to sit and talk to the kids to nail things in place.
It's been beautiful weather all week for the pilgrims but today was colder and overcast. No rain, even though possible storms were forecast. A bloke at church was telling us afterwards about his mingling with the pilgrims on Friday, watching Stations of the Cross at the Opera House.
All week the TV programs out of Sydney have been following the activities and even discussing faith in general. Regular reporters whose faith alignment is generally well hidden were all "coming out of the closet" over the last week, finally happy to explain bits to the unenlightened. It was good to see - nobody was preaching, but the secular groups were all welcoming more information and understanding.
From what we've been told by visiting friends from the US, faith in Australia is a bit different to the US. In general we're more laid back about it, regardless of what religion we follow. It's not talked about as a rule, so when it IS talked about you can be sure that the person is genuine about their beliefs and not simply professing them because it's socially expected.
This last week has been very different from what I expected. In general, I've enjoyed it a lot even though I don't belong to that group. husband as an Anglican is closer to RC than I ever have been and has appreciated it even more, in a different way maybe. And even atheists we know have been enjoying a lot of the spirit of the visitors.
The size of the crowds has been the amazing thing to me. I remember Pope John Paul II's visit here over 20 years ago. I was working at Sydney Uni at the time, easy child and difficult child 1 were very small. The Pope was giving a speech in the building next to where I worked right when I was due to finish for the day, so I collected the kids and walked back to my building to wait to wave to the Pope as he left. There we were, on the front lawn of Sydney University outside Great Hall, no more than about 20 of us. The contrast with these rock-concert-sized crowds is huge.
If your Sunday is even half as enjoyable as ours, you will have a wonderful day.
Marg
It was cold in Sydney last night, although maybe that was a matter of opinion. It got down to 8 C in Randwick Racecourse - that's 46.4 F. We weren't there. husband's niece was and I assume our KateM's daughter was too.
Niece rang us this afternoon, looking for advice on how to get back to their billet. Because we know Sydney so well we were able to know exactly where she was once she gave us the cross streets. It's been an amazing week for her and her group, although they've been living on adrenalin instead of sleep. I think they fly home to Perth tomorrow.
husband watched the Papal Mass on TV this morning. The size of the crowd was amazing - half a million people in the racecourse itself, with another 200,000 overflowing into nearby Centennial Park (a bit like Central Park, I gather - only bigger).
I headed off to church instead. They had the fireplace lit but it almost went out during the service. Afterwards someone poked the fire a bit and as we had a hot lunch we huddled around trying to get warm. I grabbed the chance to talk to the church elders about difficult child 1's wedding plans and how flexible we can be. Good news - but we need to sit and talk to the kids to nail things in place.
It's been beautiful weather all week for the pilgrims but today was colder and overcast. No rain, even though possible storms were forecast. A bloke at church was telling us afterwards about his mingling with the pilgrims on Friday, watching Stations of the Cross at the Opera House.
All week the TV programs out of Sydney have been following the activities and even discussing faith in general. Regular reporters whose faith alignment is generally well hidden were all "coming out of the closet" over the last week, finally happy to explain bits to the unenlightened. It was good to see - nobody was preaching, but the secular groups were all welcoming more information and understanding.
From what we've been told by visiting friends from the US, faith in Australia is a bit different to the US. In general we're more laid back about it, regardless of what religion we follow. It's not talked about as a rule, so when it IS talked about you can be sure that the person is genuine about their beliefs and not simply professing them because it's socially expected.
This last week has been very different from what I expected. In general, I've enjoyed it a lot even though I don't belong to that group. husband as an Anglican is closer to RC than I ever have been and has appreciated it even more, in a different way maybe. And even atheists we know have been enjoying a lot of the spirit of the visitors.
The size of the crowds has been the amazing thing to me. I remember Pope John Paul II's visit here over 20 years ago. I was working at Sydney Uni at the time, easy child and difficult child 1 were very small. The Pope was giving a speech in the building next to where I worked right when I was due to finish for the day, so I collected the kids and walked back to my building to wait to wave to the Pope as he left. There we were, on the front lawn of Sydney University outside Great Hall, no more than about 20 of us. The contrast with these rock-concert-sized crowds is huge.
If your Sunday is even half as enjoyable as ours, you will have a wonderful day.
Marg
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