Today was a pleasant day, mixing work in the morning and evening with some sightseeing in between.
As would be expected, there are many differences between customs and practices in the United States and Australia. One difference I have noted repeatedly is the requirement for fire blankets in public places or wherever a fire extinguisher is found. Here in the Bishop’s House kitchen is an extinguisher with an accompanying fire blanket used to cover an open fire or to wrap a person with burning clothing.This morning my schedule called for me to visit Nazareth House, a home for aged people, run by the Nazareth Sisters. It is a beautiful facility, right on the sea.After mass the sisters invited Fr. Johnny Carpenter (facing left) who concelebrated with me and Fr. Peter, a resident at the home, up for morning tea, an Australian ritual. Second from right is Rosemary Taylor, the Caritas diocesan director.A fantastic stop after the retirement home was the Western Australia Marine Museum, one of the most impressive museums I’ve seen with its displays of shipwrecks off the Aussie coast, etc. Here is Rosemary Taylor again, along with two other Aussie residents.Then Rosemary took me for another morning tea, at a harbor in Geraldton.The rest of the afternoon I worked at home and then in the evening I concelebrated the 6:00 PM mass in the Geraldton cathedral.
