Our week

I intended to add a few lines on our community life this week but somehow couldn't add them after the last picture in the previous post. It was not a typical week and so needs to be chronicled.

The Carmelite nuns from around Australia, NZ and PNG finished their General Assembly on Thursday and went home on Friday.  It was wonderful to have our sisters here.  You may imagine that Carmelite nuns are quieter than mice.  This ain't necessarily so.  So it has been good to have the house back to its usual peace and quiet, not to mention simplicity, silence and solitude.  All done in our own way, of course.

We got away on Tuesday for a community day out.  Well, most of us did.  Shane and Greg Chee were caught up during the day.  We were joined by Greg Homeming and Des from the St Ives community and we picked up Shemil from Cronulla parish where he is helping out for a month.

Johny and Shemil used their mobile phone to record the day.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to use Shemil's photos.  This is sad because there were some good shots, including some of himself obviously flourishing and enjoying himself.  He is learning a lot of Australian expressions and culture at Cronulla.  The brethren kindly added some more for his use.

We went to Kurnell where Captain James Cook landed on 28 April, 1770.  He had been sent on an expedition to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti.  Tahiti is clearly a very suitable place, even now, to observe Venus and it was even better in his day.

When that mission was accomplished he sailed west and explored.  He encountered the land we now know as Australia and entered Botany Bay looking for water. Further up the coast, in present day Queensland, he claimed the whole continent for the British crown.  Joseph Banks, a botanist on the voyage, then campaigned for a settlement at Botany Bay.  The First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in 1788 and raised the flag just up the coast in Sydney Cove on 26 January.  The rest is history.

Gabriel in front of a model of Cook's ship, the Endeavour

We met at the Visitor Centre and walked down to the bay getting a good sense of Aboriginal Life on the way and what the first meeting with white people meant for the Aborigines. There was a plaque which had a quote from Kevin Rudd's historic address as Prime Minister saying sorry to the Aboriginal people for what they have experienced as a result of European Settlement.

Saying sorry

Greg B, Shemil, Aloysius and Des reflect

The first landing place

Discussion with Cook's monument in the background

Johny at Cape Solander

As part of the national park at Kurnell some of us walked to Cape Solander, others drove.  here we clambered around the cliff tops and were delighted to see a number of whales heading south for the summer.  Some were very close, just below the cliffs.

Paul enjoys a smoothie at the Endeavour cafe

Burkie contemplates eternal verities

The sea, the sea

In the evening we went to the excellent "Summerhouse" restaurant at Fairfield RSL for a lovely meal which was also very reasonable.  Patrick and his staff were so attentive and the food so good we decided to have our annual staff Christmas celebration there.  A confusion with some of the deserts meant that the big kids got even more gelato.

I don't like sweet things!

What? Not more ice cream?!