Father Frank was a good work colleague and friend of mine in American Express in Europe twenty years ago, before he entered the Seminary. I retired to Australia in 1994, but have visited Berlin on occasion since then. I was also fortunate to be present for his Holy Ordination to the Priesthood in 2008. Since then, Frank has two parishes under his care so it was about time that he took a break. He likes the easy lifestyle with no commitments living in my apartment here in Sydney, and loves to spend hours on my balcony (where he can smoke!)
I managed to convince him to partake in a regimen of healthy eating – no bread to start with – but was less successful on the ‘suggestions’ to come walking, or, God forbid, to quit smoking! I suppose I should welcome a new challenge for his next trip.
We packed so much into ten days as you will see from the video. Meeting my friends; eating out; a day trip north to the Gold Coast for a freshly caught seafood lunch with my sister Anne and her husband, Trevor; a late afternoon sail on Sydney Harbour with old Amex friend Hilary and Rupert to ‘escort’ the Queen Mary 2’ out of her berth in Woolloomoolloo Bay and down the harbour to the ocean; and finally to attend a Mass at St Canice’s where the music was specially chosen for Father Frank.
The video attempts to encapsulate it all – even though the 10-minute target length was exceeded by one minute.
As this is a large video, please allow a few seconds for it to ‘buffer’ after opening.