Close Encounter with the Pope-Mobile

Pope Benedict XVI leaving the welcoming mass at Barangaroo (Bar-n-Guru?) on Thursday last week. Just after he passed me the pope-mobile took off and disappeared out of sight. Despite this swift exit the police saw fit to hold the crowd back for a further 15 minutes to let him get clear as a security precaution. It seemed somewhat unnecessary, we were on foot, he was in a bullet proof car and well on his way.

Today was my first day back at work and I eased into it with some unpacking and decorating, I always collect a bundle of souvenirs when I travel, tickets, badges, maps, cards etc, mementos more than souvenirs. I've taken to collecting metal and enamel pins and badges and came home with a bundle of them from Melbourne and Sydney. I found a stack of them at a second hand store in Brunswick the day before I left.

I bought several hoodie jackets for the family in Melbourne, they are all the rage over there. Favourite Daughter, Sport Boy, The Heir and Mrs Holt Press all like theirs, but to my surprise The Hair wasn't so impressed, "they're gangsta" being his assessment!! The irony is I thought he'd be the most into them!! Sport Boy doesn't mind, he says he'll have them! They're too big for him at the moment so it looks like he'll have a steady supply of jackets for the next few years!