A BIG Weekend

Saturday: LNJSA 13's Premier League Knock-Out Cup Semi-Final result

Cornerstone 3 Dunsborough 2

It was a very close and exciting game that went right down to the wire before we prevailed. Sport Boy scored two goals and Ben C got the 3rd from a penalty. Earlier Dunsborough had taken the lead and missed a penalty of their own. There were a few contentious decisions which got me a little hot under the collar although I'm blaming my emotional state on tiredness, having driven a 12 3/4 hour shift in the taxi Fri night that didn't finish till 1/4 to 7 Sat morning. The three hours sleep before having to get up and go and coach the soccer team didn't seem quite sufficient!

But, we won and we're through to the Cup Final this Saturday morning.

Ordinarily I'd say that was great, but consider this:

The game is at Margaret River at 9am.

At the earliest it will finish at 10.15.

At 2pm we have a family wedding in Perth!

Margaret River to Perth is over 300km.

With a wedding to get dressed for.

Not ideal.

As it is, Mrs Holt Press won't be going to the game and I won't be able to stay around for the post-game celebrations/commiserations let alone the trophy presentations as they don't happen till later in the afternoon.

We'll also miss the Club wind-up and presentations which are scheduled for 3pm in Busselton, although Sport Boy will be able to stay and attend all the ceremonies.

We'll hopefully be in Perth for a different sort of ceremony by then: my niece Aimee's wedding to Luke.

There'll be a big family gathering in Perth for the weekend which should be plenty of fun. Dad and his mate Warren are enroute to Perth as we speak on another of their round the country jaunts.

Vicki will be coming from SA too. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, and it will also give us a bit of a chance to say goodbye as well as it is now less than three weeks till we leave WA and head back to Victoria.

WAGS Dinner

On Saturday night we went up to Perth for a couple of dinners. Sat night was supposed to be the Wives and coaches dinner for the CFFL, a footy comp I've been part of for about 10 years. We were going to a Thai restaurant in Mt Hawthorn. Or so I thought! Turns out Cam and Broadie had arranged a BIG surprise for me, a "Farewell to Chaplaincy" dinner in my honour and 2 dozen people were there instead of the 8-10 I'd been expecting.

It was a fantastic night, very special and very humbling that my friends and colleagues had got together for me. There were lots of stories and lots of laughs, great food, great company, great memories. It gave me an opportunity to explain the reasons behind my somewhat sudden departure from chaplaincy last year. It was also a chance to explain our reasons for moving back to Victoria.

I know many of you will be surprised to hear that I became a bit emotional, and even shed some tears on the night! 

It was something I never expected to happen and a blessing I did not expect or even hope to receive so it was a very memorable and special occasion.

Broadie and Cam did a great job pulling it all together at short notice, and keeping it a complete surprise. Thanks guys, I deeply appreciated the whole evening.

Surprise Dinner Guests

The weekend finished on a high with the annual CFFL Winners Dinner at Letchy's and as usual there was great mirth and story-telling as we celebrated another year of  (fantasy) footy.