Come on You Spurs, Go Cats

Saturday: 10 hours of bus driving follwed by 11 hours of taxi driving with half an hour in between!

Not surprisingly I was pretty tired by the end of it!

Today the Sparrows came over for lunch. A sunday arvo barbie with good friends, it doesn't get much better than that.

Sport Update
There was great news overnight. Tottenham continued their brilliant form by beating league leaders Chelsea 2-1.

When I knew Spurs had to play Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in consecutive games I was understandably pessimistic. They are the top three teams in the league after all.
Beating Arsenal was fantastic, beating Chelsea too was incredible.
I can't imagine how I'll feel if we beat Man U as well!

And this arvo Geelong pulverised Port Adelaide just for some icing on the cake.
James Podsiadly, 28 year old rookie playing his second game for the Cats kicked 5 goals.

Worth Staying Up For!

   I stayed up very late last night to watch the crucial game between Spurs and deadly rivals Arsenal. Spurs needed to win to keep their chances of qualifying for the European Champions League (top 4 in the Premier League). Arsenal needed to win to maintain their chance of winning the league title.

The problem was that Spurs haven't beaten the Gooners in the league for 11 years!!!!

There've been a couple of notable Cup victories and a few dramatic draws, like coming back three times last season to draw 4-4!

There was also the disappointment of being knocked out of the Cup by Portsmouth on Sunday to overcome.

The odds and history seemed against a Spurs victory.

Throw into the mix a 19 year old kid making his debut in front of a packed house at White Hart Lane in one of the biggest games of the season, Danny Rose.

Would he be over-awed?

Could Tottenham win?

Watch this and marvel at one of the greatest goals ever scored, anywhere, by anybody!

Seriously, I'm not exaggerating, this is a stunning goal and it set Spurs on the road to a famous victory.

Come on you Spurs!

My Address at the Memorial Opening on Saturday

I wonder if we realise how truly blessed we are?

We live in Australia, not just one of the best countries in the world but also one of the safest.

We enjoy a lifestyle virtually unmatched by any other nation on earth.

At least in part because we have a continent all to ourselves and don’t share a border with any other country we enjoy great security and safety.

We may be guilty of taking these things for granted, of not truly appreciating just how well off we are.

Further to that, we live in Busselton, a quiet little seaside town, a jewel on the beautiful coastline of the near perfect south west of Western Australia.

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say there are few better places to live anywhere on the planet.

But twice in the last few years, Busselton’s heart has been broken by events in other parts of the world.

There is a huge gap between the world’s rich and poor, the haves and have-nots, and this has served to reinforce the differences and inequalities between peoples and nations.

The world is greatly troubled, conflict is widespread and many resort to acts of violence, destruction and murder as weapons of terror.

While we live in peace, many other countries suffer at the hands of terrorism, war and violence on a daily basis.

In desperate circumstances, corrupt and evil forces can and do seduce the weak, the unwary and the gullible.

Some have come to believe the lies; that murder and terrorism can enable them to achieve their aims.

Fuelled by ignorance mistrust and hatred, religious fanaticism has manipulated desperate people into committing heinous acts of evil and terror.

Carol and Brendan are just two of hundreds who were killed maimed or injured in Bali and countless other places.

Beautiful Busselton suffered doubly and many of you here experienced a pain too unimaginable to contemplate or describe.

How do we respond to these awful events?

What can we do?

We have cried many tears and mourned our dead. The pain has diminished but slightly.

We have only our memories to hold on to, to enjoy, to draw comfort from.

Now we have a place. A special place. A place dedicated to the memory of Carol and Brendan. A place conceived, designed and constructed by their family and friends as a tribute to their lives and their memory.

Here on our beautiful coast we have a place we can come, to remember, to contemplate, to pray. I hope that this will be a place of peace and friendship and honour and even celebration.

But, I believe we have to do more.

I don’t believe we can just hunker down in our safe refuge and ignore the problems of the world.

In possibly the greatest message ever preached, the sermon on the mount, Jesus said something I believe to be completely applicable to us today.

“Blessed are the peacemakers”.

Let me elaborate on that simple statement.

Jesus didn’t say “blessed are the peacekeepers” but rather the peacemakers.

We are familiar with peacekeepers in the modern world, armed soldiers sent to places of conflict to keep warring parties at bay. Their role, though vital to safety and security, is only to impose peace through superior force. It does not produce lasting peace because it does not resolve the root causes of the problems that lead to conflict in the first place.

I believe we need peacemakers.

In fact I believe we need to be peacemakers ourselves.

That means we need to actively, consistently and persistently work towards making peace.

Where there is conflict we need to work for peace, whether that be in places of war or in our school or workplace or in our own homes. To make peace requires hard work. To make peace requires us to listen, and understand and empathise with both sides and to promote reconciliation, restitution and forgiveness.

It’s not easy to make peace but ultimately when we do the impact is greater and longer lasting. We personally can’t resolve the conflict that leads to terrorism but we can work to learn about other people, to see inside their worlds and to look for ways to cooperate, co-exist and work together. We can choose a path dedicated to living at peace with others.

I’d like to think that Carol and Brendan’s memories would be honoured by such actions of peace making on our part.

Prayer

Catching Up and Catching my Breath

It's been busy the last few days. Here's why.

Friday I had the brakes fixed on my car. That metal on metal sound was becoming annoying. Mrs Holt Press did the dropping off and picking up because I was driving a bus all day doing the town service (long shift, 10 hours)  runs. ie. four trips to Dunsborough, one to Geographe and 1 1/2 to Broadwater. In the arvo Jeff rang to ask if I wanted to cover a shift for someone in the taxi that night. Yes. Thankfully it was a 9pm start and early finish (by early I mean 2:15, as opposed to 4.00am). As taxi shifts go it was quite good, not too many ferals and reasonably busy, those being the two critical criteria for a good night in the cab. A couple of drive-throughs at McDonalds with some friendly rather than obnoxious customers, that sort of thing. Maccas is open 24 hours now but only for drive through after midnight so the pub crowd with the munchies have to hire a taxi to get their fix of fast food. Quarter Pounders seem to be the most popular.

Saturday morning I was up early (8.00 rather than 12, a typical post cab rising time) because there was a trundle bed for sale at a garage sale in Abbey. Mrs HP had mentioned she'd like one a couple of weeks ago. With the high number of sleepovers and house guests the kids entertain it would be more convenient than the mattress on the floor routine. The trundle was not exactly as I envisaged it, ie. white metal and "girlie" looking but this was no time to be fussy, trundle beds don't come up very often besides which the two mattresses were in good condition. 

Feigning casual interest I asked how much they wanted for it. 

"$150" 

Hmmm, a bit more than I wanted to pay. 

Of course, as you well know I am a committed haggler. 

After a couple of thoughtful minutes I asked "would you take a hundred?" as my opening bid. 

""Yeah". 

That was easier than I expected! Nice!

And they even offered to deliver it once we worked out it wouldn't fit in the back of my car, even with nice new brakes.

Of course I didn't just drive past the 4-5 other garage sales I saw on the way back but apart from a few cheap dvds I didn't buy anything else.

I was by then under a little bit of time pressure as I was due at the foreshore at 10.00am for the official opening of a memorial built in honour of Carol and Brendan, the two Busselton people killed in the two Bali bombings. Their family and friends, along with Rotary worked hard to create the memorial which is perfect in my opinion. I was invited to speak at the opening. The list of speakers read as follows:

Lawrie Walter, Rotary Club President

Troy Buswell, local member and state treasurer

Barry House, local upper house member

Ian Stubbs, Shire President

and me! Introduced erroneously as "Reverend Marcus Holt"

I gave a reflection and concluded with a prayer. I'll post a copy of my message seperately.

Several people thanked or complimented me for my words when we moved on to The Equinox cafe for refreshments. 

It was nice to be asked to be involved seeing as I am no longer the chaplain at the high school. 

Saturday afternoon I did the short town service shift in the bus (5 hours) then straight into the cab for another 10 hours of taxi driving on

Saturday night. I was pretty stuffed by about 2.00am and on the way back from a trip out to the sticks had to pull over and sleep for a couple of hours or I would not have gotten home safely. I had already done a long run down to Rosa Brook, south of Margaret River to drop some kids off at what looked like being a pretty wild party. Some one was throwing handfuls of stones at the cab while I was turning around. Tempted as I was to get out and "sort them out", I decided to drive on and leave them to their drunken stupidity.

I'd seen a sign saying Busselton 50km on the way so decided to take this "short cut" back to town! Hmmm!

Might reconsider that decision next time.

There were no further signs, just a succession of intersections, cross roads, T-junctions and dirt roads to choose from. I made it as far as a T-junction on North Jindong Rd which sounded familiar but by then I'd lost my bearings and with the southern cross seemingly directly overhead couldn't work out which way was north so I did what any intrepid explorer would do, I rang Spike on my mobile and asked him to google some directions for me!

Sadly that didn't work out easily as his interpretation of google maps left something to be desired. Just then a light appeared and I waved down a young bloke in a ute. 

"Are you lost?"

Yep.

"Follow me, I'll get yo to Vasse"

Great, thanks.

To my dismay he turned down what I would have considered to be the third of the three options available!

But, within a couple of minutes I was on Kaloorup Rd and headed back to familiar territory.

The fare by the way had cost them $122, $36 of which was taken up with driving into town so they could buy booze at the bottle shop. The drink of choice? Two warm bottles of Chardonnay for $5 each!! Very classy!

I crawled into bed at about 5.30 only to be up again 5 hours later so we could drive up to Perth on 

Sunday morning

for the footy. Geelong v Fremantle at Subi. We being the whole family minus Spike who somehow skipped the football gene and thus is definitely the black sheep of the Holt Press family!

Enroute we dropped off a trailer loaded with a BBQ and a mattress at The Heir's place in Munster (seriously!). I bought a Barbie at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago so passed on our old (but still good) one to The Heir. That's what Heirs are for after all.We'd been planning to park 'n ride and take the train to the footy but time was running out so we ended up driving all the way in and parking at my favourite secret parking spot, behind St Barnabus' church. A few other people have discovered my secret but I managed to squeeze in.

We met The Heir at the game, and what a game it was, a real thriller, 14 lead changes I think!

The Cats played great but the Dockers played just that little bit better and got up by 7 points in a thriller.

I was not disheartened. Geelong were by no means disgraced and in the circumstances had nearly pulled off a great win against the odds. It was a "coming of age" game for Freo and represents their best start to a season ever! (Pitiful that 3 wins in a row is their best ever start but let's not be churlish!)

We had texts and messages from various Freo fans scattered around the ground and I caught up with Big Brother the accountant and Julie, a former colleague and fellow Cat fan at half time.

Despite the loss I had fun stirring up the big crowd of Freo fans inching their way through the subway tunnel at West Leederville, inviting them to join me in singing "We are Geelong, the greatest team of all"!

Predictably I was booed and howled down along with plenty of laughs before the "Freo Freo" chant drowned me out!

We had dinner at Hans Cafe in Subi, (beautiful fish curry Mmmm!) followed by ice cream at Il Gelato before I was dropped off at the Chatteau d'Taffrail and the rest of the family headed for home.

I stayed up in Perth because I had  a job to do on 

Monday

driving a bus back to Busselton. It had been being serviced at a place in Kewdale and as I was already going to be in Perth it was convenient for me to pick it up and drive it home. Which I did. Uneventfully.

Monday night I had rehearsals for the play, "It Runs in the Family", in which I am playing the police sergeant

and Spike is playing an 18 year old punk!

Sport Update: There was another disappointing result on Sunday night. Tottenham, despite being hot favourites, were knocked out of the FA Cup, losing the semi-final to lowly Portsmouth who are not only bankrupt but also destined to be relegated from the Premier League. I couldn't watch the game but followed it closely on the internet and had a growing sense of foreboding that it wasn't going to be Spurs' day as chance after chance went begging before Pompey snatched the lead in extra time! Rats. The Champion's League spot we so covet is also under threat having been overtaken by Manchester City following the loss to Sunderland last week and the run from hell starting this week with successive games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United which will no doubt decide our fate!

Post Easter Wrap Up

The Easter Art exhibition experiment was a flop. Wrong place, no people. Despite the fact there were thousands of tourists in town for the weekend, none of them came to see my art, it was too far away from the action and the pedestrian traffic areas of town. Oh well, it was an attempt worth trying and something I've learnt a few clear lessons from. The main one being that old real estate adage, "Location, location, location!" On the positive side, of the 20 odd people who did come in, one of them bought one small painting. Sadly the price paid will only cover half of the cost of hiring the display stands from the local school!

There was another lady who expressed interest in a picture but tried to beat my price down by a hundred dollars then asked if she could lay-by it! Not sure if we'll end up doing a deal or not!

It's school holidays which means no school bus driving which means no income! I've got a couple of days of town service driving which will bring in a little bit and a couple of jobs to do for the school in the first week of term.

I have put in a submission for some funding for the Behind the White Crosses project, I'm not confident about it  but I'm hopeful that if not through this source then through some other funding body I may be able to get some money in order to run the program this year. I'll find out the result on the 28th. Fingers crossed.

Mrs Holt Press is in Perth tonight, having gone on a "rescue mission" to get Favourite Daughter home. FD injured her foot a few days ago and is having trouble driving. Toni drove the Kombi to Perth but FD can't drive it back so Mrs HP has gone up to drive it for her. There were further dramas this afternoon that required several phone calls and some problem solving skills on my part to sort out. I think everything is OK now. They'll be home tomorrow, after a visit to the myopractor in Bunbury enroute, hopefully he'll help get FD's foot working properly again.

Sport Boy is staying at Ben A's tonight, no doubt having a wonderful time and going to bed very late!

He is going on a special soccer camp next week,"Country Camp" designed for talented soccer players from around the state. He's understandably excited about it. The soccer season starts in a couple of weeks which means I'll be pulling out the coaches clipboard again and trying to instil some skills and strategies into the Cornerstone Giants in the U13 comp.

Spike and I have something in common: we've both got parts in an upcoming play being staged in Busselton. I showed him the ad for auditions in the local paper a couple of weeks ago and he went along, scoring the part of a teenage boy with punk tendencies (typecasting!). A follow up ad said they were still looking for a couple of males to fill remaining roles so with Spike's approval I went along to rehearsals and will be playing the part of a police sargeant! It's an English comedy set in a hospital. Hopefully it will be fun for us and the audience.

Geelong had another good, come from behind victory on the weekend to beat Hawthorn by 9 points. We're all going to the footy in Perth on Sunday to see the Cats play the Dockers who are undefeated, to everyon'e surprise, and playing very well. With Scarlett and Mooney out and the game being played at Subiaco I won't be surprised if Freo win! Not that I'm writing off the Cats and nor will I be surprised if we win, but it will be a tough challenge. Geelong barely got up last season when Matthew Pavlich had a shot at the end of the game that would have won the game for Freo and missed! We may not be so lucky this time round.

Easter Art

I've got one day left to get my Easter Art Exhibition ready! Wish me luck!

I've got the use of this building in exchange for painting three rooms inside. So far I've got half of one room done!! I suspect it will be a long night!

I'm picking up some display stands from the local Catholic college shortly which should make hanging a little easier.

It used to be a vet hospital so as an art space it's a little unusual but there are lots of rooms, good parking and access and it's situated on the main road so I hope my signs will attract some of the passing holiday crowd in town for Easter.

Favourite Daughter and Spike have returned from Perth and Sport Boy is back from his camp so the house is full again. School holidays start tomorrow which means no school bus run for two weeks (no pay either!) but I am doing a couple of days of town shifts during the break. Let's hope I sell some art!!!

24 Years and Counting

Almost a week since my last post, sorry if you missed me, hahaha!

A quick wrap of recent events in Holt Press land.

Today Mrs Holt Press and I marked our 24th wedding anniversary. It was a low key celebration, Mrs HP hasn't been too well of late and had no energy for partying, but we are going out for dinner tomorrow night.

Favourite Daughter turned 21 last week. It too was a low key event. We're not that good at marking the milestones sadly. We gave her a wave ski, something she has wanted and can take on her trip. She and Spike are both up in Perth at present now that her Komboi has passed it's roadworthy and had the canary removed.

Sport Boy played in the adult squash comp tonight for the first time and came home sweaty and tired, and happy. He goes on an overnight camp tomorrow so we'll have the house to ourselves.

I drove charter buses for 5 days from Wed to Sun; I picked up a group of gynacologists from Perth on Wed, drove them around the SW the next few days before delivering  them to the airport at the end of their conference yesterday. I stayed in town and went to the footy with Cam, Broadie and Barney last night where the Dockers were sensational in thumping the Crows. If they'd kicked one more point, or conceded one less they'd have been on top of the ladder by percentage after round one!

Of course, the Cats had a great win on Friday night, coming from 4 goals down to blitz the Bombers with a 9 goal streak. Go Cats!

I've found a venue to run a follow up art exhibition over Easter, a very busy time in Busso. I've got to paint a couple of rooms and get some things tidied up for it to open on Friday so the next few days will be busy. We also looked at a shop that is about to be vacant in Queen St with a view to opening a gallery/shop. Not sure whether to go for it or not but it's very tempting. The location is excellent and it's over twice as big as the shop I had in Kent St. If we could find a couple of partners who'd like to go into a joint venture it could be viable.

Better Choose Carefully!

Three out of ten pots are on sale but only one in ten water features apparently.

TP 1047, the big green Mercedes I drive to work each day!

No words required.

A Rugby! Nan and Pa's first car was a Rugby so it was nice to discover this one at Sharp's auto museum on Sunday arvo.

Paddling with Richard and Anne at the Catholic campsite on the holy mile as the dolphins fished and the sun set over Geographe Bay . It doesn't get much better than that.

Blog Problems Appear to be Fixed

Blog Problem:

Fingers crossed but it looks as if the redirecting/pop-up problem here at Holt Press has been fixed.

Following a suggestion on a blogger help forum I removed a number of gadgets I had added to the sidebar in the last couple of months; gadgets taken from Blogger's Layout menu I hasten to add!

So far so good.

Catching our Breath:

I know the modern mantra is that "Life is busy" but after the full on intensity of running the art exhibition (open till 8 every night), minding the family while Mrs Holt Press was away and the emotion of her Mum dying, driving buses and taxis, doing a major clean-up of the carport and patio and redistribution of belongings into the two sheds (having finally laid a floor of concrete slabs!), running the school beach carnival and celebrating my wife's 50th birthday, things have actually quietened down a little!

In fact Mrs HP and I even found time to go to the pictures today to see "The Blind Side", a sentimental and heart-warming true story for which sandra Bullock won the best actress Oscar. We both enjoyed it.

Pic from Mrs HP's birthday BBQ at one of her favourite places, Meelup Beach on Sunday afternoon. It was a low key relaxing affair in a truly beautiful place with a small group of close friends and family, very pleasant.

Workwise:

I'll be doing a bit more bus driving, with the possibility of some charter work next week, and probably running a leadership camp for the student council and house captains at the high school. I'm moving into more of a part-time driving/ "work for myself" mode with a few projects to organise for the school over the next couple of months. I'm enjoying the freedom and the variety, and hoping that the work will be steady enough to keep the money coming in to pay the mortgage and the bills. 

Some action from the School Beach Carnival on Friday, also held at Meelup.

Maybe Definitely Art Exhibition Feb 25 - Mar 15 Busselton

The exhibition finished on Sunday and I spent most of yesterday taking it all down. There was some sadness at having to finish it and to give up the space that had become a second home for the last three weeks. We had hundreds of visitors, many of whom were positive and complimentary. I sold 20 pieces all up, a result I'm very happy with. You can see some of the visitors and a few of the people who purchased paintings.
It has encouraged me to keep working my way into the art world. I'm not sure what the next step is but there was enough positive feedback to suggest that people like my artwork and there is potential to sell more of it.
Easter is a busy time in Busselton and the south west so I'm putting out feelers about possible venues or ways to have my art accessible and available then.

Blogger Problems

A few people have been having problems trying to read my blog recently. They are getting redirected to advertising sites against their will. Not sure why it's happening but I've deleted the YouTube clip I posted the other day to see if that makes any difference.

The problem has to be with Blogger I think but I don't really know. I will report it to them if it persists.

Sorry if you're having problems reading your favourite blog, or this one.

Mrs Holt Press and Favourite Daughter arrived home safely last night though by the time we got home it was 5.00am by their body clocks and they'd been up for 24 hours. That wouldn't have been too bad if they hadn't woken up 4 hours later!

Hopefully they'll get a better night's sleep tonight.

I sold two more paintings at the gallery today, woohoo, that makes 19 in total.

Mrs Holt Press and Favourite Daughter Return (in 20 minutes!)

I'm at the airport awaiting the arrival of my wife and daughter returning home from Victoria. Mrs Holt Press has been away nearly a month and is hanging out to get home. Losing her Mum has been sad and emotional and things have been a little difficult since Mother Mary's funeral. Her Dad at 91, nearly blind and deaf  and with Favourite Daughter being there too it has become a bit cramped. It was Mrs HP's birthday yesterday which added a little to the intensity and emotion of the situation I guess, it being a significant milestone birthday this time round.

I came up on the bus this evening and will drive them home to Busselton tonight when The Heir brings my car to the airport. (FD drove it up last week when she went over for the funeral).

Sport Boy hasn't been well the last couple of days, hopefully his Mum's return will be a tonic for him.

Spike has been helping man the gallery while I've been on school bus duty and getting a few more shifts at the bakery.

The art exhibition has been going really well. Lots of people coming in. Lots of positive comments and affirmation. And over the weekend especially, lots of sales. I've sold 17 pictures so far with just under a week to go. Hopefully this weekend will be successful so it finishes strongly. I'm planning a closing night soiree to finish with a flourish, and use up the left over wine and champagne from the opening!
There's still time to come and have a look if you haven't done so yet.

Which reminds me, Aileen, I can't find your address or phone number but I'd love you to come and see the exhibition. Give me a call or leave a message if you can make it one day this week or on the weekend. "Come on Aileen"!

The plane is due to land in about 7 minutes so I'd better head down to the arrivals gate. They're not expecting me, hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise!

Maybe Definitely Update

Mother Mary's funeral will be on Thursday morning in Geelong. I can't go but Sophie is going over for it and flies to Melbourne tomorrow night. I'd really like to be there but cost, work and other commitments make it impossible.

Back on the homefront, the Art Exhibition opened on Thursday night with about 40 people in attendance. Sophie did a brilliant job with the catering and evrything went smoothly except for my emotions getting the better of me and shedding a few unexpected tears.

I sold 8 pieces on Opening night although to put that into perspective, one person bought 7 of them! Since then I have sold another 4. There has been a fairly steady stream of people through the gallery and the comments and feedback have been overwhelmingly positive. I have a hunch 1-2 people will be back to make purchases.

I am rapt with how the gallery looks and the tone and feel of it. I'll post some pictures in a day or two.

We've been staying open late each night which is in complete contrast to the normal way businesses operate in Busselton. For a tourism oriented town it is not very tourist friendly, by 2.00pm Saturday it becomes a ghost town, with just a small smattering of pubs and cafes staying open over the weekend. 

The location of the gallery is excellent, with a popular cafe on one side and a cool florist on the other and an iconic surf shop on the corner.

I love being there and working on making it an inviting and friendly place. I have it until the 15th of March but I would love to extend the lease and keep it as a business full time. At this point the costs are too high to do that but we are talking and dreaming about ways to make it viable and successful; we being Alex and I and the kids. Al came down for the opening and is staying for a week to give me a hand and do some work around the house and garden. The place is being cleansed and transformed!

It was a long weekend Labour Day holiday today but it's back to work/school tomorrow.

Sport Boy is not well tonight with stomach cramps etc, hopefully he'll be well enough to go to school in the morning.

Mother Mary Passed Away This Afternoon

Carolyn rang me just after lunchtime with the news that her Mum had died just before 3 o'clock this afternoon (eastern standard time).

All of the family were gathered around her and she passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love of her husband of 61 years and four of her children.

Carolyn said there had been a strong feeling amongst them that today would be the day and they share a feeling of relief that the difficult journey has finally ended and Mary is at peace.

Right near the end despite being unconscious for the last couple of days they heard her say "Alan". Carolyn took the boys outside and left Alan and Mary alone for the final minutes of her life so he could say his goodbyes in private and when they returned he said "I think she's stopped breathing" and sure enough, she was gone. Carolyn feels very grateful to have been there these last couple of weeks and says there has been a tremendous amount of love and closeness between them all and that she has been amazed at the qualities she has seen in her brothers and her Dad throughout. At the end Alan gave each of his children a long hug and told them he loved them.

I was in the gallery when Carolyn rang and had tears streaming down my face as she told me everything that had happened. The two ladies who came in to look at my art must have wondered what was going on.

I broke the news to the kids when I got back from the afternoon bus run. Zac and Sophie were anticipating it and took it calmly but Paulie broke down and hugged me for a long time; then he started praying which was very touching. Sophie shed some tears later as we talked about the feasibility of going to the funeral, expressing regret that she hadn't been able to start her trip yet and had missed out on seeing Granny before she died.

Jordan has gone to Perth for the weekend so I had let him know by phone.

Mother Mary was a lovely, funny, bright-eyed caring lady and a wonderful mother, wife and Granny. We will all miss her.

May she rest in peace and may there be rejoicing in heaven as she enters the place prepared for her by her Lord and Saviour.

The Rules on the Bus

Mother Mary has been moved to a palliative care regime, not sure if the location is different but the treatment will now be about pain relief and comfort as she draws closer to the end.

It's been pretty stressful and emotional for Carolyn and the family and especially Alan. He and Mary have been married for over 60 years so I can only imagine his depth of sadness at the thought of losing his life partner.

Carolyn only got an hour's sleep last night due to Mary's frequent waking and discomfort so tonight she is sleeping at home and keeping her Dad company while Trevor takes the night shift at the hospital.

Sport Boy was pretty sad when I told him the latest news.

We have all been very busy preparing for the art exhibition, the kids have been a great help. It's about 80% ready with two days to go and no doubt a bunch of last minute things I'll think of to do. It has cost a bit in equipment and materials to set it up so I hope there are some sales to offset expenses!

I had some issues with kids swearing on the bus yesterday so I decided to take a pro-active approach to the problem and adapted the words to that old classic song, "The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round"

Here's the result:

The rules on the bus
Are "Do what's right"
Don't swear or fight"
"Just sit tight"
The rules on the bus
Are fair and right
All the way home

The rules on the bus
Make really good sense
So don't be dense
Or make me tense
The rules on the bus
Are a safety fence
All the way home

The rules on the bus
Are pretty straight forward
And shouldn't be ignored
Or make you bored
The rules on the bus
Will take it forward
All the way home

The rules on the bus
Aren't strict or wrong
They're fair and strong
So just go along
With the rules on the bus
Written in this song
All the way home

Maybe...Definitely

Maybe...Definitely

After talking about it for a long time, I'm finally holding my first solo art exhibition.

It will open on Thursday 25 February and run until March 15.

The venue is 4/65 Queen St Busselton (although it fronts onto Kent St), in between More Cafe and Essence Florists.

The exhibition will run for just over two weeks and will be open until 8.00 each night.

I've called it "Maybe...Definitely"*

Click the link to see a selection of paintings and drawings on my art blog, "Marcus' Art".

There will be an eclectic mix of drawings, acrylics and mixed media pieces. Hopefully something for everyone!

The "official" opening will be on Thursday 25 Feb at 6pm. You're all invited to come along, there'll be wine and nibblies and cool drinks and stories, and hopefully people! The icing on the cake would be people who want to buy some of my art!!

A local businessman has generously given me short term use of an empty shop in an excellent location and it is a perfect space for an exhibition. I've spent the last couple of days preparing for the exhibition and have plenty still to do! I've put up picture rails all around the walls and once I've painted them I'll be able to start hanging.

I'm feeling very excited about it and looking forward to seeing people's response to my work. And whether interest/appreciation will translate into purchases! 

One of the reasons I've been able to devote so much time to it is that after two tumultuous weeks in my job I am no longer working for the bus company (as supervisor) I will continue the school bus run morning and afternoon each day which will leave me free to pursue and develop my contracting work and business ideas.

The job was far more complex and pressured than I was told and despite working extremely long hours my efforts were largely un-appreciated. There was minimal support and inadequate resources and even though I was working 60 hour weeks I was only paid 25 hrs a week for the supervisor component. Combined with the extra responsibilities for the Leeuwin Estate concert last weekend I worked an 89 hour week.  I've realised that it wasn't what I really wanted to be doing and that it's time for me to really focus on  the things that are important to me and doing the sort of work that I value and am good at. This includes running programs for the school and developing my own projects such as "Behind the White Crosses" and the "Cool School Race Camp". It also means I can have a go at developing my art as a business. I have a one month agreement on the building for the exhibition but would love to be able to take on a longer lease and have a go at running a combined gallery/gift shop and office base for my other pursuits. I'm not going to over-commit but the thought of having a go at it has got me really excited. The opportunity and location are both ideal, the question is the viability.

Mother Mary's condition hasn't changed much the last couple of days, not better nor worse. She is weak and tired and struggling to manage the most basic of everyday functions, sitting up, walking, eating. On the positive side she is awake and lucid and Carolyn has had some good conversations and times praying with her. Carolyn sleeps at the hospital each night but is finding it pretty hard to see the condition her Mum is in and the struggles she is having. It is a day by day situation. I know it is not easy for her but I am very glad that she is there with her parents.

* Explanation:   Talented? Maybe....Prolific? Definitely

What I may lack in quality is compensated for by quantity!!!!

Mother Mary: the latest.

Not much has changed in Geelong, Mary is still seriously ill although her condition goes up and down during the day. She is conscious and talking although uncomfortable with the tubes and swollen tongue and still not really eating. However she is not passive, Carolyn said she was grumpy today when things were taking too long or the staff weren't able to do much to relieve her discomfort.

She had a lot of visitors today as the family gathered from around the country. Ray has come over from Tassie and the grandkids have all been in to visit. While this is a nice thing it is also tiring for Mary, and I wonder how she is interpreting it all. I'm not sure what she thinks about her condition. Over the last couple of weeks she has been at times disoriented and confused on top of the physical deterioration.

Carolyn spent the night at the hospital last night and is doing the same again tonight; the staff have put an extra bed in the room for her. 

She is staying with old friends of ours, Russell and Lucy whom we met through Fusion about 20 years ago. Russell spent a number of years as a school chaplain in Wangaratta and then Geelong and is now a hospital chaplain at the same hospital Mary is in. And they live two blocks away from Alan and Mary's place in Grovedale so the convenience factor is way up there.

It is very much a day by day situation with no way of telling which way it will go.

Thank you for all the messages of support and love.

BTW, I tried finding the Paul Kelly song mentioned by an anonymous commenter but had no luck. If anyone has any helpful hints on how to track it down let me know.

The family are surviving pretty well back here in Busselton. I'll update on the latest big happenings at Holt Press in a day or two, suffice to say there has been considerable upheaval and emotion of late, as a result of a combination of sadness and grief in Geelong and dealing with a traumatic experience back here, followed by a piece of wonderful news which has lead to a  new sense of hope and vision.

Sorry to be vague but I will blog about it all shortly.

Mother Mary

Carolyn (Mrs Holt Press)  flew to Melbourne on Monday and arrived in Geelong today. Sadly her Mum's health has gotten worse and the outlook isn't very good. While on the phone to me this afternoon there was an emergency call to Mary's room and it appears she has suffered a number of small strokes. She hasn't eaten anything for several days, her tongue is swollen and she has no appetite or desire to eat. There are now several tubes attached to her and she is uncomfortable and distressed. At her age there comes a time when the body's systems start shutting down and isn't strong enough to keep on living. We are hoping and praying that she will recover but I fear she may not last long. I am just so glad that Carolyn got over there in time to see her and be with both her parents at such a difficult time. It has been a pretty emotional time on both sides of the country. Sport Boy was very upset to hear about Granny's deterioration and asked if he could talk to her. I said I didn't know if it would be possible. We all held hands and prayed for her and Grandpa and for Carolyn and the rest of the family this afternoon and again at tea time.
Mary is a lovely lady and she and Alan have been very generous and kind to us throughout our marriage and as we've raised our family. It has been very difficult and stressful for Alan. He turned 91 today and is pretty well both blind and deaf now. We always thought he would be the one most likely to die first as he has had quite serious health problems for a long time, almost losing a leg because of poor circulation  many years ago.
Carolyn said she has been holding his hand as they walked to different places at the hospital today and he said "I'm really glad you're here." (They had both discouraged Carolyn from going over when Mary first got sick a couple of weeks ago so she was a bit nervous about how they would react when she arrived.) I had urged her to go as soon as possible and am very grateful that she made it in time to spend what may be her Mum's last last days with her. Carolyn is the youngest of six children, four brothers, Charles, Raymond, Trevor and Alan and a sister who died at birth, Kathleen. I'm sure there will be a joyful reunion of mother and daughter in heaven but one of the saddest parts of the current situation is that Carolyn's brother Alan hasn't had any contact with his parents or the rest of the family for over 20 years and this has been a source of great sadness for Mary and Alan Snr. To be on the verge of dying without having seen her youngest son in two decades is beyond heart-breaking.  There was no big fight or disagreement or discernible cause for estranging himself, he just walked out of their lives without saying a thing. He has had incidental contact with 1-2 of his brothers a couple of times over the years but I doubt he has any idea that his mother is gravely ill. I can't think of anything better than if he were to come and see her while there is still time. May God prompt him and move his spirit to that end.

Favourite Daughter and Spike have been arguing and unhappy with one another recently and I said to FD today that while there will always be conflict and annoyances within the family, I couldn't bear it if any of our kids became embittered with their siblings or us their parents. We all do stuff that bugs others but hopefully no disagreement is so severe as to split the family.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
And leads me in paths of righteousness
For His name's sake
Yes though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For you are with me
Your rod and your staff they comfort me
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil
My cup runs over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

There is other big news at Holt Press land but it can wait. Everything else pales into insignificance compared to the events transpiring in Geelong at the moment.

Profits and Saints

Remember those cricket cards I put on ebay? The ones I found in a dumpster bin?
Guess what, someone paid $71 for them. Not only that, there was a bidding war in the last 5 minutes of the auction.

With 6 minutes to go the price stood at $29 and I would have been quite happy with that, but it zoomed up to $71 as the final seconds ticked down! All right! Howzat!!

The New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl in their first ever appearance in the big game. They were the sentimental favourites in the aftermath of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina although I didn't think they'd win.

It felt a little odd cheering for the Saints!

Work continues to be challenging and intense but I feel like I'm making some progress and learning the ropes. This weekend is one of our biggest contracts of the year, and one of the south west's biggest events, the Leeuwin Estate Concert. Boz Scaggs is the star attraction. Remember him? Anyone under thirty can be forgiven for never having heard of him. We'll be running 65 buses and coaches full of concert goers from Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River and Augusta. The well-to-do in sponsor coaches and the common people in shuttle buses. I'll be working all day and night Saturday as a supervisor and again Sunday as a driver.

Mrs Holt Press' Mum, Mary has been quite ill recently and had to have emergency surgery yesterday for a ruptured appendix, quite an ordeal for an 86 year old. Mrs Holt Press is going over to Victoria on Monday to visit her Mum and Dad while her Mum recuperates and will also take a trip to Bruney Island, off the southern coast of Tasmania (iceberg territory) where her brother Ray has opened a cafe and shop.
Hopefully Favourite Daughter will help me look after Sport Boy and manage domestic responsibilties in her absence. And hopefully Mary will make a good recovery. It has been pretty stressful for her Dad who is himself 90 and pretty well deaf and blind now, although still manages to get around pretty well.

Monday

This is Richard, who I first met when he came to our garage sale in Dec. He asked if I had any old watches and as it happened, I did. He repairs old mechanical watches and I had a few that were good for him. In return he gave me some quartz and battery watches which I use in my art. He dropped round again a couple of weeks ago with a few more he had found and was pleased to find that I also had found a few for him while we were in Esperance at Christmas. You know how sometimes you meet someone and you hit it off and like them immediately? That's what Richard is like, a really nice bloke, and so is his wife Anne. They were pleased to hear that I'd found a job (the topic had come up at the garage sale) and Anne surprised me by saying she had been praying I'd get a job! I felt blessed and grateful. It's one thing having people who know you pray for you, but to have a virtual stranger say she'd been praying for me was quite special.

I hope we'll get to know them a little better, they suggested we catch up for coffee next time. I look forward to it.

Anyone who knows me knows I love scrounging around for things, whether it's garage sales or swap meets, after football games and sporting events, bulk rubbish collection suburbs or even in dumpster bins. I'm not proud! I've found lots of interesting things in all of those places. One such item was this box of unopened cricket cards with over 60 packs in it, retrieved from a bin behind a newsagents a few months back. While it's still cricket season I decided to put them on ebay and am happy to report that with 20 hours left to go until the auction ends the high bid has reached $26!

Meanwhile, back when we were in Esperance I was amused by the combination of signs on this mobile breast x-ray unit on the back of a truck. Sorry it's on its side, it shouldn't be!

TGIF

Whew! Friday night and the end of the working week! Another 12 hour day with constant brain challenges!

Not that big a deal by many people's standards I guess but in a new, complex and demanding job it's been pretty intense, not just today but all week.

Thankfully I'm not driving the taxi tonight although I am driving Saturday night.

Tonight Mrs Holt Press and I are going to the movies in Bunbury to see "Up in the Air", the new George Clooney movie which is supposed to be pretty good. I'll let you know if it is.

I won't spend too much time on it but I have to say, "What an idiot Matthew Stokes is!"

Dumb, dumb, dumb! 

Busted for cocaine trafficking!

His AFL career in tatters.

Wrecked his chances of playing with the best team in the league in their best ever period.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

And, I really hate drugs!

NB. For those who may not know, Matthew Stokes is a Geelong premiership player.

How's my new job going?

I feel like I've jumped in the deep end of a fast flowing river and am working hard to stay afloat and keep my head above water.

Morning and afternoon school bus runs sandwich coming to grips with all that's involved in supervising the depot.

Today that meant getting the kids on the Number 9 bus to school on a bus that wouldn't start then wouldn't run and then didn't go where it was supposed to, the last thing being the result of driver error! Next came running a driver's meeting at 9.30, then attending an operations meeting in Bunbury at 11.30 and some induction time after that with one of the Bunbury supervisors before racing back to Busso for the afternoon school run and a town service run to Geographe.

The job seems to involve a lot of problem solving, responding to issues, questions, complaints, concerns, policy implementation, breakdowns, repairs and maintenance, while keeping a large team of drivers happy and employed and ensuring that the mechanics are onto all the work needed to keep the 25 buses on the road! Adjusting to early starts and long days is also a significant change for a chronic night-owl such as myself.

All in all it is challenging!

Hopefully I'll get the hang of it all soon. 

Tomorrow morning's major task is getting the next fortnight's rosters done, a complex arrangement of Drivers, Vehicles, Services and Times.

Not much time for anything else at present.