E-BLAST - THURS 26 APRIL

ANZAC Dawn Service Tweed Heads - the Last Post being bugled. Massive crowd. Solemn. The Military Padre Rev John Reid bought home to us the need for vigilance within Australia from those who would do us harm who failed to recognise the historical and national sacrifices of those remembered on ANZAC in that we might enjoy the freedoms today. Both the National Anthems of Australia and New Zealand were sung by the singers- ANZAC.   

E-BLAST - THURS 19 APRIL 2018

ANZAC  -   this Wednesday 25 April

Mark's maternal grand-father Harry Davis having survived the trenches to 1916 with a DSM then transferred to the RFC. He was killed in a surveillance flight after the end of WWI and his grave is in Cologne’s WWI Cemetery. My late mother wrote to numerous British War commissions to research his war. I have all those correspondences kept in the family archive's trunk.  

Photo  -  Mark's sister Susette in 1980 at his grave stone in the war cemetery.

E-BLAST - THURS 12 APRIL 2018

2018 CoolyRocksOn Church Service - Sun 10 June - big news - after 4 years of running this nostalgic Rock 'n Roll festival with an amazing crowd each year who come to the church service - Delma and I met with the (Coolangatta) Twin Towns Uniting Church minister the Rev Marian Z on Thursday to hand over the reigns. Mark rang Marian 4 weeks back, we found a date to meet. The South Gold Coast Tourism who run the CoolyRocksOn Festival have recognised Mark for his 4 years running the CoolyRocksOn Church Service.
8 years ago the Anglican church who ran it closed (asbestos). The church service fell into abeyance, three years later a CoolyRocksOn board member (a taxi driver) who was bringing us home from the airport after another mission, asked Mark to resurrect it. The Festival Director met with Mark and it was given the green light. It was held in a marquee. An amazing story. Bill Parr from our church helped me on the day greeting people. There was enormous internal stress upon Mark in seeing it all come to fruition each year and Mark says it was time to pass it on. Ken Harris' band the Sun Chasers has been asked to continue with the CoolyRocksOn church service.       

E-BLAST - THURS 5 APRIL 2018

John Grocott 2013 (5 years ago) on The Alpine Train (Christchurch to Greymouth) after the  Christchurch young writer conf. John was at that time the Statistician for the young writer awards and today, after some illness, is the Statistician for the Over 31's, the Emerging Writers. The Alpine Train is recognised as one of the world's top 3 scenic routes over the snow clad NZ South Island mountains. John and I (and Delma) are again wanting to do this train trip on Frid 31 Aug the day before the 2018 young writer conf. in Christchurch. The Footplate Padre will be in his element!