Another year over, a new one just begun

New Years Eve 2009.

It began in Victor Harbor. Just after 8 a.m. history was made. The Roberts family - Bill, Graham, Russell and Lynda - hit the fairway at Victor Harbor Golf Club. It was the first time the four of us had played together in a competition, and probably the first time we had all played golf together.

Victor Harbor is the home course of Bill and Lynda, and father is well known at the club where he has been a member for over 20 years. Lynda has only commenced her membership this year.


The bird man is always popular, and attracts the magpies on a number of holes. By the time we got to the twelfth his stock of crumbs was still intact and sufficient to feed the crowd that gathered.

By the time we got to the twelfth the youngest member of the family had already set up a commanding lead with a birdie 2 on the 10th (4 stableford points) and a par on 11 for another 4 stableford points. Lynda hung on to her lead and get back to the clubhouse with 41 stableford points and a clear margin over the men. To win the day Lynda played 5 shots under her handicap and will lose a few strokes before she plays in another competition.

The octogenarian managed to finish the 18 holes in the heat (it got to 41 degrees at Encounter Bay) and performed creditably in difficult conditions with 32 points, about 4 shots over his handicap. That probably means that Lynda beat him off the stick!


After golf there was time for a quick bite and coffee before heading back to Melbourne. Until Horsham the weather was hot and storm clouds were brewing. From Horsham to Ararat the rain was torrential - good for a land in drought, but not for farmers in the middle of harvest. After hours of careful driving it was good to get back to Melbourne before the year was out.

2009 is now gone. The year of change is over and we prepare to resume work in mid-January in Tasmania.

We look forward to new opportunities, new challenges and new experiences as we settle into Hobart.

Family and celebrations

One of the main reasons for being in Melbourne at this time is family - and especially family a family wedding.

Friday afternoon it was great to share at the wedding of Andy and Rachel. I cannot remember the last wedding I attended, and after six months of casual clothes putting on the glad rags for a wedding is a bit up-market. We did, and enjoyed the ceremony and the wedding breakfast.

The faith of the individuals and the families was evident in every aspect of the day. Among the highlights of the day were the speeches. Now it must be said that father of the groom (B.i.l. Bill) may need to add some brevity to his remarks. It is also something that yours truly can do some work on as well. The younger participants spoke exceptionally well - and with good humour allowed us to share some aspects of the journey to adulthood and this significant day. Well done guys.

The scary bit was thinking that these kids are now adults, holding down responsible jobs and exercising leadership in church and community. How can it be that my nephews (and my children) are now mature adults? They cannot possibly be old enough yet!

Sunday was a time to get back on deck and show some leadership myself. In a relaxed ceremony at Ocean Grove we gave thanks for the gift of Alana Ruth Kerr to her parents James and Loretta.
It was a privilege to share in the day, and see this young family and the community of friends that surround them.

In between I managed a round of golf at Whittlesea Golf Club. That was also cause for celebration bit that is another story.

Family - and history.

There are things you discover as you travel the path of life... and among them are old photos.

Despite the fact that these pictures have been around for close to eighty years I have no recollection of seeing any of them. My father and his older sister are the children in the photo at left. I assume it was taken mid to late 1927.

In looking back into the past I discovered where my middle name came from. Maybe the information had been shared before, but now there is reason to remember. I have become the proud owner (or is that trustee) of a chair that once belonged to my great-great grandfather.

And then there is this posed photograph of mother - looking decidedly younger in this studio portrait.

But wait...there's more, but those other pictures are not going to appear here - at least not yet!

Family connections - golf

After Nullarbor Links Victor Harbor offered green fairways and green greens. With an 82 year old father who plays competition golf twice a week (now on a gopher), a sister who got interested early this year, and a brother-in-law who got the bug as well it was inevitable that golf was on the agenda.


A little time on the practice fairway, three visits to Victor Harbor Golf Club and one to South Lakes (Goolwa) meant time to sort out a few golfing problems.

Sorting out problems and scoring well do not always go together, but at least I managed to play two good nines in competition. The only problem was that one was on Tuesday and one was on Thursday. Hope remains!

At least I was able to help my sister find some extra distance off the tee for a while. The problem was not paralysis by analysis, but there are times when we concentrate so hard on getting things right that we just fail to give the ball a good solid whack! One trap that I occasionally fall into (especially on narrow fairways) is trying to steer the ball 'down the middle'. The result is often far worse that standing on the tee and trusting my swing.

Enough of golf already (not really but this is not the place - see www.thisgolfinglife.com/graham)

Where was Beth all this time? Well she had unrestricted access to the laptop to work on photos and in movie maker. A lot of progress was made in sorting out the thousands of photos we took on our way around Australia.

Family catch up

After a week of constant travel it was good to stop in one place for a week and to catch up with family. This week was the 12 month anniversary of my sisters death at age 57, the end result of an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her courage and strength in facing adversity were obvious, and she is still missed by her children, grand-children and wider family. Even so, life goes on.

At her funeral the final word was with Gloria. She knew time was running out, and made the most of that time spending all she could sharing with her children and grand-children. Some people do not have that time to say goodbye. It was a reminder for us all to value those we have while we can.

Farewell Events

Only hours to go now before we head to Africa.

While we are away Cheryl departs for six months study in China, so we shared with some of her friends as she updated them on her plans for this time. She plans to study for six months, improving her Mandarin so she can communicate more effectively in a land that she loves.

It was good to share with others who have been part of her journey, and ours as well.



Following the afternoon event we had a meal at one of Cheryl's favourite restaurants - one that makes 'real' Chinese dishes. A good night, a good meal, and good to be with family and a few friends. The 'Black Fungus and egg dish' was great, and the noodles were huge.

As always it was good to spend some time with family - probably the last time we will all be together until sometime in 2010. We are going to miss the 'normal' family interactions for the next few months at least.