The third session of the conference focussed on “Hard riding, hard drinking and other excesses are common in biker culture. Since we are called to be in the world but not of the world, how do we live this out in a way that both honours Christ and is respectful of our motorcycle brethren?”

Copyright notice: As I memorised scriptures from the NIV for more than thirty years, the majority of scriptures quoted will be from that version, therefore I include here the copyright notice for the NIV:  “Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.” Some that I wasn’t certain about have been copied in NIV form from www.biblegateway.com and others will be either KJV or my head-modified version of KJV, which was the version from which I memorised all scriptures until about 1978.

I must add that the reports in this post are very far from verbatim reports of what was said by the speaker. I took very abbreviated notes during the sessions.  I have filled out those very brief notes with what I think I heard the speakers say, not necessarily what they actually said.  It is more of a report on how what they said made an impact on me.

Ian Forest-Jones – Brotherhood CMC, Sydney: Ephesians 6:19-20: “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
We must choose a “life verse” from the scriptures so that this verse becomes truly a part of us.
Ian made a longish reference to “American Sniper” which is apparently a recently-released movie that I have not seen. Many references were made to “Kyle”, but I didn’t really understand what he was talking about.  I gather this Kyle married and had a daughter, but became so busy with his military career that his relationship with his family was affected drastically.  This section was related more to the topic of Session Two, I think.
The more we know about Jesus, the more we love Jesus, and the more we obey Jesus.
Be witnesses.
Matthew 28:19-20 says:”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Like [the apostle] Paul, we must share with others the truths we have discovered for ourselves about Jesus.
John 3:16-17 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We are good at memorising verse 16, but never forget that verse 17 follows it.  However we communicate with our fellow bikers we are not to condemn them.

Bonny – Longriders CMC, Adelaide began by expressing the importance of acknowledging the Aboriginal owners of this land.

Then he shared about David Unaipon whose picture appears on the back of the $50 note, who was full- blooded aboriginal in South Australia who was affected by Christian missionary named George Taplin, who wanted to get aboriginal people saved but destroyed their culture in his attempts.
We need to speak Jesus into people’s lives, not “churchism” into their culture.
We must be legitimate without compromising our Christian principles.
Be sure that it is God who is calling you to his ministry and not just you calling yourself to your own invented ministry.
Love the people, care for the people, but do not destroy their culture.
The Stolen Generation was a result of the missionary people’s ideas about Christianity.
It’s not your ability that’s important but your availability.
1 Corinthians 9:19-22: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” We must become like those to whom we are ministering, so that we may be enabled to share the gospel with them.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27: “Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” While we become like these guys in the biker culture, we do so without adopting their sinful practices – we avoid joining, for example, in their sexual practices.

Glenn, from Disciples for Christ:
These scriptures say it all:
1 John2: 15-17: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Do God’s will while you are in their culture; don’t get sucked in by the world’s lusts.
1 Corinthians 9:19-22: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
And if the ones to whom you are ministering happen to pick up on the ways you are different: Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
People are carefully watching us, so be a Godly man or woman in Christ.

Adrian Austin – Pilgrims CMC, Gold Coast:
Pornography is a very serious issue in motorcycle culture. Difficult to deal with even after becoming a Christian – lots of prayer is needed.
Proverbs 16:7: “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
We need to pray “Lord, use me.” before entering any and every ministry situation.
Find out what God has written for your life.
In any situation will you be an influence or will you be influenced?
Have the rule book for life (God’s word) written in your heart.

The MC, Carl Brook – Ambassador’s CMC, Sydney  followed up with Psalm 27:7: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me” … if you stuff things up, don’t try to hide it, just be honest.

Another inspiring session.

The speakers in the second morning session all focussed on the question: “How do we find a good balance between marriage, family, and Christian motorcycle ministry?”

Copyright notice: As I memorised scriptures from the NIV for more than thirty years, the majority of scriptures quoted will be from that version, therefore I include here the copyright notice for the NIV:  “Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.” Some that I wasn’t certain about have been copied in NIV form from www.biblegateway.com and others will be either KJV or my head-modified version of KJV, which was the version from which I memorised all scriptures until about 1978.

I must add that the reports in this post are very far from verbatim reports of what was said by the speaker. I took very abbreviated notes during the sessions.  I have filled out those very brief notes with what I think I heard the speakers say, not necessarily what they actually said.  It is more of a report on how what they said made an impact on me.

Dave Trevor – God’s Squad CMC, Brisbane: opened the session with a brief devotion. Main points:

What is our mission?
Children, our children, are a part of God’s mission and must not be neglected.
It is not our job to convert the bikers we meet – that is God’s job alone. Our job is to bring them one step closer. Note how Paul described himself in 1 Timothy 1:14-17: “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example to those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, amen.”
Twice he describes himself as “the worst of sinners”.
Matthew 12:50 declares: “… whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” We are all family. Matthew 7:21 tells us that there can be true and false disciples: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” in everything you do, ask yourself whether you are doing the will of your Father in heaven.

Les Hanson – God’s Squad CMC, Border [The Border Chapter is based on the Coast on both sides of the QLD-NSW border]:

Balance in all aspects of our lives is very, very necessary.
We constantly go in and out of this balance.
He shared a personal example of being out of balance: he was in his office one day, when his PA came in to tell him that his next appointment was waiting to see him. When he opened the door, it was his daughter sitting there. She had needed to make an appointment through his office to be able to see her dad, because he had been constantly so busy with his ministry.
Your family and you are all in this together. Your ministry must be everybody’s ministry with no compartmentalisation. You are always, simultaneously, a father, a husband, a biker, a minister, everything is true all the time.
The “first in best dressed” principle applies. If you are booked to be somewhere with your kid and someone else calls you to a ministry situation you have to know when to say, “i’m sorry, I am committed to a prior booking.” Decide which activity has the priority and remember that your family is your baseline. Sometimes a change might be necessary, but get your priorities right.
Also be aware of which of your regularly scheduled activities need to be changed.
A very important tool is your diary: enter the family commitments as well as the ministry commitments; know what you have planned to do with your time.
Baseline: prioritise with integrity.
Communicate – don’t just assume others will know.
Be a person of your word.
You’re all in it together.
True balance is simply doing everything in life to excess!

Lyn Schoolderman – Pilgrims CMC, Victoria, titled her talk: “The Couple that Rides Together, Stays Together”
She began by sharing some very moving testimony of the last part of her late husband John’s life. John’s nickname was AJ for those who have been around long enough to remember; he passed away November 2009. Lyn shared that in John’s last weeks, she had no idea how sick he really was.  She had placed her work at a higher priority than staying home or at the hospital to look after John. [This part was very moving for me, since I had led and mentored John as firstly an associate and later a member of Christ’s Crusaders CMC in Morwell, years before he met his wife Lyn – I think it was my late father, Jack Smith,  who was talking with John the night he became a Christian]
She shared from 1 Timothy 3:5 “(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)” and Ephesians 5:28-30 “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, nobody ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body.” and Ephesians 6:4-5 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.”
Always put in the time to look after partner and children and do this maintaining a balance with your ministry.

Colleen Hirst – Brotherhood CMC, Sydney shared in her inimitable fashion (constantly “picking on” Hirsty – her husband, Greg) and kept returning to the book of Malachi.
Malachi 2:14-16 : “You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.  Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.  “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.”
This shows that marriage is God’s good design.
Divorce rates are over-inflated by media.
Christian marriage means it is important to attend church together, sit together, read God’s word together, pray together, and to take all these things together seriously.
She presented scriptural illustrations of many ways to love each other.
As parents we need to understand Proverbs 22:6 which says: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This verse means we do not just lecture them, we must live an exemplary life in front of them, just know your kids are always watching you.
Leviticus 20 tells us not to sacrifice our children to our religion or ministry.
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” gives us several illustrations of how God loves us and how we need to love our families.
Malachi 4:6 “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” is the very last word of the Old Testament for good reason.

This was a very thought-provoking session.

Before the commencement of session one, there was a brief welcome to all attendees and the conference was opened in prayer by Lethy  from Black Sheep HDFC, Brisbane:
Mark 1:35 reads: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Having a relationship with Jesus, or with anyone else, takes a commitment of Time and Work. Make a commitment to start off with just 15 minutes per day sitting apart in a chair. Jesus told us to love one another. One who loves listens. We must seek to listen to God during that set-apart time. You ought to have a life verse, or a few life verses, to which you always return to remind you of your ministry.

Copyright notice: As I memorised scriptures from the NIV for more than thirty years, the majority of scriptures quoted will be from that version, therefore I include here the copyright notice for the NIV:  “Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.” Some that I wasn’t certain about have been copied in NIV form from www.biblegateway.com and others will be either KJV or my head-modified version of KJV, which was the version from which I memorised all scriptures until about 1978.

I must add that the above report is very far from verbatim report of what was said by the speaker. I took very abbreviated notes during the sessions.  I have filled out those very brief notes with what I think I heard the speakers say, not necessarily what they actually said.  It is more of a report on how what they said made an impact on me.

Session 1 focussed on the question: “What are the important elements in keeping our relationship with God through Jesus Christ while active in the Australian biker culture?”

Mac Hayes – Long Riders, Murray Bridge:

Keeping faith active: three main points:

1. 1. develop, strengthen, look after your prayer life.
2. 2. read the word (if you can’t read, use audio tapes or listen as others preach it.)
3. 3. maintain regular fellowship.

The church culture uses religious jargon – language which makes no sense at all to any unchurched people – but especially to those in the biker culture. Romans 12:1-3 says: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your good and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” The Christian bikers have elements of both church culture and biker culture within them. Romans 7 is very relevant. We must be accountable to each other.

Steve Chance – Christian Sports Bike Association, Sydney:

He introduced his ministry which works with those who ride and race sports bikes. His racing number is 316 which often opens up conversations with the guys with whom he competes in races.

Be active in the bike culture: seven points:

1. Embrace your identity: you are redeemed, set free, of royal blood, sent, ambassador, etc. understand where you are called, that is, specifically to which group of bikers. [at this moment, the Lord spoke by his Holy Spirit very clearly to me about my specific calling, answering a prayer of mine that has gone on for very many years – more about that in a different post – but it caused me to find it hard to concentrate on my note taking!]
2. Have Kingdom thinking: your ministry is really all about Him – only when you succeed in making it all about Him, an He make it about you and use you.
3. Pray and listen: pray for protection as Solomon did. Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
   Be in God’s power, not your own power.
   Pray for each other. Uphold your mates when you know they are heading out to minister; pray for wisdom and discernment.
   Pray for your ministry, Listen to God by reading his word and praying for him to speak to you through it.
4. Know your weaknesses: understand that you are vulnerable. Be supported by those around you.
5. Stay connected: with God and with each other – abide in the vine – fellowship.
6. “Let the joy of the Lord be your strength.” God likes to develop your character: think of the potter and clay image.
7. Remember that you have a Helper: Luke 3:16 says: “John [the Baptist] answered them all, “I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.””

To use racing terminology: reference points are like your prayer life, braking points are like the wisdom received from God, countersteering illustrates the forces that are against each other. You have to run your own race, to walk your own walk.

Lisa Clarke – CMA NSW and Righteous CMC, Sydney: [apologies for my extremely sketchy notes which leave out most of what was a great talk – I was still reeling from the revelation received during the previous speech]

It’s a battle. The battle is on three fronts; our fight is against the World, the Flesh and the Devil.
We must be in the world but not of it.
Subdue the flesh – this often means fasting and praying. Fasting is not popular with most of us, but if Jesus said we ought to do it, then we ought to do it. Remember Ephesians 6:10-13: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” This is followed by Ephesians 6:14-18: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the belt of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Re the shield of faith: talk to him each and every day.

This first session was already a life-changing experience.

I shall attempt to post the Second Session notes tomorrow.

I have just spent the last weekend, from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March 2015 at the Triennial National Motorcycle Clubs and Associations Conference which was held this year in Brisbane.

Previous iterations of this conference have been 2006: Sydney, 2009: Adelaide, and 2012: Melbourne. The 2018 conference is planned for Sydney.

The weekend started on Friday with a barbecue dinner and get-together which was held at the God’s Squad CMC (Christian Motorcycle Club) headquarters at Park Ridge, South of Brisbane.
It was great to be able to renew links with people that I hadn’t met face-to-face for years; actually physically hugging someone you know does something for both of you that thousands of Facebook communications do not.

On the Saturday, the conference proper was held at Calvary Chapel, a church in a shopping centre at Shailer Park, about 26 kilometres South of Brisbane.
There were four principal sessions each of which consisted of an opening by the MC, a devotional, and three speeches focussed on the question for that session, followed by a panel discussion.  I shall look at the questions and the details in upcoming posts.  The sessions were followed by the Conference Dinner after which a letter to the government pertaining to Queensland’s anti-association laws was agreed upon by those who were present.

On the Sunday there was a breakfast followed by a bikers’ worship service in a Uniting church at Zillmere on the North side of Brisbane.  The service was led by the Saints CMC who are based at that church.
After the service there was a ride into the city where we gathered at Emma Miller Place in Roma Street for a media event where the letter which had been formulated the previous day was presented.

 

The last time I had seen Lyn was when we dropped in to her place at Nhill when my daughter Nina and I were driving from Adelaide to Melbourne in May 2010, so almost five years ago.  It was so great to

catch up again in person, and to hear her deliver her address at the second session on the Saturday.

 

When I was holidaying in Geelong last week, I visited my youngest sister Trudi and we looked over some of the treasures in her shed.

She carefully unwrapped one of the earliest books I can remember reading and enjoying.

I shall place the scanned photos of the book below.

 

Facing sixth page picture

The remaining pages of the book were blank but just as aged-looking as the pages shown here. The back cover was blank and of the same background colour as the front cover.

According to my mother who, at the time of writing this blog, is now 92 years of age, this book originally belonged to my Mormor (Norwegian for grandmother, literally “Mother’s mother”) who was born in 1896, when she was a little girl, so the book is probably well over 100 years old by now.

I am very thankful to my sister Trudi who scanned it and e-mailed the pages to me.

Now although I had no trouble reading and understanding Norwegian when I was a young child, it is now 65 years since I last used the language, so I seem to have lost it somewhere in the meantime.

So I have decided to type out the Norwegian version as accurately as I can, then use Google Translate to give me an English version of the story, and finally to have a go at translating it myself into present day Australian English.

Here is the story in the original Norwegian as transcribed from the book:

H. C. Andersen
Prinsessen På Erten.
Illustreret av Hedvig Collin
Nr. 560.

Prinsessen På Erten.
Hedvig Collins
Utgave for barn av
H. C. Andersens
Eventyr.

Det var en gang en prins. Han vilde så gjerne gifte sig, men det måtte være med en virkelig prinsesse. Så reiste han rundt i hele verden for å finne sig en. Det var sannelig ikke så lett. Ja, prinsesser var det nok av; men en virkelig prinsesse kunne han ikke finne, hvor meget han enn lette. Til slutt reiste han likeså godt hjem igjen. Men han var forferdelig bedrøvet, for han vilde så gjerne ha sig en ordentlig prinsesse.

Så en kveld rök det op et skrekkelig uvær. Det lynte, og det tordnet, og det regnet. Aldeles fryktelig var det. Da banket – bank, bank, – på byens port.

Den gamle kongen måtte ta på sig frakken sin og gå ned og lukke op. Tenk, det var en prinsesse som stod utenfor. Men du store verden, slik hun så ut! Hun var blitt så våt av regnet, at vannet rant fra håret og ned på kjolen og ned i skoene. Og skoene laget store dammer, hvor hun stod og gikk. Men enda sa hun at hun var en virkelig prinsesse.

“Det skal vi snart få greie pa!” tenkte den gamle dronningen. Hun sa ingen ting, men gikk inn i et av gjestevaerelsene og gjorde en seng i stand.  I bunnen av sengen la hun en bitte liten ert. Ovenpå den la hun tyve madrasser. Ovenpå madrassene la hun, først en dyne, så en dyne, så en dyne til, så enda en dyne, og slik holdt hun på til det blev tyve dyner også.

Øverst oppe på de tyve madrassene og de tyve dynene skulde princessen ligge om natten.

Den næste dag spurte de henne hvorledes hun hadde sovet.

“Å, aldeles forferdelig!” sa princessen, “Jeg har næsten ikke sovet et øieblikk i hele natt! Hvad i all verden kan det være som ligger nede i sengen? Det må være noget hårdt, for jeg er både gul og blå over hele kroppen. Det er aldeles skrekkelig!”

Men da skjønte de jo at det var en ordentlig princesse, for så fin hud kunde bare en virkelig princesse ha. “Tenk, føle en ert gjennem tyve dyner og tyve madrasser! Det må være en princesse! Hun tror jeg nok passer!” sa prinsen. Og så holdt de bryllup.

Men erten blev lagt på en silkepute og satt inn i et glass-skap. Og hvis ingen har tatt den, ligger den der den dag idag.

 

And here is Google Translate‘s attempt at rendering the words into English:

H. C. Andersen
Princess and the Pea.
Illustrated by Hedvig Collin
No.. 560.

Princess and the Pea.
Hedvig Collins
Issue for children of
H. C. Andersen
Adventure.

There was once a prince. He wanted so much to marry, but it had to be a real princess. So he travelled around the world to find himself one. It was no easy matter. Yes, princesses were plentiful; but a real princess he could not find, how much he than light. Finally he travelled likewise well back home. But he was awful sad, for he would then like to have themselves a real princess.

So one night rök forth a frightful storm. It lightened and it thundered, and it rained. Perfectly horrible it was. When beaten – bank, banking, – at the city gate.

The old king had to take upon himself his coat and go down and close up. Imagine, there was a princess who stood outside. But you big world, so she looked! She was so wet from the rain, and the water flowed from the hair and down her dress and down in your shoes. And shoes made large ponds, where she stood and walked. But even she said that she was a real princess.

“That we soon become clear pa!” thought the old queen. She said nothing, but went into one of guestrooms and made a bed ready.  In the bottom of the bed she a tiny pea. Upstairs the she twenty mattresses. Upstairs mattresses she, at first a duvet, so a duvet, so a duvet, so even a quilt, and so she kept on till it was twenty quilts too.

At the top of the twenty mattresses and twenty quilts might Princess is at night.

The next day, they asked her how she had slept.

“Oh, absolutely terrible!” said Princess, “I have scarcely slept a moment all night! What in the world can it be lying down in bed? There must be something hard, because I’m black and blue all over my body. It is utterly appalling! ”

But when they saw that there was a proper princesse, then nice skin customer just a really princesse have. “Think, feel a pea through twenty quilts and twenty mattresses! There must be a princesse! She think I fit enough!” said the prince. And so they were married.

But the pea was put on a silk pillow and put into a glass cabinet. And if no one has taken it, it lies to this day.

Here is my own English translation of the story:

H. C. Andersen
The Princess and the Pea
Illustrated by Hedvig Collins
No 560

The Princess and the Pea
Hedvig Collins
Children’s Version of the
H. C. Andersen
Adventure

Once there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but only a real princess would do. So he travelled throughout the world trying to find her, but it was no easy matter. Yes, there were plenty of princesses, but it was impossible to find a real one, no matter how hard he tried. So he returned home where he was very unhappy, as he wanted so much to marry a real princess.

One night a terrible storm blew up. The lightning flashed, the thunder roared and it rained incessantly.  It was a really horrible night.  In the midst of the tempest there was heard a continual knocking at the palace door, so the old king went down to open it.

Amazingly, a princess stood at the door, but what a bedraggled sight she looked from all that wind and rain! Water streamed from her hair, down through her clothing and into her shoes.  Puddles formed around her feet where she stood. But she claimed to be a real princess.

“We’ll soon see about that!” thought the old queen to herself.  Without a word to anyone, she went to one of the guest rooms and stripped all the bedding off the bed.  On the bed base she placed one solitary pea.  On top of the pea she placed twenty soft mattresses and on top of the mattresses she placed twenty eiderdown doonas. Up on top of all these, the princess was to spend the night.

In the morning they asked her, “How well did you sleep?”

“Oh! Terribly!” said the princess.  “I scarcely slept a wink all night!  What on earth could be in that bed? It must be something hard, because I am black and blue all over. It was a terrible night!”

Now they could see that, without doubt, she was a real princess.  “Imagine! To be able to feel a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty doonas, she has to be a real princess!” said the prince.  So the prince lost no time in marrying her since he knew he had found a real princess.

As for the pea, it was displayed in the museum on a silk cushion in a glass case. And if no-one has stolen it, it is still there today.

Notes:

Hans Christian Andersen was Danish so the above story had been translated by a person unknown from Danish to Norwegian. It would therefore have originally been titled: Prindsessen paa Ærten.

For some unknown reason, Google Translate chose to spell ‘princess’ as ‘princesse’ on several occasions so I have left those renderings as they are.

When I was small and either my Mormor or my mother would tell this story to me, they always finished it with an additional sentence: “There! That is a true story!”

 

I flew to Victoria and arrived in Geelong on 17th February 2015 and flew back to Brisbane arriving home yesterday 26th February 2015.

While I had planned that I would write daily updates on here, I soon discovered that doing so from an iPad put it into the “too hard basket”.

I did not take many photos while I was away, but those I did, I could not get to upload.  After spending hours trying to resolve “Error uploading media item!” over and over again, I decided it was not worth the hassle.  I was supposed to be having a restful holiday, after all!

I did plenty of nice long walks in the cool Victorian climate.  Here in Queensland, if I go out for a walk, I get home in a lather of sweat!

I made good use of my Myki card which gave me very cheap public transport, so I went and visited various places on buses and trains.

On Saturday 21st February I caught a bus out to Bannockburn where I met Darryl John who owns a Triumph motorbike and whom I had met online through the Disciples Christian Motorcycle Club Facebook page.

On Sunday 22nd February I went with my mother and eldest sister to the Anglican church at Hamlyn Heights.  That church is named “St Albans” which is a very confusing thing since St Albans is also the name of a suburb on the opposite side of Geelong.

On Monday 23rd February I caught a bus, a train, and another bus to Grovedale where I visited Lindsay Smail and had lunch with them. On the way there, when I got off the train at Waurn Ponds station, there was a very dark looking severe thunderstorm approaching.

Shortly after I arrived at Lindsay’s place, the lightning flashed, the thunder crashed, and the rain came bucketting down. Although the storm seemed intense, it was brief and Lindsay’s rain gauge only measured a little over 2 mm of rain. I caught the Southern Cross train from Marshall to return to Geelong and Geelong was as far as it could go!  The storm had taken out the signalling between Werribee and Laverton and trains were replaced by buses for the next several hours.

On Tuesday 24th February, I went into town to go to the Village Cinemas in Ryrie Street to watch the movie called, “What We Did On Our Holiday.” It was a hilarious film and well worth seeing.

On Wednesday 25th February, I walked around to the home of my sister Trudi and spent a few hours with her, catching up.

When Trudi got on the phone to Wendy, I took the above picture.

On Thursday 26th February it was time to come back home, so after saying my goodbyes, I caught the 09:06 Route 45 bus to the station, the 09:48 train to Southern Cross, a Route 80 tram up Bourke Street to Elizabeth Street, a Route 59 tram out to the terminus at Airport West, and then the Route 479 bus out to the Melbourne Airport.  The whole trip on five different transport routes only cost $5.70 on my Myki card.

After flying to Brisbane it was so good to see Wendy waiting to pick me up.  At home it was great to see the kids again and to read to Ben that evening.

It was great to catch up with relatives and friends and to have a good rest while I was away, but it is also great to be back at home with the family.

On Tuesday 17th February, I travelled from Brisbane to Geelong and stayed with my mother and sister at Bell Park.

This morning (18th February) I did lazy things like reading the paper and listening to the wireless while Karen went to a university course she is studying and Mum went out shopping with my youngest sister Trudi. It’s great to see Trudi again, the first thing I notice is that she has lost an enormous amount of weight since I last saw her.

After a nap, I caught the bus up to Bell Post Hill where I renewed contact with my middle sister Ann and my brother Rodney with his son Jack, and met for the first time Rod’s wife Misti.

 

Edited after returning from holidays on 27th February 2015 to add the pictures, as I was unable to edit or post to the site during most of my holiday.

After my weekend away on Straddie, I had only one day back at work before heading off on a trip to Victoria where I will spend nine days.

I decided to save money by not using all the expensive transport services laid on for the use of tourists. Wendy drove me to the Brisbane Airport yesterday morning and I caught the Jetstar flight to Melbourne.

Before flying I was already aware that Jetstar are now being very strict about the cabin baggage allowed to be carried on board. The allowance has been reduced from a total of ten kilograms to a new total of seven kilograms and this is carefully weighed before almost every flight.  I decided therefore to not carry my usual kit of toothpaste, shaving gear, and other bits and bobs centred around my daily ablutions, but rather to buy everything I need in Melbourne and keep it at my mother’s place in Geelong, since I usually come down here several times a year. Total cost of doing this was way lower than the cost of adding checked baggage to my ticket.

When the plane landed at Tullamarine, there were no gates available for the passengers on our plane to disembark, so the plane was parked out on the field for ages before finally taxiing in after one of the boarding gates had become free.

After getting off the plane I made my way out to where the regular local bus picks up and boarded the bus headed for the Airport West Shopping Centre. I alighted at the terminus of the Yarra Trams route 59 and caught the tram into the City. I did some of my shopping in Bourke Street Mall and then caught another tram down to Southern Cross station.

By the time I arrived at Southern Cross, my iPhone belt pouch was hanging by a thread so I went to the cobbler across the road and had him repair it for me. It felt good to be able to carry my phone in its pouch again instead of in my hand where I risked putting it down somewhere and losing it. Next to the cobbler’s shop was a Seven-11 where I decided to buy a $1 cup of brewed coffee partly to keep me awake and partly because I just enjoy drinking a Flat White occasionally anyway. At Seven-11, you have to serve the coffee yourself and I somehow managed to not put the lid correctly onto the cup. I walked out onto Collins Street and went to take my first sip. As I did so, the lid suddenly looped the loop and I almost dropped the cup and spilt about half the coffee all over the front of my shirt. I can’t quite imagine what I looked like as I walked back towards Southern Cross, fortunately there were no mirrors! I changed shirts in the railway station’s toilet.

I boarded the 14:00 Waurn Ponds train which was standing at Platform One about 25 minutes before it was due to depart. The train eventually got under way and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the beautiful Victorian farmlands rolling past the windows.

Having arrived in Geelong, I did some more shopping before catching bus 30 out to Thompson’s Road from where I walked to my mother and sister’s place. There it was time for hugs all around.

Ah it is great to travel without checked baggage!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a few thousand words from my son Victor.

Photography is by Keith Alan Sprouse, who told Victor he was leaping too high and kept going too close to the ceiling out of the camera’s field of view.

All of the photos seem to have thick black bars top and bottom. I think that might be because they have been sent from an iPhone. However, when you click on each photo they come up big on the screen and you can scroll away from the black bars.

That last shot very definitely got too close to the ceiling!

Word count is less than 200, but there’s 9,000 in the pictures!

After completing the post for Saturday, I decided to decline the invitation to go out to dinner, mainly because my belly was still too full from lunch, but also because I needed extra sleep to get ready for getting up at 23:30 (11:30 pm) on Sunday night to go to work on Monday.

Sunday morning I awoke about 04:00 (4:00 am) and did my usual reading (you may check out www.bibleinoneyear.org to see what I love to start each day by reading), bought some extra data allowance from my phone company, and finished preparing yesterday’s post for this blog and then went back to bed for another hour or two.

At the perhaps more reasonable hour of 08:00 (8:00 am) I completed the daily ablutions posted yesterday’s blog and breakfasted.  All the other blokes seemed to be very quiet and subdued this morning so I thought it to be polite not to ask what time they had come to bed last night nor how much liquid refreshment might have been consumed.

Most of the blokes seemed to be more interested in reading (or perhaps pretending to read?) yesterday’s papers than in doing anything more energetic.

After breakfast several guys went fishing while others went swimming.  I felt it was important to catch some more sleep so, after drying and putting away the breakfast dishes, I hit the hay for an hour.

When the snores were all done it was tidy-up time and then we all headed for the famous pie shop where our final Straddie pies were consumed.

On to the 14:00 (2:00 pm) ferry and back to Cleveland by 15:00 (3:00 pm)