Much ado about Melbourne

It's been a busy three days in Melbourne. On arrival I took a taxi to Friends House, as taking my heavy luggage on the metro with my dodgy knee didn't seem like a good idea. I was welcomed, and given a room in which to rest before my talk that evening. Eventually folk arrived including my host Tricia, who'd been awaiting a phone call from me which I'd not realised was expected, and in due course a shared meal was enjoyed by over a dozen Friends. The talk, on Ministry, was well received and we had a good discussion, about sixteen people being present. Then it was back to Tricia's where I was staying for the next three days. She is a lovely, outgoing person and has organised much of my programme in Melbourne. She's also the first evening person I've stayed with: we talked late into the evening.

Next day, after a leisurely start, we took the local train into the city to visit the Sustainable Living festival. This was not dissimilar to the Green Festival we've had in previous years at Leazes Park in Newcastle: a lot of stalls each with a particular 'take' or way of living more lightly on the planet. There were several other Quakers there, either visiting or manning stalls of one kind or another. We wandered round for quite a bit: it was very hot and there was little shade! Eventually we fetched up at the food area, and enjoyed a veggie curry and then a cooling fresh fruit smoothie (they do these so well in Australia, with all the fruit including pineapples and suchlike locally grown). By now my knee was protesting quite strongly, so rather than do any further sightseeing we headed for home and a quiet evening in. I was able to try Tricia's electronic piano (a quite different feel from a conventional one!) and we opened a bottle of an Australian red, very soft and quaffable!

I'll say more about Melbourne in the next post.