Back Safe and Sound

I was tempted to book to stay another night, but decided against it; so, after booking out, I went and heard Mass at Our Lady of the Southern Cross, then had a rather good breakfast at the same local cafe as yesterday - coffee, plus french toast with banana, bacon and maple syrup; a combination which I hadn't had since my trip to Lismore for Bp Jarrett's consecration eight years ago.  Memories...

(Oh, and BTW last night's meal at the wine bar turned out not to be drawn from among various tapas - which are available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays - but from a fine menu: so I had roasted artichoke and mushroom soup, followed by crispy skin duck confit on brussels sprouts with pancetta and green beans.  I went to bed fairly early, but read until late about the disasters awaiting us with global warming: it's a genre called "climate p__n", you know the word I mean.) 

Leaving Dunsborough, I drove up to Cape Naturaliste lighthouse, in the national park, and took an hour's circuit around the windswept headland, including a peek from the whale lookout (alas, none, though blue, humpback and southern right whales all rest on their migrations in Geographe Bay).  The low colourful vegetation was in flower, with a pronounced scent, and the sand grading to eroded limestone underfoot was unusual to walk on.  Quite pleasant to get some sun, of which I now feel the effects!

By the time I drove away it was lunchtime, so I headed off down many a country road toward Yahava, a local coffee roaster that had been recommended to me; to be honest, having got there, I thought it nice enough but a bit overrated.  Far more to my taste was Knotting Hill vineyard opposite it, where I met some fine people - retired wheatbelt farmers having a tree-change (as they say nowadays) by moving down South and establishing a very pleasant and successful winemaking estate around an artificial lake.  Their wine I found very passable indeed, and bought some, plus a "vineyard platter" for my late lunch.  A walk around the lake did me the world of good, and it was really nice to meet such down-to-earth, goodhearted people - and their very cute pet dogs!

Finally I turned for home, but not without stopping off at Gelorup outside Bunbury, to catch up on my prayers at the Carmel there, and to spare a prayer for Br Peter, late of Bunbury, now with the Carmelite Monks over in the States.  Since I decided to detour to the coalmining town of Collie - very clean and tidy, even with a great big coal train going through the middle of the place when I arrived - I therefore added another 70 km onto the return trip, meaning that the last hour and a half was in darkness.

What have I been listening to in the car as I drive?  Some ABC radio, but mostly some CD's I brought along:

• Music for a Hidden Chapel (Byrd's Marian anthems and polyphonic Propers for Easter and the Assumption, sung by Chanticleer: the wordpainting is stunning, as in the Easter Sequence Victimæ paschali and the former Assumption Introit Gaudeamus omnes, and it was well worth a second listening);
• Sing to God (gadzooks! Taize! - an old gift to me of nice muzak, giving something of the psalms and other Scriptures in easily digestible form);
• Tafelmusik (4 CD's of Telemann, played by Musica Antiqua Köln; this great set came to me free, from an old priest who was retiring - ora pro eo).

It was good to get home at 7.45 pm, unpack, and share a good roast dinner with my mates, who'd thoughtfully organized a proper meal for us all.

And now, to bed.

(Of your charity, prayers, please, for a certain vital intention.)

Rain in Dunsborough

Well, I'm enjoying my South West holiday, despite a few showers yesterday and rather more rain this afternoon. Yesterday (after transacting some business in town) I headed off about 10.40am, and on my way out of Perth stopped off to pay my devotions at the Schoenstatt Shrine at Armadale.

As Fr Rowe recommends, I had lunch at the Pinjarra Bakery, where a very good meat pie can be had, not to mention an apple turnover with fresh cream... At Harvey I was unable to visit the Internment Camp Memorial Shrine, but did pray there, and ditto at the local parish church of Our Lady of the Immigrants.

From before Harvey and all the way down since, it's been heartening to see the contented dairy cattle grazing in lush green pastures: I'm very fond of cattle, and Frisian cows especially: God bless black cattle, brown cattle, and particularly black-and-white cattle! I kept on repeating to myself that lovely line from the Psalms "beasts in their thousands on My hills... all that moves in the field belongs to Me" (cf. Ps 49:10, 11).

Continuing on my church-crawl, Our Lady of Lourdes at Dardanup was open, and I prayed None there, recalling Br Peter and the Carmelite Monks at the verse Propter te mortificamur tota die (Ps 43:22c), and for them prayed to St Therese (whose statue was there) and to the Virgin Mother of God. Apparently at Dardanup there is a "House of Prayer" run by some stray Benedictine, but no signage for it whatever! Talk about "shut thy door and pray to thy Father in private"!

Dunsborough (where I'm staying) was reached by late afternoon, after my very leisurely country drive; it was pleasant to walk around town and along the beach and back. The town is obviously very prosperous and growing rapidly: property prices are through the roof. Amusingly, one rather exclusive boutique was advertising a "Global Economic Collapse Sale".

I noticed that the local church is that of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, have driven there to see it, and hope to attend Mass there; the title reminds me of the devotions paid to that new image thereof at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, during WYD.

Last night I had a rather good Italian meal (at Assisi cafe ristorante, of course!), an antipasto platter, followed by excellent, light gnocchi with a blue cheese and walnut sauce, then dessert of rhubarb and apple crumble; but the bottle of 2003 Rosily shiraz I paired it all with proved a bit much for me: I was thoroughly sozzled, and managed only to stagger back to quarters! Today I haven't been in the best mood for wine tasting...

In any case, to-day has been pleasant: leisurely breakfast with the paper at a cafe, a drive over to the Indian Ocean's crashing waves at Yallingup, and then motoring down toward Margaret River, through vineyards and farms and forest. My unerring sense of the top end of the market drew me to Vasse Felix winery, for cellar door purchases and a very good lunch indeed at their gourmet restaurant: rabbit rilletes with crostini, gribiche and salad, and a side of kipfler potatoes roasted in duckfat with aioli. However, after last night's excess, only mineral water.

By the time I reached Margaret River in the early afternoon, the skies were dripping fine drizzle, which finally set in as heavy rain. Still, it was a nice town to mooch about in. And yes, I did pop by St Thomas More's Church, tho' some function going on there meant I didn't go in.

By late afternoon, back I am here in Dunsborough. Now, what to do tonight? An early meal, I think, perhaps tapas at the wine bar, then a quiet night catching up on my reading: I want to finish my last Lovecraft anthology, and continue dipping into Lord Norwich's history of Byzantium; also, I've bought at Margaret River an alarmist book all about what terrors climate change is bringing.

Tomorrow - to be continued...