Sunday 17/4 continued with the usual run of Masses with all the musicians feeling good about themselves after such a successful confirmation Mass the previous day.

I spent Monday kayaking at Fort Desoto. Tuesday began with the weekly visit to the physio after which I dropped the kayak at my storage and went into work. I had a couple of hours before I was due to meet with my financial advisor. Here boss actually led with the meeting. At one point I stopped him in his tracks when he suggested that I would be safer in USa than UK. After pursuing this he alleged that UK was full of terrorists. I wasn’t having that and informed him that America was not a safe place with mass killings everyday, over one thousand shootings this year already in Chicago alone and that Moslems and Islam were borne of peace and that a few, who were an embarrassment to Islam, were responsible for despicable crimes. I accused him of believing what the media suggested and that this was simply untrue. He buckled somewhat!

I returned to work and prepared for the evening choir practice which went really well. The following two days I would be away from work for a medical procedure (surprise, surprise). The preparation was more unpleasant than the operation itself. After this I had the rest of the day free to rest.

On Friday I visited the beach for what turned out to be a beautiful day. Saturday found me in work later than usual since all the preparation had been done on Tuesday. The sequence of weekend Masses was as normal. The choir excelled in their performance of D’Evry’s O Sacrum.

On Monday I eventually set off to discover a new island beach which someone at Charann’s had recommended. The access from the park near Dunedin was simple enough and it was pleasant to paddle down a channel and under a bridge for a short while before hitting the open water of the bay. The recommended island was rather disappointing so I decided to try the next one but landing was not permitted there as it was a bird sanctuary. The next island was some distance across the bay but I thought I’d try it. The paddle was an endurance test as the swell and current were significant. I eventually landed and decided to look no further. From there I admired a variety of boats passing all day. I paddled back with similar difficulty reaching the car just before the heavens opened. I had received a call from my bank which had alerted me to some unusual activity on my account. It turned out to be fraudulent so I was delighted to find my wallet where I had left it in the car!

On Tuesday I was back at what I’d hoped would be my last visit to the physio. The doctor there was unhappy with my progress and prescribed further medication and another month with some additional therapeutic elements. I returned my kayak to storage and went to work. I had a meeting to discuss this year’s First Communions.

Wednesday began with school Mass and in the afternoon I had a funeral Mass with only 4 people in attendance but it was memorable for the best of reasons. There was no ‘show’ it was simply a family celebrating an intimate Mass for their dad. In the evening choir practice was tough as we tried to rehearse my Take, Lord receive and Psalm 67/68 with a choral verse 3. This was made more tiresome by the air-conditioning failing to work. Eventually we had to decamp to the church where it was a little cooler. It was great to welcome 2 new singers to the choir.

Thursday morning I visited the beach for a few hours before playing for a well-attended funeral with music in Spanish and English. One of the parish had kindly dropped off a bbq lunch for me so I felt well nourished and could get down to preparing the Cantors’ meeting later that evening.

On Friday I had an early morning visit to the retinologist who last year had diagnosed a very rare condition in my left eye. I was pleased then and now that it was not the brain tumour he had imagined. The visit meant my eyes had to be dilated which caused me some problems when I went to play for another funeral. They had requested a violinist to play alongside me so I had to hurriedly write some parts before chaperoning her from the school. After this I was free to relax at home before venturing to Charann’s bar in the evening.

Saturday began with a slight head and after some ironing and general house-tidying I went out to prepare for the weekend Masses. I did not feel very well during the second Mass so I rushed home afterwards and took to my bed early.