Pierre Thielmans is the Dean of Single men here at SMBC (Sydney Missionary Bible College). The man, like the name, is an interesting one. I think he has some Belgian kind of past. I know he speaks French, but now he is undeniably Australian.
I love a face that tells a story. That is definately Pierre. If only you could read the transcript of a face. What where the punchlines to the thousand jokes that delivered each wrinkle/laugh line? Did that lightly lined foerhead ever reform itself into a furrowed brow? What sights in this world have been reflected in those eyes? How many people have responded to that almost-too-big smile?
I find myself taking a lot of portraits these days. Of course, most of them end up in the landscape format (Pierre being the exception) and more often than not I find myself right up in their face, rather than hanging back to get the big picture. It’s almost like the closer I get, the better chance I have of seeing through the face! Like if I look close enough I might actually see those stories written in those little lines, that rather than my reflection in those eyes, I might see Paris in the Spring, a newborn baby, or a blushing bride?
Does it work that way? Are our faces like those frustrating 3D puzzles? The answers are there if we stare hard enough and long enough?
I’m not sure. I just don’t know. But I do know that every face has a story, so I will keep on listening as long as they are willing to speak.

I have the new Thirsty Merc albumn to guide the two of us up. N8 is a big fan too, so that is a good start (his claim that they rate higher than Powderfinger is a gutsy call. It will take a few more listens to topple that musical giant).

When we hit the freeway, we lose any serious amount of traffic. That too is a good start. When we hit the Peats Ridge Exit, we loose the opportunity to see a car in front of us pretty much all the way to the house. That is a freakin awesome start!

N8 tells me that he was a little apprehensive at the thought of eating at the Kulnura truck stop. I tell him that I understand. It has a look about it that says “two week old pies, battling under heat lamps sold here!”. Reality is a different matter. Come about 6:20ish, we were both sitting at a picnic table tucking into one of those burgers that looks like it came straight from the picture on the wall. Frilly lettuce, well placed onions, good quality meat. Everything that McDonalds might claim to be but fails to deliver. We actually spend 5 or so minutes discussing the merits of the hamburger, and hamburgers in general.

Just two guys, out on a road trip, chatting about nothiing and everything. But one’s getting married. Soon this might all end…

(Sounds doom-laden doesn’t it. “Soon this might all end”. I chose to use these words to create a little tension in the story, but I know that the news is good. I know that the end I am talking about isn’t the end of the feature, but the end of the previews, which means that the movie is just beginning)

24 hours later. Was it really only 24 hours? We really did fit in a bit! A couple of drinks, made use of the pool table, a long, but still unfinished game of “Risk”, big breakfast, wine tasting, epic pub-lunch, Todd’s departure for a party & then a depressing (yet hope inducing) Rugby match on the TV.

Yes, only 24 hours later. Joel & M@, awesome guys as they are, are showing their potential for being nerds as they work out the percentage of probability for winning with every possible roll that you could have in a game of “Risk”. N8 and I are out on the balcony. He didn’t bring his guitar, but we still have the whisky and cigar that make this an official occason (Anyway, The Merc do the job just fine in the background). We talk about life, we talk about our faith, and of course, we talk about love.

(Is there anyway you can talk about the movements of love and not sound cliche? Maybe we spend so much time thinking about it that the concept as a whole carrys that taint? Well who said that originality had the monopoly on truth anyway?)

With N8 and Amy it is about growth. You can see two cool people who are going to make an awesome couple. I know I might loose some of the freedoms I have to catch up with him that I have now, but I gain so much more in seeing a friend be where he wants to be & with who he wants to be. Anyway, when was this ever about me? Seeing two people who are so happy to be together can’t help but make those around them happy too!

Saturday night comes to an end, Sunday rolls around. M@ sneaks away early and quietly. Breakfast, barbecued and brilliant. More vineyards to visit, an appointment with some classy chocolate & then a smooth drive back to the real world.
N8 said that the weekend will be one of his great wedding-time memories. I think I’ll remember it too. Watching a guy who is not quite married, but no longer single. I am almost as excited as him for Sept.10 to roll around! Like I said before, the preview is over, I’m ready for the movie to begin!

And I suspect this one has a very happy ending!

Postscript: This post was made possible by the awesome food at the Kulnura Onestop, and by Di Robertson (nee Ritchie), who pointed me toward Thirsty Merc Go and check out this vid of theirs here!

In the mean time, have a little taste….

Excuses?
None!
I’m busy, but not that busy. I just haven’t written. Maybe the blog and I have reached that comfortable friendship where we don’t need to know where each other is every minute of the day? Maybe we are free to live our own lives & just catch up when it’s convenient.
Is that fair? Is it good enough? I don’t think so.
Do I think that timgoldsmith.com is a jealous lover? No, but I know that readers are (understandably) fickle, so I really should make more effort to make it daily contact.
Ok, let’s shake hands and make up. Let’s not fight again.
In other news…
The wheels are spinning. Things are happening. It’s all on! This weekend sees me up in the Hunter Valley with the rest of the groomsmen from N8 & Amy’s wedding party. It’s about fellowship, bonding & camaraderie, it involves wine, pool tables, open fires, rugby matches and lots of laughts. Hopefully it also includes some pictures. Guys drinking beers, fun being had, and possibly some star-scapes (weather permitting).
To counter the testosterone injection that this blog will have over the next week, a picture with a little more estrogen in it. Who says timgoldsmith.com doesn’t have a soft side.

Rachel and Nerida being gooses @ college. Rachel claims that there has never been a nice picture taken of her. Well, despite her closed eyes, I like it!

Train tracks by Belmore Park

Mal, my cousin, hopes in vain that when he opens his eyes, the ugly man with the camera will be gone. No such luck. (Shout out to Mal’s wife Mel, who was sadly missed on the weekend. You will have to suffer the wrath of my camera next time we have a family get together)

Not everyone loves spending time with their family.
For some, the thought of extracting an afternoons conversation from their parents, sibs, aunts, uncles and cousins is akin to extracting a fingernail without anaesthetic. To choose to spend a weekend with them, well that would just be madness.
Of course, there are also many who look forward to any opportunity to spend some time with the near and dear. Like that last easter egg in a ten year old’s hand, I’d love to be able to hold on to those days when the family get together, because like the egg the days are smooth, they are sweet & they seem to go all too fast.
Such was friday night and Saturday.
Were you to ask my Grandparents (who shall henceforth be referred to as Granny and Bamma), they might say that they feel the same way about the last 60 years! That’s how long they have been married!
60 Years
Two continents (Granny being English, Bamma being an Aussie), a courtship in war, three kids, lots more grandkids, a business built in Camelias, a thousand happy occasions and, I’m sure, a handful of grieving moments. A million little experiences, some savoured, some missed, all now past.
It is an occasion. It is reason for celebration. 60 years! 20-odd family members slip up to the Hunter Valley for the weekend. I pick up my sister Amy & Beth, her youngest, from the airport & then we drive up to join the festivities. Of course we’re excited. We’re spending time with those we love.
Not everyone loves spending time with their family. But we do. These occasions are so many things to me. They are quiet beers, casual chats, tossing around a footy, or yelling out hopefully “one hand, one bounce” as we play backyard cricket. It’s almost 30 years of my life. Memories for my parents, memories of mine & now becoming memories for my nieces and nephews.
For us it has been something we do, a part of who we are. Well, my hope for Granny and Bamma (Granny I know you read this blog) is that they have enjoyed the weekend, knowing that it is not just something they do, but something they have made!
Bamma can no longer really walk & Granny essentially looks after him full-time, but they don’t have to run around to enjoy this. Granny & Bamma. Sit back, grab another glass of red & enjoy watching the fruit of your labour! Your family love each other because you loved us first!
And we love you too.

The Bride and Groom.

It’s not every day that you get a letter from the Queen!

4 generations. From L to R Anne, Amy, Beth, Kristin Charlotte & Granny.

East meets West (Well Estonia meets Scotland) Me, Jody and Kerridge.
So far this has been a fun week!
Sunday I got to preach. I learned a valuable lesson. I felt like I had prepared well, I was happy with my content & everything, and the morning sermon seemed to go well. 6pm however, was pretty average. I stayed up and watched the Rugby on Saturday night & I think the 5 hours of sleep affected my delivery. That said, it went down OK anyway, and it is always good to get a little more practice in. A good spur to do better next time too!
Tuesday was “International Day” at college. Everyone gets dressed up in either their national dress, or the dress of some country they can think of. It is awesome because you get people just wearing wayout stuff, but you also geet some authentic stuff from people who have lived, or were born in other countries. From Saudi stuff to Korean dresses, to Papua New Guinean gear, it was all on show
Well, I am too busy to write properly about it, so I will let a couple of pictures tell the story. Click on a picture to go to my flickr page where you can see more images!

Steph showing everybody how to juggle fish!

Cameron. A perfect example of inauthentic (but very funny) attire!

You have to marvel don’t you? Sweet symmetry, each petal delicate, exact! It’s art and it is everywhere.
Framing the gardens of well-to-do houses, pushing through cracks in the pavement of run-down apartments. Trees and fields might be the sole domain of the rich, or rural, but sweet (and smellsome) simplicity belongs to anyone with an hours sun & a glass of water to spare.
We sing “ring of rosies” as kids. We obsess about giving, or getting that first rose as a teen, Brides bound down the aisle with them and bodies bear wreaths on their coffins.
They can trigger a million different memories of days gone by, but better than pointing to the past, they point to a perfect creator who can create such an intricate gift, then spread them round in a million different ways, so common that we barely remember to look at them.
There’s your challenge for the day. Stop by a garden. Engage one of your senses, maybe them all. God made it. It’s time to enjoy it!
“Nature is but a name for an effect whose cause if God” — William Cowper.