From the School

Hi everyone,

An update of two days tonight.  Sorry for the lack of a post last night: I was utterly beat when I got to bed.

Yesterday started off with me ploughing through a combination couple of boxes of documents looking for a particular set of records.  I didn't mind this, of course: you know I love old documents.  The particular treat in this one was looking through a file from circa 1970 and finding a copy of an actual Telex.

These are the things that make me happy!  I had an even cooler job on the Thursday night trying to trace the origin of an easement on a particular block of ground.  This had me tracking down title certificates from the 1880s.  I was in document heaven!

I finished work at 3:30pm to come down to Creswick for this weekend's tranche of the peer support course; our vehicle had me, Ian from Wangaratta and Jennie from Rutherglen.  Ian drove as far as Bendigo, where we stopped at a McDonalds for coffee and for me to take the wheel.

It was just on 7pm when we got to Creswick and we went straight to the arranged dinner at the American Hotel.

I can certainly recommend it.  SES paid for the food (but not alcohol) so I can't comment on value, but the deconstructed chicken souvlaki I had was full of flavour and in a way, remarkably light.

When we got to the accommodation I found I'd been put in the same room as last time.  Sitting back having an evening glass of wine with everyone I realised why I like this place so much: it reminds me of Tarrawarra Abbey, the Cistercian community up in the Yarra valley.  The same timber and stone design, and the same feeling of focussing on things away from the agitated business of the world.

In a plus, last night I got to check out a video from MereMere, a youtuber whose video tv reviews I always used to enjoy.  She's back online and just recently put up her first 'rebooted' video.  Go check her out! The URL is http://youtu.be/-CJBZ1uNl9k.

I slept wonderfully well last night. It was 9°C when I woke up this morning.  As it wasn't freezing I decided to get the day underway with a run.

Certainly going for a run helped give an insight into the rest of Creswick looked like: away from the pocket-Daylesford main street, a lot of the houses seemed down at heel.  Many had car hulks and savage-looking dogs in the front yard.  For all its charm, I think this would still be a tough little town.

Be all that as it may, I got a gorgeous photo coming back to the accomodation. This a the day that the Lord hath made! let us rejoice and be glad in it! 

I've certainly learned a lot through the day about the Critical Incident Stress Management system, which is a large part of the toolbox for supporting volunteers who've had difficult experiences.  I even did ok with the role play of a Defusing at the end which I'm pleased about.  Really looking forward to tomorrow.

We've had a few chances to stretch our legs and explore the campus through the day.  I still love the old style of the buildings.

It'd make you want to think of a career in forestry.  Lord knows but the timber looked peaceful this morning.

I guess that's enough for now.  Looking forward to sharing more tomorrow!