Dear friends,
We would just like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and we hope 2025 will be a year which turns out better than many of us are expecting. This year has been very mixed with some lovely high points: the visit to the UK of our very close friends David and Judy and my dear brother Mark. Also a very recent highlight was getting to see Paul MacCartney in concert thanks to some excellent ticket watching by a good friend Denis. It was a truly wonderful concert even given some of the concerts I was blessed to see as a relatively young man back in Australia in the 1980s. I think, my new updated rating for my top 5 concerts ever would now go like this:
- Paul McCartney 2024
- Pink Floyd 1986?
- Elton John with the Melbourne Symphonic Orchestra (1986)
- Paul Simon
- Billy Joel
In terms of low points, we sadly had to walk a final mile with my dear friend Margaret Hill who lost her battle with cancer in May this year. Also our daughter Grace became very seriously mentally ill and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for about 7 weeks. Thankfully, she appears to be doing better although it is a long road to full recovery. Another friend of our Jens Meyer died rather quickly after battling long term health issues and then being diagnosed with an unusual illness which fatally damaged his liver in November 2024. I guess Trump getting into power was for me personally a low point because having President Elon Musk in charge is surely going to bring much suffering to many people. I find it disheartening how the billionaire class have so effectively convinced many that their enemies are the educated, the poor, and the immigrants. Oh well, we shall battle on. God bless, Rod
