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 “Highden.” Sun. 27th July ’69. Dear Mum & Dad, Well, thanks for the letter. Fr. Bennett let us watch the news on T.V., & he taped – recorded all the important stages of the moon trip so we heard everything. That is the advantage of Fr. Bennett being a scientist. He’s got a B.Sc., so he was as wrapped up in it as was Tony. I got a letter from Leila the other day, in reply to the one I wrote last Easter. She seems to be very well, & will soon be going out to Waimarama for a holiday. She says: “I’ve not heard anything from Waikanae but they’ve not heard anything from Hastings!” Some agricultural students from Massey came out the other day to see the system they’ve got here for feeding out to the cattle. You know the paddock with the 800 odd cows in? I don’t know if it was finished when you were here last, but it goes like this:- 
They stay in there all winter, and are fed on chow & hay. It is amazing how dry the paddock stays. In the “turn about” in the above diagram, we dug all the top soil out and put it in a heap, ready to be used “Anywhere” – so i suppose it will sit in the same place for the next 3 or 4 years. The “turn about” was later filled up with gravel. We got a letter from Kerry Maher yesterday. He has got a job at Royal Insurance. Over the last week I have been collecting cow manure for the rose garden. Pruning will start shortly. Yesterday I milked the cows!!5 of them, & there are 2 machines, but don’t tell anyone!! Because we are not allowed to milk the cows. Today’s sung mass went quite well, & we sung the Gradual & Offertory Chant in to parts for the first time. 
It is rather difficult because there are only 11 of us – one organist & 2 servers – which leaves 8 singers. 2 of these are tone-deaf – and this leaves 6 singers – 3 on either part; & obviously the two who can’t sing can’t serve every Sunday. But it all went very well. Well I think that that is all the news. Love from Bruce |