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 Mt. St. Mary’s, Greenmeadows. Sun. 28th Feb. ’71. Dear Mum & Dad, Well, it’s been raining off & on for the last few days, & this is not very good for the grapes. We started picking on Thursday, & about noon a thunderstorm came – this meant that all picking stopped for the day because of mud. I’m working in the cellars again this year, crushing the grapes. It was just as well it did rain on Thursday afternoon, because they were picking ‘Pinot’, & the wet summer meant that many of them were burst. We had to sort them all by hand before we could crush them, & so we did not finish in the cellars until about 6.30 p.m. On Saturday, picking continued. We didn’t finish in the cellars until 10 p.m. [The burst grapes were used for making sherry, & the rest for Pinot]. Alan Woodcock & I have sent our song to the T.V. Song Competition – Studio 1. We also sang it into a tape & sent that too. The annoying thing is that we sent it Registered Mail, etc. (It cost 58c. to post altogether). The local postmaster assured us that it was correctly packaged, etc. Yesterday we were sent back the tape by itself saying it was found in the bottom of a Wellington mail bag. (We had our address on the spool.) So goodness knows where the music is – I hope it reached the Studio alright. Br. Andrew will be checking with the Post Office tomorrow (Monday). Bert & Marg called in on Thursday afternoon (4.15 – 5 p.m.), & I showed them around. It was great to see them. Enclosed is a ‘photo I found the other day of me & Rob. Devlin working on section in my first year. Next Sunday – 7th March – is a Visiting Day (1 p.m. – 5 p.m.) I go into a week’s retreat in 10 minutes time. Fr. W. Ainsworth s.m. is preaching it. Only the Theologians are doing it – the Philosophers have classes & probably also some grape-picking. I cooked dinner today (Sunday). The main course – mutton, butternuts, cabbage & fried potatoes. It was very successful. Kerry Maher called in to see us today. Last Sunday Bernard Cuttance – ex-Silverstreamer – called in. He has one year left before getting his B.E. He will only be taking 4 yrs. to get it – so that is fairly good going. Fr. O’Meeghan was saying that Fr. Doogan was over at Rome studying with him & Fr. Scully. Also, I think Fr. Doogan had a relation – a student – killed here in the 1931 earthquake. Well, got to fly. This term’s play they are putting on “The Importance of Being Ernest” by Oscar Wilde, & I have got the lead role of Algernon Mongrief. But it won’t be until April 24th. Bell’s gone. Love from Bruce |