Bernie

 My Uncle Bernie.
I first met you when I was 6 weeks old on my first visit to your beautiful island.

My dad worked with you at Qantas and flew to your beautiful island on DC-10's

My mum's sister moved to Norfolk Island as a school teacher and I am very grateful she married you, my gentle lovely uncle.

I love all your children, my first cousins and their children.

I have always fallen in love with your island and am extremely grateful to have spent 11 wonderful years there with my little family.

I have a love of cows (and fresh milk) most likely from you.

Watching you milk a cow and bringing the milk cans up the valley and waiting to see the fresh cream sitting on top was a childhood highlight for this suburban Sydney kid.

You were always a humble gentleman, 

involved in some amazing community projects.

I always think of you while climbing the flagstaff steps.

I appreciate the opportunity to work with you at your apartments.

You had such amazing vision back in the day before anyone else.

Thank you for being such a lovely Uncle to me and great uncle to my kids.

These are my favourite memories of you having a wine on the verandah at Devon

and so full of pride of your heritage on Bounty day

You will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace uncle Bernie

9 March 1929- 15 June 2020

11 years!

Today marks the 11th anniversary since we arrived as a little family on Norfolk Island!

I am attempting to write a list of all the community activities and events we have contributed to but ran out of time to list them all.

I cannot express how lucky we feel we are to share the natural beauty and customs of the traditional Norfolk Islanders of Pitcairn descent. Thaenks Yorlye for the support and upbringing of our children.
It should feel like a heavy heart to be leaving you but I have a light heart from being a better person after being a part of this wonderful island community.

 

 It was an exciting sort of island day starting with breakfast at Emily bay with our ukulele band and tahitian dancing friends. Then a quick trip to the pier to see the last channel 7 sunrise weather taping for the weekend. Brandt played a surfy santa in the background and then lived out his dream by swimming with the local sharks.
Back to Emily bay for a safer swim before heading to the airport at lunchtime.

Today we also welcomed our number one son home after 6 months away.
 We have missed him so much.

Back down the beach  to see friends and Siennas year six graduation party until after sunset and then home for dinner.
The kids have been chatting to each other playing catch up ever since.

In only Its funny how one plane 11 years ago brought us here to the island, now another one brings our son back after an absence. My friend Karen was on both planes too. 1st as the air crew and today as a passenger.

In 30 days time we depart, this time with an extra child who wasn't even thought of in the top photo. This will always be another home for our children, you haven't seen the last of us Norfolk Island ♥

Happy Thanksgiving on Norfolk Island 2017

The children up the front of All Saints church on Thanksgiving

Did you know that Norfolk Island is the only place outside of America that celebrates Thanksgiving?
It is held on the last Wednesday in the month of November here and is celebrated with a public holiday. Most of the island will go to church services where the churches are decorated with amazing home grown produce followed by Norfolk Island style pot luck lunches with families in their island homes.

This tradition is most likely to have started when American whalers and their wives were stationed here on island and the wives shared their traditions, recipes and kitchens with local wives.

This a bittersweet last Thanksgiving on island for me. I am grateful to have had 11 wonderful Thanksgivings here but miss my family terribly and need to get us all back together.

This is me (the hairy baby with my mum, brother and 3 sisters) on my second trip to Norfolk Island. Look how sparse Philip Island is in the backround.

I am grateful for so much here on island but am also saddened by things that have been happening here on island. I adore its customs and traditions but cry for the Norfolk Island peoples loss of independence, their way of life and even their sense of humour and the ability to laugh at themselves.

I love the slower way of life even if I am still 100 miles per hour within it. I love that my children have been raised by a village and encouraged and nurtured by some.

I love that my children have learned patience like waiting for the seasons and the fruits and vegetables to grow, not everything is available all the time but when it does grow and is picked and eaten in the same day, it is the sweetest thing. We have the yummiest natural tasting veggies here. I have learned how to be resourceful and make do with what we have got.

They learn patience while waiting for the mail to arrive via ship. We once kept out Christmas tree up until March and April as our Christmas presents didnt arrive until then. They learned that it was okay to wait, that not everything is available 24/7.

We love that the beaches are only 5 minutes away and there is always parking almost right on the sand.

We love that it only takes a few minutes to get to the  school if the children leave a laptop/hat/lunch/book etc behind.

We love that the community turns up for everything and know how to celebrate. any event (especially school events) become a community event. Pot luck dinners here are phenomenal.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to live on this wonderful island. I have met some of the very best people and have been embraced as one of your own, for this I will always be grateful.

Thaenks f'aklan an tek keyah

Cousin love