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Michael and Julie Pearce - (03)9812. 2605Email: julieannpearce@hotmail.com

Blog Site: furtherthanthewestgate.blogspot.com

Pearce Annual Newsletter

The PAN 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

This year has certainly been an action packed one for us Ringwood NorthPearce's; one filled with a myriad of things, that has seen the year of 2011absolutely fly past.

For this reason, as I sit and prepare to write this year's PAN, I truly wonderwhere I should begin; and just how many pages this newsletter shall indeedend up filling.

Well only one thing for it.....and that my friends, is to begin!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

JacquiTwo men in Jacqui's life keep her busy, happy and entertained. In noparticular order of preference or priority, I make mention of Billyinitially - and will speak of Danny in just a little while.

Billy is a most beautiful caramel coloured Cavoodle; who has Jac,Danny and the entire family wrapped around his little finger. EvenCharlie loves his special friend Billy; despite Billy's overly puppy likepreference for continuous and boisterous play!

IndividualHighlights:

Jacqui and Danny 2

Marnie 3

Nicholas 4

Michael and Julie 5 9

Charlie and Billy; familyand good friends.

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Well, I remember writing in last year's PANthat Danny Flanagan had earned his entryrights into the Pearce "Circle of Trust".And let us be honest here - this family bothin its immediate and extended sense -could in fact be classified by some asworthy of competing for top place withinthe realm of disfunctionality; againstprevious top place award winners such asboth the Byrnes and Focker Families!

Anyways, both Michael and I are incrediblyproud to announce that Danny proposedto Jacqui this August and that they plan tomarry on Friday December 14th, 2012 atSt. Dominic's Church in Camberwell.

St. Dominic's is of course a church of greatimportance to our family - being the Pearcefamily's Parish Church for over50 years;the Pearce Family being amongst itsfounding families.

It is also for those who may remember, theChurch in which Jacqui was baptised andof course where Nicholas (in recognition ofhis Grandparents) celebrated his first Massof Thanksgiving in September last year.

Jacqui and Danny

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I can imagine that both Grandma andGranddad will be gathering the troops; andthat many old family members and friendssuch as Vi, Ernie, Noreen, Aunty Chrissyand Aunty Millie, will all very much bespiritual guests of honour - observing andrejoicing in Jacqui and Danny's weddingvows - which by the way, are to becelebrated by Fr. Nicholas Pearce. Aguaranteed emotional and joy filled

experience, to be sure; to be sure!

Meanwhile both Jac and Dan have recentlybought a house together in Wantirna Southand whilst they have a lot of hard workahead of them, the house is comfortable; fullof incredible potential; and will I am sure bea part of the solid foundations in theirbuilding both a life and family together.

We are truly thrilled for them both; and awaitDecember 14th,2012 at 4pm with muchexcitement and anticipation. Please feel

free to put this date and time in your diaries,family and friends; for all are welcome toshare this joyous occasion with us.

Congratulations Jacqui andDanny; we love you heaps!

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MarnieI am afraid that this year has notbeen any better than last for Marnie.More time has been spent in hospitalthan out - and yet we are thrilled thatshe is now home again; and istherefore able to be here, so thattogether we may share Christmas asa complete family.

With new medication and ongoingsupport, we are hopeful that thingswill be a lot brighter for Marnie in2012.

One of this year's outings enjoyed byPixie was when she and I spent anafternoon at Melbourne Zoo. Ourfavourites were of course the babyelephants; and enjoying having theopportunity to watch the elephantsenjoying the freedom and incrediblynaturalistic and aesthetically pleasingsurroundings they have been

provided.

Both Marnie and I look forward tovisiting the zoo again in 2012, so thatwe may witness the transformation ofthe Orangutan's quarters - and it willbe a wonderful thing, being able tofinally and not before time to the lastof those now primitive and souldestroying concrete cages with ironbars of ages past.

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Marnie and King Kong!

Marnie and the Baby "Elefarts".

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September 11th, saw Nicholas' 1st yearanniversary in his ordination to thePriesthood. It was immediately preceded

by his leading a group of youngMelbournian Pilgrims to Rome and then onto Madrid for World Youth Day, and upontheir return to Melbourne, a couple ofweek's spent back in his parish of St.Kevin's, Hampton Park before embarkingupon a week's silent retreat before enjoyinghis first official encounter with 4 weeksannual leave.

During this time, Nicholas re-visited Rome(a real little "International gad-about" He is)

,for the Ordination to the Diaconate of hisfriend Michael Gallacher.

During this time we also (for the last 5 daysof our incredible journey) joined him andmillions of others in sharing the Romeexperience.

It is hard to describe to you in words what itwas like for Michael and I to be able toshare this amazing place with Nicholas andothers of our Priestly friends.

Basilica..to be able to visit and To be ableto explore Vatican City; to be able to beinvited guests at Michael Gallacher'sOrdination to become a Deacon; to be ableto participate in a Scavi Tour (underneaththe ground directly below St. Peter's pray infront of St. Peter's relics; to be able to visitand pray at the Relic's of Jesus crib; to beable to visit so many holy places (and somenot-so-holy, but ever so famous), with ourpriestly son have enriched us and willforever be etched upon our hearts, minds

and souls.

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For those who may be interested, ouraccommodation in Rome was at the DomusAustralia - the newly opened hotel for Australianpilgrims whose Rector is our very own Fr.Anthony Denton. Our stay was everything wewanted it to be...and then some; and I cannotrecommend the quality and comfort of theaccommodation and the warmth of the wonderfulhospitality/friendliness of the staff, enough!

So here we are Fr. Anthony; holding up our scorecard for the Domus - and we give it, and you, wemight add - a:

Fr. Nicholas amid his MadridWYD flock.

With Mamma and Papa inRoma!

Fr. Nicholas with his newpuppy and play mate: "Buddy".One very spoilt and greatlyloved Labrador pup.

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"Us" - Michael and JulieThis year of 2011 overall has been afantastic one for the two of us; how couldit not be when we have had reason tocelebrate Jacqui and Danny'sengagement; to look forward to being aMum and Dad of the Bride next year; havebeen able to celebrate Spike's 60thbirthday on August 26th (yep, he isofficially a senior citizen); and just thefollowing day, August 27th - the two of usflew out of Melbourne, on our first ever

"real" international holiday. And for thenext 42 days it was just Ma and Pa; on our"Pat Malone" (apart from all the othertourists on holiday with us); away fromhome; away from work; away from everylittle thing............and we had an absoluteball!!!!Only a couple of negatives really:1. I am petrified (and I mean scared stiff)of air flight - and we participated in 12 ofthe little rascals! - Positive outcome: I DIDIT (doesn't mean I like it though)- AND

SURVIVED!2. I managed to collect some memorabiliavery early on in our holiday of a lifetime, inthe form of a right calf DVT; which was notproperly diagnosed until we were inRome, just a week out from the end of thejourney. - Positive outcome: I LIVED TOTELL THE TALE!It is of course, impossible to fill you in oneverything we did and saw upon our trip,but in summary:We flew Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and

spent 2 nights there.Then flew to London where we spent 3;staying just long enough to know that wewould visit again there very happily.

A major thrill was visiting Buckingham

Palace, touring inside the Palace, seeingclose up Catherine's Wedding Gown,strolling around the gardens at the Castlerear; and exploring the Mews(the home ofthe Queen's horses, Coaches and Royalvehicles - amazing!) The onlydisappointment was that Queenie wasaway; and therefore unable to receive me(I am of course, a Queen's Guide). Wewere of course thrilled to be able to catchup with Mark in Kensington; our gorgeousnephew who is currently living and

working in the UK. (Love ya heaps Mark!xxxx)

Our reunion with Mark inKensington.

Ma and Pa visiting Queenie'splace of work.

Our home for 3 days; TheChesterfield Hotel, Mayfair!

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From London we flew to Basel in Switzerlandand spent 3 days here, before joining our

much anticipated Viking Rhine River Cruisefor 7 glorious days and nights. "Heaven on astick" is how I would describe this week; food,drink, waiters, chef, cabin staff - all brilliant -and I can highly recommend the B&B's Iconsumed each and every night...andoccasionally of an afternoon also. (Brandyand Benedictine -straight....way to go!)Lots of fun and much laughter to be had, tobe sure - and a lot of our pleasure wasshared in particular with two beautiful Aussieladies: Ann Williams and Trish Plunkett (wethink of you often girls!) - both of whom Iknow will be shocked to read of my DVT,because it was on this" leg" of the journeythat my leg began to cause me real distress.No girls, it was not in fact soft tissue damagefrom walking on those bloody but beautifulcobblestoned streets!)As well as Ann and Trish, there were ofcourse others whose company and friendshipwe thoroughly enjoyed throughout our cruise- and here we would especially like to make

mention of Sharmila and Swati from the U.S.;and Roger and Pamela Langley from the UK.I can't possibly include all the photos of youthat we have.....but please know that everytime we see your faces, we give thanks thatwe had the opportunity and absolute pleasureto meet and spent time with you. Our cruisewas all the better for being able to see thesemagical sights and laugh with you all!

Highlights????We visited so many beautifulplaces, saw so many beautiful churches,cathedrals, basilica's, castles and othermagnificent historical buildings. We visited theBlack Forest, the home of Cuckoo Clock makingand we climbed to the inner top of an originalwindmill home (you will have to ask Ann andTrish about the effect that had on me).

Our Rhine Cruise concluded in Amsterdam; andwe stayed here for 3 days loving the "City ofCanals".

Highlights????Blown away by the multi-storeyparks for bikes, bikes and even more bikes;visiting Anne Frank's home (a long held wish);visiting cheese making shops; tasting their syrupwaffles; passing the many "coffee shops";sailing the canals; walking briskly without turningone's head along the streets of the red lightdistrict (!!!!); and running into Spike's brotherand sister in law from Perth; Des and Mern inthe main street near Central Station. It wasgreat to be able to share some time with themand their friends in a country so far from home;

and to know that not only were we trippingaround the world, but so too was our sister inlaw Jude doing the very same thing with herfriend, Sue. Edna would have been so thrilledfor us all!

Left to right: Ann, Jul's, Spike;and Trish.

Left to Right: Jul's, Mern, Spikeand Des in Amsterdam.

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From Amsterdam, we flew to Warsaw in Polandwhere we joined a 14 day Tauck Bus Tour duringwhich we visited Krakow; and spent 1/2 day visitingAuschwitz (which had definitely been on my "bucketlist"). Unable to describe in words the feeling onegets upon visiting this place - it certainly is somethingthat one must personally experience for themselves;and as sad as it was; I am so very glad that I wasable to go upon my very own pilgrimage, paying mypersonal respects to that place where such atrocitieswere executed against innocent people.

The Tauck tour was of excellent value andmoderately paced, spending 3 days in each of the

main cities visited which included Poland, Budapest,Vienna and which concluded with picturesquePrague.

Along the way, we visited so many magnificentchurches; galleries, opera houses, town halls( likenone I have ever seen before); palaces and castles.We stayed in the most beautiful and luxurious ofhotels all the way; attended an Apple Strudel bakingdemonstration; ate Prodigy's; learned the healingbenefits of sculling icy cold Vodka shots (my friendJohn Soko is proud of me for this, I am sure!);

attended a private Chopin Piano Recital in Warsaw; anight time cruise and dinner along the Danube inVienna; a private Mozart and Strauss concertperformed by the Vienna Residence Orchestra andalso thrilled by our very own surprise operaticperformance.

There were about 39 of us on our tour, with only oneother Australian couple amid a whole heap ofAmerican's!!!! There was heaps of fun and laughterof course, a bit of deliberate ribbing and taking themickey out of the Yanks; and special friendships

formed. The most noteworthy of these were Lauraand Tom from the States (loving our catch ups byemail Laura); and Rick and Sue from NSW. Hopethis edition of the PAN finds you guys well and happy- and thanks too for enriching our holidayexperience!!!

Julie sitting upon the railway line outside ofAuschwitz....where so many people were

herded to their death.

Roses left by Michael and Myself upon a displaycase of infant clothing treasures; such an

emotive encounter.

Left to Right: Spike; Tom; Sue;Rick; Laura and Jul's.

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And then came Paris and France - and both of us fell

in love with this magnificent country!! We had only 3days in Paris, long enough to see most of the primarysights from the top of the "hop on, hop off bus"; togaze in awe and wonder at the beauty of this city andall it has to offer. Long enough for Michael to visit andclimb the Eiffel Tower (whilst I waited patiently andsafely below, upon Terra Firma). Long enough for usto catch up with our Niece, Emilee who lives andworks in Paris - and long enough for us to know thatwe would re-visit France in a wink of an eyelid - andstay much longer next time also!

After 3 days in Paris we caught the fast train out toNancy (Northern France), and had an ecstatic reunionwith Lorene (our Rotarian Exchange Student that wehosted for 12 months, 8 yrs ago). To say that it wasbliss to see Lorene again; and to meet and stay withher family in Baudricourt for 4 days, is an absoluteunderstatement.

We were treated like royalty; and were taken to somany wonderful places including Sophie's day incharge, where we visited places such as Verdvyn

where so many graves lay, as far as the eye can see;the Memorial erected over the top of soldiers, wherethey lay undisturbed from where they were buried alivein their trenches, sleeping standing up, with bayonetsin hand; and then on to the Fort de Douaumont, wherethe underground trenches where soldiers fought, andthe massive devastation of where cannons and bombsinvaded the earth destroying everything in their path,is these days 100 years later, softened only by thenew trees, vegetation and a few wild flowers that coverthe ground. No houses have ever been re-built here,their only reminder of reality being a white post where

each one stood.

I can't of course tell you here of everything weexperienced here with our host family; but I can tellyou that we love the beauty of their country, and all itcontains - especially them!!!! Oh, and I cannot finishspeaking of the Pernot's without offering a specialthank you to Christian (Lorene's Dad) - who ensuredthat we experienced the most beautiful of foodsprepared by him of course, in his very own restaurant.And so, Laurence, Christian, Lorene, Sophie andPierre-Alex, we send you all our love, hugs and kisses

and we give you all a:

Spike's (complete with Beret) self portraitascending the Eiffel Tower.

Emilee and Aunty Jul's out to dinner,before visiting de Basilica du

Sacre-Coeur by night.

Left to right: Spike, Pierre-Alex, Jul's;Lorene and Sophie.

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In Conclusion:And so here we are at the end of what has turned out to be a "mammoth" PAN edition; and it

is the number of pages that it is, only because I have put the brakes on; and tried to includeonly the most vital "bits".

The problem is of course, that for both Michael and I, this holiday was something we haddreamed of for so many years now; it was our first ever overseas journey; it was a holidaythat we both needed incredibly; and was a period of long service leave for us both, that weset out to make the most of. Let me assure you that we certainly did that, and then some!!!!!!As I have said to many since our return, it is impossible for us to tell you our most favouriteplace or event - for every single bit of our trip, every place we were fortunate to visit; thepeople we met; everything we were fortunate to see and experience were amazing!!!! It isamazing too that on our return we have seen so many programs on TV featuring places wehave now been too - and we are able now to say "been there"!!!

On a personal note, I was determined to make this journey despite my fear of flying -something I have not managed to overcome or eradicate - but one that I have not allowedreduce me to the role of "victim". I have done things on this trip, that I never thought I coulddo. I have flown on a plane 12 times; I have travelled up a mountain side in a cable car; Ihave travelled by Funicular railway in Paris up the mountain to visit Sacre Coeur; I haveclimbed the inner, narrow, spiral and extremely high staircase of a windmill (even though Isobbed like a baby on the way back down - backwards, with people holding their hands onmy bottom to coax me down!); and I have ascended and descended rapid travellingescalators (whilst carrying baggage I might add!). All of this, I have achieved and I amincredibly proud that I was able to overcome these fears enough to be able to enjoy these

once in a lifetime experiences - well everything that is, except for going up the Eiffel Tower!

On a "together" note, Michael and I not only survived living together in extremely closeproximity 24/7 x 42 days - we had an absolute ball together; we laughed and had so muchfun - I think it would be fair to say that we both enjoyed the time of our lives! Even should wenever have the opportunity to go again, we certainly have an incredible number of memoriesto recall - and plenty of photos to aid in this process - 8,400 of them to be exact!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now as I do each year, I make mention of those we love who are no longer with us;those who are unwell; and those who are separated from us by distance. And so Iremember with love especially, my Uncle Laurie who passed away in October; we send ourlove, thoughts and prayers to The Soko's; our love to Mark in the UK and Emilee in Paris;

loving thoughts are sent to our beautiful past neighbour, Nan Bretel; and of course wemention our beautiful "Uncle Pete", who is always with us in spirit.

With one week to go now, we look forward to sharing a family time of Christmas; and myparticular message to all those who may find this year difficult to face, to think of, or tocelebrate.....let us not take notice of the "Merry" in Christmas this year....but focus onpreceding Christmas with the word "Loving". In other words let us remove the pressureoften felt in the deemed need to be Merry; and may each and every one of us experienceand share in a "Loving Christmas", wherever and in whatever form that may take.

Love to all,Jul's and Spike I.T. (International Traveler's); Jacqui, Danny, Marnie, Nicholas and Charlie.

xxxxx