A Journey to Silver Wattle: reflection and nourishment among Friends

As Lewis Carroll had the King say to the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland -
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

To-day is a new beginning.
Quakers in Australia have long held a dream -
a dream for a study centre.
To-day the dream comes to fruition as
Quakers move into Silver Wattle
beside Lake George in New South Wales.

In the next few hours,
I will be leaving my home in Melbourne
to drive to Silver Wattle
where I will serve as chief cook and bottle washer
for the interesting collection of people
who staff and organise the Centre
and who will come to the Centre
for courses and retreat.

My trusty eleven year old station wagon
is packed to the gunwhales.
I really don't know how to travel light.
But food is a serious and creative busines
and I want to be sure there are certain things in place.

In the wagon are

• boxes of herbs to begin a kitchen garden
• boxes of preserves - jams, marmalades, syrups, chutneys, pickles, sauces - with thanks to Pat, Tessa, and Belinda.
• there is a large plastic container full of recipe books.  I am sure there will be people at Silver Wattle who are passionate about food.  They might like to leaf through the recipe books and chose some favourites. Communal menu preparation, perhaps?
• There is a shopping trolley full of books for study and for reading: a variety which includes Eric Rolls and Teilhard de Chardin and books about the Tao.  Also in there is Advices and Queries and the Rule of St Benedict, that classic of Christian communal life.
• Then there are various kitchen appliances like my Kenwood Mixer, the Furi knives, the cafe griller, the blender.

So the journey begins.
A new project at Silver Wattle.
My journey from Melbourne to Lake George.
A new chapter in my spiritual life.
New friendships to make.
A beginning to be held in The Light.

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