Coming Home

My last day. We're going to take it easy. Outside is too hot to move anyway. So I'm indoors doodling on the internet. One of my friends is selling a house in Tuscany. Wouldn't it be great to have such a place. I wonder??

One of the themes of my stay has been to discover more about my genealogy, and I've certainly discovered a lot. I wonder what comes up if I google the name Benett. There is a Benett family website www.benett.com but it's completely empty. A blind alley I'm afraid. According to the website thinkbabynames.com, Benett has the variant forms of Bennett, Benet, Bennet and Benoit. Benett is an uncommon first name for men but a very common surname. The name is pronounced BEN-et. It is the medieval vernacular form of Benedict. The name Benedict [b(e)-nedi-ct, ben(e)-dict] is pronounced BEN-a-dikt. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "blessed", from the Latin Benedictus. The name Benedict was used by 16 popes. Saint Benedict gave his name to the monastic order, the Benedictines. The great Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy is known to be simple, restrained, and practical. Shakespeare's Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing" is a self-assured, witty bachelor. Benedict is a name used mainly by Roman Catholics. So Granpere made a pretty good choice when he changed his name to Benett.

Talking of Pope Benedict, the news today is that he is about to cononise the Blessed Mary MacKillop. She was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She is said to have miraculously cured a woman with inoperable lung cancer. On 17th July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney, for World Youth Day.Since her death she has attracted much veneration within Australia. She is the only Australian to be beatified. Yesterday the Vatican announced her imminent canonisation as a saint which is likely to be completed early next year.

More news from Australia and another theme has been the climate change debate here. PM Kevin Rudd said world leaders had brought global climate negotiations back from the "abyss" after 17 hours of continual discussions that ended at 1am in the Danish capital city today. But Australia’s Prime Minister conceded that the final Copenhagen Accord left “much more to be done”.

As it stands, the accord simply describes Australia’s current emission reduction target range of 5 per cent to 25 per cent in the political agreement. Mr Rudd said Australia would announce its final target once all nations had submitted their targets by February 1. Tony Abbot, the opposition leader said it was a typical Kevin Rudd agreement, more talk than action.

I pack my bags for home, as best I can. Taxi for airport is booked. We're going to Joss's for a barbecue tonight. A chance to celebrate my stay and thank those who have put me up and put up with me. I'm very grateful to them all for making this little break a great success.

I'm going to sign off from the blog for now, but may be back if something interesting happens. Need to focus on the practice, my health and relationships in the New Year