Holiday church

When we went on hols as children (actually, the whole family came along, not just we kids), we continued our church habits; so come Sunday, after happy beach days, we dressed up and went to church.

We often holidayed on the Central Coast and attended Ettalong Baptist Church on a number of occasions. Quite a large to do.

Further north it was the Anglican church at Port Macquarie.

On our south coast and inland adventures, I can't remember hunting out holiday churches; maybe there were none convenient.

For a short period I was posted to a country office of my employer's. I joined up with the local Baptist Church, and got on quite nicely with its minister; I think, Mr Varnes. He was quite elderly, but a warm and generously minded man, as I found the church as a whole.

Some years later, I went with Echo, my then girlfriend, to visit her aunt for a weekend to North Haven. I was initially not inclined to attend church with her on the Sunday, but after she and her mother and sister had left for St Peter the Fisherman I felt very alone. Not good, so I high-tailed it after them.

The service was quite acceptable in many ways to me, and I said so to Echo. She replied, rather unhappily, that it was rather too protestant for her! Thus explained.