P
pete_bowes
Guest
Every morning I take a swim at the local pool, 14 laps and that’s me done and just as well today because a couple of dozen kids from the local Xavier Catholic School came down for a lesson on water safety.
They were being instructed by a nuggety little sunburned man of about 70. I hailed him as he followed his students around the side of the pool and when he came over I introduced myself. We shook hands.
His name was Francis.
‘Pretty apt name for working at the school, eh?’
He smiled.
‘Good kids, are they?’ I asked, looking at the crowd of 14 year-olds.
Francis said they were.
‘How about you, Francis, still hanging in?’
'You mean Catholicism?
That’s what I meant.
And that’s when I nearly lost him, so I dug deep for a reply before he took off.
‘Be a soldier, mate,’ I said, then clapped him on the shoulder, ‘stick with it.’
They were being instructed by a nuggety little sunburned man of about 70. I hailed him as he followed his students around the side of the pool and when he came over I introduced myself. We shook hands.
His name was Francis.
‘Pretty apt name for working at the school, eh?’
He smiled.
‘Good kids, are they?’ I asked, looking at the crowd of 14 year-olds.
Francis said they were.
‘How about you, Francis, still hanging in?’
'You mean Catholicism?
That’s what I meant.
And that’s when I nearly lost him, so I dug deep for a reply before he took off.
‘Be a soldier, mate,’ I said, then clapped him on the shoulder, ‘stick with it.’