Pope's arrival

[Paul McFarlane]

Just a little off topic..

A shy gentleman was preparing to board a plane when he heard that the Pope was on the same flight. "This is exciting," thought the gentleman. "I've always been a big fan of the Pope. Perhaps Ill be able to see him in person."
Imagine his surprise when the Pope sat down in the seat next to him for the flight. Still, the gentleman was too shy to speak to the Pontiff. Shortly after take-off, the Pope began a crossword puzzle. "This is fantastic," thought the gentleman. "I'm really good at crosswords. Perhaps, if the Pope gets stuck, he ll ask me for assistance."
Almost immediately, the Pope turned to the gentleman and said, "Excuse me, but do you know a four letter word referring to a woman that ends with the letters 'u-n-t?'"
Only one word leapt to mind...
"My goodness," thought the gentleman, "I can't tell the Pope that. There must be another word."
The gentleman thought for quite a while, then it hit him. Turning to the pope, the gentleman said, "I think the word you're looking for is 'aunt'."
"Of course," said the Pope. "Do you have an eraser?"

Have a good day all

[Mike Scott]

They can always get a 400 from Lufthansa if they cant get everything on the triple 7....and then trade off the cost by having the pope do a commercial pushing the "heavenly" experience of flying Lufthansa.

MS

[Philip Argy]

The Pope pleaded with his chauffeur over many months to let him have a turn at the wheel of the papal Mercedes but the chauffeur always politely refused telling His Holiness that he was not allowed to do that as he didn't even have a licence.

Finally one day the chauffeur, sick of refusing, relented and told the Pope he could have just a little turn at the wheel. The Pope swapped into the driver's seat and set off down the road with increasing speed until the chauffeur reminded him of the speed limit and warned him to slow down. Undeterred the Pope put his foot to the floor and was doing over 120 km/h in an 80 zone when a passing Highway Patrol gave chase with siren blaring. Knowing he was going to get in big trouble the chauffeur persuaded the Pope to pull over and let him do the talking.

The big burly Highway Patrol officer approached the driver's window and peered in, astonished to see the Pope in full garb sitting meekly behind the wheel. Without saying a word he rushed back to his patrol car and radioed in:

"I've got a problem, base; I've pulled over a VIP whose car was speeding but I can't book him".

"Don't be ridiculous", came the reply, "no-one is above the law, VIP or not - you go right ahead and issue a ticket".

"No", said the officer, "you don't understand, this is no ordinary VIP".

The sergeant in charge came on the radio and demanded to know why the officer was being inappropriately lenient. "Who the hell have you pulled over - the Mayor, the Police Chief, the Prime Minister - they just can't do that kind of speed and not get a ticket so you just go ahead and issue a ticket to the driver".

"This person is much more important than any of those people", pleaded the officer. "I've pulled over GOD!".

"That's absurd", replied the Sergeant, "what makes you think you've pulled over God - have you been drinking on the job?".

"No Sarge - it has to be God because this guy has the Pope as his chauffeur!"

[Rhys Xanthis]

hehe, read that before Phillip, but its so good

[Troy R.]

Richmond is an interesting choice. I'm thinking it's for security reasons.
And on the security front NSW Police are absolutely spitting chips about the Vatican releasing details of his itinerary. They are being gripped by an acute case of "Chaser-itis"!

[Mario Facchini]

Originally Posted by Troy R.

Richmond is an interesting choice. I'm thinking it's for security reasons.
And on the security front NSW Police are absolutely spitting chips about the Vatican releasing details of his itinerary. They are being gripped by an acute case of "Chaser-itis"!

Speaking of which, here is the itinerary From the Catholic News Agency (yes they have one !!!):

Full papal itinerary for World Youth Day released

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/av...ew.php?n=12795

Vatican City, May 30 (CNA) - The Holy See’s Press Office has released the full itinerary for Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to World Youth Day, which will take place July 15-20.

He will arrive at the Richmond Royal Australian Air Force Base at 9:15 a.m. local time on Sunday, July 13, after which he will spend three days resting in private.

On 17 July Pope Benedict will begin his World Youth Day activities by celebrating a Mass in private. He will then meet with several officials of the Australian government, including Governor-General of Australia, Major General Michael Jeffery; Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; New South Wales Governor Marie Bashir; and New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma.

Following a brief display of traditional Aboriginal dances and songs, he will then board the ship "Sydney 2000" for his official welcome to Sydney at 2:45 in the afternoon.

On July 18, the Holy Father will again begin the day with a private Mass after which, at 10:30 a.m., he is due to participate in an ecumenical meeting in the crypt of St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney before going on to meet with representatives of other religions in the cathedral chapter.

Also on Friday, the Pope will have lunch with a group of young people and then following lunch he will proceed to the square in front of St. Mary’s Cathedral where he will begin the Way of the Cross with a prayer.

At 6:45 p.m. he will also meet a group of disadvantaged young people at the Sacred Heart church of Notre Dame University.

At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday July19, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in St. Mary's Cathedral with Australian bishops, seminarians and novices, and consecrate the building's new altar. Having had lunch with the bishops, that evening he will travel to the Randwick Racecourse to preside at a prayer vigil with young people.

Sunday will see the Holy Father arriving at the Randwick Racecourse in a helicopter to preside over Mass for 23rd World Youth Day and to recite the Angelus at noon. At 6 p.m. on the same day, he will deliver an address to the benefactors and organizers of World Youth Day in the chapter house of St. Mary's Cathedral.

The final day of the Pope’s itinerary will begin with a private Mass, followed by a trip to The Domain in Sydney where he will meet with the 23rd World Youth Day volunteers and bid farewell to the youth. He will then go directly to Sydney's international airport, where he will be greeted by the authorities before departing by plane for Darwin. After a brief stopover, his flight will proceed to Rome where the Holy Father is due to arrive at around 11 p.m.

“His Holiness has a very full schedule on his first visit to Australia,” said Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, Coordinator of World Youth Day. “He has requested specific meetings in order to connect with the full range of Australian youth and the youth of the world.

“As a Head of State, he will also be conducting several official meetings with civic leaders,” he said.

[Gerard M]

Im not sure if this is the reason and i may be completly off on this theory but when i was coming into Sydney i drove past Richmond on Friday and noticed that they are placing those concrete barriers they use at road works and stuff in the inside of the perimeter fence. From what i remember about apec which isn't much cos i upped and left Sydney at the time, but weren't those big apec fences all around Sydney placed on the concrete blocks?
Is it possible that they will be putting the apec fence as a bit of extra security around Richmond?
Like i said, i may be completly wrong but its just a thought.

Gerard

[Mario Facchini]

They could be doing that to bolster security around the prerimiter in case someone decided to drive through the fence. like a road block.

[Grahame Hutchison]

Maybe they are preparing for "The Chaser".

[Mike Scott]

What about a streaker !!!!! (what a great venue for that activity) would be about as popular as a pork chop in a synagogue.

MS