On 15 January the underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted which led to significant ash falls across Tonga and triggered tsunami waves. The eruption generated an ash plume 19.2 km high. While electricity and mobile phone networks have been re-established on the main island of Tongatapu, communications with the outer islands are intermittent.

I can’t quite remember when I first met him, but it must have been in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Our paths crossed numerous times over the next 20 years mostly because I was a member of Provincial Synod (General Synod), The Provincial Standing Committee (PSC) and a Trustee of the Anglican Church during his tenure as Archbishop. I remember many of those encounters because he was someone who made an impression on you.