writing

Coolangatta

/ susiecameron / Leave a comment

For those of you that live overseas you probably don’t ever think about Australia being anything other than warm and sunny, but let me assure you we DEFINITELY get a winter here! Not the kind of really low temperatures that the Northern hemisphere gets but it’s all proportionate to what you’re used to right? Also, our houses are not made for the cold weather – they are more about keeping us cool in the long summers – so unless you have reverse cycle air conditioning or preferably a wood burning stove, you are going to feel the chill. I remember when our kids were little and we had a rather cavernous lounge with one tiny gas heater that we would all huddle around, how cold I always felt. We did have a wood fire but it took ages to get going and wood was expensive so it was always more of a treat when we used that. So mostly we tend to heat just one main room and then pop our electric blankets on about half an hour before bedtime so that we can slip into a warm cocoon and fall promptly asleep! The further south people live the harsher the winter and the desire to escape it becomes stronger! Increasingly people in Australia are travelling to escape the cold and whether that is to the northern hemisphere with its promise of European summers languishing on the terraces of Italy amongst potted lemon trees, Aperol spritz in hand, sailing the azure waters of Croatia or heading to Queensland, the perpetually sunny state, to feel the sun on your skin and enjoy an ice cream on the beach, people are attempting to break up the cold weather with a Winter Escape. Nobody feels this more than Tasmanians who endure a decidedly much colder winter than the rest of us (they are the last stop before Antarctica after all) so rather than visiting our Tassie Crew in Hobart we all decided to have a week on the Gold Coast instead!

Its an 11 hour drive from our place to the Gold Coast so we are very lucky that our good friends Wayne and Kathy live in Forster exactly half way up and they very kindly offered to mind Bailey for us while we were up north. They are dog people and miss their lovely old dog Gus, so they were happy to have her and as they live on the beach and walk every day Bailey was also in for a treat – her own little beachside holiday! She was very cosy tucked into her bed on the back seat on the drive up and for once when I waved her off I didn’t feel guilty leaving her behind! We arrived in Coolangatta in time for a beautiful sunset, a glass of wine at the surf club just opposite our apartment and got everything set up for the family just in time for their late evening arrival. There was much excitement when they arrived, exploring all the rooms and checking out our holiday food in the pantry! By the time we woke in the morning watching the little dots of surfers bobbing in the water on the beach opposite we were already feeling relaxed.

Papa is always very sought after when we get together, they just love being with him with his off beat sense of humour (and his many little packets of jelly snakes and smarties!) and it warms my heart when I see them snuggled up with him in bed or on the lounge or hand in hand as they walk along chatting gaily, seemingly without a care in the world. I love seeing the world through the kid’s eyes, their excitement for the simple things and with no idea what sort of world exists outside of their beautiful little bubble. It’s very soothing and we absolutely love being part of their childhood holiday memories.

Loz and Berry have some friends that lived about 15 minutes away rfom our apartment and their little girl was 3 so they quickly became a little girl gang and as her Dad was an avid surfer he lent Loz a surfboard to enjoy for a morning. It was great to see her introducing the girls to the surf and seeing them all hand in hand jumping over the waves. Myla was determined to ride a wave into shore and she gave it a good go! Loz managed to show them how it was done standing up on the waves long enough for the girls to be impressed!!

It wasn’t all about the beach though, we enjoyed some long walks, an afternoon of barefoot bowling and a visit from our Nephew and family who live further up the coast. It was great to see them and for them to reconnect with Loz and the girls and for us to see our great Nephew growing up into such a nice young man. The girls were mesmerised by a bag of Polly Pockets that I had saved of Laurens from when she was a little girl and happily played for ages with them, buying us some nice adult time – win win!!

Part of the fun of holidays is eating out and obviously the surf clubs are the easiest option around here but we did get a bit over their rather humdrum menus and found family friendly restaurants a bit slim on the ground too. The girls however just thought dinner time was the best thing – getting dressed up and walking to dinner, having different food from normal and if they were lucky an icecream to enjoy on the walk home. Once they were in bed, drinks and card games were the order of the day for the adults and of course our favourite – the quiz from The Australian newspaper which we always do when we get together! The boys had their sport to watch, the girls had their books to read and it was a lovely restful week. Nothing beats reconnecting in a neutral place where no one feels they have to be on duty, worrying about menus or laundry or entertaining people – a break is ALWAYS a good idea!

So our last day came around rather too quickly for our liking, we were just getting into the groove when it was time to pack up and go. They had time before their plane to visit the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary which finished off their little holiday perfectly and they took off back to Hobart, reality and WINTER! A few more memories in the bank though and we loved it. Apparently the strongest memories of childhood come from the odd week of holidays taken between the ages of 5 and 12 so I’m hoping we will live on in their memories long after we are gone….

Cam and I were lucky though as we got to prolong our holiday feeling by driving back to Forster for a few nights. Baz swims in the ocean every morning with a group of people and it was so lovely to walk Bailey along the beach watching the pods of dolphins swimming oh so close to them and then enjoying a coffee and bacon and egg roll on the beach once they finished. The beach life is certainly appealing. Daily walks, lovely dinners , a couple of catch ups with local friends at the One Mile Surf Club and reading our books in the afternoon sun made for a relaxing few days before we could no longer delay our return to The Meadow. To be honest I wasn’t sure about returning to reality after such a wonderful 6 weeks of various holidays – what a lucky girl am!


UK with the gals

/ susiecameron / Leave a comment

We all know it’s a long flight to London, even longer when you have a 2 hour train journey prior to even arriving at the airport, so it’s very annoying when you start taxiing (finally leaving five hours since you left home) and everything comes to a grinding halt. Apparently one of the brakes failed and we had to return to the gate but as we had already cleared customs we had to stay in the plane. They jacked up the plane and busied about, only to discover something else was wrong that they had to replace. They gave out water and cheese and biscuits (but unfortunately couldn’t serve any alcohol) and I felt for all the poor parents of little babies who had all their best laid plans of feeding times etc thrown out of the window! 3.5 hours later we took off – a great start to what was already a long journey! Once I got to London I had to whizz across town to Paddington to catch a train to Wales (another 2.5 hours) until I finally collapsed into the arms of my Mum and Sister waiting for me on the platform. Of course it was all worth it once I was with them but I always forget what a mammoth journey it is for me door to door until I actually do it again!

I had a few days to adjust before we headed off on our little side holiday to Jersey. I caught up with my lovely Niece, had some great food, walked every day with my sister and watched on rather horrified at an unexpected escalation of things in the Middle East. You feel a lot closer to everything in the northern hemisphere – our usual life “at the other end of the earth” seemingly elusive and very far away. Needless to say we adopted a very British attitude to the whole thing and decided the only way was to carry on as usual and enjoy our holiday together!

A quick 45 minute flight (on a rather scary small prop plane) took us from Bristol to Jersey in the Channel Islands – a small 9 x5 mile island located between Cornwall and France and sharing traits of both. Within an hour of landing we were settled into our beautiful Somerville Hotel and had made it onto the terrace for a late lunch of prawn sandwiches and French rosé in the sunshine – all overlooking the turquoise water of St Aubin harbour. Any thoughts of war and danger immediately disappeared as we soaked up the atmosphere and congratulated ourselves on making such a good decision to visit Jersey!

The hotel had an air of faded grandeur, from a gentler age and was positioned to capture the view mid way up a steep hill. Mum was a real trouper, stoically attacking the hill several times a day despite being nearly 89 and we thanked the powers that be every day for the little sandstone wall that we could perch on half way up until we got our breath back! The staff were so lovely – mostly from South Africa – and so smiley and friendly. Nothing was too hard and they somehow magically appeared just when you fancied a drink or needed some advice! Some guests just bunkered down with a book by the pool but we wanted to explore the island. This was made very easy by an amazing bus service. There were just 4 routes and they seemed to stop every 10 minutes or so to whisk you off to all the local sites. ‘Le petit train’ pootled along the pavement from St Aubin to the capital, St Hellier, with an accompanying audio telling us the history and folklore as we passed by. A plethora of restaurants, cafes and wine bars made eating out a dream and our days passed in a whirlwind of loveliness!

What had attracted me to Jersey was the fact one of Laurens very best friends from Hong Kong days came from Jersey and she had always talked so passionately about her upbringing there and she planted a seed with me to go there one day as it was so close to the UK. The Somerville Hotel was her suggestion and her delightful parents came and picked us up and drove us on a guided tour around the entire island. They were 4th generation Islanders and their stories were so interesting. Jersey was occupied during WW2 – the only part of Britain that was – so this is a big part of Jersey’s history and a fascinating visit to the war tunnels proved a great day out.

Nicky and Gerry showed us lots of the various structures used in the war and after our circumnavigation of the island we had a delicious seafood lunch under the watchful eye of Gorey Castle before returning to their beautiful home in La Rocque for a tour and some bubbles! They were very generous with their time and we very much appreciated their local input. I’m hoping they come out to Australia sometime so I can return the favour!

After visits to St Brelades Bay, La Corbiere with its lighthouse, shopping in St Hellier (Mum found her special emerald ring that she had been searching for) and walking Mum up hill and down dale our time in Jersey came to an end. Jersey definitely punches above it’s weight with beautiful sandy beaches, great food and warm weather all contributing to our wonderful time there. Happy chappies all round!

The second part of our time together was special in a different way. My Grandmother was killed in a car accident in 1940 when my Mum was just 4 and as you can imagine it caused a lot of sadness, chaos and upheaval for her (especially as it was in the war with all its additional unknowns) and she never remembers anyone really explaining it all to her. She was sent off to her Grandparents in Cornwall for a year or two and when she came back her Dad had met and married again so the subject was never really raised again. Over the years it niggled at Mum’s mind – wondering who she was and what had really happened that fateful night. Fast forward 84 years, my sister met a friend of a friend who was one of the investigators on the program ‘Who do you think you are’ – a program where genealogists investigate stories just like Mums. She agreed to privately look into Mum’s story and as a result at Christmas Sandy was able to present Mum with a beautifully curated history of her family tree and the story behind the accident all accompanied by the original various certificates authenticating the story. After 84 years she finally knew what had happened. As a result we decided to go on a trip down memory lane when I visited this year. A trip to London, where we followed the story from my Grandma’s Christening, to where Mum grew up and joined her Church Youth Group (who she is still in touch with today) to the pub where Dad had a drink of courage before marrying Mum and the church where they tied the knot and finally to the cemetery where Grandma’s ashes had been scattered all those years ago. SUCH an emotional day and a real sense of closure finally as we laid flowers accompanied by notes to our Mum/Grandma in the Garden of Remembrance. Needless to say there were tears and hugs all round, our Grandma is no longer forgotten and Mum finally has some answers and some peace in the wake of her loss. Best present ever Sandy xx

So our girls trip came to an end and so much fun had been had. From experiencing new horizons in Jersey to walking the local beach to playing games after dinner EVERYWHERE to catching up with family and FINDING family, we had the best couple of weeks together and I am so very grateful that I get to see them despite living so very far away…

Next year sees Mum celebrating her 90th in Australia! Cannot wait for the next adventure girls xxxx

Changes….

/ susiecameron / 3 Comments

The day has finally come for the MOTH to get his knee replacement and we are READY! I’m writing this as he is in surgery, nervously awaiting the call to say all went well. There has been a very thorough pre op protocol – I think just about every facet of his body has been checked out – so I am not expecting any nasty surprises…

As we knew things were going to be rather stationary for a while post op we squeezed in a lovely trip to Tassie in February which happily coincided with my birthday. Nowadays, unless its a special decade birthday, the day seems to come and go pretty much as usual so it was nice to celebrate it. The little girls LOVE birthdays and all the joy, cake and gifts that come along with it so I felt very lauded and loved on the big day! Loz had rented a gorgeous little house in a village called Orford, about an hours drive from the CBD with a resident population of 700. It is situated where the River Prosser meets the ocean and is very pretty. The house was dreamy and, having featured twice in Country Style Magazine, was decorated beautifully with coastal country charm.

The weather was fantastic and perfect for a languid day at the beach. The girls LOVED the rockpools and have a never-ending delight in looking for little crabs and fishes lurking in the shadows. Papa was in high demand for reading duties and we enjoyed a show “performed” on a stage that the girls found in the garden! A trip to nearby Mayfield Estate was enjoyed with a bottle of bubby followed by pizzas and pinot overlooking Great Oyster Bay on the East Coast which went down a treat. I love Tassie, you never have to go very far before you stumble onto a winery, cidery, distillery or beautiful little cafe restaurant somewhere picturesque!

Back to their house in Margate and we had a lovely week together. It is a joy to walk the girls to school while they skip and pick flowers and sing along the way and then we have the day to ourselves until it’s time to collect them. We met up with our friends Paul and Sharon and had a lovely lunch down at Muirs on Victoria Dock overlooking the boats and caught up on their new life in TAS – next time we see them we may be going out on their new boat! We celebrated my birthday with a chocolate cake in the theme of a paint palette – SO creative and delicious to boot. We had a meal together in Lozzy’s garden overlooking the D’Entrecasteaux Channel with the breeze running through the trees and the sun shining – so lovely! The girls are at a great age, happily playing together for hours and Myla enjoying playing marbles with Papa every night before bed! They are great sleepers and most mornings we have to wake Myla up as she sleeps through EVERYTHING! Even opening the curtains and taking the blankets off her doesn’t wake her! On our last afternoon we attempted to go fishing down at their local park 2 minutes down the road. It is such a pretty spot, with shelters and bbqs as well as a huge playground and all surrounded by water! No luck with the fish but it was fun trying! As they were starting a big kitchen renovation the day after we left, there was a lot of unpacking of cupboards and setting the laundry up as a temporary kitchen to be done but also much excitement in the air at the prospect of a shiny brand new kitchen and appliances! I can’t wait to see it!

We got home to March and Autumn …the trees are already starting to shed their leaves and the roses and salvias are having their last hurrah before the turn of season. As the MOTH will be out of play for 6 weeks we spent a lot of time tidying the garden and getting firewood ready etc ahead of him recuperating at home on crutches. One very exciting advance is that we have hired a lovely local young couple to give us some help in the garden. Our friends in the ‘Wednesday Whackers’ use them and they came highly recommended and we can see why. They work really hard and made some huge changes in just a few hours. We are going to have them weekly until the garden is tamed and then on a fortnightly/monthly plan in winter. It has really renewed my love of the property knowing I have some extra hands to whip it into shape. They also understand plants and what they need and when – something I have neglected terribly, I have hardly ever fertilised anything other than my pots! All in all I am feeling much more positive about things and will be pleased to see it looking back to its best in a few weeks time! To top it all off we have a beautiful new front fence – the previous one was put up in 1974 and was falling apart so it was definitely time!

We flew back from Hobart and we were straight into babysitting and partying with the other side of the family as we celebrated Cooper turning 6 and Ollie turning 4. It was such a good idea to have a combined party as they share lots of friends and to hire a venue, entertainer and make the sort of magnificent cake that Liv does every year is much more viable if it is halved! For those in the know it was a Sonic the Hedgehog party with Coops being Sonic and Ollie being Shadow – his offsider! The entertainer was worth every dollar as he led the kids in games and kept them fully amused for close to two hours while the adults sweated in the 38 degree heat up on the veranda! His nylon suit was drenched within minutes and apart from taking the kids into the shade of the trees he kept his whole gig true to form despite the heat!

So much fun with Sonic the Hedgehog!

They spent the next few days working their way through their gifts – plenty of Lego and magnetic tiles to keep them engaged and lots for them to play together with as well – very lucky boys!

Another sort of change that has become a pet peeve of mine is everything going online. I am a fan of the wonders of the internet and can totally see how convenient it is etc but some things are just better in the flesh. I am an avid reader and am in two book clubs but I am finding it increasingly difficult AND expensive to buy an actual book. A book costs upwards of $40 nowadays and all the popular ones also have a waiting list at the library but guess where I can get it IMMEDIATELY and CHEAPLY? As an audio book or on kindle – neither of which I want! In other sad news this week my very favourite magazine Delicious (which I have bought every month since its inception in 2002) is finishing its print version to go totally online. I’m quite devastated as nothing makes me happier than seeing it arrive in my mailbox every month and then taking a few days to read it with a cuppa on my veranda, turning over the corners of things I want to try and sometimes being swayed by the look of something I would never normally attempt. A magazine does that plus I can take it on a plane or a train and I can tear out the pages and put it in my folder of things to try. Now I’m going to have to look at yet another screen to get inspiration and I can’t take it with me on holidays and unless you have a printer you can’t put it in your special folder! Not a good change as far as I’m concerned. Rant over.

I’m going to miss you!

In good news, the MOTH has come through his knee replacement op with flying colours. I cannot believe the difference that 24 hours makes and the synergy between science, surgeons and the amazing ability of the human body to accept such interference all make this a viable option for people nowadays. Apparently his knee was completely worn out and the surgeon was surprised that he’s been able to continue for as long as he has, doing what he does on it, considering what he was dealing with. All in all we are happy with the progress so far but once he gets home in a few more days the rehab begins and that’s always hard work. Worth it though to get full mobility back and something the MOTH excels at so I have faith it will be a total success as long as we can keep infections away. We’ll have to wrap him up in cotton wool a bit for a while just in case and as he gets bored very easily he’s probably going to be a painful patient but as long as I keep him plied with good food (plus the serendipitous timing that it’s footy season for his television viewing) he should be fine! He has however suggested having a bell to summon me if he needs me (only to be used for something important supposedly) so pray for me folks!

My bionic man!