Elf went back to work on Wednesday, so that was when I assumed control of the holiday agenda. It was supposed to turn hot, so the boys and I set off for Kingston Beach, as we had not visited since we returned to live in South Hobart. We had a nice enough time, but it was blustery and verging on cold (photo above). On the way we stopped and passed the time of day with our erstwhile neighbour Judy in Kunama Drive. Our rented house has been sold but looks exactly the same.
On Thursday we caught up with Phillip and Andrea again at Seven Mile Beach, where they had a house for a couple of days. This time the heat was on pretty much from breakfast onwards, and by the time we got onto the sand it was pretty torrid. I hadn't been there for years - I used to go alone quite often in the days when I had my floral Honda Civic. It was seaweedy and a bit slimy and quicksandy.
Phillip's sister Anne and her husband Paul and daughter Thea joined us. I remember when Thea was born, and vaguely picture her always as a two year old in a cardigan. She is in fact fifteen and to all intents and purposes a grown up. The temperature got up to about 37° and I was glad I'd changed into a polo shirt just before going out the door. The boys and I had our top buttons buttoned and collars turned up, and I was smearing as much sunscreen on them as they would let me. It is unheard of for us to be out in the sun at noon on such a day, but everyone else took it in their stride pretty much.
Eventually we trekked back over the scorching sand to the house, Auntie Elspeth Vaughan appeared, and we all sat down to one of the all-time great lunches. Hot-smoked salmon and smoked trevalla. Phillip said the trevalla was really snottie. Hmm, I wonder why they market it as trevalla? Marcus and Michael had a great time running around with Isobel and Ronan. Elspeth is a well-known watercolourist, quite elderly now but lively. Her sister Gwenyth is Phillip's mum. I was puzzled as to how Elspeth could be a Vaughan too, when Vaughan is Gwenyth's married name. Phillip's mum and dad are cousins, that's how. Shhh.
On Friday we went to the country, and the beach (again). We hadn't seen our friends Monica and Jonathan for ages, so I drove the boys out to South Arm to see them and their girls Lena and Elise. I packed the beach stuff although I was hoping we might not have to use it but... beaching was in fact the plan. Just across the highway from their property a lane runs down to a nice little beach, reasonably sheltered. It's about as far as you can go south before the Derwent River opens out to become Storm Bay. There is one tree that shades the beach, and the only other people on it were suntanners, so we snaffled it. Again the boys just giggled and wriggled about happily with today's playmates. I don't know how well they remember all these kids that we see sporadically, but they seem to slip back into easy mateship with no trouble. Monica and Jonathan are well, they would love a good soaking rain though.
No comments:
Post a Comment