The
storm did indeed arrive with heavy rain and thunder all about. I suspect this
is a common occurrence here at this time of the year. It was still raining on
and off this morning which led us to plan our day based on unreliable weather.
We woke
at an even more unseemly hour than yesterday, hearing the first stirrings of
our neighbours and their two little yappy Maltese terriers. They had been
introduced to us by their owner yesterday afternoon; in retrospect, clearly to
endear us to them in readiness for the early disturbance. They were cute, very
cute, however if we wanted to be disturbed by dogs, we would have some of our
own. Our neighbours were planning to head off promptly this morning, by 8 am if
possible, and they were right on schedule. Given the severe disability of Mrs
Neighbour, they did well to have their camp packed up and be away and off home
to Canberra on time. They had spent three unscheduled months here in Sydney,
having abandoned their nomadic winter in the north when summoned with great
urgency to the bedside of one of their adult children. Ongoing care is to
engage their attention and efforts for some years now, well into their dotage;
they are already well into their seventies. Our hearts went with them this
morning; alas that was as much as we could offer.
It was
half way through the process of their leaving where we were involved in so far
as moving our vehicle out of harm’s way, that the power suddenly went off.
Chris spent some time fiddling around with alternate electric leads, twiddling
with switches and finally inquiring after the telephone number of an
electrician. I switched the fridge to gas and finished boiling the water on the
gas stove. We wondered how much it would cost to have a Sydney electrician come
out on a Saturday and decided that we would go without mains power until
Monday. And then, we worked out that the mains switch in the caravan had
thrown; up is On and down is Off, contrary to the normal state of affairs. I
reverted to the electric kettle to find that it was that which had thrown the
switch. The element had gone. Praise be!!! as they say.
In the
meantime, when I had poured the boiling water from the new gas kettle into the
thermos, the spout opening had broken. This was the second time we had used it!
This was one of those mornings when disaster seesaws with joy.
So after
breakfast we set off up to Kmart at the Sylvania shopping centre and sought a refund
on the gas kettle and purchased a replacement electric one. (The old gas kettle
which had been relegated to the cruiser for camping and picnics was retrieved
and will go back into service when we are free camping. There is actually
nothing wrong with it, we simply coveted the bright shiny new one!)
From
there we headed east to Cronulla to the cinema where we bought tickets to “The Sessions”. We were very early so
popped into McDonalds for coffee and muffins. What appalling service ! What a
rubbish strewn restaurant!!! Ten minus points for the franchise! Lazy
inefficient staff all round. The coffee however was excellent; we do enjoy
their filter coffee.
We
wandered up and down the mall busy with Saturday traffic. The weather had
greatly improved, probably because we were carrying umbrellas. Hundreds of
young people poured off the train each time it arrived, carrying surf boards
and other beach paraphernalia dressed in shorts and sundresses celebrating the
sizzling start to summer. The cafes were all full and Cronulla was buzzing.
We thoroughly
enjoyed the movie, and I found it very moving, funny, poignant and many other
things; it is based on a true story. Highly recommended, for sure!
Later we
drove around and around, finally finding a car park near Guinnamatta Park where
we sat eating our lunch in the sun watching the people on the beach in the hot
blazing burning sun and exposed our own legs to sunburn. Eventually wisdom
drove us into the shade, but it would take longer to convince those on the
beach and in the water below us.
I
suggested to Chris we could go find the Sutherland Art Gallery or come back to
camp and watch the cricket. Is the Pope a Catholic? The answer was obvious of
course, however it gave me opportunity to pull this aging laptop out of its bag
and update this.
It was
40 degrees in the caravan when we arrived home. After a cold shower, and
sitting here in the gentle breeze, I am now much more comfortable. Chris tells
me I should be working on acclimatising to the tropical heat in readiness for
our trip to the far north in the new year, however we have to subject ourselves
to the New Zealand weather before then.
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