'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

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Thursday, 17 December 2009

Those camping summers


...that went on for ever, when we were young.  


We used to stay at Waipatiki and swim all day in the lagoon and then, just before tea, we'd have a quick dip and wash the salt off in the river near our tent.  The river was cold after the trudge in the sun back up the dusty road, so we'd have a game -  we'd hold onto each other and shout "One, two THREEEEE!" and duck quickly under so our hair would be rinsed too.  I'm the elder sister.

6 comments:

  1. The sight of those ruched bathers takes me right back. Thank goodness for the invention of streamlined, stretchy ones instead! lol :)

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  2. Ah, yes Jinksy. Except that I quite liked them, as they hid my incredible thinness - I was a bit self-conscious about it. But I can still feel the odd way they sagged in the front when they got wet :-)

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  3. Anonymous20.12.09

    I was going to say exactly the same as Jinksy... those swimming costumes from the late 50s - wonderful! Mine was a strange shade of green... though I expect I'd inherited it from one of my older sisters.

    Thank you for taking me back to the rockpools of North Wales. Happy days!

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  4. Er, actually, I think that was closer to '63 or '64. Perhaps I was very old-fashioned! Actually, I was.
    And anyway, welcome to TLVD Anon from Wales.

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  5. What a superb picture of childhood. Was the photographer your dad? The innocence. The sisterly bond. The joy. That's a picture to treasure forever.

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  6. Thank you YP. Yes, my Dad was a superb photographer. Won competitions and things. He had a good and innovative eye even in his early teens. He's recently shared with me some early photos he took of his family having a picnic under a tree. He climbed the tree to take the shots. Clever boy! I was very impressed.

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