Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 23 April 2017

AQ - Thanks for the notes on the early settlers, always interesting. There's usually some excitement here if someone finds an ancestor who was deported!

I hope you and your OH are recovering from the bug now. No doubt your daugh will be pleased when you're both back in circulation!

Here's today's pic:

"Have I shrunk or have my dinners got bigger?!"

Today’s pic - Eyes bigger than tummy.

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Linda – Despite coughing wheezily, I am helping Dau tomorrow, giving her some “alone” time in the shops. As there are school holiday activities at library in morning, dare I hope Twinnies will nap all afternoon? I haven't seen them for 5 weeks, will I recognise them?

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This arvo I found enough energy to bury a few ranunculi and daffodil bulbs. Already across the back garden the spring bulbs are peeking their green heads above ground awaiting winter rain. Just a sprinkle of a shower today.

Reading back, I see I forgot to wish you a Happy Anzac Day, AQ!   Hope you don't get too wheezy helping with the twins. Perhaps as you say, they will nap for a while....

I just had a long phone conversation with sis-in-law, then sat down to write on our Eldest's birthday card:  after beginning to put "Love" etc,  Bonnie asked to go out into the garden, and I got up..... when I sat down again, I wrote our Christian names on the card, instead of "Mum & Dad".  Doh!!  Now I'll have to give it to someone else and go out and buy him another card!

LINDY   That sounds like the sort of thing I do.

Here's some of our holiday adventures, as promised:  We went out for the day and drove south - we stay near the top of the island, so most things are!

----   wait a minute, I never got around to The Story of the Lost Hat, did I??

I'll do that one instead......  Here goes......

Once upon a time, there were a husband and wife, who went on holiday to a remote island in order to lose themselves in the natural beauty and get some needed relaxation.  One day it was fine and dry, and they took the car to a famous large beach, where there are always surfers amongst the enormous breakers, and there is plenty of room to walk and gaze at the wondrous cliffs and endless blue sky.

They parked their small car at the top of the cliffs:  there was no way down to the beach except for several winding steep paths covered with loose grit, so they gingerly made their way down together, holding hands, as the wife was determined that if she fell, she would just take her husband with her...

At the bottom the reward was great:  a huge, empty beach nice and clean as the tide had just gone out.  The surf was truly amazing, must have been 15 to 20 ft high in places - the wife got out her camera and starting filming it.

In order to use the camera, she had to put her sunhat underneath her elbow, as she'd taken it off already because it just got blown off by the brisk wind. Although it was just a small pork pie cotton hat, it was too big to go in her small shoulder bag, and she also had the camera case over her shoulder. They walked on, enjoying the huge expanse of sand and the roar of the surf.  They only met a couple of people in the long half an hour it took to walk all the way to the far end of the beach, which is something like three quarters of a mile long.  Then they took more pictures and started the long walk back.

They saw such things as made their hearts smile:  a dog enjoying himself in the emptiness, and a small child excitedly running away from his Dad, shrieking. Here is some more of the surf:

The surfers had already arrived and were warming up on the sand nearest to the best part for their efforts. 

The couple walked on, and eventually reached the part where they had climbed down, and their car was just visible at the top of the cliffs. The nearest town was also nearby:

They clambered, scraped and scrambled up the cliff again:  it was hard work, windy, and steep, and the wife was once again afraid she'd fall. Her knees had had enough when they eventually reached the top and they gratefully opened up the car to get out a drink of water. All at once, the wife cried "Oh!, my hat! -- where is my hat??"  ---     she had lost it on the way.

"When did you last see it?"  asked her faithful partner.  "Um....... I don't know"  she said, weakly.  In one bound the husband set off.  He was scrambling down the cliff, looking determindly for the hat.  She hoped she had dropped it on the steep path. When he reached the bottom, he looked up and signalled that he had not found it yet.  She tried in vain to semaphore that it didn't matter; it had only cost a few Euros on a previous holiday and another could be bought somewhere.

But he was off, along the sand, and after only a few minutes disappeared around a headland of rocks. The wife thought in despair that she could not ring him on his mobile phone, as he did not have it with him.  So she got out the cold drink and took a good swig.  She could see other people as small dots, on the beach, but her husband had gone.  

(Another view taken before they climbed back up....)

She watched them for a while, feeling that she should keep vigil, but after about ten minutes, there was no sign of her spouse.  She got into the car, out of the wind, and put on the radio.....

Time passed.   Fifteen minutes.  Half an hour.  Then she began to worry.  However, his figure appeared eventually, after about 40 minutes, and as he got nearer, she could see that he was carrying something.  He approached the cliffs, then began to toil up.  He arrived, red in the face, tired, hot and thirsty - and clutching the hat!

She hardly dare say it, but had to:  "How far did you walk to find it??"  ---   "All the blasted way" he replied gruffly - "It was at the very far end of the beach, as far as we had walked".   She proffered the water bottle. "You must be tired and thirsty" she said. 

They spoke little on the journey back for lunch........   The divorce is pending.....

OG says"Thanks for the messages; and good to hear everyone's news. Surprise update from me: I have graduated to a zimmer frame today (Tuesday) rather than Friday! Not covering much distance yet. Just using it for transfers. This is surprise progress." All for now.

LINDY   What a devoted husband. I do hope they do not divorce!!!!!

dibnlib said:

LINDY   What a devoted husband. I do hope they do not divorce!!!!!

He's considering it, Dibnlib.  If she does anything like that again....