Redcliffe In a Bottle or How to rid yourself of Winter Blues
Without Prejudice
Oh My God ! Redcliife is stunning in winter. I just took myself down to the waters edge at Redcliffe, it's the middle of winter but you would never know it. I have been here since Anzac Day April 26 th, almost three months and haven't been homesick for cold grey Melbourne once, not once. The time has gone so fast it's hard to believe I have been here that long.
As I was at the foreshore, kites were flying and men were hang gliding, a pelican strutted along the beach along with the sea gulls. The sun shines almost every day and I can't believe my luck in being here. There's a Matilda Service station that sells New Zealand lollies for the home sick New Zealander and a shop in town that does a brisk trade in English lollies and groceries.
It's not strange that the English and New Zealanders migrate here from colder climes. One boy I met came from Christchurch and his parents emigrated to here after the devastating earthquake. People are more open and friendly and greet you with a smile. I love that. Life is lived at a slower pace and I love that too.
I am wearing shorts, bare feet and a tee top. The sun warms my bones and seeps deep into my soul and I let the sun and the tranquility do it's work. I feel relaxed, loose, carefree,. I gaze out over Moreton and see the white caps ruffling over the blue green water and I am as one with sun, sea and sky. The sand feels a little cold under my toes, but it is mid winter here and apart from the cooler sand you would never know it.
Dads swing their children up high on swings in the playground and the children laugh with delight. No hooded miseries for these kids, they are strong and healthy and happy, revelling in the great day and watching and calling to the Pelicans. They too are barefooted and in shorts and tees, the de riguer outfit for the Queenslander. I have been many places in my life but none is more beautiful and tranquil as this.
The big city seems a long way away. Brisbane lies to my left with it's high buildings and caverns of commerce. No need to be in that shoving, hustling mass of people. Here there is just sun and sky and birds wheeling endlessly in the clear skies. The sun on their backs and the breeze ruffling their feathers and they dive, some of them to catch a fish and emerge triumphant from the depths. All is well in Redcliffe, my home for now.
There is a dense population of elderly people who love the sun and warmth on old bones. They walk and some run, bicycle and loll. I have never seen so many motorised scooters, one I saw just yesterday, a tandem one, with a flag atop it and a sun canopy. The flag whipping in the breeze and the two delighted occupants listening to the radio as they zoomed past. I want one, especially with the flag when I am that old and infirm, or even just tired of walking.
One of my brothers clients at his paint repair franchise is 90 and gets his car buffed regularly as he doesn't want his son to think he can't drive properly. His son is 70 !. Doesn't that say something about the human spirit, the older man not wanting to give up his licence, just yet. I did pass one old dear the other day who was doing 40km, but I thought,
"Good on you lovie"
She clung to the steering wheel, head forward like a turtle emerging from a shell, eyes fixed determinedly ahead. She was going somewhere with a determination that allowed her to look not right or left, only forward and my heart ached for her. Such fixed determination in her task, she was probably off to Woolies to get a bargain. That steely resolve in her hunched over the wheel demeanour looked like a woman on a mission.
I have seen the elderly in their own environs and they are never unhappy. They have lived well, most of them having survived the great Depression and at least one World War. They are smart, they are agile, most of them and they are nobodies idiots. They know their children consider them a nuisance, some of them. Or the son in laws are after their house, but they are cunning and smart and know how to work the systems. And the son in laws.
They usually don't cook much, preferring to have meals on wheels, which they all complain about, but they really like them. They don't see the sense in messing up 3 saucepans and a skillet for one meal. They go out, taken by carers, they have their shopping done for them and the vaccing and cleaning. They read a lot of books, have favourite shows they watch with almost a religious fervour. On the whole they are very happy and even more so up here where light and sun makes them feel positive.
I love Redcliffe in the Winter, they should bottle it's essence and hand it out to our poor Southern counterparts as a panacea for depression.
Love Janette
You gotta love it ! xoxox
Oh My God ! Redcliife is stunning in winter. I just took myself down to the waters edge at Redcliffe, it's the middle of winter but you would never know it. I have been here since Anzac Day April 26 th, almost three months and haven't been homesick for cold grey Melbourne once, not once. The time has gone so fast it's hard to believe I have been here that long.
As I was at the foreshore, kites were flying and men were hang gliding, a pelican strutted along the beach along with the sea gulls. The sun shines almost every day and I can't believe my luck in being here. There's a Matilda Service station that sells New Zealand lollies for the home sick New Zealander and a shop in town that does a brisk trade in English lollies and groceries.
It's not strange that the English and New Zealanders migrate here from colder climes. One boy I met came from Christchurch and his parents emigrated to here after the devastating earthquake. People are more open and friendly and greet you with a smile. I love that. Life is lived at a slower pace and I love that too.
I am wearing shorts, bare feet and a tee top. The sun warms my bones and seeps deep into my soul and I let the sun and the tranquility do it's work. I feel relaxed, loose, carefree,. I gaze out over Moreton and see the white caps ruffling over the blue green water and I am as one with sun, sea and sky. The sand feels a little cold under my toes, but it is mid winter here and apart from the cooler sand you would never know it.
Dads swing their children up high on swings in the playground and the children laugh with delight. No hooded miseries for these kids, they are strong and healthy and happy, revelling in the great day and watching and calling to the Pelicans. They too are barefooted and in shorts and tees, the de riguer outfit for the Queenslander. I have been many places in my life but none is more beautiful and tranquil as this.
The big city seems a long way away. Brisbane lies to my left with it's high buildings and caverns of commerce. No need to be in that shoving, hustling mass of people. Here there is just sun and sky and birds wheeling endlessly in the clear skies. The sun on their backs and the breeze ruffling their feathers and they dive, some of them to catch a fish and emerge triumphant from the depths. All is well in Redcliffe, my home for now.
There is a dense population of elderly people who love the sun and warmth on old bones. They walk and some run, bicycle and loll. I have never seen so many motorised scooters, one I saw just yesterday, a tandem one, with a flag atop it and a sun canopy. The flag whipping in the breeze and the two delighted occupants listening to the radio as they zoomed past. I want one, especially with the flag when I am that old and infirm, or even just tired of walking.
One of my brothers clients at his paint repair franchise is 90 and gets his car buffed regularly as he doesn't want his son to think he can't drive properly. His son is 70 !. Doesn't that say something about the human spirit, the older man not wanting to give up his licence, just yet. I did pass one old dear the other day who was doing 40km, but I thought,
"Good on you lovie"
She clung to the steering wheel, head forward like a turtle emerging from a shell, eyes fixed determinedly ahead. She was going somewhere with a determination that allowed her to look not right or left, only forward and my heart ached for her. Such fixed determination in her task, she was probably off to Woolies to get a bargain. That steely resolve in her hunched over the wheel demeanour looked like a woman on a mission.
I have seen the elderly in their own environs and they are never unhappy. They have lived well, most of them having survived the great Depression and at least one World War. They are smart, they are agile, most of them and they are nobodies idiots. They know their children consider them a nuisance, some of them. Or the son in laws are after their house, but they are cunning and smart and know how to work the systems. And the son in laws.
They usually don't cook much, preferring to have meals on wheels, which they all complain about, but they really like them. They don't see the sense in messing up 3 saucepans and a skillet for one meal. They go out, taken by carers, they have their shopping done for them and the vaccing and cleaning. They read a lot of books, have favourite shows they watch with almost a religious fervour. On the whole they are very happy and even more so up here where light and sun makes them feel positive.
I love Redcliffe in the Winter, they should bottle it's essence and hand it out to our poor Southern counterparts as a panacea for depression.
Love Janette
You gotta love it ! xoxox
