To the sea!

I’ve always felt an affinity with the sea. It all stems from my childhood. As a child all our holidays were spent by the sea. We would spend all day at the beach, swimming, building sandcastles with our imagination running riot, collecting shells, looking for cockles which my mum would cook by the beach, body surfing, burying each other in the sand and simply running around and being a nuisance when we’ve exhausted the usual games.

Every weekend my parents would pack up the old Holden station wagon, complete with blankets and pillows (plus sick bags for my eldest sister!) and drive off to the beach. We had almost a permanent tan; in deep contrast to the white skin underneath our swimsuit. All our adventures involved the sea, one way or another. The agony of being sun-burnt (in defiance to Mummy’s strict orders to stay indoors), sand in the eyes (again in defiance to Mummy’s strict orders) and swallowing vast amounts of sea water (I’m sure in defiance to Mummy’s strict orders!). And Daddy making us practice our strokes and our schemes to defy his orders. After all what fun is that? We’re in the sea, not the pool!

I remember lazy days by the beach; with our stomach swollen having consumed Mummy’s de rigueur picnic menu of Cold Chicken and Russian salad, we would lie prostate under swaying coconut trees and too full to speak, listen to adult conversation (which is almost always more interesting). Both my parents love the sea - that is obvious. I loved following my mum on one of her ‘adventures’ - we would climb rocks, gingerly avoiding the sharp barnacles and with a hammer and a lemon in hand unearth delicious fresh oysters which we would swallow on the spot! We would have swimming races pretending we were swimming across a wide channel, with my Dad as the referee.

The smell of Nivea cream reminds me of the beach, no, not suntan oil, but Nivea cream. That was what we used as a barrier cream. Whenever I buy a new pot, I almost expect to see grains of sand in it!

Until now, going to the sea has never failed to excite me. I would never say ‘NO’ to a trip to a seaside destination. The thought such a journey fills my heart with happy anticipation. The smell of the sea and sand and great times - to the sea!