Pene stopped over in Perth to see dear friends of hers - Bee and Inky. We loved them too!
Second day we hurtled up north of Perth to catch a fleeting hour with Cousin Penny, from South Africa en route to have a holiday with her youngest sister Alison in Tasmania. Bee and Inky were so dear that we ended up having lunch with them before tearing back to Manning to share a little family celebration for our grand-daughter’s second birthday along with her other grandparents. Being a public holiday her party was put on hold for a couple of days.
Birthday girl with her parents Saxon and Paul
Alan, Paul, George, Kay, Talia and Lea, after putting together her new cubby house
Buffy’s favourite place was down beside the Swan River chasing shoals of small fish and whenever we had a morning without an early start - we were glad to oblige with a stroll along the sandy shoreline and around the limestone points. One magical morning occurred when a sudden movement and splash caught George’s attention, turned out to be a dolphin gambolling a mere six metres away. Perhaps it was curious to see what Buffy was up to? How we relish these joyous moments.
Setting off for a walk along the Swan River with Buffy.
Saxon grabbed Wednesdays to do a 123 Magic course on taming toddlers, followed by her weekly maternity check while she had her parents readily available for child-minding. Our friends, Di and Peter turned out to be babysitting their grand-daughter too. With high temperatures forecast, we arranged a picnic tea down on the Canning River foreshore for Talia and Eva to meet. Dressed for the heat there was a surprisingly nippy breeze blowing that our chilled fruit and juice did not go down well. In next to no time we’d packed up and returned to Saxon’s home to warm up with coffee while the little folk enjoyed toys in sheltered surrounds. Eye on the clock, we were ready to depart for Fremantle Docks as soon as Saxon arrived back. Our UK-Lincoln friends Joe and Mona, celebrating their Golden Anniversary with a fly/cruise from Sydney to Cape Town were scheduled in Fremantle for 28 hours. We may have lived in Perth and feel we know our way around BUT as George is wont to say “you don’t step into the same river twice… change happens!” We found ourselves thwarted by changes as the clock marched on… Joe and Mona anxiously watched and waited for us at the roadside, only to have George creep up on them from behind. You just don’t DO that, particularly to folk originating from Africa. Still, it gave George something to laugh about for days after!
Joe, Mona and Lea, overlooking Perth from Kings Park War Memorial.
We whipped them round on a rapid orientation of Perth and Fremantle stopping for fish and chips at a favourite haunt in bygone days before dropping them back at their ship with promises to meet them after the birthday party next day for their last hours before sailing.Granddad nervously approached Manning house wondering whether his services were to be required beyond what he felt was his duty. ALL the bears – every shape and size, from the front door onwards added to his qualms. Whew! The bear suit actually fitted a 6ft.7inch Dad and even though the sheer size of him was mind blowing for a little child – Paul played the part and George heaved a sigh of relief.
Bear-prints led the way to a picnic party event being laid on for birthday girl Talia. It was all too easy to muse over the passing years as we frantically prepared food and kept an eye on a two year old grand-daughter, togged up in a beautiful little Canadian dress belonging to her mother at coming up 4 years of age, as Talia excitedly skittered around examining and in true toddler form, rearranging or undoing everything!
Talia’s Teddy Bears and Tea cakes party
Entertaining skills were honed as we attempted to return the hospitality we have received from our friends over the years we pop into Perth. Lord-ing around (‘scuse the pun!) as we held al fresco dinners or afternoon teas in their tranquil garden! We sure miss our friends when we are out on the long and winding roads that to spend hours with them yarning, laughing and grand-parenting make us feel all the richer for these far and few occasions. In between the catering, babysitting and socialising we caught up on our well overdue annual health check ups. Age throwing the odd spanner in the works with extra assessments required but brought peace of mind in the end. At times life became too hectic for George and he quietly retired to the Lord’s garden with his water colours to paint. A Category 5 Cyclone Hamish moving southwards towards Brisbane had us feeling very twitchy as we watched the weather updates anxiously, during the early part of March. On updating our rig’s insurance to on-site cover – we discovered our storage address proved a more expensive option due to all Queensland being regarded as a high risk area.
Manning dachshunds - Harley Rose and Jett host “Long Dogs WA”. Their next social walk fell in March. Lea has always been a long dog aficionado and she happily joined Saxon and Harley at South beach, Fremantle. A short beach for all the short legs gave rise to more socialising than exercise.
Gathering of the clan! The dachies certainly turned heads.
Charles, Trish and Alex were over from Coffs Harbour for the Perth National Surf- Life Saving Championships. We went down to Scarborough Beach to catch Alex in action on her board – tough going in choppy conditions with wretched stingers out in force that we were glad to see her make it into the next round. The Barnes family were due to come and have a BBQ with us but when we couldn’t be persuaded to make up a group to watch the South African Sharks v Australian Western Force rugby match in nearby Subiaco we made do with pre-game drinks in ‘our’ garden.
Talia’s grannies Kay and Lea were invited to join her for a Dorothy Dinosaur concert in Subiaco. Lots of foot stomping, hand clapping toddlers had their eyes glued on the stage and most adults kept their eyes on the antics of delighted kids.
George caught up with his mates, knife making Jim and old school friend Peter and made good use of their well equipped workshops to complete Saxon’s list of requirements before the new baby arrived.
Whew! All accomplished and we now play the waiting game…
