ANZAC day at Coogee

We were in Coogee for ANZAC Day yesterday - and experienced the Coogee Dawn Service for the first time, down by the beach - along with THOUSANDS of locals!!

This was a Sydney Morning Herald photo of the huge crowd at the Coogee Dawn Service..........

The ceremony started at 5.30 and lasted a good hour and a half - but full of heartfelt moments, a ton of respect, wonderful singing and playing and much more inclusive than other services we've attended over the years. A rabbi provided the blessing, a children's choir sang beautifully and there was a strong Aboriginal focus including our horrible National Anthem sung in Dharawal language - which made it sound SO MUCH BETTER!

And it is so very poignant being by our beautiful Coogee Beach at sunrise - and imagining all those young men landing on the beaches of Gallipoli 108 years ago, as dawn was breaking ............

Afterwards those thousands of people caught up with friends, neighbours and old mates - the pubs and cafes were overflowing with camaraderie (and coffee) and lots of breakfast takeaways by the beach - a BIG day for Coogee (and a rowdy afternoon of two up games in all the local pubs and clubs). ANZAC Day is HUGE at home in Campbell too but I really liked the way the day started here in Coogee.

We avoided the two up games in the pubs and clubs in the afternoon and headed over to Manly on a very crowded ferry full of families intent on enjoying the rest of the day. We made our way up to the Q Station at North Head to catch up with my dear friend Tania and to see the work of Anna Dudek on the final day of her artist in residency at the Q - her residency was part of her prize in the Les Sculpture Refusees exhibition of 2021. 

In her work Anna Dudek plays with forms to highlight the spontaneous movement of natural light. Her starting points in this open studio exhibition were two perspex boxes lined with dichroic film.

But that was just the starting point ..........

The setting for the Les Sculptures Refusees studio spaces at the Q Station is just awe inspiring (especially those views from the verandahs!).

So, ANZAC Day was quite a magical day for us in Sydney - and we're here for another few days, until Sunday!

Easter at Narrawallee

We booked an Easter stay at Narrawallee last year with the young ones, but Rob and I didn't get there in the end because of my very ill timed Covid infection. We did get there for the long weekend in October however, so this Easter is actually our third family stay at the very comfortable "Diamond Vista" on Bushland Avenue. We all love our Narrawallee stays.

Naturally, the girls enjoyed all the Easter trappings that this holiday brings ...

A trip (or two) to Milton is always on the agenda too. You can see how focussed the girls are in the way they're walking along the main street of this sweet little country town only a 5 minute drive from Narrawallee ....... they're looking for vintage finds and the local surf shop!

Our Narrawallee stays are also very active: beach time, long walks, and a pretty intense run every morning for Josh and Jody. Coffee pick ups from the Bannisters Pavillion coffee cart make their morning run routine a great start to the day for us too.

The weather was coolish this Easter at the coast - and a bit unsettled for the first few days. But the ocean temperature was mild enough for Josh and the girls to enjoy their beach swimming time.

Jody took a somewhat more realistic approach to afternoon beach time.

Yesterday we braved the crowds gathering for the Blessing of the Fleet celebration on Ulladulla Wharf - to do a spot of fishing.

The family that stays together fishes together ......

There was plenty to see from this part of the Wharf - schools of small fish, wild oysters, sting rays, plenty of boats and people - action everywhere ......

... as well as plenty of little fish to catch (and throw (gently) right back!!)

We witnessed up close the actual blessing of the fleet ceremony conducted by the local Catholic priest from the Police Marine Rescue boat. Apparently it all began in 1956 with the Italian Catholic tradition of blessing the fleet to ensure a plentiful catch and a safe return. It's now in its 67th year at Ulladulla Wharf (after a 3 year interruption to the full festivities due to Covid) …

Its always happy times for us being invited to go away with the young ones. The girls enjoy life to the full and the laughter and conversation are always lively, as is the competition when we play our nightly board game tournaments. 

We also have fabulous meals, usually cooked by Joshy with minimal input from the rest of us, and beautiful wine, mostly chosen by Rob. Ella and Abi finished off the day yesterday with a scoop of gourmet icecream eaten out of the "icecream vases".

We're hoping there are many more shared stays with these beautiful people at Narrawallee in the coming years.