Safetosea

This past three days has been catch up time.

Friday, an early surf with friend Rich from Sydney, down for a couple of concerts and as ever this provides a chance for a splash.

Small Winki, slightly onshore but uncrowded and great fun, we played swapsies between a 5'11" Maurice Cole and my Derek Hynd finless. Both epic fun boards in very different ways, it was a brilliant morning. Delivering him back to the The Australian Club, a very highbrow establishment in the middle of Melbourne, a frenzied pop on of the jacket and tie over jeans and flannels so that he can get back in.. hilarious stuff though it seems the establishment is very good value once you have the 'in', which RT has in spades.

What has sufficed as a 'tie' over the past months has beggared belief... maybe we should try a leg rope one day.

As I leave him and head to the first set of lights, I rather alarmingly discover I have no brakes, and limp warily through the city to a garage where I discover I've blown a brake hose.. Hoo-bloody-ray as I'm supposed to drive another two hours inland to spend a father son night with a bunch of dads and their respective sons... an overnight camp out that was due to start in three hours.

Repairs being a top up of the reservoir, I limped home, jumped on my bike, rode to where Sue had her car parked for work, chained the bike to a post, drove home, packed the car and then drove two hours or more to a pair of fireside rings of chairs in a field in the middle of the old Victorian goldfields.

Fathers and sons sitting, freezing, sharing what it is like to be fifteen, what it's like to be 'old', and how to get through the slings and arrows of life and enjoy doing it.

A great evening though a night under the stars in temperatures around zero on hard packed dirt was, for me, sleepless at best, though most of the kids slept like tops.

Saturday and Sunday? Spent catching up with number two son, still the same lovable ratbag, but a noticeably mellower one.

Ended Sunday with a trip to see Robin Hood (loved it) and then home to pizza while Tom resumed his next four weeks away.

Pics, the boards from the Friday morning surf, a few snaps from the delightful town of Clunes, where it is very easy to swing a cat, and ending with Sue and Tom in a quiet moment, just before the movie.