Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Coogee Beach - or a winter's morning in Sydney with yummy mummies and world youth day pilgrims


Went down to the beach this morning and thought I'd post some of my notes. I did think about tidying them up but decided instead to go with the stream of consciousness style they were written in ....

Coogee beach, sun shiny, kids chasing birds chasing food, flights every few minutes on the exact same route from corner just above cliffs, bikini clad girls and those in ski jackets - this is Sydney winter,

world youth day pilgrims here to see dead bodies in coffins walk past with gaily coloured backpacks, nations flags and joie d'vivre, yummy mummies talk over coffee whilst kids frolic, greenday my soundtrack for today,

frisbee, afl , soccer and rugby the beach games, swimmer in cap seemingly going slowly from south to north when suddenly I look up and he/she has moved from the father playing catch to the teen girls trying to catch a tan, a sail moves across the distant horizon, a trendy Sydneysider in de rigeur Palestinian kafiyya walks by while overhead another plane zooms by,

a kid chases a bird on the same plane as the aeroplane, boats pulled up to northern shore their purpose unclear, the pilgrims walk by shoes in hands, trousers rolled they've dipped their toes in today's holy font, the sun is warming and seeps into my demeanour I smile even though my coffee's gone cold