Thursday, July 12, 2012

Four Hours of a Delightful Nothing

 
 As Lou mentioned on her blog, the other day the six of us spent an afternoon in the cemetery in Newtown.  St Stephen's has always been a long time favourite quiet place for me to seek out whilst living in the inner west.  Leafy, shambolic, slightly hidden away, it offers the perfect antidote to the lifestyle just beyond its gates.





All four children enjoyed a couple of big games of running around.  At one stage Dexter said "Let's play Police" to which everyone then replied "I want to be a bad guy!".  The glorification of the underground continues unabated.





When discussing who was taller, Hugo exclaimed "But that doesn't make sense, I am four and Teddy is only three". 









Harriet insisted on walking around barefoot.  I can tell you now that my heart was in my mouth for most of the afternoon due to this particular fact.  Once I tell her about HIV I'm sure she'll keep her shoes on, but then I can foresee a future where everything is potentially contaminated, so I'm hedging my bets for now.






Dexter was a most obliging model.  Of course since the photo involved him climbing to a height unattainable by others, he was at his most relaxed and confident.  I'm pretty sure the child is secretly evolved from some sort of climbing primate...oh hang on....









 



Harriet and Ted sat together with their arms loosely slung around each others shoulders for quite a while.  When they love each other, they love each other fiercely.  





 




The gang.  Together as one. You know, hanging out with the dead and all.















Harriet recreating the opening scene of The Sound of Music.











Hugo, he of the reluctant inclusion, allowed himself to get snapped.  Gotcha!









Click on this one to see Harriet when she's about fourteen.  I love how Dexter is beaming and the other two are giving off belligerent/disinterested expressions.  Such is the spectrum of the children that this range of emotional statuses can be found at any given time in the group.


 





 Hugo was ready to go.  Lying down on the graves was probably a reliable sign.











We spent four hours lying in the sun.  Our sun soaked bubble was punctuated by the normal things - dogs, bees, balls, poo, photographers, you know the ilk.  However it was easy.  Quiet. Delightful.

It was warm, inside and out.  Afternoons dedicated to nothing more than friendship and sunshine are just the way to spend a holiday, don't you think?


2 comments:

Lou said...

Aren't you wonderful?! Great photos Cass and I love the little details you remember from the day. I forgot about Hugo's cute confusion about being older but shorter than Ted. It was such a lovely day, definately had the holiday feeling. Let's do it again sometime!

jay said...

simply superb what beautiful photos to capture such a nourishing and warm day. oh that light. xxx