who let this happen?
Lucy Manly (believe it?) in her SMH piece the other day.
“Once a hotspot for keen surfers, the small beachside suburb of Avalon is now home to a swelling group of young creatives raising their kids away from the rat-race of Sydney.”
Now we know why there are only four in the water and none on the wave on this quality day: everyone is shopping. The swelling group of young creatives isn’t among the group of young creatives amongst the swelling.
“Locals include Jamie Blakey and Liz Roberts, owners of cult denim brand OneTeaspoon; Claire Tregoning, co-founder of athleisure label P.E Nation; and designer Genevieve Smart of Ginger&Smart.”
Who allowed this in as a definition of an Avalon local ? What are people to think? RoyL poncing about in a T by P.E.Nation in the carpark ? .. Red Dog gets a pass though, being Smart&Ginger, at least he can dress for the occasion.
“Tregoning suspects it’s simply a coincidence the style set have converged on Avalon. “But it’s an aesthetically beautiful place that allows us all a great lifestyle, that in turn makes us better at our jobs,” she says.”
What used to make the locals better at their jobs in that aesthetically beautiful place was taking the day off when the joint was aesthetically and beautifully firing.
Ian Bird’s pic, lifted from Coastalwatch
“On weekends, locals can be found congregating at the north end of the beach, calling in unannounced to one another’s ‘beach shacks’ for a glass of vino and often kicking on in the evening with an unplanned barbecue.”
On weekends, locals could be found congregating out at the north-end of the beach, dropping in unannounced on another’s wave because that was their right and often kicking on in the evening with a few well-planned kegs and the Rugby League replay.
“The picturesque suburb has often been an escape for the rich, famous and staunchly private, far from the paparazzi that stalk Bondi. A-list expatriates Elle Macpherson and Nicole Kidman have holidayed in Avalon.”
So has A-listed Kelly Slater holidayed in Avalon and do you think anyone else caught a set wave that day .. ? Nosir, I was watching, and if Slater wanted something staunchly private then he wasn’t getting any with about twenty locals hanging off the lip watching him.
pic lifted from Coastalwatch
“As in any small town, idle gossip can run wild in Avalon, says Blakey.”
He got that right.
~~
Go ahead and punish yourself:
header pic lifted from Coastalwatch
petebowes.com 
HI,PETER BOWES.
I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A NICE WAY TO SAY .HI PETE,
WELL I AGREE WITH ALL YOU SAY,IT WAS A GREAT WAVE ,AND THE FEW THAT SURFED IT ,IN THE 60’s,WAS DIFFERENT ,
I HAD MY FIRST COMP IN AVALON,IN THE EARLY DAYS ,AND ALWAYS DROVE UP AND DOWN,TO REMIND MY SELF OF TIMES GONE BY,
NOW I MAKE IT A POINT ,TO GO OVER THERE EVERY TIME I COME HOME ,MOST OF ALL TO SEE MY CLOSEST FRIEND,WHO WAS BETTER THAN ,IT HAS TAKEN ME 60,YEARS TO ADMIT IT,BUT MICK WAS A PERSON THAT CHANGED SURFING,ITS STYLE AND HIS MOVEMENT ON A BOARD,SO AS LONG AS I CAN I WILL TRAVEL TO AVALON ,STAY WITH DOOLEY ,AND HIS LOVELY WIFE,DI FOR DAY OR 2,THEN HEAD BACK TO THE ROCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN,WELL THERE ARE WORSE PLACES TO LIVE I GUESS,
BUT, I GO DOWN TO THE LOCAL EAT OUT WITH MICK,AND EVERY TIME,MORE PEOPLE MORE SHOPS,MORE CARS ,AGAIN ,A BEAUTIFUL PLACE ,WE WERE LUCKY TO HAVE SPENT TIME THERE WHEN IT WAS GROWING,
SO THATS IT FOR NOW
I WILL BE COMING DOWN TO BONDI AROUND THE 16 ,17, 18,,19,,,TO SHED THE LAST OF WHEELS ASHES WITH HIS WIFE OUT THE FRONT OF NORTH NONDI,SURF CLUB DURING THAT WEEK,
STAY IN TOUCH,ANY CHANGE I WILL LET YOU KNOW,AS MOST OF US THAT HAD TIME AND LOVED JOHN WILL BE THERE,HAPPY,NEW YEAR,AND HOPE WE ARE AROUND FOR A FEW MORE ,
MAHALO..FROM ANDY C,
SORRY,THE MONTH IS FEB,2019 SORRY I AM NOT THE BEST ON THESE LAP TOPS,I WAS PEN AND PAPER,I STILL HAVE PROBLEMS TURNING MY PHONE ON,MIKES TRYING TO TEACH ME TO TEX ,I AM GLAD THERE WAS NO EXAM FOR THIS OR I WOULD STILL BE HIDING IN THE BACK OF THE CLASS,
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME TO LET YOU KNOW IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND STILL IS
THANKS ANDY,,
” IT HAS TAKEN ME 60,YEARS TO ADMIT IT,BUT MICK WAS A PERSON THAT CHANGED SURFING,ITS STYLE AND HIS MOVEMENT ON A BOARD.”
Longplay.
I spoke to Mick this morning … first he says he’s ok then tells me everything is hurting so I read him ^ that. Almost had to hang up he was laughing that much. Modest old fellow that he is.
THANKS PETE.
IF I DIDNT HAVE YOU TO READ ABOUT SOMETHING FROM THE PAST AND SOME OF THE GOOD TIMES WE HAD,I KNOW I LIVE IN THE PAST,BUT THAT WAS THE BEST TIMES OF MY LIFE,THANK GOD,WE HAD THOSE TIMES,
WILL BE THERE SOON ,NOTHING GIVES ME MORE PLEASURE THAN TO DRIVE UP TO SCOTTS HEAD ,SEE RICK,COME BACK TO BONDI ,PICK UP 30 PIES,20 LBS OF FOOD FROM HOME AND HEAD BACK TO THE ROCK,
SO TAKE CARE ,I HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON ,PLEASE DONT TOUCH THE HAIR,
REGARDS ALWAYS .
ANDY.C.