Thursday 18 September 2008

Summer, on the way to Sylvie's beach




Sylvie’s beach has sand dunes, did I tell you that?
There’s Sylvie, struggling up the dune, trying to balance as the plush sand subsides beneath her comfortable shoes.
Greta is lagging behind and Sylvie’s mum, Patricia, is saying something to her. Patricia is probably telling Greta that she’s done something wrong.
I’m lagging behind too.
I pretended I was just interested in the flora. How does something so green grow straight through sand? I suppose I am a little interested, but I’ve never so much as Googled it, so what the hey!
It’s true that I don’t want to talk to Patricia. She has a penchant for ‘tuts’ and ‘tsks’. At first I thought she couldn’t abide me, but she treats me as fairly as she does her own, so I suppose I can’t complain.
Apart from Sylvie, the other of ‘her own’ is Louis. He’s visiting too and struts about with such purpose and vigour, you’d think he was younger than Sylvie. But he’s not; he’s fully forty years old and still living with mother. A total berk, anyway. You can just make him out, disappearing over the hill.
Father, by the way, is not dead – heaven forbid! No, he’s too ill or lazy to come to the beach. Too much sand, too much sun, that’s not what England is about for him. Patricia would have had to go home soon after and fix him a roast dinner – it’s Sunday, after all!
What do you reckon? You’re not really interested in these photos, are you Anne? Anne? Anne!

3 comments:

Alexi Frest said...

Good to see your blog again!
Although I was expecting something more gloomy than a sun lit beach (as I'm definitely in the mood)!

Sucharita Sarkar said...

I find this beach-slice really interesting - one can really think ahead and back from what you've written and concoct entire histories and plots. It's like a piece of jigsaw, the fun is I can make up the rest of the pieces and complete my own puzzle.

bha said...

Sunny beach or not, the gloomy England the father seems to prefer really pervades this one. The father's so lacking in vitality he didn't show up, the mother is apparently tutting everything into submission, the brother lives at home...and the narrator is half-seeing plants through his internet goggles.

Lovely day out ;|