362. Nepean River, Burning Boat.

This is the boat, not the day – the people here are (l-r) Cousins Jenny, Jeffrey, Susan, Auntie Clare, Phil.

Along Nepean River

The jet-boat progress slow

Water-line high on hull,

Family, friends, supplies – fuel & food.

Riverbank beach base found, claimed.

Disembarkation.

Day camp set up – it’s still early.

Friction, flash, fuel, flames

Leap high, burn to water-line.

Boat gone

Skiing finished.

“You should’ve seen it, flames to the sky”*

Note:

* This is a family memory … I wasn’t there on the day but it is a story told time after time.

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158. *Fence alight, gang-member falls, Mrs C’s patience is done … and so is the gang.

The gang disbanded

After Mrs Cameron kicked us out.

Why? Maybe …

Setting her fence afire

While burning plastic from wire.

Geoff Jones**, another gang-member,

Fell backwards from the tree-house,

Landed on a brick-pile.

Convinced he was dead,

But he stood up and laughed.

From then, to us, he was invincible.

Note:

* This is another Short Memory thanks to Bill Joyner. When he set me this material his closing line about our gang was:

Imagine today if such a gang of 10 year olds was uncovered! It would make the national news.

There would undoubtedly be outrage.

** Geoff wasn’t in the photo I posted in yesterday’s Short Memory. He is in the photo of 4th Class at Penrith Primary. He is front row, 3rd from the right. Peter Cameron, who had the tree in his backyard is in the 2nd row, far right.

1965 Penrith Primary – Class 4A

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20. A cracker of a time …

Many marbles tournaments were played on the vacant block between the Percy’s & the Noorts*.

A block for neighbourhood events. Like …

Annual bonfire night.

Bonfire celebration of Empire Day ... or was it Guy Fawkes.

Anticipation builds with the pile, piling high.

Weeks of occasional explosions or crackling strings of  crackers, cranks up excitement.

Big night fires up friendships, flames, & fireworks.

Notes & Extras:

* Of course there were more vacant lots than lots with houses. This one was at 26 Guildford Rd, it was cleared and was a commonly used thoroughfare, short cut. Even today there is a path through there.

* Now, speaking of fire, I could not resist The Crazy World of Arthur Brown,

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