A Guilt-free Read

Some years before fancy concepts like bookcrossing entered the scene two boxes of books have sat unassumingly under a tree, by a foreshore path, in the happily underdeveloped seaside town of Merricks. A sign on the tree reads: ‘Free books. Replace cover. Free books. Surplus books from St. Marks Op-Shop, Balnarring’.

Locals, or Sunday strollers passing by the dusty old boxes may pull off the weathered canvas and finger through an ever-changing collection of kids books and old novels. If you see something you like, it’s yours – guilt free. Sitting atop the current crop is Down at the Doctor’s The Sick Book (1987), by the fabulous Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake, it’s a little collection of silly sayings and flights of fancy among other things.

‘Well, Doctor, I’ll tell you what’s wrong with you. You’ve got spollyollydiddlytiddlyitis”.

Sick Book, thank you, I’m feeling better already.
rs

Indoor Seashore

It’s cold and rainy, an insidey sort of day. The girls have been asking when we would be going to the beach again. They remember summer fondly, though it must feel long ago to them.

And there was a simple antidote to the winter blues. Fossicking around I found the booty from last summer. Shells, stones, seaweed and driftwood, ready again for play. An unused box and a bit of assembly was all that was now required. Not as much fun as our beach holiday discoveries at Merricks, but tip in a magnifying glass for good measure, and we had a rebooted box of beach to rediscover, up close and indoors.
rs