Back in South Australia: in Glenelg where the first English settlers arrived in Holdfast Bay 1836 and where as it happens my great uncle Henry Rossiter arrived later in 1859. He was the only member of the Somerset clan to leave England until 1951 when my father Charles Rossiter did the same- but not under the same circumstances and as far as I can tell without knowing that he was not the first! Great Uncle Henry's son Henry was a gardener on Mount Lofty in the Adelaide Hills and later moved to Gawler further north: there are Rossiter roads in both places so I assume that he had some influence. Knowing that Henry came in the early days has cemented my bond with this part of the world in a way I would not have imagined years ago when I was a disgruntled teenager longing to be living in England where the Beatles and swinging London were in full flow. Back then SA was a different place and I was a different person. Now I value above all my dear friends from those formative years growing up here and naturally the bond of family which we celebrate this week with the wedding of Jessica Rossiter my niece in Willunga- more of that later.
Tonight we strolled onto the jetty where the fishermen- now mainly Chinese-were working hard for little return. A gang of boot camp fitness seekers ran by at one stage and we watched the last struggling woman go past, jaw set, elbows tightly reined in. Later sitting with our oysters and salt and pepper squid on the edge of the Patawalonga boat haven, we could see the same crew struggling by in the distance- this time our laggard lady was still in there going at the same pace but no longer the last of the bunch. Her steady persistence was winning out against the inconsistent bursts of speed of others. No need to spell out the lesson...
The sunsets on this coast are always worth waiting for no matter what time of year and today's spectacular was no exception. I mused about how I would spend my lottery winnings and an apartment on the top of the Grand was high on the list....
