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Writer's pictureCathie Rooyen

Sunday slumming

Updated: Sep 25, 2023

Sunday 24th September 2023


A day full of clouds, wind, thick socks, yawns, hundreds of seagulls, yummy dinner, dog hugs and now rugby. A simple day for the third Sunday in September.


Hartlepool is situated next to the North Sea coastline and gets a fair share of wind. Having lived in Johannesburg most of my life, I'm not used to wind. Our August winds can be strong but overall the Johannesburg climate is sunny and dry. Seasons change overnight and sunrises and sunsets are fast. Being the equinox today, means that in the northern part of the world, daylight equals night dark and is the official start of Autumn. Sunrises and sunsets are gradual and spectacular with the clouds providing the colorful contrast for the weakening sun.


The past few evenings we've noticed hundreds of seagulls flying towards the sea, my sister has never seen anything like it. Unfortunately my camera couldn't pick the visuals properly but I tried. I also tried looking up any possible reasons for the huge flock but haven't found specific information on them. My sister and I laughed at the memory of the Phobia- inducing, Alfred Hitchcock movie, 'Birds'. She was surprised by my remembering it, but it scarred my 3 year old psyche. She recalled our mum screaming while watching it too. Not sure if that's funny or terrifying.



I tasted my first suet dumplings and beef stew today too, which was very yummy but extremely filling. I'm certainly being spoiled here with all this great food. It's fascinating watching my sister cook as we both remember our mum hating the cooking process. I'm learning a lot about my youth and mum, while staying here and it feels like a huge puzzle and finding pieces that I didn't know were missing. Fortunately I love puzzles, haha.


Now for Wales to keep the lead score in the last few minutes of the rugby match!


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