Sun Sea Sand and Cesspit

by terence mealing (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

I didn't expect to find United Kingdom

When we were young my father and mother had to bring six of us siblings up on a limited budget so exotic holidays were not an option Every summer holiday my three brothers, two sisters and myself would all cram into my fathers grey morris van and drive the short 20 miles to talacre in north wales where we should stay in a wooden beach chalet a short distance from the beach It was sparse to say the least, but we didnt need a television or computer games then, we had the ocean at our feet and a sahara of sand dunes to play in all day long Every morning we would be woken up by the tanoy on the van owned by the bottled gas company booming " Calor gas calling" as it drove around the chalets, and we knew our day had begun Just down the road was the local bakery that sold fresh bread and home made pies , the aroma enticing us there like the pied piper , if you will excuse the pun, then back to the chalet for breakfast Next, changing into our swimming costumes it was off to the beach for the day To us it was paradise, hot summer days on a sandy beach by the sea, what more could a child ask for Making sand castles, playing hide and seek, burying each other up to our necks in sand , running across the ankle deep mud into the cold water, collecting sea shells and screaming at the sight of jellyfish , all good fun One incident always stuck in our minds , and when the family get together we have a good laugh about it My father bought us plastic whirlybirds that were all the craze in the sixties, that you lauch into the sky with an elastic band We spent hours playing with these , and my father would spend a lot of time retrieving them from the chalet roof One day i accidently lost mine down a gap between some corrugated iron sheeting on the ground next to the chalet I begged for my father to retrieve it , which he proceeded to do by removing the metal sheets The next thing we knew he had slipped , and with a splash disappeared down a hole underneath When we looked he was waist deep in excrement, he had fallen into the cesspit belonging to the chalet Needless to say he was not happy but luckily it all came out in the wash Sad to say he is no longer with us but our yearly jaunts will always hold fond memories for us