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Published: September 8th 2014
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Sunset from Mindil Beach
Just before we went into the Market we watched the sun set over Fannie Bay, along with many others. We were woken rather rudely at 6.30am by the PA system at the prison next door and just as we’d dropped off again a siren sounded at 7am. Overall, it had been a disturbed night as the military had taken off several times and flown noisily overhead.
We rang the doctor and made an appointment for me for 1.15pm so we had a lazy morning around the van, with the air conditioner on as it was already getting hot. More planes flew over, including the latest US fighters, which Barry raced outside to watch fly over. It must be a really large operation! And with other countries involved. We also saw a group of Bar Shouldered Doves feeding right next to the van.
We then made our way to the Casuarina Shopping Complex, which was very large and had most of the same shops we’d see in Melbourne Centres, including Lowes, where we bought Barry some more long shorts as his short shorts were leaving too much leg to get burnt (yes, he has FINALLY started to wear his shorts!). Unfortunately, this centre didn’t include the doctor I’d booked in with, he was next door in a
Mindil Beach Sunset Markets
There were lots of food stalls of all nationalities so we were spoilt for choice. Alongside were craft, jewellery and other knock-knacks typical of a night market. smaller centre. We just made it there on time and I got some more asthma medication and antibiotics. Let’s hope I can kick this cough now. I also got some more cream for my psoriasis but I couldn’t remember the name of it and the doctor was very new and didn’t seem to have any idea. Barry reckons I wore a groove in the centre’s floor walking back and forth between the chemist and the surgery before I got it right!
While I was at the clinic, I’d seen the board showing all the names of the doctors in the practice and noticed that one was M de Kretser. It’s such an unusual name that I asked if he was related to the former Victorian Governor David de Kretser (for the Poms, that is the Queen's representative in the Vic. State Government who signs any legislation passed through Parliament, among other duties). Turns out he was his son Mark. I told them that I had worked with his brother Hugh, who was the hard working lead lawyer, for several years, at Community West when he was very young. What a small world!
We then headed
Mick the Whip
Mick was selling stock whips at the Market and teaching people how to use them. He then did a very good show of the skill including using fire on his kangaroo skin whips. back into the large complex and had some lunch, then did the food shopping at Coles and raced home to put it all away. We wanted to go to the night market at Mindil Beach, which was on from 5pm to 9pm and had advertised that the beach was a great place to watch a sunset. We just made it as the sun was going down and joined a lot of others doing the same thing, scattered all along the dunes and foreshore. It was worth it, too, as the colour was uninterrupted by the usual electricity wires or buildings and was even reflected in some water on the sand.
The first part of the market was the very extensive meals area, with a wide variety of foods available. Barry finally settled on a Lamb Kebab and I bought some Pofertjes (little Dutch pancakes) covered in a chunky sauce of mixed berries and served with ice cream. It was absolutely scrumptious (and all I wanted after our late, filling lunch).
We then moved into the main part of the market, which had lots of the usual stalls you find at night markets, selling clothing, jewellery, crafts
Pied Imperial-Pigeon
This one was feeding well on the dates on this palm next to Mindil Beach and health products. I enjoyed looking at them but the only thing I bought was some freshly cooked Honey Roasted Almonds and Peanuts. Not cheap but very tasty.
We also saw a man selling stock whips which we’d heard cracking while we ate. He was teaching kids how to crack a whip, and announced that he would give a demonstration himself in 10 minutes time. We moved off but made sure we were close enough to return. He had a song programmed into a laptop, which he sang along with while demonstrating his skills. The song was really corny but his whip-cracking wasn’t. He used two whips together and cracked two and three times in each swing; cracked two that were held in the same hand; used an enormous one that needed two hands to work; and, something I’ve never seen before, lit two whips that had been soaking in fuel in a bucket and then cracked them. The fire looked really spectacular swinging around and then snapping beside him. Very impressive. Brent would have loved it!
We just about got round all the stalls as it started to close so we headed back to the car and home, where we both fell asleep almost as soon as we sat down.
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