Wexford summers. Cousins. Some removed, others should be.
A bruising stick-and-ball game settles scores.
Red Lemonade, 99s, ice-cream wafers, crisps and slap-up feeds.
Ravenous teams jostle, devouring gritty ham or salmon paste sandwiches. Each liberally seasoned with sharp, salty silica.
At day’s end, sunburnt cousins dream, war-painted with Calamine lotion.
Steven is still picking sand granules from between his teeth years after the long hot summers of childhood holidays spent visiting family in Ireland.
Love the imagery of Calamine lotion war-paint!
Good on ya, Steven!
Thanks Paul. It’s a grand image; looking back, I think my extended family must have had shares in Calomine lotions producer.
Wonderful! I can hear the raucous laughter of children echoing through time.
Thanks Deborah.
Good story, Steven! Cousins can be competitive, can’t they? I had to look up 99s, though. Soft serve ice cream with a Cadbury chocolate flake sounds heavenly.
Thanks Susan. A 99, one of life’s little pleasures.
Love this story. Makes me sad that my own children missed out on the whole cousins experience. Makes me happy though to remember my own. Bittersweet.
Thanks Jo. It was an experience. There were legions of cousins, new ones every year.