"A Jolly Good Breakfast"

.... Yes, it is a good start to the day - locally produced grapes, from our kind neighbours, and ofcourse the ever popular prunes..which are also sold here as well. Soft and delicious, (pitted we have) and soon the company's main outlet is going to be here, and that should hopefully mean more local jobs.

It is grape harvesting time here now, and so we have a variety of beautiful sweet grapes in our supermarkets.
Whilst shopping yesterday, we noticed many pickers, some backpackers here for the picking, which is what we both did when we first came to this fruit-bowl area - we were pickers too - it was fun and we were much younger then, picking in the heat of the 30's and 40's and shaded by the vines, occasionally receiving a cut finger from the short picking knife (memorable) and facilities for pickers were just so bad then.

I recall having to have a shower at the end of the day, on the corner of a shed - a tap provided for the pickers to wash with - cold water ofcourse, but that was OK, not good if one dropped the cake of soap in the dirt below though - this was at the men's quarters - nothing for the women - and so after a few days of doing that, with John sheltering me with the largest towel we had..I chose to take a wash in the local yabbie tank.
Now that was memorable too - sinking in the mud and being set upon by the yabbies, and mosquitoes - definitely not how I was brought up - I came out of the little dam dirtier than when I went in..!
That would have made a great blip in those days, but survival in the heat was all we were worried about, not photos..

And after the "boss" we found, had short-changed us (a man of figures..) we took our little caravan and our little son to another neighbour who treated us kindly. We even had a nice morning tea and afternoon tea..
Those were the days, exciting, exhausting, fun times (providing one didn't get sick) and just another little journey in life for us.

And so - when I look at the lovely local produce and my bowl of fruit - I think of those early days and wonder how on earth we survived. But we did...