After an extremely cold winter, where we even got snow in November, the sun is hotting up and is a great welcome.
Five more weeks and it's school holidays for the long summer break. Last week on Wednesday, two life guards came to give their Surf Sense talk in our car park to my school children. I was there with our year zero littlies. The two guards Claire and Sarah from Omaha and Mahurangi beach came to teach my kiddoes a very important lesson of safety rules of Sun Smart and Surf Sense. One of them had been a life guard for ten years.
In a fun and light heart manner, they "recruited" New Zealand's youngest volunteer life guard, five year old J. They had J. standing very front as a model while Claire and Sarah dressed him to become one in an adult life guard's orange and red uniform.
SLIP: wear loose and long sleeved clothes, collar tops to prevent sun burn
SLOP: on all our skin, slop generously UV sun screen
SLAP: a wide brim hat
WRAP: sunnies or sunglasses
SLIDE: under the shade under sun umbrellas or trees
Finally, swim between the two red and yelloe patrol flags, bearing in mind that the flag change.
At each stage of this dressing up, J stood very still as though he meant business. The kids laughed when the shirt flowed down the ground reminding me of Popeye's baby, and his hat covering his whole head.
Claire and Sarah showed them the rest of the life guards' equipment, it was like watching Piha Beach or Bondi beach on TV or to the rest of the whole wide world, Bay watch.
The next day, it was the seniors' turn, Claire brought a man. With the ooooh and ahhhs from the older girls, I told the male life guard at morning tea in our staff room that he was the real MyCoy unlike David Hasselhoff or Mitch.
***Piha is a beautiful beach, but the rip is very strong, and had caught many swimmers unaware. I was almost a victim once.***
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