Granddad's brother and brother-in-law have had beach shacks for probably as long as Mum can remember.
Not so long ago, Granddad got himself one, the one right between the other two.
Now there are three in a row.
Uncle Ray's (now his son's)
Granddad's (now his daughters')
Uncle Tony's
It's a lovely place... almost on the beach, a bright little cabin and porch surrounded by grass.
It is off the grid, with no electricity and no connected water.
But you're on the beach (virtually your own private beach) with your own patch of shade, own patch of grass, own little kitchen with endless supplied of hot water for tea and cold water from the fridge.
Though when Mum and my aunt inherited it they decided it did need a bit of a spruce up.
The paint job was notably faded and still just a little bright.
Not surprisingly, we found 4 BBQs/stove tops within the shack, despite there being a big wood fire BBQ just outside.
An unwieldy corner kitchen unit that never got used. (note the stove to the left, the black weber to the right and the blue primus on top of the cabinet).
The kitchenette unit (below), dating to when Granddad had married in 1954 was full of useful cutlery and crockery, but also 'non-perishables' that hadn't been touched in five years.
Granddad had previously spent weekends down there with his partner and so they had suitable food stuffs for breakfast, coffee, morning tea... However more recently we would only ever pop down for the day. As a result we'd take our own tea and coffee and the fridge would never be turned on to chill the soft drinks waiting in the bottom of the cupboard.
Of the two bedrooms, one was the main, the other had the most uncomfortable foam mattresses.
Not that we were really allowed to stay over. Granddad had some funny rules and as he held the keys (and wouldn't let others have copies) we fell in with his demands.
This meant we only visited sporadically for a morning swim and lunch, and lived out on the patio.
The curtains and windows were not opened, the beds remained unused.
At most we used the rooms to change in and out of our bathers and the stove to heat water for doing the dishes from lunch.
With the discovery of damp towels in a drawer and out dated produce in the kitchenette it was no surprise that the whole place had acquired a stale feel to it.
With such potential, it was almost a relief when we were able to get our hands on it properly.
Beach Shack Renovation Two
Beach Shack Renovation Three
Beach Shack Renovation Four
Not so long ago, Granddad got himself one, the one right between the other two.
Now there are three in a row.
Uncle Ray's (now his son's)
Granddad's (now his daughters')
Uncle Tony's
It's a lovely place... almost on the beach, a bright little cabin and porch surrounded by grass.
It is off the grid, with no electricity and no connected water.
But you're on the beach (virtually your own private beach) with your own patch of shade, own patch of grass, own little kitchen with endless supplied of hot water for tea and cold water from the fridge.
Though when Mum and my aunt inherited it they decided it did need a bit of a spruce up.
The paint job was notably faded and still just a little bright.
And Granddad was a hoarder. Everything that he might possibly need was there, some things in an obvious state of disrepair or so old they were no longer useful.
We found tins of dried paint, metres of hose repaired and joined together even though the central tap has its own permanent hose attached. An unopened gas bottle, possibly dating to 1995.
There were three tables, one of which was never used and being circular, just ate up space.
An unwieldy corner kitchen unit that never got used. (note the stove to the left, the black weber to the right and the blue primus on top of the cabinet).
Granddad had previously spent weekends down there with his partner and so they had suitable food stuffs for breakfast, coffee, morning tea... However more recently we would only ever pop down for the day. As a result we'd take our own tea and coffee and the fridge would never be turned on to chill the soft drinks waiting in the bottom of the cupboard.
Of the two bedrooms, one was the main, the other had the most uncomfortable foam mattresses.
Not that we were really allowed to stay over. Granddad had some funny rules and as he held the keys (and wouldn't let others have copies) we fell in with his demands.
The curtains and windows were not opened, the beds remained unused.
At most we used the rooms to change in and out of our bathers and the stove to heat water for doing the dishes from lunch.
With the discovery of damp towels in a drawer and out dated produce in the kitchenette it was no surprise that the whole place had acquired a stale feel to it.
With such potential, it was almost a relief when we were able to get our hands on it properly.
Beach Shack Renovation Two
Beach Shack Renovation Three
Beach Shack Renovation Four
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