There is something about caravan park living which seems to fulfil some basic human needs that I think we miss in city life. There's the morning routine of wandering over to the ablution block in the morning & having a chin wag in the showers, then perhaps a bit of a wander in your bathrobe with a cup of coffee, having a chat with your neighbours as they too emerge in their bathrobes. Then everyone's off to jobs or doing their own thing in their sites; if someone's packing up to leave, you go and lend a hand with a few others, having a laugh, exchanging phone and email details perhaps, then waving them off with the traditional "safe travels!".
Then it's dog walking, pausing to chat, and if you're planning to drive into town you might ask if anyone needs anything or wants to come along, exchange tips on fishing spots for the day, or organise an informal social gathering at the bowls lawn or The Shed. In the afternoons, if someone's had a big catch, there's fish to share; you might just invite passersby to share dinner with you, or if you've cooked "extra" you might take it round to your neighbours.
With so much casual social activity, the morning chats can get as tangled as a soap opera. Is it Jack who's having the hip replacement, or was it Waddo? Was it Anne's granddaughter who ran off with Jim's uncle's mate that they knew back in Busselton? Is it Bazza who's got Geoff's spare trailer jack that you need to borrow or was it Geoff who left it with Bazza when he went for his eye appointment and now it's out the back of the office and you should ask Heather if she's seen it?
You can be pretty much as social or as private as you like, and there's a good feeling of people looking out for you & pitching in to help and share. It's a happy, contented kind of living, and every day I learn something surprising about one of my fellow trailer parkers, such as John & Alice whose grandfather would send letters in these amazing envelopes that he illustrated with funny scenes from Scottish life, with the address incorporated into the artwork; they have them framed on the wall in their caravan. Everyone has interesting stories & experiences to share, and there's a wealth of helpful information on just about anything you want to know about road life, local resources, how to fix things, and of course the ever-fascinating possibilities of 12 volt power systems.
What more could you want?
No comments:
Post a Comment