It was at Wooloowin that I first remember Annie going a touch purple and losing her English cool. Bath time. I think there were four of us: David, Helen, Sam and I. Tom and Pip were probably hovering in awe in the hallway.
The old bath tub had a beautifully honed edge that lent itself to being generously soaped. We found out, probably by trial and error, that the slippery edge provided a wonderful launch pad to surge into the bathwater. Splash! Wet body after wet body swirled through the water, which got soapier and dirtier with each new dive. Of course, Archimedes’s principle was proven over and over again – with the displacement being accommodated as required.
What fun!! Nobody noticed that all the towels and discarded cloths lying over the bathroom floor were getting soggier and soggier, or that trickles of water were starting to flow out the bathroom door and into the adjoining dining room. I remember Sam having the time of his life. ‘Wangle Dangle’ we used to call him. Anyway back to the story . . .
Then Annie was at the door. Her face told a story. ‘Give me strength’ (She said that a lot once. I used to wonder who she was talking to). Her reprimands were of little consequence to the cavorting nudies, however, who continued skipping and giggling through the sodden mess. So, as had often proved to be the only recourse, off came the trusty rubber thong. Ker-thwack! One bare bottom swiped. Wangle’s I think. One would think that would be sufficient to cower the dripping mass into submission. No. Giggle, giggle. KERR-THWACK!! KERR-THWACK!! Annie’s doing a banshee, frantically aiming for slippery bottoms that were trying their hardest to elude the flying rubber reprimand. By this time, I remember Sam’s butt sporting two pink thong tracks. It sort of suited him. But did it deter him? No, he just giggled and skipped around some more, accompanied by the suppressed snorts of his siblings. In fact, the harder Annie whacked and the more purple became her face, the more fun it all seemed. (There’s a price to be paid for all that callous regard, I can feel it coming . . )
Bath time at Wooloowin is an image that has stayed with me for some 40 years now. At the time, I could not understand why Annie couldn’t see the funny side, or perhaps even want to join in. In my dotage, I realize that that memorable evening was just the beginnings of Annie’s blood pressure. But what a way to go .
