A Clovelly Childhood #2

Christmas is the time that the clan gathers and when we were young it was usually in Clovelly, at my family home.  There is a large cemented area where about 30 people can comfortably gather (appropriately called The Big Piece of Cement). An ancient vine covers a pergola, providing shade for the last hours of sunlight in this sheltered corner of the garden and the view across the golf course and the Fish Hoek mountains and sanddunes is spectacular as always.  An old home movie has been converted and put onto our computers so that we can once more enjoy seeing ourselves 40+ years ago.  There I was, in a purple outfit my mother had made (she made all our clothes, a very skilled needlewoman) which consisted of a long top covering hotpants, which were barely visible, making it look on the movie as though I was wearing a daring micro mini. It was the early 70s and the men all had sideburns and long hair and the aunts and uncles were so young!
  Seeing myself in that outfit took me back in an instant to that Christmas Day 40 years ago.   I went to visit my good friend, Mandy (Hi, Mandy, in Australia, remember that day? You made a movie of us and that is why I know I was wearing the purple outfit.) We were playing darts outside and I looked up at the mountain and saw a thin wisp of smoke rising from the other side.  The southeaster was blowing fiercely over False Bay and the fire spread and burned all day and night.  There was great excitement in Clovelly because the first house in the path of the fire was thatched and had to have its own fire engine.  Hundreds of sightseers clogged the road, getting in the way of the firefighters and causing pandemonium.  We were warned to be prepared to evacuate our house if the flames came any closer, but fortunately the wind died down and we weren't in danger.  There were a few close calls for other residents and it came to light that the fire had been started by a sailor from a visiting British ship, who went back to his ship and sailed away, leaving us with a devastated mountainside and incinerated reptiles. I wonder if he ever thinks about it?