I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY

I am a pale skinned freckle faced redhead living in Australia…. a choice I made over 30 years ago I may add. There must be a word for that…….’idiot’ now comes to front of mind.

Researching my move across the globe was done with fervour. Everyday there was something new to check off my list. ‘Bondi’. Check. ‘Kangaroos’. Check. ‘Koalas’. Check, ‘Barbeques’. Check, Sydney Opera House, check. ‘Sunshine and sand and the great outdoors’. Check. The list went on and became more enticing as the longer it got. “All that sunshine”!   After living in the cold grey North of England where summer lasted for 6 weeks if you were lucky, I couldn’t get away quick enough. ‘Sun and sand, you say?’ I’m in.

I was young, my English skin was ‘rose’ fresh. I was covered in freckles and loved being in the cool outdoors and my red hair was the complement to my fair skin.  The fact that I didn’t join my friends and family in the sunbathing Malarkey during said 6 weeks of summer because I was ‘too busy’ never crossed my mind as it being at odds with the sunshine. ‘Sunshine, I love being outdoors in the sun, who doesn’t? I’m just busy with other things ‘was my comeback when being asked to join in the fry up.

Little did I know then, but I do now for sure that there must have been a little sunshine beetle in my ear warning me of the perils of too much sun with my colouring even in the cool Mother country. Australia? Seriously? Did I listen? Not consciously I know.

In Australia I landed in the middle of winter. It was warm even though the sun was only just up over the morning horizon, beating down on these fresh-faced newcomers. “Its only day one.  If this is winter, I can get used to this”.

My skin burned.

Then Summer came and the sunshine stayed and stayed and stayed and got hotter and hotter and I found myself again being ‘too busy’ to enjoy the great outdoors fry up. Airconditioning was my friend.

Sunscreen became part of my daily moisturising routine and my wardrobe has a hat for every occasion and I do enjoy the Great Outdoors. I got used to it.

My skin still burns if the suns so much as says ‘hello’ but I realised very early on that moving to the beautiful ‘Lucky Country’ was indeed a good idea if I; ‘Slip on a tee-shirt, Slop on sunscreen and Slap on a hat’. (ref: Australian Cancer Council launch 1981)

Now there must be a word for that?!

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