Monday 16 August 2004, 9am
By Lee Cameron

A beautiful Sunday in Warrandyte

Lee Cameron writes on a spring morning at Don and Barbara Cameron's Warrandyte home, where the family gathers for a Sunday birthday breakfast.

Family at breakfast: (From left) Kiana Frede, Barbara Cameron, Don Cameron, Julie Aares. (Photo: Felix Cameron)

David, Felix and I are going to Warrandyte on a Sunday morning to celebrate Michele’s birthday. At Don and Barbara’s there are a rose and wattle in a glass on the table. I enjoy a deliciously juicy tangelo, and begin sewing on my patchwork quilt. Don pours me a lovely fragrant coffee and then another. I am thankful for a hot water bottle on my knees. The weather is cold, but lovely and fine.

Barbara has made Michele a birthday cake. There is a conversation about growing plants such as jasmines, cyclamens and passion fruits; about the family in Europe; about Barbara starting school very early in the morning in Switzerland. Edwin and Maria, Virgil and Julie, and Cris and the children come. The sky is a clear blue – it would be lovely to walk later. Maria looks beautiful in a white jumper. She and Edwin hug and kiss. What a happy atmosphere!

Now Jarrah, Julie, Kiana, Virgil, Edwin and Maria are eating breakfast at the big black-bean table. David grinds coffee beans. Sasha and Bianca arrive and Sasha tells us about moving to Nicholson St, Carlton – moving out of home for the first time. Michele arrives. Jarrah shows me a beautiful picture-card he has made for Michele’s birthday. A cheerfully smiling Annette arrives. I tell Annette and Bianca Angelica’s news of her boyfriend, and Bianca explains that she heard the news via the intricate grapevine of school friends.

As I sit next to Annette while she has a late breakfast, music begins: Jarrah and Bianca on the cello pluck and tinkle away, while Maria plays on the guitar. We sing “ Happy Birthday” to Michele, who blows out the candles on a smartie-decorated cake. The cake is surrounded by lovely gifts, and brightly-decorated cards.

The birthday gifts on the dining table, the sugar bowl and fresh garden flowers. (Photo: Felix Cameron)

Maria and Edwin’s gifts are particularly beautiful. In a gold-paper covered box, Maria has put a selection of citrus fruits from Kempsey, with a yellow and red petalled rose and a card with a beautiful yellow poppy on it. Edwin has made a very charming mobile using curved white paper cutouts and a skewer, and a shell, and a grey-and-white-spotted guinea-fowl feather.

Virgil and Julie give Michele chocolate and flowers from Rosanna’s garden. Michele looks appreciatively at the picture of a Norwegian flower on their birthday card. It is a beautiful blue-purple violet.

There are miniature Lindt chocolates from Janine and Cris and the children. There is a packet, in blue and dark brown and silver colours, of Baci chocolates from Annette and the girls.

Sasha and Bianca begin a very lively, tuneful duet. Jarrah shows me his very artistic, rich blue music bag made in craft at school. It is very colourfully and beautifully embroidered, and has a woven part appliquéd on its front panel. Meanwhile Michele opens Kiana’s gift of a brightly coloured paper bird, which is made to hang as a little flying mobile. Its wings form to fans coloured red, orange, green and blue.

Michele reaches for a parcel shaped like a bottle, and opens it with the help of David’s pocket knife. It is a bottle of Shiraz from Cris and Janine. It is passed around for people to see, whilst Virgil and Bianca accompany Sasha, pizzicato, on violin and cello.

Now Julie’s silvery, mellow flute joins Sasha’s melody, Julie gradually picking it up under Sasha’s tuition.

All this time Felix sets up Edwin’s tripod at various sites in the room, taking photos of the celebration from different viewpoints, with Virgil’s digital camera.

Michele opens another packet of miniature Swiss chocolates, this time a gift from Don and Barbara. Now it is time to cut the magnificent Birthday Cake, with its squat red and tall white candles. Michele is turning 45 years old.

Meanwhile Bianca, Sasha, Maria, Julie and Virgil form a delightful quintet, playing so liltingly and gracefully that it makes me feel as if I would love to dance to the music. Bianca encourages Jarrah to join in the music forming a sixth member of the sextet, playing the tune called “Sway”.

Annette is seated next to Barbara, sewing a little doll by hand. She makes these dolls as birthday gifts for the children she is a kindergarten teacher to. She finds this teaching work has its challenges – but also its satisfactions. Sasha tells me about her hopes for the following couple of years. She hopes to defer for a year in which she works enough at a job to earn money to travel. Journalism and Medical Science, Physiotherapy and Osteopathy are courses she is considering as options for the following year.

Before Julie cleans and dismantles her flute, we hear the absolutely enchanting strains of “Morning”, from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, floating gracefully above all the cheerful conversation. Julie plays her flute beautifully - it is a joy to hear her music.

At almost 1:45pm, on a gloriously sunny, spring-like day, it is time to say farewells. Outside, in the sunshine, the sweet, warm fragrance of golden wattle greets me. I walk up to Sasha’s new car to admire it. It is a lovely light charcoal grey Mazda Sedan. The day is so beautifully sunny. I hope to walk soon.

I see down in the garden the almond tree in full blossom, and remember writing a poem many years ago, about the almond blossom buds, “peeping pink and white, like babies toes.” I wrote this poem 34 years ago when I first experienced a spring out at Warrandyte. Jarrah brings me two fragrant almond blossoms. They smell wonderful.

On Joslyn Drive I start walking, accompanied by David, Felix, Jarrah, Kiana, Cris, Sasha, Edwin, Maria, Virgil and Julie. I share singing a song with Virgil and Julie – Julie and Virgil sing in Norwegian, I sing the same song in German. David accompanies me on some more laps when the others leave, and eventually I walk six laps altogether.

It has been a beautiful family day.