When my sister Amy married and had a daughter in 2021, my own little girl was over the moon at the prospect of a baby girl cousin. “When am I going to see her?” was the incessant question. Given that this new family addition lives over 1200km away in Queensland, the only way to quench Scout’s excitement was to organise a ‘daddy-daughter road trip’.
Meetings over meat
Abiding by driver reviver rules (and accounting for the patience of a young child) it took us two days to reach Nanna’s for a short visit, before travelling on to our intended destination to meet up with more of the family in Queensland.
While 11-year-old Scout played ‘babysitter’ to her new cousin, the rest of us had a chance for a decent catch-up. Dad was happy to have me, Amy and my brother Les all under one roof for once.
Interestingly, most of our conversations happened in the kitchen. Even though it’s sometimes a squeeze to have as many as seven of us in there at once, the kitchen has always been a magnet for conversations. So, it wasn’t surprising that Dad was soon asking “Well, are we making sausages or jerky? What do you want to take home with you?”
These food preparation sessions hold a particularly soft spot in my heart. I have
