August 28th 1982

posted in: Innocents Abroad | 0
Chess al fresco

A good start to the day – tea, then porridge, then bread + marmite (I seem to have landed the job of breakfast chef.)  Even so, it’s going to be difficult to adjust our eating habits.  Over the past week, we’ve become used to huge quantities of fresh bread being available, with butter + jam.  That custom will have to be turned down.  Afterwards tho’, Val + I went in to the camp-site to meet Dave, + I have to confess I went straight round to the grocery, bought a baguette, + then ate most of it, Val having the rest.  As usual, there were a few new faces round the camp-fire, Tom presiding as usual.  There was a young Danish couple, + Regina, a pretty French girl.  6 of us agreed to go out to the beach at Tahiti village: Dave + Regina, Val + I hitched out in 2 groups, Tom + Russ to follow soon.  The hitching was as easy as ever, Val + I arriving first.  I gave swimming with a mask another whirl, but enjoyed it no more than last time, so soon came out again.  I gave Tom another game of chess when he arrived, and the rat beat ne again!  So we spent some time chatting + eating fruit.  I don’t like Regina, I decided, too much of both a know-it-all and a put-downer.  Still, I wouldn’t have minded seeing her without her shirt, but she wouldn’t even take that off.  On the same subject tho’, there were an extraordinary number of very pretty girls lying around in states of severe undress – very nice to look at.

Persuaded Tom to play chess again – and at last I beat him.  Then I played Russ, + won that one too, so I was considerably cheered.  We hitched back with Russ – a frighteningly fast ride in the back of a pick-up with some crazy local surfers.  Still, we arrived in one piece, + then back to the boat.  Once again, a few drinks, + then Doug provided another marvellous meal, an oxtail stew with onions + potatoes, + Val provided some turnip + celery cooked up in parsley sauce – beautiful.

I’ve got fed up apologising for my juvenile infatuation, so I’ll stop. Have to say, did consider editing out such embarrassing revelations, but made a decision at the beginning to transcribe it word for word, however awkward, and so that is the bed I have made. Good to get my chess game going at last; I have a tendency to make silly mistakes, which is infuriating after all that intellectual effort.

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