Summer in Sydney means ... burning feet on the driveway and the family minigolf championship

What does a Sydney summer mean to you?

The first time every summer that I realise I should have put on thongs to save my feet burning on the driveway. The sound of leather on willow piercing the quiet of a Saturday afternoon. Chasing the leather part of that equation down the street after some kid has belted it halfway to Brisbane. Eating my mum’s unbeatable, from-scratch ice-cream cake.

The Luna Park ferris wheel... a great place to take visitors to Sydney.Credit: Jessica Hromas

Earliest memory of summer in Sydney?

Swimming lessons and Saturday morning swimming club at Lane Cove pool. As a small child I was terrified of the deep end and pretended a shark was chasing me. That fictitious shark stayed with me a while, propelling me to the under-13 point score championship – which was for improvement rather than speed if I am honest about it.

First place you take visitors?

Pre-pandemic, Sydney Tower revolving restaurant was the go-to. The buffet is fine, but no-one is there for the food, rather to behold Sydney’s beauty in every direction. It still takes my breath away, and I feel very fortunate to have grown up here. These days I would choose outdoors – probably the Luna Park ferris wheel.

Favourite cafe?

The ones open by 6.30am. I have three of them close by and I love them all equally. Sydney is a nicer place early in the morning.

Secret spot in Sydney I escape to?

If I haven’t sounded like a daggy suburban mum enough already, Thornleigh minigolf. My family has missed Ermington putt putt terribly since it closed. The highlight of this summer has been my (much) less competitive younger son towelling up the rest of us for the first time, at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast. Seven holes-in-one across 36 holes. Who does that? Probably the kid dragged around Ermington since he could walk. Thornleigh is more grown up and probably suits us better now. It also does excellent coffee. We all take it very seriously and scorecards are pinned to the fridge for months to remind us oldie losers who the household champion is.

The best summer food is …

Limes. Especially in poolside frozen margaritas. (Swim first. Never drink and swim because those sharks will get you.)

I know it’s summer when I smell …

Smoke from hazard reduction wafting across the entire northern half of Sydney.

My favourite summer song is…

Forever Young, the 2005 Youth Group version.

The smell of summer... Smoke blankets northern Sydney after hazard reduction burns.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

The worst thing about summer is …

When it is over, even if we do pretend it lasts until June.

My closest bolthole away from the city is …

I never feel any great need to escape Sydney. The closest I’d stop would be the blissfully uncrowded beaches of Coffs Harbour followed by a cool drink and music trivia at the Hoey Moey.

Guilty pleasure?

Finally talking my semi-adult children into watching Cobra Kai so I could re-watch it. Witnessing William Zabka, Ralph Macchio and Martin Kove reprise their Karate Kid roles three decades on has been so much fun; and for moments here and there it feels like 1984 again. Life was simpler.

What aspect of summer life would you change, and what do you want to always stay the same?

Daylight saving should start earlier and finish later, especially in the age of al fresco driven by the pandemic. I think we could get away with mid-August to May. I hope that the New Year’s Eve fireworks’ naysayers never get their way. A couple of hundred million Brazilians may beg to differ, but there is nowhere in the world that does it better than Sydney. For 15 minutes you forget your problems and appreciate what you have in front of you.

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