Monochrome Monday (mush mush)

Back in winter there was a comp at a wicked beach break. My mates were surfing, but as I was not in The Comp, I wasn't allowed.

What's worse, I wonder - (insert sounds of dawn bird calls and HOT, mush-making northerlies tearing dried up leaves off the big tree outside my kitchen window) - finding good waves that you can't surf because there's comp on?

Or

Finding rubbishy mush that you can't surf on?

I drove down to the Gold Coast on the weekend. There were no waves worth surfing. But I did drink 6 coffees and ate two cheesecakes. I saw a guy shaping a board and heard three bands. I wouldn't have had that great experience if the surf was cranking.

Here's a mono-mash of my sojourns to waves I couldn't surf.

Almond Chicken Pizza

It takes a certain courage or naivete to open a surf shop in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast where even Big Name Shapers have gone to the wall trying to compete with the onslaught of low quality imported boards from third world factories.

So at the minimum, we should all salute Justin from the Sunhouse Surf shop (41 McLean Street, Coolagatta.) His refurbished premises once served up Kentucky Fried Chicken and then pizza. Now it serves up Almond surfboards, coffee and nibbles as well as an eclectic range of salt-oriented sculpture from Grant Newby,  Neal Purchase Jnr and the enigmatic Drouyn to more underground crew like Edward Sawden.

There's a bit of rubber from Patagonia and the odd surf mag as well as Switchfoot II (at least flick to pages 333-334 to view my celluloid renderings of the 75-85 era)

If nothing else, get your old and tired boards and wetties for the surf swap today. There will be live music by the younger Purchase, Isaac Paddon, Paul Wheat. Master of the Tiki-era velvet painting and collector of surfing detritus Baron Von Weirdo will have magical artefacts for sale.

Ohhhh and somewhere in there, Justin is going to squeeze in some shaping demonstrations.
See you there.