One of the greatest things that the boomers age group have are the memories of growing up when travel was easy, expectations of career were less evident and time seemed endless.
Robbie Irlam who I met in Jbay for the first time has had such a life. One filled with experiences from as far away as Utrecht in Holland where he made furniture and others from those dingy times some of us experienced in places like Zeerust wearing browns and leather boots that only shone for a few minutes before the dust rendered them dull.
He also worked as a display artist in Woolies in the old days. At the base of all those deviations from the duller drudgery that most mortals experience is lifelong relationship with surfing and the ocean. Like many his age, he went about growing up in the False Bay area surfing the Corner with occasional hop over to Long Beach.
Nowadays he lives in Jbay via just about everywhere. He’s passionate about surf photography and if Supers is firing he’s there to capture it all. Both his partner Mariette and himself paint and create and its pretty evident that Robbie’s life has a resonance that many would trade places for any day of the week.
What about Mike Patterson? One of the best surfers (and hustler) around for donkey’s years!!