Old books and not so frail old ladies

I often hear us saying things - snippets of conversation - that would not have taken place before we moved to the island. For example:
- "I'm cold, Mum."
- "Well, put on a T-shirt then." (!)
Or at dinner the other night: "Could you please get that rooster off the table."
And about every fortnight I say, "We're going to the library so please put on some insect repellent."

There is an official library here which hardly anyone goes to - and then there is the one run by a group of volunteers. Started in the 60's, it's a bit dusty and grimy and smells like old books; and is a favourite hang-out for mosquitoes.

But it's also an absolute treasure trove - and a lifeline for anyone with a child who reads voraciously. We've managed to find some wonderful books in what looks at first glance like a fairly motley collection; this past week C has read the original version of Anne Frank's Diary, Heidi's Children, and a Nancy Drew mystery. She has also discovered Biggles - once written off as "boy's stuff" but now described as "pretty deadly exciting."

Nothing is catalogued on computer, so you can't find out if they have a particular book; and when you take a book out, they pull out a little card from an envelope in the back of the book, and write your library number on it. Remember that?
One of the library volunteers has become a friend. Tamara is a tiny elderly lady with buckets of energy and some fabulous life stories. She is originally Latvian, but moved to Australia as a war refugee when she was about 12. After her husband died and her children were nearing adulthood, she decided she wanted to "find her paradise," as she puts it : to spend her last decades on a tropical island. So she started searching for "the best island" and every year would holiday on a different island group. Some 23 years or so ago she arrived on Rarotonga, having visited every island group between here and Australia - and, after two days, decided this was the one.

I cooked dinner for her the other night, and she was telling me more stories. Recently she went on a marine research trip to Suwarrow, one of the outer islands which is a bird sanctuary. When she contacted the captain, and said she wanted to go, he said sternly that he had some concerns about taking her along.

"I hear you are a little frail old lady, Tamara," he said.

"Little, yes. Old, yes. Frail, no," she replied.

"Can you wield a machete?"

The answer was yes, and she was on. I had not asked Tamara how old she was, as I didn't want to be rude, but a mutual friend told me just the other day: she is 86. An inspiring woman.

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