Summer holidays are here again

With start of the annual two month school holiday there is a definite change in the air. The beach were we walk, as often as time permits, is now full of parents with and without children, children with and without parents all enjoying the great beach facilites that are available.

While walking along the beach the sound of matkot, a favorite beach sport in Israel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matkot reminds you to keep your eyes open for the stray ball (about the same size as that used in squash) that could catch you unawares.

Of course there are the inevitable police and security forces wandering around but then we have come to accept this as normal

It now gets dark around 8:00 in the evening but beach is only then getting into full swing. Yes the summer holidays allow a certain freedom for the children but those parents with younger children have the problem of juggling their responsibilities as parents with the need to carry on working. In the month of July there are many summer camp options available but August is the most difficult time with not too many options available so it is quite common to see people going to work with their children. The lucky ones bring grandparents into the child minder role.

The Haifa council has a full programme of activities outdoors for the young and not so young ranging from folk dancing where anyone joins in if they feel like it, many performances for children, concerts ranging from classical to pop and jazz and again this year the 13th annual cartoon competition plus many other activities. http://www.haifa.muni.il/Cultures/en-US/

There is never a shortage of things to do and if the beach is too hot, most of the shopping malls have their own programmes for children during the heat of the day.

We will be having our annual grandchildren's summer camp in a few weeks time but more about that in a future posting