Christmas Decos

By far the weirdest thing about Christmas in Australia is the light. Everybody comments on the cold but being in the southern hemisphere made me appreciate that almost all of the Christmas traditions are based around it being dark. Nobody plays games, watches TV, sits around hibernating when they can be outside DOING things. Lots of people visit two or three people on Christmas Day itself because they don't have to 'settle down' for the evening at about 4pm. Having said that, it was over 40 degrees on Christmas Day and I was very much aware of it!

On arriving off the train I spent an early Christmas Day with Izzy, Darren and Darren's children. After presents, we went and visited New Norcia, which is further inland and hotter. It was a missionary school set up by Spanish monks and therefore looks like bits of Spain plonked in the middle of an arid bit of Australia. It is really quite extraordinary. There are still a few monks there but they no longer educate indigenous children as they did for about one hundred years. The following day I met up with Barb's brother in law and his family, Andy, Marie and Liz and we went out for a lovely meal in a winery in the Swan Valley. We later then went out to an outdoor cinema showing 'Skylab', a French film I would very much recommend. We brought a picnic and a jumper (their summer is a little different to ours!) and there are lovely pine trees all around. A very surreal thing to be doing on the 23rd December.

Christmas Eve was a beach day, as well as a cooking day, which felt a bit more Christmassy. On Christmas itself I opened my stocking from the UK, chocolate truffles and all, before we headed to Jeanette and Colin's, where Izzy stayed when she first arrived in Perth. There were 23 for lunch and more coming and going all day. Masses of food, with ham, prawns, lots of salads, all followed by various dips in the pool. A very good day but not at all like Christmas.

Boxing Day was the beginning of our trip southwards, which involved stopping at Mandurah where Darren's sister and her family are camping. Freshly caught crabs are perfect boxing day fare!