Christmas in Australia!?!?!?!?!?!?

Basically Christmas kicks off on Dec 1st over here. Apart from the shops who like Britain have been looking for opportunities since October at least. Tina also jumped the gun slightly by going to a "make your own Gingerbread house" evening in late November. Hansel and Gretel have not turned up yet although a few of the other witches were annoyed when she insisted on stealing all the red , pink and purple smarties to colour co-ordinate the side of her house.



Friday night was forecast as the only decent piece of the weekend. So along with Lisa, John, Emily and Sarah the Chappells went along to Newcastle Ocean Baths for a twilight swim. After you have been teaching in 35 degree heat with no air con it is a welcome start to the weekend. We had more active photos and Alex only hacked it for about five minutes but his tentative steps in reflect the fact that it was damn cold and his boardies are aesthetically in line with the lighting.



Well just like Southampton, I got my first real taste of Christmas when I went Thursday late night shopping. Just like Southampton a demonstrative organ display was giving us "bassanova/ tempo48" renditions of "I'm dreaming of white Christmas just like the ones I used to know". Meanwhile a fully red cloaked/ booted Santa posed for photos. You half expect people to jump up and down and shout. "What bloody White Christmas?" or "Santa, where's your swimmies?" But no. It is all dutifully accepted and so we dutifully put up our Norwegain pine Christmas tree the next morning. We love having the smell of a real tree back home but understand they are hard to come by over here and understand this is not actually our house and David and Michelle do not want to spend six months hoovering pine needles.




We were looking for the blazing sunshine + Christmas hats photo = ha! ha! typical christmas in Oz photo but bad weather and a bad tempered ("Jessica, get OFF!") son blew it. We'll try later.



Christmas Carols by the lake was supposed to be on the agenda but a bit of drizzle plus 15mph winds is enough to cancel events over here but a nothing stops a barbecue especially when your hosts are Welsh and called Jenkins. So here we are with a surreal weekend of watching Sam Jenkins, making us some welsh cakes, in his Korea T shirt, whilst we watch the Ashes and support the English. Meanwhile all our hosts Anne, Gareth and four great but very Welsh/Australian offspring boo all of England's fine batting efforts.



Before the barbie and the Thunderstorm we were inspired by day two at Adelaide but judging by the technique of the English "pace attack" Wales/ Australia had the upper hand.