Countdown to Christmas
When Laura realised she was going to miss the run-up to Christmas in Sydney, she asked if we could put the tree up a little earlier so she could have a part in it’s decoration before she went off to SA. This was fine with us all, so a real tree was duly bought and decorated before she left for Johannesburg last Tuesday.
We know she arrived safely, as she ‘commented’ Caroline on Facebook, but that’s all we’ve heard! She’s obviously having a great time and is far too busy to think of us. We’re not worried, as she’s staying with her friend’s family and we’d hear if anything was wrong, but living in a society where instant and continual communication is the norm, the silence takes a little adjusting to! We’re looking forward to having her home on Christmas Eve and hearing all her news then, if she isn’t too tired!
We’re all enjoying the warmer weather and the concept of ‘Christmas in the sun’ is becoming more acceptable too. The Australians complain about the Christmas shopping crowds, but they’re nothing compared to the UK ones! I arrived at the local shopping mall at 9am this morning expecting to queue to get into the car park, but instead drove straight in to a half-empty car park – bliss! There also isn’t that urgency to buy far more food than everyone will eat and the supermarkets never get as busy as we’ve known in the UK, which is lovely. This year we are planning breakfast on the beach, followed by a seafood bbq - Laura, (and weather!) permitting.
Last weekend we had some Aussie friends over for a Saturday night dinner, then on Sunday Clive and I decided to go for a bike ride to work off the excesses of the night before! The cycling club we have recently joined don’t arrange rides during the summer as it’s usually too hot, so we planned our own to keep the fitness levels up! We set off about 11am and rode down to Narrabeen Lakes via Cromer and then home along the busy Wakehurst Parkway.
The whole ride took us just over 2 hours and this included about 15 minutes watching the windsurfers race across the lake (it was a windy day, so they were out in force!). We covered around 22kms, which was a good distance – far enough to feel we’d had a good work-out, but short enough to have us home for lunch! The route was fairly hilly and I had to get off a couple of times and each time I did I could picture the cycling group sailing ahead in the distance and urging me forward. Their images didn’t stop me getting off, but they did stop me getting off more often!
We know she arrived safely, as she ‘commented’ Caroline on Facebook, but that’s all we’ve heard! She’s obviously having a great time and is far too busy to think of us. We’re not worried, as she’s staying with her friend’s family and we’d hear if anything was wrong, but living in a society where instant and continual communication is the norm, the silence takes a little adjusting to! We’re looking forward to having her home on Christmas Eve and hearing all her news then, if she isn’t too tired!
We’re all enjoying the warmer weather and the concept of ‘Christmas in the sun’ is becoming more acceptable too. The Australians complain about the Christmas shopping crowds, but they’re nothing compared to the UK ones! I arrived at the local shopping mall at 9am this morning expecting to queue to get into the car park, but instead drove straight in to a half-empty car park – bliss! There also isn’t that urgency to buy far more food than everyone will eat and the supermarkets never get as busy as we’ve known in the UK, which is lovely. This year we are planning breakfast on the beach, followed by a seafood bbq - Laura, (and weather!) permitting.
Last weekend we had some Aussie friends over for a Saturday night dinner, then on Sunday Clive and I decided to go for a bike ride to work off the excesses of the night before! The cycling club we have recently joined don’t arrange rides during the summer as it’s usually too hot, so we planned our own to keep the fitness levels up! We set off about 11am and rode down to Narrabeen Lakes via Cromer and then home along the busy Wakehurst Parkway.
The whole ride took us just over 2 hours and this included about 15 minutes watching the windsurfers race across the lake (it was a windy day, so they were out in force!). We covered around 22kms, which was a good distance – far enough to feel we’d had a good work-out, but short enough to have us home for lunch! The route was fairly hilly and I had to get off a couple of times and each time I did I could picture the cycling group sailing ahead in the distance and urging me forward. Their images didn’t stop me getting off, but they did stop me getting off more often!
posted by Hawkins Family @ 8:35 am
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