Stella

My paid account runs out on the 24th. Meh. Oh well! First of all, since I probably won't have time to post before Christmas:

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Blessed Midsummer (if you're in my part of the world) and all round Happy Holidays! I love you all and hope your days are filled with joy.

As for me, I went camping in the Blue Mountains with friends over the weekend. Epic fun times were had. The first day we had an epic water pistol battle that involved us bushbashing through a regular forest of reeds up river, all the while making jokes about how this was like a bad Vietnam War film. We split off into small groups and launched blitz attacks against each other, ambushing other groups through the reeds. Much amusement. Then we had the admittedly rather foolish idea of climbling onto a friend's four wheel drive and sitting on the bonnet and roof while he drove donuts and figure eights. I was on the bonnet, holding onto my friend who kept nearly falling off. Fun yet extremely scary!

The best part? Sitting under a starry sky that you can only see in the country. Breathtaking.

Help my hatchling?



Many thanks!

There seems to be a trend, particularly on the Internet and in the writings of newspaper columnists whose job is to be Cool and Cynical, to get in touch with one's inner curmudgeon around Christmas time. Altogether now:

BAH, HUMBUG!

Me, I love Christmas. In fact, Christmas is pretty much my favourite time of year. Of course, the Christmas experience in the Southern hemisphere is very different to that in the North. For a start, Christmas in Australia is literally in the middle of summer, and summer is without a doubt my favourite season. This seasonal difference means that Australians by and large celebrate Christmas differently than in Europe or the US.

The festive season in Australia is characterised by being outdoors. After all, the average temperature for this time of year is 35-39 degrees centigrade; and despite this many houses in Sydney don't have air conditioning (ours is one of them). So for me, Christmas means sitting on the beach eating mangos, swimming in crystal clear rock pools and chucking prawns (not shrimp!) on the barbecue. Try being grumpy during that.

Australia also has the great tradition of carols by candlelight, where everyone gets together at a park or beach to sing Christmas carols. I love having a picnic with my parents and friends and singing with hundreds of people. I love Christmas carols in general, even though I'm not a Christian, because many of them are rather beautiful and I love to sing. Though it is a bit odd to sing about a White Christmas when you're sweltering in the heat!

To all those whining about having to put up with Christmas, get over it. It comes but once a year. So you don't like spending time with your extended family? Here's some news: most people don't. In fact, your extended family probably don't like you all that much either if you're either sitting in the corner doing your best Grinch impression or dripping with insincerity. Put on a smile, find the one family member you do get along with (even if it's the dog) and be safe in the knowledge that in a few hours you'll be free of it all and you won't see these people for another year. Or if that seems like too much effort for you, go on holiday to some luxury resort for the Christmas weekend and do us all a favour.

It's Christmas. You may not like it, but don't spoil it for the rest of us.