Happy New Year from OZ

So it’s done.  Everything sold or given away to charity shops.  Only a few choice pieces of sentimentally imbued furniture and memorabilia passed on to my long suffering eldest son, Scott, although even he agrees they do give his apartment in Glasgow a much more homely, if a little cramped, look.

All our farewells have been said, final salaries banked, outstanding bills paid, and the first leg of our passage from Scotland to the USA - a painful 25 hour flight – saw us arrive exhausted but excited (as only newly born retirees will comprehend), in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday 18^th December 2014.  

The challenge of setting ourselves up with fifth wheel and truck and embarking on the snow-birding lifestyle has been put on the back-burner until after a very much needed three week holiday spent in the company of my younger son, Drew, his lovely wife, Sarah, and her wonderful and generous parents, Rowena and Michael.  Time for Christmas festivities in the sun, and New Year celebrations under the hiss and bangs of star-bursts that will light up Sydney Harbour.  A once in a lifetime experience for Richard and I – how lucky are we?

But what a strange experience to celebrate Christmas in the summer!  Where were the canned Christmas pop tunes blaring in shops, log fires, the rich greens and reds, and the long cold dark nights I normally associate with the festive season?  Somehow it didn't feel right.  Until, that is, our hosts, Rowena and Michael, took us “Griswalding” on Christmas Eve.

In the best traditions of the National Lampoon Christmas movie the name was coined from, it has become a Sydney tradition to drive around and view whole streets trying to outdo each other in the most flamboyant outdoor Christmas decorations league.  New this year were “snow machines” making them the coolest toys for Dad’s to set up and for the kids on the block to enjoy! 

For me, Christmas has always been about enjoying children’s innocent delight before consumerism takes its dreadful hold, and we particularly enjoyed seeing Sarah's 18 month old niece Ellie’s delight during our Griswalding outing, on Christmas morning, and later at Michael’s mother’s house where many more members of the Hall family enjoyed more gift giving and their notorious themed Xmas lunch together.  The theme varies from year to year, but this time the jungle took over two rooms and with 29 people attending, added a tropical flavour to Christmas,

though the food and the family carols sung to Grandma’s piano playing was purely traditional! 

What a joy for me, who comes from a very small family, to be able to sit back and bask in the warmth of family love and tradition that will morph into tender memories for these children in due course.

So what of the other memories that I have gathered in the fortnight I have now spent in Australia?  Being entertained by Ellie,

       

playing water-polo in the pool, long lazy days of sunshine, tempered with violent winds and thunderstorms,
shopping,

flora and fauna:

FRANGIPANI

RAINBOW LORRIKEET

BLUE TONGUED LIZARD

HUNGRY SPIDER

wine - specially chosen by Drew who considers himself a bit of an afficionado,

food –

so beautifully prepared by Rowena, a first class cook, (the large variety of fresh and tasty ingredients available here at least consoles us that the weight we have gained is healthy weight),



and history.

A trip to the Maritime museum in Sydney saw me nearly break my back squeezing in and out of extremely low-ceilinged decks on a replica of James Cook’s HMB Endeavour,

which took three voyages to and from the newly discovered Great South Land.  The third, which was taken to search for the Northwest Passage, was never finished by Cook, as he was infamously killed at Kealaekua Bay in Hawaii in 1779.

Richard was taken back to his younger days serving as a radioman in the US Navy when he encountered the teletype machines

and radio equipment on the HMAS Vampire, a daring class destroyer which served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1959 to 1986. 

And finally, the best memory of all.  New Year’s Eve in the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, overlooking the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  An iconic experience in its own right, but made so much more special by being able to share it with my younger son and his new extended family, who we have the privilege of being able to call our friends. 

As Richard and I prepare to move on to our new lives in the USA, it helps me tremendously to know that Drew is safe and happy with his lovely Sarah, in his newly adopted home, under the watchful and caring eyes of Rowena and Michael.