May your days
be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white
May your days be merry and
bright
After a quick dip in the pool and a champagne
breakfast we headed off to Garrett’s, a friend of Dave and Brian’s, where we
and several other people would be spending Christmas Day. We loaded up the car
with presents, alcohol and food. I was in the back seat holding on to the
turkey, Brian had the unenviable task of sitting up front holding the gravy
Dave had made the day before. En route we collected a friend of theirs, Iain,
and were soon at Garrett’s, turkey and gravy both surviving Dave’s driving. The
rest of the gang for the day comprised of Ryan, his friend Christa and Kuan. I
had met Kuan the previous night at The Beresford although we hadn’t really
chatted much. He had been in a bit of a panic that there wouldn’t be enough
food so had gone off to try and find a store still open late on Christmas Eve
to do some last minute shopping. From the spread of food already out on the
table for lunch it was clear we were not going to go hungry. We wouldn’t have
gone hungry had a coach load of unexpected guests called in to help eat all the food either.
And may all your Christmases
be white
The evening was rounded off with the secret Santa
gifts. I got a copy of Bill Bryson’s Down Under which I was very pleased with.
I had nearly bought at the airport in New Zealand with my last remaining
currency but had opted for a bacon sandwich instead. I had a catch up with my
sister and Mother on Skype to wish them a Happy Christmas, my sister telling me
that I didn’t appear to be anywhere near as drunk as she thought I would be. I
took it as a compliment. We left the car at Garrett’s, sensibly calling for a
taxi given we had all had a few drinks. The taxi driver got a little lost but
we were soon home and I crashed straight into bed after a very long but
enjoyable southern hemisphere Christmas.
Boxing Day got off to a sedate start. Over coffee and
some toast we watched the start of the Sydney to Hobart boat race. From Dave
& Brian’s balcony we could see the boats in the distance. We returned to
Garrett’s at lunchtime in order to collect the dishes that had been left behind
the previous day. There was also the
matter of two desserts, untouched the previous day that would need to be
tackled. Over coffee we made inroads into the black forest cake and the trifle.
We gave it our best shot, Brian even having thirds, but we finally admitted
defeat. It was a while before anyone got up from the table, all of us enjoying
a cake coma for a while. We finally loaded up the car and headed back to Dave
and Brian’s for a quiet afternoon.
That evening we were joined by Em, a mutual friend from back in London. Em was over in Sydney visiting some friends and would also host me for a couple of days over New Year, my first lesbian host of my travels. We had got to know each other when we had been on the LGBT Employee Network leadership team together. I had been Head of Gays for a while, Em taking on the co-chair role when I finally gave in my dictatorship-like rule of the network. She and I have a love-hate relationship, I love winding her up, she hates having to put up with my childish behaviour. We are like squabbling siblings. After a drink on the balcony we went in search of a restaurant. A lot of places were closed but we found a nice little Italian place, opting to sit outside. Brian went off to get some wine for us to have with dinner. Not long after Brian got back with the wine we decided to move indoors as it had started to get quite windy. Over dinner we caught up on what was happening back in London with the gays. They seemed to be coping without my presence. Em and I managed to get through the whole dinner without winding each other up which was a little odd. It was probably because we hadn’t seen each other for a while. She redeemed herself at the end though, saying “See you Fattie” to me as she left the restaurant.
That evening we were joined by Em, a mutual friend from back in London. Em was over in Sydney visiting some friends and would also host me for a couple of days over New Year, my first lesbian host of my travels. We had got to know each other when we had been on the LGBT Employee Network leadership team together. I had been Head of Gays for a while, Em taking on the co-chair role when I finally gave in my dictatorship-like rule of the network. She and I have a love-hate relationship, I love winding her up, she hates having to put up with my childish behaviour. We are like squabbling siblings. After a drink on the balcony we went in search of a restaurant. A lot of places were closed but we found a nice little Italian place, opting to sit outside. Brian went off to get some wine for us to have with dinner. Not long after Brian got back with the wine we decided to move indoors as it had started to get quite windy. Over dinner we caught up on what was happening back in London with the gays. They seemed to be coping without my presence. Em and I managed to get through the whole dinner without winding each other up which was a little odd. It was probably because we hadn’t seen each other for a while. She redeemed herself at the end though, saying “See you Fattie” to me as she left the restaurant.
The following morning was another gay host handover
day and I was packed and ready to go at the specified time. Dave and Brian were
up too, neither of them ready, rushing around half naked as they packed. I
texted Dan to let him know that I was ready to leave but that we might be at
his later than planned. They were only heading off down the coast for a few
days but from the pile of luggage building up in the hall you would think they
were going away for months. I had seen them pack a Scrabble set and a
pineapple. I didn’t want to pry into how they would be spending their evenings.
We finally headed out an hour later than planned, one of my few travel delays
of the trip.
“May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white”
Lyrics from White Christmas from the musical White Christmas
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