Kangaroo Christmas

It does not take an Ebenezer to make Christmas a difficult time. The stress and anxiety suffered by those unable to spend the festive season with kith and kin, is easily forgotten by those of us lucky enough to share. At this time of celebration, we can unintentionally isolate some of those we care about most.

But no matter where you are in the western world, there are some things that spread Yuletide cheer to all. The evergreen boughs of a decorated tree are universally recognised as a symbol of the holiday spirit. In public spaces, tall trees adorned with lights, unite passers-by as they turn their attention toward it. No matter however briefly.

In my home town, Christmas means summer. Hot, humid days are spent lazing around the pool with a cleansing ale or three. Warm nights invite meandering walks along the beach, feeling the cool sand against the soles of your feet.

And then there are the important things. Santa arrives by firetruck, and not by sleigh. On the day following Christmas, there is the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, and the Boxing Day cricket Test begins. Hangovers are nursed and leftovers consumed as people relax with these institutions of Australian culture. But like everywhere, there is warmth, merriment and laughter.

Wherever you are, and however you celebrate, enjoy your Christmas and pause briefly to remember those less fortunate than yourself. Happy holidays!

Sailing

Relentless chatter across a sun-blown harbour but I can only hear it as we pass close to another sloop. A dozen yacht races, maybe more, tack their way from one marker to the next in the afternoon breeze. Each crew is focused solely on their own endeavour.

A sense of historical irony strikes me as the vessel in the lead brings the Bridge into focus. It’s spinnaker of brilliant white is emblazoned with the Union Jack that has led its way into the sheltered waterway at first colonisation some 222 years before.

The technology has changed dramatically in that time, and the landscape has been immutably altered by towering monuments of concrete and steel. But that doesn’t stop me wondering if those brave sailors of old would still find familiar the etched cliff faces and salt-stained islands of this magnificent harbour.