Boxing Day Blues
What is about Boxing Day that makes it a little depressing? Is it after days if not weeks of preparation and planning , it is suddenly all over. Christmas has passed  for another year, the presents are mainly opened , the major meal has been sweated over, cooked majestically and then eaten. After which there are copious comments praising the chef, thank yous for presents, hangovers to accommodate and a general feeling of lethargy that creeps in, unwanted and unasked for.

If any of this is true it was certainly reflective of the spirit of Manly on Boxing Day.We all woke feeling tired and reflective. There was certainly no rush to get up and get going. When we did there was major work to be done, food to put away, general detritus to be cleared, washing up and tables to be moved. After all that had been done we went out to see the star of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race from Tania  Park, along with a couple of thousand other people. Apparently, this is a very popular pastime on Boxing Day in Sydney.

The sight of the fleet acting out through the heads which directly in front of us was something to see. The coloured the sea and sky, the wind, the excitement of the crowd, the flotilla of small ships which lined the route, and the general setting makes it a complete spectacle.  I have seen the start of other yacht races out of Plymouth, but they haven't got the setting that Sydney Harbour has and that makes the spectacle.

After the boats had departed we returned home for lunch and in the afternoon almost all of us had a snooze if not a proper nap. In the evening we watched an Australian film called "The Sapphires" about an all girl aborigine  group, who sung in Vietnam for the Australian and American troops. I thought it was an excellent film, which raised all sorts of issues, about the treatment of aborigines, racism in both Australia and America and it also had some very good music in it.a very tired quartet of people then made their way to bed. A sunny Boxing day which in its own way was very memorable.