Christmas in Manly

Christmas Eve was quiet and very enjoyable, we walked the dogs on the beach and loved the sunshine. In the evening we watched Miracle on 34th Street just to get ourselves into the Christmas spirit. Rosemarie got involved with tracking Santa's journey around the world checking every 10 minutes or so that he was making satisfactory progress. I also had the normal problem of presents being demanded before we had even got to midnight. We were in bed before midnight ht to make sure Santa would come. Rosemarie and I had agreed not to give each other presents this year and before I even got into bed I was told in no uncertain terms that if there was a surprise for her on Christmas Day I would be in deep trouble.

Christmas started at about 8.00 am when I got up to make coffee, Zoe had been up since 6.00am doing various jobs. After we were up and dressed we had some breakfast before opening our presents. Rosemarie and I felt very special.
After presents people began to arrive and David and I moved tables to create a large dining area as 10 were invited to dinner. Daiquiris were made for those that wanted them and by 2.00 pm all had arrived. Dinner was superb, a seafood starter, comprising scampi, prawns, oysters and cold meats for those who didn't like fish. Main course, beef marinaded in Soy sauce and ginger, turkey roll and ham, accompanied by cold vegetables, and potato salad and tomatoes with mozzarella and basil. Pudding was a choice of trifle or small Christmas pudding.

Unfortunately for us all it rained all day and fairly heavily too, although it was slightly warmer than Cornwall.
In the period after dinner we played a game called Logos which was a little difficult for us as several of the questions referred to Australian brands.However, we played competitively and helped by a resident Australian on our team won two games out of three, by this time it was late in the evening and calls were made to family at home.
Rosemarie and I have never been away from home for Christmas before and this was a very special one for us. It is several years since Rosemarie and David have been together at Christmas and it was a joy to see.
We retired to bed feeling that we had experienced a very special day indeed.