BTDU

As I write this it’s about 6am on Christmas Day, so Merry Christmas to any of you who are following our BTDU🎅🏾🌲

Christmas Eve involved an earlier start with 6 of us heading down to Lake Burley Griffin to meet up with Gordon who had invited us to join him in some Dragon Boating 😊

Since Michael has an injured finger and I’m a bit wobbly these days we were on Paparazzi duties😉🎬

The boats are c.13m long, weigh 375 kilos and can take up to 18 paddlers….usually to the strains of Hawaii Five O 🚣🏾‍♂️😊

So here’s what we captured…

Team Greer/Dobbie paddled for about an hour and returned to shore cream crackered and exhilarated in equal measure!

Returning to base Ruth was in full PM mode with lists of what needed doing the rest of the day before heading to their local church at 5.30 pm.

Calum was introduced to a vacuum cleaner, Michael gave me a drill and screwdriver to repair a wooden storage box where a hinge had been ripped out, Julie was recruited to catering whilst Morven and Sophia started the tricky task of decorating the gingerbread houses, thus Dobbie Mansion became a hive of activity!

In between all this various friends called in, including Mirsha, a fellow scientist with a passion for woodworking – this item had been completed only minutes before they drove here; for the afficianados this stand is made from silk wood..

Later on, after asking Sophia if she was up for a wee kick about, I was keen to get a demo of her “keepie uppie” skills.

My PB, from c.50 years ago, is c.20…Sophia’s is 662⚽😊 so, despite still recovering from a broken right foot I was still privileged to watch on in amazement as she rattled off a few 100 + efforts – a real star in the making!

After attending the church service we returned to base where several of Ruth & Michael’s friends and their teenage children joined us in working our way through all the fab food etc, though it wasn’t long before the teenagers headed for the hot tub and pool – quelle surprise!

Our impression of the few Aussies we’ve met so far is that they are warm-natured, welcoming, very friendly with a great sense of self-deprecating humour.

What a unique way to spend our 1st ever trip to the Southern Hemisphere and share Christmas Eve – we feel hugely fortunate 😊🎅🏾🌲