| my first utopian xmas |
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Soooo humid it hurts.
I am sure I recall that in the UK summer was a plesant prospect.
The thought of warm summer breezes and twittering birds, the occasional lapping of a gentle sea side wave, and wasps sticking to the congealed ice-cream drying between your fingers.
Hmmmmm summer
So far,a summer of extreemes, and that is before I go beyond the climate.
After a warm and welcoming Xmas, and a very light new year, I realised just how much a country's traits can be affected by it's weather/climate.
For me, growing up on the west coast of Scotland, New years day was traditionally a cold and dark morning, and as I got a bit older (and I do say a bi t!!) topped off with a thumping heid.
A frosty walk with the dog ( until she started to loosen up ) down towards an icy indigo sea , crashing against the sea wall with very little rhythm.
Maybe some ice, maybe some winter sun,
The middle of winter- no leaves, no flowers, the unique seasonal silence that happens in the northern hemisphere when there truly is a lag between one time and the next.
I can almost smell it.
And with the squirming of roots and the pushing up of the new shoots, comes the promise of new beginnings.
The promise exi sts. It is there, in the air that you breathe, in the nature you see, and in your mind.
There are new resolutions, a casting off of the old constraints of the past year, the skin you know you can shed come the start of January.
HOw many of us ever really keep our resolutions.?
So with regul ar endings and beginnings, comes the assurance in life, that nothing really ever is so bad that it stops the rhythm of our lives. Put it off until the spring.....wait until the weather picks up...... the dark nights are fair drawing in.......there will always be another season rolling around for us.
I was awar e over xmas, that the brilliance of the iluminations and the tinsel, was less magical here in the land of eternal summer. It is never quite dark enough for things to truly twinkle, too hot to bask in the warmth and scents of your xmas kitchen- you want to shout 'bugger it' and have a salad and go about your business. Maybe that's just me, maybe all first xmas's in a new country are going to be like that.
But we did the roasties and got the butcher to debone our turkey for four, (that could have fed ten) and had it stuffed with macadamia and mango, and oh yes- it was all worth it.
The week I traditionally spend mentally asleep between the end of the last year and the start of a new year, failed to happen.
In the heat, it is more comfortable to shower and walk around largely searching for the hint of a cool breeze from anywhere ( I have discovered the coolest part of the house is on the right hand side of the fridge where the air comes out...
So beach picnics and friends over that week, definatley a very enjoyable time for us all.
New years eve came about with no promise. Just a beautiful day, and the most awesome gathering of people, with their eskies, blankets, cushions , cameras and carry-outs.
In Australia people gather en mass, so much more easily than we do at home in Scotland.
I guess it has something to do with the lack of drizzle, and I swear even though I was in a crowd of thousands, I did not see anything recoignisable as a weegie ned-, I was almost homesick.
There is another breed entirely here. Our yougsters (around my daughter's age) career around like unbroken ponies, in attire reminiscent of the mid-eighties. Sparkles, tassles, heels, bronzer and bling. Glowsticks in hand and vodka in a coke bottle(some things are pretty much worldwide)
A sort of St tropez meets the OC kind of vibe. They air kiss and snog with pride. There doesnt seem to be a casual movement at all.
The fireworks make me weep.they affirm that we are still here- still prosperous, in an entirely new society where history is still being written , new, every day.
Where we really are trying to be as equal, yet as successful as possible, where there is still a race to the finish.
New years day, a very different experience in Australia. It is not dark, the flowers and tress are still blooming, they haven't taken a rest, but still society here moves through the traditional festivals in the way we do.
In church , at the midnight service, there were more teenagers present - singing their hearts out, than adults....
Australia.
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