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Lance and Mary arrived in Australia the weekend before Christmas and we welcomed them with some wonderfully hot weather.  We spent the first few days going to various beaches and enjoying the sea and sunshine, we also set up the croquet set for a few games on the lawn.  Lance also went to Newcastle Croquet Club for a game one morning.  On Christmas Eve, we all went to the Cathedral and then, after the kids had gone to bed, Lance and I spent a few hours putting up a trampoline in the garden.

Christmas Day started off with church for the Grandparents and breakfast for the others.  After a huge pile of presents we had some fun in the garden with new water pistols, badminton and of course the trampoline.  We had cheese and biscuits for lunch and then all went for a walk along the break-wall beside Newcastle Harbour.  The clouds started to come over then and the rains started.  Once home, we cooked up our Christmas dinner of prawns, lobster, ham, finished off with a delicious pavlova.  Very Australian and different from the usual English Christmas dinner.

Next day some of us went for a swim before breakfast and then a wet walk through Glenrock Reserve.  The sound of the cicadas was almost deafening at times.

Between Christmas and New Year we went up to Forster to stay with Carol and Bob.  Even though it rained every day we still had a great time and managed to go to the beach and Seal Rocks lighthouse.  When the rain was at its hardest we went ten pin bowling which was great fun for all.

Back to Newcastle for New Years Eve and we decided not to go to Sydney for the fireworks but to go to the display in Newcastle instead.  This was a much easier and more relaxed event.  We parked near the river, sat on the river side and watched the fireworks with no pressure and crowding from others.  Then it was an easy trip home.  When we’d got the kids to bed, Sarah and I went for a walk around the estate.  There is a family who’ve moved in a couple of months ago who set up their band in their garage.  The street had been blocked off and half the residents were having a party in the street.  We left about 1 but apparently the band kept playing till about 6am!!!

We spent the next few days building a vegetable plot in the back of our garden which we then planted with cucumber, beans, leaks, carrots, butternut pumpkin and watermelons.  Some are beginning to come up now so we’ll look forward to these and others we will plant soon.

After saying goodbye to Lance and Mary on the Tuesday, I went off to work and of course it was the first sunny day for about 2 weeks!!.  At least they had some good weather in Melbourne and India.