I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that you have a wonderful day with your friends, family and loved ones and receive everything that you could ever wish for.
I’m spending the day with the Aussie and some of our friends which will be fun and I hope my family have a lovely day too. I’m looking forward to Christmas with you in 2015 and can’t wait to Skype you tonight 🙂
40 years ago today Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin leaving devastation and destruction across the top end in its wake.
Darwin goes on cyclone watch every wet season but on Christmas Eve in 1974 the cyclone was a Category 3 Hurricane (SSHS), Category 4 Severe Tropical Cyclone (BOM).
By 1974 Darwin was home to about 48,000 people and the homes just weren’t built to withstand a cyclone. Early in December 1974 Cyclone Selma had visited Darwin but didn’t really amount to much and so most people believed the same thing would happen with Cyclone Tracy.
A website has been created which explains about “Cyclone Tracy” and explains that Tracy formally came into existence at 10 AM on 21 December 1974, when it lay well to Darwin’s north. On 24 December 1974 Tracy rounded Cape Fourcroy, Bathurst Island’s western tip, and then moved along an east-south-easterly course toward Darwin.
The Cyclone passed over Darwin destroying much of the city and killing 65 people, 49 people on land and 16 at sea.
After the Cyclone the rebuilding began. Many women and children were evacuated to other cities in Australia whilst this happened and it’s said some returned and some did not.
At the Museum and Art Gallery of the Top End there is a display dedicated to the Cyclone. It has accounts from people who lived in Darwin when it hit, shows photos of before and after and also has a room where you can step inside and “experience” the sound of the Cyclone. The sound is absolutely terrifying and I understand is nowhere as loud as at it actually was. The Cyclone lasted for hours and just a minute or so in the room is more than enough.
One of our friends was a small child during the Cyclone and has told us about what happened on Christmas Eve in 1974. It’s impossible to imagine what that night was like for the people living in Darwin or what rebuilding the city was like.
We went to the premiere of a documentary called Blown Away which was created for the ABC a few weeks ago. The documentary was very well made and featured stories from people who lived in Darwin when the Cyclone hit. I was glad to be able to attend the premiere during the commemorative events that the city has been holding to mark the 40th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy.
There are lots of websites featuring photographs and videos about the Cyclone and I will list them below so you can take a look:
Cyclone Tracy 40 Years on Part 1
Cyclone Tracy 40 Years on – The Aftermath
Cyclone Tracy 40 Years On Rebuilding
Cyclone Tracy A Full Blown Hangover
Photo mapping the path of Cyclone Tracy from Northauschasers.com Facebook page
Somehow there are just 3 sleeps until Christmas, how did that happen!?! I have just half a day of work left until my holidays and I cannot wait to be able to sit back and relax for a couple of weeks.
I’ve also finally put up our not so little Christmas Tree this weekend and am loving the festive spirit it creates. I also watched Love, Actually which was as great as always.
This year we weren’t able to fly back to the UK for Christmas with my family due to those annoying finances. I am though already planning the trip next year and cannot wait to spend lots of time with my family and friends (only about 50 weeks to go!).
We’ve planned to spend the day with a couple of our friends in Darwin this year. They are from America so it’s going to be fun and interesting to combine our different traditions together. We’re going to be cooking some yummy food on the BBQ and of course in the Aussie tradition will be hanging out around and in the pool!
Christmas in Darwin is quite different than Christmas in the UK. It’s obviously much hotter (around 33 degrees C versus 12 degrees C) plus there’s about 70 to 80% humidity so all you want is an ice cold drink (cider for me please) and to live in the air con and/or a swimming pool.
Last year we had Christmas lunch under the veranda whilst it rained most of the day. It was very strange being sat outside at Christmas.
In the UK also everyone wonders whether it is going to be a white Christmas but in Darwin we are all wondering when the rain is going to come. Apparently the monsoon rain won’t be coming until mid to late January so we have a little while yet for this humidity 😦
The weather also influences what we do and most importantly what we eat on Christmas Day in each country.
As a family we would probably only have turkey a couple of times a year, at Christmas and Easter so it’s a bit of a special treat and I always look forward to sitting down with the family on Christmas Day for the turkey with all the trimmings including pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon), sprouts (apparently I used to steal them from everyone’s plates at Christmas which must have been pleasant) and you can’t beat some bread sauce.
In Darwin, and Australia really, I understand that it’s more likely that you would eat some roast beef or lamb than turkey. Ham is also popular as well as anything you can cook on the BBQ and your less likely to have a full roast dinner because it’s too hot to cook which is a shame as you can’t beat some proper roast potatoes.
I did have a go at a full roast last Christmas and managed to cook it all on the barbie!
The Aussie’s brother is visiting us on Boxing Day for lunch and we’re planning a bit of a full Christmas dinner then depending on how hot its is. I’m definitely wishing we had a BBQ still because it would be great to stick everything in it to cook whilst sitting in the cool house rather than running around in the kitchen.
We also always watch the Queens Speech with my family and I am looking forward to sitting down and watching it because they also show it here for us because Australia is a Commonwealth Country. I am looking forward to watching the Doctor Who Christmas special after watching the trailer recently. It also will be on here before in the UK because of the timezones so will have to make sure I don’t give away any spoilers because my brother is a HUGE Doctor Who fan.
In the evening in the UK, after watching all the Christmas TV specials we would sit down around the table again and enjoy some cold meats, pickles like pickled beetroot or cabbage which is amazing.
We probably won’t do that here this year but instead I am really really excited to FaceTime my family when they open their presents on Christmas morning. Last year we did the same and whilst I wish I could be there with them FaceTime is the perfect way to feel part of the day with them.
Last year I even got to sit down with them whilst they ate their Christmas lunch, though I had food envy!! My Mum’s a fantastic cook.
What are your families Christmas traditions? What do you always look forward to at Christmas?
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This video makes me laugh every time I watch it so had to share it! That is all 🙂
Well kind of!
I heard at the end of this week that I have a place at Charles Darwin University to begin the courses I need to study to qualify as a solicitor in Australia! I had heard last week that I would most likely be offered a place but would not hear until early in the New Year when the Law Department is back after the Christmas break, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear back from them with confirmation that I was in!
I remember when I applied to Universities during College to study my law degree in the UK when I was 17/18 years old (faaaaar to many years ago now it turns out!), and having to fill in the forms and personal statements as well as just trying to work out where I actually wanted to go to uni. Then there was the waiting for the envelope to drop through the postbox offering or not offering you a place. This was before even getting your exam results. Luckily I was offered a place at the University of the West of England in Bristol, where I wanted to go and got good results so I could go where I had planned.
I always wanted to be a solicitor from a young age, no idea where I got that idea from but my Mum tells me I was always convinced that’s what I wanted to do. Everyone in the family learnt all about the law during those 2 years at College I think.
The process to become a solicitor is long in the UK because if you chose the university route you have to spend 3 years studying the law degree followed by one year studying the post graduate legal practice course and then up to two years working on a training contract.
This is often a difficult process because there are just so many people to compete with and so it took me several years to start my training contract after finishing the academic studies but I qualified on the 1st February 2010 and I was so over the moon to be admitted as a Solicitor. It’s a bit crazy I have to go through this process again but the way I look at it, I’ll be dual qualified which will be useful in the future, plus I will be able to call myself a solicitor here at last.
Some of my friends in the UK are still going through the process and I think they will probably qualify around the time that I complete all of the academic studies so we will have lots to celebrate then.
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I haven’t managed to watch any Christmas Movies yet really other than the end of Elf a few weeks ago, which is very unlike me. Normally I watch the first one around my birthday but that was weeks ago now!
I love watching and going to the movies anyway so always enjoy a festive film. Last Christmas one of my priorities was to go out and buy all of my favourite Christmas movies so I could watch them and feel festive.
My absolute favourite movie to watch is the re-make of Miracle on 34th Street. The story is so sweet and I just love the outcome too. I also love that it shows off New York at Christmas and one day I will visit New York around this time of year so I can see it for real.
I also love to watch Love Actually. It has a fantastic cast and there are lots of funny moments where you can’t help but laugh out loud but also a few sad moments which really tug at the heart. You really root for the characters to get their happy ending as well because they are likeable.
Now if you want a good laugh at Christmas then I think Elf has to be the go to movie for me. I saw this for my birthday many years ago when it was released and I still watch it every Christmas. It was on TV recently and I switched over at the end and was singing along with the cast. I’m not sure the Aussie quite appreciated how great it is!
No Christmas (or any other time of the year come to think of it as its shown all year round) would be complete without watching The Holiday. The premise of two random strangers swapping homes for Christmas is pretty great and the characters are all quite likeable. It’s another film where you want everyone to be happy.
Last but by no means least I have to mention Santa Clause the Movie. I can remember watching this film from when I was really little and I just loved it. Even though its almost 30 years old having been made in 1985 even now it’s still great and I will watch it if it’s on TV. You know that the Christmas TV line up is great if this movie is on!
So these are just a small selection of the films that I will be watching this festive season. Which films do you like to watch during the Christmas holidays?
I cannot believe it’s the 10th December already although I know it is as it’s the Aussie’s birthday (happy birthday!) so that means we have what 15 days until Christmas!?! How did that happen?
This week I finally baked our Christmas cake. We ended up with two cakes in the end because I had too much batter for the size of our tins but that worked out nicely as I’ve used one of the cakes for the Aussie’s birthday cake.
I’ve bought us a Christmas tree but we still need to put that up, maybe this weekend!
Today we had dinner in the city for the Aussie’s birthday and popped by to visit the Christmas tree and decorations which looked pretty nice. I also loved that they were playing Christmas songs, although not sure my singing out loud went down to well!
It’s very strange to be in such a tropical location where even in early evening it’s warm and humid and due to the build up to the wet season we’re getting almost daily rainstorms, instead of in the UK where it’s cold and feels much more “christmassy” to me. It’s definitely a strange thing to get used too.
We had our work Christmas party last weekend which was so much fun and did make me feel much more festive. It started with drinks at the Ducks Nut which was entertaining because the 12 pubs of Christmas event was underway and the Ducks Nut was one of the stops so we were treated to pub crawlers in all sorts of Christmas States of dress. Yes even topless santas.
We had dinner at the amazing Hanuman Restaurant (I only took one picture of the food unfortunately but this oysters were amazing!) before dancing the night away. I felt very very delicate the next day that’s for sure.
Even the decorations used here are very different in some ways but are lovely to look at.
I think I have been quite restrained this Christmas with my love of all things festive. However yesterday I bought us a Christmas Tree and whilst it remains in the box it definitely has made me feel festive and I’m looking forward to Christmasfying our home!
One of the best ways to get in the festive spirit for me is to listen to my favourite Christmas songs and Carols. I have to say that around Christmas time I do love going to a Carol Concert and singing along to all of those songs I grew up singing each year. How is it I can remember all of the words to Away in a Manger but not how to do algebra (not that I want to do algebra EVER!).
Below are my top 5 favourite Christmas songs – I am loving listening to them as I write this post!
1) Driving Home for Christmas by Chris Rea – this is a song I always listen to every Christmas and I always always played it on my last journey home from work on the day or two before Christmas. I wish that me and the Aussie could be in the UK for Christmas this year, but next December this song may well be on repeat all the way from Darwin to the UK
2) Mistletoe and Wine by Cliff Richards – now I really am not a fan of Cliff Richard’s (sorry Mum!), however this song was played in our house every Christmas so it feels like a tradition. I also have some great memories of me and my old housemate Jo “singing” this song together in “harmony” during our annual Christmas dinner before we all went home to our families for Christmas
3) Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin Stevens – yep this is a song that I seem to know word for word for some reason and I can never resist singing along when it comes on the radio or my iPhone!
4) Let it Snow by Dean Martin – a classic song and always the top of my play list each Christmas!
5) All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey – last but by no means least is Ms Carey’s infamous song! No Christmas would be complete without screeching, I mean singing along to this song would it!?!
What do you think of my choices? What are your favourite Christmas tunes that make you feel all festive? Let me know below 🙂
For me, I think not so much but I am trying to become more patient.
In addition to still having no idea what the Aussie means when he describes a surprise for me as being “a bird with big feet” I am currently waiting for Immigration to process our visa application which was submitted in July and now for a university to decide whether to offer me a place to study the subjects required to qualify as a Solicitor in Australia as well as the UK.
The waiting time for processing the visa we have applied for is according to the Immigration website, 6 months from receipt. To be fair to Immigration, we did apply with only minimal documents at the end of July because my previous Visa expired in August. We submitted the rest of the documents that they need at the end of October so I am counting the 6 months period from October and will hopefully be pleasantly surprised when they process it earlier than that.
The frustrating thing about the Visa application process is that on the website you just receive a message that says that the application is being processed and someone will be in contact soon! I think it would be much more helpful to allocate it to a Case Officer and for that Case Officer to contact you and say, yep I have your application and I am processing it but its taking X number of months to process your kind of Visa so you won’t hear from me until at least then.
I’ve heard that the fact you haven’t heard anything is probably a good thing, but not for someone with no patience of course!!
I have also this week finally got around to submitting an application to begin studying again at University. It’s taken a while to get going because I had some questions and then when I received the answers more questions (trust a Lawyer to be that way inclined right?) for them as I am classed as an International Student currently.
I applied yesterday and was almost immediately told some of the documents I had tried to upload had not uploaded so sent them and now I have to wait and try and be patient whilst trying to remember I actually have to do the studying once I am offered a place 🙂
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