Carol Singing and Sunbathing

Yesterday evening we were sat on the grass on an oval bordering the beach, eating a sausage butty and watching the sun set into the Indian Ocean, turning the huge Australian sky a tie-dyed orange, pink and red. What was slightly incongruous was that we were at the same time listening to carols being sung and passages from the Bible read. I don’t know how many years it would take me to get used to the fact that Christmas in Australia is a hot affair, that it is normal to be sat in board shorts and a t-shirt whilst listening to children singing Christmas carols. The event was entitled ‘Carols by Glowlight’, in reference to the fact that glow sticks were held as the carols were sung. It is too hot for carols by candlelight and, besides, the risk of a bush fire is too great to allow candles, so children and adults alike held glow sticks in the air. Luminous light doesn’t have quite the same effect as a flickering flame from a candle but at least parents didn’t have to worry about their kids setting their hair alight.


We started our Christmas shopping, Christmas card writing and mince pie baking on Saturday. With the air-con turned up, we sipped mulled wine as we listened to songs about snow and log fires and chestnuts roasting, and imagined that ‘baby, it’s cold outside’. Then on Sunday we lay out in the sun and roasted ourselves. If I didn’t decorate the house, watch Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music, eat mince pies and drink mulled wine, it could be any time of year. I would do all of that anyway but it is especially important to be overly festive when somewhere like Karratha, or Christmas could pass you by altogether. Clearly other Karratha residents feel the same – as we were driving back from the carols by the beach last night, we spotted more than a few houses lit up like something from a bad American Christmas movie. You could see them from miles away, all gaudy multi-coloured lights flashing, giant Santas and snowmen grinning crazily from the roofs. We won’t go quite that far but it’s nice to see some people making an effort to be festive in the desert!