Hi there my beloved festive folk (and not so festive too)! Don’t know about you but I’m ready to slip away from the Christmas mayhem to a quiet Bora Bora beach with a pile of books and a sweet wait-staff sporting crisp white attire, a large palm frond and crystal flutes brimming with Champagne. Instead I’m heading to Hay.

Where the hell is Hay I hear you ask? Well it’s a small rural NSW town wrapped around a critical service station somewhere between Dubbo and Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide. They do a damn fine nosh at that there servo. Just ask the Truckies and Grey Nomads!

It’s also the place where my Mamma resides. Where my siblings unite from said cities to wrap that Mamma in love and laughter. Perhaps a little bubble wrap too when she indulges in a wee glass of Baileys. Fairy lights, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, that famous Xmas pudding of hers, sparkling white wine, 40 decree temps…and family…in all its dysfunctional glory.

Enjoy your own family gatherings this Christmas lovely readers. Or that solitary beach retreat. Just don’t post pictures of those brightly coloured toenails against an azure blue ocean backdrop on Instagram for I may just be inclined to disown you. Happy Christmas!