December 2014 on St Helena Island

The Island gets quite excited about Christmas. Decorations have been in the shops for a few weeks and people are talking about getting their decorations up in readiness for the festivities. We still can’t quite get our heads around the heat coupled with ‘Santa Baby’ blasting out on the radio. The shops are festooned in colourful shiny things and most play the radio in the background. Plenty of opportunity then to hear a festive tune or three, whilst dashing up Main Street, in my lunch break.
The swimming pool has re-opened this week following its winter refurbishment. I’ve spotted a fair few people wandering around with damp hair. After Christmas I am sure Annie and I will resume our lunchtime swim a couple of times a week. It is lovely to get out of the oppressive heat that will be here soon. There’s no air conditioning here, so there is little escape from the intensity that summer brings.

Our eldest son is visiting for Christmas. It will be lovely to see him. I’m not sure how Smudge (who is essentially George’s dog) will react. She hasn’t seen him not for almost 18 months. Henry is also very much looking forward to having his brother here with us. The distance apart has made them grow so much closer and this has become more and more evident. They are always chatting via the internet and seek each other’s opinions. Such a change to when we left the UK!
Back to Christmas preparations!
There’s not lots to buy here so many ex-pats (particularly those with children) shop on-line in the UK (or mother country) during September to ensure its arrival in time for Christmas. We decided quite early on not to buy much for each other at Christmas, preferring to do something nice when on holiday instead. This year we are arranging a Water Sports Day whilst George is here. It’s proving very popular and lots of people want to come. Getting there involves a boat trip so numbers are limited to the size of the boat. There’s also been talk of the Whale Sharks being around by then too, so if we are very lucky, we might see some en-route to our destination.
Our Christmas tree will go up in the next week or so and hopefully my turkey will arrive on the next ship in from Cape Town. I’ve been buying snacks and treats as they have appeared on the shelves so have a little stash! Current Island shortage appears to be egg noodles! I usually keep a fairly healthy supply but as I was running low, I’ve been asking around. Apparently they are extinct here! Even those shops where you can get stuff when no-one else has it are out of stock. And another blow to my shopping routine is the closure before Xmas of Y and T, where various things can be purchased.
By way of an update, we went to put up the Xmas tree, but soon discovered that the top half is still in storage in the UK - never mind, Andy has improvised successfully and our furniture is here - very happy and looking forward to George's arrival tomorrow morning