Today proved to be one of our lazier days….well sort of.

Andy was up for the Xmas ‘boot camp’ down on the beach at 6am, with a few exercises before a game of teddy bear rugby. This involved a teddy bear being thrown around with goals at each end and lots of fun and laughter. And perhaps a little bit of cheating from some….

Many thanks for John St Claire for organising the morning session, although some of his tackles in the game proved a little harder than Andy was expecting!

It was then coffee time at Vinny’s, and a catch up with the rest of the boot camp gang to hear all about their plans for Xmas with family and friends. Chatting their Xmas stories really did make us feel at home, albeit one where Xmas is always in the sunshine.

Andy was then back on the fitness front, with a quick 10k run along the beach front, making sure he was properly tired out from the morning workouts!

We then had a leisurely morning with Amelia, before she headed off to make gingerbread houses with Caroline and the rest of the Manly family.

As Amelia and friends enjoyed their cake making, we went for a coffee and cake down at Noon on Manly beach. Great tasting coffee and a lovely relaxed vibe…shame about the breeze conditions that nearly knocked us off our feet. Those Southwesterly coastal winds….

We then spent a hour or two on the main beach sunbathing and generally enjoying the views and occasional dips into the sea.

From there we walked onto Freshwater, the next beach up from Manly where Amelia and friends were meeting up to surf and swim.

Whilst it was gloriously sunny, the winds persisted and combined with the sand, we soon retreated to the grass banks behind the surf club for protection.

Before we knew it, the 5pm ‘wine o’clock’ struck, and we decided to head to Harbord Hotel in Freshwater for early evening drinks and a chat about the Xmas celebrations planned over the next few days.

We did our best to try and work off the effects of the alcohol with a brisk walk back to Manly, over the headland down to Queenscliffe beach, and on to Cole’s to buy food for Xmas Day at Tracy’s and Jamie’s. We are going all out with turkey and all the trimmings, lots of potatoes, veggies, pigs in blankets followed by a deluge of cakes and sweet treats with the odd bottle or vino, Prosecco and beer.

Like the night before everyone came back to ours and we chatted about prior Xmas times both in Manly and back in the Uk, before it was time for a game of Australian Monopoly!

Another fun night on the Eve of Xmas Eve. Tomorrow we have breakfast at Shelley Beach so it’s an early start of sorts…