Text messages arrived from Ami who was at a very posh ‘do’ in Sydney and about to welcome the New Year. She sounded extremely excited. New Year is a big event in St. Lucia too and with fridge empty and shops closed for several days we piled in the dinghy for the shopping mall. The meat supplies were more depleted than Christmas but we managed to sort through the chicken gizzards, tripe etc and find something for the next few days. With me driving the dinghy we zig-zagged our way at varying speeds back to Brindabella: I definitely need more practice if Simon’s nerves are up to it!

   The marina pool either looked a bit grubby or was full of children when we checked it out initially so Simon and I hadn’t bothered to take a dip. Today however we we’re in need of a cool down and a certain young man wanted a swim. After a lovely hour or two playing ball in the water we wondered why we had been roasting for weeks in the marina without using the pool. Feeling greatly refreshed we chatted to Suin, Graham and Ron who were passing and agreed to catch up later for a drink on Liberty while the boys watched Lord of the Rings on Brindabella.

   We had a quite New Years Eve. I cooked breaded butterfly prawns with garlic mayo for starters, sweet chilli chicken and vegetables then chocolate mint ice cream for dinner then Ben arrived to watch the film. Si and I had a job getting ourselves moving but eventually joined Suin and Graham for a nice drink and chat. The party animals that we are, we were back on Brindabella by 11.30pm and all ready for bed we watched fireworks from the party at the yacht club on the beach. The all night party being held at the marina lucky for us looked a total flop with hardly any people and none of the pounding music we were expecting. After waiting to check the last parachute flares that people had set off in the marina didn’t land on the boat, we went to sleep for the last time this year.