Festive season indeed

What a week it has been.
Everyone is absolutely exhausted. Even though we should be taking these public holidays easy, the run around and amount of effort that has gone into this past week was huge.
Suppose it's because most days are like a public holiday that this was a bit different.

Christmas and a birthday in quick succession, and soon we will be having a small new years celebration.
Not surprising everyone is taking full advantage of the brief break before our next big event.

But what does a Christmas on Gough entail?
Well there was quite a build up the week before. We had Marius down in the work shop fabricating a Christmas tree, complete with hanging albatross cut outs as well as an angel to adorn the top. See, we try hard to keep the festive cheer, even over here.

Christmas tree. Handy work of Marius.

Once the tree was done it was ready for all the decorations. The tinsel went on as did the fairy lights to create that festive feel in the dining room.
The rest of the room was decorated with all sorts of odds and ends and by the end of it we were looking like the clear winners of the Island Christmas display. It's a bit of a hollow victory with the limited competition. But we'll take it!
The bar area also received a touch of magic thanks to Nkoane's keen eye for Christmas decorations. And voila, we were set. All very proud of our home and have enjoyed the liveliness and cheer that the colour has brought.

The island angel.

As mentioned last week, food is one of the biggest things when it comes to island culture, and I assure you that this Christmas we made sure that that was demonstrated with style.
We all decided on a Christmas eve dinner and each had a specific part to play in the preparation.

Tristan Lobster. Incredible!

For starters, Sunette and myself made a plan with some Jacopewer fillets and Tristan lobster tails on the braai, whilst Marius added the chicken breast fillets in apricot marinade. Definitely living a life of luxury with the incredible seafood.

Relaxing with a drink as the lobster braai's

Main course was courtesy of Leonard and Marius who worked enthusiastically with beer in hand to make tender and flavourful roasts of pork and lamb, which had everyone giving silent approval as they savoured every mouthful not giving up a moment with words.
Dessert was thanks to Karen and Sylvain who went all out and put on a real show with an assortment of chocolate truffles as well as layered apricot crumble squares and freshly baked loaf of peach cake. To top it all off they had a fresh cinnamon apple sauce with ice cream. They definitely showed why the French have a reputation when it comes to there culinary skills.

Sylvain showing off his French masterclass in the kitchen.

But it didn't stop there. We had Nkoane and Gerard climbing right in at the start of the day with some baking. Gerard was busy the day before with some traditional Namaqualand Christmas biscuits, and followed that up with some great bread rolls. Nkoane was back again and showed why he is the master baker, and wowed us all again with his sweet bread and scones.

Candle lit dinner.

Dinner was a resounding success and there was still leftovers for lunch the next day.

Dinner is served.

Following dinner we all made our way over to the bar and welcomed Christmas in with a surprise visit from Santa.
For me it was back to work. Night shift after a meal like that was tough to say the very least. But thankfully I had amazing company through out. Got to share a very special phone call with my special someone. Even enjoyed the sunrise twice! Once as it rose over South Africa, and I had it described to me, and then again as it rose over Gough. My most memorable and unique Christmas yet. What an amazing morning, and a joyous day it was.

And to add to it, I got spoilt rotten by my incredible, loving family and my phenomenal girlfriend, with a few special gifts they had sneakily sent across.
We even squeezed in a spot of fishing. Needed to restock our Jacopewer that we finished. Sadly only two fish were playing along on the day. Will have to make another attempt with the line some time soon. It is now rumoured that the Jacpewer are rather fond of jelly babies as Sunette found out with the fish she landed.

Nkoane, Gerard and Marius in the bar.

And that wrapped up a great, and memorable Christmas.
Despite being at a distance we try not distance ourselves.

Leonard playing his part.

Thanks to all for the special messages and phone calls that helped make it special day. Even though we couldn't be with our family and friends, we definitely did not feel unloved or forgotten.
Your support continues to be a source of great encouragement.

Next week, we will have a look at what we do for a small birthday party, and how we welcome in the new year...Gough style. Even if it will be just 4 of us at the base!

Christmas jelly baby fish. Jacopewer tastes good, despite not looking the part.