Christmas started at 4 pm on Christmas Eve, with Space Group drinks in the LIDAR penthouse. It was sunny and almost t-shirt weather although the met readouts only said 4 degrees C - it's something about the dry air here; when it's calm and sunny things feel unnaturally warm. We took some speakers, gin & tonic and nachos up to the open roof that houses the laser and the telescopes and got down to business. We talked about how station leaders have been told to watch their alcohol intake now, since a recent station leader at an Aussie base in Antarctica got drunk and headbutted an expeditioner. Andrew K. told about how he tested the OHS issues of the LIDAR laser by using the laser beam to cook a raw steak. Theo did an interpretative dance to the doof-doof music. Macca danced around in laser-protection glasses. The telescope mirror became a table for plates of cheese and bikkies and empty glasses. Then, understandably, Andrew C. kicked us out so we went down to the lounge.

By 1 a.m. people were snorting tequila in the bar. So: time to go to bed.

Christmas day started out slowly; everyone was phoning home. We emerged at 11 for carols sung beautifully by the Davis choir. Apart from Howie saying grace before Christmas dinner this was as religious as the day's celebrations got. Santa arrived on a sleigh (=golf-buggy trailer) behind reindeer (=quadbike riders) with elves, and then proceded to distribute the presents under the tree in the lounge. We'd all made a present on-station for someone who's name we'd pulled out of a hat. As a result most of the pressies were hand-made and personalised. Rod the chef drew me an amazing picture of a mother and baby weddell seal - it was astoundingly good.

Lunch was a spectacular buffet of lobsters, prawns, roast meats, salads, shortbreads, rum balls, cheeses, yum, yum, yum. We moved the pool table into the cinema room and lined the dining tables up in the lounge. The AAD provided bottles of wine for everyone.

Afterwards a game of Rummi-Kub started up, some people went outside and kicked around a footy, The Life of Brian was shown in the cinema. I sat outside with a few others and drank champagne and watched the crazy penguins waddle and trip and flop and sled over the tidal-cracked sea-ice near the beach. Later we watched some original series Star Trek (nerd!) and SNL Celebrity Jeopardy. I went for a walk down to the beach afterwards and watched the penguins. I had my fifty-squllionth rum ball and then went to the gym. Bed. End of Christmas Day.

We received Christmas emails from other bases in Antarctica including South Pole, Palmer, Macquarie Island, Mawson and King Sejong. South Pole invited us to join them and McMurdo bases for Christmas Carols via HF radio.

In other news I have become crazy. I actually used gym equipment for the first time the other day. I ran 5 km on the treadmill a few days ago, and 6.5 this evening. There is an inter-base competition between Mawson, Casey and Davis to race to the South Pole via gym equipment - the idea is that you note down the kilometres you cycle, row or jog and the first base to the pole wins. So: my contribution so far is 11.5 km. Wow, another few months at this pace and I'll almost be out of the Vestfolds and onto the plateau. Running on a treadmill is stupid. I feel like a little lab mouse in an experiment to see how I'll be affected by shallow psychological stimuli (=posters of obscenely muscled men and skinny women in bikinis, which are all over the walls). I organised some badminton the other day which we played in the Green Store but it didn't burn off enough energy. I spose I should find someone else who's interested in running along the dirt track that leads out of the station into the Vestfolds.