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And then suddenly, it was New Year's, which we welcomed alongside hundreds of other Elizabeth Bay residents in a park near our "unit" with a great view of the bridge. We had plenty of space rather than being jam-packed in with others as is so typical of New Year's Eve. The reason? There was a no-bottles no-booze rule, which kept many people out in the nearby street. No-booze suited us fine; when we went in, we were asked by security if we had any booze or bottles; apparently a mere verbal "No" was sufficient — we looked too old and decrepit for them to even want to search us as they were definitely doing with the younger crowd. After the fireworks extravaganza we strolled home and finished off our nice bottle of Semillon and ate a piece of fruit cake each and a slab of white cheese. Not exactly first-footing Darlo-style but close enough!

Out late at night for the fireworks, Gerry was dressed in a simple shirt, without a tee-shirt and Jan had a light jacket. That is hardly what we are used to; being bundled up in New Jersey or New York or even Berlin cold, perhaps with snow at our feet, is much more usual for us. We are still a long way from find the idea of "summer" in December a normal one.