Christmas in Clovelly

What a day of feasting! Started off with a walk under the lighthouse and along the boardwalk at 7am. Quite a few people had the same idea and we saw more people on our walk than usual. A heavy sea was a forerunner of the cloudy conditions that were to move in later in the day, but to start off, the sun blazed down on an otherwise quiet Kommetjie with no signs of life in the driveways we passed, where small social gatherings are the norm on weekends. Most were having a bit of a lie in, I suspect.

Then it was time to fill the gap left by last night's large dinner - I always wake up hungry if I eat too much the night before - and we pecked gingerly at low fat Bulgarian yoghurt with booysenberries and blueberries, with a tablespoon of superfood powder to recharge our systems after the rich food. By no stretch of the imagination could the words 'sweet' or 'juicy' come to mind as our eyes squinted and mouths puckered at the sourness of our healthy breakfast - in no time, a nice plate of scrambled egg lay before us.

After a bit of perfunctory housework, it was off to Mom and Dad for the Christmas family gathering in Clovelly, a tradition of the past 50 years with only an occasional variation of venue. There we sat convivially in the sunshine on the deck overlooking the fishpond and mountainside, where we kept our eyes peeled for a view of the resident cobra, ensuring that the small boys did not venture too far into the garden unattended. The snake did not make an appearance, which possibly had something to do with the noise level coming from a group of 19 all talking at once!

We were joined by an American family, a colleague of my nephew's, who were out here on holiday and staying at the Waterfront. Michael asked them to spend the day with us and it really was very pleasant to host virtual strangers who actually fitted in very well and were fun to be with. We can only hope they enjoyed the experience too. My sisters attended to the food, a variety of cold meats and speciality salads and a veritable feast was laid before us, topped by an exquisite dessert cake made by my niece which consisted of layers of homemade caramelised biscuits, cream and melted Lindt chocolate, smothered in a further coating of Lindt chocolate, so if we don't all gain 3 kg over this time, I will eat my hat! It is definitely salad from tomorrow. Good while it lasted.

This was just a small section of the feast!