THE CLOSER IT GETS....

   Reflections

  Orchid Beach, Hinchinbrook Island

Christmas afternoon...Hinchinbrook Is. My late brother Graham wearing silly glasses part of the Christmas stockings fun items.  Beside him is Bronnie, another of my resort staff.. Cooling off after a large lunch. and the earlier escapades!

 

                   

Grumman Mallard Amphibian Seaplane

de-Havilland Beaver Seaplane...(Both seaplanes owned and operated by Air Whitsunday flew to and from the island.

 

 

My memory bank is in over-drive at this time of the year, reflecting on times past; about family and friends no longer here. Alone in my memories of them, I am.

Alone am I in memories of good times shared...but not lonely....

Christmas Day, 1986, at the resort on Hinchinbrook Island quickly approached. 

The Cape Richards resort was booked to the limit. My staff members, some of whom were experiencing their first Christmas away from their families, held mixed emotions. Excited with the prospect of spending Christmas on an island, they were also sad at not being around the Christmas tree exchanging presents with their loved ones. 

Sensing their feelings, I warned the guests ahead of the day that once Christmas lunch was over in the restaurant it was then to be my staff's 'time' as the staff, too, must be able to enjoy Christmas Day.

The guests were very understanding.  

A long table was set out on the large deck surrounding the pool in eager anticipation for the staff luncheon, and ensuing afternoon celebrations.

 

As decreed, the guests had arrived promptly at 11.30am to begin the celebrations.  They were to dine in the restaurant, not out on the deck.

A huge feast of hot and cold delights, including a mountain of fresh seafood such as oysters, prawns, crabs and fish...was on offer.

After bouncing back from our Christmas Eve celebrations that had carried on into the wee small hours of Christmas morning, the guests, my staff and I were ready for a hectic (for my staff and me), but fun (for us and the guests) day.

I had ‘nominated’ David, my head chef to be Santa Claus.

To those of you who may not be aware...Hinchinbrook Island is in tropical North Queensland. The weather in December (summer) is hot, and humid, as it always is at this time of the year.   December, 1986 was no different.

David was not a slim young man by any shape or form, but he had a sense of madness and humour as large as his body. Willingly he accepted my decree without putting up a fight.

I had great fun dressing David in a Santa's costume (which from memory I’d hired from a store in Ingham, on the mainland)...cushions were added to his already bulky frame.

I'd organised small gifts for the guests, some of whom were children, excited not only at the prospect of Santa, but also excited to spend Christmas on a tropical island.

My now late brother, Graham, was a member of my staff at the time. For once, he had to obey me as I was his 'boss'!  (Just kidding).

Graham volunteered to be Santa's Helper.  Some help he turned out to be!

A huge laundry sack/bag was loaded up with presents.

Graham appeared on the scene with a ladder to enable Santa to climb upon the rather expansive roof of the restaurant/bar/kitchen.

Of course, this all occurred in the heat of the midday sun!

What do they say about "Mad dogs and Englishmen"?  We were neither, but we were insane Aussies!

David aka Santa, in all his glory ran around the roof, "Ho-Ho-Ho-ing" all the way, much to the delight of our guests...children and adults alike.  

Among my guests was a Japanese family, who had flown in from Tokyo to spend Christmas at the resort.  I bet they've never forgotten the sight of Santa upon the roof in the heat of an Aussie summer!

The time arrived for Santa to descend from the roof to begin distributing the presents to the guests gathered together on the deck surrounding the pool.  Cold drinks in hand, they were enjoying Santa and his Helper’s antics.  

Both David and Graham were putting on an award-wining act...no rehearsals required.

Enjoying the limelight, the two comedians were in their element.

Santa's Helper, ladder under his arm, was at one end of the building, propping the ladder against the guttering to enable Santa to climb down, except every time Santa's Helper was on one side of the building, Santa was on the opposite side. They just couldn't synchronise their movements and positions.  Their coordination was sadly lacking!

The back and forth, and round-about from one side of the building to another, went on for many minutes.

As time went by, the guests’ laughter grew louder, and Santa's face grew redder from, not only the heat of the day, but from his bulky attire. The colour of his face matched the colour of Santa’s outfit.

Those of us watching the hilarious antics had tears running down our faces, pains in our stomachs from laughing as we gasped for air!

Finally, Santa, still on the roof, and his Helper standing below, connected where the radio mast stood aloft on the roof above my office.  Against the wall were a number of gas bottles that serviced the restaurant kitchen.  It was there the two performers finally linked up!

As Santa began his descent, he dropped the sack full of presents. Naturally, it landed on the head of my brother...a perfect finale to the impromptu production.

Eventually, the presents were distributed with much ado.  Santa insisted on asking each guest, young and old, if he/she had been good during the year.

Champagne corks popped and the liquid amber flowed freely.

The fun continued throughout lunch. I've never seen such happy guests.  Everyone was in a joyful mood.

I'll always remember, in particular, the Japanese family. I'm sure they'd never experienced anything like it before, nor would they have since.

Prior to that wonderful day, Christmas Eve had been full of good cheer and much gaiety as the staff and guests mingled around the bar before and after dinner.

David, my chef, who was a character much loved by staff and guests alike was in full form, regaling stories to everyone within earshot.

At around 2.30am Christmas morning, he jumped up, letting go of an apt expletive or three, stating he had forgotten to put the whole suckling pig in the oven! The cooking process was to be long and slow, so all systems were immediately on "GO!"

Christmas lunch was to be an elaborate buffet complete with the traditional fare, accompanied by an abundance of fresh seafood, as described above
.

As the revellers meandered their merry ways back to their cabins, David and I were left to keep watch on the forgotten pig roasting away in the oven!

I managed to slip in about an hour's nap before rising, showering, dressing and racing back to the restaurant.

I had told my two chefs I would prepare all the salads, freeing them to attend to all other preparations.

With the adrenaline flowing at high speed, I gave no thought to my lack of sleep, and the previous late night's indulgences.

Once Santa’s rooftop escapade had come to a crashing, but hilarious end, lunch was a major success.

Around 2.30 pm, once sated, like drowsy satisfied goannas, they drifted off to wherever they could find a welcoming bed, palm tree, or shady she-oak to digest their gigantic meal.

The fun commenced for us after the last guests left. 

With no opportunity to visit stores on the mainland, I'd decided the best Christmas presents I could give my staff was a bottle of their favourite alcoholic beverage. I gift-wrapped a couple of cartons full of Scotch, rum, bourbon, gin, vodka, and whatever else took their fancies. 

I'd commandeered the skipper of the contracted island boat, the “Reef Venture” to purchase Christmas stockings. One stocking filled with party treats was for each member of my staff.

Once the resort guests had left, we all gathered around the decorated table out on the deck, and settled in for a fun afternoon.

My staff presented me with a beautiful set of crystal Scotch glasses along with a bottle of Johnny Walker Black with which to christen them.

Poppers and slime, funny eye glasses, plastic rings and all such goodies from the Christmas stockings soon made a fine mess of our surroundings. The pool was too inviting and we couldn't refuse its offer. We all ended up in the pool, splashing, talking and laughing.

It had been a wonderful Christmas afternoon for us...so wonderful, in fact, dusk had long fallen. We had forgotten all about our guests....

Fortunately, having eaten so much of the delicious feast offered at lunchtime, they arrived late, some not at all, for dinner...which was a re-arrangement of the luncheon fare.

Everyone had had their fill, and more, earlier so they had little appetite at dinner.  Soon sleepily, though happy, the guests wandered back to their respective cabins leaving my staff and me to clean up, and get rid of the debri as we reminisced over a wonderful day spent together as a 'family'.

Ahhh...the halcyon days of island life!