The Christmas break provided a good chance to kick back and relax. This year we headed up to South Golden Beach for a week, to spend the holidays with Jacqui’s Mum and the rest of her family. Days were spent reading, playing board games, visiting the beach (at the end of the street), eating at various cafes in the area and generally taking life easy. (photos)

After that it was back to Sydney for New Years and a party at Amanda & Azan’s house, affectionately known as Club Brookvale. Naturally, given that the girls had organised it, it was fancy dress and the theme was 1970s Pimps and Porn Stars. Myself and Jacqui skipped the Pimps and Porn Stars bit and opted for the 1970s hippy look, mainly because that’s all you could get around Byron! The scary thing is that our outfit aren’t the usual deals, cobbled together from the local Vinnie’s. They’re brand new, purchased from a shop selling such clothing, so clearly there’s a market for this stuff in Byron. Scary! Either that or they’ve based their entire business plan on holiday-makers looking for hippy fancy dress outfits?? (photos)