What did I get for Christmas? Fat. I got Fat.
Yes I may have stolen that quote form a meme from somewhere off Facebook but it is very relevant so deal with it.
Christmas in the Hirst house this year was a quiet one… in comparison. After us all making our way to the Hagley Church (half an hour late as usual due to forgetting the cousins presents… twice) and doing the traditional twice yearly catch up with all the other local families who also get dragged along by their ears by their mums.
We went out to Leaning Church Vineyard (check it out if you are in Tassie! It’s stunning!) for a casual Xmas lunch with Dad’s side of the family before heading home, falling asleep in food comas for an hour or so and then having Christmas dinner with the works with Grandad! It was too cold and windy for us to work up the courage to traipse down to Egmont (the local river/swimming spot) in the bathers. So we all said no more food, and then ate more food then we drank eggnog and went to bed! Perfect! Aside from putting half a cup of brandy over the pudding instead of half that and nearly singing off everyone’s eyebrows, it went off without a hitch.
We then packed up the horse truck, minus the horses, and headed down to St Helens for a few days. Did the whole beach thing and fishing thing and then Emily and I went down to the amazing Marion Bay Falls Festival! We were working for all three days but before you scoff and say ‘that that must have sucked’… let me paint you a picture.
It is pouring with rain and blowing a gale. You are in an (nice and sturdy) enclosed tent with hot chip fryers at your back and you are overlooking the main stage and can hear every word. And you get free hot chips and gravy whenever you want, and a free ticket in. Yes Thankyou! So Em and I spent the weekend listening to some of the best artists from Australia and the world (George Ezra, Milky Chance, Empire of the Sun, Sticky Fingers, Alt J and many more…) and serving the best chips at the festival to some of the happiest freezing cold people I have ever seen. Most of them did try to climb in to the food tent with us but thankfully their balance was a bit (actually…a lot) alcohol impaired and they where sent off hugging their hot chips like it was the last food they would ever eat. Thanks so much for the opportunity Anja!!
Then it was back home for a day or two until I had to pack up and catch the boat back over to Victoria! I have a few days to kill until I start work back at Wilky Park again so I have spent a few days in the beautiful area of Rye, soaking up the sun and having a go at paddle boarding (which is awesome! I just don’t recommend doing it in the wind… Windmilling backwards into the water isn’t the preferred technique!). Thanks Tina and Ronnie!!!
Back at home, the girls are flat out at Pony Club camps and soon they will be back Eventing again ready for the State PC Horse Trials in a few months.
Aaand that’s about it! Very non horsy but sometimes that is just what you need before plunging back into the thick of it again!
So until next time, hopefully I will have a bit more interesting news for you!
Alice 
