While it is raining noticeably more the last few weeks, the rain showers are mostly short and the temperatures are still around 30 degrees.

With the weather being just a tad different than to what most of you might be used to for this time of year, you might think it's a bit hard to get a Christmas feeling. While this might be true for me personally (it's always like that I'm afraid), make no mistake, Christmas and New Years is serious business here.

Almost every house is decorated and everybody has a Christmas tree. And I mean a proper Christmas tree, not a Christmas palm.

Now hang on a minute you might think. You probably don't remember the traditional sort of trees as a particular landscape feature from your last Caribbean holiday. Well, they're not. Christmas trees here are shipped in in containers from Canada!

I haven't really been shopping, but I think the approach is a bit more relaxed here, but then I am used to the Oxford Street frenzy where there are more people to be found on 200 meters than on this whole island. You can't escape the Christmas music however, even though it's a nice change to the English Wham-based attacks on your ears.

There is Christmas parties as well of course.

My departmental Christmas party was an even more subdued affair than back in England, which came as a bit of a surprise. Normally my new crowd is a bit more jumpy than the Grosvenor House Finance team where I just had 2 or 3 people to fall back on when it came to after dinner entertainment. Here, there was no after dinner entertainment!! This is a first I believe. This was made up for the next day at the Managers Christmas Party with subsequent partying on the beach.

In contrast to England Christmas parties here seem to be less of an opportunity to get completely lashed and to misbehave. Well, nobody told me, so all the misbehaving was up to me and you'll be proud to hear that I promptly stepped up to the plate... Good that I was working a late shift the next day... I won't say anything else.

Here are some of the more civilized pictures of the 2 events.

That leaves one more Christmas subject: the Food.

People stare at you in disbelief when you announce that the traditional Christmas fare back home is goose or maybe duck. Here it is turkey, again.

I never understood that. Why, with turkey just having been the main attraction for Thanksgiving do you you rely on the same again for Christmas?

Anyway, turkey is far too boring to talk about, so let's talk about the other Christmas delicacy here: Pigs Ears.

That's right. Pigs Ears marinated in vinegar, then fried and served with onions. Crunchy. People love it! I did try it, but I doubt I will become a committed fan.

Okay, so much for Christmas. We survived another year and are now waiting for New Years. This is a big thing here too!

And there is something these people here do seem to love more than Pigs Ears: Fireworks!

Now to say that Curacaleneans like fireworks is like saying fish appreciate water. Good Lord!

In the not so distant past my friends and I have spent many a New Years buying fireworks and spending hours and days trying to blow each other up, so I think that I speak with some authority here. But we were merely the most ridiculous amateurs compared to what people here put on. There is more or less constant banging even while write this in the afternoon!

Companies compete on who can make the longest and loudest firecracker strings. And when I say strings, I mean long long strings, as measured in hundreds of meters!!!!

There is fireworks displays every day now. I watched a 20 minute one yesterday!

And when I say fireworks displays I mean something comparable to what they do at the Olympics closing ceremony or similar. Absolutely Amazing!!! You could probably build a bridge to Holland for all the money being spent. I'm looking forward to the big ones on New Years Eve.

With that I will leave you now. It's sort of the last chance for me to go to the beach before all the crazy Year End/Budgeting frenzy starts and Happy Hour is about to start.

So, to all of you a healthy, prosperous and adventurous 2008! I hope I will see many of you in the new year. Bottoms Up!