Yesterday the Eurobodalla FAW enjoyed the annual Christmas Party.  Food was supplied on a ‘bring a plate’ basis and was delicious – more than the 21 of us could eat.  We had visits from past members and said farewell to one long term member Betty whom we will miss terribly.

We enjoyed Robin’s jokes and Mike’s reading of his western parody – had us in stitches again you guys. We were also lucky enough to have some wonderful poetry readings from Vicki and Maxine.  Maxine was kind enough to let us reproduce her poem below for everyone to enjoy.  Remember, all rights to this belong to Maxine – no republication without express permission.

The Chimney Job
by Maxine L. McIlvenie

Christmas Day dawned fine and clear,
The air was crisp and clean
And silence reigned within the house,
The atmosphere serene.
And then the children came downstairs
Quite shocked by what they saw,
For right around the fireplace
Was a mess not there before.
There were footprints on the carpet
That would fit a size ten foot
And the metal flue all bent and black
Lay covered in piles of soot.
The children screamed for Mum and Dad
Who suddenly woke in fright
To hear the sounds of the children’s cries
when they saw that terrible sight.
“P’haps something’s happened to Santa.”
One of the children said,
“There aren’t any present under the tree
And only a mess instead.”
While they all looked very puzzled
For it hadn’t happened before,
A masculine voice said sadly
“I’m sorry I dirtied the floor.”
And there standing very forlornly
Was Santa all covered in black,
An lumps that just could be presents
In a bag slung over his back.
“I tried to come into your beautiful home
The way I’ve come before,
But when I tried to enter the house
Someone had locked the door.
It would just have to be a chimney job,
As I had to see it through,
but what came loose was this metal pipe
And I came down with the flue!”

We hope your lead-up to this festive season is relatively calm and enjoyable.