It is one month away so I really should start thinking about Christmas.

Last weekend Hobart held it’s annual Christmas Parade. The city centre came to a stand still as twenty thousand people lined the streets. The parade was a fun collection of bands and community groups, music and dance, closing with Santa on a giant sleigh.

This will be my first Christmas in the southern hemisphere and my head knows that it is summer. But it still seems odd to me to see tinsel and decorations amongst people wearing short sleeves and shorts, shop displays alongside beach wear.

Christmas lights are not a big thing here, which I guess is logical with long days and short nights. There are traditional decorations in shopping malls and on public buildings. A new modern tree sculpture in Salamanca Square is prompting lots of opinions and conversation.