Heavenly Beverley : A Bit of Pre-Christmas VVRROOOM!

As we approach the climax of the Silly Season, we enter into a maniacal flurry of cleaning ( to impress friends and rellies) and an equally maniacal flurry of outings and events ( to impress friends and rellies). Hence by Christmas Day, we are thoroughly exhausted and frazzled. However, we are also extraordinarily grateful that we have survived, more or less intact, with usually nothing worse than an unpleasant hangover and a bloated belly. These complaints will then be solved by about forty-eight hours of solid sleep and a few Berocca.

Take our lead up to this Christmas, for example. We managed to squeeze an early celebration in the Big Smoke with Callum and Bronwyn, followed by Michael's carpal tunnel surgery, dreaded visits to the chaos of the Telstra Shop in Midland, our Christmas Sundowner, baking Wheatbelt summer heat and opening the East End Gallery until Christmas Eve.

Two incidents do tend to stand out in the prolonged marathon towards Christmas Day itself. Annoyed with the vacuum cleaner's seeming lack of power and suction, I decided to change All The Filters within this labour-saving contraption. Plus, I washed about two months worth of Wheatbelt dust and pollen out of the catcher and dried it until it sparkled. After re-assembly, I duly pushed the ON button of my Vax Power7 and waited a split second for ignition...

The beast ROARED into life. And I meant ROARED. My vacuum cleaner had been transformed into the Incredible Hulk (without the green skin). Scared the willies out of me so completely and quickly that I hastily turned it off and went in search of a clean pair of knickers. Approaching the machine with some caution, I poked at the ON switch once more. At least this time, I was ready for the Primal Scream.

Oh, my giddy aunt! I am fully aware of Age-Related Delight. This is a condition that afflicts me whenever I find unexpected pleasure in a mundane or predictable task. I vacuumed the floors in record time and then followed up with the steam mop. My floors shone, right until Christmas night when the Problem Child used her front paw to hold the baking pan still whilst conducting a pre-rinse cycle.

Guess what cleaning job is on today's agenda...?

The other bit of VVRROOOM was provided by the Beverley Station Arts' Christmas Community Concert. A free event, so we could afford to go, we rang along (incredibly badly) to Carols led by the Station Singers. We also didn't have to travel - except from one side of the railway line to the other. Even better was the Happy Hour of drinkies until seven thirty. The Platform Theatre area was packed with families. The day had been an absolute scorcher, so we were all grateful to watch a glorious sunset.

And then we were introduced to the amazing spectacle of ZAP CIRCUS. Firstly, we were intrigued by the pink safety rope which the children were asked to remain behind. Then we watched a fire being lit in a tall metal cylinder. Rusty and Tarabelle followed up with a show of flames and acrobatics to remember. Some of their humour went over the heads of the kids, but we all had a rollickingly brilliant time. Big screen images as they performed added to the thrill and the booming music offended no one in the outdoor venue. A huge thank you to Station Arts for organising this breath-taking event. ZAP CIRCUS ROCKED.

As I write this in post-Christmas relaxation mode, the last week of 2018 is passing very pleasantly indeed. Our only engagement is a 60th birthday party in Fremantle on the 29th. This party has a "P" theme.

I'm looking for original ideas that can be outfitted at an op shop or Red Dot. Suggestions, please!