On Sunday, 1 December, two large local groups, the Hawks Nest Golf Club Social Club (HNGCSC) and Surf Life-Saving Club (SLSC) held their characteristically Australian parties, each with a room full of smiles and amazing fare.

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The HNGCSC hosted several dozen members, guests and family, with mouth-watering food catered by the new Golf Club bistro, Sando’s, as well as desserts proffered by the members themselves.

Among the sumptuous feast of roast beef, salads, chicken and fruit, the clear standout was the pineapple-baked ham, a sweet version of the classic Christmas must-have.

There were also plenty of side activities, including whiffle golf, and a hardcore round of heavy metal quoits, which demanded a whole different set of skills from their ropey equivalents.

The Social Club’s darts, golf and fishing competitions were all awarded, with the affirmation of a previous promise from President Phill that there will be more family-oriented activities in the coming year.

The same day saw the TGHN SLSC host their own Christmas party, with the backdrop being the eternally divine view of Bennetts Beach.

The Surf Club has had a somewhat eventful season so far, including bringing in several key pieces of new equipment, such as the new “pie cart” beach shelter and a tractor, as well as steadily increasing numbers.

“Thanks to parents and volunteers, we have upcoming four new Bronze Medallions, five SRC (Surf Rescue Certificate) recipients, all of whom just finished their training in September and were tested at Nobby’s Beach,” Club President Rebecca Curtis said.

“This is really more of a ‘thank you’ in advance as we are about the get smashed with the tourist holidaymakers coming to our amazing beach over summer,” Amanda Osmond told News Of The Area.

The busiest period on the beach is yet to come. It’s the Christmas/New Year’s onslaught, smack in the middle of school holidays, with recent weather making beachgoing attractive.

“We are currently looking for volunteers who can help us keep the MobiMats uncovered by sand, only an hour in the morning, to help less mobile beachgoers get down and enjoy it,” SLSC President Rebecca Curtis said.

The classic NSW coastal weather pattern of intense heat and rapidly rising humidity, eventually breaking in short, but violent electrical storms, was evident on the afternoon of the gathering.

Around 5pm, the party had to bundle inside the clubhouse as the heat of the day was broken by thunderheads sweeping in from the southwest, blanketing the beach and obscuring Yacaaba and the islands in heavy rain.

There was even a short blackout, just enough to knock out the wi-fi and to cause havoc with the bar’s payment systems, but a workaround was soon found, and some were observant enough to witness the double-rainbow arcing fully over Bennetts Beach.

By Thomas O’KEEFE