My Year on Macca: Pseudo-summer soiree

With the recent short days and wintery weather conditions, the troops here at Macca felt a touch of something summery was in order. Ever obliging, the Brits scheduled a few rounds of Wimbledon for our entertainment.

I really needed no more encouragement, and having already shipped ample supplies of Pimms (perhaps having preconceived the idea in Hobart), recruited our resident Pom, Jez Bird, to the organising committee.

Not realising Wimbledon was in July (who knows these things) we had a slight social calendar clash with half the station, including myself, partaking in Dry July. A Wimbledon afternoon with no Pimms really wasn't an option, so I used my doctorly powers and determined that abstinence could be given a rest for the day.

Having taken care of that, advertisements were posted, quiches were made, and a ban was placed on any use of hydroponic cucumbers for a week prior.

With everything primed and ready, the only minor hiccup was getting any actual Wimbeldon footage to watch… Thwarted in several attempts, in the end we settled for watching YouTube highlights of the historic 2008 Men’s Singles Final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Never mind, it was mainly about the cucumber sandwiches anyway.

The Macquarie Island social calendar is so tight that ample advertising of any upcoming events is a must

Station Leader, Ali, makes an impressive cucumber sandwich. And look at how well the hydroponic cucumbers are faring!

Danielle lends a hand plating up cucumber, blue cheese and maple walnut bites. Pretty much everything else was pastry-based.

The long-awaited Pimms and lemonade

An afternoon tea fit for Wimbledon: caramelised onion and brie tarts, cucumber sandwiches, mushroom vol au vents, blue cheese and maple walnut pastries and cucumber slices, strawberry cupcakes, and plenty of Pimms and lemonade