He was, of course, referring to the ornament party that, since introduced to Uni Village by Vince and Christine, has become a central part of Christmas celebrations for all Albany residents past and present. So what happens when the initiators of the tradition move away? Well, Anat and Shauli step in to fill the void.
So it was that we all found ourselves in their apartment tonight, staring at a familiar pile of irregularly-shaped packages. The rules were the same, although there was some debate as to whether two steals or three steals were permissible. It didn't matter - the quality of ornaments was high, and the savage thieving of favourites was followed by the usual healthy after-play black market.
I was pleased to find our banana split bauble arouse a lot of interest although, as last year, the dog-themed ornaments remained very popular. There was a Johnny Cash guitar that played "I Walk The Line", a love angel, a cactus with a Christmas star on top...as I say, high quality. Also, thanks to a high proportion of Jewish people present, more than our fair share has ended up on our tree.
There are some new residents in Uni Village. This would have been against the rules in our day.
Shauli, sporting a rugby injury. Update: after a visit to hospital, turns out he's broken his hand! But he did stop a try being scored.
A hush falls over the expectant crowd.
Down to business.
What's this? It's Christine, Claire and JJ Skyping in from Germany!! It is, you'll have to trust me.
Shauli, despite being invalided, managed to take part.
Eran is touched by a love angel.
Ummm...
Evan ended up with our banana split.
Anat and a Texan Christmas cactus (now on our tree!)
The popular dog (not on our tree).
Elliot puts on a brave face.
The more baubles you put on it, the less artificial it looks!
