“Make sure the prawns are ready, Santa’s almost here!” Perspiration clung to the foreheads of the staff as they busied themselves with adjusting table decorations. This year, I had been relieved of the pressure of Christmas at home and, for, two weeks, whilst on a once-in-a-life-time-never-to-be-repeated-for-fear-of-being-disowed-by-the-family holiday, that pressure had been consigned to someone else. The waiters re-adjusted their bow-ties as the manager announced (just a little too eagerly) to a crowded beach “Santa’s here!” Mauritius is a tropical island and I had quickly learnt that ‘tropical’ translates to ‘it will rain a lot’. After eight days of persistent rain storms and with the long-awaited arrival of clear-blue skies, the residents of Flic-en-Flac beach (myself included) were more than a little reluctant to stir from
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