A good friend of mine, Brendo, donates his time each December to spread Christmas cheer and glad tidings across the region. He bolts an armchair and two dining room chairs to the tray of a ute, dons his Santa suit, and is driven around the suburbs of Canberra by ‘Rudolph’ giving away lollies in the middle of the hot Australian summer.
My friend has been doing this since 1983 when it started as a bit of a joke with a few mates in their local area – in a hired costume and a pillow case for a Santa sack. Brendo was the obvious choice to play Santa because he didn’t need any padding. In the past, he would dye his beard but now he can go ‘au naturel’.
Two elves (in high visibility vests) always accompany Santa to make sure that kids cross the road safely (and possibly as chaperones in our increasingly litigious society).
I was lucky enough to be an elf a few times (and amused myself by calling out ‘Bring out your children!’ while ringing Santa’s bell – hoping that none of the parents realised that I was mimicking a Monty Python scene in ‘The Meaning of Life’).
It was great to see the local kids rush out to greet Santa. Some of them would have waited home for days – not wanting to go out in case they missed him.
Santa’s route has expanded over the years and now includes Queanbeyan across the border (and sometimes even Wollongong on the coast). However, the sleigh can only visit a handful of suburbs each year, with a focus on migrant and lower socio-economic areas.
One night at a party I was telling this story, when another friend, Ray, suddenly interrupted me. He was quite partial to non-tobacco cigarettes* and other substances and couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘Are you serious?’ he asked. ‘Santa really did drive down my street on the back of a ute?’ He thought he had been hallucinating!
Vale Brendo: Gone to meet his maker on 17 Feb 2014 – but is his maker ready for him?!
Vale Ray: Gone long before his time
Photo & movie credit: © Pip Marks Dec 2013
* Possession of a small amount of cannabis for personal use is decriminalised in the ACT – but not legal.
Categories: Philanthropy
Sustainability soapbox 
I love your sense of humor — Sandy (just a northern hemisphere-ian wondering about all the snow on Australian blogs)
Thanks. It’s great to get your comments. Re the snow – this feature partly inspired my snow dome post because of the ridiculousness of it for Australians. It is going to be 37 degrees Celsius today – The news is saying ‘another scorching day with high fire risk’. If Bing Crosby had been an Aussie, maybe he would have sung ‘I’m dreaming of a cool change’. Still not sure why we don’t sing ‘Sandy the sandperson’!
Lovely story, thanks. Santa and the elves visit us on the back of a ute every year (NSW Central Coast)…. selling Lions Club charity Christmas cakes (best fruit cake in the world bar my Mum’s).
Reblogged this on Sustainability soapbox and commented:
There’s an ad on TV this Christmas in Australia in which Santa says he delivered presents in a Jeep. However, in Canberra, there are lots of kids who know that this is false advertising – as Santa has a ute!
(I’m reblogging this post as Brendo died only two months after I filmed this last year.)