Friday 29 October Party at Big Mamas

At anchor in Pangiamotu which is across the water from Nuku'alofa and in front of Big Mama's resort.   Big Mama is a big as her name, a happy cheerful, round lady with a big smile and a big flower behind her ear.   The wind has been blowing a hooley for the last 7 days but it dropped sufficiently to dinghy in to the bar without turning up looking like a drowned sea rat. 
Big Mama's bar staff, big Bessie and Bigger Flora were behind the bar serving the drinks.
Big Mama opened her bar 7 years ago today and tonight is the celebration.  An excellent turnout of  cruisers came to enjoy the party, gossip and discuss weather.  If you can't talk weather, you can't join in the chat here. It's the number 1 topic.
There is one thing that'll stop the chat. Food, or in this case a banquet of roasted suckling pig, chickens, fish, meat parcels in taro leaves.  It was hearty.  In the queue I was chatting with another Brit and the question we always get to is 'where in the UK are you from?'   Turns out Tony and his son, Steve, liked in my home town of Kenilworth in the 80s.  Tony was a teacher at Tile Hill girls school and Steve a hairdresser in Leamington.  Their boat is Endymion.

After we'd gone through the list of potential friends / family in common and drawn a blank and gorged on the feast we sat back to watch the dancing.  I think it was Big Mama's daughter judging by her ample proportions.

The boat kids were having a ball but sat quietly to watch the dancing.