As the mercury climbs and healing continues, it’s been great to see people slowly returning to the beach. The waves, however, are still taking their sweet time. Huey — this is your cue. A few healing waves would be very welcome. Surfing half-a-foot is getting a bit old.
Yesterday’s day of reflection filled the beach from dawn to dusk. Quiet moments, long conversations, shared glances. And now there’s a powerful beam of light emanating from the Bondi Pavilion — a marker, a reminder, a place to pause.
We’re all doing OK down here. Again, thank you for the messages — it’s genuinely moving to hear from every corner of the globe. I can’t quite believe how much Bondi means to people far beyond this stretch of sand. We’ve got a solid community here. We’re not just a tourist beach.
I’m not famously a hugger, but I’ve been throwing out hugs at the supermarket, on the street, and high-fives while riding my bike (sometimes to complete strangers). Bondi’s got a little nicer after this incident. Cars are actually stopping at the Hall Street crossing — smiling, not mowing you down. If you’re reversing into a park, people wait patiently instead of leaning on the horn. And if we had waves… maybe people would even stop dropping in on me. But let’s see how that goes when the swell returns.
Crowds are slowly coming back, though it’s still not busy. I’d really encourage you to support local businesses — cafés (and galleries). This is usually peak season, and every coffee, meal, or visit helps.
On that note, the Aquabumps Gallery is open until 6pm on Christmas Eve. We’ve got gift cards, our anniversary book, and a huge range of artworks in stock — ready to rock. Plug in a budget here and you can see what’s sitting in our stock room.
Before we sign off for a little while — wishing you all a safe, peaceful and restorative Christmas.
Wherever you are in the world, thanks for reading, for checking in, and for being part of this community.
Look after each other, throw out a smile, and we’ll see you on the other side.
Happy holidays,
:: uge
Bondi is Bonding. Thank God.
Thank you so much for capturing images of the ‘♥️ From AUS’ plane banner. I helped organise it and our hope was that the image would long outlast the brief plane flight. So thank you for making that happen.
I wrote an op-ed about the purpose of the banner and the ‘♥️ From AUS’ symbol: https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-can-break-the-cycle-by-responding-to-hate-with-love-20251222-p5npfa.html
I’d love to work with Bondi locals to create ‘♥️ From AUS’ hats, shirts, beach towels, etc, so that ‘♥️ From AUS’ is a regular, unifying image in Bondi that also makes the Jewish community feel seen and supported. (Proceeds going to fundraisers for those impacted by the attack.) So if there are any clothing designers, shop owners, etc who are interested, that would be great.