FCA member Urs Wälterlin was the one who asked a nine-year-old boy: "What do you want for Christmas?" The boy contemplated a little and then said: "A bicycle - and a friend". It's an answer that hits home. As a father of two, this boy's wish evokes a sudden sense of sadness. It is one wish, Santa can't fulfil.

We are in Watson, in the Nullabor -- the world's largest limestone plain. There is a town sign but no town. A dirt track, a struggling bush decorated as a Christmas tree, and a lot of open space. And there is the more than 700 meter long silver monstrosity of The Indian Pacific, that has just stopped here in the middle of nowhere, spewing out pop singer John Paul Young, his keyboard player and a group of journalists, armed with cameras of all sizes and makes. Their audience is already there, waiting for things to come: A group of Aboriginal kids, a few white faces including the local copper Sergeant Stephen Bowley, whose beat is as big as a small European country.

John Paul Young sings his songs, songs that we hear at every stop on our long journey from Sydney to Perth: ?Pasadena?, ?Love is in the air? and of course, given the occasion, ?Jingle Bell Rock?. In comes Santa: Ho ho ho, ringing the bell, handing out plastic gift bags to the kids. Little black faces look at a bloke in red clothes, rubber boots and a fake white beard. What must they think?

And what must all the other passengers on the train think, looking out through tinted windows, noses flat against the glass. They are excluded - security reasons - from that strange event in the middle of nowhere.

Every Year, Southern Railways bring Christmas into the Outback. It is meant as a `Thank you' to all the communities along the track. It is also a great occasion for some public relations. That's why we, 35 journalists including three FCA members, accompany this year's celebrity singer John Paul Young and Santa on the long journey from Sydney to Perth.

Sydney:  Wednesday, 03.12.03, 1.00 am: It is overcast and muggy. John Paul Young gives his first performance. School kids sing Christmas Carols. Santa makes his first appearance. The train leaves Central Station at 2.55 am for its long trip to the other side of the continent.

Bathurst: Wednesday, 03.12.03, 9.07 pm: The kids are fired up, ready to go, given the fact that the train is late (a electrical storm over the Blue Mountains messed up the signal system) and they've been waiting past their bed time.

Broken Hill, 04.12.03, 7.10 am: The train is still late. Dark clouds are looming behind the mining town whose mining years will soon be over. The Mayor is on the platform, so are other dignitaries. Santa is posing with school girls under the Broken Hill sign.

Adelaide, 04.12.03, 3.05 pm: It's a three hour stop. The performance gets repeated. By now we know what's going to happen. Some of us flee into town, to check out the Central Market and Rundle Mall.

Watson: Friday, 05.12.03, 9.07 am: see above

Cook: Friday, 05.12.03, 10.58 am: A ghost town in the middle of nowhere. Train drivers change here. We get told that the east bound and the west bound drivers don't communicate with each other and sleep in different quarters. Everyone is allowed to leave the train. Another performance by JPY - after the organisers tracked him down sightseeing with his entourage. Cook is the quirky capital of the Nullabor: Two lock-ups, the size of a dunny, with a limestone boulder in front saying Cook Gaol House Rock, a Telstra phone box transformed into a swing, the Cook golf course - "sand greens fees 2 dollars?"...

Rawlinna: Friday, 05.12.03, 3.28 pm: One large palm tree, country folk and workers from the nearby limestone mine are waiting in the shade of the station. JPY sings his songs then plays Santa and gives away CDs. He picks the cutest girls. Such is the life of a rock star!

Kalgoorlie: Friday, 05.12.03, 9.10 pm: A steaming night, with an electrical storm approaching. It's a rush away from JPY's performance and Santa's spiel to one of the famous pubs. Just time for a quick one. JPY sings "Love is in the air". Again!

Perth: Saturday, 06.03.03, 9.10 am: The other side of the continent, another city, another ocean. The 4352 Kilometre train journey is completed. We saw Christmas brought to the Outback. We couldn't help in easing the nine-year-old boy's loneliness. We don't want to hear "Love is in the air" ever again.