And father Christmas won't cut my Willy wonka off

That was the quote from Arty this morning. Classic.

Yes, Christmas is coming and the kids are ramping up their excitement levels! Christmas in Bangladesh. It's quite different. Firstly, it's lovely and sunny and warm. Secondly, they don't play Slade in every shop you go into. Finally, mulled wine doesn't quite have the same pull factor....

Having said that, we have made a Christmas garland to hang on the door. We have played Christmas Carols very loudly and sung out of tune to Oh Come All ye Faithful.  Tonight we went to the Christmas party at the High Commissioners house....Arty ate his body weight in mince pies and chocolate brownies, and then proceeded to rub his filthy hands clean on Santas outfit.

We've had a fun few weeks. The UN day celebration at Isobels school had her donning a fantastic Union Jack dress....a bit spice girls but you know, longer and less fitted! It made us think though as we watched the other nations walk past - Sudan, India, Korea, Mexico....great national costumes. Then Italy and the UK seemed to be the two least interesting.....what about Morris dancing outfits?

Anyway, we are soon to be on a plane back to the UK for never ending stilton and mince pies and Christmas cake.....and, fingers crossed, a trip to the Hobbit2! Yeah.

Seven days in Dhaka....

Chicken Soup Anyone.....10 times a day?

And so we are on day 5 of Arty's stay in hospital. They have moved on from salmonella....now we're onto typhoid! Apparently the typhoid jab you are given isn't that effective so they think he has succumbed. 

Whatever it is, it seems he is getting better. Now this could be due to several things, the main contenders outlined below:



Arty's Breakfast this morning!

anti biotics on a drip....(that would be the sensible option);

• lots of love and attention from mummy and daddy;
• the array of food provided, every few minutes (no fear of starvation here.....large enough for adults albeit quite interesting in colour and texture). We have had (a) variety of pasta dishes, mainly quite nice;



Chicken Pasta - this one is quite a favourite!

 (b) some mashed potato....which resembles playdoh; (c) some vegetable things....emphasis on things; (d) some chicken tandoori skewers (very nice); (e) hard boiled eggs with and without yolks; (f) bread - sometimes with butter, sometimes with sugar, sometimes neither and sometimes both!


- the chicken soup which is provided in addition to the above...every 1 hour through the day and even at night....









- or could it even be never ending peppa pig on the ipad! I think today he is finally bored!

We are dreaming of peppa pig in our sleep!!!

 

Remember remember Edwina Curry?

Edwina Curry.  Do you remember? Salmonella in eggs?

Well, we are now first hand experts at dealing with salmonella.  There we were, merrily thinking about our holiday in Thailand and how nice it was going to be to relax by the sea, eat sticky rice and have a massage.  Yes, there we were.  Arty had other ideas however.  Somehow, and we really don't know what he ate - after all, he eats A LOT - he managed to get salmonella poisoning.  Now I say this with the benefit of hindsight.  When we cancelled our holiday last week due to him having massive diarrhoea and a temperature of 40 degrees, their main concern was dengue fever.  I've had dengue.  It is not nice.  The thought of little Arty having it was awful.

So we stayed put, went to the shops to buy red wine and chocolate (note to Natalie - it worked.....well, for me anyway!), some dodgy DVDs and a whole heap of potatoes as the only thing he could eat.  He didn't improve and didn't improve so eventually they told us to take him to the hospital to be 'seen by a doctor'.  There is a great clinic here, staffed mainly by nurses with a doctor who is in but not every day and last week happened to be on holiday....in Thailand (which was rubbish apparently.....although I think she was just saying that...).  They send the first poo pot off to the ICDDRB (which stands for the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (who are one of the lead research institutions in the world for looking a poo and illness).  Then we toddled off to the hospital a few days later as per instructions.

Having a poorly child is always worrying.  Having a poorly child in a country where ambulances probably move at about 1 mph and the standard of healthcare is not that comparable to that we are all used to in the UK proved to be slightly more worrying.  The hospital itself was quite modern and clean, though incredibly busy and with a bizarre queuing system and level of bureaucracy that was quite impressive!  I did ponder on how lucky we were to be able to go to a private hospital here.  Most people don't have access to these facilities and I dread to think what their health services if you are not in the Bangladeshi elite.

We were ushered up in the lift (they queue for lifts here....they don't queue or obey any form of discipline on the roads but they do queue for a lift!) and directed to the children's centre which was complete with bug breeding play area (and crazy rocking horse things - one slightly too vigorous rock and you'd be out of the window, 5 floors up).  We were seen promptly, and then ushered back down again for a little more bureaucracy.

Back downstairs we were directed into the 'sample delivery room' which basically meant there were 2 slightly smelly toilets (for your samples of course) and then a room full of people taking blood.  Taking blood from a 2.5 year old was always going to be a challenge and it was - for everyone involved.  It was the most stressful part of the day (and that is saying something after the drive there....which is hard to describe so probably best not too - all I will say is, when in Bangladesh do as the locals, close your eyes, certainly don't look as you pull out at a junction, and drive).  On a plus side however, the blood 'sample delivery' was an improvement on my experience of a Chinese hospital in Kunming many years ago where there was a big Perspex screen with all the nurses behind it.  You just had to stick you arm through a hole which can only be described as being almost exactly the same as the hole Jerry used to run through in Tom and Jerry.  They stuck the needle in, took the blood and then you could have your arm back.  Ah yes, the memories.  The Chinese ECG test was even better...but I digress.

So, home from hospital with some 'suppositories' for paracetamol in case the oral stuff didn't work apparently.....suppositories in a diarrhoea patient.....Mmmh.

A few days later and he's still not better BUT the ICDDRB have diagnosed his poo bacteria and basically said 'what have you been feeding your child, he has salmonella'....well, OK, they didn't say it quite like that but that's what it is.  Did you know that with salmonella if it gets really bad you can perforate your gut.

So he's now drugged up (1 day and counting) but still feeling rubbish.  His sister has been a delight, choosing books for him from here school library to make him feel better.  Unfortunately though between Isobel, Peter and I we have now devoured all the Tim Tams which I'm sure would have made him much much better.

Onek onek bump



Lalbagh Fort, Old Dhaka - can you feel the sweaty heat???

Onek Onek Bump - translates as 'many many bumps'.  Now I could be referring to the bumps along the way whilst out and about with the kids in the rickshaw ( there are indeed, onek onek bumps) or I could be referring to the bumps on Arty's head.  Playing with his sister whilst waiting for the school bus - fall over, massive bump to head and cut lip.  Playing with mummy inside - pretending to in fact be a rickshaw wallah.  Fall off bike - onek onek bump.




So I promised an update on Eid and it's been a little slow coming.  Eid.  Seems like a lifetime ago already - now we are into hartels, burning buses and molotov cocktails!  Even in the diplomatic zone - imagine that!  The kids are oblivious to it all, as are most of us in reality as it's not something you see every day out on the streets in this area of Dhaka.  There are a lot more policy about now and there were reports of a burnt out bus on the road on my way to work, but it was gone this morning.  Otherwise, life for the lucky ones in Dhaka continues as normal - we go to work (the streets are empty - a plus side of a hartal) and come home and continue reading 'Room on the Broom' with the kids.  For those who are less lucky, they can't get to work (due to the hartel) and therefore lose a day of income, and if they do come to work they are at risk from demonstrations on the street and attack in certain areas of the country.

Why?  Well, because of the elections.  I won't go into it all here but it's quite an interesting time here.  You can read all about it on Wikipedia if you want to!




Afternoon tea - as a distraction from the dead cows!

Anyway, back to Eid.  So, this was the bloody Eid.  The Eid where the cattle are lowing....until they are killed - and then distributed - 1/3 for family and friends, 1/3 for the household and 1/3 for the poor.  The cows are fattened up apparently before Eid - and an interesting side effect of this is that cows are sometimes given pain killers to reduce the fever which might be associated with it.  The pain killer of use has been, until recent times, Diclofenac.  This is also given to humans but the cattle version has been widely used in South Asia - not only for fattening up cows but also as a general pain killer.  This drug has now been banned for use in cattle because it has been found to be responsible causing the death of vultures - 99% of the vultures in South Asia have died out in the past 10 years!  That is a remarkable rate. Vultures - not the most attractive birds it has to be said, but so vital for the food chain and ecosystem to help with the removal of dead and decaying animals from the landscape. You can read more about it here - http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/vultures/

So Eid (I am easily distracted).  We took it in turns to venture out onto the streets to see what was happening.  The kids (well, Isobel) displayed what some may think is a slightly odd interest in dead cows - on looking through Peter's pictures (which were erm, well, quite graffic is one to describe them!) she wanted to see more of the 'blood cows'.  So much for us trying to protect her.  The actual process was quite interesting - it was very orderly and over relatively quickly.  There wasn't a lot of noise.  There were a lot of men wandering around with large knives which was slightly scary, but no one seemed to mind the strange westerners standing looking at them.  Some pictures (from a distance!) are below (right at the bottom) - be warned.

Egg stacking - at SandaGhat

We then took the kids down to Old Dhaka the next day - we took advantage of the empty streets to go off on our adventure.  Half an hour it took.  Half an hour - for Dhaka this is remarkable as normally it would take 2 on a good day!  So, we went first to the Lalbagh Fort - built about 300 years ago.  An oasis amongst the madness.  On the way there were dead cow remnants - a few horns, heads, skins and the like piled at the side of the road (I say a few, I really mean A LOT).  The kids though were mainly oblivious.


Taking pictures of the picture takers

The fort, an oasis of calm.  Unless of course you are aged between 2.5 and 4.5 and have crazy blonde hair, in which case you are mobbed by amateur photographers who all want a snap of you - ideally cuddling them (not ideal for a small child who is slightly overcome by it all).  I took some photos of the photo takers.  Then it was on to SandaGhat - the main passenger port in Dhaka. 



And that was even more crazy.  People, people, people.  Everywhere.  And then there were two little blonde ones.   There were probably about 20 ships, massive things - some in a far better state of repair than others.  Then behind these ships you could see another row of boats trying to get in to pick people up.  There were little wooden boats manoevering themsevles between them - jostling for space with these giant hulks.  On the boats were fruits of different kinds, though mainly pineapples.  It was smelly, it was hot, we had helpers (well, men following us), the water was filthy, the people all starred.  It was brilliant.  The kids were put up high on our shoulders to rescue them somewhat from the chaos and photo taking people all around but it really was Asia - crowded, chaotic, full of colour and noise, smelly but also full of people with smiling faces and an interest in where we were from, why we were there and whether we liked it in their country.



So, in summary, a brief equation for our day out in Old Dhaka: we have people, people people + small blonde children = onek onek photographs and onek onek tired children! At the end of the day, Isobel said 'mummy, I don't want anyone else to take a picture'.  I really can't blame her.

And so I end this little update not only with some pictures from our recent adventures but also with a link to a blog I was reading about.  I'm loving it - it really brings a smile to my face.  Isobel used to cry for (a) having sandwiches cut as squares not triangles; (b) having weetabix for breaksfast 2 seconds after saying she wanted weetabix; (c) and my favourite - having a tantrum when the cake miz which she had made had to be put in the oven to cook.  'NOOoooooo, mummy, I want the cake NOooooWWWW'. Ah, the joy.  Check it out if you have kids and maybe even if you don't (it would explain what's going on perhaps with a screaming child in a supermarket trolley - nothing that makes any sense to an adult that's what!). 

http://www.reasonsmysoniscrying.com/

A few dead cows below! Warning (not that graphic as from a distance)...

 

  

   

A wee sip of whiskey? Don’t mind if I do says Arty

Yes, our son has tasted his first Scottish Whiskey.  In Dhaka of all places. I will get to the story behind that shortly, but first some updates on the various festivities!

These cattle aren't lowing - but they are ready for Eid!

 We’ve had a busy busy few days.  I have been at work (of course) but as it’s holiday season here for all the religious festivities the kids have been off school and I only have to work 2 days this week.  Result – tire everyone out with lots of visually (and nasally) stimulating events!

The cows were lined up on the streets ready for Bloody Eid.  The killing of the cows started after prayers at 8am.  It can take all day and then 36 hours to clean up afterwards.  We were advised to turn the music up in the flat in the morning to drown out the sounds of the cows in distress! However, to be honest, it really wasn't that bad!

 The kids are fascinated and yet slightly scared by the cows.  Afterall, the cows are massive.  There are plenty of wealthy people living near us – some people have 4 or 5 cows!  They have to give 2/3 of the meat away to neighbours, family and the poor apparently.  If you are less wealthy, you have goats and sheep.  And if you are really rich, camels!  They have these big cattle markets set up around the city.  We haven’t been able to get to any this year but rural families also bring their cattle into the city to sell.  There was a terrible story of a man who was on his way to sell his cow at market when the cow took ill on the way and died.  Imagine, losing your major asset – income from selling that cow would be a very important part of their yearly income and it dies on the way to market.

Anyway, the cows were killed yesterday.  There was blood on the streets.  And parts of cows too.  We went out to see what happens – though not with the kids as whilst we want to expose them to new cultures and traditions, that might be a bit much.  I’ll write another update on the Eid excitement soon.

Lots of red at the Durga Puja!

The other two major goings-on have been – the Durga Puja and…..wait for it….the Queen’s Commonwealth Games Baton Relay.  Yes, you heard it heard first – the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay.  More on that in a moment (I can tell you’re excited – almost as excited as the kids were….and then their excitement was dashed when they realised the Queen wasn’t actually there, running around the world with a baton.  Shame).

At the Durga Puja - Pink - Isobel loved it!

The Durga Puja.  We went to what was the last day in this event – and my goodness what fun we had.  The kids were amazing.  They really were.  Isobel was dressed in her lovely blue sari and so was very much looking the part.  Arty was just Arty.  They had so much attention and yet they didn’t squeal or protest at all! 

So, the Durga Puja.  Well, it’s a Hindu festival and it basically ends with the statues of the goddess (Durga) being taken to the river to ‘return to her husband (Shiva)’ (i.e she is basically drowned in the river).  It started on Wednesday 9^th October and ended on Monday – so we witnessed the final stages of preparing the goddess statues and loading them onto trucks to drive them down to the river in Old Dhaka. 

Then on Monday evening we were lucky enough to go to see the Queens Commonwealth Games Baton as it takes part in it’s relay around the Commonwealth.  The High Commissioner kindly hosted an event and we all managed to hold the baton.  The kids were probably more excited by the canapés and, in Arty’s case, the small glass of brown liquid hidden behind the curtain behind where all the speeches were taking place.  Where is Arty we wondered on a number of occasions? Where indeed.  Helping himself to the ice from the little glass of brown liquid….which we later found out was the High Commissioner’s glass of whiskey! Oops.

Oh well. Arty slept well anyway.

 For more on the Commonwealth Baton relay - http://glasgow2014.com/queens-baton-relay -

Things I am learning in the Desh - the two Eids!

I'm learning a lot here in the Desh:

• I'm learning that Pizza dough puffs up in about 3 seconds. 
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  After about 30 minutes!

• That sourdough needs to be fed approximately every 12 hours (look at those bubbles!).  
• That they have these great samosa type snacks called 'Singara' which I'm going to have a go at making - filled with spicy potato yumminess.  I found a link with some pictures and a recipe in case you're tempted - http://weloveourbangladesh.blogspot.com/2011/01/somocha.html.

At the moment, the learning is all about religion.  We hear a lot about Eid in the UK in terms of the Eid at the end of Ramadan.  I am now learning about another Eid.  I'm hoping I've got this right - bear with me if I haven't - I'm still learning!

Eid al-Fitr is the Eid at the end of Ramadan.  It marks the end of the fasting and is apparently celebrated for one day.

Eid ul-Adha is next week - Wednesday and Thursday to be precise.  It's known by those in the office and surroundings as the 'bloody eid' (I don't think that's a technically correct name though!).  Why? Well, because this Eid is a celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail.  God intervened and swapped his son for a sheep to sacrifice instead.  So, the streets will soon be filled with animals - cows, goats, sheep and even camels apparently (camels for the wealthy).  Then, next Wednesday, the animals are killed in recognition of this sacrifice by Abraham.  This weekend we're going to investigate the roads near here as apparently the cows are being lined up ready for sale.  People will buy them and then decorate them with garlands and feed them up.  They are then killed on the streets on the first morning of Eid.

I'm not entirely sure how much we'll see of the actually killing - we're around in Dhaka over Eid.  This is a fact that our Bangla teach found most strange as most people try to get away. It's the noise that we need to possibly warn the kids about - the animals make a lot of noise before they are killed.  We live in a part of Dhaka where I've been told that they wash the streets down afterwards to remove the blood and bits, but who knows!  We might have some interesting pictures to post here next week!

There are a few of us about though, we're planning some trips to see the mass exodus from the city and also the Durga Puja.  This is the other religious event next week - on Monday.  It's something we know very little about - so another learning opportunity.  Bangladesh apparently has the second largest Hindu community in the world.  The Durga Puja apparently celebrates the victory of the Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura.  I have absolutely no idea what it will entail - so, stay tuned for an update!

  

The sourdough starteth

At long last our belongings have arrived. I shouldn't say at long last really as we didn't have to wait long. The kids are in toy heaven, all those charity shop specials I found before we left have gone down a treat. Obviously though the things they found the most fun were the giant cardboard boxes! We are keeping a few for making castles and palaces and the like.

Today I thought i would share two things. Firstly, the traffic in Dhaka is a shocker. It's chaos. Madness. Just close your eyes and go! Two lanes become 5, cars driving on the pavements, cars driving the wrong way down the road, rickshaws, more ruckshaws this time broken down in the middle of the road. And yet in the midst of the chaos, a semblance of order. Red traffic lights. People stop. I mean they stop, and wait and wait. Then something happens (what that something is I don't know) and they all go - with the light still on red but slowly changing to green. How very random!

Secondly, and perhaps the most exciting for me, the sourdough experiment has started. One starter now waiting in cupboard to spring to life. This time I used River Cottage for my quantities. Lets see how it goes!

Oh I am a happy woman

Is this because Arty is sleeping later than 6am and not waking his sister up? Er, no.

Is this because Isobel can swim a length of the pool on her own? Er, no (although that does make me very happy).

Is it because we have found a lovely lady with a great pink sari to help us in the house? Still no.

Is it because I have found the Great British Bake Off on YouTube? Yes! Peter is out and so far I am two hours in. Custard tarts at the moment. Oh it's making me want to bake.....and it's causing a massive baked product craving which I fear cannot be met. Well certainly not this evening. An apple with some "sweet curds" just isn't doing the trick!

God bless the GBBO.

Stock cubes called what?? Chilly Willy?

Chilly Willy - brilliant

I was looking through the receipt from Peter's first Dhaka shopping experience today and I saw a reference to "Chilly Willy". What has he been buying I wondered.  The answer? Beef stock cubes. What a great name.








In my last post I promised a few facts and figures about Bangladesh for those who are wondering what it's like. So here goes:

- it has a population of 150 million people (in a land size approximately the same as England and Wales);
- 1 in 3 live below the national poverty line;
- over 3 in 4 live on less than $2 a day;
- it has been referred to as the most vulnerable country in the world to climate change;
- 1 in 19 children die before the age of 5;
- 44% of the population lack access to adequate sanitation; and on a positive note
- GDP has averaged 6% per year since 2003;
- numbers living in poverty has reduced from 63 million in 2000 to 47 million in 2010

So there we go.  A small snapshot of Bangladesh.  The picture I managed to take the other day doesn't really do justice to the sheer numbers of people as you can see:

A wierdly quiet road when out walking with Arty

I thought I would also share a few family stories from the past few days.

Firstly, Isobel started school.  The excitement was building all day yesterday.  She has even been practicing her American accent! She posed nicely in front of the map of Bangladesh Peter purchased from someone at the side of the road, climbed into the school bus and whoosh, she was gone.  At home trying to get any details out of her regarding her first day at school was like trying to get blood from a stone.  Apparently she had soup for lunch though!

Secondly, we have bee undertaking some water related hygiene processes which I thought I would share.  Basically the advice is to soak all your fruit and veg (and eggs) in a Milton type solution for 15-30 minutes:

Hard to do justice to the size of those mangoes!

Amazingly it doesn't appear to make it taste too foul which has to be a good sign. Then we have been filtering our water in this large water filter - a candle filter (see http://www.safariquip.co.uk/brands/british-berkefeld/faq-british-berkefeld-gravity-water-filters/ if you want to read more about how they work).  For those who are unfamiliar, here are some pictures of the device itself:




Finally, we have experience the sewage - rainwater mix.  Walking home the other night after a really heavy downpour left us trying to negotiate the roads, or more precisely where the road ended and the drains began. Mmmh. Nice.  Still, no poorly tummies yet so let's see how much longer that continues!

Can't wait for the shipment of our stuff to arrive. Sourdough Dhaka style is calling me.....

  

  

  

Job seekers allowance....Dhaka style

Well, we have made it. All safely here in Dhaka. Kids are beside themselves with excitement and exhaustion. Walking is slow progress - apart from everyone staring at their blonde locks, Arthur is fascinated by the tuk-tuks and so we have to stop to look at them. And there are quite a few!
Flight was ok, kids were brilliant. Isobel dealt quite well with the almost fatal blow - the TV isn't working. What, no TV? Peter and I almost cried. We had promised her TV and then there was none. But she was easily distracted by mountains of food.  The second flight was good preparation for arriving. The aircon didn't appear to be working, it was practically sauna like on that plane and again, no TV. That's what comes with saving a bit of money and not flying Emirates I supposed.

The final disappointing part of the journey was the lack of airport cake on offer. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I had wanted to post pictures of cakes seen in various airports.  Manchester airport did not score well, only a few gingerbread people on clear display. Istanbul was too much of a rush to even see any.  However, we have seen some truly yummy (?!?) looking ones here in Dhaka so will have to take a snap when things are calmer.

Having spent three hours in the pool today the kids are shattered. We are hoping that the 15 wake ups of Isobel last night won't repeat tonight!

Peter is going to the meeting of the "women's group" tomorrow, to help gender-neutralise it! Then he will be signing on for his allowance. With me. We joked about it being his job-seekers allowance with the option of an increase if he has some evidence of looking! Sounds like job seeking here though will consist of playing golf with his charity shop special clubs! Tough life for him by the sounds of things.....(??!). Unlike the bulk of the population here.

Onto the numbers of people in poverty in this country in my next post.

Gingerbread people in Manchester Airport!

How to pack up and move a family - some tips!

I hope you aren't looking for serious tips here.  I'm not good at those.  The tips below started off trying to be serious but then the lack of proper sleep and lack of chocolate on this train to Preston (long story) interrupted and it might have deteriorated....

1. Get the packers in.  We've never had packers before.  It's always been us wrapping things up, trying to stuff things into boxes and so on.  The packers make it soooo easy.  They come in, drink endless cups of coffee (and then diet coke as it was very hot....unfortunately they didn't quite look like the man from the diet coke advert back when I was young!) and then in a whirl of activity wrap the entire contents of your house in white plastic stuff or place in boxes.  They then load it all into the crate, filling every last nook and cranny, a little like a giant jigsaw.  Brilliant.
2. Don't forget a plastic cup.  For water.  We packed everything up and then found we didn't have anything to drink water from (apart from direct from the tap).
3. Keep the kids away if you can.  Well away. We stayed at some friends (where we had the lovely duck in a tin).  The kids barely slept ("a sleepover mummy?  two sleep overs? I'm overcome with excitement and can't possibly sleep now!") but they left the house when it was still full of their things and didn't see it slowly emptying out to become just a shell, empty of personal effects and the life and laughter we'd filled it with.
4. Don't let anyone find the sharpie, especially not a 2.5 year old with a slight tendency to draw on walls.  It's not good for your stress levels.
5. Hide your jars of particularly nice jam and marmalade in pots and pans.  The packers said we could only take 'dry' products (hence a quick trip to the shop to buy a mass of porridge and Mornflake muesli).  However, I couldn't be parted from my M&D Mango Chutney (yes, I know, coals to Manchester and all that) so we wrapped it up in tea towels and hid it in the casserole dishes!
6. Don't leave the gas meter cupboard key hanging up in the cupboard in a vague attempt to be helpful to the tenants.  The packers packed it.  Result - new task added to list which wasn't quite long enough (?!) - buy a new one.
7. Don't lose the list of telephone numbers you've put together in a fit of uber-organisation - you know, the utility companies, water companies, council tax people etc. After all, you thought that moving out day would be all calm and there would be plenty of time to phone in your meter readings. Surely you wouldn't be on your hands and knees scrubbing away at the floor 2 minutes before the kids are due home from nursery! No, not at all.
8. Don't hire a Mercedes estate to pack your remaining belongings into.  Admittedly we didn't actually hire one, they gave us an 'upgrade'.  I say upgrade, I mean they gave us a car with an amazingly small boot which we then had to pack with far too much stuff (where were those packers when we needed them?) and hence deposited several bags of random stuff with the neighbours who no doubt couldn't decide whether that was helpful (unopened jars of pasta sauce and rapeseed oil) or annoying (half a jar of marmite).
9. Don't leave your daughters learning journey from 3.5 years at nursery on the roof of the car and drive off having seen a dent in the said hire car which sends you into a panic as you have only got the cheapest insurance.  Luckily for us the lovely nursery people picked it all up and put it back together.  So another tip - have some spare thank you cards for the thank yous you haven't planned for!
10. Find a bottle of champagne you've forgotten about at the bottom of the cupboard, open and enjoy.

It's been emotional....but we have had duck in a tin!

We have finally left the house.  It's funny how emotional it was.  I wasn't expecting it but it's a little annoying to have finally managed to decorate it and turn the garden into a garden rather than a mud bath only to leave the country and rent it out! Oh well.

The kids have almost missed the whole process.  Admittedly Isobel had a slight fit when I had to stop her running into the newly cleaned house.  She was a little confused as to why she wasn't allowed into her home.  But after pulling every muscle in my body scrubbing the floor and wiping down the toilets, I couldn't bring myself to let her run in with her playdoh covered shoes! 

We had scheduled in our last day to be a day for the mammouth clean.  No kids, they were meant to be in nursery.  Just a day of scrubbing and dusting.  However, Arthur had different ideas.  Conjunctivitis ideas.  Nursery wouldn't let him in so he came to help.  Running around the house with a sharpie (i.e a pen that doesn't come off - no matter how hard you try!).  Not quite my idea of helping.  We finally left the house and headed off up North to visit family.  Straight onto the M25 and straight into the biggest jam we've ever had to deal with.  Two kids trying to kill each other squashed into the back due to the slightly overfilled car pushing their car seats together and a traffic jam.  It took an hour to go 2.5 miles.  And not a gin in sight. Oh the trauma.  But, with a positive view on things, I suppose it was preparing us for the Dhaka traffic.

The biggest challenge has probably been saying goodbye to my mum and dad.  They are old now, mid 70's.  But still young in spirit! They aren't the most emotional of people, well not when it comes to expressing it anyway.  I've never really been able to talk properly to them about the depression, I just wasn't sure how they would react.  When my mum and I did talk about it it was clear that she had had challenges too and in an era when it was a lot less talked about.  She is emotional about us going.  It really dawned on me that one day she won't be here and for all the times you think your mum is nagging or whatever, the positives easily outweigh all of that and one day she won't be there on the end of the phone chatting away about someone in the house next door and whether they have or haven't cut their hedges.  She says she won't see the kids grow into adults, unless she lives for another 12 years which is possible as I pointed out! She said she won't see me open my little B and B I'd like to open in the Cheviots where I would bake sourdough for breakfast and feed to weary walkers.  Our leaving for Dhaka has made her think about all of this and made me feel even more emotional about leaving.  Isobel likes to just look at me and ask "why mummy crying?"....

Anyway, on a different and more uplifting note we have eaten the duck in a tin.  What a delight it was!  I was hoping to share some photos but they won't upload so a description will have to do - the tin was opened, and inside there was a mass of duck fat (mmh, yum...?).  Hiding beneath were 5 duck legs, already cooked, just waiting the reheat.  Into a pan for a few minutes and then out onto a plate, complete with lovely green beans and baked potatoes with rosemary and garlic.  The result?  A lovely lovely meal.  The french sure know how to tin a duck!

This post is for Becca who isn't worried about photos of duck in a tin and looked after me so well last night with pizza and red wine! Thank you.

One week until the packers arrive!

The kids might be getting a little concerned. Yesterday they arrived home and found all their wall stickers had gone. They then proceeded to pack all their teddies into bags to "take to the charity shop". Poor things.

One week to go until we start moving out. You have to be quite organised with all your stuff which is a challenge. We have been in the loft and found all kinds of things but most of it is going to make room for the most iimportant items to be shipped - stuff for kids. Someone asked me what we were taking to Bangladesh - well apart from the bread machine and a few changes of clothes for us, its toys, crafts and more toys!

One week to go. Yeeks .

Duck in a tin anyone?

 Duck in a tin?

It's amazing what you find when you are clearing out the house.

Apparently it's lovely so we shall be giving it a go...stay posted for that one!






Anyway, the house clearance continues.  So far only one third of the contents of the house are on ebay, afterall we don't want to be paying over £1500 to store 3 Ikea bookshelves for 3 years.

Isobel is convinced we are only going for a few days.  She is telling everyone.  How do you really explain that it's for 3 years when she has no proper understanding of what that means?  Even though she will be fine we're sure, it's hard as you worry about how she is going to react and how she will miss her friends.  I've purchased a few small treats to squirrel away to help them feel 'at home' more easily.  The problem with squirrelling away - I forget where things are.  They will probably end up in the storage container and be forgotten for three years!

What else? Well, the car has gone.  We need to get a new car in the Desh but for now we are car-less.  Almost.  We have been lent a car by a very kind friend - a sporty mini! It's brilliant. It actually pulls away from the junction unlike the tank that was the Citroen C4 grand picasso!  Thank you Sally!

Any other items are being moved to their temporary new homes.  We have the BBQ which has gone down the road to get a lot of use, Barty the Bay Tree which, having squeezed in tightly into the car, is now firmly settled in his new home, and we have the sourdough.

Ah, the sourdough.  I'm finally going to give it a name! Though I've not thought of one yet.  Here it is (left), after far too long in our fridge and my frantic efforts to save it, and in it's new home with Barty the Bay Tree in the background (right):

Two posts in one day??? Has the world gone mad?

No, not really.  I'm just thinking of what great joy there is in attempting to eat the contents of the freezer before we move out!

I say joy - that's because I've been eating mince pies and brandy butter this evening. Yum.  One of my favourites.  Who says they have to be eaten in winter? Why not in the garden when it's been 26 degrees?

So I thought I would share the contents of the freezer as we embark on the last few weeks of UK summer before we depart.  We have:

- A never ending supply of pork livers it seems (....my husband, bless him, got into a mini phase of making terrines....he made one - which was lovely - and now we have a lot of pork livers in the freezer);
- Salmon - I was obviously buying it on special.  Smoked salmon, normal salmon, basically lots of salmon;
- Bread - well, I did go on that baking course;
- Fruit cake soaked with brandy (Christmas - I love brandy soaked fruit!);
- Left over Turkey (do you think that is still OK to eat?);
- Frozen Peas;
- Meatballs;
- One mini milk (I sense a fight over that one!); and
- More bread - garlic, pitta, rolls...you name it.

So, balanced it might not be but it has to be eaten! Can't bear food waste - I wonder if the Love Food Hate Waste website will have some recipes for fruit cake with pork livers....

468 cubic feet.....how many sofas is that?

The move progresses. I am saving a massive box of chocolates for the day the packers come to help me with my anxiety. I feel it might be needed. Anxiety levels are already rising. Thinking of the packers packing the bin and its contents and shipping them to Dhaka ought to make me laugh....!

So the packing people came. I hadn't realised they would have expected me to have gone through the house with a fine toothcomb and worked out exactly which pillowcase was staying and which was going. I had must stepped off the Dreamliner back from Addis, celebrating the fact that it hadn't caught fire again.

Which takes me off at a tangent. The Dreamliner. Very strange windows. I kept waking up and everything was green. It was like being on the set of Wicked in the sky.

Anyway, so yes the packers have come. I have prioritised....kids stuff. Basically Peter and I will be taking a book and some underwear each but the kids will be ok. Toys toys and more toys.

However, the packers then said "oh you are over your storage limit by 460 cubic feet" and walked away. 460 cubic feet? How many sofas is that? According to the packers one picture is about 5 cubic feet.....which suggests they use A LOT of bubble wrap. Oh hum. As Peter said, easier if they just put a container outside and let us pack it. Bubble wrap? What's that?

And finally, Isobel ended the day last night with "mummy, how many weeks are we going to Bangladesh for?" and "can Olivia come to my party?". Not sure she quite understands yet. This could be interesting. Poor little thing. I gave her a big cuddle and said "quite a few weeks....".

A slight interlude – gulping the cake down!

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The Gulper!

I’ve been in Tanzania.  ‘How glamorous’ people say.

If only they knew.

This time I was looking at sanitation programmes.  In case I haven’t said before (and I know I have), 2.5 billion people don’t have access to adequate sanitation.  Poor sanitation, hygiene and dirty water contributes not only to diarrhoea, respiratory infections and so on but has also been shown to be linked to stunting in children under 5.

So, anyway, there I was in Tanzania when I came across the Gulper for the first time.  The Gulper.  What a brilliant name.  It’s up there with the arsenator (well, ok, not quite).  The arsenator being a tool to help monitor arsenic levels in water (arsenic is a massive issue in the Desh).  The Gulper is, I think, a WaterAid innovation and in this case we met a bunch of women who had set up a group to try to help improve sanitation provision including by supporting better emptying of the pits!

Moving swiftly on from such a serious note (albeit a very important one), I’ve been contemplating airport cakes.  Contemplating them in terms of their diversity, colour and also my ability to stop my children wanting to eat them all!  It started earlier in the year in Yangon when I saw some delightful bright green cake.  If only I’d taken a picture!

Well, time has passed and my visit to Tanzania has introduced to me to some new delicious looking items.  So, I’m going to start documenting airport cakes!  And then perhaps I can focus down on Isobel and Arty’s favourites – after all, they are about to come widely travelled, so why not widely test the cake varieties!

Below we have some examples:

(a)  Not strictly airport as it was take in a restaurant in Dar Es Salaam.   I think this cake looks OK and quite edible.  No scary colours.  But then again, no pink icing and sparkles!  Not sure it would get the kids vote:

 

(b)  Dar Es Salaam Airport.  It was hard to find cake here.  However, I eventually found a few pieces….not especially appetising it has to be said:

(c)  Addis ‘Bole’ Airport.  Cake was proving hard to find.  At first I thought we would have to make do with a picture of the cake menu but then there it was – cakes, pastries, more cakes.  In fact, a very good selection and one which I thought the kids would enjoy!

The countdown begins....

Well there has been a slight gap in the blogging.  I think a holiday in Croatia managed to get in the way.  Croatia was lovely. For the first time in 4 years we had decided 'let's go away, let's have guaranteed sunshine, no more of this rain'.

What happened?  Longest heatwave in the UK since 2006.....

Mmh.


Kids loved it and we loved.  For all the warm weather in the UK, being able to step outside and jump into crystal clear water was worth every penny of that flight with dodgy jet.  It was perhaps the most relaxing holiday we've had in years! Same thing every day - up, breakfast, beach, home, lunch, sleep, up, swim, dinner, pass out.  Sometimes there was even an ice cream to break up the routine!

Anyway, the return from Croatia meant one thing (well two actually) - more jabs for the kids and the countdown really beginning.  The kids are now well and truely jabbed up.  The last one was the worst - BCG for TB.  Arty was NOT happy. And boy did he make that known.  Luckily I escaped and took Isobel for a walk leaving Peter to struggle on with the wriggler.

But they are all done.  You need a lot of jabs for the Desh - TB, Hep A and B, Typhoid, Rabies and so on.  That's the least of their worries though - the next major challenge is trying to get Arty to stop drinking the bath water...or in fact to understand that he can't drink any water which comes out of the tap!  Ha ha.  Good luck with that one many people have said.

So, the countdown.  I think it's 6 weeks today that we fly.  We have put the house on the market - something which saw me hoovering at midnight the other night and vaguely trying to hide all the bits of plastic the kids accumulate in various cupboards, hoping no one would open them!  Peter has given up work - that's quite a major step.  Not only does it mean that for the first time since we met he isn't working for the same organisation, he is unemployed effectively and will mainly be spending his days painting and preparing the dinner (well, I'm hoping for the latter!).

It also means I'm the breadwinner! Scary.  I suddenly feel this massive responsibility to be extra cautious with money to ensure we have enough on my 3.5 day a week salary.  I'm hoping the lottery tickets might have come up trumps but I've not checked yet!

And finally it means attacking the task list.  It seems like a never ending task list and it's not a particularly interesting one:

(1) Go to tip
(2) Paint walls
(3) Spill paint on carpet
(4) Clear up paint on carpet
(5) Go back to tip
(6) Sell car
(7) Rent car
(8) Go to tip
(9) Attempt to chuck out really old toys while the kids aren't looking
(10) Fail in (9)

And so on.

Yesterday I distracted myself fully from this venture and went on a bread baking course.  It was a Christmas gift from all the family - and it was such fun!  It was held at the Lighthouse Bakery in Sussex and I had plumped for European Breads.  Ooh, the poolishes, the bigas, the other fermenty things I'd never heard of.  But the best bit was the bread!!! We now have a freezer full of it.  Which will basically add a few tasks to the list:

(11) Eat contents of freezer
(12) Keep eating contents of freezer
(13) Try not to add anything else to freezer.

Anyway, for some reason I am off to Tanzania this evening.  Not ideal timing as it means leaving Peter and the kids with the chaos of the overflowing bread filled freezer but an opportunity to see some overflowing pit latrines I suppose (just what you wanted to read I'm sure!).

So on that note I will leave you with some pictures of some lovely bread I made yesterday and a picture of the Dhaka skyline which awaits us in 6 weeks time.

Here we have a Limpa at the back, Pan Gallego on the right, Pain de Campagne in the middle and Pane Pugliese on the left