Bacon and Black Pudding

Would you look at all that yoghurt???

I can't believe it's 2014! Where has the time gone?  So I've been back to the UK twice in the last month - not good for my carbon footprint but very good for catching up with friends and family.  And it was my friends who pointed out that the blog has been a bit quiet of late.....





So, I thought I would rectify this whilst sitting in Dubai airport where I have about 6 hours to wait for the flight to Dhaka.  With 6 hours in Dubai airport, what to do to keep busy?  Well -

(a) I've been on the phone to the kids:

"mummy, where are you?"

"mummy, are you on the plane yet?"

"mummy, where are you?"

"mummy, when are you home?"

and so on.

Peter has been in sole charge of the kids for the past 10 days.  I say sole charge, I mean overall charge, afterall we have help from the lovely Anjouna who is our 'ayah' and who, entertainingly for all (including Anjouna!) is about 5 inches taller than Isobel.  Will Isobel catch up her before we leave that is the question??

Anyway, it appears Peter (and his 'team' as he calls them) has done well, the kids are still alive and clearly, judging by the noise, very well!

(b) I've drunk some coffee

Quite a lot of coffee actually.  I'm on a mission to try to stay awake so that when I arrive in Dhaka I can fall into blissful slumber for the whole night through....I wish.

(c) I've pondered going shopping

And then decided against it.  I've decided to stay still, sitting quietly in my little corner.  Dubai is a funny airport, it's all modern and swishy but it's also one massive shopping centre and it's rammed full of people - at 3 am, 6 am, 9 am - basically all the time, all milling about the shopping lane!

(d) I've pondered my visits to the UK

We came back to the UK for Christmas - back to the storms and the rain.  The kids woke up at about 4.30 am for the first week.  It's pitch black outside, kids TV hasn't started and you're in someone else's house trying to keep the kids vaguely quiet.  Ah, what fun it was. They muttered it was cold, they wanted to go back to Bangladesh where it was warm (and then were most disappointed when we got back to Bangladesh and it was noticeably colder than it had been!).  We kept them very busy (I've added some links in case anyone is wondering what or where on earth these places are!):

• The Blue Bell Railway to see Santa - http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/
• The Mayfield Village Church fete, also to see Santa (he is a very busy man!) - http://sussex.villagenet.co.uk/mayfield.php
• The Panto - Jack and the Beanstork - Isobel was slightly overwhelmed by it all, Arty was just screaming 'he's behind you'
• Ashdown Forest to find Piglet (who was hiding due to inclement weather) - http://www.ashdownforest.org/home/index.php
• The South Downs and Beachy Head - to be blown away by the wind and watch the brave (or mad) surfing
• Emmetts Garden and Knole - to see our lovely friends and sample the joys of the National Trust teashop only to find they were shut - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/emmetts-garden/
• The Windmill at Lytham St Annes - http://www.visitlythamstannes.co.uk/
• The Circus at BlackPool Tower - Isobel was transfixed by the acrobatics- http://www.theblackpooltower.com/
• The crazy dancing snowman display at Barton Grange - this time it was Arthur who was petrified (see below)
• Beacon Fell - to find the giant snake in the mud....- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beacon_Fell_235-35.jpg

And of course, seeing family, eating too much and generally having a good time.

And now we are back in the Desh.  We stayed up till the wee hours on New Years Eve for the first time in 5 years!  No more sitting in our PJs and recording the fireworks for us, it's party time!  I have been back to the UK again and am now looking forward to getting back to the crazy kids (and the crazy dad!).  But being back in the UK gives you time to contemplate things, including things you miss and things you don't.  So here goes:

Things I miss when I'm in the Desh (apart from friends and family!):

• Frost.  OK, there hasn't been a lot of frost this winter by all accounts, but when I saw the frost one morning this week I was so happy. I love it.  Cold, crisp and frosty.  Perfect day for a walk.
• Walking.  Obviously I can walk in Dhaka - I walk to work, we walk out in the peri-urban space, but to really walk - walk along pavements or along the river in London, walk up a big hill, walk walk walk.
• Bacon and Black Pudding - oh, I do.  I really do.  I hadn't thought about it but then I had some at the fabulous Regency Cafe (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d1986778-Reviews-Regency_Cafe-London_England.html).  Thank you Maggie for taking me there and thank you to the lovely woman running the joint and her '2 toasts for the lady.....tomato and black pudding for the lady' (we were the only ladies in there at 8am!).
• Oxygen.  There is oxygen in the air in London - it's amazing how you notice how much cleaner the air is, despite being a big city itself.  London should be proud - the air is pretty clean and the rivers have fish in them!
• Supermarkets.  I know, sad I know.  I did get so much joy from wandering around Waitrose though....just wandering, gazing at the ridiculous choice in yoghurts!

And things I love about the Desh:



7 Sisters Country Park - beautiful

• The lack of requirement to wear 50 layers in winter - and then get too hot when you go into a shop or onto a bus and have to take them all off! Not having to bundle the kids up in so many clothes to go outside.  Lovely.
• Attempting to speak Bangla and seeing such smiles on peoples faces - and they have time for you to help you learn!
• Cycling to work in 5 minutes
• Not having to get on the Tube or a Train or a Bus to get to work....
• The help and support we have which means we can spend so much more time focused on the kids when we're not at work - it just wouldn't be possible in the UK
• .....and finally, the ever so slightly dodgy DVDs which enable us to keep vaguely up to date with the HBO hit series....and the Disney Princesses!

 

 

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!