Merry Christmas

Stockings for all the family!

Presents around our Christmas tree

                                                                                              Christmas Eve, 2012

Dear Friends in Ranau,

   I promised you that I wouldn't forget you during the holidays and as it is Christmas Eve and Andrew is cooking for our evening Christmas Eve meal, I am going to sit down and try and catch up on my blog. The last two weeks have been hectic and I have seen lots of my friends, spent too much money, eaten far too much, decorated the house, remembered how to cook, bought presents, watched TV, sung carols, visited my old school and welcomed all of our children back and basically have become my former self! It is like nothing has really changed and that my life with you all in Ranau is a dream.
  I have had a few moments though when I've found the amount of money, food and alcohol that is consumed by the majority of us in France and Britain rather obscene especially when there are homeless people begging in the cities. It is not like Ramadan when most people are fasting for a month or at least respecting the fasting - we seem to do the opposite for a month! Anyway, Christmas is a lovely mid-winter celebration and a time of year for family and friends to indulge themselves and cheer themselves up during the winter - a season you find difficult to imagine. It is not cold at the moment but it is very wet and there are many places flooded in England.
   I can't believe that this time next week I will be on my way back to Malaysia. At the moment I can't think of it and I'm only thinking and enjoying being at home with all the family. I must close now as on Christmas Eve  we like to think that a man in a red suit and a long white beard delivers presents  into stockings hung by the chimney, with the help of flying reindeer. I know you keep Christmas as a more religous festival but not so many people remember that here.

   Whatever you plan tomorrow,wherever you are in the world, I hope you all have a happy day.

                          See you soon,

                               Merry Christmas,

                                      Fiona

Home at Last!!

It is SO lovely to be back at my lovely home in Normandie. I was feeling quite nervous in case it wasn't as lovely as I thought it was but Andrew has managed wonderfully well in keeping things going against the odds of floods and a crazy dog (sorry Phoebe but you are!). Phoebe has managed to break, chew, scratch and eat her way through many things not to mention the problem of incontinence as she approaches her 14 th birthday. However, even if it is because of the approach of alzheimers, she still loves me and has forgiven me for deserting her - for a few weeks at least!


Phoebe - 14 today!

I'm going around the house remembering things that I've put to another part of my brain and everything is so familiar, I can't believe that I've been away for a year. A few of the Christmas decorations have been left up, which is handy and even some Christmas wrapping paper is exactly where I left it last December! It is frosty this morning with lovely blue skies so I must take Phoebe for a walk and explore the garden and fields. The nicest thing this morning though was being cosy in our bed which is by far the best bed . Anyway, I must get on with repairing the quilt that Phoebe has torn, starting my Christmas cards, doing some cooking for some of my dear friends who are joining us for supper this evening.....  Home Sweet Home!

                                                                        Royale

It's cold in Lille and Glasgow!

The first snow this year in Glasgow

I think I am on  my 10 th  bed/sleeping place in the last three weeks and the sofa that I am using at the moment in Glasgow is really comfortable and could possibly be the winner! I arrived in Paris last Monday and went by train to Lille where I spent a lovely few days with Lisa and Tanya. It was so nice to be back in France and I do remember how to speak French (adequately) which is a relief. Lisa and Remi's house, that I saw last year in a building site state,is finished and feels really like a home. They have made it so nice and I even slept in a bed (rather than a mattress on the floor) in their spare bedroom/study. Tanya's apartment looks more like home too especially with the addition of Marshall the cat. We spent a lovely few days together and Lisa took me on a drive around the coast which was cold, windy but beautiful. However, as well as seeing my beautful daughters it was so nice to consume lots of delicious cheese and wine!

Gen in Glasgow

On Thursday I set off again to the airport and arrived in Glasgow in the evening. Last year, we bought a flat, which Gen is now living in with her friend Emma. Andrew has been over laying floors and Gen has been very busy decorating but I have  been a very much absentee landlady so it is lovely to actually see it for myself and see how much it has changed for the better. The last few days have been a whirl of shopping, eating in nice restaurants and catching up with Gen and Naomi as well as their boyfriends and my dear friend Katy and Stephanie who came all the way from Carlisle to see me. Last night Gen was singing in a choir performing in the City Hall which was brilliant. The choir sang and danced to modern pop/rock tunes and the atmosphere and audience participation last night was fantastic.I would love to be able to sing in a choir like that. Anyway much as I am enoying this way of life I don't think I could afford it for too long.On Sunday night the snow started and it does look pretty as long as I'm watching from inside.I'm off again on Tuesday to London where I am sitting an exam and then my final destination before returning home is Winchester and Andrew will be there to meet me!

Lisa looking over to the White Cliffs of Dover

 

The Silver Cigarette Case

Dearest Daddy,                                                                                    Singapore, 25th November 2012

    Why is it when I'm in Singapore I feel that you are beside me. I wonder whether you ever visited the Arab quarter where I am staying? It looks to me that it hasn't changed very much except that there are a few trendy bars, restaurants and the backpacker place that I'm staying called Sleepy Kiwi which seems to be full of every nationality except Kiwis! Yesterday was an important day for me as I went to the Changi Museum to see for myself the display cabinet of your story. The last time I visited the Changi Museum was in 2006 when we went en famille as an "interesting, educational" family outing. I don't think any of the family will forget how deeply affected I was . I certainly hadn't planned it that way but the emotional key was unlocked and the tears flowed. Looking round and reading the stories of the terrible suffering that you all endured but yet it was the stories of courage and bravery that shone through, that affected me the most. I felt so ashamed that I knew so little about those dark years of your life.
   So yesterday I was welcomed by the Director of the museum and introduced to all the staff as your daughter! I had my photograph taken with him and I felt rather uncomfortable as all the tourists were staring, wondering who on earth I was! I had a personal guided tour with the Director and then was taken out for lunch and was able to talk with knowledge about the Fall of Singapore. The exhibition itself is a small display case with the famous silver cigarette case, your Military Cross medal and a short description of the massacre in the operating theatre with newspaper cuttings. There is of course a photograph of your wedding day with the beautiful Elizabeth. Apparently it will become part of the permanent exhibition in 2015 when they are planning to redo the museum but for now it is seen by thousands of visitors who flock to the museum. The story of how you were saved by the cigarette case, given to you by Mummy, is actually one of those stories that is recounted and known by many, in association with the Alexandra Hospital Massacre, which will probably seem strange to you after so many years. Maybe the romantic element has captured the imagination of people. I know that you will say that it was nothing but I felt very proud to be still known as Tom Smiley's daughter.

                               Missing you always,

                                    All my love,

                                       Fiona

                                                               The Arab Quarter

Back from Bako

Lucy and  Anna

The cobra rock

“When you are travelling on your own, you never are alone.” This is what my new friends and I agreed over a few beers in Kuching this evening. I left Kota Kinabalu as a single traveller , shared a taxi from the airport with Anna, a talented, beautiful, young Slovenian and we instantly “hit it off”. Her friend Sam from Switzerland arrived from Singapore so the three of us decided to go off to Bako National Park together. We then met jenk (?) from London on the bus who joined our "party" and then when we got to Bako village, where you hire the boat, we were then joined by Dave, a kiwi on his travels back to NZ for Christmas. This disparate group of all ages went off to Bako National Park and we spent the day together doing a 5 hour trail in the jungle which was hot, sweaty and lovely. We saw very few animals , which is hardly surprising since the local people call us the Elephant people, (big, noisy and grey!) but we did get to know each other. I felt I was on a mini Pilgrim’s Progress with every one telling their traveller's stories at each rest and when I went to wave them off at the end of the day I felt quite sad!


The view from the dorm.

Wild boar everywhere!

 

 
  So I was left in Bako and I stayed in the 4 bed dorm. for 3 nights (3 euro per night) which  was very basic but it was clean and there was a cold shower .However, to wake up in the morning with jungle sounds surrounding you and the most magnificent views of Mount Santubong on the otherside of the estuary was priceless. Each day I went on a trail with a reward destination such as a waterfall, or a beach which were out of adverts for a tropical paradise. I also was very fortunate to share my dorm with another young beautiful, talented girl called Lucy from Dorset and by the time I returned to Kuching I felt fitter, refreshed and I had gained some delightful, new friends who I’m sure I will keep in touch with. So I’ve been spending my last ringitts on Christmas presents and I’m off to Singapore this afternoon – nearly on my last stage of the journey back to France.

 

 

Holidays and Kuching

The Cultural Village

A talented Bidayuh woodcarver

Yes at last I am on holiday and this morning arrived in Kuching. I could bore you with the details of our End of Year Review staying at the 5 star hotel last week but to be honest apart from being nice to catch up with some people and managing to get food poisoning there isn't much to report. We were all tired and keen to depart to a hundred different destinations. The reason I have returned to Kuching is that it is on the way to Singapore where I will be flying home next weekend and it was a place I wanted to return to after getting a little glimpse before.
  So I am installed in Chinatown in a cheap backpackers and this afternoon spent a very interesting time at the Cultural Village about 30 km outside the city. It is one of those "living museums" with real people doing real work and they have reconstructed seven authentic ethnic houses from the diverse ethnic groups in Sarawak. It is set in the foothills of Mount Santubong with the beach and sea in front. I know I will start to sound like a guidebook soon but I need to try and record the information before I forget! Most of the houses were based on communal living so were either long houses or the most amazing tall house from the Melanau people. These houses were built 15 metres above the ground for protection and made out of ironwood which lasts forever. There were at least four stories and it reminded me very much of the timbered houses in Normandie.

Melanau tall house

The Orang Ulu longhouse

My favourite house, I think was the Orang Ulu's, which again was made out of ironwood but it was highly painted and the longhouse was beautiful. The Sarawak design that is seen everywhere is either based on an octopus or a hornbill - tell me what you think! The house of the Iban's of whom there are a third of Sarawak's population, was also lovely and traditionally the longhouse is only reached by the river and they are built to last about twenty years when the farming in the area is exhausted. There are still many Iban people who prefer to live in longhouses today.

Iban wall hanging

Rice wine containers

A Bidayuh bamboo bridge

 The Penan people live in the virgin forests in the interior and are nomadic.Their houses are built to last a short time but their speciality is making blow pipes. Which brings me on to the last interesting house of the Bidayuh's. Again longhouses and communal living and they were famous for their headhunting (Iban too) and there was a circular hut where the fire was lit and the heads were cured up in the ceiling. Last official head cured was 1960's so not that long ago! Before you fall asleep there was also a Chinese farmhouse and a Malay house and I would recommend a visit if you ever visit Kuching. In fact it is the setting for the Rainforest Festival every year and I am going to try and go next year.

An Iban warrior with his blowpipe

The Rafting experience

Our boatman

Our rafts being used afterwards

The bamboo framework

The six of us were all ready to go at 6.45 a.m. and our four local Dusun guides arrived on their mopeds. We were given some tobacco which we rubbed into our arms and then stuck a lump down our socks to ward off the leeches. Off we went along the river and into the jungle with our guides brandishing their long parangs (machete type knives) and as I was following blindly I did have a flash of the film "Deliverance" but I did have complete confidence in these Dusun men. The scenery along the river was beautiful and we went over some dodgy suspension bridges and then after about 4 kilometres through the forest we stopped and had our breakfast. We, then proceeded to sit and wait while the men got to work by cutting down huge branches of bamboo. I was under the impression that we were supposed to help but you can understand why they preferred that the orang putihs sat and watched as they cut the bamboo expertly with their knives. There were 2 rafts made and each raft had 10 bamboo poles and then it was cleverly held together by a thinner pole threaded through the top and then rope used to secure it. We were given life jackets before we set off which was a surprising concession to Health and Safety rules! One man was standing at the front with a bamboo pole and the other man was at the back and then 3 of us sat along the raft.

Anne drinking the tapai from a straw

   Off we went and it was as exhilarating as we were hoping. There were some very fast rapids and then some slower more floaty parts of the river. Our boatman fell off at one stage and lost his bamboo pole and we managed to grab him as we rushed past. Our raft also disintegrated after hitting a rock but was easily fixed and it was all over too quickly. I wanted it to go on for at least another hour but it was still great fun and a good adrenalin rush for a Saturday morning and of course a memorable 50th birthday for Anne. We then went back, got dried and changed and got ready for the celebration for Anne's birthday by drinking tapai, birthday cake and lots of delicious local food. I hope it was a memorable birthday for Anne.

A rhino beetle

A roadside scene

Last Week at School

Preschool graduates!

Top students

I can't believe that it has arrived so quickly. After the Hari Raya holidays, the time seems to have gone very quickly. This week I have been mostly watching rehearsals and prize giving's and listening to long speeches in Malay. I also went to the opening of a "new" library, not to mention eating many makans and saying farewell to the teachers in five different schools.The new trend is making the pupils dress up in gowns and mortar boards which is quite cute but on the other hand rather nauseating and I'm quite sure has come from watching too many TV series! I do regret that our children in the French system never had any celebration or marking the event of passing from one stage of schooling to another so perhaps it is a good thing.

A young dancer

This morning I was giving out report cards and asking the parents to "sign here" in my best Malay and last night I won the most glamorous person at the end of year dinner! I'm not known for my glamour but I wore a silk kabia (traditional Malay costume) and they obviously appreciated my efforts - although I got 0/10 for make-up! I feel sad in many ways as I am so fond of many of the teachers and the Year 6's who will be leaving. There is always that mixture of longing for the holidays and yet regret in saying farewell although I do remember some years at school being very glad to say goodbye to some classes! Anyway today is the last day and most of the children will go home early and the teachers will be having meetings. I will be trying to get organised for leaving my house on Monday morning and also spending the weekend in Tambunan celebrating Anne's 50th birthday by rafting down a river!

The rice is nearly all planted

Faridah's Story

Faridah

I was asked to help, one of the teachers I work with, on her university assignment. The Malaysian government are encouraging all the non degree teachers to do a part-time degree course and Faridah has recently embarked on her four year course. The assignment was about reading and was asking about her personal relationship with reading -  what she reads, her interests in reading, her earliest memories of reading, her parents attitudes to reading etc....She was unsure whether she should write the truth or whether she should  reinvent herself for the assignment. After she told me her story I was not only moved, humbled but I felt that her story was inspiring and one that should be shared, especially with her university.
  Faridah's father left her mother when she was 6 months old. Her mother married again but her step-father led an itinerant lifestyle coming and going leaving her mother with seven more children before she divorced him. Her mother had a stall selling fish in the market which meant she had to be up very early. Faridah would get her brothers and sisters up and walk an hour to bring them to the market on the way to school from the age of seven years old.. She would then collect her brothers and sisters on the way home from school and  look after them until her mother returned. She remembers that she sat through three years of school  not knowing how to read. The teachers would ignore her and dismiss her as stupid and often she would fall asleep as she was so tired. She would try to watch television with her friends but she couldn't understand anything because it was in English and the subtitles were in Malay. The frustration of that finally encouraged her to try and learn to read by herself. There were no books at home but she began to read signs and packet labels and by the time the exams came in Year 6 she was able to read sufficiently well enough to allow her to go on to secondary school. She began teaching in a rural school where qualifications were not expected and she found that she had a talent and empathy of teaching the pupils with learning difficulties. She has now been a teacher for over 20 years but to have a degree is something she never imagined she ever would have. I will be so proud of her when I attend her graduation.

Hurricane Sandy

So according to blogspot.com I have now had 10,000 views since I started my blog in July 2011. I feel like I should be offering a wonderful prize - an ipad or money perhaps, but fortunately for me, I have no idea who you are (apart from my faithful followers ) and that's what I find interesting. At the beginning you were nearly all from France and then slowly my UK following has increased. About 4 months ago I started to have a large following in the States, which was strange as I don't know many people there, and now my followers are spread equally between France, UK, U.S.A and Malaysia with other countries like Russia, Korea, New Zealand.... visiting from time to time. Thank you all for your support and readership and I hope that you will continue to stay with my blog.

 This has been a strange week for me as Andrew (husband) is in New York and was there before, during and now is living through the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. He was supposed to be working in Pakistan but that was cancelled because of the dangerous situation and so he was pleased at the idea of having a month in New York staying in a nice hotel and being able to see his sister, Lindsay and his niece and nephew. Anyway as everyone knows the whole east coast was hit very badly and since Tuesday there has been no electricity or running water in a large area of Manhattan due to the power station blowing up. Andrew stayed on in his smart hotel, climbing the 15 floors to his room where there was no heating, electricity,running water and internet, until Thursday when they closed the hotel and he managed with great difficulty to find another place to stay. The new hotel still has no lights but has running water and the generator is able to allow hot water - at least an improvement. Meanwhile our daughter Lisa had booked her half -Term holiday in New York and her flight was booked for, yes you can guess,Tuesday 30 th October to coincide with the Halloween parade, New York Marathon and to visit her Aunt and cousins etc..... To cut a long story short her flight was postponed until Wednesday and she flew into a very different New York to what she was expecting. She is now staying with Lindsay who still has no electricity or running water......As Lindsay said "What a flimsy basis this so called civilised life rests on." The story will continue......
Update - Electricity has now been restored in Manhattan but I imagine there are still many areas without, not to mention the havoc caused by homes being destroyed along the east coast and the Caribbean.

Sunday Morning in Ranau

Not such a catchy title however this is where I have spent the long weekend. I had plans to go with Sister Caroline into the deep jungle to visit some of her Sisters who run a mission centre and preschool but unfortunately they decided to come back to civilisation for the long weekend so that has been  postponed for now. The celebration of Eid- al - Adha seems much more low key here than in other countries but on Friday there were certainly lots of men in their satin pyjamas and the building site next door to my house has been very quiet as most have returned to their villages for the weekend. Yesterday I did my usual Saturday tour of the market, bought my vegetables,had a rummage through the  "bundles" part, finishing with a roti cennai and mango juice. I bought a bright green skirt for 20 cents and made a Very Hungry Caterpillar for the wall of a newly painted and revamped school library that will be opened on the 7th November in another mentor's area. The British Council launched the pilot scheme of the Power of Reading a couple of months ago. There were about 30 schools chosen in Sabah and they have been given between 350 - 1000 books depending on their size. It is hoped that by testing the pupils' reading levels before and after the book flood that there will be an improvement and that the government may be persuaded to invest and introduce more books nationally in the future. Even though none of my schools were chosen I am determined that next year I will introduce lots more interesting and fun picture books into each of my schools and make reading a pleasure for the younger pupils. Thank you to those already who have contributed -  Ian and Clare arrived with a suitcase of wonderful books - all from the charity shop. I will be in England in December and if anyone would like to contribute even 1 or 2 second hand books I would be SO grateful. Any other ideas for books?( I can give you an address to send to)

Parents clearing some land in school to plant vegetables

No chairs left!

 This week was actually Reading Week or day? throughout Malaysia and on Wednesday we had a time where every school, child, teacher, staff had 30 minutes of silent reading. I'm not quite sure how effective the national conformity approach is to encourage reading but then again why not? So enough of my ramblings and on with some studying which I keep putting off.

For Jane with Love

Jane in October 2011

 My friend and colleague Jane died in May and some of us wanted to celebrate her life in Sabah in some small way . A weekend was organised and her husband Alan, who lives in Peninsula Malaysia , was invited, along with those people who knew her in Sabah. The venue was chosen at  The Seaside Lodge in Kuala Penyu,a place I had never heard of before, but recommended by some other mentors. I was very unsure as to how it would go. I felt that it might be just too sad for us all and we would be overcome with emotion. Fortunately I went to the resort in the same car as Alan and he is being so wonderful about coping with his grief it gave me the resolve to enjoy the time together as Jane would have wanted us to.

Our private beach

"Dostoevsky" 

We arrived at The Seaside Lodge in time for lunch despite the lack of signposts and the most terrible road leading to it. The lodge is set up on a hill overlooking a very long deserted beach and apparently  used to be someone's home and has a sort of colonial feel to it. The eleven of us, plus two babies, had lunch together and then we spent the afternoon together looking at the wonderful photographs of Jane's life and then of her photographs of Sabah. She was a very keen photographer and had a wonderful talent of capturing the people and the scenes of Sabah. Alan was able to tell us more about her life and how they first met and their 30 years of marriage was a shining example of how a inter cultural marriage can work. By 5.30 we were ready to have a drink which we did in Jane style drinking her favourite drink Absolut Vodka and ice with her "Dostoevsky" cheers.

Looking down to the restaurant

The evening continued with more stories of Jane, a few tears but lots of laughs and after dinner the guitar was brought out and despite not knowing many of the lyrics we all managed to enjoy ourselves. The star of the night was Duncan who created the now famous song of the Keningau Blues, an improvisation that was memorable and will hopefully be repeated! This morning we all enjoyed the beautiful beach and sea and finally after a game of snooker we said our goodbyes and promised to keep in contact with Alan.I think Jane would have enjoyed the weekend and we have decided to compile a calendar in her memory with some of her photographs in order to fund raise for the schools she worked in.  We miss you Jane.

The Keningau Blues!

The other direction