The Week Before the Wedding Day

The new canopy.....

and tent for Vin d'honneur

 I'm back on my computer and  have so much to tell you all that I'm going to have to condense it into instalments. I flew back last night and am feeling rather disorientated in hot, humid Kuching but for some unknown reason I was upgraded for the first time in my life to Business Class and had the pleasure of the seats that extend into beds and so the experience was a very different one to the usual economy sardine squash.

Painting the barn floor

Decorating and making pompoms!

 Anyway I will not go on too much about the build up before the wedding but it was very busy and everyone in the family plus partners all mucked in and helped. On Friday 4th July there was just Andrew joined by Lisa and me on Saturday. On Sunday Patrick,Gen and Mathew arrived joined by Remi, Naomi and Neil on Monday. Tanya and Anthony arrived on Thursday and then my brothers and wives and about fifty other people from all over France turned up in dribs and drabs throughout Friday. There was cooking, cleaning, painting, sewing , gardening, decorating and about 100 other things going on and Lisa had jobs written on post-its on a door for everybody to get on with in case there was a spare slack moment.

Games in the evening....

except when there are labels for the jam-pots to do

Holes in the lane to be filled

  I can't tell you all how marvellous everyone was and how cheerful and willing too about all the chores that had to be done. I know I really enjoyed the buzz and excitement of the first week and we did have lots of fun especially in the evening when the aperitifs started. Thank you my dear family for being so good about helping and never complaining. We will all have some very funny moments to remember and I just want to say a huge thank you to all the helpers. I love you all.

Cleaning stones?!

Cake decorating and rose petals

Sue and Clare blowing balloons

The Start of Ramadan

 I'm not sure what the etiquette is for the start of Ramadan but anyway my thoughts are with you, my friends, for those of you who are starting the fasting. This is now my fourth Ramadan in Sabah and each time I understand a little more about what is going on around me. In the shops there are huge sacks of rice on special offer and dates to break the fast and the trolleys are full of food that will fill you up and keep you going through the day. The shops suddenly start having sales and there is a buzz in the air before it starts. The other food that suddenly appears everywhere are the delicious biscuits and baking items for those who get into baking in preparation for the end of the fasting season. I remember biscuit catalogues would appear in the staffroom and some teachers would have a baking business going on selling for Hari Raya celebrations. It is a time where the feeling of hunger makes people more aware of what it is like to be hungry and it is a time when Muslims are expected to show more compassion to people less well off than themselves and try to be better people by not gossiping and praying more often. I know that everyone is encouraged to pray more than 5 times a day and the mosque nearby certainly seems to be calling more often at the moment. The women often rise at 3 am to prepare the meal for the family which must be eaten before 4.30 am and if they don't get back to sleep that is why dozing during the day is quite common during Ramadan. By law all Muslims are allowed to work 1 hour less per day during the fasting and schools also reduce  their timetables.

Taken from the suspension bridge

 I was saddened to hear on the radio today that there has been an increase in hate related crimes against Muslims in Britain. I am not a follower of any particular religion but I would just like to say that in my experience in Sabah the Muslims seem very kind, peaceful loving and generous people and far more community minded then many Christians I have met. It would be a better place if we could all respect each other's beliefs and treat everyone the same I think -  here endeth Fiona's lesson!

The ford

Going to work

 I have had an interesting week welcoming and "settling" in a new mentor into an area along the Kiulu River which is very pretty in the foothills of the Crocker Range. One of his schools is reached by a suspension bridge over the river and  a 20 minute walk and another is reached by a ford over the river or a very rickety bridge. The schools are very small and there is one class with only 2 pupils and only 42 in the whole school.

A new bridge

An old one

  Apart from that I've been sewing chair covers for the wedding this weekend and I'm not finished by any means. I fly back to France at midnight on Friday with as many as I have done in my suitcase. Wish me luck!

The North Sabah Eco-Warriors!

Sunset at the Tip of Borneo

One of the lovely things about my job is having a really great team to work with. Since we don't get together socially very often we are trying to make an effort to try and meet up every couple of months in different parts of the zone and l'm just back from a great weekend in Kudat in the North of Sabah. The weekend was conveniently organised to coincide with the Sunset Music Festival at the Tip of Borneo, a 7 year old's birthday party and also to be involved in the beach clean organised by the local "Save the Turtle Society".

The briefing

The area around Simpang Mengayau is full of stretches of beaches which have always been used by turtles for laying their eggs. Sadly over the last twenty years the numbers have dwindled due to several reasons but humans are responsible for all of them. There has continued to be dynamite fishing going on despite being illegal and this kills the coral and lessens the feeding ground for the turtles; the fishermen are using trawling nets that don't allow the turtles to escape so they end up being drowned; the huge increase of plastic in the ocean is sometimes confused as food for the turtles causing them to choke; the plastic can get caught up in their flippers and injure them; the rubbish on the beach prevents them from laying their eggs...... I could go on.

A dead adolescent green turtle

Anyway thanks to Fran who is a very passionate lady about protecting the turtles, certain things hopefully will be changing. She has been fighting for over 10 years to try and have some parts of the area to be protected as a natural park with areas designated for fishing, as she recognises the importance of that in the local economy and also the enforcement of fishing-nets that allow turtles to escape. She spends much of her time cleaning beaches and lobbying politicians about the turtles' plight and although she is very modest about her role, I do admire people who try and make a difference.

Just the start

An eco -warrior!

  Anyway, most of the North Sabah mentors were ready at 9 a.m. to start the clean up and after a briefing from Fran we set off armed with black biodegradable bags and gloves to do our bit for Pantai Bak-Bak. Despite actually looking relatively clean we collected 376 kg of rubbish - 200 of that being plastic - in about 2 hours. We not only found tyres and a gas cannister but sadly we also came across a dead green turtle on the beach. Fran didn't know the cause of death but it made us work harder and feel very guilty about the amount of plastic that we all use. Can't we just ban plastic? We humans are so short sighted about so many things aren't we? After our tiny contribution to the care of the beach we were rewarded by a lovely relaxing swim followed by a barbeque and birthday party at Brenna and Michael's. Starting to feel the effects of sun, sea, over-eating and physical activity, it was difficult not all fall asleep, but we all managed to raise ourselves and get to the Sunset Music Festival for sunset.

Fran (centre) with her stand at the Festival

Some local musicians

 It is a small , very relaxed festival with mostly local artists but it does have the most spectacular backdrop of the converging Sulu and South China Seas with a wonderful view. The music was ok but I feel that if the Festival is to continue then it must try and encourage traditional Sabahan music and less of the karaoke style that we can listen to anywhere.
  Today was a pleasant Sunday morning with a late breakfast and swim and relaxing on the beach before we all started to make a move back to our various homes. It was a lovely weekend and a big thank you to the Kudat mentors' who were such wonderful hosts.

D-Day Landing Celebrations

La Ferme des Vallots circa 1600

 The 70 th celebrations for the D-Day landings were celebrated during my time back in Normandie. I have the impression that Barack Obama seems to be following me around the world at the moment! On the 5th June there were amazing firework displays all along the coast and then of course the many memorials and  celebrations with the veterans and the Royalty and Heads of State on the 6th June. Apart from catching short clips on the TV, we were too busy to have any time off but we were in the direct flight path for much of the air traffic on its way there and back from Evreux military airport and Paris. I'm no expert in military aircraft but there were a couple of large transport world war 2 planes that flew overhead and a few lancasters and then we had the helicopters of the VIPs flying quite low at the end of the ceremonies on their way to Paris.

Lisieux pre 1944

 I noticed though in the local paper that they were also remembering that the beautiful medieval timbered town of Lisieux had been destroyed by the allies on the 6/7 June in a matter of minutes. Many people had hidden in the Basilica and in cellars but over 700 people died and over 75% of the town was destroyed. This made me remember a story told to me many years ago by a retired gentleman who we only knew as Monsieur Bucheron who came to cut our wood now and then. When he was 6 years old he was sent away from his home in Paris to the countryside where his family believed he would be safer. I am not sure of the connection between the family at the farm and him but he lived at La Ferme des Vallots throughout the years of occupation and spent the rest of his life in the area. The neighbouring farm had been taken over by the German soldiers and the Commandant lived in a Manoir which was situated just before the forest nearby to our farm. I have heard from several elderly people in the village that the farmers in La Ferme des Vallots were rather too "friendly" with the German soldiers and in fact although I don't think they were openly accused of being collaborators, after the end of the war they disappeared very quickly. M. Bucheron told me of how the soldiers and the family would help and work together during the apple harvest, cheese making and hay-making and that he became very friendly with a young soldier named Oscar . The morning of the 6th June arrived and he remembers being able to hear the explosions at the coast but not knowing what was happening. The German soldiers including his friend Oscar were ordered to assemble at the forest in their tanks and they would go off every day and return at night.

The Basilica intact

Lisieux on 7th June

Whether it was the night of the Lisieux bombings I'm not sure but he remembers the skies being full of planes and  the Manoir of the Commandant being bombed and  standing watching it burn to the ground and how terrified they all were that their farm would either catch fire or be bombed as well. As the months passed and the allies made slow progress and the Germans continued to fight, he saw less and less of Oscar until one night his tank never returned. Despite the many years that had passed, M. Bucheron had tears in his eyes when he told me. War is very complicated and I don't believe any side can really feel they are the victors. I only hope that during the ceremonies that a thought was spared for the German soldiers and the civilians who lost their lives too.
     The small village of Livarot was liberated by a Canadian regiment towards the end of August and there were only 3 bombs fired so that our village is very much intact but sadly for Vimoutiers and Lisieux, our neighbouring towns, they are unrecognisable. As another footnote - the German commandant returned after the war to Livarot and his daughter married a local man..... but that is another story!

The War of the Roses

   My goodness this seems very strange to be using a computer again after nearly 3 weeks of not touching one. I was determined to not open my computer when I was home and I managed very easily with all the other things that had to be done. The time in France passed very quickly and I haven't done so much physical work in quite a while and am feeling the withdrawal symptoms as I sit down at my desk again. Andrew and I, with the help of Naomi for a week, have managed to make  La Ferme des Vallots looking more loved than it has for a long time. I systematically went around the "garden" digging, cutting, weeding, pulling, hacking and then finally planting in the hopes that it will look colourful when the 12th July arrives. The roses were out in all their glory and since Ï had done quite a bit of manuring and preparation last autumn they seemed to be at their best.

Me in among the flower beds!

 Of course most of the roses will be over in July which is a shame as the scent of the roses literally fills the air around the farm at the moment. Andrew was equally busy painting, repairing, clearing, cutting grass, strimming and making lists of things to be done and Naomi was the expert high pressure hose user who transformed green mouldy decks, furniture, patios into cleaner more respectable looking things. There is still quite a lot to do as the barn where part of the wedding celebrations are going to be held was only emptied last Saturday and Andrew has been busy cleaning and clearing since I left on Thursday.

The clean deck

  I won't bore you too much with all the things that we achieved but I came back with bruises, stings and scratches and was planting things literally 5 minutes before I left to catch the train and looked with horror at my very dirty and broken fingernails as I left Lisieux on my way to Paris. It was lovely to be home in June and it was my first time in 3 years and so it was like rediscovering the wonderful colours, scents and daylight of summer. The reality that night doesn't fall at 6.30 pm opens up so many possibilities and even though the evening were chilly, they were lovely. Thank you dear friends who I managed to see over the two weeks and apologies for those who I didn't. I will be back in 3 weeks for the final countdown and the actual wedding so I will look forward to seeing you then.

Cherries just ripening

Our neighbours' cows

My New Indian Family in KL

My New  Friends

I was waiting for a taxi after the conference and I was chatting to two pre-school teachers, also sisters, who had been attending. Their father arrived with mother, husband, daughter in the car and they insisted in bringing me to the hotel in their car and this was the start of a delightful encounter while I was staying in KL. They were an Indian family and they insisted in going to an Indian vegetarian restaurant where I could taste the best coffee and chapatti etc…I had been eating all weekend but of course couldn’t resist an Indian curry, dahl, chutnies etc. I learnt that the mother had a food stall and cooked every day except Sunday and perhaps I showed too much interest but anyway they invited me out again the next evening to visit the stall. I accepted the invitation and they dropped me off at the hotel, reminded and amazed at the kindness and generosity of Malaysians even in urban settings. 

The view from my window

 The next morning after a delicious breakfast in my very smart hotel, I went over to the British Council office where I was spending the day with the Director of the ELTDP project. The office was very modern and completely open plan with everyone at a desk station which changes every day. What struck me was how multicultural the staff seemed and how  high tech the classrooms were-a far cry to teaching in a small primary school. Anyway it was very interesting and I spent a very pleasant day there. 

The curry stall

The evening arrived and my lovely new Indian friends came to collect me. The mother’s food stall was in a suburb called Cheras and was quite far out of the centre. The mother of course wanted me to try many things and I patiently sat there eating with everyone watching to see if I liked it. After I could eat no more and thought the evening was finished they said they had another surprise for me and off I went to Brickfields or otherwise known as Little India.  I was taken to a little shop where they insisted in choosing and buying the essential spices needed forthe wedding curry – curry paste is my usual solution but now I have to go about it the Indian way. We said our fond farewells and promised to keep in touch and that I thought was it but no!!

Petronas Towers at night

The next day I got a phonecall from them saying they wanted to take me to the airport. It would have been far easier to go by the express train but they wouldn’t be dissuaded and so we arranged that they would me at 7.30 pm. At 8.10 they arrived and I was starting to mildly panic and despite being a long drive and me wondering why I had agreed to this, they got me there in time. “Just leave me at the airport” I said , but would they listen? No, my adopted Indian family stuck to me until they could go no further and then they found a place where they could wave to me. I was quite overcome by their kindness and genuine desire to make my stay in KL memorable. They were not after anything and were just a lovely family and I feel very humbled by their kindness. Thank you.

A Conference in "Creativity in Early Education"

The Eminent Speakers at the conference

It’s 7 am in Paris and I’m just sitting in a café waiting for Naomi’s flight to arrive in a few hours. In some ways it is good as it will give me time to reflect and distil what has happened since I left Sabah on Friday afternoon. 

 I arrived at my hotel in Kuala Lumpur about 9 pm and that gave me some time to work on the presentation/ workshop that I was doing on Sunday at the conference on “Creativity in the Early Years of Education”. Yes I know it was leaving it rather late but I was so busy before I left and I just had to work on my powerpoint a bit and as I’m rather a novice with that sort of thing it takes me ages to work it out. Anyway, having never been to a conference outside a British Council event I wasn’t sure what to expect and I won’t bore you with all the details but just to say it was fantastic. There were about 150 people attending, mostly from Malaysia , but the speakers were from Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Brunei and they all seemed to be very eminent in their field except me! 

They say these conferences are all about networking and that is indeed what I did. I met some lovely people who were very passionate about Pre-school education and at last I knew why British Council had given me those business cards! The presenters were treated to a lovely meal in a fish restaurant in the evening and then Sunday arrived and my 11 am slot approached. I was hoping that there might be less people on a Sunday but my workshop /presentation on “Critical Thinking in Storytelling” was full. I felt a bit nervous to start with but once I got going it was fine and there were lots of good ideas and stories that were told at the end. 

Storytelling in my workshop

The rest of the day was full of lively and political discussion which is unusual in Malaysia and there was a passionate appeal from a lady who represents UNESCO, to get pre-school education recognised as an important and separate issue for the UN. There was a closing ceremony and presentations and fond farewells and lots of promises to keep in touch – and I hope I will as there were some wonderful people attending.