Fiona in Borneo will continue......!!

 

Lots of Father Christmases going for a bike ride

Many apologies to all of you who have looked at my blog and noticed that I have done nothing for ages! I'm sure that there are very few of you reading it now but just in case there are still a few people left out there who are interested, I will endeavour to give a quick update. I can hardly believe that we are so near to Christmas and tomorrow night there will be everyone at home except  Naomi and her partner Neil, who are spending Christmas in New York with Andrew's sister. Since I last wrote I have been enjoying gardening, sewing, cooking and generally just getting ready for all the family being at home and not being under too much pressure as I haven't been working. Patrick arrived back last Thursday, just in time to accompany me to Lille to stay with Remi and Lisa. Phoebe, the dog hadn't a dog-sitter and I couldn't face putting her in kennels so she came to Lille too! She is 15 years old and has never been further than Livarot before so a 5 hour drive to a big city was quite an adventure for her.

Phoebe, Lisa and Patrick in Lille!

We took her to the famous Marche de Noel; a restaurant; street theatre; museums; parks and she took everything in her stride. Phoebe loved all the smells of the other dogs around the street and the bins and all the other things on offer in cities and I even had to carry those pooh bags. Anyway the highlight of the weekend was listening to Lisa singing a solo and then a song with her choir and I know that I am biased but I think she was fantastic !
   Anyway the big news that you may have guessed from the title is.that I will be returning to Borneo in January 2014. After much delay and anticipation of will they, won't they, the Malaysian Government have decided that they are going to continue the English Language Teaching Project for another 20 months. The official contract will be signed next week and we are expected to be in our post on the 6 th January! After much thought, discussion and looking at alternatives and not finding them, I have decided that going back to do a job I know and enjoy as a mentor, is the best solution short-term.. At the moment all I know is that I fly back to Sabah arriving on the 5th January and unless something happens to change the plans, I will be based in Kota Belud, which is a coastal town,  half way between Kota Kinabalu and Kudat. It will be very different and much hotter than Ranau and the majority of the local people are Bajau, also known as the Sea Dyaks, and that is about all I know for now.

   I have very mixed feelings about leaving home again because I really love being here at our lovely La Ferme des Vallots, however the family are only here for Christmas and special occasions now and Andrew is still travelling all over the world for his work and we really need two salaries coming in to make ends meet. I will of course be back for the wedding in July and will try and get back before as well. This evening as I write this  and look round at the tree and Christmas decorations, I can hardly believe that I will be off in 2 weeks time so the best policy is not to think about it and just enjoy the Christmas festivities as I hope you all do too. Here's to a very merry Christmas to you all!!
   

Livarot to Glasgow and back

An article about me in the local paper! 

Today it is cold and we have lit a lovely fire and I don't want to leave it so I am thinking that maybe this is a good time to write another post in my blog. Thank you for those of you who think I should continue my blog and as yet I'm unsure. Since I last wrote I have been to Glasgow and Carlisle and back to Normandie. I had a rather nerve racking trip to Beauvais airport where I was catching my flight to Glasgow and without going into all the details I ended up flagging down a car in Beauvais at the traffic lights and asked them to take me to the airport as there were no taxis.They proceeded to allow this mad woman jump in and took me to the airport and I got there with 5 minutes to spare! It was of course lovely to be reunited with Gen after 10 months and to see her and Mathew at Glasgow airport. As always I have a great time in Glasgow and despite the weather I spent a lovely week doing things like going to the cinema, museums, seeing the theatre production of The Lion King, rummaging around in lots of charity shops, eating in great places and sampling the many coffee shops around the west end of Glasgow.

The amazing costumes in The Lion King

Kilts and bagpipes

 On my way back to France I spent the weekend with my oldest and dearest friend, Katy who lives near Carlisle. We have known each other since we were 5 years old and her family have always been a part of my life. Sadly, Anne her mother, who was a faithful follower of my blog, died very recently and I was so sad that I didn't manage to see her for a last time. Now Katy and her siblings have the difficult job of clearing her house and I spent one day with them as they began the painful process of unraveling their family home with all the memories in every corner.

Glasgow University

 Fortunately my return journey was less stressful and all was well at home despite the cold! Andrew returned from 10 days in Uganda and we have been catching up with friends and I even sang with my friend Rebeka at a very small event on Friday evening which was fun. I know the school year is over in Malaysia and all you teachers and pupils are on holiday so enjoy yourselves and I'll be in touch soon.

The Cheeses of the Pays d'Auge

 The little village of Camembert is 9 km from our farm and today Lisa and I went to visit the village and where the reception of their wedding is going to be next July. Camembert cheese is now made all over the world but the story goes that it was in 1791 a Normandy farmer, Marie Harel, invented the cheese and sold it in the local market of Vimoutiers. She had been given the idea of giving the soft, white local cheese a distinctive crust by a priest from the cheese area of Brie, where she had taken refuge during the French Revolution. The circular shape and wooden box were all characteristics that came later but her influence made an impact on other local villages and their cheese making techniques. The Livarot cheese, where I live, is one of the few cheeses that must be made within the locality of Livarot - appellation controlee -  and although similar to Camembert cheese it is much smellier and needs 4 litres of milk to make one cheese in comparison to 1 litre for a Camembert. There is a cheese factory now in Livarot but the cheeses are still prepared mostly by hand involving local reeds to be wrapped round 5 times each cheese and placed in the wooden box giving its name of "the colonel". Both Gen and Patrick spent a couple of summers working at the factory so can  testify to the painstaking work needed to cut the reed and then wrap it round the cheeses! There are still a few farms that continue to make the cheeses but with all the EEC regulations it is increasingly more difficult for them to conform and the use of unpasteurised milk makes it even harder to export abroad. However on the positive side the cheese industry in our little area of the Pays d'Auge is booming and Livarot cheese can be bought world wide.

Livarot Cheese

The Cheese Factory - Le Graindorge

    








 On Saturday I was invited to a concert of  the choir I used to belong to as they have been together for 20 years. It was very strange as many of the same people were still there. There were some who had died, some who looked older, a few new faces but on the whole nothing much had changed including the repertoire! It was lovely to see them and they all remember when I came to choir with baby Genevieve strapped to me and how she never made a sound as I was discreetly breast feeding her under my t-shirt! In the future I will continue my blog from time to time but the weekly posts may well go down to fortnightly!!

Sunset at the farm

Sore backs and gardening

                                           

Holly berries and La Ferme des Vallots

Well that certainly sounds like a boring title but that is exactly what I have and have been doing all week. When we first moved to our farm there was no garden and the removal van was able to drive straight up to the front door. Over the years depending on my enthusiasm, time and money, the garden has been created, evolved and enlarged. There was never a plan, no colour scheme and absolutely no knowledge of plants.  I tenderly looked after seedling which turned out to be nettles in the first year! Since we had very little money, most of the garden was started by cuttings and bits of plants given by friends. The branches that were stuck in the ground with much optimism have grown to be enormous trees and cuttings and twigs of roses planted have grown enormous and returned to the wild. However gardens do like love and care and if they are not loved, the plants that are the strongest and most invasive take over and that is exactly what has happened to mine! The borage and geraniums have taken over and plants that I know used to be there have disappeared including most of my irises. The dreaded elder weed and brambles which I am always fighting against have spread and no doubt the nettles and bindweed will appear in force when spring appears. Andrew and Patrick made a valiant attack on the garden during the summer and cut back lots of shrubs, trees and roses and so my challenge is to recover the flower beds, bring new life to them and allow every flower to have an equal chance of survival.

A branch turned into a tree!

Roses still blooming

  So basically I have been digging out  wheelbarrow loads of  weeds and bringing back wheelbarrow loads of well rotted manure which I am blessed with from previously keeping sheep.I am hoping that this will rejuvenate the plants and the next step will be to start raiding my friends' gardens for new plants. Most gardeners are very generous with plants that they have too much of and so I'm hoping they will not be the same that I'm digging out.  The weather is turning colder and the autumn colours are becoming more vibrant. The fire has been lit for the first time and I have been trying to be inventive with the glut of fruit and vegetables that are around - chutneys, crumbles, soups and cakes are filling the freezer and shelves and my most successful is a beetroot and chocolate cake - well worth a try.

Chestnuts

Blackberries

  Whether I continue with this blog is another question as the title is already very misleading. I met with a couple of friends on Saturday who were a part of the small writing club that used to meet monthly before I left for Borneo and they asked the very same question. At the moment I know that there are people in Sabah who are reading it and some family and friends and I also know that writing my blog has become an enjoyable habit that I never thought I would continue. So the question is unanswered for another week........

Rural France

St Ouen le Pin

The same " Bar des Sports"

When I was in Ranau I often used to think how similar life there, was to life in rural Normandie and in the last week of being back I keep thinking how life here in Normandie is similar to that of Sabah. Of course the people dress and look different but as in all relatively poor rural areas throughout the world, the people face the same problems, challenges and pastimes. Where I live in Livarot there are very few job opportunities and many of the younger generation leave to look for work in larger towns or cities or face at the best a job in the cheese factory or ciderie. There are also fewer jobs now on the farms as they are becoming more highly mechanised but collecting fruit, making jams, tarts, cider etc... and selling the produce in the market is just the same here as it is in Sabah.

saucisse et frites barbeque 

 However despite France being thought to be a highly advanced European country  it struck me that Livarot has hardly changed in the last 23 years since we arrived, compared to the very rapid changes in Ranau that I witnessed in 2 years.

The Old Coaching Inn

12th Century church with stalls

  Today I went to a Foire a Tout, which is like a car boot sale or the bundles market in Sabah except that in a typical French way it is only allowed once a year in each town or village so every village has their date in the calendar booked well in advance. It was in Cambremer, which is the village that we first lived near, when we arrived in France. Andrew and I were looking for an alternative lifestyle and gave up our careers, rented our house out in England, packed the car with three girls under 3 years old plus the dog and headed off to Normandie where Andrew had managed to rent a gite de France for the winter. The drive to the little village of Saint Ouen de Pin, near Cambremer, is imprinted on my mind forever.It was all so exciting and we were going to the unknown and didn't know what would be the outcome. We arrived on a Friday, enrolled Lisa at the Maternelle and she started her school life on the Monday not speaking a word of French which didn't seem to bother her. Anyway the years in between are another story but today I drove to Cambremer and relived that drive so many years ago which started our life in France. Incredibly , Cambremer has not changed at all and retains all the charm that it had all those years ago. I spent a grand total of 4 euro and came back with 6 wooden African spoons and napkin holders, an Indian scarf and a Spanish Sangria jug. None of those things that I realised before going were things that I needed so wasn't it lucky I went!!

A Flower pot man

A parade

Dear Friends of Ranau

Dear Friends of Ranau,
   It's hard to believe that a week has passed since I said farewell to you all. The last couple of days in KK were a mixture of panic, packing and repacking and then of course more farewells to colleagues who I probably won't see again. Emily and I went into a cafe just before we went to the airport and much to our delight and surprise there were Drs Othman and Lungkiam finishing their meal and so we joined them for our last drink in Sabah.The flight with Royal Brunei Airlines was fine and apart from 2 hours wandering around Dubai airport in the middle of the night, the fifteen hours flying seemed to pass relatively quickly, interrupted by food and films. Andrew very valiantly left Winchester at 5.15 a.m. and was there to meet me when I pushed the trolley through with suitcase, guitar, rucksack and wearing my Dusun hat - not the most smartest traveller in London!

Patrick.....

with proud parents!

The next few days were busy seeing family and then of course the highlight being Patrick's graduation in Cambridge. Andrew and I were both students there and have seldom visited since so it was a rather nostalgic visit as well as being a very proud moment for us as parents of a son with a 1st class degree (sorry if that sounds like I'm boasting but it is!) It was held in the Corn Exchange which is normally the place for concerts and theatre productions and with the pomp and ceremony that you might expect. The actual giving out of the degrees was very quick and the speeches were relatively short so we all gathered outside in the street for photos before making our way back to the University for the celebratory drink. Strangely enough I bumped into Kat Thomson, a mentor on the ELTD project who had left from Tawau 6 months earlier and had just arrived in Cambridge the day before - small world!

Sunrise on the Seine

Le Pont de Normandie

 After leaving Patrick to celebrate with his friends, we made our way to Brentwood in Essex to spend the night with our friends of thirty years, Janine and Glenn, which was lovely. The next day was more visiting family and then finally getting on the ferry to come back to our home in France. As I have only been in France in the winter for the past 2 years, it seemed very strange to see so much foliage and growth. It must seem strange to you the idea of seasons but in winter when there are practically no leaves so it changes the whole scenery, Autumn is just starting and some of the trees are beginning to change colour but mostly everything is green and when I arrived home at La Ferme des Vallots I was delighted to see quite a lot of flowers and roses still blooming.

A rose in the garden

Phoebe who seems pleased to see me!

A wren who flew inside today

Today was a lovely warm day and I wandered around the garden collecting pears, peaches and hazelnuts mostly off the ground but a few still ripening on the trees. I'm just getting accustomed to being home and enjoying everything as if through new eyes. The evenings are cool but on the whole it is very nice to be home!

                          Thinking of you all and missing you.

                                             Fiona

Farewell and Terima Kasih Banyak Ranau

Ranau Town

    Over the last two years the people of Ranau and their shops and market stalls have become very dear to me. My Malay and Dusun is pitiful but we muddle along together in Manglish and have somehow have become friends. They have always shown nothing but friendliness, courtesy and lots of patience when they haven't a clue what I'm trying to say to them. The covered market is on every day and sells to the people of Ranau as well as wholesale to other rural areas. The Saturday morning market is when the local people come and sell their produce and is a social outing  as well as a way of earning some cash. I love the Saturday market and if I am in Ranau I will never miss it and then I treat myself to a roti cannai and a mango juice in my favourite local restaurant, Siri Hasanah , which has become like my "local".
  I have always felt very safe and comfortable amongst the Dusun  people which when you are on your own is so important. Over the last week I have been overwhelmed by their warmth, generosity, gratitude and love towards me which seems quite odd coming from a European culture.. I have had to make several short speeches in the last week and I have told them all that it is me that should be expressing and thanking them for showing me that there are people in this world who can get along without religious or racial hatred and show genuine kindness and love for their fellowmen. It has been so sad to say goodbye and I'm sorry if I didn't manage to see everyone before I went. Even on the last morning in between cleaning and packing I attended a parents''workshop and had a wonderful send off from Ranau with children and parents waving farewell from the car park. I am feeling emotionally drained and would just like to say to the people of Ranau that you will always hold a very special place in my heart and I hope that one day we will meet again. Saya tidak akan lupa orang Ranau selamanya. Saya sayang kamu semua.

The covered market

The sewing shop

The ladies selling beetle nut

The owner and son of my local

A waiter

A Farewell Party to Remember

This time I thought I was prepared for my farewell party at S.K. St Benedict. I had managed two in last two days and had said my speech and a few words in Malay without crying. How wrong can you be. This was the Farewell Party that I will never experience again in my life. I arrived by the back gate, wearing black as requested and before I got out of my car I was in tears. All the staff were out to meet me and the 400 children of the school had lined up, making a corridor, all holding flowers. I was immediately attired in a Dusun skirt and told that there was more to come and started the very long walk through all the children, trying not to cry. I had my own private Dusun girl, holding a basket to collect the flowers and I really did feel like the Queen, except I bet she doesn't have her own basket carrier.

The Queen

Oh my goodness!

   Before I entered the hall I was given the top of my Dusun costume and the gongs played and a few men on the staff did a sumasau dance. By that time all the children had gone into the hall and when I entered they all clapped and cheered.  The group of children who had represented Sabah in the folklorique competition then did their amazing dance. I was brought up to the front and sat on the cane sofa and served coffee and cake while the show commenced - there was even a programme! Every year group went up and sang a song with the Year 1's ending with their version of the Hello Song - Fiona, Fiona, we love you, please take care, please take care, we'll miss you!

The welcoming gongs

The dancers

The year 6's then came on and unfurled a banner featuring me "Farewell Party for Fiona Wright" with the grammatically incorrect words (after all my efforts!) of "We gonna miss you!"
  Before the speeches began we had a slide show with lots of photos featuring me over the last 2 years with some sentimental music. Then the speeches..... First up were the English teachers and my dear mentees, Asmah and Sister Caroline. Asmah broke down and got everyone crying which wasn't the best start, then the Guru Besar, Winnie helped us to regain some decorum.

Asmah!

My English teachers

 Then after that it was me and I think I had cried myself out by then because I managed to deliver it without crying and even sing a song. Surely that was it now - but no, there was more to come- the final bits of the costume including the hood and the sash, with sequinned words of farewell embroidered on.

Not so sure about the hood!

The finale must be close now - all the staff had come onto the stage and we cut the cake and Auld Lang Syne was being played but there was one more event to go through which was perhaps the most touching and difficult. All of the pupils filed onto to the stage with presents and cards for me and so many of them spontaneously gave me hugs and told me they loved me ....and started me off again! Finally the pupils went home and the staff and I had a lovely lunch in the canteen. I returned home with my car absolutely laden with presents and drained of all emotion. Thank you so much all the staff and pupils of SK St. Benedict - that was a day that I will always remember and treasure. " I gonna miss you too!"