Peace

  Somehow I got locked out of my google account a couple of weeks ago and it has taken me all this time to get a new password as I couldn't answer the secret question about my mother!!! I have tried many variations on the same theme of Elizabeth but none of them worked. Has this happened to anyone else when you make secret questions that you can't remember? Anyway I'm back and I was very touched about several people contacting me after the horrific night of carnage in Paris. I live about two hours from Paris in a very rural area and although I know several people in Paris there doesn't seem to be anyone that I know who has been involved. Of course there will be many families and friends who are trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones and reconcile the nightmare of the attack to the carefree lifestyle they thought they lived. There has been so much media coverage over the last week and a show of defiance of the Parisians determined to continue the lifestyle they feel they have the right to. Strangely I had been talking about the "Troubles"in Northern Ireland on the afternoon of the 13th and remembering how much it had affected my teenage years but not really realising until I had left the country. Having roadblocks,getting searched in every shop, checking for car bombs, bomb alerts and hearing bombs and gunfire became a part of my life. The terrorists in Ireland also targeted the innocent public most of the time and I remember receiving the phone call to urgently tell my father to get to the RV hospital as soon as he could. It was the Abercorn Bomb in 1972 that went off in a busy restaurant on a Saturday afternoon and killed and maimed many but the memory of my father's face when he returned will haunt me forever.
 Terrorists, whoever, wherever they are and whatever religion they are doing it in the name of, are a tiny minority. They are just a few fanatics and psychopaths and do not represent their religions. I do believe that we humans are fundamentally good that peace is the answer but I worry that France and other western powers seem to believe that bombing is the only solution to retaliate. Have bombing and attacking another country always worked? It is a very complex subject that I do not envy the leaders of countries to address but I sincerely hope that life in France and Belgium does not become one of violence, fear and suspicion. I think for me the most poignant scene after the attack was David Martello playing John Lennon's Imagine outside the Bataclan theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynsq5ms9lvl. My thoughts are with everyone who have had their loved ones killed wherever they are in the world and whatever they believe in. If each of us begin with being tolerant and kind to each other then surely we will have a peaceful world one day.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religions too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace                 John Lennon

Fiona in Siem Reap

This draft of my visit to Cambodia has been patiently waiting for the photographs to be added of which I have hundreds! So please cast your minds back to September after my trip to Vietnam.

Spot the tourist at Angkor Wat!

The face of King Jayavarman is everywhere

 Yes I cheated and flew to Siem Reap and spend 4 days in and around Angkor Wat which has always been on my list of things to see. (bucket list I believe one says!) There is always a flutter of anxiety when I reach another country just in case I'm refused entry for some reason. In the old days when I was travelling, days were spent in capitals trying to get visas in embassies so nowadays when you can either do it online or at the airport it just seems too easy. The Siem Reap airport is new and stylish and the visa process was incredibly efficient. I had booked a guesthouse online that morning and to my disbelief there was a tuk tuk driver with my name on a paper waiting for me. It was all so easy and off we went into Siem Reap to Rosy Guesthouse which was on the river near to the Royal Palace. It was very nice and I was in the budget room which meant no air-con but I was on my own! The next day I decided to walk around Siem Reap and explore . I visited a buddhist temple which was also the site of a "small" killing field and about a thousand skeletons were found here which are on display. I find it so hard to understand the horror that the Cambodian people went through during the Khmer rouge reign of terror . As I came back I passed the new Angkor Wat museum and decided to visit. I was queuing up for my ticket and I heard my name being called. It was my boss and his family on holiday too and it was a total surprise to see each other. The museum is well worth a visit and after an afternoon of absorbing the fascinating history of the temples, we arranged to meet for dinner and see traditional Cambodian dancing. The dancers and food were excellent but the musicians were not so!




  The next three days were spent at the temple area which is vast and of course there are many temples to see. I watched the BBC documentary Jungle Atlantis before I came which is a fascinating insight as to how large Angkor was - larger than London in the 20th century. The first day I joined Phil, Jani and Thomas and cycled to the famous iconic Angkor Wat temple. The next day I hired a tuktuk and visited Angkor Thom and many other outer temples including the famous Ta Prohm with the roots.




 The final day was spent again on my bike just riding around the park and stopping at any temple I hadn't visited. I'm quite sure wikipedia will be able to fill you in on the vast amount of  historical details. Some of the temples are still in use as Buddhist temples although most started as Hindu temples and there is a huge amount of restoration going on, and interestingly much is sponsored by the Chinese government.



Each evening I joined my friends and fortunately Jani loves to research restaurants before she visits places and I went to two wonderful restaurants including one where we had fried red ants and silk worm cocoon kebabs (not one to have again!).
 I left Siem Reap and my short visit to Cambodia wanting to come back and see more and buy more of the beautiful silk....so maybe one day!

Hello again!

Celebrating the arrival of Dylan and the All Blacks!

 I know quite a few of you have been wondering where I've been and whether I will ever come back to my blog. So this is just to let you know that I arrived back in France on Saturday after spending two weeks in New Zealand and a hectic final few weeks in Sabah. So I do have lots to catch up on which I do intend to do - now that I am unemployed and should have some free time as well as access to a computer and quicker internet!
  It has all been a whirl and full of lovely memories and many sad farewells however it is done now. Having the wonderful time with my two brothers, wives, nieces, nephews and offspring has made it easier and of course made me appreciate how precious family are. I left New Zealand in the fever of the World Cup Rugby final and Lisa and I managed to watch it in a pub in Lille and despite being in the minority we were able to rejoice with the All Blacks. I can imagine there was much celebration throughout New Zealand and in my families especially as Dan Carter seemed to be the man of the match and he is related by marriage and known as Uncle Dan! There was also the excitement of a new great nephew, called Dylan , born just after the exciting semi-final.

Yes even the dog was wearing Number 10!

  I spent one day in Kuala Lumpur before I got on the plane for Paris and went to "work" at the head office in KL which is just so alien to the way our project works and no wonder we don't fit into the corporate organisation. I saw a few people I know and then had coffee and a long chat with Linda, the publisher who has been such a supporter of the Storybook Project. It was nice to feel that humid warmth again but the noisy buzz of the city is not what I love about Malaysia and I was glad to get on the plane. I will be on my way back to Normandie tomorrow on the train and my dear friend Hazel will be there to bring me home......