Wednesday 14 November 2012

Part 12 - A mammoth catch up


Jees ok so it has been quite along time since my last blog – I think a brief overview will have to do so that I can catch up!! where to start?! Weddings, weddings and weddings, trip to the UK, new school build, new home or things to look forward too!!!

Well I suppose I should start from where I left off which I believe was in May :s oops!! Well the next big event was moving home – as mentioned in my previous blog myself and Lauren had found a potential new home -3 bedrooms in a central location, what we didn’t know at the time was there were children who against all odds and language barriers became best friends yet because of that language barrier they communicate purely by shouting each other’s names A LOT therefore Tito and Edan are definitely off the baby name list (don’t think they would of ever made the cut to be honest!) but despite the sprogs we love our new home, even with the architectural faults (which we have learnt to be a Kenyan building feature!!) who needs drainage on a balcony anyway!!!

I then had my first experience of ‘Diani Rules’ an annual competition comprising of beach sports, sports injuries, drinking and near drowning! It is a charity event where teams gain sponsorship from local companies to take part – we were lucky enough to gain sponsorship from a new hotel in Diani called ‘Swahili Beach’ which meant we got a complimentary 2 night stay whilst the competition was on – I was in heaven!! A beautiful hotel, with stunning views and an all you can eat breakfast!!!!!!! Woohoo. The first night of competition was rugby football which saw possibly 30% of the competitiors wiped out of the competition for the rest of the weekend due to injury (I don’t think rugby balls and people are supposed to be kicked on a beach with no shoes on)over the course of the weekend we competed in waterball which is basically netball in the sea where drowning is allowed, then Ultimate Frisbee, downing a pint through a straw race, sliding on your stomach through cooking oil, blindfolded tennis ball throw, Volleyball, tug of war, touch rugby and the obstacle raft race. Had such a fun weekend, in fact one 5 minute moment of that weekend remains to be one of the funniest moments of my entire life thanks to Sebastian Chambers!! I still laugh to this day just thinking about it I cried continuously for approximately 25mins- No joke!! What a cruel legend that man is!!!

The 3rd term of school was hectic, seemed to have so much to do and so little time, and was just generally tired by the end of term. But I survived and was seriously looking forward to going home, but first I had my first Kenyan/English/Norwegian wedding to attend. A beautiful ceremony, followed by a fantastically fun, and entertaining reception.  I have decided that when my time comes I am going to take traditions from numerous weddings and cultures, to add a little originality and as many of my friends are married now I have a lot to live up to, which leads me nicely to my trip home J

I was so excited and so ready for my trip home in the summer, I was desperate to see my family and friends and just put things into perspective. My first duties were to visit my sister at work, surprise my nephew by picking him up from school and then finally catch up with my girls and meet the beautiful new additions to my group of friends Eva and William.

As I mentioned at the start, this summer was all about weddings, I had a lot to look forward too as both my sister and friend were getting married and I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid at both – I am seriously becoming like that woman of 27 dresses I think I now own 6 bridesmaid dresses in the space of 6 years. First we had Deborahs hen parties, first a day session and night out in York followed by a continued joint stag and hen party at their house then a week later a beautiful spa day at and exclusive spa. It was so nice to spend time with my sisters, mum and cousin for the day being pampered, sipping champagne and watching the Olympics (which unfortunately I did not get to watch live due to the weddings and hen parties…. But still I loved the Olympics this year, definitely one of Britain’s finer moments)

Next was Claire’s hen weekend – Claire only knew the dates and nothing more, she confirmed how little she knew by stating she did not know where she was as she was in Gateshead, and she thought when she saw the sign posts she would be going to Newcastle!!! Oh dear Trish!! The weekend started with a meal followed by a karaoke pod, drinks and dancing. On Saturday we did a pop princess dance session, which was awesome(just wish I could remember the moves) we then hit the town in fancy dress making sure Claire looked utterly ridiculous in her clown costume – suitably selected due to the size of Claire’s feet.

Then came the weddings, first Deborah’s in Northallerton, followed by Claire’s a week later in Belfast. Deborah’s had a black and white theme and was a church wedding followed by a marquee reception in the grounds of their home, a perfect day – horse and carriage arrival, great jazz band reception, lovely food, great speeches and an opportunity to watch my sister on the happiest day of her life, It is so nice to finally see Deborah happy and with a deserving man who looks after her so well and loves her so much. Priceless.

Claire’s wedding continued to exceed wedding expectations! A fantastic family affair.  Their theme was Hunters Green a gorgeous colour, and the reception had a golfing theme in homage to her husband’s love of golf. The whole weekend was an amazing experience I was fortunate enough to have a great table throughout the meal which entertained me no end! The target for the day was to see both Claire and her Dad cry – and mission accomplished but then I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house! A fantastic couple whose happiness to be married was so evident on the day!

After the excitement of all the wedding festivities had passed I had less than a week left at home. There truly is nothing nicer than spending time in your family home with your closest relatives eating traditional home food (I think I had lamb chops and mint sauce 3 times in the space of 2 weeks) I loved spending time with my family and the goodbyes were as tearful as ever. I firmly believe that no matter how old you are, leaving home never becomes any easier. But I did have a nice little holiday to look forward to, before heading back to the sunny coast of Kenya. I jetted off to spend a week in Uganda with Alex. It was great to play house, prove my culinary goddess skills in the baking front and spend time with his friends, but best of all he whisked me away to Fort Portal to a beautiful place called Kyaninga Lodge, I have never seen anything so absolutely breath taking in my life – beautiful log cabins built overlooking the most stunning lake with a scenic backdrop. The staff were meticulously accommodating, the food was beautiful, the lake was the cleanest lake I have ever swam in and the company wasn’t bad either ;) a perfect end to the week before heading back to Mombasa to start work.

There was a certain buzz to this start of term as we were moving into a new school build, unfortunately in true African fashion the build was not complete. All the staff arrived on the first day filled with anticipation and excitement only to be handed a paint brush and a list of furniture needed to be moved. In true Braeburn fashion all staff mucked in and got the classrooms up and running for the start of term. Unfortunately PE was a little further down the list so now on week 10 we are still awaiting areas to be completed, or improved but we are certainly getting there, and the school is definitely a growing school with an improved atmosphere.


The start of term was as fast paced as ever and I had only 4 weeks to put on a dance performance evening – stressful is not even the word. 4 weeks later the dance performance went ahead and I was very proud at how well the girls and boys had performed, the support from parents was fantastic and I look forward to more performances in the future.

In half term myself and Alex had planned and provisionally booked a trip to climb mount Kenya which I was very excited about, however in the true form of our relationship Alex had his leave cancelled and therefore our trip could not go ahead, after throwing my dummy out of the pram I recovered and decided I need to use my half term to its full potential, so endeavoured in a Padi open water scuba diving course. Despite vomiting on my first open water dive, and feeling like I was on a boat for the following 2 days, I absolutely loved it and with my new friend ‘Sealegs’ taken I completed 3 further sea dives and 2 pool dives to complete my course. I definitely think diving is something I could get in to, being 18m under water surrounded by tropical fish, stunning sea turtles and sharks was incredible. I look forward to many more dives around the world.

I am pretty sure last year I said I would not be doing the Pantomime again this year however I couldn’t resist, at that time of year I seem to forget how busy this term gets with fixtures, reports, sports days, and lesson planning and put myself up for another performance. This year the show is Humpty Dumpty and I will be playing the good fairy! (Suitably cast don’t you think??) in less than 3 weeks eek!!!

Although I was very disappointed not to be seeing Alex over half term, I did have 2 weeks to look forward too when he visited Mombasa for a holiday, it was just frustrating that I had to work and attend a weekend Nairobi fixture whilst he was here! But we did have a lot to discuss for the future and despite hours of chit chat we still seem far from a solid decision, the discussions will continue J we do have a cheeky little holiday planned in the summer which if it goes ahead will be awesome! Whilst he was here we did manage a weekend away to stay with his dad and step-mum in Watamu, it was so lovely and a very much needed getaway. I loved getting to know his family, eating home cooked meals and he even surprised me with my first scuba dive as a qualified diver, was great to have that experience with him. I also think I experienced the nicest ice-cream in the world!! Fact!!

Now we approach Christmas with only 4 weeks left of term – where did that time go? I look forward to spending some time in the sun, to remove the ridiculous tan lines I have once again acquired – yes Mike the special sock lines have appeared once again! I look like a patch work quilt.

Anyway if I do not finally get this blumming thing posted then it will end up being a year long blog!! So I apologise for the lack of humour, detail and interest I promise to try harder in the future!!


Final thought – I have now selected my very first tattoo design (kind of) so watch this space to see if I was brave enough to go through with it –eek!!!

PS I always write this in word and I am actually questioning the web address to my blog!! Sign of not logging in for months on end oops!!

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