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!!
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
StephxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
