Family Affairs

CITY 2 SUNRISE

My friend’s friend’s brother is one of four mates who have embarked on the motorcycle adventure of a lifetime across South East Asia to raise much needed funds to help educate abandoned children in Cambodia.

They have a website if anybody is interested in either sponsoring them or following their journey which sounds mega exciting. Here is the latest update:-

BREAKING C2S NEWS.

ONE RIDER AIR LIFTED OUT OF THE JUNGLE;
THE OTHER THREE SPEND THE NIGHT IN A LAOS GAOL

Details are sketchy as contact with the boys is limited to text messages and broken phone calls.

‘Johnny’, the rider who replaced Tom on Sunday, had a freak encounter with a concrete pylon in rough off-road terrain in the remote jungles of northern Laos on Wednesday afternoon. He came off the bike, severely broke his leg and had to be airlifted out to a Bangkok hospital. He was operated on Thursday and reports out of Bangkok are that he is resting post surgery until he is strong enough to return to Australia.

The medivac helicopter raised the concerns of the local Laotian Police force and landed the 3 boys (Geoff, Paul & Mat) in gaol overnight on Wednesday with their passports confiscated. It would seem that the locals had never seen a helicopter and were mistrusting of how and why the boys had arranged for it to be in their jungle!

After exchanging the obligatory ‘incentives’; the boys were un-arrested late on Thursday, and have their passports back. They are now faced with the dilemma of how three riders get four bikes out of Laos and across the border to Vietnam. So far the solution looks like it goes on the roof of a bus on Friday morning!

What happens next will be the next news flash! Stay tuned!

To get more information the link is http://www.city2sunrise.org/

SHOULD WE GO ON A CRUISE?

Recently, I have been harbouring and honing a guilty secret. One that I know will go down like a lead balloon (not the greatest analogy given the subject matter) when I mention it out loud to my friends and family. It was suggested to me by an old American gentleman who has been in the travel industry all his life, that I talked to at the World Travel Market. He told me that if there was one thing I should do with my children before they are all too old, it was to take them on a Cruise.

As a single parent, finding a holiday to suit all three of my children and myself that doesn’t involve a shed load of stress is not easy. I understand that the costs are currently quite low. Cruising tends to get a bad press from certain circles, but I am wondering if it is time to bring back the elegance and glamour of holidaying on a ship. Why not? As a family I believe that it would be a relaxing holiday. The kids would have things to do and I could lie and read my book by the pool. I wouldn’t have to worry about food or entertainment or my children getting lost (OK the “man overboard” fear would be there). I have a bit of a mental block about it admittedly which stems from a memory of a cruise trip with my parents in the early 70’s. All I remember is that my parents dressed me up as “Big Ears” for a fancy dress party and inadvertently triggered my lifelong paranoia about my big ears. In addition, a man actually went overboard for 12 hours but who was thankfully found (still pissed) when they doubled back to get him.

I’m thinking more about the Queen Mary 2 sort of ship than some of the tackier options available these days. All luxurious passivity. Lots of reading, talking, eating, swimming, looking at the sea and the occasional venture out en masse on to terra firma. But maybe with three kids, we should be going on a Disney cruise which my kids would completely love.

So. If there is anybody out there who has had a positive experience of taking three kids on a big boat for a week I’d love to hear from you. How expensive are the Caribbean Cruises?

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AMBASSADOR FOR ZAMBIA

Last night I went to a press conference for the Zambian Tourist Board in a London hotel. My VIP friend invited me and I was delighted to go along. I got to talk to the Managing Director, the Marketing Manager and the Board Chairman of the Zambian Tourism Board and to tell them how passionate I was about Zambia – that my Grandfather is buried in Lusaka, that I was in the Luangwa Valley last summer with my father, that I have many blog friends from that area and that I believe Zambia is one of the last great wildernesses of the world with so much to offer a certain type of tourist AND then one of them asked me to send him my CV because they are looking for Ambassadors for Zambia.

We stayed at the Norman Carr Safaris when we were there in the summer and I have many previous posts about our experience. They have devoted much time and effort into developing a fund to support and sponsor local children. Look at these gorgeous children taken from the Yosefe School where they are on the lookout for sponsorship. Their Kapani School Fund is searching for more sponsors to enable them to fulfill their commitment to well over one hundred sponsored students in 2010.

Despite the global economic crisis they still managed to achieve a great deal in 2009;

* Nearly two hundred pupils sponsored
* Raised funds to extend and refurbish library
* Built three new classrooms
* Assisted and supported community to build three further classrooms
* Replaced classroom roof blown off in storm
* New computer and generator purchased
* Stationery and sports equipment provided
* Safari Guide mentoring project continued
* Game drives and bush camp experiences for pupils

Unfortunately, the downturn continues to have adverse effects in our part of the world. Increases in school fees and general costs together with a marked loss of sponsors means that they risk a delay in fulilling our commitment to some our sponsored pupils.

So if anybody is interested in finding out more about how you can change young lives and help Zambia to a brighter future please contact kapani@normancarrsafaris.com

So now I just need help with my CV. WHAT SHALL I SAY????

Here is a picture taken in the Luangwa Valley by Christina from Norman Carr Safari’s recently of a herd of 100 elephants – some of them using their trunks like naval periscopes:-

I

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WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR MOTHER COMING ON YOUR GAP YEAR?

This whole gap year thing is going to be a nightmare. I wonder whether I’ll be able to put my firstborn off by saying he has to fund the whole thing himself and that it has to be educational in some way. Although, I will make a little exception if he would agree to learn Mandarin in China or Taipei or build a school in Zambia, then I would contribute something, but otherwise he’s on his own.

Last night I went to a lovely farewell dinner for my god-daughter who is just about to set off on her Gap Year….although in fact it’s only half a gap year of travelling with three other girlfriends because it’s taken her a while to save up the money. I did have a moment, towards the end of the evening where I went from being hugely impressed to feeling slightly sorry for everybody else around the table. Mostly me. Obviously. There she was having a gorgeous meal, looking young and beautiful and we were all offering support and good tidings for her to have an extended luxury holiday.

I slightly began to struggle when she talked about her plans. Starting in Australia, then off to the Far East bla bla until I wanted to cry with jealousy. OK, she has been juggling 3 jobs in order to pay for the whole thing, but still I couldn’t help wishing I could have a space like that again in my life to be so free – YES OK I can do it in a few years when the kids have left BUT IT’S NOT THE BLOODY SAME IS IT, when you have rubbish legs with veins on and a fat arse and wrinkles and a body that won’t stay where it’s meant to in a bikini (A bikini? Did I actually just say that. No chance).

I WANT A GAP YEAR. Even if I have to go to cold places so that I can sit on the beach in a kaftan. I gave her a card that said “What’s wrong with your mother coming on your gap year?”.

My poor son is going to be so disappointed when he find’s out that I’m not actually joking.

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STUFF FOR YOUNG BOYS TO DO IN LONDON

OK. So I have been asked what would be of interest for a 9 year old boy who hasn’t been to London before – I asked the person who would know the best answer to that question – my 9 year old son. It seems to me that although there is a lot [...]

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GAP YEAR TO CHINA

As of yesterday, I have a NBF called Wendy Wu. She is the UK’s leading China specialist and has a company that offers tours not only to China, but also to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and India.

She was brought up in and around China and then moved to Australia where she set up her company. Since then she has established an office in the UK and later this year is opening her NY branch. She’s very excited about this and it was really interesting to talk to her about her business and how she manages to juggle everything around her 21 month old twin boys who travel with her.

I was talking to her about China. I love it. I’ve been a couple of times and was saying that I’d love my son to go there for his gap year (obviously he has no say in the matter). I think it would be great if he could spend 3 months in Shanghai learning Mandarin and then travel to other areas of China that spoke the same dialect and spend some time working in villages and so on. She thought it was a brilliant idea.

When my son came back from school I bombarded him with questions – “if you were to go to China for the year and learn Mandarin would you prefer to be with a family or on a campus?” “Definitely a campus” he said…I asked him so many questions he got bored. “Mum, I can’t learn Mandarin in three months obviously, I don’t even know if I want to go to China, I’m really hungry AND STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS”.

So. I gave him his final choice. “OK. On your Gap year you either have to go to China for a year and learn Mandarin OR you have to let me come with you on your Gap year”. He mumbled something about “I’d rather die” whilst eating a marmite sandwich and I gave up.

Anyway. Rubbish. Can’t get a thing out of him. Several other friends, with teenagers almost ready to go on a Gap year think the idea of an organised educational tour to China which Wendy could help put together is a brilliant idea. I need to give her some proposed details of what we would want it to consist of. So over to you guys.

ANYBODY OUT THERE WITH A VIEW ON CHINA FOR GAP YEAR STUDENTS AND WHAT SORT OF THINGS THEY COULD DO?

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STAYING IN OXFORD WITH THE CHILDREN

I may have just found the perfect solution to single parent holidays. Instead of taking them away for an expensive 7 day trip, take them away for 24 hours and then go straight back home – much better all round. My kids didn’t get bored, I didn’t get stressed about being somewhere on my own with my children and in my head it was a much less expensive holiday and so I could spend a bit more than usual on staying the night in a hotel and having a meal out with them without having a major problem about how much it all cost.

We have just come back from 24 hours in Oxford. It was a chance to do something all together after Christmas and it wasn’t too far away from home. We stayed at The Randolph Hotel in one large room which is incredibly central and impressive in a slightly faded sort of way. The plan was always to eat at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant because to my food obsessed youngest son, Jamie is the biggest celebrity on the planet. Even though we kept telling him he wouldn’t be there he kept saying “just imagine if he was there’, to which his older brother just kept saying “well, he won’t be”,

“YES, but just imagine if he WAS there, I’d like go completely MAD, how great would it be to ACTUALLY meet Jamie Oliver”,

“well, he won’t be there….”

“YES, I know, but JUST IMAGINE IF HE WAS….”

…and so it went on, all the way from London to Oxford in my teeny weeny car, with limbs and luggage oozing out of all the windows.

Sadly, he wasn’t there, but it didn’t matter. We had to queue to get in for about 15 minutes and then wait at the bar – the restaurant was packed. But we had a really good meal and enjoyed every minute of it. We then all went to bed early ready (unfortunately) to hit the shops running rather than the quadrants and university buildings and beautiful architecture that Oxford has to offer.

My kids were all on a mission. Christmas money coupled with Christmas returns AND the sales meant that there was no way I was going to get them to do the cultural tour of Oxford. Generally speaking it is not at all satisfying shopping for three huge children. No tiny weeny not very expensive baby-grows anymore. Full size, full price garments, seemingly every three months. “STOP GROWING” I want to shout at them. They all have bigger feet than me. There is nothing more depressing than having to walk into a lovely shoe shop, spend ages and a fortune in there and come out with three big bags, in the style of Carrie from “Sex In The City” BUT NONE OF THEM ARE FOR ME.

In addition, my daughter has the annoying habit of making anything I like look 1,000 times better – if I try a hat on, I look like a knob. If she tries the same hat on she looks completely stunning. Effortlessly so. She does a “this is nice, why don’t you buy it thing..” when what she really means is “I love this and it really doesn’t matter that you are going to look awful in it, because once you get it home I’m going to steal it from you anyway and because it looks so much better on me you won’t want it back”. Looking at make-up with her is even worse – she says things like “oh you should buy some of this, it’s really good, it’s cream eyeshadow that is crease free and it really works” and then I point out that she hasn’t got any “creases” so of course it “really works” and then she tries it out on me and goes very quiet as she realises it clearly doesn’t work on my way-too-many-creases-eyes.

Anyway, even after they had sucked the life out of my wallet and I had to wander round with rubbish eye make-up stuck in “creases”, we all had a really brilliant time. We all stayed together which is rare these days – my children giving each other their valued opinions on various outfits such as “that makes you look gay” and other equally helpful comments.

I tried to fit a bit of culture in – but my kids are not very good at trying to feign interest in something I am pointing at. The closest I got to germinating a flicker of interest was when I showed them a Pret-a- manger coffee shop housed in a tudor building. Quite by accident I managed to get them to climb the tower in the church (127 steps) and whilst I silently tried to stop myself from having a heart attack at the top, we surveyed the gorgeous ariel view of Oxford and I hoped that although I was unable to speak, they were drinking in all that history and beauty from our birds eye view – however, the only comment my son made was “I can’t see Primark from here though, can you?”:-

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