Surprise! Surprise!

(posted by Elizma)

I wasn't allowed to open my present from Leon until 03:00 (yes, AM) on the morning of the 27th. I could not figure out why and wasn't very keen to get up at 03:00 to open a present I could so positively feel was a book. Well, Leon wouldn't let me not get up and made sure I was awake before handing me the present to open.

If I wasn't awake before or whilst opening it - I sure was afterwards when I realised what it was. My Christmas present was a 4-day city break to Prague which departed at 07:30 that morning! No wonder I had to open it at 03:00 as we had to set off to the airport soon after.

I was extremely excited as that is one of the places very high up on my list of places to see - I even spoke about it to someone who visited us on Boxing Day!

And what a magical present it was! It still feels like I'm dreaming. Last night when we went to bed after returning from the airport, it felt like I had just openend my present and went to sleep again. Somewhere I've lost 4 days and gained a multitude of photos of Prague.

Have a look at our photos here or view the slideshow of them here...

Alternatively, here is a short video of the photos, which is Leon's first attempt at embedding a YouTube video into our blog (note: it doesn't have sound, so your PC isn't broken!)

Christmas 2006

(posted by Leon)

Christmas was at our house this year and we had a lovely time with our friends. On Christmas Eve we all had a meal together and then a lot of fun playing games until late.

On Christmas Day we all slept in and walked around in our PJs until 14:00! We also openened our presents this morning and then went for a lovely walk in Horsell Common before tucking into a huge Christmas meal. It was such a lovely and relaxed day with good friends.

You can take a peek at our photos here and/or view them as a slideshow too...

Colin's Last Visit

(posted by Elizma)

This week our friend Colin (from whom we bought our house when they moved back to South Africa) was around for the last time. He worked for his UK employer from South Africa for the last three months, but his contract has now come to an end and he was over in the UK to tie all the loose ends. It was great to have him over here every so often since their departure.

Today we had lunch with him and our mutual friends Andre and Jenine and their son Kristian. I cooked a proper roast (leg of pork, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding etc) at Leon's request.

It was really good to see him and very sad to see him go as we now don't know when we will get to see him or his wife Lizl and their daughter Hannah again...

Preparing for Christmas

(posted by Elizma)

We've bought our first real Christmas tree and we love it. Our new wood burning stove was also installed today so we spent the evening in front of it. We're really looking forward to a toastie Christmas.

Murders in Suffolk...

(posted by Elizma)

I kind of felt compelled to write this. Someone sent Leon an e-mail the other day written by someone justifying why he prefers to stay in South Africa, instead of leaving like so many of us. (Let me know if you want to read it and I will forward it to you.)

The reasons were feeble to say the least. It included examples such as the Paris riots and culture clashes in Europe. But before he or anyone else cites the recent murders in Suffolk, England as a reason to stay in South Africa as crime seems to be just as bad over here, I just want to put it into perspective.

No news channel such as BBC or Sky has ever covered a crime story in Suffolk (which is like a province in South Africa) since the inception of Suffolk Constabulary in 1899. And that's not because serious crime is such a normal occurrence they can't keep up.

Now this is by no means my way of justifying us leaving South Africa (as crime wasn't a factor at all when we originally left). Rather it is meant as motivation to people justifying to STAY in South Africa, to come up with better reasons - especially if it is meant as criticism of those who left...

Happy Birthday Zeeb!

(posted by Elizma)

We spent today with our friends, Johan and Celia and their roommates, Antonie and Ingrid for Johan's birthday.


As always when we get together - we ate waaaaaayyyyy too much, but it's difficult not to overdo it when you go to Wagamama.

We're looking forward to this week as our new flooring will go in on Wednesday and Thursday. Keep an eye on the blog for some pictures.