Pink Day at School.(breast cancer awareness day)

There was great excitement this morning as all the school goers dressed in pink for the Pink Day at School today.

Wendy and the cherubs had made cupcakes yesterday evening and this morning they were decorated with pink icing.

Owen and Erin each chose their special cupcake for their morning tea break and the rest were taken for sale at school.

I have no pink clothes here except for a pair of pink shorts so that will have to do. Fortunately I do not have to go anywhere so shorts may be worn in the house.

Happy Birthday Brendon

After a good night's sleep we were ready to celebrate Brendon's birthday.

It was Friday and so off to church we went. We decided to skip our "house settling in tasks" because it was a special day and supposed to also be our day of rest.

After the service we treated him to a lovely meal at a super restaurant.

We had a short rest in the afternoon and then Brendon and Wendy went to join some friends for some fun on kayaks in the swamps while I stayed with the cherubs.

B & W had a BBQ after their ride and it seemed that Brendon had enjoyed his special day even though the house was still "a work in progress".

The big Move

I arrived in Qatar at 2.30 am on Monday morning and was given the chance to have a sleep before the Cherubs woke at 5.00 am but was too excited to sleep so stayed awake. Once the cherubs and Wendy had left for school I had a rest and did a little unpacking because I knew that the following day would be the start of the big move to a new villa.

There were boxes everywhere but as we still had to live there for another day some packing would happen on the day the movers arrived. They had arranged to take two days to do the move and maybe should have stuck to their original plan of taking three days as they worked till 8.00 pm on the last day.

It was all good fun for me. I love moving  but hate saying goodbye. This time there was no good bye just a move to another villa so only happiness. (except for the heat of course). Air-cons don't work too well when doors have to be left open to allow access.

Everything was loaded onto an open truck and covered with a piece of canvas. Many prayers were said that all would arrive safely at the new destination. Brendon had taken the days off so he followed the truck on every trip to the new villa while I stayed at the old villa packing more boxes.

The truck made several trips each day and eventually I was able to go to the new villa so I could start unpacking while the last loads were made. Once again we followed the truck and I remarked that it looked like a lot of Patagonian refugees on the move.

 

At the new villa I first went from room to room praying as I remembered that was what Douglas would have done. The house was a blessing and I needed to thank the Lord for the space and all who would be sharing in the blessing of being their.

I started unpacking in the kitchen as that was where we needed to get our supplies. Beds were made ready for our weary bodies and once the cherubs got back from school they had fun in the open spaces.

Brendon set about making the tables with the willing hands of the cherubs while Wendy prepared our evening meal.

It was all exciting and exhausting. One day it will look like home again in the mean time we take each day as it comes unpacking a few boxes and finding where things need to be placed. And the heat, well that just keeps on making itself felt. Praise the Lord for willing hands as we all know that "Many hands make light work" and my sore feet feel better.

The "compound" has many facilities so we do take time off from our tasks to enjoy the play area and the pool and Wendy uses the well equipped gym to practice her running for the big race at the end of the month.

We end the big move with Brendon's birthday and a church service. A fitting end to another adventure and the start of more to come.

Pinelands High School 50 year reunion

After a quiet restful week Friday eventually dawned and it was time to go back to school. One of the group kindly agreed to pick me up and be my transport to the school and on to the lunch afterwards. I was still very nervous but all went well and I did recognize some of the girls. The guys were a different story. Maybe because when at school they were boys and now they were men with facial hair and some with no hair at all on their heads. They all expected me to still have my two waist length plaits and I was amazed at who remembered me. One guy, can't remember his name, even said,"You lived on The crossing and I lived on the corner." He even knew who my next door neighbour was. Another guy said," You sat in the back row". They all seemed to have better memories than I did but then some did meet at the 40 year reunion which from all accounts was a whole weekend event.

Our first stop was at the school hall foyer where there was a table spread with eats and tea and coffee was served.

Most of us were so busy meeting each other that we never ate at all. Some did have tea or coffee.

Ronnie in the dark jacket was my chauffeur.

Some of the ladies that I remembered because we had seen each other at different times over the years.

It was interesting to see how the uniform had changed although the blazer had remained the same.

Eventually it was time to enter the hall. The principal admitted that this was his most difficult task, getting us to file in after all these years. Some of the learners played the marimbas while the rest of the school stood as we all filled in to take up our seats in the from of the assembly. It was all rather moving especially seeing the youngsters stand so quietly. I am sure we were never that well behaved.

The principal read a section from the school magazine and then told us that although what were heard was very relevant, we would be surprised to note that he had read from the 1964 school magazine. Things have not changed that much in 50 years.

He briefly mentioned inventions and events from the 60's and then showed a video clip that one of our class had taken at school. She had managed to convert it to a DVD so that it could be shown.

One of our class was the keynote speaker and he spoke very well even as he revealed some of the boy's secrets eg. smoking in the forest during breaks. I think that today's learners went away with a good idea of what school life was like 50 years ago and now feel blessed to be part of this very special school.

The school have some very talented pupils and we were entertained with two musical items of a very high standard.

After the Assembly we broke into small groups and were taken on a tour of the school by two learners. There have been some big improvements and I think that the students were rather shocked to learn that we never had computers.

We never had a pool

This too was a new addition

After the tour it was time to head for the restaurant where we were to enjoy a wonderful feast. We had a selection of three starters, three main courses and a dessert platter. (Sorry never took a picture of the other food)

We sat at three tables and the noise was unbelievable as we caught up on 50 years of comings and goings. It was close on 5 pm by the time we got home and we all agreed that 500 years was too long to wait for another reunion. We might manage 5 years. We also said we might need a larger venue for our lunch so it could accommodate our walking frames and wheel chairs. It will be interesting to see the changes after 5 years.