NTU award ceremony nov 2008

this morning i attended the university's autumn award ceremony mostly for post graduate programmes (we have another ceremony in summer for undergrads).

attending the ceremony is part of the job; giving me an excuse to wear my only suit twice a year! apparently i'm not the only one who wears my suit occassionally. met another member of academic who's just like me, jeans are our daily work attire.

today's ceremony was a bit different though, with the presence of the new chancellor, Sir Michael Parkinson (or Sir Parky) who is a renowned TV chat show king, interviewed hundreds of famous people over 25 years.

3 malaysians, the girls in the photo (not my students) were among the graduands and i got to meet them after the ceremony. it was a proud day for family and friends and also for the teachers when we see our students graduate.

by the way, if everything goes well, i hope to walk on the stage as a graduand in 3 years time; only if i get a distinction! kalau setakat pass aja, tak payah lah pergi. join my fellow colleague as academic members lagi baik......

SIR Michael Parkinson will preside over his first awards ceremony as the new Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University tomorrow. He will join around 3,500 other guests at the Royal Concert Hall to celebrate the achievements of Nottingham Trent's latest graduates. Many of the 900 students have completed postgraduate or professional courses while managing work and family commitments.

Sir Michael, officially installed as its first Chancellor earlier this month, said: "I'm delighted my first task as Chancellor is to join the university in celebrating the hard work and attainments of its students. I will wish them all the very best for the future." Vice-Chancellor Neil Gorman said: "We are thrilled Sir Michael can join us to share in our celebrations and make this an historic occasion for the university.
"We hope everyone who collects an award will step out into the world strengthened and inspired by all they have learned during their time with us."

Merry Beeston Xmas

tonite we went to Beeston, the nearest town centre, 10 minutes drive from our place; to witness the annual 'switching on xmas lights' at Beeston Square. ada 'mini fun fair', live band, brass band & parade, fireworks.

Mamma Mia!

we watched Mamma Mia! the movie sometime in August but never got enough of it. today Mamma Mia! DVD is out in the shops and i was in Woolworth first thing in the morning before i went to the office. i bought the sing along version, macam karaoke dvd la lebih kurang... dapat free Mamma Mia! Calendar 2009.

last week i bought 'the inside story of Mamma Mia! and the songs of ABBA' book which was on offer in woolworth.
both of us were teenagers when Abba became famous and i remember how my uncle Ayah Cik Nan was so crazy over Agnetha & Anni-Fried (Frieda).

cold sunday morning

it snowed at 6am this morning; just like what the weatherman predicted. then it rained, so there's not much snow left when we got up at 8am and took these photos.

hot breakfast on a cold sunday morning - scrambled eggs, sauteed mushroom & toast and coffee - thanks daddy!!! (our weekend breakfast chef)
and someone (and her ba-ba/mickey) was keeping warm in the sleeping bag while watching telly

counting my blessing

i had a good week, despite the usual long teaching hours and tons of work to do. i finished at 6pm on teaching days and got home at 7pm or sometimes later; only to find aliyah already asleep. i never got to play with her till the next morning, before leaving for work.

on thursday, i (and my colleague) received a letter from HR, notifying us of the new salary scale. Alhamdulillah, rezeki anak2. that nite after work, i bought some books for Aisyah and wooden puzzle & lego blocks for Aliyah. with the current economic turbulence and inflation rate, i'm really counting my blessing....

today, i went for the post grad weekend class and i got my marks & feedback for the Project Appraisal assignment which was handed in 2 weeks ago. i got a commandation, 3 points short of getting a distinction. yayyy!! (frust jugak tak dapat distinction, tapi at least pass!!) not bad for an old bird who's got lots of grey cells in her brain, and had to juggle studying with working, jaga aliyah etc...i guess i'm more pressured to do well cos my msc lecturers are my peers and bosses and i have to live up to their expectation. when i spoke to my coursemates, almost all agreed that it was tougher than we thought - working full time while studying part time.

old market square - a.m. & p.m.

this morning, on the way to my weekend school; i passed by Old Market Square and took these pics. it looked pretty quiet at 9am on saturday morning.

the xmas german market and open air ice skating rink are back and there were already skaters at 9am!
my classes finished at 3.30pm and i met up with the family in the city; and walked to old market square for a walkabout & see the xmas lights and what they have at xmas market. the square was crowded, happening! these pics were taken at 5.30pm.

the xmas market stalls....we've always loved buying the pretzels and german mini doughnuts. yummyyyy

these are the xmas deco in 'the exchange' building, next to the city hall.

dawn of a new day

hubby took these pictures from our back/kitchen door this morning when the sun was just coming out. love the colours on the sky....today was sunny indeed but was bitterly cold as well ...brrrrrr.

mikaeel

got this from 'virgin media', our broadband service provider

Michael Jackson will fly to London to fight a lawsuit brought against him.The self-proclaimed King of Pop is being sued for £4.5m by a Bahrain Sheikh who claims that he breached a recording and entertainment contract.Lawyers working for Jackson, who is due to take the witness stand on Monday, had earlier claimed that the star was too ill to travel.Away from the legal wranglings, Jackson has reportedly converted to Islam and adopted the name 'Mikaeel'.

he is reportedly living in the middle east and his elder brother, Jermaine is a devout muslim.

Al Fatihah

my aunt, Hajjah Nik Kelsom bt Nik Yusof, left us to meet her creator a week ago. i know i should have written earlier about her passing but i didnt... mostly due to finding the best possible way to hide my guilt.

Makcik Som, as i fondly called her, was arwah ayah's younger sister, the eldest girl and became the eldest sibling after ayah passed away. she's not been well for some time, been in and out of Seremban hospital for breathing difficulty. when you go into her bedroom, you could see rows of inhalers.. that really scared me at one time; especially when Aisyah had to be admitted to Ampang Putri for asthma before she was even 6. Alhamdulillah she was all well since we moved to the UK, but it hit her again quite badly (to our unpleasant surprise) not long after we came back from our summer holidays.

anyway, back to arwah Makcik Som, guilt is still in me for not visiting her when we were back in msia in the summer. we had all the intention to stop by in Seremban where she lived, on our way back to KL from JB; but when we passed Seremban that nite, it was rather late. hubby & i were saying that we should make a point to visit her during the last week of our hols but we were never got round to it.. we did visit her and Pakcik Dir before we left msia in jan 2006 though..

Alfatihah to her.

daddy's little helper

hubby was preparing the sunday roast for dinner and someone insisted to help out.
Aliyah was learning how to use the salt & pepper mill for roasted vege.











Aisyah helps her dad make sunday breakfast and also makes lovely garlic & herb baguette when we have spaghetti bolognaise for lunch or dinner.

start 'em young!

autumn colours at rufford park

this afternoon, after aisyah's riding class, we headed for Rufford Abbey Country Park, less than half hour drive from notts city centre.

the kids enjoyed the 2 hours walk in the woods and by the lakeside.

the kids playing in the dried grape leaves

grape vine

rufford abbey in the background

X Factor Pre-pre-pre-audition

I captured this the other day - amacam, boleh challenge some of the x factor hopefuls?



Yang penting, to quote a famous Malaysian singer (say this while tilting your head from side to side): "Are u Enjoys?"



Sorry gambar senget - camera punya fault.

more on warwick castle

i took about 200 photos (believe it or not!!!) during our 4 hours visit to warwick (sebut betul2; war-rick, not war-wick) castle ... mabok ke ape?

the tower and ramparts

guys tower and curtain wall the conservatory

The Mound

First built in 1068 on the orders of William the Conqueror, it formed the most important part of the Norman castle's defence system.

royal weekend party (1898)
In 1898, Daisy, Countess of Warwick hosted a weekend party at which the principle guest was the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. Once inside the former private apartments, you'll step back to a time of the most lavish and extravagant parties at Warwick Castle.

Meet the beautiful Daisy, Countess of Warwick and her friends preparing for their weekend partyThe Royal Weekend Party brings to life the secrets of a Victorian household and all its important guests. Encounter a young Winston Churchill and listen to Clara Butt, renowned singer of the time and Paolo Tosti, music master to the Royal Family. (from www.warwick-castle.co.uk)

the music room

the Carnation Room the library
the ladies boudoir

Daisy's (Countess of Warwick) bedroom

the Dowager's Bedroom

Prince of Wales's Dressing Room

the Chinese Bedroom

the great hall and state room

The Great Hall is the largest room in the castle and throughout history has been its heart.
The Hall as it stands today, was first constructed in the 14th century. It was rebuilt in the 17th century and then restored in 1871 after it had been badly damaged by a fire which swept through part of the castle.
Set against the wall is the magnificent Kenilworth buffet, made in oak by local craftsmen for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

the Great Hall

see the Kenilworth buffet against the wall

the red drawing room

King Henry VIII

and his 6 wives

the state dining room

guess who came to dinner??

Queen Anne's Bedroom

the blue boudoir

thats not the end... ada lagi !!!