easter holidays 2011

we had a good easter break up north. masa pergi our van penuh dengan food, masa balik pun penuh jugak but with our shopping. it was fun even though we were all packed like sardines haha.

we stayed in a 3 bedroom Loanfoot cottage in Mountquhannie (pronounced montwhannie) estate located in the kingdom of fife, east coast scotland. nearest town is cupar which is 5 miles away and 20 minutes drive to st andrews. this is our 2nd time in fife, the last time was in easter 2009 and we stayed in balmeadow lodge which is not far from the estate.

the place is kind of remote but our idea of a holiday accommodation - no internet or mobile phone service for 5 days and yet we survived!

aerial view of the whole estate

loanfoot cottage

back garden - kids playground.

kitchen/dining

what we saw every day - "lamb chop and steak"

a bit of a history about Mountquhanie and its owner.

The Wedderburn family have been associated with Mountquhanie, pronounced "Montwhannie" for over 400 years. The family originally occupied the now ruined Mountquhanie Castle which saw glimpses of Scottish History - Flodden, the murder of Cardinal Beaton and Darnley and the ravages of Dundee by Cromwell's General Monk. Creich Castle, also on Mountquhanie Estate, was the birth place of Mary Bethune, one of Mary Queen of Scot's ladies-in-waiting. It is said to be haunted.

"The new house" was built by David Gillespie in 1820 to the design of the celebrated Scottish architect, James Gillespie Graham - probably using the castle as a stone quarry. The public rooms are hung with portraits of many of the present family's ancestors, five generations of whom have served with the local regiment "The Black Watch". The property passed through the female line to Colonel Bethune in 1905 and through his daughter Mary to the present incumbent, Andrew Wedderburn, whose son Patrick now manages the estate (taken from private luxury travel.com)

we spent our 5 days in scotland in St Andrews and nearby towns of Anstruther (pron Anster), Leven and Kinross, Edinburgh, Perth & Kenmore village, Stirling & Loch Lomond.

the wedding

the whole nation has been talking about the royal wedding since william announced his engagement to kate in november 2010. everywhere we went, the shops were decorated with wedding banners.

cath kidston, nottinghill

souvenier shop, windsor

confectionary & cake shop, eton

penhaligon's, chester

 the day finally came yesterday and of course we were glued to the telly from 8am - 1.30pm

everyone waited anxiously for the revelation of the wedding dress. it was simple yet beautiful and elegant, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, a british designer of course.

pictures taken fr http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13236617

we celebrated it in our own way - wedding brunch of leftover bbq lamb & chicken & vege sandwiches. i guess my uncle & aunty will remember this date well and would be able to tell their grandchildren.

practise bersanding for will & kate..

what did i buy to commemorate the wedding? this...

simply because we love eating shortbread and i collect cake/biscuit tins. this collection can only be obtained in shops in scotland or edinburgh woolen mill shops across UK. 

they have left..

2 weeks ago we met them at the airport, last nite we said our goodbyes to them at the same airport. one thing i hate about having guests is bidding farewell; especially when the guests are our closest family members. the house is so quiet this morning except for the brr-ing sound of the washing machine.

i'm already missing my ayah cik, cik zah & zetty, they are still on the plane maybe over indian ocean. in 3 hours time they will land on their homeland. i really hope this holiday was a memorable & enjoyable one for them as it was for me &my family.   

experiment

same object, different gadget..
competition of the day: which set of photos come from which gadget - nikon coolpix vs sony nex 5.

both of us were too busy  arranging  the photos that we couldnt even  remember which is which....

they are here...

our much awaited guests are finally here!!!
they landed at 9.45pm after 14 hours flight and got out into the arrival hall at 10.30, few minutes BEFORE we arrived at the airport. (we left home at 7.15pm, stopped at tesco for food &petrol, started our 2 1/2 hours drive at 8pm).

we left the airport at 11pm, chatting away during the 1 1/2 hours drive into london, had late supper - naan bread with tesco's  lamb karahi &chicken tikka masala &  then off to bed at 2am..

its been 3 years since we last saw them, and it's really great to see them again. both me & kamar have been  looking forward to their arrival, ready with list of menu & itineraries  ever since the day they purchased the tickets last year and of course this visit fits in nicely with our easter break.

today's plan - portobello market, then oxford street.. they are  mad shoppers!!!

btw, we got our new gadget, flown all the way from malaya land. this is a perfect example of  "great things come in small packages"..someone was smiling from ear to ear when my uncle handed it to him, shall let him  'study' how to operate  it and i will just stick to  my 3 y.o. nikon coolpix  for the time being.

how time flies

i just received this via email...

Thank you for using the Online Admissions Application Service.

The Local Authority's allocation process has resulted in the following for each of the
preferences you expressed in your application:

Preference Offer Status
Fernwood Infant School - Place Offered

our kenit is going to a 'big' school already in september
oh how time flies..

mum's the word

tazkirah pagi jumaat.. thanks to my cousin suzieQ for posting this on her fb.

At 3 years ''mummy I love you''.
At 10 years ''mum whatever''.
At 16 years ''my mum is so annoying''.
At 18 years ''I'm leaving this house''.
At 25 years "mum you were right''.
At 30 years '' wanna go to mums house''.
At 50 years ''don't wanna lose my mum''.
At 70 years "i would give up everything to have my mum here with me''.

You only have one mum. 


Think about it.....

family institution

i have to write about this, even though i'm in a hurry to do a bit of cleaning before leaving for work.

i think some (if not most) of us take for granted how important is the family institution, how much it means to be cared for and loved by both parents and how the harmonious environment affect the kids' well being - physically and mentally.

the reason for this post - my big missy, i could sense her reluctance, told me about one of her close friends who's leaving school to live in a foster home away from here. and so she has to move to another school closer to the 'new home'. her parents are divorced, dad lives near us with his new wife and another daughter and this girl lives ith her dad on weekdays and in a foster home on weekends. what happened to her mom? apparently her mom is an AA and deemed not fit to look after this girl. its so sad. i knew something is not right about her family but i just couldnt put my fingers in it until big missy told us this morning. i said to my lohkong yesterday that i've always felt sorry for the girl, somehow she has that 'muka sedih & kesian' except when she's among friends and you could see a different side of her. i saw her dad at the parent/teacher meeting yesterday and he seems a nice man but apparently his new wife is not as nice.

so, moral of the story is .. be grateful and thankful for what we have, family is an institution and we have to work hard to make it right, kids were born to be cared for and looked after. if for any reason you have to go separate ways, the love for the children should remain unconditional - they are your  assets. if you choose to remarry, make sure that your new partner can & wants to raise your children like her/his  own. and finally, think hard before you do something seriously wrong which will jeopardise your right to look after your own children.

good luck

according to big missy's music teacher, she had shown real progress in her piano lesson and its recommended that she sits for a formal exam. i was genuinely surprised by her achievement.

she started playing since she was 4 and when we moved here in 2006 (she was 6), we bought a piano but unfortunately she didnt take up any lessons. but she practised sometimes - ikut mood. she decided to take up horse riding instead and her one hour private lesson cost us >£20 per week. so another £20 per week on piano lesson was a bit too much to spend on just one child. financial constraint aside, time was also one of the factors. we didnt want to rush her here & there just like what we did back home. if she had 1 hour riding & 1 hour piano lesson on the same day, she would be exhausted and we couldnt go anywhere!!

when she was at primary school, ada lah once or twice she played the piano for  the school but she learned how to play flute and participated in few performances organised by Nottingham Music School. and when she started secondary school last september, we were so happy that the music department offers piano lessons; fee for 20 minutes/week private lessons cost around £40 per term. and she had made good progress, been practising regularly (sebab ada homework) and played some classical songs really well.

she will sit for ABRSM (Associated Board Royal School of Music) exam in the summer term ie after easter break. due to large number of students anticipated to sit for the exam (for other musical instruments too), the examiner will come to her school.

i hope she does well in the exam. i know i will 'kena kutuk' after this sebab i'm planning for her future far too early but, if she wants to go to top notch unis, she not only has to excel academically (minimum 3 As in A level)  but also she has to do well in any kind of sports AND knows how to play musical instrument.

if you want to know, COWI (cambridge, oxford,warwick & imperial college) only accept students with 500 points = 5As for relevant subjects + sports + music...

adik manja

ni bukan pasal sikenit yang memang terkenal manja...

i dont know how many of  you still remember the movie 'Adik Manja' produced in 1980 and filmed at encik suami's infamous boys school yang rival kuat sekolah 'mekek' tu..tapi apa2 pun the most famous character that emerged from the movie is Cikgu Bedah played by Adibah Amin, the well known NST editor who apparently is now suffering from stroke. she was a fine writer and i enjoyed reading her column "As i was passing". the cikgu bedah character was so effective that to date, mana2 cikgu pompuan especially yang kurang cool or discipline teacher or yang suka membebel are labelled as cikgu bedah..

the hero in movie was Cikgu Azmi, the only male teacher in the girls school who was attracted to Cikgu Sharina. ada lah few girls yang syok dengan cikgu azmi ni..of course la cikgu hensem & cute, ramai peminat. one of them was played by shasha - i remember her from college days, her dorm was above ours (me & my kuncu2 the famous 8).  not one of our friends though..

now..what prompt me to write about this movie? asal usul nya, petang tadi we were at big missy's parent/teacher consultation evening  to discuss their progress at school selepas dapat school report. i chose to meet teachers for selective subjects - music, english, maths, science and finally her home tutor (class teacher). while waiting for our turn, maka mummy yang mata dah kabur bila membaca tapi terus menjadi terang bila tengok mamat hensem, terpandang satu cikgu lelaki yang kacak. so i said to my sleeping partner "waah kalau i dapat cikgu yang kacak macam tu, mesti bersemangat  nak datang sekolah" (kena cakap melayu takut orang sekeliling dengar). and daddy said "u memang... kalau u kat sekolah sekarang ni, mesti jadi macam cerita Adik Manja". bila jumpa her 26 year old home tutor yang kiut miut tu, alahaiii...

i guess if i were an undergrad student at my uni now, memang kurang motivated nak datang kelas sebab cikgu2 semua tak ada yang cute & hensem. but i remember clearly when i was a student at uni dulu, i admire this lecturer, nama dia Mr Mc Dougall (budak2 melayu panggil mr mc dogol). he taught us measurement, the subject i'm teaching now..was i inspired by him ??? dont know laa. he was a good looker, probably at that time he was in his 50s, always smartly dressed in his 3 piece suit (macam my colleague yang mengajar law sekarang), his hair was never out of place and yang paling menarik was his grey hair yang 'terletak' kat tepi telinga. he was strict, hardly smiled  but bila sekali senyum memang menawan kelambu.

i'm pretty sure ramai kaum kerabat & kengkawan share the same experience kan?

under the weather ...

....and blanket

i'm supposed to have an hour lecture today but had to cancel it and work at home while looking after big missy who's not well and missing school. kesian tengok dia 'lembik' sebab banyak kali throw up. i called the clinic at 9.50am and was lucky to get a slot at 10.10am to see dr K. the clinic is just 5 minutes walk and we got there in time. even the dr said that she's a fit and healthy young lady cos she's hardly been to see him; the last time was in oct '10 when she had a bout of asthma attack.

dr said she's got viral indigestion and has to stay away from meat & dairy products until she's better. only drink plain water and eat crackers or toast for today, no prescription - standard lah kat sini, dr will only prescribe ubat if really necessary. 

let me gossip sikit pasal our family dr ni, so different from Dr Mahendran, our family doctor kat malaya land .. Dr K is persian, in his early 40s, tall and slim, his thick eyebrows are immaculately trimmed, wears bling bling on his neck (hari ni with BIG cross pendant) and fingers (ada wedding ring..??), wears designer jeans (hari ni pakai Armani), drives a sports car, soft spoken and very the lembut one..u can imagine sendiri lah kan...he's nice but he still cannot match the 'detailness' of our good ole Dr Mahendran.

apa2 pun i hope big missy will get better by the end of  the day so that she can go horse riding and back to school tomorrow; her last day of school before easter break.

thank you..

i've got a lot to be thankful for and a lot of people to thank - you know who you are.  i never stopped praying for Allah to grant me my wishes and  i know Allah swt has his mercy on  me.

thank you can be overrated  (i think) but when it comes from the bottom of our hearts, it is priceless that you cant even put a price tag on it.

i'm thankful for the people who are in my life - my family and dear friends and for the health thats been bestowed upon me that i could still live the day to attend to my family, perform  my prayer to Allah swt and teach my students (thats my amanat).

When we look at some one above than us, we may have a feeling,

we have so little

When we look at some one below than us, we may have a feeling,

we have so many

 

Then we think, we have to be  thankful & grateful

no matter what we have.

Every human have their own way to express their thankfulness.

Islam came to perfect the way for us to deliver our thankfulness

in the right way and to whom should we thankful

the above is taken from this blog.  http://islambrowser.blogspot.com/2010/10/thankful-to-allah.html.
thanks to my cousin SuzieQ who put this in her fb profile quite sometime ago.

off & on & off & on & off...

2 weeks break from teaching comes to an end today, tomorrow is the first day of the third term and i have a class to teach at 9am. still have a bit of marking to finish off.. its really a drag!

there're only 5 weeks in 3rd term but  that is cut short to 4 weeks due to the good friday-easter monday-royal wedding-may bank holiday. most (probably all) of the academics have cancelled the classes on wed & thurs 26 & 27/4; so we get another break from teaching (again!) from 22/4-2/5.  apply 2 days annual leave dapat 10 days off work. isnt that great?? big missy break off for easter  from 15/4 till 2/5.

we've not gone away anywhere since july last year, so i guess we deserve a break (right??) especially after my spurt of depression attack the other day.  i'm physically ok, mentally just about there. hopefully the getaway that we've planned since november will cheer me up & wont dissapoint our distinguished guests.

come mid may, i'm done with teaching for this academic year until october when i return to classroom..yeehaaa!! but.. there's tonnes of work to be done by end of june.

apa2 pun, we had a good first spring dinner at starbucks.. tak ada burung 'berkucai' tapi ada burung 'berkicau' entertaining us..

To those who hate cats....

BEWARE!!!!

bunga pokok apa?

i just noticed these flowers late afternoon today..

they are from this tree

which our landlord's wife said is a pear tree. dont know lah, we'll wait and see. 

setarbak

wollaton's starbucks is back in business..it was closed for operation since october last year due to adverse weather condition. and as promised, its back in action in spring, just in time for our distinguished guests who will be arriving next weekend.

blue & green

the sky is so blue today..and i went for a walk at wollaton park (again!) from 12 noon before fetching the little missy from school. green & blue are pretty dominant at the park. lets hope for the weather to stay this way for weeks to come!!

this is the chimney breast of our next door neighbour, picture taken at 8am.

 pink over blue 

and i rewarded myself with a 99 flake medium before i left the park...yummy!

my read

i finished reading Room on Monday morning, while on the car to Tesco. it was indeed a good read. its a simple story line, nothing too complicated about it.  its a narration by a 5 y.o old boy who's been locked with his mom in Room for 5 years of his life before he escaped. Room teaches us how to be appreciative, how not to take things for granted, about the strong bond between a boy and his ma; the only person he sees throughout his life.

i started reading My Last Duchess on the bus this morning, probably take few weeks to finish.
http://www.daisygoodwin.co.uk/my-last-duchess-2/

 i stopped at whsmith this morning, they are having offers - buy 1 get 1 half price on lots of new books..mabok! i'm gonna wait for bogof (buy one get one free) to get the next lot.

white hair

a 4 y.o girl sat on her mummy's lap with the sun shining on her mummy's hair.

girl : mummy, you've got white hair
mom : can you pull the hair out
girl : sit still, dont move..and she pulled out one grey hair
mom : can you find another one & pull it out ?
girl : there are loads!!
mom : hahaha..
girl : i dont want to pull anymore..i'm tired. let it stay there.
mom: why?
girl: because you look nice with white hair (???)..why do you have white hair?
mom: because i'm getting old..
girl: but i still love you...

aaahhhh...memang la betul apa orang cakap 'anak2 adalah penghibur lara  ibu bapa'...

late afternoon walk

 big missy has riding lesson on wednesday, her daddy drives her to the stables and i dont normally follow them  but today is an exception because the weather is just too lovely to stay indoor.

i asked to be dropped at the junction so that i could go for a walk. Strelley village is just 4 miles away from the city centre and yet it is so quiet.

 thats NOT big missy; some of the villagers own horses.

sunset at the stable

big missy went hacking & trotting on the field today, so no pics of her.