Sunday Evening Dublin

Arrived in Dublin this evening sans enfants. Stumbled onto a festival in a park which the kids would have enjoyed. And enroute to watching the World Cup finals we stopped off at an eccentric venue for a quick bite. Love this city and look forward to spending a few days here. 

The Great Wall

Just remembered that I never posted these pictures of the Great Wall which are too good not to share!

Three Bears in the house

All three had their leaving assemblies last week - an event we have talked about ever since we decided to leave; who were they going to chose to say their goodbyes and who was going to cry etc.

With the school so big, the leaving assembly would have dragged on all morning so all three were in different sessions. Every leaving child nominates one, two or even three friends to say goodbye to them and after the speeches, the leaver is presented with the JIS leaving bear. As I have seen previously it can get quite emotional for the parents so I was well prepared. 

Jack was the first of the lot (though the very last one of the assembly for that group) and he had Alexander and Olly say his goodbyes. Both have been his friends since they were in Kindly together and have formed very solid friendships in and out of the classroom and on and off the pitch! They said some very lovely things about Jack and also from Jack's class teacher Mr. Whitehead. 

Following Jack's session was Iman's and again the very last goodbye. Iman had her best friend Natasha who she has been besties with since Year 1 and also Eleanor, another very close friend since Year 1. Her teacher Mrs Turner too said some very lovely words. Iman has kind of been dreading this assembly and it didn't take long for the floodgates to open, as did mine and several of the teaching staff. Iman has made such good friends in JIS and has been there since she was 2 and a half (albeit with a short break in Bangkok).

We had to wait the next day for Ayden's and he had 3 friends say goodbye - Neo, William and Haqeem. Poor William had his leg in a cast and Ayden was anxious all week that William would be there! His teacher Ms Miles was full of praise saying that not only was Ayden was excellent swimmer but also a mathematician!

Second day I was more clued on with what to do hence the pictures. I only took videos for Iman and Jack and when Iman showed me how to do both at the same time, I managed to stop Ayden's video without realizing it which was all very disappointing.

But what wasn't disappointing was the lovely farewells all three got from such good friends and teachers. Its a blessing that all three children have developed big personalities in such a big school and that they will be missed. JIS has been excellent for all three, shaping them into the all-rounders that they are with the passion to learn and to win in anything they partake. We are all no doubt going to miss JIS and all that it offers; and it will take some adjusting going from such a big school to one with an overall student population of 300 but we are also looking forward to our new adventure. 

Iman's Year 6 Graduation

We were extremely proud of Iman this morning at the Year 6 graduation ceremony. Can't believe she has finished Junior school. It only seemed like yesterday when she started her first day at Unicorn.

We were also extra proud that as one of the Junior School Captains, Iman was the emcee for the morning with Samuel. Not a talent she inherited from me and it's wonderful that she has it and carries herself so well on stage. May it all continue!

My Last Jungle Runs

Its now the end of June and time to say goodbye to our friends before the skip, hop and jump that we will soon do. Tuesdays will never been the same for me again. Almost every Tuesday for the last six years have been taken up with jungle runs with the exclusive Ladies Hash. It was through this fantastic group of women that I grew to love the jungle. Nothing beats the quiet of the jungle save for the sound of insects and running water, though for most patches of jungle around the Bandar area you are never too far away from the sound of traffic. But aside from the jungle its also the wonderful friends I have made in this group - I am going to miss them all very much especially on Tuesday evenings at 5:15 when the horn goes for everyone to run off.

Last week together with my friend Anna I laid a run for the last time. And as it was my last we laid a cracker for the girls. My GPS had tracked 4.6 kilometres of pure ups and downs but once the girls ran in, most recorded between 5-6k and even one 7k. The runners completed it in an hour and a half and the last two came out in the dark after walking two and a half hours. But with plenty of hills, endless stream crossings and a lovely waterfall thrown in they all loved it. And Anna and I loved laying it too!

And this week was the last run I ran which was at Lucky Gardens, one off my all time favourite sites and one I got to know well from walking with Margaret. Lucky Gardens over the years has gotten smaller as more and more of it is razed away. Hopefully that will be it for a while. Its still very beautiful in there and it was just me and the lovely wide paths which many moons ago were old Gurkha trails.

And what a good run it was. Thank you Ladies. I am most humbled by the "goodbye" I received - you all know who you are. On On....

Super Gold Fish

I honestly never thought we could ever keep a goldfish this long. At JIS Football Funday October 2012. One of the kids won a bag containing 3 small fish from a games stall (that's you Rachel!). I can't say I was too impressed with the "prize" and we had to buy a small tank and all. A week after one of the trio died... Here we go I thought! But then the two just continued to grow to the point that I had to upgrade to a bigger tank - funnily enough from a friend that had won fish on that day too (Kim!). Anyway number 2 moved on about 10 months ago leaving this big guy. I've actually got quite fond of him especially as he seems to be hungry all the time. When I open the flap he's right there waiting for the food. He seems  happy enough to be alone. Let's see how much longer he lives or he is going to need a new home!

Congratulations Liyana and Izman

Huge congratulations to this girl who holds a special place in our hearts. Above everything else happiness is what her and her boys deserve and it was wonderful to see her radiant when her and Izman tied the knot this weekend.

May they be blessed with love, health, happiness and more brothers and sisters for Muzzy and Firdaus! Amin.

Letting Go

With three children growing up so quickly clearing out clothes, toys and accessories becomes a full time job - one that I am not very good at. I'm still at odds as to what to do with these pre-loved and well used water bottles. I know I can't hang on to them afterall they are only water bottles right?