Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time...

...with friends, family, novelty hats...and novelty glasses. What more could you ask for at Christmas time? It was especially lovely to catch up with our old family friends of 21 years, the Hibbins family...look forward to seeing you all again in the summer!

(l-r) Paul, Dad and Donna...playing 'Who Am I'.

This round, I was 'Robin Van Persie'- an Arsenal player. Guess who chose that one for me?

Mum and Tina in hysterics!

My dad modelling the bula shirt I bought from Fiji!

My eyesight's really gone downhill in the last few weeks.

Robbie in front of the tree...what a poser.

A Blighty Fine Christmas...

What can I say? I've been a terrible blogger in the past couple of weeks. Am still revelling in the novelty of being home for Christmas for the first time in 2 years. The cold weather is beginning to lose a little of its initial allure, but am still excited to be here!

I'm also trying to remember how to be a bookseller- working back at my old book shop, Waterstones, has been very surreal (there's my favourite word for you, Patrick!) but lovely. Not much has changed there, but yet everything has- a little like my own life I guess.

You might be wondering why I've been so slack with book reviews in the last few months. It's because I decided to undertake the momentous literary challenge that is Alexandre Dumas' The Count Of Monte Cristo, after finding it in a Fiji hostel. Well, 4 months later, I'm still reading the beast...I'm loving it more and more, but will be glad to see the back of it! Not long to go now...

And of course, I've abandoned poor Lizzie Hayes as well. I'm determined to finish the last two parts by the end of the year- especially now I've just put it in writing!

So, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a MERRY CHRISTMAS from chilly England! There really is no place like home at Christmas-time...

The London Eye, with Rach and Alex.

One More Workshop For The Road...

So, after deciding that fronting one workshop just wasn't enough, I agreed to host another, this time on a subject close to my heart- creative writing. To be more precise, it was on 'life writing'- helping those who have decided to write their memoirs. I had a nice small group of 8 people, all of different ages and backgrounds. One lady, a school principal originally from Australia, had worked all over the world in the last 40 years: Jeruselum, Hong Kong, and the Chinese mainland to name but a few. Another man, a Chinese-Fijian, had a true rags-to-riches story: coming from nothing, and now the CEO of a company.  I also loved the range of ages: one girl was in high school, while another was just past retirement age. It just goes to show that it's never too early to start thinking about how to write your life story.

Despite the shenanigans the night before (yes, I had to conduct this workshop the morning after Georgina's party! Clever!), I think the workshop went fairly well. Everybody seemed to enjoy the writing tasks that I gave them to help improve their writing style, and most importanty, were keen to share their writings with the rest of the class. Impressively enthusiastic for early on a Saturday morning...certainly made my job much easier!

I'm afraid there's no pictures to show- think my photo-taking quota for the weekend was filled up on Friday night! But both workshops I've conducted have been fantastic experiences- certainly ones I never anticipated when I first came to Fiji. Thanks so much to Mr. Khan for taking me on as a volunteer in the first placedo (it's all because of that big red banner outside!), and for trusting me enough to conduct workshops like this, even though I had never done it before! It really does wonders for your confidence when somebody has faith in you- so thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you and the rest of the FCOSS team again in the New Year!

Georgina's Birthday Boat Cruise!

It's fair to say that Georgina's birthday boat cruise has been one of the most highly anticipated events over the past few months. Georgina is the daughter of Patrick's Australian boss, George, and is one of the best people you can meet.  She is genuinely loved by all that she meets, and everybody- friends and strangers- has been caught up in the infectious enthusiasm for her party. I'm so happy we were able to fulfil her dream of a boat cruise!

Not only was it lovely to see Georgina's excitement, but also to get dolled up with the rest of the Entec crew. Everybody works so hard in that office, so it was nice to see them let their hair down! We took a little wooden dingy to the main cruise ship, the Wellesley, which was to take us around Suva Harbour at sunset. As soon as we hopped on board and heard the words 'sun deck', we rushed up there as quickly as we could- very lucky that Suva wasn't its usual rainy self! Though the skies were not totally clear, we were still able to see the siholuette of Joske's thumb, an iconic thumb-shaped mountain that features on the Fijian $5 note. After a  fair few drinks and Titanic impressions (see below!), we headed down for the fantastic buffet set out by the Wellesley crew. As well enjoying the BBQ, Patrick and I discovered our new favourite Fijian dish, 'kokoda'- a chilled, chilli-infused coconut soup with cubed white-fish, tomatoes, onions, and lemon/lime juice. So refreshing and delicious that we had to go back for a few more helpings!! I had so much of it that I ALMOST didn't have enough room for Georgina's sponge cake, as also prepared by the Wellesley crew. Then again, you know me- I can always find room for cake!

The night ended as every good night should- dancing to island-style music and several Conga lines. I have to admit, it's been a while since I've Conga-ed, and though they're heaps of fun, they're surprisingly exhausting- must be getting old, I suppose! Just have to give a quick mention to Isoa, whose dance moves and constant smiling really helped to keep the party alive!

For anybody reading this who lives in Suva and is considering the Wellesley cruise, I'd recommend it; it's great to see a prettier side of Suva from the harbour waters. Of course, the important thing is that Georgina had a good time, and I think that can be safely assured. According to George, when she woke up the next morning, the first thing she said was 'Nice party!'. Enough said. Enjoy the pictures!!