Christmas and New Year

It seems like a long time since the last blog, perhaps because quite a lot has happened since then. We were really looking forward to our trip back to England for Christmas at the time of the last blog and it proved to be a lovely visit. Steve had three more days of work before we flew back so I joined him in Kuala Lumpur for some sightseeing and last minute Christmas shopping. The shopping malls were really nicely decorated, making it feel very Christmassy, unlike Penang where the build up to Christmas had almost passed us by.

This was one of the upmarket shopping centres with shops like Dior, Chanel, Rolex... oh and Marks and Spencers and Debenhams which the Malaysian's seem to view in the same light.

It was great to catch up with so many friends for our traditional yearly Christmas meal and Secret Santa. This was us - post crackers - at the Junction in Harborne. Lots of mulled wine and cider and great food followed by fun and games at the house of Francome. Favourite of which has to be eating a ginger bread man from off your forehead with no hands...

This very cheerful and contented baby is Denis, who we met for the first time. Lovely to catch up with his parents too, Dan and Berak. It was quite strange to visit some of our favourite places in Harborne - it certainly felt longer than 4 months since we used to live there.  

Steve and I spent Christmas day and Boxing Day with our own families, where we were very well fed and watered. Traditional English food was much appreciated, particularly cheese, mince pies, decent wine and beer. And of course the customary advent calendar chocolate...
It's a lovely time of year to be at home with your close family, and luckily the weather allowed us some nice country walks. This was a nice one which ended at one of our favourite spots - the Blue Ball pub in Rutland.

Loaded up with suitcases full of presents and favourite treats from England, we made our way back to Penang just in time for New Year's Eve, where the jetlag worked in our favour. We met up with some Penang friends at the sky bar in Georgetown, which is on the roof of a hotel and has great views. It was very different from previous New Year's especially as Steve spotted the World number 1 ladies squash player there. She was actually doing a DJ set, as a resident local celebrity.

This is the Tropical Spice Garden in Penang, a popular tourist destination that we recently got around to visiting. It has lots of trails running through it and many different spices - some more familiar than others. They do cooking courses which would be a fun day out, perhaps when we have people staying with us. A few too many mozzies there for our liking, which we've loved being free from for the last month, but still a nice place to spend a few hours.

A lovely gesture of thanks from Steve's work took us to the Eastern and Oriental Hotel last weekend, which dates back to the British colonial days, for a very posh dinner. The food was really amazing, delicious and wonderfully presented. It's not the sort of place we'd normally go to so it felt like a real treat. This was the delicious tiramisu with chocolate brownie.

 

Steve's job continues to be interesting and great experience and, with his latest job in Singapore, is also providing some opportunities to travel and explore new places. He's having a great time working on a project to build a new sporting complex in Singapore city, similar to the Olympic Park in London. It's due to open in April, all being well. He's almost full time now with some extra days working in KL and from home in Penang, but still finds time to play lots of Squash which he's enjoying a great deal.

Life at Tenby School continues to bring new challenges with staff changes in the department, a maternity cover to organise and iGCSE and A level exams fast approaching. But the kids continue to be polite, appreciative and full of eccentric quirkiness which makes them so lovely to teach. It's nice to lose the 'new teacher' status going into term 2.

We're planning a trip to the Cameron Highlands this weekend, making the most of the bank holiday on friday. It is known for its cool climate, strawberries and tea and has very scenic views so will hopefully provide a nice restful weekend. We've also booked a four day trip to Langkawi for when Chris visits, a duty free island known for its nice beaches... and cheap beer!