Can we make our own 'from our own correspondent'

[teafortwo]

I love love love this radio show...

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/default.stm

Can we please please please have a thread that has a vibe a bit like this?

We can have a bunch of parents who live all over the World in all kinds of countries (including Blighty), with all kinds of neighbours and themselves living in all kinds of situations (rural, city, suburbs and anything inbetween) explaining what is happening where they live. Day to day things (what is on sale at your local market, what you ate for lunch), portraits of figures in your community (e.g a lovely old village character), big news stories (e.g student riots), little news stories (a much loved dog has died that used to wander around the town centre), arguements in the cafe (sport, politics, religion), music and dance (e.g I notice all Parisian teenagers like to do this weird wiggling dance and they even have lessons for how to do it on national telly), observations on things that are different from where you come from (I don't know...e.g a New Yorker's take on living in the Lake District), interesting discussions on languages spoken... etc etc... I think it could be fun!!!

So tell me...

Am I making sense?

and..

What do you think? Shall we give it a go?

This is the most amazing mumsnet thread I love it.
However you have all seriously given me lifestyle envy the one thing I wanted to do was to 'travel' that encompasses moving overseas obv. and I just didn't choose the right job for it

You (all) make it sound sooooo exciting,

gastro even when she was quite ill in the nursing home - the nurses would do a pool for who the residents would say would win - they knew not to ask my nan cause the answer would be the same - Collingwood. When she was a little younger and still going to games - she always had either ticket 1 or 2 for the membership for home games.

In her mid 80's she was still a ferocious knitter and would tell us she was knitting for the oldies at the old codgers club that she used to attend!!

I hope when I get to my 80's I am still going strong like she was.

today is a stay at home day. Another fine day again in the 20's.

We have taken dd1 to swimming early this morning and then dropped her off to the special ed unit that she attends one day a week.

Midwinter - the clothes are going on the line. Never had a clothes drier till I moved to the UK and there was one in our rented house in Essex. Finally got one here not long after dd3 was born - figuring on the odd occasion when we do actually get some rain do not want to be trying to dry school clothes. Problem is - clothes bought - not to be tumbled dry!!!!

teafortwo - that sounds fab.

I know a couple of junior schools in our area run a breakfast club for children. As did a high school in the UK that I attended. Having said that - the UK school would put on toast and coffee for staff as well. A godsend on days I was running late OR when I had horrid morning sickness and could not face food first thing in the morning. By the time I got to work - could get some toast in me.

Califrau - that is fab of you. Terrible to think so many people do live in poverty in countries that we think also have plenty.

Oh my God.

So my friend at the pub quiz was telling me about the Siberian tiger reserve in Harbin, up near the Russian border.

They have a menu. You can buy a live chicken for about three quid, a duck, a goat, up to a cow for about eighty quid. They drive a truck into the tiger enclosure and release your animal of choice. Apparently it is all over in seconds in a cloud of feathers or fur and blood.

I mean, I do know that tigers don't eat Linda McCartney Vegetarian Sausages, but I was still quite shocked at the idea of going to a wildlife park and saying hmm, I have 90 quid on me - shall I get a cow and two ducks or two goats and a chicken?

street party sounds fab califrau. Oh ninedragons at the 'zoo' visit.

ninedragons and PMSL at your Eiffel Tower comment.

Cali how funny to be able to trace the nationality of the guests by their food. Good to see you upheld the good old blighty tradition of sandwiches.

Tea - sounds delightful and idyllic.

We are going 'upcountry' today. We will stay at a friend's holiday house next to a lake in a place called Naivasha. It is down the escarpment onto the plains about an hour out of Nairobi. The road down is winding and quite perilous due to the volume of lorries, it being the main road between Nairobi and Uganda. The area around the lake is the main flower growing region of the country so all you UK people when you buy your roses, think of Naivasha.

I will try to post some pictures of the delights of the glass place later, connection allowing!

Am both and at the tiger enclosure, ninedragons. It's not for me but I have learnt by now that there are plenty of people in this world for whom that would be high entertainment. And um, it probably keeps the enclosed tiger 'in practice'... maybe?

Nice sarnies, Cali. Very pretty display

Themasterandmargaritas - DH's mother's family had a dairy farm in Naivasha for many years. MIL was born there. The old photos look lovely. Hope you have a nice time.

So interesting to hear of all the different recycling and rubbish collection variants around the world. I long for even the option of being able to recycle. Sadly, Bosnia is being drowned in rubbish. Where people in rural areas have no refuse collection, they often dispose of everything in the nearest river or at a convenient beauty spot (easy parking, you see ), which is truly depressing. Others burn their rubbish. Those who live in towns have weekly rubbish trucks. We burn, compost, re-use, or if we have to we take it to a communal bin outside a block of flats in town. This country is so stunningly beautiful but even in the most remote parts you will sometimes be shocked to find plastic bottles, wrappers, tins etc dumped by berry pickers, shephers, or hunters. There is seemingly no tradition/culture/whatever of picking up after yourself. My DH finds this truly depressing (he really loves this country). His job is to take tourists to the most beautiful and remote places here, and has had to completely eliminate some places from his routes due to the massive rubbish problems and illegal logging. When we have talked with people here about this problem, it is always the same response - "it's the peasants, they are ignorant" - and that's that. And then I see their children dropping their sweet wrappers in the street. Sigh.

Here in Buenos Aires it is the cartoneras who go through the rubbish (or wait on the subways asking for your newspaper) looking for paper to sell for recycling at about 1peso (15-20p)/kg - it's a big business now, although not really regulated - and only started in 2002 after the economic crisis.

A few months ago a big recycling bin appeared for the first time on the corner of our street - which is great news, and according to the sign on the bin you can recycle glass, wood, paper, tins, any "dry rubbish" - so we make a trip every day or two. Some gossip says that the arrival of the recycling bins are an attempt to regulate the cartoneras - although who knows if this is true or not.

Califrau
How sad to read about the family that have not eaten for days.

Ninedragons
and at the tigers.

Teafortwo
It is a good sign that you are homesick for Paris. I sometimes feel that I am nowhere at home. I love this area, which we are leaving soon. I love Scotland but am unsure if I would want to live there again. I wonder sometimes if I will ever end up in a place that I would like to spend the rest of my life in.

DH is going to a Schützenfest this evening with his work. Some areas of Germany have many Schützenvereine, voluntary associations featuring sport-shooting. This involves wearing a natty uniform, shooting at a target and as far as I can see, drinking lots of beer. Thankfully the shooting is done long before the beer is drunk. Once or twice a year each village has it's own Schützenfest. At the end of each Fest there is a shooting competition where the next years König, the king is crowned.

Being a Schützenkönig is not just about marching around and drinking beer. The average cost as a König is ?20000, so it is not necessarily the best shot who is crowned König. Often it is the owner of a small business, he has to find sponsors to help.

During the Fest there is a lot of marching up and down the street, musik played by a brass band (which a friend of DS calls the Duff-da-da), and of course, drinking of beer and schnapps.

Schützenfest

We had a bit of bother in our courtyard yesterday. About 3 months ago the flat across the courtyard was let to a couple, they are about midforties I would imagine. When he came to see the flat all the neighbourhood kids were out playing. We live in a cul-de-sac and I mentioned to the prospective new neighbour that I hoped they liked kids as the courtyard is always full of them. He seemed ok, if a bit forward.

Once he had moved in, he started moaning about several things, including the noise that the kids were making. His downstairs neighbour is a friend of ours and his little 3yo boy took the brunt of the complaints. Our friend, E is not the kind to take any nonsense and pretty much told the new neighbour to get over it.

The new neighbour took to wearing tshirts with strange designs on them, very rightwing designs with old fashioned German writing. He has a sign of an eagle on his car.

So we have a NeoNaziNeighbour

It is the first time in 15 years of living in Germany that I have personally had any contact with this kind of person.

So, over the last couple of months he has occasionally shouted at the kids for making too much noise. He has been quite obnoxious to the landlord, complaining about lots of different things.

Yesterday things came to a head. Our friends E and M had been on holiday and arrived home yesterday. Their son T has not seen DS for over 5 weeks and the kids were understandably excited to see each other and were probably a bit noisy.

The NNN came down to E and said that if the children did not quieten down that he would have to go and get his "friends". He said that if he drives into the courtyard again, to find toys on the ground then he will drive over them.

E is not one to take threats like that lightly (he grew up in a rather rough area) and immediately called the police and filed charges against NNN.

After the police had left, E went to the landlords and let them know what was happening and they told him that they are trying to get rid of the NNN, but it is likely to be a difficult process.

It is all very nasty and upsetting for all the neighbours and we are just trying to keep out of the NNN's way.

The NNN sounds like a right creep. Have to say in 8 years living in Germany I have not encountered many recognisable Neonazis. Just happened to me once I think when I stupidly took an Ubahn out East way off the beaten track. I was in search of some Russian specialist DVD store. Anyway dd and I turned into this long empty corridor leading to the steps out. No one was there except us and a pile of Neonazis with big dogs at the foot of the staircase.

What do you do? If I had turned back, I would have roused their attention, didn't feel like going forward either. Whilst I was hesitating, one of them looked around (almighty thug with arms like a tree trunk, bald with a swastika on his skull) his eyes slid over us and then kind of jolted back fast to take a second look at my face. I must have struck him as foreign somehow. It wasn't good and I thought, oh yippee here we go. Thankfully dd for once wasn't saying anything, definitely not the time to be speaking English. I decided to walk past (fast) with long strides and I gave him THE EYE like I thought he was something else, worth drooling over. It worked very well, these men not being the most intelligent, he visibly melted and wished us a pleasant evening

Went back by taxi though

lol, SSsandy, at you flirting with the dark side, so to speak. Although I guess it was not at all funny at the time.

PMSL at flirting with the dark side
The force was with me as it happens. Was a bit harrowing but over fast.

I first saw this thread two days ago and have had it open on my computer ever since - have finally read it all with rapt attention. Can't remember ever excluding the rest of mumsnet before for the sake of one mesmerising thread!

It's another hot and sticky day here in Bermuda. DH has popped into the office in Hamilton, a 10 minute bus ride away, to work for a couple of hours. DD (16) had her scooter lesson at 6am, came back at 8 and went back to bed just as I got up. She has her test on Weds. If she passes she can join the rest of the population and get around the island on a motor scooter. There are as many scooters as cars here and it's an ideal solution for the small roads. Only one car per household is permitted, so usually the women have the cars to manage the school run and shopping, and the men and teenagers use the bus or ferry or have a scooter. The restrictions on cars work well. Tourists also can't drive cars here, but they can hire a scooter. The result is that you can always get a parking space, and the traffic and parking situation remains the same throughout the year - no clogged roads and beach carparks during the tourist season.

DS and I are off to the supermarket in a minute, where we will be offered much the same sort of selection as in England - with the additional delights of pigs' ears and feet, octopus in huge frozen slabs, rabbit, quails, goat, grated cassava root, snails, christophenes, cauliflowers in purple, orange and green varieties and six kinds of squash. Also a huge aisle full of pest control products for the cockroaches and ants that infest this paradise!

Thanks anorak - fantastic post!

Just off to google 'christophenes' as I don't know what they are... however... living in the Paris 'burbs I come across many of the foods you mentioned. Some North African immigrants like to eat the goat's head although luckily not where I live so my market doesn't stock them but we do get lots of pig ears and feet.

Frozen slabs of octopus is new to me but what a fab idea as the freezing process makes it more tender.

And p.s I am loving the multi-coloured cauliflowers?!!?

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This is lovely for the images it gives of day to day living in other places.
I used to read the atlas when I was little might dig it out for a bit more dreaming. Now my 5yr old just starts up google earth and I hear cries of Mummy, Mummy I'm in France (was closer to Poland but at least right continent!)
Good luck for dd scooter test anorak, I presume road safety is OK then?

we have been watching the olympics and my dd2 is fascinated by the idea of a whole world out there of lots of people from lots of countries - so every swimming race we watched - I had to tell her all the countries and where they are ( and who to BOO of course ) Add to that the obligatory AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI!OI!OI! chant. Dd2 did tell me we had to cheer for GBR or england ( easier for them to understand ( apologies to scots, and welsh etc) as in grandma in England's home, too.

MY two little patriotic charmers also stood and sang the aussie national anthem when one of the swimmers was presented with a gold medal. Dd1 learnt the national anthem and sings it every week at parade. Dd2 then had to know it and now they sing it at every opportunity - in the car, in the shops, at home, at play and so on. So if you are ever out our way and hear two little voices singing Advance Australia Fair - you know it is us.

We have had an easy sunday - off to McDonalds for breakfast with my aunt and uncle ( great aunt and uncle to the dds). We were still celebrating dd1's birthday. So they had breakfast - huge play - soft playground fully fenced for the dds to play in whilst the adults had coffee. Then cake and home for lunch. Dd1 was given a bike helmet to go with her bike. Helmets are compulsory here. She thinks she is pretty cool. Dd2 is desperate for her birthday - in case she gets a bike too. ( which she will!)

anorak - that food selection sounds fab - love the idea of multi coloured cabbages. I must admit I did find it unusual in some gardening program that suggested using cabbages as an ornamental plant.

Road safety is very good - the maximum national speed limit is 35 kilometres per hour. Car size and engine capacity are strictly limited so we don't have boy racers here. Only super-rich posers have sports cars and then only quite compact ones - everyone else drives economy cars and you rarely get out of third gear. Occasionally you get a road death where someone has come off a bike or scooter. It's always a national news headline and normally turns out the victim was undertaking or speeding.

a freezing morning here with winter temps of 5 degrees but warming up to a lovely 18 a bit later.

Dd1 is home from school for a show holiday. The ekka is here and everyone gets a public holiday depending on what local shire area you work/attend school in. So our day is today. Dh has Wed off as he works in Brisbane city. Dd1 has an inset day on Wednesday so she has two days off. See if I can find a link to the Ekka. Kind of like a county fair I guess.

ekka

eat dodgy food, see animals - animal nursery, cows, bulls, sheep etc, ride crazy amusement rides until you puke, eat dagwood dogs, fairy floss ( candy floss) and strawberry icecreams, buy a fireman or woman calendar, see the pavilions with cooking and art and garden competitions, watch fashion shows, see woodchopping, fireworks and buy show bags full of junk food, dodgy plastic tat or cool backpacks with all sorts of things.

The fireman do a calendar to raise funds for children's hospital burns unit. They have been doing it for years.

the men

This year the ladies decided to join in but they are raising funds for Breast Cancer. ( they finally have enough firefighters in QLD to do this) I have a relative who is one of the women who posed for this.

the women

oh anorak - that sounds amazing - wish we were able to have that speed limit - stop the idiots that use our stretch of road as a time trial!!