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?

Last night we watched the news in amazement and all for the wrong reasons.

Here in France, as in the UK (I am a big British radio listener) a massive Spanish aeroplane crash has been headlines. Our T.Vs have been filled with pictures of very badly injured people and poor frightened friends and relations.

If you live in Spain or have Spanish relations and/or friends you are worried about - our thoughts are with you right now.

Teafortwo
The crash in Madrid has been on all the news channels here as well. I have been avoiding the radio and tv when the DCs are around as I don't want them to see or hear about it. A terrible catastrophe, my heart goes out to the poor people who died or where injured, and of course their families.

Swiss bomb shelters....

The aim is that everyone should have a place in a shelter (either in their own building or a nearby community one). The intention is that they should also provide shelter in case of earthquakes, avalanches and so on, so there may be some sense in this.

You are supposed to still include them in new build homes which is quite an expensive thing to do. Our house built in 1979 has one. Huge thick walls and door that closes by turning a wheel (as seen in films). There's some sort of air filter thing there too, although I have no idea how it works. In theory you are supposed to keep it equipped with supplies although I believe they are commonly used for storage of wine! Ours houses our supplies of products bought in bulk, cleaning stuff, wine of course and great piles of stuff waiting to be recycled (recycling here is good and most people do it but by goodness it's complicated and having a place to store stuff while awaiting the particular day for its diposal is very handy).

More information on the shelters here should you wish to know the official line.

Gipfeli
Thanks for the bomb shelter info. Good to know that we will be safe from harm, or at least have a good place to store our wine

Well, we will once we buy more as we have been advised today that any alcohol that we import will have to be taxed which is a rather complicated business. Our removal firm does not transport alcohol and advised us to get the alcohol out of our cellar and "aufbrauchen", use it up.

I starrted thiss moning wihh thee whiskkky and wlli moov on too thhhe giinnn thisss aftgermoon

Anyone want to come and help?

Oh, Gipfeli, you don't happen to know about electrical appliances in CH do you? If they are different to German ones?

MmeLindt - when not being used for emergency situations sounds like an excellent den for the children!!!!

Good idea to use the alcohol up now. The Swiss tax a lot of things brought into the country. However you are allowed to bring in a whole 2L of wine or beer and 1L of spirits per adult in duty-free. It's a bit of a pain when shopping in French or German supermarkets (as we often do, living close to both countries) and having to remember to work out whether you can buy the case of beer with the 25% extra free or whether that will take you over the allowance.

Here's another from my library of Swiss links zollinfo

German electrial appliances will work in CH, although you'll need a new plug or an adapter as the socket shapes are different. Swiss sockets typically hexagonal. We buy lots of small electrical items in Germany since it's cheaper there anyway and you can claim back the German MWST when you export in CH. Provided it cost less than 300 CHF you don't have to pay Swiss tax on it when you import it and even if you do it's only 7.6%.

If you're talking about large kitchen appliances (although I guess you're not) you should probably also be aware that the size of a "standard" Swiss kitchen cupboard or appliance is 55cm rather than the more usual 60cm you see elsewhere.

Califrau - next month dh is going to California. Last night he said he wants to bring me and dd back some presents but would like some ideas so he gets them right.

What are the best things to ask for? What can you get in California easily that we would paint ourselves green for in Europe? Big list please!!!!

Thanks, Gipfeli, that is good info. And apologies for hijacking the FOOC thread for mundane things like sockets and wine

Teafortwo
I might just keep your alternative use for the bunker in mind.

Pass the gin over here Mme Lindt, you know us colonial Memsahbs love a good gin in the afternoon while the Ayah looks after the children

Talking of war graves, everyone always forgets the efforts of the Africans in WWII, so many of them fighting for a country they had barely heard of, be it the UK, Germany or Italy.

As in other places the war cemetary here is an immaculately kept place, a very calm serene and beautiful spot, right off a hectic, potholed, many peopled, traffic sodden, major road.

Eids, yes,it isso easy to dismiss those women when one is young but they really are the keepersof the flame and need to have thier thoughts and memories captured before they go.

Ninedragons, my next mission is to go to Chittagong (v. near Burma) and visit WW2 cemetaries. When were you in Burma? How did you find it? What are you doing in Shanghai anyway?

MD, both of dh's parents have long connections with the Indian Army. His many-greats grandfather, James Miller, won the VC during (and survived) the Indian Mutiny. His wife is buried at Agra, not sure where he is buried. DH's father was born in India, poss Lucknow, while his mother was UK-born but went to India at the tender age of six weeks. She also lived in Rangoon at some point.

sue if you great uncle was fighting for commonwealth forces and died at the time - you can do a search on the commonwealth war graves commission. It will tell you where they are buried as well as information about the cemetary etc.

TheMandM - I found my great grandfather buried in a cemetary not far from here. It is right beside a major arterial road into the city and in the middle of the suburbs BUT in the middle of this ramshackle old cemetary is a block what is the 'war cemetary'. There are the american graves with the white marble headstones and immaculate gardens and commemorative walls with plaques of information. Then there is the australian section which is brass plaques on the ground. One of those plaques is my great grandfather.

moondog - she is a favourite of two generations. My mother and her sisters love her - she is my mother's favourite and I suspect that my mother is the favourite niece - not that it is shown but you just seem to sense it. I know my brothers and I adore her too.

OMG califrau - How you remained 'calm' in the face of neighbour I have no idea.

As an aside - do you need minty kids toothpaste - they do fab gel ones here really reasonable - I would be more than happy to send you some. Ages up to 6 for kids toothpaste if that is okay.

Ds is graduating!!! Hopefully my parcel is there any day now.

another aside - I can send you something to remedy steering wheel issue too.

Aw - califrau - what a day!!!! And awww - eidsvold you are so sweet!

Califrau - Who cares about one huffy neighbour when at your finger tips you have such a lovely neighbour in Australia!!!

On days like you've described I e-mail dp and say "Arrive home on time with good wine and good chocolate!" If you need some good chocolate I can send you some - we get really dreamy yummy stuff here - come to think of it it might not survive getting to you what with the heat you've been having though !!!!

So to answer your question - dd is two and into all two year old things - dancing, swimming, listening to music, riding her likebike, talking and laughing, playing with bubbles, climbing up and down things, animals, parks, picnics, 'reading' books and going "Mumma tuddle, caaawwwwy, wuve yooou" when she gets tired of it all. - I don't think that is much help though!!!!

Cali, why didn't you point out Mad Racist Neighbour to me??? I could've chucked rock hard oranges at him!

Hope your BP calms down. IKWYM about workmen. We've had them hammering away in the apartment above us in Nigeria since March last year.

OMG, Cali

My BP is high too and just reading your post made my blood boil.

Are all his daughters really named Mary? Not Mary-Jo, Mary-Beth, Mary-Anne and Maria or something?

My mum, my sister and I all have versions of the same name but in 3 different languages. And we're not called Mary.

crikey

oh gosh califrau - imagine calling them for dinner

...and breathe Cali.

at the names. I also love the way Americans make sure all the dc have the same initials so Josie, Jessica and James (though obviously not quite so English sounding )

Eids, i just find it amazing that all these graves (perhaps a couple of hundred?) are so immaculate, clean and white and in perfect rows, both for Kenyans and Wazungu and the whole cemetary is beautifully maintained. Did you know your grandfather was there or did you 'stumble' across him?

Not much in the way of minty kids toothpaste here either!

Talking of teeth I am taking the two older dc to the dentist today. It has taken almost 7 years of trying, much crying and walking out of various dentists, to get this far. Wish me luck and fingers crossed neither goes into a meltdown or needs anything to be done or I'm stuffed.

Tea, I enjoyed 'When we were orphans' too. Really piqued my interest in Shanghai.

Cal, nothing creepier than an American white racist. As aside have just read v. disturbing book about Mormons and the whole polygamy thing. Did you know they didn't even let black people join until 1978??? (Book is 'Under the banner of heaven' Jon Krakaueur if anyone interested.) I was utterly engrossed.