23 - 29 November 2009

Caspar got new neighbours for his 9th birthday on 27 November. They came with the new apartment. Simon lullabyes our children to sleep each evening on the piano, and on the floor below, our neighbours congregate in their children's bedroom, directly under the piano, to listen in. (Simon and Justine have lovely memories of being similarly lullabyed by their mums as children.) As well as the music, we expect they enjoy the peace after the patter, or thundering, of not so tiny anymore feet, finally ceases.

16 - 22 November 2009

I am writing this blog 8 weeks late, sorry! Since we came back from England, with everything we own in a Luton van, we have, amongst other things, moved house, entertained visitors, celebrated birthdays, sung in concerts, done Christmas, skiied and started winter work. Today is the first day of the New Year, and we are exhausted, but resolved to keep up to date with blogs and photos!

9 - 15 November 2009

A wonderful week in dear old Blighty to celebrate Marisa's 40th, Neb's 70th, gather together with family and gather together belongings that survived the epic clear out two years ago, for our move to a new, unfurnished apartment. The children are very obviously out of sitting-in-a-car practice, (we use the car once a week for a 10 minute drive to accordian and violin lessons, and perhaps once a fortnight for an outing). Most trips in our hire car this week were accompanied by a bit of bickering and a bag of sick.

2 - 8 November 2009

As we relaxed, recently, in a local pub, the Under 14's Maria Alm football team arrived, in high spirits, to celebrate their recent win. Their trainer, perhaps knowing no other means of celebrating, ordered a round of schnapps, which the proprietor served, obligingly and unquestioningly. Or, so we thought. They were in fact drinking Sprite - just training. They then switched to their pints of coke and practised noisy, incomprehensible football chants and grunting noises. In the other corner of the bar was a group of local lads, who may well have been doing the same half a century ago - just training, and, it appears, are now topping the league tables in the sport of heavy drinking. That didn't seem to anyone to be something to celebrate.