MCB Big Birthday Bash

Remember me mentioning the big freeze in my last post? People say that it was supposed to be the worst winter in the UK since the original big freeze in the 1960s. I really can't comment much coz I've just been here for 3 months. But I guess it couldn't be that bad since we survived five days of freezing temperature with only two small electric heaters...

Amidst the bitter cold winter, some things brought warmth into our hearts. ... like the MCB big birthday bash which was celebrated the day our boiler went kaput.


The brainchild of K. Wan (aka Datin Penghulu) and K. Kin; it was a kongsi-birthday party organized for the January and February babies (kids only lah :)). There were 15 of them including my daughter, Amani and son, Amirul. All the parents chipped in to make it happen and what fun we had!

The hall was decorated with Christmas decorations (nak jimat... hehehe), balloons and there was even a pinata (was wondering what menatang this is :P) for the children to bludgeon! Cool!

Wish I had that for my 22nd birthday... Would have loved to: Whack! Whack! Whack! (while imagining that it was somebody's head! :P).

The cakes were made by siapa lagi kalau bukan Mahani :)...













... lots of food (reminds me of my former workplace which had makaaan each other week!;))

Sessi bapa memperkenalkan anak. Hubby demonstrating how our son was vacuumed at birth! Kui! Kui! Kui!

Besides the usual birthday sing-song and cake-cutting, there were games for everybody - from the birthday-party-must-have musical chair...

... kids' medley of events

... to baling telur (siapa lah punya idea nih ... :P).

Event: cuties dressing-up their daddies

before...

after :)

Who would have thought that the kids' birthday party could be such a hit with adults! At the end of the day, not only the birthday kids walked home with loads of presents, the parents, too (prizes from the games and lucky draws).

Kudos to the gals for organizing such an amazing birthday bash. Looking forward to the next one already:)!!

Winter Weekends in Bristol

My family loves to jalan-jalan. When we were in Malaysia, weekends will be spent eating out, going to the movies, window-shopping or just browsing through books at MPH Subang Parade. However, this routine somehow changed when we came to Bristol. Apart from attending the various functions organized by MCB or makan2 at some Malaysian friend's house, weekends will be spent at home. Eating out? Not so easy as we have to find halal outlets. So our choice is limited to Cedars Express, Diamond Kebabs & Pizza, Bristol Kebab House, Subway (halal) and the likes (I miss fusion food ... huhuhu ...). Window-shopping? Most shops close by 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 4.00 p.m. on Sundays. Browsing at the bookshop? Borders in Clifton just closed down. That leaves going to the movies, but movies are seasonal (*sigh*).

Refused to be sucked into the doldrums, a few weeks ago, I just went like: "That's it! No more staying at home during weekends. Rain or shine, we have to make an effort to go somewhere ... anywhere!"

So, these winter weekends, we have been out and about :D.


Bristol Harbourside
(For more information about the place, go to this link. :P)

The pictures below were taken just before the big freeze struck UK.














Bristol Museum

There was a wildlife photography exhibition at the museum when we went there. We had the chance to see award-winning photos on display. They were amazing original compositions (no Photoshop touch-ups) that showed the real skills of the photographers. I noted that most of the photos were either shot with Canon EOS or Nikon (that says a lot about these two brands). As hubby wanted to stay longer there, I took the children to other parts of the museum.

I managed to persuade my youngest son to look at 'hantu' rather than play at the children's corner (which was pretty crowded). Well, the 'hantu' was actually the egyptology exhibits ... hehehe. We saw, among others, ancient coffins, paraparnelia, pharaoh masks, parchments or stone slabs inscribed in hierogylphics, and a sneak peek of a mummy.

Then we moved to another section which showcased Bristol's wildlife. So, there we were, identitying each animal as we go along. There were also fossils of Bristol's prehistoric creatures.

Another section houses minerals and precious stones found in the region. I Discovered that Bristol used to be the mining ground for the precious stone, Celestine. That reminded me of a student of mine with that name (Hi dear, how are you? :)).

Apart from that, there were vintage pianos, china wares and a gypsy wagon on display. My daughter was quite disappointed because she had wanted to see exhibits on the Kings and Queens of England. Err ... I think she had this museum confused with the wax one in London :P

My verdict: not much of a museum but certainly not a bad place to take your children on a cold winter weekend. Btw, it's free :).