The DIY Mum

Christmas Lights

2011-12-31T23:37:00.000Z

.... and the Christmas song this year goes like this :):

'Tis a season to be jolly

Fa la la laaaa la laa la laaa...

'Though not at all white and snowy

Hu hu hu hu huuuu hu huu hu huuu...

No white Christmas

Only rain

Wet wet wet, wet wet wet, wet wet wet...

(But) Christmas lights do keep us happy

Tra la la la laaa la laa la laa :)

There might not be snow this time around, but the lights keep the Christmas spirit alive. In this part of the world, kicking-off the festive season, shopping complexes had the turning on of Christmas lights. What happened was, celebrities turned on the switch of decorative christmas lights that adorn the shopping malls, to mark the start of the festivities. Watch this video to get an idea :)

BTW, that gigantic christmas three in Cheshire Oaks was such a beauty. During the day, the red baubles contrasted brilliantly with the rich green (synthetic??) ferns while at night, the golden baubles shone the brightest.

"Ala... kat Malaysia lama dah ada kat KLCC..." hubby pointed out :P

Yeah, I remembered that christmas tree. It stretched from the lower ground level, up to the 4th floor of Suria KLCC! Simply awesome! :)

Christmas tree at Broadmead, Bristol 2011

This year, Cabot Circus, Bristol had new christmas decorations in the form of giant bulbs. Hmm... running out of ideas?? Or was the theme this year 'back to basics' due to the economic downturn?? :P

I quite like last years' decorations, although they were recycled from the previous year... Hehehe!

See that giant reindeer? :)

Under giant ~~mistletoes~~ baubles

Elsewhere, the decorations were > same old same old :)

The Arcade - this year

The Arcade - last year

December 2011

December 2010

Still... we enjoyed the sights and sounds :)

The Christmas Market near Cabot Circus

Nativity decorations

Autumn in Brandon Hill 2011

2011-12-21T08:47:00.000Z

The Phantom of the Opera @ Her Majesty's Theatre, London

2011-10-28T18:50:00.003+01:00

I finally got to watch THE ultimate theatre of all time - The Phantom of the Opera!!! Yeah, after years of listening with envy, of how spectacular the show was from hubs who had seen it many years ago in Singapore, I finally got to see it yesterday evening with hubs, the daughter and 2 friends.

The tickets were not cheap, but what the heck! Don't know when I will get to see the show again when I return to my homeland :). Check ticket prices here.

We drove to London and parked near Malaysia Hall. After Maghrib prayers and dinner, we took the tube to Haymarket. We actually had to make a mad dash from Piccadilly Circus tube station to Her Majesty's Theatre, so as not to miss the show. Thanks to Malaysia Hall's Roti Telur! :P. Nasib baik they (both the show and Roti Telur) were worth it! :).

Her Majesty's Theatre appeared to be as old as Bristol's Hippodrome. However, I think the Hippodrome is slightly bigger. The auditorium was filled to the brim and it was pretty warm - not from the heating system I believe, but from the body heat of the anxious spectators.

We barely had time to make ourselves comfortable in our small seats when the show started. And we were practically glued to our seats throughout the show.

The acting was superb. The phantom and Christine turned out just like how I had imagined them to be - Christine, the sweet young girl with long curly locks; the phantom: tall, dark and mysterious - played to perfection by John Owen-Jones and Sofia Escobar. It's funny that whoever plays Erik the phantom would look the same. It's the mask, I think. Just look at Batman. Whether it's Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney or Christian Bale, they do look the same in that mask! :D. On a different issue, Emmy Rossum who played Christine in the movie version is my choice of Christine. Sorry, Sarah Brightman :). As for the phantom, I have always thought that french actor Christopher Lambert would fit the bill perfectly. But whether he can sing or not, is another story...:P

I enjoyed the songs very much despite not being a great fan of opera music. I love "Think of me", "Angel of Music", "All I Ask of You" and "Music of the Night". Come to think of it, ALL of em! :). No offence, but I think they sound like those soothing Barbie movie songs... boleh ka?? :) I found the title song "Phantom of the Opera", however, a wee bit too loud and I feel that some of the audience felt the same as I saw some subtlely pressing their forefinger to their ears. Hubs however said that it was meant to be loud as the scene requires it to be loud and dramatic.

The props and the effects were simply stupendous. However, I was a bit let down by the chandelier. I had expected the chandelier to be more spectacular, as it was after all, an important element in the story.

The movie scene where the chandelier crashed...

That aside, I loved the grand stairs in the masquerade party scene. I especially marveled at the scene where the phantom was rowing his boat and candelabra suddenly surfaced from the 'water'. Turns out, hubs have been wondering all these years how they do that.
"Trap doors", the daughter pointed out matter-of-factly :). Well, not quite that simple, dear :P

A search on the internet revealed that the 'boat scene' is achieved using surviving Victorian stage machinery beneath the stage. Wow!!

Another scene that baffled me and KKin was when the phantom and Christine were fleeing from their pursuers. One second they were both running on stage and in another, they were both 'up there' running on the 'bridge'. KKin and I were convinced that they used doubles, but KWan insisted that they were the same actors. Yeah... some of the post-theatre discussions that we had in the car on our way back to Bristol... Hahaha!

All in all, I enjoyed the theatre so much that I am already planning to watch it again when it comes to Bristol next year! :)

My Wisdom Tooth Surgery

2011-09-23T16:58:00.001+01:00

Finally, I found the courage to go for a minor surgery to remove ONE of my wisdom teeth! Yeah, I have THREE (which erupted during odd times in my life) but who knows there might be a fourth one which is waiting to emerge?? :P.

According to Wikipedia, wisdom teeth usually appear between the age of 17 to 25 years. Well, mine appeared every time I got pregnant. Therefore I got 3 now (kids and wisdom teeth :P). It's really odd because I know some people will get their teeth ruin during pregnancy (due to lack of calcium). In my case, an over-supply of calcium perhaps (which spurred the growth of the wisdom teeth)?? So, if my theory is correct, my fourth wisdom tooth will appear when I get pregnant for the fourth time, which, ladies and gentlemen, is not going to happen (ngeh!ngeh!ngeh!) unless God wills it... I am envious of the 35% (of the world's population) who do not develop wisdom tooth at all! How lucky!

Dentists defer in their opinions regarding the removal of wisdom teeth. Some dentists advise the immediate removal of wisdom teeth; others were of the opinion that if the teeth do not bother the 'owner', they should be left as they are.

I was advised to remove one of my wisdom teeth because its position (impacted) has affected my second molar. This particular wisdom tooth of mine is categorized as mesioangular impaction whereby the tooth is angled forward towards the front of the mouth (see pix below).

Pix from www.healthmantra.com

My wisdom tooth surgery took place at my dentist's clinic (Dr. Nirmal) in USJ 4. However, the surgery was performed by another surgeon, one youngish Dr. Safar. He told me that he was doing his PhD in dentistry part-time, in one of my alma-mater. Well, that piece of information certainly boosted my confidence in undergoing the surgery. Surely, someone doing his PhD would be an expert in doing the surgery, right?? :)

Before performing the surgery, Dr. Safar showed me the x-ray of my wisdom tooth and explained how he was going to go about doing it. All the gory stuff which made my stomach queasy: cutting the gum to extract the tooth (plan A) or sawing the tooth into two and drilling the tooth out (plan B). As if that's not enough, he also pointed to a nerve (forgot what its called) which ran near the root of the tooth, which could affect the senses at my lower jaw if severed. Not really music to my ears but who can blame the chap. Typical PhD scholar ... LOL!

Next, the dentist rubbed some strawberry-flavoured gel onto the right-side of my gums and tongue to numb them. Then, 2 jabs of anesthetic were implanted into my gums. I think the long, huge needle from the shringe affected me more than the pain from the jabs. Nasib baik tak pengsan! Kikiki!

After 5 minutes, the surgery began. I didn't feel any pain but I can feel Dr. Safar mengerjakan gigiku. He even coaxed me to have a look at the procedure using a mirror. I politely declined but when he kept on pestering me, I reluctantly took a glance. Aiyoh! Could have fainted seeing blood oozing from my gums! I quickly pushed away the mirror.

You can watch a video on wisdom tooth extraction below. Not for the faint-hearted, BTW! (I myself have not watched it till the end :P)

It didn't take long before my wisdom tooth was extracted. Maybe 15 minutes?? Wow! That was fast!

The size of the wisdom tooth was as
big as my brooch!

I think the dentist took a longer time to stitch my wound, afterwards. I was quite anxious. Takut terjahit lidah pulak! But Alhamdulillah, all went well. Everything was done within an hour. The surgery cost me RM 650. Takpelah... anything for my teeth :).

The good dentist then gave me some post-surgery do's and dont's:

DO:
- eat lots of ice-cream, after the surgery to cool the affected area
- take soft food which is not piping hot on the 2nd day
- take some warm soft food on the 3rd day
- rinse mouth with saltwater on the 3rd day but avoid gargling
- pat cheek (tuam)with a mug of warm water
- finish the antibiotics and take painkillers when necessary
- rest for 2,3 days

DO NOT:
- talk a lot after the surgery
- drink with a straw (to avoid pressuring related muscles)
- gargle (therefore, cannot brush my teeth for a few days :P)
- spit
- carry heavy objects

The dentist was not too pleased to hear that I was driving home after the surgery, but I assured him that I felt ok. Luckily I wasn't dizzy or anything like that, coz it would have been unsafe to drive alone in the infamous Shah Alam-Subang Jaya jam.

My first night after the surgery was ok. Blood at the affected place stopped flowing after awhile. I did not experience much pain. I slept soundly throughout the night. At the time of writing (second night), I felt a bit of discomfort at the area of surgery, but not quite painful. I think it came from my second molar which has a cavity (due to the wisdom tooth pressing on it) and is due for root canal next. My cheek looked a bit swollen too, but that was to be expected.

We'll see how things are after a few days. Hopefully, in a weeks time, the wound would have healed and the dentist will be able to remove the stitches :).

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 1432 H

2011-09-05T09:49:00.000+01:00

Buah Melaka DIY

2011-08-19T01:00:00.000+01:00

It has been two weeks of fasting and I can proudly say that I have succeeded to some extent, to avoid TEMPTATION. What temptation you say? Yes, it has got to do with FOOD but has less to do with eating. Rather, it is related to splurging on food.

It's really ironic. During Ramadhan, we Muslims do not really need much food (as we fast during the day), yet we often find ourselves tempted by large amounts of food, more than in other months. In Malaysia, Pasar Ramadhans (food fairs) would sprout almost everywhere. Not to be outdone, hotels would be offering exorbitantly-priced buka puasa (break of fast) buffets. It really goes against the spirit of fasting itself which is to practise RESTRAIN.

How do I do it? Thanks to my one year of fasting di perantauan @ Bristol, I am quite comfortable preparing some simple berbuka meals rather than buy food at the various PARAMs (Pasar Ramadhan). Yeah, maybe I do have a simple appetite. At the same time, now that I'm back in Malaysia, I do indulge in the occasional Air Tebu, Putu Piring and Taufu Fah which are non-existent in Bristol. But so far, that's about it :).

My favourite kuih during berbuka is the Buah Melaka a.k.a Onde-onde and Kelopong to some people. My daughter called em "snowballs" when I made some in Bristol :). It's actually very easy to make. You just need some glutinous flour (tepung pulut), palm sugar (gula melaka) or gula enau (well-known among Negeri Sembilan folks), screwpine leaves (pandan) and grated coconut. In Bristol, you can find these ingredients at Wai Yee Hong Chinese Supermarket ,Teoh's Oriental Store or the grocery shops around Easton. Heck, even Sainsbury's and Tesco sell coconuts! :)

What is the precise amount of ingredient, you say? Well, most Malaysians don't go by the book. Don't believe me? Go ask Gordon Ramsay :). It's a matter of "agak-agak" (play by ear??) - a term made famous by "Aunty Aini" in Gordon's Great Escape (Malaysia chapter). It's all about texture and taste. Portion tu, pandai-pandailah adjust :P. So... here goes:

1) Chop the gula melaka or gula enau into bite pieces. How big you ask? Up to you. The bigger it is, the bigger the finished size of the kuih. I like to make it just right so that I can pop the whole kuih into my mouth :). How many pieces you ask? Up to you also la...

2. Next, prepare the dessicated coconut. In Malaysia, you can buy freshly-grated coconut. In Bristol, you'll have to do it yourself. First of all, you'd have to pierce the top of the coconut shell and drain the water inside. Don't throw the water away. It's a refreshing drink on a hot summer's day. Next, crack open the coconut shell. In Malaysia, you can hack the shell with a parang (machete?). In Bristol, you'll just have to do it Thaipusam style: throw it onto the floor until it smashes... Hehehe! Wash the inner part of the coconut which has white flesh. Then, take a grater and start grating. Choose the finest blade. It's one long tedious process compared to the motorised mesin kukur kelapa that we have in Malaysia. So it's good if you have 'little helpers' in the kitchen :). Once you have finished this, sprinkle a little bit of salt onto the grated coconut to flavour 'em.

3. Next, cut 5 strips of pandan leaves into small pieces. Blend them with a little bit of water in the blender/food processor. How much water you ask? Enough to make the mixture mix and spin. Filter the mixture to get the pandan leave extract. You can also use green food colouring if you don't have pandan leaves. The kuih tastes and smells better with pandan extract, though. Plus, it's natural.

3) Next mix some glutinous flour with the pandan extract to form a dough. Make just enough dough for the chopped gula Melaka. The dough should not be too sticky or too stiff. Like what Goldilocks lurves to say: just right! How to know whether you've got the right texture? Use your eyes and hands to determine that. The dough should not stick on your hands when you roll em. Agak-agak, ok?

The dough should be green in colour but not so obvious
here, ain't it?? :P

4) Next, take a knob of the dough, flatten it, put the gula Melaka in it and roll it into a ball. Sorry folks, no picture :)! While doing this, boil a pot of water. Add half teaspoon of salt into the water so that it gives a salty tinge to the kuih when it's cooked.

5) When the water starts to boil, drop the tiny balls into the pot. Wait until the balls start to float. This normally takes about 1 to 2 minutes.

* If the balls do not float at all, chances are you have used the WRONG flour. Only use glutinous flour (tepung pulut), not rice flour (tepung beras) or wheat flour (tepung gandum). Been there, done that! Kikiki!

6) Scoop the balls with a mini colander and rolled them into the desiccated coconut. Arrange the kuihs nicely in a plate. The kuihs are ready to be served for buka puasa.

Buah Melaka @ Onde-onde @ Kelopong @ Snowballs :)

Try it. I can assure you 99% success eventhough you're a hopeless cook :).

Nikon D5000 Service Advisory

2011-08-16T09:53:00.001+01:00

Yep, it's been months since my beloved D5000 suddenly went dead. The last time I took photos with it was on our family trip to North Cornwall in May 2011. Tengah syok2 ambik gambar, suddenly it just shut down. At first, I thought the battery was drained. But after charging the battery and still couldn't switch it on, I knew something was amiss.

I remembered a friend telling me how her D5000 acted up, only after a few months of use. I felt sorry for her then and had hoped that mine would not suffer the same fate. Well, hard luck. After almost two years of productive use, **** happened :(.

My precious... :)

The first thing that I did was to google for information. Well, what do you know... Nikon had - in July 2009 - issued a service advisory regarding the D5000. It seemed that "a certain electronic component related to power control in some Nikon D5000 cameras is of substandard quality and may, in rare cases, prevent the camera from powering on". Nikon had therefore asked D5000 owners to verify (through a simple online procedure) if their cameras were affected by this issue. If you are a D5000 owner, verify yours here now.

Well, I verified mine and yup, it was one of the affected ones. The bad news was, I had to send my Nikon to the Malaysia service centre (bad news coz I was in the UK, then). The good news, however, was my camera was entitled for a FREE repair :D.

The camera was practically in cold storage for about 3 months before I had the opportunity to send it to Nikon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd in Menara PKNS, Jln Yong Shook Lin, Petaling Jaya. Yeah, before I went there, I googled to find out about the after sales/customer service. I was quite worried because the reviews on Nikon (M) customer service were pretty BAD. I read that Canon (M) customer service was much better (in terms of speed of repair and public relations). At one point I was even thinking of buying a new camera (and defecting to Canon... Hehehe!). Anyway, memandangkan keadaan kewangan yang tidak mengizinkan, I decided to take the camera for repair and see how it goes.

The place was pretty easy to find and there was ample parking. I was well attended by the frontliners and my queries were dealt with, most professionally. I guess Nikon (M) must have cleaned up their act, following the numerous complaints regarding their poor customer service. So far so good, I thought. But then, before I left, I just had to ask them one LAST question:

Me : How long does it take to repair the camera?
Frontliner : Normally about two weeks....bla... bla... bla...

Ha! Gotcha! This was the standard answer which I had anticipated based on the comments I read on the internet. Canonites (or Canonese/Canonians??) claimed that Canon (M) offers speedier service. Anyway, at this point, maybe it's too early to tell how good or bad Nikon (M)'s customer service is. I'll give them the benefit of a doubt and hope that things will turn to my (and their) advantage. Will be reporting back in 2 weeks time. Taa! :)

Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Selangor - New library in Sec. 13 Shah Alam

2011-08-04T17:27:00.002+01:00

I was so excited when I learnt from a friend (thanks, Mim :)) that there's a new state-of-the-art public library in the city of Shah Alam. You must be wondering why someone would get so worked up over a library. Well folks, there are 2 main reasons.

Firstly, I've always been a "Minah Library". During my secondary school years, I spent most of my time at the library as I was a pengawas perpustakaan. Likewise, during my undergraduate years, I also spent most of my time at the library; not because I wanted a quiet place to study, but more to get away from my inviting bed! My postgrad years in UM saw me going to the library almost everyday, heeding the advice of a professor to treat study leave as work. Now in Bristol, the library is still my favourite place compared to the study room because it is not too quiet. Yeah, you heard me right. Students whispering, the printer whirring, the automatic door opening and closing, etc - are not distractions at all. They helped my mind stay focus rather than wander away. Yeah, apart from shopping complexes, the place that I frequented the most is probably the library :).

Secondly, I was looking for a place to "chill out" from the hot Malaysian weather. There was the option of doing so in my institution's library, but somehow I didn't feel like it. Then, I learnt about this new library on Facebook, and within minutes I was on my way to check out the place.

The huge library complex

The flagship of Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Selangor (PPAS), the library nestled amongst the greens of the Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (KGSAAS), in Section 13, Shah Alam. The library complex itself was humongous and had a splendid view :).

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque aka The Blue Mosque
as seen from the library complex

The library had only been opened for about 2 weeks (22 July 2011) and judging from the few visitors that day, I presumed that not many locals were aware of its existence. Then again, most people were probably working ... :P

The frontliners were friendly. As the the staff have yet to come-up with the library brochure, they asked me to take my time to explore the place. I was given a small uncang (drawstring bag) to put in my shoes as the library zones were fully-carpeted. Then, off I went doing what I do best - exploring every nook and corner a la reporter Majalah 3... Hehehe!

There were 6 levels altogether. Each level was designated for a particular age-group or function.

View of the levels from the ground floor

View of the levels from the 4th floor

I had the chance to pray at the surau on the lower ground floor. Pretty standard for a surau, though I did wish that the women's praying area was not too open. There were separate ablution areas for both men and women and the toilets were just outside the surau. Other facilities as stated on the notice board were still under renovations.

The ground floor's main attractions were the Mini 3D and 6D Theaters. I was told by the staff that they were having a 6D simulation at around 2.00 - 2.30 pm, the day I was there. However, I missed it. I will definitely not miss it the next time I come :). Never experienced 6D in my life! Can't imagine being in a theatre that stimulates all your 6 senses! Must be loads of fun! Even the 4D shows that I paid to see in Madame Tussaud and the London Eye Theatre were pretty unforgetable .... and PPAS is having a 6D one! How awesome is that?? :)

Another attraction was the reading garden. - a sure hit for kids and adults alike. Look at the pictures below and you'll know why... :)

Fancy reading a book under a tree??
Just like what you use to do in your kampung...
pix credit: Mimma Sayuti

Kids nowadays are so lucky! :)
Pix credit: Mimma Sayuti

What you can find on the 1st Floor :) ...

2nd Floor ...

3rd Floor ...

4th Floor ...

All the levels have some standard features such as TV lounge, IT station, book collection, reading / working area, sitting area, discussion rooms and service counter.

TV lounge

Reading / working area next to the
discussion rooms

The main reading / working area with sofas for
visitors to unwind

The open collection of books

Soothing view of the greens from this side of the IT section

The IT section has a horse-shoe layout. It has several Macs and probably PCs, too. One has to pay to use the services. I would say that the pricing was pretty reasonable, considering that the hardware were all brand new.

What I liked about this library was that it has lots of sitting areas with seats of various designs to suit all age-groups.

The sitting area on the ground floor. Suitable for a group of people
or family to lepak while reading or working on their laptops :)

My sons would probably love this!
Their own private cocoon :)

Another sitting area on the first floor
with a nice view of the lake and the blue mosque

There were 2 mini gyms in the library. The women's gym was on the third floor while the men's, on the fourth. My kind of place :). Only 3 exercise machines, you say? That cross-trainer is good enough for me, and hubs would be happy to jump on that treadmill anytime :D. Not so sure whether you have to pay to use this facility. But even if you have to, I bet it won't be as expensive as those commercial gyms in Subang Jaya.

In case you were wondering whether you can buy some snacks here, the cafe will probably be opened after Ramadhan. Looking forward for the other facilities to start operating as well, in a few months time! :D.

Plus points aside, I feel that the library needs to stock-up on books. The existing collection is quite limited but hey, there's always room for improvement :)

Well Shah Alam city dwellers, go check this cool place. The library is open from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., daily this Ramadhan. It is closed on public holidays. If you ask me, not your typical, boring library :).

* * * * * * * * *

When I told hubs via skype, he cheekily queried: "Ini projek kerajaan mana ni??"
Tak kisahlah... janji rakyat didahulukan ... kan? kan? kan? :P

Royal Fort Gardens, University of Bristol

2011-07-29T10:13:00.001+01:00

Another place that is great for picnics is the Royal Fort Gardens. It is part of the Royal Fort Estate which houses the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS).

What is interesting here is a mirror labyrinth which was constructed in 2009 to commemorate University of Bristol's centenary celebrations. The sculpture, named "Follow Me", consists of 76 vertical mirrors or steel plates. The sculpture was created by Danish artist, Jeppe Hein.

Royal Fort House

The mirror labyrinth with the Royal Fort House in the background

The reflection of the Royal Fort House

True, it's not really a big space, but enough for parents to enjoy the sun while the kids run around in the labyrinth :).

Hydrangeas were in abundance, the last time I went there :)

Bristol from the eyes of this beholder :)

2011-07-08T18:32:00.005+01:00

I have been wanting to blog about the city that I live in for quite some time, but somehow, never got to doing it. A recent enquiry from a blog reader and compliments from some friends who came visitting, however, have motivated me to finally post this.

Bristol is a city in the Southwest of England and is supposed to be one of the best city to live in England. Read it here. But lest you think it's 'happening' like KL or Subang Jaya, it's not. Unlike that Citibank slogan - the city never sleeps - this one does. Shops close early and the only outlets to operate late into the night are the numerous pubs. Mat Salleh lepak kat pub macam orang Malaysia lepak kat restoren mamak. Only thing is they drink beer rather than teh tarik :). That's their lepak culture over here... day and night.

Based on my 2 years here, I would say that Bristol is a safe city with lots of friendly people and its own attractions.

Yup, safe is top of my list. I can walk alone in the streets without having to peer behind my back for pencopets. I can cross the zebra-crossing with my eyes closed. I walk around in my brightly-coloured tudung and nobody stares at me - they don't even blink an eye if a jubah-clad woman passes by. Despite being different, no soul has uttered racist remarks to me. The only time I experienced unpleasantness was when some unknown hooligans dug out a few flower bulbs from my lawn. Not totally their fault, though... Perhaps we (my family) did cheer a wee bit too LOUD for GERMANY during World Cup 2010! Hehehe! Marahlah orang England!

#2: Lots of friendly people who smile at you and ask how your day was. My favourite has got be Don, my washing machine 'engineer' (that's what they call 'tukang' here) who's big, strong and friendly (just like that Chartered Bank slogan during the 70s :)). The cashiers at Giant, Carrefour and Mydin can also learn a thing or two from their counterparts here. Loved the latters cheery disposition, "You alright there?" and "Cheers!".

#3: Places of attraction in Bristol:

Clifton Suspension Bridge

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a famous landmark of Bristol. It is one of the many works of Britains's "Father of Engineering", Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The SS Great Britain was also designed by him.

SS Great Great Britain - photo by Mattbuck (Wikipedia)

This majestic ship is now permanently docked at the scenic Bristol harbourside. You can take a tour of the ship with a small fee.

4 tiang yang nampak tu tiang kapal SS Great Britain

Another landmark of Bristol city is of course that tall building near my school, The Wills Memorial. It's situated at the top of Parks Street. The Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery is just next to the building. They've got a permanent Egyptology exhibition (I bet better than Muzium Negara's Khazanah dari Kubur in the 90s:)). Admission is free.

The Wills Memorial Building

Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery
- photo from Wikipedia

Another landmark near my school - Cabot Tower - is currently undergoing restoration work.

Cabot Tower - Spring of 2010

But you might still want to take a stroll up Brandon Hill (where it is situated). Nice place for summer picnics with squirrels. Don't forget to bring those nuts!

Picnic at Brandon Hill

To be continued...

Taking photos off the TV screen

2011-06-05T04:39:00.002+01:00

Ever thought of taking photos off the TV screen?? Well, this has crossed my mind one time or another but I found no compelling reasons to do so. After all, why bother taking photos from the TV (secondary location) when I can take photos from real (primary) locations? Then came the Royal wedding, and I decided to 'record' this once in a lifetime event through my D5000 lense.

It was a split-second decision, so I did not have time to search for the 'how-tos'. Basically, I was experimenting with the camera and lighting.

Looked just like any photos

First thing that I did was to close the curtains to minimize reflections from outside. The next thing that I should have done was to prop the camera on a tripod. This will ensure better quality photos (no shaking, see?). However, I decided to hold the camera instead, as I had propped myself comfortably in bed. As the camera has an anti-vibration device, I was very confident that it would take care of my minor movements. So, there I was, 'trigger happy' .. mengalahkan CNN! Kui! Kui! Kui!

Even captured the itinerary! :)

I was quite happy with the pictures, no diagonal lines across the screen as what I've seen in some photos taken from TV. The images and colours were quite solid, too.

What I loved most about taking photos this way was that it enabled me to capture photos from positions which might not have been accessible to me, ever! ...and which would need me to be in multiple places at once! Thanks to the real pixmen covering the event :)

... the aerial view of the abbey interior from one side :)

... and this from the other side

another stunning angle

... 'only in my dreams' angle :)

The real "sharp-shooters"... aku hanya serangga :)

Some of the moments captured were a la paparazzi gitu... kikiki! Like when Kate was discreetly ushered into the car, providing the frenzied commentators only a glimpse of the dress...

The dress, or rather the royal wedding gown, was designed by Sarah Burton, and has been compared with that of Grace Kelly's.

The bride was resplendent on her wedding day although some Facebookers questioned her decision to do her own make-up. Biarlah asalkan dia bahagia :) ...

The wedding moments...

You can capture two moving frames in one exposure...
only (when you take photos) on TV! Cool!

Other photography techniques (secondarily) executed...

panning

object in motion or whatever it was called :P

Of course, the most important aspect of photography is to document important events, such as the kiss.

The Balcony

The mob ... they came in droves!

The cops

What's up? The couple.

Somehow the minute but visible vertical lines were obvious towards the end.

There were 2 kisses. Which one was the first, you figure it out. Looked the same to me :)

That's all for now, folks!

Being a teacher

2011-05-16T03:10:00.001+01:00

Today is Teacher's Day. Not sure whether it's a global thing. After all, Mother's Day was celebrated in March in the UK but in Malaysia, it was just celebrated about two weeks ago! Anyway, I would never forget Teacher's Day. Not just because I'm a teacher (currently not a practising one :)), but because the date co-incides with my wedding anniversary! Not that I had planned my wedding date to co-incide with the day. Honest! I was just trying to maximise my 'cuti sambilan' or whatever it was called then (so the previous life!). Being a teacher, you cannot really take cuti sesuka hati especially when the principal goes by the book! :) So got married on a prosperous Friday (which co-incided with Teacher's Day); had reception at my place the next day and three days later, reception at hub's on a prosperous day for the Buddhists - Wesak Day (holiday again!). The following week was the school hols - perfect for a getaway! Come to think of it: just like William & Kate who got hitched during the Easter Hols (sort of :P).

Any Teacher's Day tribute, you say? Well, done that years ago when I first blogged (under the post: Remembering My Teachers). Yeah, I wrote about some of my teachers, from kindergarten up to university. Two years ago, a teacher whom I blogged about, sent an email to thank me for remembering her! Hahahuhu! Malu pun ada :P.

Then early this year, I accidentally discovered a Malay drama (Kuala Pilah Next Top Model featuring Rozita Che Wan) on the web about Cikgu Nxxxxx who taught in Pilahdelphia and I went like... Whoa! Spooky... but after watching the mediocre drama... yep, nothing to do with me :). Just like the cautionary note at the beginning of the drama: "... tiada kena mengena dengan orang yang hidup maupun yang sudah meninggal dunia". However, the drama brought back sweet memories of my early teaching days in Pilahdelphia :).

What do I think of teaching? Well, teaching may not be the best of jobs but it has it's moments. Like when you hear how well your students have turned out to be, some drawing fatter paychecks than you :); that you have made an impact in their life, enough for them to blog about you :).

To my blogger-student, thanks for remembering me. Terharunya...huhuhu :). To all teachers out there: Happy Teacher's Day.

William & Kate

2011-04-28T22:45:00.000+01:00

It's the royal event the whole UK world has been waiting for, the wedding of the ~~year~~ century - William and ~~Kate~~ Catherine.

This week was the height of the "William & Kate" frenzy. Even my boys know about them now (the daughter having caught the fever months ago :)).

Amirul : "Ma, today I learn about William and Kate during literacy."
Me      : "Huh?"
Nurul   : "Oh yeah, we talked about the royal wedding in French class."
Me      : "Whoa!"
Nurul   : "You know, for my English assignment I have to write about a public figure who has changed the world, but not a celebrity..."
Me      : "Like William and Kate?? Hahaha!"
Amirul : Yeah ma, my homework is to find information about William and Kate. Anything. From the internet, newspapers...
Me     : ??! :)

The craze... it's like the World Cup! Retailers have been selling souvenirs to commemorate the Royal wedding. You name it, they got it!  From the exquisite limited-edition bone china to the favourite book bags, all either bear the beaming faces of William and Kate or their initials. Not one to be left out, I bought a mug for my mum (a fan of mugs and Diana, Princess of Wales).

British TV will telescast the event live starting 6.00 a.m. Malaysians don't be surprise aahh :). 6.00 a.m. dah terang benderang kat sini. Though many people have started to camp around Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, I'm sure I'll get the best view - from the comforts of my bed :).

... dan hatiku pun berbunga riang

2011-03-28T16:18:00.013+01:00

Spring is here!!! Goodbye dreary days, Hello sunshine!!! Yes, spring time is such a big deal to me. Coming from a tropical country where one gets lots and lots of sun, winter and the cold weather in this country can be pretty depressing. A friend recently confided that she may have suffered from the SAD syndrome when she first came to the UK in 2009. SAD is Seasonal Affective Disorder, which as the name suggests, makes one SAD :P.

Daffodils in Tyndall Ave, Bristol

The first signs of spring are the daffodils of course. Yeah, daffodils as in William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"?? Can't remember the full poem except for the last two lines ...

and then my heart with pleasure fills

and dances with the daffodils

Sea of yellow daffodils everywhere. I was tempted last spring to dig out some bulbs from the park and plant them in my garden. Ada ka?! Just found out that people have been fined for doing that! Kah! Kah! Kah!

Other flowers will start sprouting after the daffs. Some are considered 'flowers', while others are considered weeds, such as the dandelions that are abundant in my lawn (that shows what kind of gardener I have become now! Cringe!). But, they do look nice to me. Plus, you don't have to plant them. It just pops out! :)

Spring is also the start of carboot sale! First heard about this wonderful flea market from K. Rose of Dior Grande, Pilahdelphia * back in 1994. Still remembered her, strutting noisily along the corridors of SMTJ in her checkered English trench-coat, her betis dijulurkan lebih sikit from her black pencil skirt (much to the disapproval of the ustazah), to reveal cute kitten-heeled Gucci boots. And when I complimented her to-die-for boots, she asked:

"Reen, cuba teka berapa harga boots ni??" in her thick Nogori dialect.

I remembered gaping in disbelieve at the price.

"Betul... beli kat carboot Bristol", she grinned.

Pix of a carboot sale by Mark Murphy

Carboot as in the back of the car?? Well, maybe in some places, I don't know. But the ones that I have been to, are held in large open spaces such as in the picture above. Normally carboot sale starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon. Sellers normally sell their unwanted goods for a small price. I normally pay from 50 p to 2 pounds for carboot items. Anything more than 2 pounds - bargain time! :D

Carboots are for bargain hunters. Sometimes, you do find branded items (like K. Rose's Gucci boots!) - second-hand, but otherwise in mint condition . With my limited budget, brand-new designer items seem light years away, but then again, I'll settle for vintage, anyway! :)

One person's junk is another's treasure! :P

... dan hatiku pun berbunga riang :D **

* Kg Dioh Besar, Kuala Pilah
** translation from Wordsworth?? ... and then my heart with pleasure fills :)

Swan Lake @ Bristol Hippodrome

2011-02-20T03:55:00.001Z

On Friday, I took my daughter to an evening of ballet at the Bristol Hippodrome. It was my surprise birthday gift to the daughter who is a hopeless romantic. At the same time, mommy was also keen to see the show! Hehehe!

I have always wanted to take her to a ballet. Thanks to those Barbie movies, both of us have become fans of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker" suite.  So, when I heard that the Russian State Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia were planning a UK tour in 2011, I quickly scoured their schedule...

What luck!  The troupe was to perform in Bristol from 14 - 19 February! They would start off with "Romeo and Juliet" on Valentine's Day, followed by "Sleeping Beauty", "Don Quixote" and "Swan Lake". My heart was thumping when I read that there would only be 2 shows for "Swan Lake" - 18th & 19th February.   Just in time for Amani's birthday (19 February) :). I quickly made online bookings then (November 2010) and managed to secure good seats near the centre aisle. Yeay!

The ticket price was not too expensive. 46.25 pounds for the two of us (child and student). That would come to around RM 230.  Not bad considering that we had paid much more to watch musicals and orchestra performances in Malaysia.

On the eve of Amani's birthday, I asked her to dress smartly. She was a bit curious as to why we had to dress so formally. So I told her that I might take her to fine dining. Co-incidentally, Jamie Oliver's Italian was scheduled for opening soon, so she bought that ! Hahaha! Luckily when we arrived at Jamie's, furbishing work was still being done. Macam tak tau! Hehehe! So, I persuaded her to walk downhill towards the Hippodrome. Once there, I broke the surprise :).

There were many people waiting to see the show. Most of them came in smart attire, but some wore casual clothes (jeans, too!). Yeah, there was no written dress code, but I did read on the net that ballet performances were supposed to be formal, so we came in our best clothes. Better be safe than be turned out! :).

Eventhough cameras were not allowed in the auditorium, I did wish that somebody would break the rule so that I could follow suit :). Forgive me, but I'm a blogger maa! No such thing though ... Huhuhu! I forgot that people here do things by the book :P. I remembered how people back home shamelessly took pictures in shows like this, their flash blinding other people, too! Malaysia Bolehlah, kat sini tak boleh! :P

Curi-curi tangkap pakai Blackberry :)

The show ran for 2 hours and 25 minutes, with an intermission in between. Both of us enjoyed the impeccable ballet performances but above all, we loved the music :).

#1. Swan Lake Overture

# 2. Dance of the Little Swans

# 3. Spanish Dance

# 4. Swan Lake Waltz

Verdict: Worth every penny. Can't wait for them to come back next year. Perhaps, "The Nutcracker" next time??
Well, enough of Tchaikovsky for now, back to Vygotsky:).

Discover Islam Week 2011 @ Bristol

2011-02-12T02:42:00.000Z

Lately I haven't really been up and about. What with my studies and the rain... However, today KKin and I did make time (yes, Jimbo! :)) to go to the Discover Islam Week exhibition at the Wills Memorial.

Organized by the University of Bristol Islamic Society (Brisoc), the event runs from the 10th to 18th February 2011. Besides the exhibition which is open from 10 a.m till 8.00 p.m. , there are daily talks at 6.00 p.m. From 10th to 15th February, talks are held at the Reception Room, Wills Memorial Building (BS8 1RJ), while from 16th to 18th February, talks will be at Powell Lecture Theater, Physics Building (BS8 1TL). For the list of talks, visit the Brisoc website.

This event gives Bristolian a chance to know more about the religion and its civilization. Some Coolpix snapshots of the exhibition (too lazy to lug my D5000 now that I've got tons of books to haul :P)...

Contrary to popular belief, Arabs make up only 15% of Muslims. The most populous Islamic nation is actually Indonesia. 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia compared to 20% in Arab countries. In fact there are more Muslims in Germany than in Lebanon, and more in China than in Syria (Yeah, I 'wikipeed' these :)).

The Quran describes life in its earliest form ...

the purpose of life...

The afterlife ...

Well, these are only some samples of the posters at the Wills Memorial Hall. There are also paraphernalia on display and multimedia presentations that might just interest you. Go see for yourself! :).

Jimmy Wales' Wikipedia @ 10 talk in Bristol

2011-01-13T21:00:00.009Z

Event      : Jimmy Wales' Wikipedia@10 Talk in Bristol
Venue     : Victoria Rooms, University of Bristol
Sponsors: University of Bristol, Bristol City Council, HP Labs Bristol,
               Wikimedia UK, Bristol Festival Ideas
Host       : Professor Guy Orpen,
                 Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research & Enterprise, University of Bristol

Yup! Jimmy Wales, co-founder and promoter of Wikipedia came to town today and I was there to hear him talk about the development and future of Wikipedia. I consider myself very-very lucky indeed :).

How was the man with "the stare", you ask? Well, he was a very down-to-earth guy who delighted us at many points of the presentation with his anecdotes.

"Legend of the modern age? You will all be disappointed now..."
Not really, Jimbo :)

As expected, he talked about what Wikipedia was all about: some, we pretty much know, but didn't mind listening to anyway; others were facts that would have made interesting trivia on a rainy day :):

*    ranked as the 5th most popular website in the world
*    attracted 400 million visitors
*    ran by only 50 staff but supported by thousands of editor-volunteers
*    87% of Wikipedians are predominantly "tech-geek" males with the average age of 26
*    PhD holders are double the general public contributors (Wow!)
*    ran on a 20 million dollar budget
*    6 million articles published to date
*   can be found in 270 languages

Although the English Wikipedia is the largest version, it's 3 million articles make up only 20% of the total articles in Wikipedia and the percentage keeps on dropping.

"Anyone can reuse or repurpose anything that they want..."

Free access is "more than just the cost of Wikipedia". According to Jim (not referring to that Jim Belushi's sitcom btw, heheh!), everything in Wikipedia (software, all the texts, most of the images) is licensed in such a way that one is allowed to copy, modify, redistribute and to redistribute modified versions, commercially and non-commercially.

The answer for the above question? A concise summary of everything in the world; clear and basic information that anyone can come and learn whatever they want to know.

Menu in Beijing - cultural impact of Wikipedia in China

Yeah, Wikipedia even managed to penetrate the Great Wall of China after being completely banned and blocked for about 3 years. But of course, certain pages are still off-limits...

How does the content compare across the languages? There are differences in what people are reading in each language. For example, the Japanese are into pop culture while the Germans dig geography.

From Encyclopedia to Wikipedia and now Wikia. What is that???

It takes specific topics and go really deep - deeper than the living encyclopedia. It promotes a participatory culture (beyond collaboration??), moving from broadcast to interactive media...

Heck I'm noWikipedia! Go Google! :P

Most awaited statement:
Jimmy does not agree students citing wikipedia in their academic writing but supports its use as a resource for a quick introduction and background knowledge.

His view that is also my aspiration:
... That university academics as they mature in their career, view their roles in society broadly, not just teaching, researching, innovating and learning new things, expanding the knowledge of the world, but also as public intellectuals, contributing in a positive way to the world.

My favourite Jimbo quote:
"sometimes we don't have a lot of free time, but we make it somehow..."
... Like writing this post now when I should really be reading those journal articles :P

What a guy! Watch Jimmy Wales @ Bristol at this link. Enjoy! :)

The Call: 2011 and beyond

2011-01-01T17:54:00.003Z

How time flies... Bye bye 2010, Hello 2011! Looking back, 2010 was a tumultuous year, well, at least for me. Juxtaposed (by choice :P) to a foreign land, I was overwhelmed by a lot of things. I was exposed to a new culture and its people, new ways of learning and thinking... Scary at times, but eye-opening most of the time. And if that's not enough, I was struggling with multiple responsibilities. I may be a full-time student but in-reality, I'm a part-time student, full-time mother and wife. Spoilt by my maid and my mum, my learning curve was quite high :).

Looking back, I wouldn't have it any other way, though. I chose this road (and dragged my family with me too). Looking around me, I do consider myself lucky as the important people in my life (my supervisor, included:)) are still with me. My quest is far from over and God willing I'll persevere. What better song to be my 'battle' anthem (2011 and beyond) than Regina Spektor's "The Call" (theme song from "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"). Here's to hope and faith. Happy New Year everybody!!!

Christmas Wishes 2010

2010-12-24T13:43:00.004Z

To all my Christian friends and readers,

May the festive mood of Christmas fill your hearts with love and contentment throughout the day!

To all the rest, especially those in Bristol :

Keep warm in this cold, wintry weather

Don't fret (yeah, you heard me correct!),

enjoy your white (and freezing :P) Christmas,

as snow doesn't come easy in this part of the land :P

Take those vits everyday

so that you keep flu at bay.

Enjoy your much deserved break

but don't forget to read those journal articles in bed ;),

Have a blast on Boxing Day, shoppers! :D

but spare some money for the gas (bills) shockers... :P

Cheers mate!

Tis the season to be jolly... Fa la la la laaaa... la la la laaaa.... :)

Winter in Bristol

2010-12-18T23:21:00.021Z

Winter came early this year. That's what they say. Some places up north have been blanketed by snow for weeks now. From Scotland, to Wales, why, even London got a fair share of snow! Bristol?? Yeah, it snowed a few times but nothing compared to last year. Maybe not yet :).

last year ...

This year ...

Thankfully, snow has not disrupted our routine. The children went to school as usual.

Albeit the small amount of snow, some people could still find ways to enjoy it! :D

Year-end School Performances

2010-12-12T23:37:00.001Z

It's that time of the year when schools here have their year-end concerts. Well, actually, 'concerts' was the term used to describe extravagant end-of-the-year students' shows, when I was in a missionary primary school in Malaysia, many, many years ago :P. Here, people don't call these shows, 'concerts'. Maybe because they are done in small scale ... small but sweet I would say :). Terms aside, it's a day to celebrate the children's talents, whatever they maybe - acting, singing, or playing musical instruments.  Lines might be forgotten, lyrics might be incomprehensible, singing might be off-pitched, but what matters most is that the children gave their very best.

Students' shows are not annual events here. They have them all year round, during what the people here termed as 'special asssemblies'. In my children's school, parents would be invited to watch their child perform during these assemblies. No well-rehearsed tarians or over-dramatised sajak delivery :P. Just wholesome performance by the kids. Students from a particular year group would be reciting a poem, singing a song, or performing a short sketch in front of other students and parents.  Bloopers were treated as part and parcel of the performance, not something that mars the performance. It's really a good way to build young children's self-confidence.

On the other hand, assemblies in Malaysia would be long hours standing in the hot sun or in the dewan besar (still hot!), listening to speeches from the guru besar about students' discipline, school developments and achievements. Come to think of them, the speeches were fit for parents rather than students... pretty mundane... hehehe! Once in a blue moon, there would be some 'interesting' events like public caning. But that's story for another day :). For now, it's about my children's performances in their respective year-end assemblies.

My Amirul performed in a string orchestra (again, the orchestra here was so much small-scaled, compared to the one that I used to perform in a Malaysian primary school), while my Jon performed in a Nativity Play.   Amirul's violin performance brought back fond memories of my own performing days but I must say, mama played better! Hehehe!  Jon was a camel in the Nativity play. His first performance was better because he didn't spot me in the audience. The second time around, he was a bit 'malu-malu kucing' as he was aware of mama videoing him.

Check out Amirul's performance :D!

After days trying in vain to upload Jon's Nativity play, I resigned to the fact that that's not going to happen :(. So, pictures instead of my dear cute camel and pictures of Amirul the budding violinist.

Jon, Julia and one of their class teachers

The singing camels

The song...

Glossary
tarian - dance
sajak - poetry
dewan besar - main hall
guru besar - principal
malu-malu kucing - Malay idiom to describe shyness

Bristol Protest Against Education Cuts

2010-11-25T01:00:00.030Z

Yesterday, thousands of students in Bristol staged a protest against higher tuition fees and university cuts proposed by the government. Around the country, similar protests were also reported in London, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham, Warwick, Leeds, Sheffield, Durham and elsewhere.

Peaceful protest in Bristol...
Photo credit: Matt Carey

Of course, me being hopelessly afflicted by Blogger's Syndrome, couldn't miss it for the world! LOL! A friend cautioned me from going, fearing that it would be a breach of my akujanji and what not. But I thought, why not? I was not participating in an illegal political rally against the British government or most importantly, my country's government. I was merely a curious bystander, but inspired all the same by those concerned Bristolians who were courageous enough to voice out their displeasure. Bravo!

It was difficult not to get distracted by the event as my school was just seconds away from one of the gathering places - The Wills Memorial. From our study room, we could hear chants and noises as people staged a walkout. So, in the end I decided to check things out @ nyebok with some friends :P!

From downtown...

... towards Wills Memorial

The mob...

... the cops

I would say the protest was pretty peaceful. Not like the one in London. Didn't witness any violence but my jaw did drop when I saw a familiar figure block a police van from moving. Wow Becks! Was that really you?!! Could have captured those moments if I had my Nikon with me... Dang!! So I had to contend with my Triple B. However, the photos turned out grainy and hazy (see above :P) as I had accidentally meddled with the setting, in my excitement... Huhuhu! Luckily Alex Sheppard and Matt Carey allowed me to upload their fab pics on my blog. Thanks a million guys! :D

The mounties
Photo courtesy of Matt Carey

The barricade
Photo credit: Matt Carey

The banner... the price of university education?
Photo credit: Matt Carey

English lessons revisited :)

hyperbole...

alliteration :P

Pottermania, naturally :)...

O..er... some muggles are getting pretty muddled alright :D!
Pix courtesy of Matt Carey

Nice one Alex! I LIKE!!! :D

As an international student sponsored by the Malaysian government, I might not be directly affected. But with the current development, I'm quite sure that the Ministry will be looking elsewhere when it comes to sending Malaysian students overseas. As it is now, international students are paying triple the tuition fee paid by their local counterparts. With the hike, just imagine how much it's going to cost the Ministry ... Might as well send students across the causeway to the National University of Singapore (NUS) which is ranked 34th in the world! :). Australia and New Zealand are beckoning, too :)

As for the gathering, I heard that it went on until about 5.30 pm. No unpleasant incidents were reported apart from 4 arrests by the police.

Wow! What a day! Lurkin' Lauren :P reporting from Bristol ...

Autumn @ Westonbirt Arboretum

2010-11-05T23:07:00.004Z

"The best natural fireworks displays in Britain"

The brochure is not referring to a bunga api show here, but to the blaze of autumn colours in Westonbirt, the National Arboretum. Arboretum is a place where a variety of trees are cultivated for scientific, educational and ornamental purposes. In Malaysia, we have FRIM in Kepong. The only difference is in Westonbirt, we can take photos like nobody's business, but in FRIM there are charges for commercial photographers while photo-hobbyist have to report to the one-stop centre "to avoid problems with enforcement personnel" (as quoted from their website :P). Doesn't sound so pixman-friendly, eh? Sapa nak jawab tu...

Even though Westonbirt Arboretum was only 30 minutes away from Filton, we started out early in the morning to beat the crowd. Hmm... come to think of it, with an entourage of 20 adults and even more kids, we are THE CROWD! Heheh!

All together now, say "Cis!" - pix credit: Syafiq Zaqrin

Coming as a group, we managed to get discounted tickets: children below twelve paid 2 pounds each, our spouses, 6 pounds; while students (us ladies:)) paid 5 pounds only.

After paying for our tickets, the whole group made our way to Silk Wood. This particular section of the arboretum is best visited during autumn when the leaves of the Japanese Maple trees turn from green, to yellow, red and finally brown, displaying the best of the season's splendour.

This part of the arboretum was also doggie-friendly. So if you prefer a dog-free environment, the old arboretum would suit you better :).

Some taking their time
to enjoy the morning walk ...

Others stop to pose for the camera ...

The kids were far ahead doing their activity...

I was busy as usual ...

"... nak buat dokumentari National Geographic ke?!"

My husband would normally have toot-tooted but this time around he had no time to poke fun at me because he was hard at work ...

... sketching a tree :P

Masa nilah pulak sibuk melukis... I had to practically drag him to pose with me and the kids. The Japanese maple provided luxuriant red background :)

Bakal-bakal Dr., InsyaAllah :) - pix credit: Asri

Tengah syok ambil gambar, tiba-tiba bateri mampus lah pulak! Adoi!!! Never thought that this would happen to me!! I could still remember how I had sweetly declined when the Singaporean 'uncle' (elderly camera shop owner) tried to persuade me to buy an extra battery for my D5000, dismissing it as sales pitch. Huhuhu... baruku tahu ... :P. Luckily there was plan B (for Blackberry) :D. Some of the pictures taken with my Triple B ...

We exited Silk Wood at noon and had our lunch near the carpark. No pictures were taken of our picnic-cum-lunch as everybody (photographers even) was too famish to think of photos! After lunch, some of us went home while others continued their autumn trail at the old arboretum.

Although I was satisfied with the experience, I was a bit disappointed I couldn't snap as many photos as I had wanted. Luckily, another group of Malaysians went to the arboretum the next day and here are some fabulous pictures taken by my friend, Sarina :).

Weeping willow?? Sujud ke bumi ala Lailatul Qadr???

Macam ular sawa lah pulak dahan ni. Nice one Ina :)

Reminds me of Zhang Yimou's cinematography :)

Comments and Tips: Definitely a must-go place during autumn. However, you might not be able to cover the whole area in one visit. After all, it gets dark pretty early during autumn. Come early in the morning as there is bound to be a long queue in the afternoon. If you come in groups (10+), you save-up on ticket price. Don't forget to bring lots of food and water. Although there is a designated eating/picnic area near the arboretum entrance, it is good to bring along finger food, biscuits and chocolate to munch along the way. All that walking do make you hungry and thirsty, even in the cold autumn weather. Dress in warm, comfortable and nice clothes - you do need to look good in photos! :D Wellies or water-resistant boots keep your feet drier compared to sneakers. Sambil tu, bolehlah melaram dengan boots! :). Most important: don't forget to charge you camera's battery! :P.

Feeding Squirrels at Brandon Hill

2010-10-29T10:50:00.000+01:00

The weather has not been exactly great. It had been wet for the past few weeks and there were days when temperature dipped to zero degree - ideal for snuggling in bed... I practically had to drag my feet to go to school everyday! Huhuhu... With autumn settling in, it gets dark (and cold) pretty early in the evening and by 5.30 p.m. I would be on my way home. There's dinner to prepare and the usual household chores to do. By 8.30 p.m., everyone (save for hubby) would have plonked in bed and before you know it, another day begins. Dreary days, ain't it? Therefore, I always look forward to weekends, especially Sunny Sundays :).

Alhamdulillah, we had been blessed with good weather for two Sundays now. It was during the first Sunday that I discovered a gem of a park near my school (Graduate School of Education). Well, I knew that Brandon Hill was just a few metres away but I didn't know that it was a lovely park teeming with birds and squirrels!

I remembered dragging my sons up the hill for the first time to take some autumn pictures. They had wanted to follow my husband and daughter to the art shop down the road, but I sort of forced them to come with me ... Kuikuikui!

Cabot Tower at the top of Brandon Hill

Notice of Cabot Tower undergoing restoration

Cabot Tower on a bright sunny afternoon

One smiling face

Finally... 2 smiling faces :)

Yeah, they protested loudly at first, but was soon taken by the beauty of the place and its little "dwellers". So they begged me to come again the following Sunday as they had wanted to feed the squirrels. So, we went there again last Sunday, with a tubful of hazel nuts - leftovers from Amani's baking activities :).

a squirrel nibbling our hazel nut

Boy, did they come to us! Big, thin, bushy-tailed - you name it. Macam-macam pe'el. Some took the nuts and nibbled happily in front of the camera. There was one which had the peculiar habit of burying the nuts. Maybe stocking-up for cold winter days :) ... Others just snatched the nuts and were gone in a flash.

I didn't quite succeed to take nice pictures of the squirrels in action and it was only later that I remembered that I could have actually videoed them in action with my Nikon. Lupa lak ... tee hehe!

Nampak macam sang kancil lah pulak! :P

Jon was clearly the squirrel's favourite! :D

Squirrel yang kurus dan berekor panjang

Squirrel yang sihat sket ...

Bushy-tailed squirrel

While the kids were busy feeding the squirrels and feeding themselves as well (hazel nuts tu !), I took the chance to enjoy the ambience while capturing some autumn scenes. Loved the effect of the natural evening light on my pix! :)

see the squirrel on the path?

I had to coax my son Jon to go home when it got cold and had to promise to come back again. Looks like it's Brandon Hill next weekend, too! :D

Redup dan nyaman

Nice view of Bristol city from Brandon Hill

Time to go boys ...

Oxford Street

2010-10-23T12:29:00.001+01:00

Our last night in London was spent in Oxford Street. Since we left Malaysia, it has been a while since we last jalan-jalan at night. Most shopping complexes in Bristol close by 8.00 p.m. on weekdays and 4.00 p.m. on Sundays. Yeah ... B*O*R*I*N*G! Therefore, Oxford Street brought back fond memories of our weekly excursions to Suria KLCC, Sunway Pyramid and the evergreen Subang Parade :).

We didn't really explore the whole length of the road as we had made plans to have dinner with BIL and his wife. So, we just loitered around Selfridges and took pictures while waiting for them to arrive.

The clock at Selfridges

In front of Selfridges

Penarik beca di London :)

I think Selfridges was promoting their shoe collection at that time because they had this fantastic nursery-ryhme-themed series of shoe display. I had to take some photos :)

What about shopping, you say? Nothing that we don't already have :).

Trafalgar Square - where have all the pigeons gone?!

2010-10-16T22:33:00.003+01:00

From Covent Garden, we made our way to Trafalgar Square. When we reached the place, the police had just removed the cones on the street. There were hordes of people in front of the National Gallery. The Pope might have just addressed the Catholics here, I figured. Only later did I find out that the Pope had not been there but various anti-Vatican groups had assembled at Trafalgar Square to voice-out their protests! Kui! Kui! Kui!

Protestors and sightseers mingled in front of the National Gallery

If we hadn't promise to meet my BIL and his wife there, we would have entered the National Gallery. Teringin nak tengok Van Gogh's Sunflower :) and the works of Renoir, Rembrandt and Monet ... Nevermind, some other time :). So we just took some photos outside the place.

National Gallery
north of Trafalgar Square

posing on Nelson's Column

... in the background is St. Martins-in-the-Field's Church

"Hah, nak ambik gambar Tourism Malaysia ke??"
Tiba-tiba terdengar suara sumbang suamiku...
I thought he was poking fun at me as usual, but on further scrutiny I saw that a Tourism Malaysia office was indeed on the right side of Admiralty Arch! Hehehe!

Admiralty Arch to the Southwest

See the lion's head??

... and the lion's rear (on the left)

Orang kata kalau ke sini mesti ambik gambar dengan singa bronze tu kan? Well, I don't know how I could have missed taking a 'whole' picture of one of those lions (there were four!!). I remembered trying very hard to get a nice angle of the lion but just couldn't because other avid photographers were constantly blocking my view trying to get their best shot! Huh! Must seriously consider getting wide-angle or zoom lenses...

With BIL and his lovely wife :)

So, that's about it. We came, we took pictures, we bonded... but wait! Where have all the pigeons gone?! Read all about it at this link...

West End walk: The Strand & Covent Garden

2010-10-11T13:35:00.011+01:00

We've heard so much about this place. I siap ingat tempat tu taman bunga! Kui! Kui! Kui! Dah tentu bukan... :P. So, on our second day, we decided to check the place out. From our homestay in Willesden, we took the tube to the Enbankment station and from there, made our way to Covent Garden on foot. We passed The Strand, home to a few London theatres. In its heyday, it used to be the hub of Victorian Theatre and nightlife and there were at least 11 theatres then. Now there are only 4.

walking along The Strand

The Adelphi Theatre

The Savoy Theatre

The Lyceum Theatre

After a while we finally reached our destination: Covent Garden :)!

Outside Covent Garden

Inside...

ala-ala Central Market KL

There was the Apple Market in Covent Garden. Just as Covent Garden was not a garden, the Apple Market did not have apples :). Instead, all kinds of clothes, art and crafts were sold there. The atmosphere reminded me of the weekend flea market at the Curve :)!

My kind of thing :)

Next we ventured into the Jubilee Market Hall which has more stuff on sale. Unfortunately, the vendors were quite reluctant to be photographed. Takut orang tiru idea kot??? :P. So the only photo that I got of this place was this...

The Jubilee Market Hall features different items on different days. On Mondays it's antiques. Tuesdays to Fridays: general market. Weekends: arts and crafts.

Verdict: My kind of place :)! Yours too if you're into flea market nick nacks, arts and crafts. Cuma, tak sama dengan flea market kat Asia where you can haggle for price of things. Oh well, different place, different culture :).

London Eye

2010-10-06T23:59:00.004+01:00

Next on the list was the London Eye. It was just me and my sons as the father and daughter were not really keen on the ride. The queue was rather long and when it was my turn, I was surprised that the tickets were not as expensive as I thought. Adults pay 17.95 pounds while children, 9.50 pounds each. Yang mahal tu tiket combination... It's cheaper to buy online, of course.

Before we got on the ride, we were ushered to a nearby theatre for a 4D experience of the London Eye. Yeah, the in-thing in tourism London now is 4D. Well, as long as it is FREE (it comes with the tickets), I'm not complaining :P! Heck, I didn't even raise an eyebrow when I had to part with some money (again!) for the photo packs (one large photo, a photo key chain & photo fridge magnet). Yeah, this in-situ no-obligations photo thingy seems to be the norm in London :P. I ended being a few pounds poorer but the delighted faces of my boys... PRICELESS! :)

Me filling up 'the gap'

We had to queue again before getting into the capsule (that's what they call 'em). Our bags were thoroughly checked for sharp items. Yeah, the day we were in London was also the day when THE POPE came a-calling. Security was tight everywhere we went. After a while, we were ushered into a capsule.

all smiles... tercapai hasrat :)

Houses of Parliament from the London Eye

Rare moments of brotherly love :P

This was how the capsule looked like

Top of the world @ capsule moments :)

When you're at the top,
don't forget to look down :)

Our ride took 30 minutes but the whole London Eye experience (queuing to buy tickets, 4D experience, queuing for the ride, the ride) was longer than that. By the time we got off, hubby and Amani had already been loitering for quite sometime and were hungry again! Begitulah putaran perut diorang... hehehe!

Verdict : OKlah... London Eye was bigger than Eye on Malaysia, so you wouldn't feel the capsule moving. No flipping of the stomach or dizzy fits, folks! There were seats for passengers but most people prefer to stand anyway. Not really a WOW experience but as long as the kids are happy, (their atuk happy), I'm happy! :P

London Revisited - Madame Tussauds

2010-10-04T00:53:00.004+01:00

We were in London again, recently. My BIL and his wife came all the way from Kuala Lumpur for raya-cum-holiday-cum-honeymoon and we had to meet up. Of course, we were there for our Malaysian goodies too - baju, kuih and duit raya (my children lah :P). We took the opportunity to spend time together and took the kids sightseeing. After all, my dad kept reminding me to take his cucus to those paid-up places of interest as he had given the angpow. I confess I have been very miserly (Kui!Kui!Kui!) with my money but who could blame me? I'm just a student living on a shoe-string scholarship... Huhuhu...

Our first outing was Madame Tussauds. Well, it was only BIL, his wife Nani, the daughter and me, actually. Hubby decided that he's not going to waste his time and money gawking at some lifeless statues. So, hubby and my sons had their father-son time elsewhere.

I bought the tickets online as they were supposed to be cheaper but believe me, they're not... For three adults and one child I had to fork out about 97 Pounds: 82.72 + VAT 14.48. Well, that's how things are here: duit, duit, duit (macam lagu M. Nasir tu...:P).

There was a long (but moving) queue at the entrance of Madame Tussauds eventhough we had purchased so-called Priority-Access Tickets. Tak ada maknanya... seemed like everybody else had purchased them too :P.

It was a 'working' Friday morning, and yet the exhibition hall was brimming with people. I don't remember seeing so many people in my friends' pictures of Madame Tussauds. Siap boleh posing maut lagi. Well, not on the day of our visit. People were queuing to take pictures with their idols which weren't even real! Well, as Nani my SIL put it: "Nak bergambar dengan orang betul, belum tentu dapat...". So, there we were, joining the crowd.

With Julia Roberts :)

Marilyn Monroe

Miley Cyrus

Johnny Depp

Brangelina too :),
These statues don't really look like them, do they??

This picture of us with Shahrukh Khan was actually taken for the sake of my friend, Bunny who was crazy of him (Jangan marah, Bunny :)). Tak minat pun... In fact, SRK was not mobbed by fans compared to Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai; hence no pix of us with these Bollywood stars!

Barulah dapat posing macam ye ye je... Hehehe!
Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast at Tiffany's

Princess Diana lives on

The grand old dame - Madame Tussaud

Besides taking pictures ourselves, there were also in-house photographers who took pictures of visitors with the more in-demand statues such as Robert Pattinson (of Twilight fame), Michael Jackson and the Queen & the Duke of Edinburgh (to name a few). No obligation to buy these photos. If you like 'em, you buy em. If not, don't need to. Never thought that I would fall for this :P. Our picture was taken when we were on the Spirit of London ride, and I thought that the edited picture turned out pretty cool . So, I parted with a few pounds for it :)

We went to all the exhibition zones except for the Chamber of Horrors and Scream. BIL had gone there during his last visit. SIL and my daughter were too scared to enter. So, I had to forego that as nobody would accompany me... Huhuhu! Anyway, the Spirit of London ride and the 9-minute Marvel Super Heroes 4D film quickly cheered me up!

Verdict: Not bad at all! I enjoyed myself immensely minus the pushing and jostling! The experience could have been better if the place wasn't too crowded. Perhaps cheaper tickets in the future?? (Fat chance! :P)

Raya in Bristol

2010-09-21T16:04:00.002+01:00

This year my family celebrated Eid ul-Fitr for the first time in Bristol. Well, we did get the chance to experience raya in Bristol last year because we came to Bristol three days after Eid, but I was still curious of how it would feel on the first day of Eid. Well, Raya is Raya :)!

On the eve of Eid, there was the preparation of food for the next day. The only difference was instead of my mom, I was the one slaving in the kitchen... huhuhu! My family's juadah wajib was the Rendang Cili Api Pilahdelphia eaten with nasi impit (rice cubes) and lemang. Thanks to the microwave, making lemang could not have been easier :)!

On the morning of Eid, after asking for forgiveness among family members, we rushed for the Eid gathering. The only difference was, instead of having our family and relatives with us, we have the Malaysian Community of Bristol (MCB) to bond with. So, there was the Aidil Fitri prayers, feast and photography sessions - just like in Malaysia :)

Next came the jalan raya @ open-houses. Open house is a unique concept only practised in Malaysia. During festivals such as Eid, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas, Malaysians often 'open' their houses to family, friends and strangers even, to join in the celebration and enjoy the food.

In Bristol, we not only attended a few open-houses but also got to organize one! (watch the vid :D)

So, this year it was satay as usual for my family. Only difference was it was not ordered in bulk from the restaurant but we (org Kg. Filton) made them ourselves! Wow! Being overseas did bring out the best in us... hehehe!

Yes, we do missed our loved ones back home. Thanks to Skype, we got to share our joy with them :).

Raya in Bristol was not so bad after all :).

Hanya kad pengganti diri...

Happy Birthday Jon :) ... Kaulah segalanya

2010-09-01T01:50:00.024+01:00

song: Kaulah segalanya (You're my everything)

singer: Hazrul Nizam

Since Slide.com no longer permit the embedding of Youtube videos to their slide shows (...since Google's acquisition of Slide.com??), I had a rough time trying to find a slide maker that could embed songs for my personal project - a birthday video (present) for my son.   Sampai tak tidur malam dibuatnya. Buat assignment pun tak macam ni... Kui! Kui! Kui! After experimenting endlessly with a few free slidemakers and googling (the irony of it...), I finally found the so-call slide maker in the form of Picasa 3 (which was right under my nose all the time! Grr!!!). After successfully putting together the slide cum video project, another headache: couldn't straightaway upload it to Blogger via Picasa. Frust betul!! After a few more rounds of troubleshooting, googling and youtubing, in the end I managed to upload my video to this blog. Alhamdulillah :). Not as easy as it used to be with Slide.com but at least I learnt a LOT of things:

#1   Perseverence in the face of adversity. Don't easily give up!
#2    Patiently troubleshoot using whatever resources you have at hand (in my case: Google and Youtube). Do-it-yourself first before asking for help. You would be surprise with your capabilities and creativity!
#3 Lastly, kalau tak boleh jugak, seek advice from the expert, techie, husband :) ... whoever that can help you solve the problem. It's also good to pray for some divine intervention.  Always helps :)

If only I'm all this charged-up when I'm doing my research.... Huhuhu! :P.

On a positive note, I might even do a Youtube Picasa video upload tutorial to help bloggers who faced the same problem. Online publishing, here I come!! (If I have the time that is... :)).

In the meantime enjoy my labour of love :). For those who know Malay, you'll know that this song is not exactly about a mother's love... hehehe! However, I feel the melody of the song suits this project. I can still remember how I was terpana (awed??) when I first heard the song being delivered by the little-known singer, Hazrul, at a glitzy Malaysian TV Award Show in 2006...

Hope you enjoy it too :)!

Of Merdeka Day Commercials

2010-08-31T01:04:00.047+01:00

Today, Malaysians celebrate the country's 53rd Independence Day. For those of you who don't know, Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Its neighbouring countries include Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. We were once colonialized by the Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and British. Yeah, that's the grim reality forever entrenched in our history but we've moved on.

I'm not sure how Merdeka Day is celebrated in my country during these trying times but one thing for sure, there'll be the usual Merdeka Day Parade somewhere. Same old same old... What I really look forward in the Merdeka month, however, were the various Merdeka commercials, sponsored by big Malaysians corporations. The late Yasmin Ahmad (correct me if I'm wrong) might have started the trend of directing muhibbah, value-laden Merdeka commercials, while others practically jumped into the band-wagon. Problem is, when you have too much of a similar thing, it becomes a bit tired. To all seasoned and aspiring creative directors out there: initiate something fresh, not just be mere followers, guys!

Out of the many Merdeka Day commercials churned since 1997 (I think), four remained my all-time favourites. They were sponsored by Malaysia Airlines, Petronas, and Proton, respectively. The commercials depict the good side of Malaysia's multiculturalism. I'm not so sure who directed the commercials but the first two might have been (directed) by Yasmin while, the last one might be the works of either Ho Yuhang or Afdlin Shauki. Yasmin has since left us but her legacy lives on. In the mean time, all is not lost when it comes to Merdeka Day Commercials. Watch out for more creative works by Yuhang and Afdlin :).

Malaysia Airlines 41st Merdeka Day Commercial

Petronas Merdeka Day Commercial

Proton Merdeka Day Commercial

Proton 52nd Merdeka Day Commercial

The Cove

2010-08-27T02:18:00.000+01:00

Since we were already in the Jurrasic Coast, we decided to pay a visit to the famous Durdle Door. However, we ended up in another World Heritage Site: Lulworth Cove.

The country road leading to the Cove

Thatched-roof cottages, a pleasant sight

It was one of those occasions (getting more frequent now :P) where I cursed myself for not getting that god**** wide-angle lense... arghh!!!

So, as any ill-equiped photographer, I had to climb up the cliff in order to capture the cove in its entirety.

The Cove...

The photographer :))

The signboard

Sekali pandang, teringat kat Lake Toba di Sumatra. However, it's an entirely different landform; Lake Toba being a huge volcanic lake.

The view on the other side

Stair Hole

Well, Durdle Door tah ke mana, crabbing lagi lah... hehehe... but at least I got to capture the sunset (well, almost...)

Weymouth 2010

2010-08-21T23:30:00.023+01:00

Just before Ramadhan the other day, we went for a picnic. We were supposed to go camping, but since all the camping sites were fully booked, we had to content ourselves to just go for a picnic. Nak picnic pun kena survey tempat sesuai. K. Za's husband had wanted to 'crab', while hubs had wanted to picnic at a site with a nice sea view. That's how we ended up in Weymouth, which was recently ranked fourth in top 10 "emerging destinations" in the world.

Situated along the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Weymouth is a large resort town in Dorset. It took us about 3 hours from Bristol to reach the place. From Weymouth town centre we made our way to Nothe Park. Once there, we scanned the park for a suitable picnic spot.

We were lucky to find a secluded spot, with ample shade and a scenic view.

View from our picnic site

We immediately set up camp. Sebenarnya kat park ni tak boleh camping (Kui! Kui! Kui!) but our argument was: as a precaution in case it rains. Showers were predicted that day ... honest!

our new 6-man tent :)

Alhamdulillah, there wasn't a single raindrop. The weather was perfect and the kids especially, had a good time. Bersukaria sebelum puasa ... :)

Later in the afternoon, we were joined by 3 more families. I guess everybody wanted to spend the last weekend we had before fasting, somewhere :).

Nothe Park would have made a great camp site. Nothe Fort, the beach and the pier were just within walking distance. Other facilities include parking space, a WOC, barbecue pits and a few food stalls.

Squirrels roamed the area freely and 'lovebirds' unabashingly making out in the open air :)!

a bushy-tailed squirrel nibbling an acorn

Ni lovebirds sopan ... hehehe!

Flora and fauna beckoned the discerning photographer....

Verdict: The beauty of the place is worth the trip! (Crabbing tah ke mana ... Kui!Kui!Kui!). Hope to visit this place again, some day! :D

Ramadhan... here and there

2010-08-19T21:32:00.056+01:00

The holy month is back! This being my first Ramadhan in Bristol, I was really curious how the ~~food~~ 'feel' is going to be. Back in Malaysia, mention Ramadhan, and images of food in abundance will come to mind, although the month should really be about performing 'ibadah', doing good and being patient ...

(Recall mode)
Come Ramadhan, food bazaars will be sprouting out everywhere in Malaysia. The choice of food ... enough to make Ethiopia weep!! There'll be all kinds of nasi (rice) dishes - fried rice, nasi lemak, chicken rice, biryani, nasi dagang, nasi kerabu, nasi campur, etc. A variety of noodles - mee rebus, laksa, mee sup, kuewtiau goreng, etc. Assortment of kuihs (traditional cakes): curry puffs, cucur udang, buah melaka, kuih cara, apam balik, my favourite putu piring :). Other Malaysian food - satay, ayam percik, murtabak, ikan bakar... and beverages - fresh tofu, air kelapa muda, sugarcane ...

Makcik yang jual putu piring *Perghh!* kat USJ4
Photo credit: Ricky Lai / The Star

And if you think, that's all, hotels are cashing-in, too. An all-you-can-eat Ramadhan buffet is priced around RM 65 to RM 180 per person (which is very expensive to the average Malaysian). Believe me, the 13 hours of fasting does not make you hungry enough to eat all-you-can :P.

During the last ten days of Ramadhan, there'll be a different kind of madness. Instead of seeking the reverred Lailatul Qadar (the Night of Power), shoppers will throng Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman for *Lailatul Kamdar (Nights of Raya Shopping)... Hehehe! On a sombre note, the only people laughing all the way to the bank are the businessmen and seasonal entrepreneurs... Huhuhu!

(Here and now)
Ramadhan in Bristol is a quiet affair. We fast for about 17 hours over here, but so far even the kids have gone through it without much complaint. During break of fast or iftar, we eat whatever food that I can whipped up in the short time that I have, after coming home from school. There's no **PARAM nor all-you-can-eat. Only all-I-can-cook, which is not bad at all :). Dah duduk jauh ni boleh pulak masak itu ini... hehehe! Most important, semua yang dihidangkan licin! No leftovers (as always the case back home). Nak makan macam-macam, tunggu weekends. Last weekend, we had a buka puasa potluck with the Indonesian community and what a spread! K. Ani's bubur lambuk ... Perghh!! Kalah bubur lambuk Masjid Kg Baru! Yumms!! :D

nasi ayam ku :)

Itulah rezeki kami di Bristol ni... For that we are truly thankful :)

* Lailatul Kamdar - credits to Eijarm for coining this term on Facebook :)
** PARAM = Pasar Ramadhan (Ramadhan Bazaar)

A Blue Day at Chelsea Stadium

2010-08-15T23:52:00.006+01:00

Before leaving London, we stopped by the stadium of Amirul's favourite football team (after defecting from Manchester United :)) : Chelsea FC.

Goofy Sabri at Chelsea FC

We couldn't enter the stadium because it was already closed but no worries, Amirul had ample opportunity to 'pose' with his favourite stars outside :)

From Frank Lampard...

... to John Terry

... and more John Terry :)

We couldn't possibly leave London without feeling 'blue', could we?

Dinosaurs alive at London's Natural History Museum!

2010-08-14T23:31:00.012+01:00

Day 2 of our London trip was also our last day at the lodge. We checked-out early but decided to leave our car at the hotel's parking. After paying for a whole-day parking ticket (around 7 pounds), we hopped on the bus to Victoria. From Victoria, we got on the tube to South Kensington. After getting off, we walked a short distance before reaching our destination for the day: London Natural History Museum.

There was a long queue at the museum's gate. Maklumlah, FREE! There were also other (paid) exhibitions, but maybe owing to the current economic situation, everyone seemed to be heading towards the free exhibition zones...

... and everyone made a bee-line for the
dinosaurs ...

Behold! Everything dinosaur :)

Dinosaur skeletons ...

Dinosaur eggs ...

dinosaur head :)

Even a 'real' dinosaur! Well, almost ...:D

A must-go place for dinosaur fanatics - kids and adults alike (more grown-up gawkers, actually... :P)

We spent most of our time at the blue zone (where the dinosaurs, mammals and ocean creatures were) and managed to explore part of the green zone (only the birds). We didn't have time to cover the red and orange zones. Maybe next time (my London tagline, hehehe!).

Tower of London

2010-08-13T23:19:00.009+01:00

From More London, we continued walking till we reach Tower Bridge. Our destination was Tower of London, on the north side of Tower Bridge.

The place was already closed when we came. So, we just lingered outside the premises.

Steep in history, tragedy and mystery, the place seemed to entice even my boys! Definitely a must-visit, next time :)!

Anne Boleyn, one of its famous resident

From Tower of London, we walked to the nearest underground which was Tower Hill Station. From there, we boarded the tube to Marble Arch Station. Our quest: a supposedly halal Mc.Donald's in Oxford Street. However, we discovered that it wasn't. Nasib baik ada kawan kat London :). We were told that there was a halal KFC in Goodge Street. To get there we could take the tube (to Goodge Station) or bus (no. 7). We opted for the latter as we would like to see the night live (and lights!) along Oxford Street.

Happening sungguh Oxford Street di waktu malam! A far cry from Bristol, Cheh! It was 8.30 p.m. but the shops were still opened and bustling with shoppers. My kind of city... heheh! 15 minutes later (due to jam, not distance), we arrived at our destination. 15 minutes after, we were joined by my friend, Lina :).

It's always nice to meet up with friends from back home when you are in a foreign country. For Amani, she was reunited with her Aunty Lina who used to layan her and spoilt her with gifts, whenever I took her to my office (those were the days...). For the boys, it wasn't long before they got friendly with the aunty who's "cute like a bunny" :). Thanks for spending time with us, dear :D! Hope it's not going to be another six years before we meet again :).

From Goodge Street, we walked towards Warren Street Station and took the tube to Victoria. From Victoria, we took bus no 44 back to Battersea. End of Day 1.

London Bridge and Tower Bridge

2010-08-12T14:17:00.001+01:00

From Westminster Station, we took the tube to London Bridge Station.

"Ooh!! Nak tengok London Bridge!", Amani cried excitedly, probably visualizing an ancient bridge from that famous nursery rhyme.
"London Bridge dah lama kena jual..." Hubby added matter-of-factly.
"Eh, ye ke Jeej??" I said half-believingly.
"Iye... Ada kat Arizona, U.S." he said confidently.

The reconstructed London Bridge at Lake Havasu, Arizona, U.S.A.
Pix credit: Aran Johnson

A google search later revealed that what he said was true, but there is still a (new) London Bridge in London. The one sold to an American entrepreneur was in fact, just one of the many London Bridges constructed, according to English history.

Drawing of London Bridge from a 1682 map. Pix from Wikipedia

Besides the nursery rhyme, London Bridge, specifically the Stone Gateway on the south, was well known for displaying severed heads of traitors "impaled on pikes, dipped in tar to preserve them against the elements"... gross! The head of Scottish hero, William Wallace (remember Mel Gibson's sterling performance in "Braveheart"?) was the first to appear on the gate in 1305. See if you can spot those heads from the picture above :)!
To know more about London Bridge, go to this link ...

So, did we go to London Bridge? Nah... We went to the other bridge: the Tower Bridge.

From London Bridge Station, we walked down Tooley Street, through a place called 'More London' where I took the (above) pictures of Tower Bridge and these eye-catching buildings (below)...

London City Hall rupanya...

Bangunan lonjong yang nampak kat belakang tu ialah
"The Gherkin" at St Mary Axe.

Big Ben and London Eye

2010-08-11T09:00:00.005+01:00

From Buckingham Palace, we walked back to Victoria Station and boarded the tube to Westminster station. Our next stop was the Houses of Parliament, known for it's iconic Clock Tower @ Big Ben.

The Houses of Parliament on the north bank of River Thames

Posing on Westminster Bridge

Across Westminster Bridge, on the south bank of River Thames was the London Eye. A ride on the gigantic ferris wheel? Maybe next time. We've been on the smaller Eye on Malaysia before and figured that the experience would be almost the same :).

To pujuk the kids, kenalah beli ice-cream... Cheaper than London Eye's tickets :P.

London Reconnaissance - Buckingham Palace

2010-08-10T09:11:00.009+01:00

From Victoria Station, we walked along Buckingham Palace Road until we reached the palace complex. It took us about 7 minutes to reach the Royal Mews (stables). Further up was the Queens's Gallery, a gift shop, and the ticket office to the State Rooms. At the end of the road was the entrance to Buckingham Palace. Nak melawat semua tempat ni boleh, sediakan aje duit... or like us, you can just take pictures outside the premises :).

Amani in front of Buckingham Palace

Guard duduk dalam pagar. Tengok je lah dari jauh...

As we missed the changing of guard earlier in the day, the only changing of guard that we saw was this...

Hehehe!

The east-front principal facade of Buckingham Palace

London Reconnaissance (Part 1)

2010-08-09T17:10:00.000+01:00

My recent visit to London was a reconnaissance of sorts. It was my first visit to the city and rightfully, 2 days and 1 night would not have sufficed for me to cover all the tourist attractions. So, I was contented to just let my husband take the lead. After all he's been here a couple of times.

As we were not quite sure which zone our lodge was situated within London, hubby decided to pay the 'congestion fee' just to be on the safe side. The fee was 8 pounds per-day.

The journey to London from Bristol normally takes about 2 hours but during peak hours (before 9.00 a.m on weekdays), it can take up to 3 hours just to reach the place.

Thanks to the satnav, we were routed to our lodge via another long-winded way, which was, however, outside the congestion zone. Buat rugi je bayar congestion fee! But as hubby was saying, it's our 'learning fee' :).

As we arrived early, we decided to check into our room. 10 pounds melayang... (another 'learning fee" :)). Lesson learnt: it doesn't pay to be early (when you check-in) or late (when you check-out) in this part of the world (Malaysia boleh pulak... Huhuhu...). Just be on time! :)   On the bright side, the lodge has its own car park (quite rare for a budget hotel in London) and the parking fee for guests was only 5 pounds for a whole day.  So, after unpacking our things and having a light snack, we were all geared up for London.

As advised by a 'Londoner' (thanks, Lena :)), we bought off-peak day travelcards from a neighbourhood store, which enabled us to take any available public transport (bus and tube) within the zones covered by the tickets (ours was for zones 1-2).   The price for a one-day off-peak travelcard was 5.60 pounds for an adult, and 2 pounds for a child between 11-15.  Kids below 11 travel free with an adult.

From the Battersea Travelodge,  we took the famous red double-decker bus (no. 44) to Victoria.

At the London Victoria Station

Picking Blackberries

2010-07-29T00:31:00.006+01:00

Tis the season to be merry and pick berries!

I had wanted to go strawberry picking for quite sometime now but since the plan has yet to materialize, I had to content myself picking blackberries kat belakang rumah aje...

However, picking blackberries was not as fun as picking strawberries as there were big prickly thorns to avoid. You might want to consider covering yourself from head to toe to avoid being scratched!

As for moi, in the end, hubby did the 'dirty' job... Kui! Kui! Kui!

Blackberries normally grow wild in the bushes. It flowers in spring and bears fruit in summer.

Beginilah rupa blackberry... If it is purple, red or green in colour, it's not ripe yet. So, tak payah petik sebab ia tak akan ranum walaupun diperam (ingat pisang ke??). A sweet ripe blackberry would be deep black, and feels 'plumpily' soft when you squeeze it between your fingers. Normally it will pull free from the plant with a slight tug.

Blackberries are normally eaten raw, served with yogurt or desert and often made into jam or jelly. Nantilah bila senang-senang, boleh cuba buat Blackberry jam (entah bilalah tu...)

Other interesting facts about blackberries:

- The ancient Greeks believed that blackberries could cure diseases of the mouth and throat and prevent many ailments including gout.

- Researches done in several institutions in Ohio found that blackberries contain potent antioxidants to fight cancer.

- According to Culpeper, the English herbalist, blackberry leaves boiled in lye solution made good grey-hair dye.

For more information on the blackberry (the fruit not the phone :P), go to this link.

Summer in Bristol

2010-07-28T09:30:00.003+01:00

Summer is the time for outdoor activities. Just the other day I watched this documentary on BBC about the British Outdoors. My, the Brits really go all out during summer - camping, cycling, walking, fishing, picnicking, hiking, rambling, you name it! Of course, we Malaysians don't really understand what the fuss is about as we live in a temperate country whereby 'summer' is experienced all year round. As a sun-loving person, though, I welcome the summer with all my heart :D!

Anyway, summer in Bristol is not the same as, say, summer in Michigan. Not sunshine all the way. Maybe due to Bristol's close proximity to the sea, you'll get alternative days of rain and shine. But then again, maybe it's just the English weather :P...

Just the other day, my co-supervisor remarked that this summer is not a typical Bristol summer. When I asked her what she meant, she said that it has been unusually 'hot' (when it's hot la...) this time around. Well, I don't mind. I'd rather have the sun scorch my skin than have the rain dampen my spirits :)! But then again... I do think I have become a tad too tan for my liking. Nak buat macamana, kulit Melayu... hehehe! I guess I'll just have to slather more of those sunblock on my face :)...

Di samping Dr. Eyja yang putih melepak
...or was it the foundation? :)

School Reports

2010-07-22T02:00:00.028+01:00

The school term is coming to a close.  Unlike in Malaysia where school term ends at the end of the year, the term ends in July here. At this time of year, parents will receive school reports of their children from the respective class teachers. This being my first time (of receiving school reports in the UK), I was quite anxious and excited. The UK school system has never failed to amaze me and I was thinking (in a good way) "what now?"

In Malaysia, school reports tend to be rather quantitative, whereby the marks (and grades) of each subject will be totalled up to determine a student's position in his/her class and cohort (very important to the parents, this :P). There will be a small space in the report card for the class teacher and headmaster/mistress to briefly comment on the student's progress. Most often, it will be some 'safe' forgetable comments such as "keep up the good work", "tingkatkan usaha anda", etc.  Rarely would you come across a memorable comment which would 'haunt' you for the rest of your life as "suka berbual-bual dalam bilik darjah" (like to talk a lot in class)! Kah! Kah! Kah!

In contrast, school reports in the UK are more descriptive.  No marks (surprise!). Just the students' level (on a Likert scale of 1 to 5) to indicate their performance in each subject.  For example:
Level 3 and below represent "achievement below the nationally expected standard for most ___ year-olds".
Level 4 represent "achievement at the nationally expected standard..."
Level 5 & 6 represent the "achievement above the nationally expected standard..."

What is more important, the teacher takes time to describe the academic, as well as the social development of a child. Each child's achievement is 'celebrated' no matter how small it is. At the same time, a child's area of weakness is highlighted so that parents can work with the child to improve his/her deficiencies.

This is different from what I experienced back home. I could still remember my experience during 'report-card day' many moons ago. The moment my husband and I were seated, the teacher didn't waste any time pointing out the weakness of my daughter in math, that she needed to get 90% in all her subjects to be top ten in class (obviously, being in the top class of the cohort was not enough:P), that she was weak in this, weak in that, bla, bla, bla. If I were my daughter, I would be demoralized! I could still remember the weird look she gave us when my husband coolly told her that we were O.K with Nurul's 87% in math (still an A!), as we thought that she has yet to show her true potential (the daughter being the lazy bum that she was :P). When we asked the teacher what Nurul's strengths were (since she has told us loads of our daughter's weaknesses :P), she just couldn't answer. Hmm...

What can I say? The Malaysian education system is exam-oriented! Perhaps if teachers were not burdened by the system (and headteachers, and kiasu parents...) to churn out A students, they would take the trouble to nurture our young ones to realize their full potential as human beings (not just academically)?? I hope I live to see the day...

13

2010-06-16T21:36:00.002+01:00

Hubby and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary exactly a month ago. The fact that I'm blogging about it now shows how busy I have been! Even on the day itself, I was too busy doing my assignment (which was due the next day) to celebrate! Cheh! When we finally had the chance to celebrate, it was rather low-key. No fancy presents or elaborate dinner, but I'm thankful that Jeej and the kids are here with me.

If there ever was a theme for our 13th anniversary, it would be sacrifice. Sacrificing your career, friends, comfort... To enabled me to achieve my dream, my dearly beloved practically sacrificed his 'life'! Although he hated the English weather, the skemaness of the system, he is still by my side and for that I'm truly blessed :)! Alhamdulillah ...

The Roman Baths & Pulteney Bridge

2010-05-30T19:43:00.004+01:00

When you are in Bath, the natural thing to do is to visit its namesake - the Roman Baths.

Situated in the city centre of Bath, it is "one of the finest thermal spas of the ancient world". Seperti biasa, you have to pay to enter the world heritage tourist site. Equiped with our audioguides, we started our tour around the place.

View from the terrace with Bath Abbey in the background (right)

View of the great bath from the terrace

The Roman Baths is actually a sprawling site but from outside one would never have thought so. Its underground complex houses the sacred spring, the Roman temple,the Roman bath house and other artefacts.

The Gorgon's head excavated from the ruins of the Roman temple ...

... the sacred spring where worshippers threw in their scrolled wishes or curses inscribed on sheets of lead and pewter, in the hope that its dwelling spirit, the goddess Sulis Minerva would grant them.

After all these centuries, the sacred spring still yield mineral-rich spa water which visitors got to drink for free (just show your entrance tickets). The taste? I thought it would be heavenly macam air zamzam, but who was I kidding? Rasanya payau tapi baunya ... Puh! Macam air longkang je... Kui!Kui!Kui!Sungguh mengembangkan tekak! :P.

(pix by Stan Zurek)

Talk about longkang, here's an underground longkang (drain)that has lasted the test of time and is still functioning!

Besides these, there were the changing rooms, saunas, heated rooms and plunging pool which I didn't care to photograph as I was too engrossed with my audioguide :).

The great bath was the most interesting place of the tour because you'd see actors (supposedly portraying people from the township of Aquae Sulis) getting into their character, thrilling the crowd.

Amani sitting beside a Roman Marge Simpson :P. This hairstyle was supposed to be in vogue those days. Now we know where Matt Groening got his inspiration from! :)

After buying souvenirs, we moved on to other parts of Bath. We went to Royal Victoria Park for lunch, took pictures (my dad lah) at the Royal Crescent, before stopping at our final destination: a park near Pulteney Bridge.

My most unforgetable memory of Bath, however, came a few weeks later in the form of a traffic offense notice. Caught in (foul) action by traffic camera! Huhuhu...

Much ado about a batu

2010-05-28T16:17:00.066+01:00

It took us 9 months and my parents' visit to finally reach Stonehenge. If my parents hadn't insisted on going there, it would still be the last place that we would visit. After all, the place is just an hour's drive from Bristol (read: go to the far away places first :)).

Thanks to the satnav, we were taken down narrow, winding roads through small traditional villages (thatched-roofed house and all), and into vast green meadows. Sadly, I couldn't take any pictures because I was on the wheels.

When we reached the place, it was almost noon but the weather was wonderful. There was a long queue for the tickets. Yeah, you have to pay to look at the batu... :P. Luckily, we managed to get in free as we had "English Heritage" cards (thanks K. Fariza!:)).

We were given audioguides to enable us to listen to information about the place. The ultimate new age 'tourist guide', you listen to what you want, when you want and how (many times) you want. Cool isn't it? What impressed me was that the gadget managed to keep my hyperactive sons occupied, toying with the buttons and listening intently to the commentaries (macamlah faham sangat! Kuikuikui!). I'm one happy mother!

The batu was ... well ... a pile of stones in the middle of a field. We can't go near 'em though and can only view from afar. So tawaf ajelah keliling batu... hehehe!

Some pictures of Stonehenge from different angles ...