Anyone for dog? (literally, so please don't read if you're squeemish!)

We have recently discovered our local wet market where we can get a week's supply of fruit and veg for about £4! The first time we shopped there we cause quite a stir but we now have our regular stall holders who recognise us and for the rest we are last week's news!

Sam and I went this morning and had a spot of breakfast before doing our shopping -  a delicious vegetable pancake. The market is a great place to practice our Chinese and we now manage to complete all of our purchases in Chinese, which causes much amusement. We are often asked to say things a few times and to a crowd who have a chuckle and attempt conversations with us!

The market sells just about everything from household goods to meat and fish.

We only buy our fruit and veg there at the moment although we did take a look at the meat section, but it is not always clear what part of the animal or indeed, what animal you are buying!  And clearly some of the live animals shouldn't hang around too long!!

There is a corner of a foregin field that is forever England...

I had my first trip, with my friend Lucy, to Marks and Spencer, aka M&S, St Michael's, Mark's and Spark's, in Shanghai this week. I had avoided going there as I thought that it would be a 'fake'. How wrong I was! Walking in was like being transported back to the UK!

The clothes were the same although more expensive.

There was even a food hall which stocked familiar items.

I resisted the temptation to have a coffee in the cafe as I'm firmly a Costa girl, but I did buy some crisps and chocolate coins for Christmas!

It was fun to go there but I won't be making regular trips as we have gone a bit native in our choice of shopping locations.

Halloween!

William and Oliver have celebrated each Halloween since they have been born in fairly low key way.  However, moving to a compound occcupied by a majority of Americans was bound to put a stop to this!  I found myself going to a weekly meeting that started in September to plan the compound's first Halloween Street Party! 

After sorting out a common vocabulary and explaining that we British did know what Halloween was (!!), planning got underway.  Jobs were allocated and I found myself signed up to make jello/jelly for the table of gore and to source mini pumpkins for the pumpkin tossing!  Unfortunately, William and Oliver will have to wait to experience the tradition of apple bobbing as it was felt that this would be a germ spreader!

On the night an area outside was decorated, luckily the weather was still warm enough and the games were set up.  Most families carved pumpkins to enter in to the competition.  William and Oliver enjoyed eating the sweets off the string, the gore table, tossing pumpkins and making scary popcorn hands. 

One highlight of the evening was having a picnic in the dark.

After eating everyone set off trick or treating.  Each house participating put a pumpkin out.  Most of the compound joined in.  Oliver and William enjoyed knocking on each door and calling out 'trick or treak?' in scary voices -They got a fright at our house!

We managed about five house when tiredness began to show so we went home for toast, wine and to check what goodies we'd got. 

The first Hawkridge trick or treating session was declared a success!

A Rainbow of Nations

At the end of October, William and Oliver's school held their 8th annual United Nations week.  At Dulwich forty two different nationalities are represented so there is lots to look at and learn about.  Each class focusses on a country and learns all about it.  There is a food fair organised by the parents where there are lots of different things to sample. 

The end of UN week culminates in a parade of the children from DUCKS.  Each child dresses up to represent the country or countries they are from.  Unfortunately, for the first time since it started, the parade was rained off.  However,  the whole morning was set aside for parents to visit the different countries around the school trying food, completing activities and getting passports stamped.

I went with Oliver and William and we visited England, China, India, Turkey and Madagascar. 

In England we made a soldier from the Household guard and had our faces painted

In China we had to count the number of Chinese flags we could see in the classroom, there were 49!

In Turkey we made Turkish lucky eyes (and some funny faces!!)

 In India we used coloured sand and glue to make pictures and in Madagascar we discovered that the only cutlery they use is a spoon, so we decorated spoons. 

After stopping for the all important snack, William and Oliver collected their prize of a pot of bubbles for visiting four countries

Oliver and William with their friend Ria who represented Britain and India!

An Ode to the Rugby World Cup 2011 - by Sam and Lucy

At the start of September began six weeks of heaven

The Rugby World Cup  - 2011

Big Bamboo each Saturday and Sunday

Us to watch rugby and the children to play

England progressed on and topped our group, just,

The last game arrived, and beating Scotland was a must

We got to the quaters just about  - job done

Antics off the pitch were causing media scrum

Both Ireland and Wales were playing very well

Which one would go home, it was difficult to tell

It was the pick of the quaters, a close contest

However, in the end Wales played the best

The Argies and Saffers put up a good fight

But the Antipodeans won on the night

The French built a lead, we came back but too late

A second world cup will just have to wait

We continued to Big bamboo for every game

Children were growing wilder and more insane!

Adults were glued to the screen and the cup

Children were tipping the bouncy castle up!

The first semi arrived, Wales were a sure thing

Their fans were teaching everyone to sing

The fairytale didn't go according to plan

Allain Rolland is not Wales' favourite man!

Semi number two, the teams were set to go for broke

As long as the Kiwis didn't, yet again, choke

The Aussies sent the kick off straight in to touch

and the Kiwis knew they wouldn't have to do much

The final arrived, what would be the score

The Kiwis were ready, could the French find more

France played well but couldn't trip the Kiwis up 

New Zealand lifted the Rugby World Cup

And so draws to a close our six weeks of heaven

A great time we've had at RWC 2011

Four more years to wait, what will we do

Dream of winning the next final at Rugby HQ!

Sports Day in Shanghai

Today, William and Oliver participated in their first sports day. In actual fact it turned out to be sports hour!  Parents were invited along to take part.  Sam had the day off work, all geared up to race the other dads until we discoved that it was a non-competative sports day!  Well, unless you had a brother also taking part!

Out on the back field 11 activites had been set up. 

Pupils and their parents completed each activity according to the rules, collected a stamp and moved on.  If you managed to complete all 11 you were allowed to pick your favourite to go back to. 

It was great fun and Oliver and William enjoyed completing activities such as hula hoop, space hoppers, sprints and the obstacle course. 

 

As we travelled around each activity one highlight was collecting the stamps!

The obstacle course proved a favourite and was completed twice.  The second time with another set of identical twins!

Sports day was a huge hit with all four of the Hawkridges but in particular with us as it obviously wore William and Oliver out - they were in bed and fast asleep by 7:10 tonight!

It's a kind of magic...

On Friday morning at breakfast Oliver announced that he wanted to get in the Magic Book for the week.  I explained that if he tried his best he might.  When I picked him and William up from school he came rushing up to tell me he'd got it!  It was my second very emotional moment since they started school!

I told his teacher what he had said at breakfast and she told me that when she said it was time to go to the hall for Magic Book he said 'wouldn't it be funny if it was me and Hunter'.  And it was, Oliver clearly has magical powers!

Oliver got his certificate for 'always being so happy at school' and having a 'lovely smiley face'!

I asked Oliver what he'd like his treat to be and he requested a trip to Costa for a chocolate twist, a child after my own heart!

"You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft" - not in China!

On the final day of our holiday the weather was still a bit overcast but dry enough for us to go bamboo rafting.  A taxi was called to take us to the river despite the fact that it was very walkable.  When our taxi turned up it was one man on a moped!  We began to walk with him alongside until he decided that he would take us in two lots.  Sam and William jumped on and sped off whilst Oliver and I kept walking.  We got to within 200 yards of the river when the 'taxi' reappeared and insisted upon Oliver and jumped on!

It was very busy at the river and old women constantly tried to sell us waterproof ponchoes and plastic water cannons to fire at each other!  We declined both.

Eventually we were off on our rafts.  They were different to the rafts we had in Thailand in that they had seats!  Although within a few minutes we all had numb bottoms as they were not the most comfortable!

We got up a pretty good speed and soon came to the first 'waterfall'! 

William and Oliver enjoyed going down it.  No sooner had we than we pulled over at a raft island where there were computers and laminaters whiring away!  We bought a couple of photos.

We had thought that it would be a peaceful morning on the river but there were alot of rafts and a lot of people squirting their water cannons!  Also our drivers kept trying to stop at one of the floating 'restaurants' so we could have some fish.  However, despite the river traffic it was great fun and the scenery was fantastic.  We will highly recommend this part of China to friends and relatives and plan to return ourselves.