It's Bhola Time

Photo time

Play time

Time to laugh

Girl time

Time to phone home



Boy time

More time to play

 

Bed time

Anne x

 

One Hundred Not Out!

I began this blog in the summer of 2010, a lead-up to the publication of A Blonde Bengali Wife (and, as it happens, the birth of my little boy, Simon).  'Time flies' is a cliché and feels so wrong during those more challenging days/weeks/months - when it all but stands still - but looking back over the last five years, I am certainly joining that middle-aged (no...never...help!) chorus of wondering where the years have gone?

We're often poor at concentrating more on what we haven't done rather than what we have. During my Family Group Conference work (a whole other story) I learned and taught that listing the positives in a situation is not only vital to present well-being and future planning, but that's it often very surprising - and affirming.  Do it, and it's likely you've achieved far more than you thought, and okay, they might be small things (getting the baby bathed before you and he fall asleep, writing a regular, brief, blog post) or ones that don't feel very central to your main goal of  world domination, but hey - you've still achieved them: reflect and celebrate!

So - timely in this the 100th blog post - what have I actually done over the last five years?  I have a beautiful, spirited, adorable and maddening son... and we still, on average, laugh more than we cry. I've seen A Blonde Bengali Wife published, and selling. I've finished and submitted my PhD ( yes, really - for those of you snorting in disbelief ). I'm a Trustee of a very special charity in Bhola's Children, and have had the privilege of several visits back to Bangladesh (and some other great countries) I've met some talented and fascinating writers who have allowed me to work on their novels with them, and am subsequently watching their many successes.  I've taken on the editorship of local on-line magazine, Lothian Life...

I'm stopping there.  It's turning equally into a living obituary and the type of acknowledgements page where the author thanks everyone from their dog to their chosen deity and still misses someone out.  And it also means that at least six more people are going to ask me, 'What Next?' to which the answer is, for the present, 'more of the same'.  Why change what I love... until something else I'll love comes along!

One thing I would like to say, though, is a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped me (and Simon) get this far.  I'm a writer without the words to describe the importance of family and friends but hopefully you know who you are and what you mean to us (even when we drive you mad).  And, when I make it rich and famous, I'll remember you, okay?  Hmm, maybe that's the next five year plan...

Anne x

PS Go on, write your own list of achievements big and small.  I dare you...



 

News From Bhola

I'm late writing this month... for many reasons but the most important one being, I wanted to be able to pass on accurate and honest news from Bhola.  Things have been difficult; they are emerging into a new chapter of strength and positivity - and most importantly the children are thriving!  I'm posting Dinah, our Chief Trustee's, letter in full; it's long, it's shocking, but please read to the end... and hopefully, stay with Bhola's Children...

 *******

Dear friends,

I know many of you have wondered at the lack of any report following my visit with Freda in February.   Now, after a worrying time, I can send you our official report on the situation in Bhola. 

We are immensely proud of how much we have achieved with your help for the children of Bhola, an island of two million people where poverty and lack of proper hospital facilities led to high rates of disability which brings stigma to the whole family. Eight years ago, Ali, the Director of the home and school, was going round the villages on his bicycle searching for disabled children and then with difficulty persuading the family to let him help. Now we have the land, buildings, facilities and staff to cater for up to 100 children. Most importantly, we have built up local support for the project so that families, the authorities and other charities bring children to us. From the District Commissioner down the authorities welcome us and we have well-respected locals on the managing committee there who have the management skills to ensure the funds we provide are well spent in the interests of the children and the influence to promote the project’s aims.

At the start Ali was in charge of everything but as the project grew and he grew older it was clear we had to reduce the burden on him and plan for his succession. It has taken some time to find suitable candidates but over the last year we have appointed a new Director and Deputy Director whom we are confident can take the project forward.

It is, therefore, with great sadness that we have to announce the termination of Ali’s involvement with the project when we had been hoping that the project would continue to benefit from the knowledge and skills he had acquired over a lifetime of work with disabled children. Unfortunately Ali was recently charged with inappropriate behaviour with a vulnerable adult.  We immediately suspended him and barred him from the premises. Then, after exhaustive investigations by ourselves and the police, we felt we had no option but to terminate his involvement. [The police are not considering charging Ali with offences against any child or other adult.]

We reported the situation in detail to the UK Charity Commission and yesterday, to our great relief, they reported themselves satisfied with the actions taken in response to the incident.

As we say, this is a sad day but every such day has a silver lining. Ali was always reluctant to cede control and we can now move forward faster with necessary changes that will make the project permanently sustainable and no longer dependent on one very gifted but, as we now see, flawed individual.   As I mentioned in earlier emails, we were fortunate that Zakirul Haque, whom I met some five years ago and tried to persuade to join us, was between jobs and agreed to be an interim director until we found a replacement for Ali.  He has now agreed to a permanent position, which is a cause for great celebration. We continue to have the full support of the local community,   and we are happy to confirm that new children are still arriving at the same rate as before the story broke.   Five new children have recently arrived, including the youngest of three deaf brothers whose photograph is attached. Ahsanullah and Supian have been with us for many years, and I look forward to meeting little Saiful on my next visit.

I am therefore able to write to you confident that we can move ahead under an excellent new Director, supported by the community and managed by a local Committee whom we trust, and who have the children’s interests at heart.

We are grateful for your help to date and we very much hope you will continue to support us for the future.

Very Best Wishes and thanks from us all

Dinah.

 

*******

Next time - photos and news of the new students and forthcoming plans.  Meantime,  your comments and responses (whatever they are) are all very welcome.

Anne x

Independence Day

Where The Mind Is Without Fear

 

by Rabindranath Tagore

 

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high 
Where knowledge is free 
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls 
Where words come out from the depth of truth 
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection 
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way 
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit 
Where the mind is led forward by thee 
Into ever-widening thought and action 
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

 

 

Bangladesh Flag

 

 
Independence Day in the People's Republic of Bangladesh commemorates the country's declaration of independence, achieved on 26th March, 1971.  Formerly East Pakistan, the Bangladesh War of Liberation lasted nine months in which thousands of civilians died (the Bangladeshi Authorities say it was 3 million), there was an exodus of 10 million refugees into this new country, and 30 million others were left displaced.  Somewhere in the middle, a category 3 cyclone raged too.



 

National Monument, Savar.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941): poet, novelist, song-writer - author of the national anthems of both Bangladesh and India - is a Bangladeshi cultural icon and his words and music claimed as the emblem of the separatist movement.  For many, he was not only the soundtrack of the revolution, rather the revolution centred on him.

These days, Independence Day remains a celebration of freedom, a time to remember, and is a national holiday.  There is nothing Bhola's Children enjoy more  than a picnic and a parade - and here they are (rain-soaked!) waiting for both to start:



No rain on Bhola's Children's parade!

 

Anne x





 

Definitely Not Fifty Shades of Grey

At this time of year I'm longing to see a bit more colour, a lot more light; daffodils, crocuses, the sun rising just that bit earlier and setting later.

It extends to my reading too.  Most of this is still either (a) related to my (now in the fast lane for a quick finish) PhD or (b) by Julia Donaldson, Mick Inkpen or Roald Dahl.  So, when I can chose something for an hour's blissful and inspiring entertainment, I don't want any shade of grey within a hundred miles of me.  I want a colourful explosion of well-written stories!

I'm lucky enough to have a very talented group of friends and colleagues whose first novels have been published in the last few days and weeks, and it's these I'd like to share with you now.  Some are available only as ebooks, which is a choice more and more small publishers are making, others in hard copy too.  Either way, do take a few minutes to 'browse' and brighten your day.


A TAPESTRY OF VICE AND VIRTUE
By Clara Challoner Walker

Old friends, Gabriel and Shylah, find their lives thrown into turmoil when Gabriel returns from working in Saudi Arabia, where she has been party to a huge miscarriage of justice.  Their actions will have repercussions far beyond the small town of Market Hamilton where they both grew up... (ebook / paperback)

For more information: www.clarachallonerwalker.com 
To hear Clara speaking about the book, click on http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02j6h8n (only available for the next few days!) 

THE SINGLE FEATHER
By R.F Hunt

Rachel is a young woman who is trying to make a new life for herself after a horrible accident that has left her paraplegic, and subject to a bullying community.  A talented artist, she joins a local art group and starts to make friends, but ultimately learns that to move forward she must confront her past... (ebook / paperback)

For more information: http://www.rhunt4.com


THE FOREST KING'S DAUGHTER
by Kendra Olson

Ingrid is 16 years old, the daughter of poor farming folk in nineteenth century Sweden.  When she inadvertently falls foul of the Church, she decides to leave home - and there starts an epic journey for Ingrid culminating in the desire for a new life in America. (ebook)

For more information: https://kendraolson.wordpress.com/


FINDING DESTINY
by Katrina Hart

Alex chases his little sister's escaped pony into a strange forest, drinks a potion from an old gypsy woman - and finds himself transported to the year 2038 where he is already a husband and father.  Owls fight with humans to rule the world, and Alex must use the power of story-telling to save his family and perhaps the world... (ebook)

For more information: https://katrinamarie25.wordpress.com/


A SECOND CHANCE?
by Lucy James

Grace's heart is broken in Edinburgh, so she runs as far away as she can - to Seoul, South Korea - to teach English.  Here, she meets high-flying US diplomat, Xander West and so begins a whirlwind romance.  It soon becomes obvious that Xander has a past -  but then so does Grace... (ebook)

 
THE LAST ROSE
by Wendy Clarke

Actually a lovely collection of short stories based on family and friendship, which follows Wendy's first anthology, Room In Your Heart.  Written with humour, insight and sensitivity, they are a great read when you only have a few minutes at a time...  (ebooks)

For more information: http://wendyswritingnow.blogspot.co.uk/


All books available from Amazon UK (and other outlets/formats etc as mentioned on individual websites)

Happy reading!  Please do leave a comment if there's something you particularly enjoyed.

Anne x

 

A Letter For Bhola

Dinah, the Chief Trustee, of Bhola's Children, is off on her travels again.  She and Freda, fellow member of the Board are in Dhaka as I write, awaiting the evening launch to the island.  As supporters will know, Ali, founder, and mainstay of the home for so many years, has been out of action recently. We've been working hard to find a replacement director who will maintain and develop Ali's - and our - dreams whilst leaving Ali himself in more of an advisory and consultancy role.  Zakir is currently doing a wonderful job and we all hope he will stay long term.

Below, I'm publishing intact Dinah's letter to donors.  Yes, it is unashamedly a begging letter! But more than that - we're well aware that finances are tight the world over - it's a request for ideas, for advice, for unique suggestions about new ways of fundraising.  Whether you personally can offer to do anything, know someone who can or you simply come up with something we've not thought of, please comment here!  I'm happy to go with the whole range of the sublime and the ridiculous... 

Anne x

Zakir's youngest daughter, Nora, (with her big sister) celebrating her birthday
with the children in Bhola

Dear friends,

 

Freda and I are off to Bhola again, taking the overnight launch from Dhaka on Saturday.  Ali feels well enough to come with us, which is excellent news and I know the children will be thrilled to see him again.   He will be working in an advisory capacity, although I know he will want to resume such classes as the very noisy and extremely successful lip reading lessons.

 

The agenda for our committee meeting includes the item ‘appointment of new director’, which is reassuring.   We know Zakir is doing a very good job and we are very happy with the new procedures he has put into place.  We expect to find a good relationship between him and the staff and the children, whom he obviously adores.   I first met Zakir some five years ago and knew he would be an ideal successor to Ali – who himself wanted him to take over – but at the time he wasn’t prepared to take on the role.   It is wonderful that he feels the time is now right.

 

Zakir's permanent appointment, much as it is welcomed, does give us a financial problem.  His salary is 50,000 taka  a month – which is what we had always expected to pay a good director so we anticipated this extra expense in due course.   Unfortunately, though, the taka is now very strong so this equates to nearly £450 a month, as opposed to £400 when the taka stood at 125/£

 

In addition, of course, we continue to pay Ali and will need to rent accommodation for him outside the boundary.  

 

As you can see if you have read this far,  this is becoming a begging email.   Our running costs have increased from £25,000 to over £30,000 a year.  So if anyone can increase their standing order or put one into place, we would be extremely grateful.  I know times are tough for us all, but every little helps and you can be assured that every penny you donate will go to the maintenance of our children.

 

And if anyone has any bright ideas for fundraising this year, we’ d love to hear from you.

 

Meanwhile Ali, Zakir and all the staff thank you for your generosity towards our lovely children, as do we trustees.

 

Best wishes,

Dinah 

 

 

'A Bonde Bengali Wife' revisited

There was a little flurry of interest in A Blonde Bengali Wife over December and January - a bit like the Edinburgh snow in fact: the endless quiet, grey skies suddenly fill with snow, it falls, keeps us busy for a day or two but normal service resumes pretty quickly.

A handful of people, some I know well, others I don't, wanted signed copies for Christmas.  A couple more wrote to say they had downloaded it to their Kindle to read over the holiday period.  It's always a little thrill to know that someone, somewhere might be reading it... but even if they buy it and use it as a doorstop or wasp-basher, it still means an extra handful of rice for the children in Bhola.  Win-win!

I usually keep a few copies at home but suddenly realised I'd sent out the last one, and so I decided to go on to Amazon and buy one or two more - just in case.  Of course I should have paid the full price and bought new ones, but I was intrigued to know where the marketplace ones were coming from: 'good condition, with some markings on the spine'; 'condition fair, ex-library copy with evidence of use' were two of the descriptions.  In the end, I couldn't resist and bought three of them - the total postage cost more than the books.

It was fascinating to receive them.  Yes, the ex-library copy showed signs of use - as both doorstop and wasp-basher.  It was also shrivelled as if it had been in the bath.  The mind was boggling and infuriatingly, it was impossible to tell from the front plate and shelf-mark which library had discarded it!  I like to think that the one with 'some markings' had been lovingly read and passed on to the charity shop whose price sticker was on the back - several page corners were turned down and it looked as if it had been left upside down on a coffee table... And then, finally came the pristine, unread copy - which was signed by me, myself and I, dated October 2010.  Clearly, it had been bought at the original book launch and never looked at since!  Intriguing - who had had it?  Do I know them?  Was it a gift?  (If it's you, please do write and tell me)

I'm now trying to resist all urges to buy the rest of the second-hand copies listed on Amazon...

Not sure really, what this post is saying, other than it's the obvious prelude to a shameless plug: please go on to Amazon or LL Publications and buy a copy.  Or if you already have one (or did have one and gave it away) write a review of it, also on the Amazon site so that the ratings increase.  After all... the children in Bhola will benefit - and you can't argue with that (see, shameless!!)

And whilst you're on Amazon, an excellent read is the newly published E-book A Second Chance? Written by Lucy James, a friend and ex-student of mine, it's a sort of 'thinking chick-lit' and is currently doing really well.  And she's nearly finished her next one so you can look forward to a run of good reading...

Anne x

 

Christmas in Bhola

A very

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

from me,

and from all in

Bhola!

 

 

 

 

and

BEST WISHES

for 2015

 

 

Dinah and Freda in Bhola

Dinah, our founding Trustee of Bhola's Children, and Freda, one of the newer but already invaluable members, have just returned from a highly productive visit to Bangladesh. 

The local Committee are going from strength to strength, and Sharjahan and his family, six months in to their trial as assistant Directors/houseparents have just had their contracts extended.

The children are all doing well, and life very much goes on, despite the day to day tribulations over which we only tread the surface...

Just a few new pictures, this month, for you to share in:

All present and correct - the Bhola Family as it is at present!

Sharjarhan and his family (with Freda)

 

Hassan, creator of this year's 'Christmas' card is very proud!

Weeding the vegetables...

The Christmas cards are available via the www.bhlaschildren.org website - a technological glitch means I haven't a direct link here, but the website is always worth a look anyway!  And, a shameless plug, if anyone would like to give a present of A Blonde Bengali Wife, Amazon has it, or you can email me direct!

Anne x

 

Writing Round-Up

With the changing of the clocks and November all-but upon us, it's often a time when writers make a 'new season' resolution to draw the curtains, light a candle and huddle over the laptop; get writing in a way that wasn't so welcoming during the long and warm summer evenings.

If that sounds like you, then here are a few more incentives, success stories from various people and groups with which I'm involved:

Writer, Jazz Shaban, is publishing her dual biography Road to Damascus, in November.  It tells the parallel stories of the lives of sisters Jigi and Suzan, raised separately, one in the UK and the other in Syria, and how they eventually get back together again.  The story is often challenging but Jazz's insights and humour bring the book alive and it reads like a gripping novel.  All the more poignant because the Syria that Suzan still lives in is changed beyond all recognition. 

Another author, Marie Campbell, has just found a very enthusiastic agent for her first novel, currently titled, Missing.  James Essinger of the Canterbury Literary Agency, is the one who has recognised what a clever and entertaining thriller this is... Father-to-be, Michael, goes missing and Jill, his partner, is the only one convinced it's far more than a case of cold feet.  Michael certainly has a past, but where does the shadowy Anna fit into it?  Also told from dual points of view, this will keep you guessing to the suitably chilling end.  No doubt a publisher is just round the corner.

Kendra Olson and Stuart White have embarked on the academic route.  Both with novels under their belts, they were both accepted on to the very competitive MLitt in Creative writing at Glasgow University.  Much luck to the them!

Over to Edinburgh-based writing groups: I've already written about the successful collaborative play that Ox-pen, based at Pentland Community Centre, wrote, entitled Spooks, Secrets and Suspects.  Well, if you are local and you missed the reading, the film version is being shown in Oxgangs Library on Thursday 20th November at 2pm - all are invited.  At the other end of town, Gilmerton Writers' are currently preparing their first anthology of work... more on that in later posts.

If you're still not quite ready to hunker down and write, consider hopping out to the Lyceum's current production, Bondagers.  Great play by Sue Glover that has come home to Edinburgh and is quite compelling... Click on www.lothian-life.co.uk for a truly wonderful (you'll see why) review!!

Finally, a totally unconnected, very important, plug for Christmas cards in aid of Bhola's Children.  Currently available via www.bholaschildren.org they are also available without a greeting so you can use them any time of year!  I'll paste a full link here as soon as PayPal etc is set up for purchase.

Anne x



 

Bangla Food for Dragon-Slayers

Today, 29^th September is Michaelmas. I learned this equally from the wonderful Steiner School Kindergarten and late night forays of distraction into River Cottage repeats.  It’s traditionally a festival for marking the change in seasons and of gathering the harvest to provide for the winter ahead; more recently it celebrates the role of the archangel Michael as dragon-slayer.  As the long days of summer draw into the dark nights of winter, it’s apparently an opportunity to confront our own ‘inner dragons’ and finding the light and courage to see us through to spring .

It got me to thinking – yes, my thought-processes are often tenuous in the extreme – about the importance food plays in nurturing, giving comfort and offering a focus for a social occasion.  It has always been the case in Bangladesh!  Never have I eaten so much, so well, and given with such generosity as I have with both friends and strangers from Dhaka to Bhola.  Of course, some offerings – the crown of the rooster, fish larvae, cows’ brains – are once in a lifetime ‘treats’, others I would come back to again and again, and it’s often the simplest of foods.

Here’s a menu, and a ‘toss it in and see’ sort of recipe for a breakfast feast…

POTATO & PAPAYA CURRY

Take a green-skinned papaya (the flesh is firmer) and a couple of potatoes and chop them into equal sized pieces.  Fry some garlic, onion, turmeric and any other spices you fancy/are to hand, add the potato til cooked through, then toss through the papaya.  It’s a dry curry that is perfect eaten with roti (chapati).

KITCHURI

2 handfuls rice 
1 handful red lentils
1 handful any green leaf vegetables 
couple of tablespoons of oil
water as required

You can also add in onion, garlic, ginger, tumeric and salt… and some versions include egg or meat or chicken.

It’s trial and error: heat the oil and coat the rice, add in the lentils, start to add the water – and keep stirring. Keep adding more water as the rice and lentils absorb it and once they are more or less soft and cooked, stir in the leafy veg

CHA’

A big spoon of black tea per person, add boiling water, add boiling condensed milk (sweetened of course) and more sugar to taste (yes, really) and serve very hot and strong – it should be caramel brown and almost able to hold a spoon up… The faint-hearted can have ‘raw’ tea i.e. omit the condensed milk.

Okay, it’s Jamie (on an off day) rather than Nigella but even when it all goes wrong, the aroma wafting through the kitchen is the perfect way to imagine yourself in Bangladesh - and definitely sufficient to slay those dragons!

Anne x

 

 

 

 

(Bangla) Friends Reunited

Having just returned from a whirlwind summer of travel, I'm once again reminded how indebted I am to so many long-standing and new friends for their generous hospitality.  On the most recent trip this ranges from Ger and Jackie in Ireland to Jose in Washington DC and all the folks in Virginia, to Jay and Charles and Ravi, Valeria and Marla in California and to Guillermo and Dick in Vermont... And the many others who have visited and, very importantly, shared in Simon's 4th birthday!

Of course, there are hundreds of others from Bangladesh - most of them mentioned here on the blog or forever remembered in the pages of A Blonde Bengali Wife - to Tanzania to New Zealand and everywhere in between that are unsung yet treasured.

I can only hope that somehow and someday I manage to pay as many of you back as I can...

Readers of my Bangla musings will have heard countless times about Munnu, Mannu and Bachchu, the three brothers who have made me as near as is possible to a sister.  Well, it's not much but at least this year, I've been able to welcome Bachchu to Edinburgh for a brief but lovely stay and show him our home. 

It was a literal case of friends reunited: Jacqui also met all three brothers (and many other family members) during our visit in 2008 and Allan and Simon met Bachchu earlier this year on our 2014 trip.  A wonderful evening, and let this post be both a genuine, if inadequate, thanks to all of you out there - and a general welcome to anyone passing through Scotland in the years to come!

Anne x

 

Freda Runs For Bhola

Writing from sunny California, with a new cluster of people to excite/bore about Bangladesh, I've realised I'm always quite vague about where the island of Bhola actually lies - saying 'right down in the Bay of Bengal' means something to those who know the geography of SE Asia, but there are a lot of us who remain very geographically-challenged!  So here it is:





The circle shows the position of Bhola's Children, the island on which it is sits is - Bhola.

Our newest Trustee to make the journey is Freda Graf, and Freda is about to undertake a sponsored run (no, not actually to Bangladesh!) to help with the continuous fundraising drive.  I'm attaching the link to the official Bhola's Children website here, first, in case you'd like to support Freda, and secondly because it's a re-vamped website that's well worth a look if you haven't been there recently.

And finally... if anyone has any ideas for other fundraising, please let me know.  The Saltyard evening was wonderful, but I am so unimaginative about thinking of things I could do - and let me state right now, all suggestions gratefully received unless they involve me abseiling off the Forth Bridge.

Hope you're having a good summer wherever you are... We're off to Vermont next.

Anne x

We Need Your Help!

Our Trustee, Freda Graf (in the picture on her first visit to Bhola) will be doing a sponsored run to support Bholas Children. If you would like to support Freda then please visit http://bholaschildren.org/Thank you, your support is really appreciated!

 

The Road to Srimangal

This month I've been thinking about fact and fiction, and especially about the point at which they merge; when something that has happened to you, the writer, is turned - by you or someone else - into a story. 

The programme for the first of my Community Education classes has been 'Writing for Life', which has taken us through writing as a hobby to writing as reflection to writing as therapy... and all points in between.  It has created a lot of very personal writing that has had all the greater resonance because of that, and has highlighted a significant difference between writing the story and telling the story.  Maybe it is easier to control the writing, maybe because it is done in isolation, but once in front of an audience, there is an emotional charge that affects both the writer - and the 'hearer' - and it's a challenge for both.  A very powerful experience.

This term culminated in the class interviewing me: me as myself (fact) with the additional information that I had more or less become the next JK Rowling with a huge publishing deal (fiction).  The results ended in 8 very different (very good) pieces of writing - a great exercise in how and what (and why) individuals hear, interpret and report what they have experience in the same room at the same time.

At the same time, the current focus of my PhD critical theory has been how a novelist creates a totally fictional world.  Surely, however far s/he retreats into imagination, both that fictional world and that imagination can never be totally free of external influence.  In a story, a word, a phrase, a description is never 'just' a word or a phrase or a description, it has been very carefully chosen. IT needs to be authentic, not contrived and rarely coincidental.

Coincidence in fact though, in real life, is a different matter entirely.  And that's abounded too recently.  When we were in Bangladesh in April, we went to Sylhet  and randomly met a local guide at the Five-Layer Tea Shop who offered to show us around a tea estate in Srimangal.  It came to light it was that very same man who, a teenager at the time, had been the porter for a different tea estate, when I first visited there in 2001.  A good story in itself...

Now fast forward to last Saturday on the crowded Edinburgh to London train.  A man walked the length of the carriage, turned and came back to us. 'You were on the Emirates planes from Glasgow to Dubai,' he said.  Yes, I agreed, having no recollection of ever having seen him before.  It transpired he had been on his annual visit home, to Srimangal, to his family business, the Five-Layer Tea Shop.

Would that work in fiction?  Make of it what you will but apparently it's a small world and all roads lead to Srimangal...

Anne x

 

Reflections on Bhola

'm bending a self-imposed rule this month and writing more than a couple of paragraphs... stringent self-editing has fallen by the wayside in trying to report everything that happened last month in Bangladesh!

We arrived in Bhola early on the morning of the 9^th April.  At this stage, it’s a homecoming for me as I’ve been to Bangladesh a dozen times; Simon at 3-and-a half is on his second visit, and for Allan, a fundraiser and supporter, also from Scotland, it was his first time in SE Asia. 

After the thrill of a ride in our new auto-rickshaw, the children, armed with Bangla flags and bright flowers, were on hand to greet us – a wonderful, warm welcome for all three of us, but clearly Simon was the one they were waiting for… He had a fantastic time playing with the ‘big boys’ and was using sign language in no time; it took him longer to accept the girls as they were too ‘kissy’!  Allan, a marathon-runner was accompanied on his early morning runs by up to 10 boys in flip-flops, on other days Ali led them in a brisk walk.

It was a pleasure to see so many new faces amongst the familiar ones.  A couple of the younger girls had only just arrived and were busily settling in, whereas old friends had – just as they do in all families –  grown up and moved on. Not moved too far though: we spoke to Tasnur and Dilruba, and met Maksud in the street.  Everyone appeared to be happy, well and in good spirits too.  The older children continue going daily to the local primary school.  It’s not easy for anyone, as they don’t have an interpreter, but they are persevering, and signing and lip-reading classes continue in the boundary.  There was much singing and dancing – there always is – and cricket was the name of the game most evenings.

Official awareness programmes and day-long picnics were shelved for this visit, given the average temperatures of 35 degrees, but we managed trips to Valumia (the new access road is shaping up and the pond is being dug out - very slow and hot work), Supari Bagan, the river, the second bridge and Bhola town.  One highlight was the ‘water melon’ trip: Ali, the three of us, 32 staff and children, and twenty gigantic watermelons on an outing in the tractor; with the crowds that followed, there was plenty of unofficial awareness-raising!  .

 

It’s a tradition that with the arrival of a direct financial donation, a small portion is shaved off for an outing or other special treat.  This way, says Ali, the children learn to forge a link with the outside world and to celebrate their donors and supporters worldwide.  So this watermelon picnic came courtesy of the money raised by Saltyard – and was enjoyed by one and all!  The remainder of the very generous £535 raised will be put towards a couple of specific projects: mainline gas – finally – has come to Bhola and funding buys the correct fittings so that cooking over a wood-burning fire in temperatures of 40 degrees is no longer essential.  It’s also the time of year to brave the bazaar and buy cloth by the yard, from which the girls will sew all the clothes and school uniforms required, and make the tablecloths and bedcovers that bring in a little extra income.  The rest of the money is safely in the bank, a contingency for – literally – a rainy day.

Our last day coincided with the Bangladeshi New Year and Nahian’s ninth birthday, so an evening party, with Ali’s signature dish of ‘sweet rice’ – and when the Bangladeshi’s call something sweet, they really mean it – and a lot of fun and games.

There were the usual types of challenges! The new air-conditioning unit on the third floor continually blew the electrics and added to the thrice daily power-cuts… Eventually the very tenacious electrician triumphed (at 11pm) and the system, used sparingly, is a welcome addition. The microbus kept breaking down due to the lack of clean fuel but again, was eventually fixed and fixed again, and, best of all, the brand new gas supply, promised to Bhola Island for years, finally arrived.  This long-awaited main-line gas means there is a viable alternative to the outdoor wood-fire method of cooking, which is welcome during the hottest of days and the wettest monsoon.

 

On the plane on the way home, Simon asked me, wistfully, if he could, please, have four big brothers, ‘just like my new friends in Bhola.’ Clearly, Ali and Bhola’s Children worked their usual magic on all of us and I remembered over again why this is such a very special place and part of my very extended family.  I would say it was one of the best of visits… except that I say that every time...

 

Anne 

 

 

Bhola, Bangladesh - April 2014

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then let the pictures speak!

The long-awaited trip back to Bangladesh seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye: Dhaka, Bhola, Srimangal... here are just a handful of the very many highlights...

Hot off the plane(s) in Dhaka, and Ali secures us our rickshaw chariot
 

Arriving in Bhola by overnight launch
 



The new tractor-trailer - carrying 32 of us altogether

 

38 degrees but work to build the new road goes on

Shopping...

Cooking - but mainline gas has arrived!

 

Picnic breakfast for Bangla New Year

Allan leads the exercises...

Sunset on Bhola

Allan took the photos, Simon fitted in as if he'd never been away, and Bhola's children, staff Ali were as fabulous as only they can be.  More about what we did and how the home and school are progressing next time.

Thanks to everyone who's supporting us (and anyone who has any exciting fundraising ideas - please let me know!)

Anne x


 

Spooks, Secrets and Suspects: A Play

As tutor of this highly talented, committed and hugely fun group, I can safely recommend that anyone in Edinburgh and free for an hour on Thursday will enjoy this.  Of course, the writing is good, but we're famed for our refreshments too...




 

CurryFest at the Saltyard - All Welcome!

If a blog isn't a perfect place for shameless advertising, then where is?

There is a wonderful café on Dalry Road, Edinburgh, called The Saltyard.  The rumours might be true about Simon and I spending quite a lot of time there... but I promise you, so would anyone who lives a hop, skip and jump away.  I've certainly been there enough to get talking about Bangladesh and the lovely staff - without coercion, persuasion or hints, honest - suggested Saltyard host a fundraiser for Bhola's Children.

Tickets are now available for this excellent evening, and everyone is welcome!  Details follow... It would be lovely to see anyone who is local enough to drop in on Friday evening.

AN EVENING IN AID OF BHOLA'S CHILDREN

 

'A feast of curry for your senses'

 

Saltyard Café

158 Dalry Road

 

Friday 7th March

18.00-20.30

 

Curry Supper

Table Quiz

Bangla Music & Photographs

 

Tickets £4.50; £1.50 (children); £10.00 (family)

The lucky prize winners will receive a copy of A Blonde Bengali Wife and I will be doing a 5 minute talk about Bhola... but don't let that put you off!  The food alone will compensate, and the company will be second to none.

Anne x




 

Bangladesh At Home

 

NEW YEAR'S DAY 2014

 

 

So, 1st January 2014 didn't quite see us winging our way from Glasgow to Dubai to Dhaka but it certainly didn't mean our hearts and thoughts weren't there.  The four of us - Jacqui, Allan, Simon and myself all regrouped in a certain flat in Edinburgh and created our own little world of Bangladesh for the day.

 

 

Dressed in our best salwar kameezes and serving (if not cooking, that honour goes to Lazeez, the best take-away in the city!) our version of a Bangladeshi picnic on the sitting room floor, we raised a toast and made our plans for a visit in April. 

 

The travel blockades throughout Bangladesh, the main reason we deferred the trip, ran from December through to the 13th January.  This would have left us two days to get to and from Bhola (down in the Bay of Bengal and an overnight boat trip away) in two days... virtually impossible!  So on balance it was the right decision.  Now, let's just get on with the business of reapplying for those visas.

 

I think the sign is a version of Happy New Year in Bangla; that's the sentiment anyway...!

 

 

Anne x

 

To Go Or Not To Go...?

Season's Greetings!

I hope you've all had a very happy and peaceful (or exciting, as you wish!) Christmas and are looking forward to the adventure of 2014.

For the last 48 hours, this little corner of Edinburgh has been a hotbed of international discussion and negotiation as we've followed events in the lead up to Sunday's forthcoming elections in Bangladesh - and wondered if our (Jacqui, Allan, Simon and myself) New Year's trip there can, realistically, go ahead...

The final unanimous decision was reached last night - Simon's contribution pulling it all together with, 'if we go to Bangladesh, we will go to Bangladesh.  If we stay at home we will stay at home' - when we decided, with regret, that it would be sensible to postpone the visit until later in the year.

(Important Note: Despite evil rumour-mongering, this is nothing to do with the fact that Jacqui and I tried on our trusty salwar kameezes and had twin tantrums when we realised they were, um, a little on the tight side and must have Shrunk In the Wash).

None of us feels the political situation is a safety issue, more of the 90% likelihood that we'd be sitting in a guesthouse in Dhaka for more than half the visit: national blockades and strikes mean that even if we got into the city itself, the chances of getting out again to Bhola are virtually non-existent.  So, with thanks to Ali, for his sterling efforts, and to Hasina, Mr Hoque, Mitali, Bonny, Bachchu, Suez (read more about them in the amazing book, A Blonde Bengali Wife, available in print and e-versions, signed copies on request) and Dinah for their advice, we are now rebooked for an April jaunt!

Disappointed, yes.  But relieved to have the promise of being back in Bhola in only a few weeks time.  However, given that Simon's first words on seeing his Christmas stocking were, 'Santa Claus has been, now can we go to Bangladesh?' it might well be that we need to hail a ferry in Rosyth, do a round trip and end up with dinner in an Indian restaurant, just to placate him (he's 3, it'll work, trust me) in the meantime.

So, what to do with two empty weeks...? Suggestions on a postcard, please, but those who mention 'work' will be disqualified as sensible spoilsports.  What we will be doing tomorrow - Jacqui, Allan, Simon and I) - is coming together and raising a toast to all our friends here, in Bangladesh, and everywhere, and wishing you all the very best in life, health and happiness for the coming year.

Love, Anne x