It rained for the first week that Mum was here so we got lots of reading done and a few swims in between showers. We had a good pre- Christmas party at Maggi’s house, where a few of us hosted an evening for all the community. It set the scene for the rest of the week in Chateau Mygo restaurant, where it was crowded each evening with sail crews passing through having finished the ARC.
The guys finished work on 20th December and are not expected back until the 2nd January. They had a big tidy up before they downed tools and the house looks ready for the final onslaught in the New Year. We even got 9 windows delivered on the last day.

We got invited to Doreen’s brothers place in the country where the slaughtering of cows takes place 2 days before Christmas. As we drove there we saw shacks being set up to receive the meat and animals being killed every few hundred yards. At our destination we thought the cow would have met its maker but there were several others lined up for the chop, as well as a few pigs and a goat. After the killings we were treated to a beef stew, a fillet starter and some liver stew as well as the making of blood sausage. It was a bit gory but fascinating and at times seemed a little surreal as we sat amongst the carcasses having a beer and chewing the fat. This killing of livestock happens all over the Island and often the meat is salted and used for the rest of the year. They don’t hang their meat so it was tough as old boots with not much taste. A real butcher could make a killing out here if he had a cold storage to hang meat and knew how to butcher an animal to get the best cuts. Here they just roughly chop up the carcass and weigh it regardless of the cut.

It was our first Christmas without the children, which was a bit daunting for us but we managed to have a good Christmas day with Maggi. It has to be said Christmas in the sunshine doesn’t feel right and there isn’t the feeling of any traditions that we recognise. I did get a huge surprise on Christmas morning; Jeff presented me with the newest Bullen family member, an 11-week-old white fluffy puppy, now known as Flossie but this could change, as we are not sure if she looks like a Flossie. She is adorable, quite feisty but intelligent. She walks well on her lead and lets us know if she needs to go to the loo (she gets excited and walks around in circles!) She is a typical puppy, eats, plays, and sleeps all at a moments notice. Today we took her to the vets to get her second lot of injections and she didn’t react at all, we also got her a collar and some toys, hoping to prevent the inevitable chewing. She has slept out in the cockpit for the last two nights with Jeff keeping her company but as she gets more used to the boat she will come below. She won’t be much of a guard dog but may make a noise if something was up.

On Boxing Day we sailed to the Pitons for an over night stop and had another meal at Bennies, on the beach. Fortunately we had fantastic weather and all picked up a good tan. We swam and snorkelled and snoozed, it was a lovely few days. Mum goes back today, which is a shame, as she will miss the wedding of friends of ours who are tying the knot tomorrow on board a boat followed by a BBQ at Chateau Mygo. One last day of fun to be had before Jeff returns to work on Wednesday is a planned trip on a friend’s motorboat to the Pitons again. Just checking out how the other half live!

A Happy New Year To You All.

We picked up Mum on Friday afternoon from the airport and after a quick stowing of bags we set of for a cooling beer at Chateau Mygo. Mum quickly renewed old friendships and was back in the swing of things in Marigot Bay. We had a bit of rushing around to do on Saturday, as we were part of a group of people hosting a party that night at Maggi’s house. It turned out to be a really good party. Us hosts provided the meats and fish and the guests all brought “pot luck” salads and puds. It went onto the wee small hours and there were plenty of sore heads the next day.

Mum and I spent the week shopping, reading or going to the pool. The weather hasn’t been too good actually. We have had rain most days and at the beginning of the week it was non stop. It remained warm and humid though and it is beginning to get back to normal. The marina is very busy with all the big boats coming in to pick up their guests for Christmas so the flower shop and supermarket are doing a roaring trade.

The house build took on a spurt as the guys prepared to finish for two weeks on Thursday until the New Year. We have fitted lights and sockets on all floors now.
The pool is also taking shape, as are the retaining walls, which have now been plastered, ready for painting. Everyone needs a rest, especially Jeff who has been working like a Trojan since the beginning of the project.

Our plans for the next few days is to go to the botanical gardens at Soufriere with Mum, go to a traditional village “do”, where a cow is slaughtered and everyone gets a chunk of the meat to take away as well as a big stew and plenty to drink during the day. Doreen’s family do this every year on one of their farms in the country.
Monday will see the last minute Christmas shopping done and on the day itself we shall go to Maggi’s and have a traditional dinner. We hope to have a sail to the Pitons on Boxing Day and spend the night there before returning the next day. Sounds good doesn’t it?

We hope you and yours have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year in 2008.

This week started badly. Our container was eventually released from the port on Monday afternoon and hauled to Marigot Bay. The driver was unable to manoeuvre it around a corner because of a parked car but said he would return later. It was left out side the hotel main entrance, which didn’t please them at all. He did return and there were no obstructions but he said it was too dark to move it now but someone would be back in the morning at 6 am. Jeff was there at five to six, the next driver turned up an hour later in a foul mood, declared it couldn’t be done (even though there have been at least 4 forty foot containers in the last few months doing the exact same thing) and drove off up the hill, leaving the container exactly where it was. This meant we had to get it offloaded as quickly as possible. Due to the special circumstances it was arranged that two customs officers would oversee this at 3.30pm that day. This is very unusual because all offloading has to be done after 5pm so that the officers can get their overtime. Needless to say, they didn’t pitch up until 5pm, it was now raining and about 45 minutes away from sunset. The female officer, in full uniform plus patent leather stilettos, ensconced herself on one of our antique chairs (that I had lovingly re-caned and restored a few years back) on the dirt track road, using my umbrella whilst she ordered boxes to be opened and serial numbers checked to see if they contained the correct items. The rain continued to pour and the night was getting wild as we were feeling the effects of Tropical storm Olga that was bearing down on the Islands further north. We stood and watched our worldly goods being taken off the container, put onto a waiting truck and then being driven the 50 yards to our holding container. Everything was drenched and even though it is now in the new container it will have to be taken out again and dried before we get too many problems with mould and mildew. We finished four hours later. Absolutely everything was looked at even though everything matched the manifest. It never occurred to her that if the first fifty boxes were as stated so would all of them be. She even commented on how well everything had been packed as she requested that the movers slash through the boxes with Stanley knives to get to the contents. We were soaked to the skin, muddy and fed up when they left and just locked up the container, went and got into dry clothing and headed for the bar. I was feeling very emotional; I needed copious amounts of rum before I could even start to slander the woman! Jeff was equally tired as he had been trying to get things organised from early in the morning and still did a days work on the building site, which is mostly cement and moving block and that is hard graft. It has rained everyday since then so we still haven’t been able to air the containers.

The building of the pool continues but it is a messy business in this weather. I don’t know how the guys can do it with such good humour. The carpenters have completed the flooring upstairs and have finished the walk in wardrobe. It all looks very good. Guy, the electrician, requested the lighting and fans for that floor, so yesterday I had a mammoth shop in Castries and Rodney Bay trying to find lights that matched. Eventually I had to resort to lights in the same room matching, as nowhere had any more than two lights the same. I still have one more journey to make to get a fan and two bathroom lights which I couldn’t get yesterday as I was fast loosing the will to live, dealing with the dozy sales assistants and trying to hack my way through the Christmas crowds, who were gathering for the turning on of the Christmas lights.

Hopefully things will settle down for a while. Mum arrives tomorrow and the guys have opted to take a holiday from the 20th Dec to 2nd January. I think we all need a rest and maybe even some time away sailing.

We had a very pleasant time house sitting for Maggie. Her dogs are rescued mutts, skinny, bony, Spanish policeman hat ears and very timid. They bark if you move near them and wont let you touch them in any friendly way. I eventually got them to take food from my hand and they would lick my legs if we avoided all eye contact. They are just about OK with Maggie, in fact she says the most timid one lies on her and snuggles under her armpits. I expect if we had longer with them they might be less scared. The time spent relaxing on soft sofas and watching TV was quite a novelty and it was great to cook with a real oven again. I bet it wont be long after we move in that all these things cease to be fun and just become the norm again.

Tilley and Lottie resting after a hard day.

We have had a frustrating time this week organising the release of our container. Customs here are the same as they are the world over; difficult, arrogant, bossy, powerful and have the upper hand at all times. We need our stuff discharged and to pay as little duty as we can and they want to make life as awkward and expensive as they can- C’est la vie! The container should have been hauled up to Marigot today but there is a problem getting it released from the dock. A ploy that is used to get extra money from people as container space on the dock is charged at a daily rate. That is life here I guess, everyone wants a bite of the cherry. When it comes we have to drag everything out for customs to examine and then store it in another container or our house or in Mama Sheila’s house. It sounds like a logistical nightmare but I am sure we will get there in the end.

The house build itself is going well. The big problem is still the same - no windows! He didn’t bring any last week nor this week and we can’t get hold of him. The construction of the pool is taking shape. It is a painstaking effort to get the oval shape exactly right and Kenrick and his team are making a fantastic job of it. We have also come up trumps with the tiler, Wynn, who has an eye for detail and is something of a perfectionist. Fitted wardrobes have been made in both spare rooms and they are starting on the walk-in wardrobe in our room. The top floor has floorboards apart from our room, which will be done next week.
It has been a quiet week, socially, just the daily sundowners at Chateau Mygo. A good thing too as it will start to get busy leading up to Christmas, especially as a lot of the winter time-sharers are starting to arrive. We have already been asked to be part of a joint Christmas party next Saturday, so Mum get your dancing shoes packed!

NEWS FLASH…NEWS FLASH…NEWS FLASH..
We have just had an earthquake! It was recorded as 7.4 magnitude and was felt all over the island, the boat rocked and shook for about 2 minutes. Jeff was at the house where he watched our life savings shake around but fortunately there was no damage. There is some superficial damage to the dock where concrete has cracked and the Catholic Church steeple in Castries wobbled so much that bits fell off but apart from that all is well. It caused great excitement throughout the bay.


We had a great surprise this week!
We went up to Rodney Bay to pick up Tim, who was unfortunately five hours delayed. We met up with him in the foyer of the hotel amongst the milling throng of the crew. He announced that he was carrying all our shopping but did have one extra piece of baggage that he thought we might like - Fiona! She appeared out of the crowd, big grin and said “surprise”. We were speechless, thrilled, confused, shocked but most of all happy to see her. They had planned this last month and only a few people knew, in case it didn’t come off, as she was on a jump seat/stand by deal. So they stayed for forty-eight hours and then we took them back to the hotel on Sunday to get crew transport ready for the flight back. We crammed a lot of stuff into those hours, as the pictures will show.

We apologise for all of you who got a Christmas card in mid November. The local postmistress told me that the mail takes 2 to 4 weeks and even then it may go astray so to be ahead of the game I sent them on 14th Nov anticipating a delivery date of mid December. Instead they appear to have taken six days to arrive! We have had a few e-mails saying ours was the first card to arrive, something I have always tried to avoid. Another thing we want to clear up is that the first floor walls are not a horrible green colour, that is just the raw colour of the dry wall board, thanks for pointing that out Fi!

It is very pleasing that a few more windows are trickling through and that we have a lock on the front door (courtesy of Tim bringing it from UK). The muddy hole for the pool continues to be dug and a small retaining wall has been built to keep that part of the slope where it should be although there have been some serious attempts of land slide whilst it was being constructed, fortunately no one was injured or had to be dug out. There is a proper floor in the spare bedroom and the guest bathroom is almost tiled. One of the labourers left the team last week. His work output slowed to a snails pace, spending a lot of time on his phone and generally shirking any task that looked like physical labour. His replacement lasted only half a day as his attitude was the same as Glens and he was so weak he needed to rest between carrying each cement block and there was a whole lorry load to be moved. Replacement number two has started and he seems to be auditioning for “The Worlds Strongest and Fasted Man”, so he can stay!

We are house sitting for Maggie this weekend as she and Helen both need to renew their length of stay in St Lucia so they are off to Barbados, back on Monday. We shall enjoy the house, dogs and pool for a few days and I shall cook a Sunday roast!

The staircase is almost complete, the guest bathroom is almost tiled and the pool has had its foundations dug.

I got a bit distracted when I was doing Jeff's hair. It was unintensional and he wasn't aware of how bad a job I had done until he asked for this photo to be taken. He has since regretted it but now knows why the boys were having a good laugh behind his back-of course!