The Spirit of Christmas

In this post – Soto Family Gatherings, The Spirit of Christmas, Caribbean Christmas Music for you, Santa Run, Hot dolls,  and Fire on Mount Trashmore.

Here de official Rum Point Song (http://youtu.be/v4HX0sViGrc) .   If you want to know what Rum Point looks like, see under in the blog.

One of the highlights of our visit here is to meet Mark’s extended family. We did it in two stages – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  It has been extremely touching to have been so warmly welcomed into this extended family – we feel truly blessed.  We are doubly blessed with a wonderful daughter, partner and “bump”.  It doesn’t get better than this. Here is Sherrlyn’s (Mark’s Mum) beautiful Christmas tree.

Mrs K cooked up a storm for the two occasions – a ham on the first visit and the puddings for the second – white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, sherry trifle, cranberry and pistachio biscottis, ice cream Christmas pudding with chocolate sauce pavlova.  Kidner Jeremy really feels the Good Lord has been kind to him.  The trousers have been stretched to the limit.

Has Santa had too much?

This week has been a real Blow Up Santa Fest.  Here’s one interpretation of the Christmas Spirit – happy soldier and perhaps Santa has had too much?

Here is a selection of garden displays – we love it that people take the time and spend the money to give us such a wonderful spectacle.

Santa keeps an eye on the Nativity

Made with plastic cups in a wire fence

School view Cayman style

The Spirit of Christmas was strikingly captured by James’ Santa Run to two schools on the East and North sides which are less populated and are traditionally fishing villages.  James runs a (free) running club and boot camp and the respect and affection in which he is held was amply demonstrated by a deluge of presents donated by people who attend the training.  Good on 'Yer James. This is the view from one of the schools. 

And here are the kids, or at least artistic self-portraits.

Our contribution was wrapping, labelling and sorting for two nights.  We must have packed 300 or more toys generously donated by James’ running club/boot camp attendees.  There was one mistake. Guess who?  Kidner Jeremy got a girl’s name for a boy’s name and the poor lad’s face fell a mile when he opened his present, but, good on him, he didn’t complain and was rewarded with a proper boy’s pressie.

Kidner Jeremy was tasked to wrap Barbie Dolls on his first wrapping night and came across Cat Barbie. A perceptive 5 year old little girl duly informed Kidner Jeremy in front of the assembled wrapping throng “You can’t take it home with you, you know”. Perceptive little girl that.

Cayman is on fire at Christmas, literally. I mentioned the problem of a consumer society on a small island last week; well take a look at this.

  

The response from the government was pure Cayman. “A request for proposals to deal with the problem will be issued in the next few months”.   Source: http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/12/24/Firefighters-battled-landfill-blaze-for-nearly-20-hours/

This sign sums up the approach – “Coming Soon” and “soon Coming” means “We have no idea when”.  We had a lunch at the Red Snapper Bar right next door to the restaurant which is coming soon and very good it was too.

I mentioned Rum Point, a local landmark.  Well, we had lunch there this week.  Here is the view from our table.  Mrs K didn’t want to spoil the view with KJ in it.  By the way, the menus are attached to the nuts. Well, they had to find some use for them…..

Next post “Coming Soon”.

Keep Well, Stay Safe.

Kidner Jeremy and Mrs K

December 2013 - 1

In this post - The Spirit of Christmas; Moving Trees; Snakes in the Dry Cleaners; Problems in a Caribbean Island Paradise.

Quote of the Week;

“Dem Two Is Chamber Pot and Backside” for which the translation is “They are very good friends”.  Source: Mrs K from “Real Life” a Caribbean Luxury and Lifestyle Property and Design Magazine.

The Spirit of Christmas

Garden displays are very popular here;  many are traditional scenes – the Virgin birth in a stable, three Wise men and so on – long may it last.  Of course, modern technology catches up. Santas waiting for a blow job to be inflated.

Another nice aspect of life here is the extent to which the place is lit up.  How’re these for displays?

Snakes and Dry Cleaners

Mrs K went to drop off the dry cleaners when suddenly, all hell broke loose and the girls in the place all screaming and jumping up on the tables and the counter as a snake slithered through the place.  I wasn’t sure whether it had collected its dry cleaning or not.

Moving trees

Driving along the freeway last week, we were overtaken by two trees.  I kid you not.  Here they are just before they disappeared.  The lamppost wasn’t in the truck – it was just there when Mrs K snapped the picture.

Shopping, Consumerism and “What To Do With What’s Left Over”

Supermarkets here are privately owned – none of the bland sameness that pervades large retail chains where the look and feel never changes. Here in the Caymans, things are delightfully old fashioned and personal.  Kidner Jeremy was despatched to the nearby supermarket to buy a small container of black pepper which he duly did and, unusually, noted the price (CI$2.79).   The check-out lady was far from convinced.  “$10!” she said, and then she chuckled “Only checking to see if you are awake!” For a change I was.

The problem with a throwaway consumer society is what to do with all the stuff we throw away when what we throw away stays uncomfortably close to us.  The issue here in “Tip By The Sea” seems to be a bit of a cold potato in that everyone knows it’s a “hot potato” problem, but no one wants to pay for it, no one agrees what the solution should be and no one wants it their backyard.  Sometimes there’s a problem in paradise.  Not like our “Resort Tip” in Ferny Grove.  We go there to look at cricket and wild life.

Please note: The big arrow wasn't photographed - I added it with Snagit.

Keep Well and Stay Safe

Kidner Jeremy and Mrs K

Cayman - Week 1

Well folks we are in the Caribbean, Grand Cayman to be specific visiting Bridget, Mark and the “Bump”.  What’s it like here? Well, here’s a clue.

Beach Walk with Bridget and the Dog

Here’s another clue - Ben Miller in “Death in Paradise” (http://www.uktv.com.au/shows/death-in-paradise/).

Ben Miller - No one wears a suit on the beach.

I suppose anther question is “Well, where the devil are you?”.  See map.  Ben Miller filmed at Guadeloupe (circled on the right).    

So, is it easy to get to? Hell no – it involves a long time sitting in an uncomfortable airline seat, and worst of all, the worry of getting half way around the world means transiting the US of A, this time LAX (as in BrookLAX, a LAXative).

Better in the Picture than Real Life

No connection to LAX

What you don’t need at a major American hub is a delay.  Kidner Jeremy stuffed the immigration thing up by putting his visa on one passport and embarking on another thereby confusing the system as Mr Shih, the officer at LAX pointed out.  By this time I didn’t need the Brooklax for obvious reasons as I thought I was bound for Guantanamo Bay never mind Botany Bay.   KJ compounded this up further on arrival at Grand Cayman by producing the Qantas seat reservation confirmation in lieu of the required bank statement.  “Never mind” the officer said, “you’re going to see Bridget right?”  That’s island life for you. 

We were a little concerned about luggage.  Such is the warmth and generosity of our wonderful friends is Aus, there was a constant stream of people arriving with “a little something for the baby”.  Thank you one and all, and please if you send something, DON’T post it.  Post costs more than the airfare and there is duty payable on arrival at the Cayman end – because the place is tax free, everything that arrives on the island is taxed.

The new family looks well – Bridget is blooming and Mark’s intensive rugby training has made him a bit of an Adonis.   Three good looking people.

Mark, Birdget and Doreen

Bridget and Mark have their hands full with BK’s full on work, Mark’s battle with bureaucracy to get his new business off the ground, getting their reno finished and moving out of Mark’s townhouse to provide us with somewhere to live while we are here.  Kidner Jeremy for a change was found something useful to do – push a wheelbarrow down the garden path and chuck the tiles into the trailer after Mark jack hammered them off the floor.   Because I left the lead to connect my mobile to the PC at home, I can’t show the photo of Mark hard at work, so I thought the ladies might like the star himself.  

Doreen and Mark

I thought I ought to include one of the local chicks.

local Chicks....

In between working all the hours that God sends and organising a reno, BK was also a prime mover in their office party which provided some revealing moments according to Tim, her boss who admitted that “never in the history of Walkers had so much flesh owed so much to so little cloth at an office party” (with apologies to Sir Winston Churchill).  And these are lawyers – can you imagine what the night crowd are like? Here’s some “Brown Girl In the Ring” by Boney M to give all this some Caribbean flavour.  http://youtu.be/zaWsIzWZFr0

One of the anomalies here is that, Brit style, everyone drives on the left.  But, US cars are cheap and plentiful and, because they have the steering wheel on the wrong side, people need to be reminded sign. I thought this was a little over the top until Mrs K had to avoid a car coming at her on the wrong side of the roundabout.  Then we saw it repeated the next day.  Maybe this is the car for the Caymans. My school friend Michael Good had one of these and we thought it would pull the birds only to find out there wasn’t enough room in the thing.

Hasn’t the test against England been an absolute cracker!  Mrs K found the series live on Cayman TV just in time to watch Mitchell Johnson’s historic 5 wickets in half an hour.  Watching him bowl was like a slow motion replay of an artillery barrage. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/ashes-2013-mitchell-johnson-destroys-england-20131122-2y0d8.html.  Picture courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald.  I didn’t bother searching the UK papers – I figured they would probably want to feature the bingo….

Historic Test Bowling