Keeping up with the Culveys - Jan 2012

Ahh Summer in England.... you know what to expect, a bit of rain, a lot of cloud and the odd spot of sunshine! Well we’re getting used to it as this is now our home for a while!! To be fair, when we were first all back it was pretty nice, and it gave us a positive re-introduction to life in England!

Let’s go back a week or two first though, I ended the last update talking about my last few weeks in Kuwait on my own. Well, while I was doing pretty much nothing, my lovely wife took delivery of two containers of furniture into our new house in Binfield!

Now we knew things were going to be tight, but I don’t think Lyra imagined just how tough it would be. When the containers arrived the priority is always to get them offloaded quickly. Well, just physically placing all our stuff inside the property was an incredible challenge. Thank god for a large double garage because it was stuffed to the rafters. It was clear we were going to have to get innovative with the use of space!

Lyra spent almost a week in hell trying to make some headway into the mess, then headed back to Northampton to rest and see the kids. A much needed short rest!

I arrived on the 19th August, Dad picked me up from the airport and we did what any man would do after arriving from Kuwait in the middle of Ramadan, went for a beer! Then it was time to drop Dad at the station and run off with his car! Big thanks Mum and Dad for lending us the motor for a couple of months it was a huge help (even if it did breakdown!!).

For me it was up to Northampton to be re-united with Ly and the Kiddies that I hadn’t seen for more than 3 weeks, it was lovely and we spent a few days together before Ly and I drove back down to Binfield to face the furniture mountain. We spent a week, doing 12 hours straight a day on sorting and by the end of that week we had got it to a habitable state. So it was time to bring the kids down too.

Once we had the kids, next came the animals, getting them out of Kuwait proved to be a complete nightmare thanks to Gulf air and their complete inability to organise a plane with an animal hold! We were cancelled twice, once while they were in the airport!! It was all getting very difficult especially as we had left them with friends. Finally we had to accept defeat and re-book them on Emirates! They made it safely to Cyprus, and the guys there did a great job looking after them until they could come to England. So now that they had arrived in England I headed to Heathrow to collect them. All were well, Izzy went mental as you can imagine, and we were very pleased to see our old girl Pilgrim, now 17 years old, had coped with the trauma of the last few months brilliantly.

I still had a few days before I started work so we all went to Legoland! Just 15 mins up the road, Kai and Indi were very excited about having it right on their doorstep! It was a great day, we all got our Merlin passes (which mean we can come as often as we like, joy!) and had a great day on all the rides.

September 1st arrived, and it was time for me to put on my suit and head to Hounslow to start my new job! All went great and I was soon in the swing of things. TCC have been great, brilliant company, really forward thinking and dynamic, really care for the people, and I am excited about a long and fruitful relationship!

A few days later it was the kids turn, 1st day at their new School Jennetts Park! It was a cold but thankfully not to rainy first day, both Indi and Kai were really excited, no sign of nerves at all. It was just great to watch them put on their uniforms, pose for a few photo’s and then head off, no bus in England, they are chauffeur driven by Mum now! They came home on day one thrilled to bits and it has continued from there, they absolutely love their time at school, in fact Indi has complained that the school day isn’t long enough!!

A few weeks in all was going well, we were getting things straighter, we had found a nice car for Ly, a Volkswagon Eos (a hard top convertible) in deep blue, which has been named Midnight by the kids! So, it was time to head off for our first weekend away in England. Our long time friend Jane was getting married in Northampton to Guy. It was a fabulous day, the reception was at a lovely English Pub, Jane, Guy, and their new combined family all looked amazing, and so together it was a joy to be a part of a wonderful celebration.

Throughout September we were spoilt with the weather, in fact I think it almost hit 30C one day! So we made the most of it with lots of playing outdoors in the parks or skating around the quiet streets where we live. Indi certainly enjoyed being able to get skating, and is really starting to get it now. They both also started at a Saturday morning drama group, Theatretrain. Where they get to act, sing, and dance! It’s not as professional or focused as what Indi was doing in Kuwait but they both love it and have made some nice friends there. 

They are also both enjoying swimming lessons and doing really well at them. Kai was out of his arm bands within a few lessons and has now progressed up into the next group. Indi is also going from strength to strength and was awarded a certificate for her swimming. 

At the end of September, Lyra got to get away from the madness of our house for a week and went on a meditation retreat on a fantastic country estate in Oxford. She really enjoyed the re-charge of body and soul, and on the Sunday, the kids and I drove up and met her in Oxford to enjoy a lovely Autumn day in the city.

For this to happen we knew we were going to need some help at home, we had tried to bring Padema over from Kuwait, but were unable to get the visa for her, so had started the discussion about getting an Au pair. Alongside this we had been talking to Karim, our friend and part time Au Pair from Kuwait that had just finished his studies in the UK. Karim was working for another family in the Uk, but with a little arm twisting and family pressure from his Father, Karim decided to come and live with us! As you can imagine the kids where over the moon! He has settled in nicely, and is really part of the family now, although his domestic training continues as Lyra tries to turn this Egyptian into a millennium man!!

In early October we realised that it had been a good few weeks since the kids had been to Legoland, Indi and Kai were insistent that it was time we went again, so we invited Abi, Kiera, and Cam down for the weekend and hit the rides once more! In a moment of madness, we forgot it was October, and chilly, and hit the rapids ride! Well, nobody seemed to be getting very wet, it would be fine, even if Indi was not convinced at all. So our turn came, and at the first corner an entire bucket load of water was emptied over us!! And that was just the start, at every turn we were pelted and sprayed! By the time we got off we were soaked and freezing, you can imagine how our little Princess took this!! Thankfully they had a capsule that you could go in and be blasted with warm air to dry off!!

Around the same time as we returned to the UK, our old friends Jed and Ros from Prague also returned, and were living within 30 mins from us! So we had to meet up, we met down near Camberley for a lovely lunch and had a good giggle about how we had all changed and what it was like coming back after so long away! It was great to see them, and already we know we have to catch up with them again soon.

The kids were continuing to blossom at school, the fantastic positive vibes coming from the school were great, and they were making new friends. Along with this of course comes the parties! Yes it didn’t take long for Indi and Kai to get their first invites, and typically they were on the same day, at the same time on different sides of Bracknell! We made it to both and it was a great start to their active social lives!

As Jennett’s Park is a new school, in it’s first term, there was a grand opening planned. Michael Gove, the Minister for Education was coming and a whole big day of celebration was happening. India was asked to be the official greeter of the dignitaries, so she met Mr Gove, and a number of local priests etc (CofE school). For that she got her picture in the paper. Not to be out done, Lyra’s strong relationship with the Head Mistress of the school got her an invite to deliver a ‘Promise’ on behalf of the parents as part of the opening ceremony! Well those of you that know Lyra well, know that she would never turn down such a great opportunity, but also know of her fear of public speaking! Of course she did an amazing job, she wrote a great speech, and delivered it beautifully. 

I’m sure you can sense that we have settled into Uk life pretty well, with lots of positive experiences, but as we know life isn’t complete without some difficult times too. After the elation of getting all the animals to the UK and settled, tragedy hit. Our beautiful Merlin was sadly hit by a car near our house and killed. He was a wonderful cat, with a great playful soul, we were all devastated and he is still greatly missed by us all. 

Legoland again!! Towards the end of October, we made our 3rd family (the kids have actually been about 4 times!) outing to Legoland in as many months, this time for the Scooby Do firework display! We got there in the afternoon on a sunny but chilly day, it was surprisingly busy, but as the sun went down we found a great place to sit and get ready for the show! The fireworks were absolutely brilliant, a fantastic display! We then went around and did some of the rides, including the Pharaohs ride that we had failed to get to on all of our previous days here, Karim was very pleased!!

Of course this time of year is also Trick or Treating time!! Lyra took Indi and Kai over to Jennett’s Park to go around the local housing estate with their friends, and they did pretty good too! Both of them came back with a a huge bag full of sweets (similar in size to the ones we had given out to the local kids here!). Although these sweets have become a bit of an issue as India caught Karim eating hers and has still not really forgiven him!!

A great benefit of being back in England is being able to see good friends more often, Abi is no exception, and we all piled up to her place, to celebrate her birthday in early November. Her Brother Tim and Astrid were over from Switzerland too so we had a house full! We even managed our own firework display! Needless to say, Sunday was a quiet day of recovery!!

Work for me was going really well and I was starting to get an understanding of the challenge I face! Part of getting up to speed meant I needed to get out and see some of our emerging and developed operations, so in the last few months I have been to The Netherlands, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland! We are starting to do more and more work with Tesco, so I am getting re-acquainted with many old colleagues in the UK, Turkey, and Central Europe (proof that you should never burn those bridges!).

Kai’s class had a great day out at the Natural History Museum, and Lyra tagged along as a class helper. You can imagine how much Kai enjoyed the experience! Mr Dinosaur himself was in his element and came home very excited!! 

Lyra ventured off on another voyage of discovery in November, in preparation for the kids questions about life, the universe, and everything. Her spiritual adventure took her to Dublin this time to another spectacular stately home! Although this time, not all of the guests were of this world, yes, she came home convinced of one thing, that place was haunted!! All sorts of weird things occurred, which if you want to know more, you’ll need to ask her yourself! Despite all of this though, it has opened Lyra’s ever widening mind to further possibilities in our universe and beyond!!

And before we knew it was December!! To kick off the festive season, Lyra and I had a night in Coombe Abbey for my works Christmas Do! It was a great night of medieval banqueting with everyone from my new office, we had a lot of fun, drank a lot of wine / beer / mead! And Lyra got to meet the great bunch of people I work with!  The kids spent the night with Uncle Chris(tmas as he is now known!) and went ice skating too!

December of course is Birthday time, for our little dynamo Kyra! She’s 3 already! Kyra, Tanya, and Steve made the trip down to Binfield to see us so we could all celebrate her birthday together, we all had a great afternoon and evening, and the special lady kept us all amused and on our toes!! 

At school things went very Christmassy! India starred in the Bracknell Schools Christmas Carol Concert. Uncle Christmas and Crazy Nana came down to watch, I missed it as I was away in Milan sadly, but they all sang beautifully I’m told!. Kai also starred in his Christmas production at School, Bethlehem Buzzing, he was Traveller number 3 and delivered his lines with his usual confidence! Then we all went to watch Cinderella in Panto!!

In the last week of school, they had a Christingle concert, and Carols around the Christmas tree, so by the time they broke up carol singing was becoming a daily event!! Which has continued right through Christmas!!

Before we could settle into the Christmas celebrations we all have to endure the trials and tribulations of Christmas shopping! During this ‘fun’ Lyra managed to get herself a spot on “Hazards of using mobile phones whilst driving course” at exactly the same time as I was in Halfords buying her a Handsfree kit for her car!! Oh the irony!!

 The 23rd of December as you must all know is a big day in our house as it is our Wedding Anniversary! This year was 10 YEARS!! And as we were back in the UK, we decided that we would take the kids to Ansty Hall so they could see where we got married and have a photo taken there as they are always complaining that they aren’t in our wedding photos! We met some close friends and family for a very civilised lunch at the hotel which was simply lovely. Then in the evening had a slightly less civilised party in our usual style!! Thanks to everyone who managed to come, we know it’s a tough time of year to make the time, but you made our day!

And then it was Christmas!!!!!!

We stayed home and Uncle Christmas, Abi, Dee (Abi’s Mum), Kiera, Cam, and Stephanie joined us for the big day!! There were presents everywhere! Dinner was a team effort, mostly done by Ly, but we all chipped in, although I’m not sure whether Karim was a help or a liability!! Only joking!! The evening was a festival of Just Dance on the Wii, with Karim and I headlining with an incredible performance of Madness ‘Night Boat to Cairo’!!! We ate too much, drank a little too much, but were all very merry indeed!

Boxing day managed to be a bit of a chillout, before we headed West to the home of the Culverhouse’s for an afternoon at Nanny & Grumpy’s with Great Grannie, Uncle Gavin, Auntie Rachel, Lucy, James, Alice, Auntie Andy, Uncle Ben, and Big Tori!!! The kids had a ball, the big people had there annual catch up, and we all managed to not be too pigged out from Mum’s lovely Christmas Buffet!

Next day was a drive home via Stonehenge! We all braved the cold wind and occasional rain storm to listen to the audio history of this amazing place. The kids did great and loved listening and learning, then we celebrated this brush with our culture at a lovely restaurant somewhere in the middle of nowhere!!

So here we are then, bang up to date! It’s New Year’s Eve 2011! We are looking forward to another year of adventure and growth together as a family. We hope you all enjoy 2012 and have a great year!!

At this time of year we always think of all of those friends we haven’t seen or spoken to in ages and we want to say that despite not being in touch as often as we would like, we do miss you all and hope to see, hear or at least read all about your antics in the coming year!!

We spoke to Werner, Michelle, Kaitlin, and Shay this morning in Perth, and Fiona, Beth and Amy in Kuwait, it reminded us of just how lucky we are to have travelled so widely and to have met such amazing people! No matter how much time goes by, we do always think of you all, and the great times we spent together over the years. We know we will meet you all again one day, and until then, let’s stay in touch however we can!!

2012 is going to be a year of positive change around the world, embrace it, make it happen!

Lots of love,

Dan, Lyra, India, and Kai aka The Travelling Culverhouse’s!

Xxxx