Our House, at the end of Golfhill Drive...

We’ve moved into the Beautiful flat! Hurray! It is perfect apart from the hairy carpet. We were suspicious of the carpet right from the start, but now that we’ve moved in, we’ve realised that it has a life of its own. And seeing that summer is around the corner, it is malting its winter coat. Fluff everywhere. Jeannie found some fluff in her toast. Steve found some fluff in his soup. Jeannie found some fluff just beneath Ronnie’s nose.

Finding that our flat needed a few general household goods, we went shopping for them in downtown Glasgow. Being Kwashi Kids and always on the lookout for a bargain, we bypassed all the trendy consumer havens, and entered the “Savoy Centre”…

Jackpot! Everything for a pound! Frying pan, toilet brush, speaking teddy bears, curtain tassels, you name it! We did not, of course, buy all the aforementioned items, even though Jeannie was especially tempted by a toilet seat. It was a mini oriental plaza, and we managed to do all our household shopping at minimal cost! Ronnie, seeking decoration for her room, found a particularly kitschy painting of Jesus. Steve would not let have her it.

After the shopping spree, the Kwashi Kids were seen walking back to Dennistoun with an ironing board, two dustbins and an iron. Not forgetting the luminous pink dustpan and brush. Steve looked quite surfer-esque with that ironing board tucked under his arm…

Jeannie and Ronnie still have no jobs. Steve is feeling self satisfied, so they relegated him to the housework. See pics.

P.S. There is one item common to all the photos. Surprise treat from the one pound shop for the first Kwashi friend to spot it!

The throne!

Ronnie in her little room

Jeannie reclining in her and Steve's room

The Lounge, dining area and Steve doing house work.

The Kitchen

The breakfast nook in our kitchen

Steve doing the ironing with our new iron and board!

Birthday breakfast. Jeannie made french toast!

Just chillin'

Bergies napping on the park bench

Kwashis at Victoria Park

No. 36 Clarence Drive - Temporary Abode

Ronnie's Birthday & Moving-In Day!

Since our last posting we have been finding jobs and having fun, actively fending off the Kwashiorkor with picnics, pizza, roast lamb and single malt whiskey!

Last night we held a dinner party for our host. Being our last night with Donald and Ronnie's impending birthday it turned into quite a celebration. The scrumptiousness included an invented Moroccan-style chicken dish, with couscous and a salad. Delicious S.A wine (Excelsior - yay Norah-Anne!), Lindor balls and lots of single malt whiskey of different varieties. Donald allowed us to taste three different quality single malts from his collection - Hooray for Donald! p.s don't order scotch on the rocks in Scotland, it is frowned upon.

Steve has a job, Ronnie and Jeannie have applied vigorously and wait in hope and anticipation! We are all very exited to move into our new Beautiful house this evening, which means we are in the process of the increasingly difficult task of packing (the heavy bags seem to have shrunk!).

Off to find some tea and birthday cake.

Kwashi Kids do London Town

The arrival of Ronnie at Walton-on-Thames

Steve, Ron, Tulips, Tower

Tulips

Tower Bridge

Pre-kwashi Jeannie and Ronnie at the Tower

Big Ben sees the sun

Ronda at Westminster Cathedral

Big Ben and Westminster

Ronnie and Steve in St. James' Park

Buckingham Palace and the joys of spring!

Departure from Kings Cross, London

before the Kids were Kwashi

How the Kwashi Kids got their name

Once upon a Tuesday morning three well-fed South Africans with misbehaving luggage sallied forth from no. 8 Broadwater Place, London. They dragged their wheelie bags on a twenty minute walk to the train station, where they were to depart for their ultimate destination, Glasgow, Scotland.

On the train journey, the South Africans became progressively more excited the further north they travelled. The quiet coach thus became infected by their enthusiasm and became quite the noisy coach!

Jeannie, Steve and Ronnie arrived in Glasgow with light hearts and heavy bags, only to discover that a bag that is heavy in flat London increases its weight in hilly Glasgow. The walk to the bus station quite tired them out, and they were glad to reach their temporary abode at no. 36 Clarence Drive and their gracious host, Donald Fraser.

The next morning saw them on a ferocious house hunt and a mammoth walk across the city of Glasgow. With nerves in their bellies they went to view their first flat, which turned out to be the most Beautiful flat, and the one they will shortly inhabit. They also encountered some marvellous Glaswegians, who are possibly the most helpful people!

We are now tired of talking about ourselves in the third person.

This first day was when we started to loose weight and feel hungry (early signs of malnourishment). However, that evening, Donald gave us a great meal and the Kwashiorkor was kept at bay.

On day two we were as anxious as ever and planning further viewings. And then we got the most fabulous phone call from Laura, the lady from the Beautiful flat. She said that we were her favourite and that we had first priority on the Beautiful flat. HURRAY! So we went off to make some comparisons with the other flats.

They were DISGUSTING!

So we decided to stick with the Beautiful flat (sigh of relief). House hunting is very tiring in a big city (especially when you're walking most of the time) and we need jobs to fend off Kwashiorkor.
We sat down to do a budget plan and realised that money would be very tight until we got jobs, and even then it might still be tight (toit - like a toiger). We decided that the easiest way to conserve funds was to go on an Extreme diet, of the malnourishment variety.
"We're Africans, we can deal with malnourishment!"
Another idea for saving money was to use candles instead of electicity. Visions of Jeannie, Steve and Ronnie with kwashiorkor bellies dancing in candle light had us in hysterics!
So we went to the pub for some nourishment. And henceforth we are the Kwashi Kids. Totsiens.