Adventures of the Kwashi Kids: May 2006

Hello friendly friends! It has been a shockingly long time since we last posted on our dear old blog, and we apologise profusely for our slackness! We do, however, have a very good excuse. We have had technical difficulties, in that the cable for Jeannie's lap-top went bust, and there are none available in Glasgow. This place is worse than Africa! We searched high and low but none were to be found. Actually, I lie, we did find one, but it cose £99 and we were NOT going to pay that much for a lousy cable. Even our shady Turkish friends from the internet shop down the road were unable to help us. We are currently waiting for one of these rare cables to arrive. So, we have been unable to download photos and write posts.

But never fear, we should be getting back into gear soon, and we will be able to update you on all our exicing activites. These include the National Pipe Band Championships, a Ceileigh, and a visit to the Isle of Bute (which is indeed beautiful!). You should see the photos! Posts will be up soon, watch this space...

Introducing… Percival MacDuff

This smouse, small in stature but large in character, entered our lives one Thursday evening while walking in the park. Hard at work, pilfering Daffodills, Ronnie spotted this rather grubby creature and instantly recognised the smouse in need! She took him home, much to Jeannie and Steve’s disgust, and gave him a bath, some love and a bed (the Lufthansa pillow). And thus Percival MacDuff (AKA Percy), the Scottish smouse, became a part of our lives.

IMPORTANT FEATURE: when you pull his poep-string he vibrates!

Dirty Percy (his state upon discovery)

Clean Percy!

Luke comes to Visit

The weeks have become rather mundane, with Steve sorting mail and Jeannie and Ronnie seeking employment. But this doesn’t put a dampener on our weekends where fun times are had - especially when Luke, Tim and Cathy come to visit.

Friday night saw a quiet night in while the Kwashis preserved their energy and finances for the arrival of their guest, Luke Brown. Luke arrived bright and early on Saturday morning, and brought with him some more nice weather. We met up with Clare in the West End to go to the Play, Pie and a Pint (P,P & P) at Oran Mor (an old church). What a novel experience to sit in rows with a pie and a pint in front of you and watch a play. The pints were good, the pies delicious and the play rather odd, but good none the less. After this we were taken to a traditional Italian ice cream parlour – YUM YUM! Clare is full of good ideas, after taking us to the P, P & P and the ice cream she drove us out of the city to some hills with a waterfall. By this time the weather had turned icy, but lo and behold, there were half naked natives plunging into the waterfall from insane heights (we have yet to comprehend the ways of the native)!

We decided that having Luke in the area was a good excuse to have a house warming dinner party, to which Clare and Dan were invited. They brought with them gifts of wine, glasses and literature – Hooray! A feast was prepared and a good time was had by all.

Sunday was Saltycracks day (not of the biscuit variety!). We were not in the mood for an expedition but decided to go on one anyway. It was raining and miserable, and the bus to Loch Lomand was no where to be seen, when Luke valiantly proclaimed – “Lets go to the sea and have a pint”. So we did.

We randomly selected a sea side town off the map, bought tickets, and sprinted to catch the train in an Amazing Race-like fashion. The town we selected is called Saltcoats, which soon became Saltycracks, and was a peculiar place to say the least. The beer was good and the locals were friendly – after initially suspecting us of being Mormons?! It was an afternoon full of laughter. On our arrival back in Glasgow Dan and Clare whisked us off to more pubs with live music. Fun times!

Monday morning saw Steve back at work (shame), and the other three off to Edinburgh for the day. It was beautiful, but very touristy – we even bumped into William Wallace…

Ronnie, Jeannie and Luke returned to find Tim, Cathy and Steve at the flat. They had come up from London with the remainder of Steve and Jeannie’s worldly possessions. We all went out for a scrumptious Scottish meal of haggis, rumbledethumps, champit tatties, stovies and bashed neeps. Haggis is a treat, don’t listen to the masses, they don’t know what they’re missing!

A Play, A Pie and A Pint

The hills and daffodills at the waterfall

Kwashikids at the Saltycracks Sea

Percy is keen on pints too!

Percy in Saltycracks

Ronnie, a tenement and the blossoms

Jeannie and Ronnie and a view of the Scott Monument

Jeannie and miscellaneous church

William Wallace in the flesh

Stained glass reflections at St. Giles Cathedral

Walter Scott Monument

Luke and Jeannie in a Park

View of Edinburgh

Jeannie, Ronnie and Luke in an Edinburgh Park

I spy with my little eye...

Something beginning with M! The item in all photos of the flat was good old fashioned MARMITE! The first person to email us the correct answer was Jenny Wakely! Hurrah! We shall think of you next time we go to the pound shop. Well done to Frances Hall, Roddy Fox, Richard Hartnack and Cathy Irwin for also spotting the marmite. Yay for all of you! We shall think of more interactive things to publish on the blog.

Four Fun Filled Days!

We, the Kwashikids, have spent a delightful weekend doing fun things! We have discovered the cure to all ailments of a psychological nature: go to the park and do a handstand!

Thursday saw us treating ourselves to a little bit of live music. The Scottish Symphony Orchestra held an afternoon concert that was broadcast live on BBC 3 radio, and we went to watch it. They played Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, and Sebalius’ Second Symphony. Bellissimo!

Steve went to work on Friday, so Jeannie and Ronnie were left to their own devices. Jeannie had an interview with a recruitment agency and got a 3 day job. So now only Ronnie remains unemployed. This fact put her in a foul mood, which Jeannie had to bear with until they reached the sanctuary of Alexandra Park (the park just down the road from our house). It was blissful, and quite a big park too, with a wee golf course in the middle of it. The sun was shining and the world was a happy place. We removed our shoes and stripped down to our t-shirts, and felt like locals! Quite exposed actually. We also nicked some daffodils, which now adorn our dining table and bring joy into our flatlet! YAY! Friday evening saw Ronnie going to a trail shift at a restaurant in the West End. There she discovered how much waitressing sucks, and is still unemployed.

Saturday’s weather was as amazing as Friday’s, even better in fact. Clare Hewitt took us out for an adventure in the West End, which is really quite trendy. It was meant to be a Play, a Pie and a Pint, but it turned into Fairies Blood, Falafel and Fun times! The play-pie-pint was sold out, so Clare took us to a lovely little tea place called Chai Ovna. Organic vegetarian food and about 80 different teas! We had yogi chai tea and fairies’ blood tea, of which the fairies’ blood was the resounding favourite. We ate delicious food and were very successful at fending off kwashiorkor, our never-ending quest.

Then Clare showed us a jewel of a place that we probably never would have found on our own. Thistle Book Shop: a second hand bookshop with lots and lots of sheet music! Hurrah! Steve found the whole of Bartok’s Microcosmos (thanks Phil) and now plans to become a proficient pianist. Jeannie and Ronnie found a book of madrigals by Thomas Morely for two and three voices. So we will be singing away very soon!

Sunday found us on another adventure, but of an entirely different sort. Our friend, Donald, took us out to the Trossachs for an afternoon of walking (beautiful!). We had a splendid time, especially after the walk, when Donald put the top of the car down (yes, it was a convertible) and we zoomed along the winding Scottish roads, shrieking with laughter and freezing our bums off! By the way, the weather was not half as good as Saturday! We stopped off at a pub on our way back to drink some well deserved 80/- Caledonian Ale. Treats all round.