broken knuckles

I spoke to Kenny this evening on the phone and I obviously missed something when I talked to him yesterday - I thought he'd said he was just bruised, nothing broken, but in fact he has two broken knuckles so his hand is strapped up. Amy's feeling worse today, she said it feels like there's broken glass in her throat but she's still glad she had the op. 

We had another interesting donation today. Just at the end of the day as we were about to leave the day centre we had a phone call offering us 100kg of pastries. The downside? We had to collect them right away. Most have gone into the freezer but some were defrosted and needed cooked straight away - we'll give them out tomorrow. By the time we spent all evening cooking pastries we had no desire to cook dinner, so guess what we had? 

Traumatic week and it's only Wednesday!

Well, I suppose most weeks seem to have their trauma but it's only Wednesday and this week has seen more than enough for our family. Amy had an operation on Monday to remove her tonsils - after frequent severe bouts of tonsilitis for over 5 years the ENT department finally agreed to operate. Amy's form teacher is very concerned as this is Bacalaureat year and Amy can't afford to keep missing school. The operation was done under local anaesthetic and was quite an ordeal for Amy, I don't think I could have done it! She is still off school and in a lot of pain but she's looking forward to a tonsilitis-free winter.

Today I had a text message from Kenny saying that he'd been beaten up last night and ended up in casualty. He says he was checked over and x-rayed and apart from bruising and concussion he's ok and actually attended lectures today - very dedicated of him, but I don't know how wise given the concussion!

Otherwise life is busy and more than a little stressful. Renovation work at the day centre is nearing completion, we have paint colour and tiles to pick and it should be finished by the wend of next week. When it's over we have the daunting prospect of tidying up and sorting through all the aid which all had to be piled into a huge mountain in one of the activity rooms. Add to it all this evening's unannounced arrival of 1000 shoeboxes and you can see why we're a bit stressed.

Johanna's graduation

Seems like I'm doing this blog backwards these days. I didn't have time to write about Johanna's graduation at the time as we had a team here working on the day centre courtyard and we were really busy. it was hard enough for both of us to take the day out for the graduation never mind actually finding time to update my blog!

On the day Kenneth and I and Helen, along with Johanna and Philip and of course Yasmina, all piled into the minibus and set off for Timisoara. Granny unfortunately couldn't make it because she was having a lot of back pain and still recovering from her fall in Turkey (she has since had an MRI and has two badly herniated discs).

The ceremony was actually not too bad even though there were several speeches! The students all recited the hippocratic oath together and sang a Latin song -not all that different from Romanian really ... if I'd worked harder on my Latin at school I'd have learned Romanian much easier!

After the ceremony there were the usual endless photos, we took a few of course. Pictured here is Johanna with her group - each year is split into sections and each section has several groups. Johanna began her studies in the English section of the university along with many other foreign students including Indian, Saudi Arabian, American, Greek and many other nationalities. In final year Johanna transferred into a Romanian section as by then she was fluent enough to study in her second language. it has been a hard year, especially taking exams in Romanian but we are all very proud of her for succeeding.

stop press ...

We just arrived home and Amy and Kate started cooking dinner for everyone. Kate dropped a heavy glass jar on her foot which immediately turned blue adn swelled up. Johanna said a trip to the hospital was indicated. At that point the phone rang and Amy answered. it was one of the street boys to let us know that one of the boys has been found dead on the streets. he doesn't know any more, so when we go to the hospital, Kenneth will go to the morgue to try and find out if it's true and more details.

Johanna and Philip's wedding ... some photos at last!

Well, the great day dawned at last ... Kenneth and I were too exhausted to even realise that the wedding day had arrived. During the days leading up to the wedding we discovered all kinds of things which we had thought were done and in fact weren't ... I suppose that's completely normal for weddings. here are just a few snapshots of the day, when we get the "proper" photos I'll post some - Johanna and Philip are in Australia right now so we won't get to see the oficial photos until their return.

Most of the wedding guests from overseas had opted to stay in hotels in Arad but a few were brave enough to stay with us at the house ... poor fools, they didn't know what they were letting themselves in for. Old friends (In time not their ages!)Jane, Steve and Maureeen, brother Tom and our dear sister-in-law Susan and niece Deborah saved the day in more ways than one! There they are in the photos (Maureen is the one on her own ... not Intentional maureen!) My friend Mariana helped me in the week before they arrived to clear space for them in which to sleep - we had several large donations of clothing and food and I did wonder where people would sleep, but Mariana and Amy worked hard and we managed to find a bed of sorts for everyone!

Kenny was DJ for the day, helped by his girlfriend Alina. Poor Kenny got forgotten about and was only taken to the hotel with his equipment half an hour before the wedding service was due to start! He then dashed off for the service and rushed back to the hotel as soon as possible but ended up having to do his sound testing when all the guests had already arrived ... not an easy task, especially as there was a good number of children running around the dance floor!

The marriage ceremony was held at the Lutheran church, known as the Red Church on Bulevardul Revolutiei, the main road which runs through the city centre (you can just about see the church on this photo, tucked in behind the Primaria, town hall). It was a lovely service conducted by old friend and former elder at our church in Glasgow, David Harvey. We upheld the tradition of the bride being late ... and the bride's parents, uncle, aunt, cousin, bridesmaids, brother and all our house guests ... it's a long story involving a fair amount of stress and too much to do in one morning! The marriage service was lovely with three beautiful hymns and a moving solo by Michael Abubakar.

The reception was held in the panoramic suite on the 11th floor of the Hotel Continental also on Bulevardul Revolutiei. It is an amazing venue with balconies all round and lovely views of Arad, as you can see.

The food was fantastic, a cold buffet followed by a hot buffet, with a large selection of dishes. Our visitors from abroad all praised the food, Romanian buffets are always great. Main courses were followed by platefuls of delicious cakes, not that I saw any of them, in fact I ate very little as I was too busy trying to make sure everyone was all right. To finish it all off the wedding cake was huge, something like 15kg made from chocolate sponge and black cherries and as you can see from the photos was a little unusual.

Kenneth's speech was totally unrehearsed as he simply didn't get chance to prepare anything - he had planned to show photos of Johanna when she was small and stroppy ... now she's all grown up but just as stroppy! (She's in Australia right now so i can say what I want!)

Kenny did a good job of the DJ-ing and we had a nice mix of different types of music and dancing including a little Romanian folk music and of course a few Scottish dances ... and what a laugh that was! The photo shows me trying to show Mariana's husband Nelu a "St Bernard's waltz" - actually he was very good. We also did a couple of other dances including a "Strip the Willow" which to some of our Romanian friends will forever be known as "Strip the Widow"!

Travel cots are such handy things ... this one, donated in the summer by a kind friend at PCF church in wolverhampton was invaluable on the wedding day for both Yasmina and Irina's wee girl Daniela to have naps! Aunties are also pretty invaluable and auntie Jane and auntie Maureen did a wonderful job of looking after Yasmina for us. Mustn't forget the uncles ... uncle Tom and uncle Steve did a great job of being the taxi drivers!

still too busy to write ...

Since our return from the UK life has been rather more frantic than usual ... is this possible you ask? Well, it must be because it has been!

Firstly we had my mum's accident and all the worry that went with it, which included Amy being in somewhat of a state of shock for a few days when she returned from Turkey. Then we had Johanna sitting her final medical exams and all the stress that involved for us all (!) followed by graduation which was obviously a very special day for us all ... for photos see my mum's blog (www.rose-mynewlifeinromania.blogspot.com) as I don't know when I will manage to find the time! Then immediately after graduation it was the WEDDING ... and how we survived that I don't know ... not the wedding itself but all the preparations and strain and stress. We had lots of visitors from overseas which was lovely and so far the feedback about the wedding has been extrelely positive, everyone having enjoyed the day immensely. When I get chance I will write about it and post photos ... but keep checking my mum's blog because she's sure to beat me to it!!! Johanna and Philip are on honeymoon in France and next week we will join them and some Scottish friends for a few days (if we manage to get everything here organised that is!) We have to close the day centre for a couple of weeks as Irina is having a few problems and we won't be able to leave her in charge. When we get back from France we begin renovation work on the kitchen and dining room, so it will be all go!

back to reality!

After a feew weeks away in the UK Kenneth and I were glad to get home. We missed the family, only Yasmina came with us as everyone else had commitments. I hated being without all of my own, just the littlest, it wasn't the same at all but such is life when one's children grow up! We finished our time with a lovely weekend in Wales with PCF church in Wolverhampton. On our return last Thursday evening we truly felt ready for anything ... but less than a week later the only thing we feel ready for is running away! In the early hours of Friday morning Kenneth had a phone call from Amy on holiday in Turkey with my mum. Mum had fallen, banged her head quite badly and been taken by ambulance to hospital. Poor Amy was in a panic and really distressed, with no one to help her. To cut a long story short, both are now back in Arad, mum with a broken nose and nasty bruising and feeling generally very rough and Amy, I think still suffering from shock and having bad dreams about seeing granny lying on the floor unconscious.

Enough for now ... Yasmina is complaining - bed time I think and anyway I think I'll have an early night, we have a busy day tomorrow with eye testing in the day centre and also a performing arts team who are with us for a few days.

Trip to the UK

Well, we finally managed to find a few weeks in which to visit the UK. Last year we didn't manage at all, there wasn't a week without a team or other visitors. Only Kenneth and I and baby Yasmina have come away as everyone else was too busy ... Johanna with wedding plans and exams, Kenny with doctor's visits and DJ-ing/MC-ing at the Strand each weekend and Amy with planning a surprise party for her best friend's 18th and also driving lessons. Johanna is looking after Rosie and Amy is keeping an eye on the day centre and Irina. Hopefully I'll get some time to update my blogs while we're away ... but don't hold your breath!

Traditional craft fair in the square

Last Sunday there was a craft fair in the square behind the theatre in Arad. There are several such events in the square throughout the year. At Christmas there is a small Christmas fair and we enjoy sitting in the below freezing temperatures eating grilled 'mici' (a kind of small grilled kebab made from a mixture of beef and pork with seasoning) and drinking mulled wine. A few months ago there was a wine festival and a couple of weeks ago there was a traditional Roma music festival. We had a look round after church with Irina and Daniela (pictured above with Rosie and Yasmina) but didn't stay long because Johanna was at home ill.

Philip bought some honey - you can get a huge variety of lovely honeys in Romania, all produced by small family run 'busineses' (not even businesses most of them, just families). He also bought some quince syrup ...

not tasted it yet but it sounds good! Philip is from Australia but he is happy to settle in Romania and just loves all the traditional aspects of life which still exist here. He hates all the pre-packed, mass produced food in the West and he and Johanna have already bought chicks, duclings and two goslings (for Christmas dinner ... traditional roast goose, none of that modern turkey nonsense!!!)

There were a couple of stalls with the beautiful hand painted eggs which are displayed around homes at Easter. The eggs are first blown and then intricately painted and the designs on them are incredible.

Before we left we bought some mici, some smoked sausage and kebabs and took it all home to eat together. Had we not had a sick daughter at home we would enjoyed to sit at the wooden tables and benches and eat in the square, but the next best thing was to take it home ... mmmm yummy!

Riverside terrace!

Yesterday we had a busy day (when don't we?) ... I was at the Secret Garden (our day centre for for poor and homeless people ... or SG1 as my husband fondly refers to it!) with more than 20 young people from our church here (Metanoia Church Arad) and a visiting youth group. They wanted to visit and have some time with our street children and young people. Before the street people arrived I talked to the group about our work on the streets and what we hope to offer at the drop-in centre. Some of them expressed an interest in volunteering with us ... we certainly could do with the help, especially Romanians, as they would be able to help with basic education as well as spending time talking with young people on a one to one basis.

It was a great time, the church young people brought food and tea with them and made mountains of tasty sandwiches. 'Our' street people feasted, laughed and joked and generally enjoyed all the attention. One of the guys from church had brought his guitar, so they sang together and I think a good time was had by all! meanwhile Kenneth stayed home to get on with admin work, Amy went to an American family's house to spend some time with their daughter and a few other young folk. Johanna studied for exams - she's much better than she was though still quite rough at times. Kenny was in Timisoara probably sleeping most of the day away as it was his friend's birthday party last night.

Late afternoon we decided to all go into town and have a coffee and a cake for a treat. We went first to a sports club terrace by the river. There is a section actually on the river but it was being prepared for a small wedding party so we went on one of the other terraces. As you can see from the photos it's a delightful place and we had a relaxingng couple of hours there, watching the river go by and the occasional fish jump out of the water and listening to the birdsong.

Rosanna and Yasmina had a great time too. Rosie found it fascinating just to sit looking out at the river and to watch the occasional fisherman and one brave young man having a swim. Yasmina wanted to wander and kept trying to get nearer to the water so we had to keep a careful eye on her, the river Mures is quite fast flowing even though the terrain is so flat in Arad and has dangerous currents.

From the riverside we went to a lovely 'cofetaria' for coffee and cakes ... ahh, such indulgence! We often think that it's quite a shame we're so busy all the time ... Arad has some truly lovely places to go and we rarely take advantage of them! We joke about giving up the work with street children so that we can have more time to enjoy ourselves - but it is just a joke ... honest!

Too busy to write!

No time to write much ... far too busy the last few days and I have no energy left. We had a delivery of clothing, toys, vitamins and various other items on Saturday and were busy unloading the truck, sorting and organising things from 1400 until 2200 so as you can imagine we were exhausted.

We have all gone down with a nasty cough/cold, but Johanna has been hit the hardest and today I had to take her to the doctor ... she has Pneumonia. Not good at the best of times but she is in the middle of exams and really rough. Tomorrow she has an exam at 1200 so one of us will take her to Timisoara and then wait for her to finish as there's no way she can go by bus and train. Obviously she shouldn't really go and is not really in a fit state but she doesn't want to end up with re-sits.

we like to play ...

Rosie and Yasmina love to play together!

Because of Rosie's background she doesn't react like other children and we have to spend a lot of time with her helping her with seemingly simple tasks. School was a bit of a nightmare because poor Rosie didn't even know how to hold a pencil or do other basic acts necessary for primary school like drawing or cutting out, no one had ever taught her. Since those early days she has come a long way and apart from a couple of continuing issues is doing well at school. 

 Watching Yasmina, young as she is, already play make believe games is very entertaining, she has a great imagination and other children enjoy playing with her.

new boss in the house!

Yasmina's a very strong willed baby and determined to get her own way which can be very trying at times ... but she's so cute that it's hard to get angry with her and we usually end up laughing at her funny expressions as she tries to get round us! We went out to Johanna and Philip's house (they bought a wee house with a huge piece of land which they intend to modernise before they get married) and at one point when Yasmina thought no-one was looking she headed out of the gate and down the road on her own!

Jack of all trades ...

As you can see by the previous entry, Kenneth is pretty handy - partly because all through our married lives he's had to be, we never had the money to bring in the professionals. I might be biased but I think he does a pretty fine job - he did most of our "apartment" single handed, fitted the kitchen, did all the woodwork and plumbling. He is still in the middle of doing the bathroom, though I think it will be next year before that's finished given our current financial status, but I can live with that!
With Yasmna now walking we suddenly realised that the lack of a protective rail at the top of the stairs could be a problem! The stairs themselves were fairly recently built. Until then we had been coming upstairs by means of a vertical ladder! I must admit it was a bit scary but you can get used to most things! However, climbing the vertical ladder with a baby in arms was impossible - one of us had to go first and then pass the baby up or down! It was quite a pantomime at times and quite amusing at times but also dangerous so we knew we had to do something. On discovering that the cost of having a company build a staircase was far too much for us, Super Ken leaped into action and said "I'll build one". "Build a staircase, how will you do that?" I replied "Not sure yet, but I'll work it out!" was his answer ... and he did! Of course he'll kill me if he reads this blog ... not least for the earlier photo of him with the false Mohican hairdo!

Since then with the pressure of all the other things he has to do, the stairs have been left unpainted but functional. At the top we had an assortment of pieces of wood to stop us from falling, but with a baby now toddling around this was obviously inadequate so it was over to Kenneth again ... and a couple of days and several trips to the wood merchant later here is the result (if you look closely, you'll see wee Yasmina standing alongside). Nice eh? Behind the "barrier" you can see Kenneth's office corner!

Poor Kenneth, he has so much to do that most of the time he doesn't know whether he's coming or going. Recently he had to deal with a flood at Kenny's new apartment. Kenny's first apartment was put on sale so we had to help him to find a new one. Then he had trouble with flatmates not paying bills (their parents sent the money and they spent it!) Finally he has a nice two bedroom apartment and two lovely flatmates - Claudiu sleeps in the living room, Kenny has the smaller of the two bedrooms and Ana has the other bedroom. Yesterday Ana cooked for them all because it was Palm Sunday here in Romania.

Just after they moved in one of the pipes burst and it turned out to be the pipe for the heating system for a quarter of the apartment block. Believe me when I say it was like a fountain and it just kept on coming until the whole heating column emptied. It was hilarious - while Kenneth battled in vain to try and stop the gush of water Rosanna and I baled out into the hallway with plastic tubs (he stays on the ground floor fortunately). We were all covered in a brownish sludge from the old pipes and Kenneth especially was absolutely soaked through literally to the skin. Kenny meanwhile ran upstairs for the owner who then arrived with a plumber as the flow of water had slowed to a trickle. The kitchen, hallway and bathroom were all under several Cm's of water and we only managed to save the other rooms by putting a barrier of sleeping bags and towels across the doorway from the hall. Just another day in the life of the crazy Clokes!

our "loft apartment"!

For those of you who have been worried about us living in very difficult conditions for the past 7 years ... worry no longer! It isn't finished yet, but the upstairs apartment finally resembles a proper home. We have a combined living/dining/kitchen space - it's about 5 metres by 6 metres in total (a little over 15 feet by 18 feet) and when everyone is home at weekends it's a bit squashed, but we prefer to say cosy! Most of the furniture and fittings were given to us by friends in the UK, the cooker etc were from my mum because her apartment here included all white goods. We brought everything over in the minibus on various trips. The bathroom isn't finished yet, the lights aren't yet fitted (we use lamps) and the two bedroom doors you see in the photo have no frames yet, though as of last week they have handles!
As you can see the kitchen might be called "compact" but we're just so delighted to have our own kitchen that we don't have to share with dozens of people that we don't care. You can stand in the middle of the kitchen and access every cupboard without moving your feet, but it's fine unless there's three of us all trying to do something, then it becomes a bit of a challenge.

The dining area is small too but nice with the window overlooking the garden and, in the distance the next village. We can just about all get round the table, it's a big squashed but it's only weekends now that we're all here and baby Yasmina has her own high chair.

The downstairs of the house is now just for visitors, volunteers and teams. We have three bedrooms and they have the use of separate kitchen and bathroom. We still have some work to do downstairs, some plastering and painting to get everything as nice as it could be but that will have to wait until we have some help I think! After 6 years of building Kenneth is thoroughly sick of it and says that once he's finished our apartment he never wants to see another brick, plank or tile. Ha ha ... Johanna and Philip are counting on dad's help in his "free time" to help them with their wee house in the country!

Spring at last!

We're so glad that the weather has turned warmer, no more monthly panic when the gas bill arrives ... until next winter anyway. The price of gas has doubled since last year and inflation in general is still to high. All right it's not hyperinflation like in Zimbabwe and for that we are very grateful but it's still a problem for us and all Romanians.

Arad is a lovely city, this is the river Mures which runs through the middle of the city and provides beautiful walks in all seasons. On Saturday we rounded up the whole family, including granny and Johanna and Philip (except Kenny who didn't come home until evening) and we went for a walk along the "mal" next to the river, ending up at the children's park to let Rosie have a play. We then went to our favourite coffee shop for espressos and cappuccinos.

It's great for the kids having granny around, especially for Rosie who was very fond of her grandmother who died and has now become attached to her new granny. I think it's good for my mum as well even though she misses my aunts and uncles. She has moments when she feels lonely being away from her family and friends but then, she was lonely sometimes back in Britain. She really enjoys having more time with her grand children than she ever had before and of course her new adopted grand children, not only Rosie and Yasmina, but Irina's wee girl Daniela and our friends' children. My mum has a blog so if you want more general info about Arad and Romanian traditions etc check it out www.rose-mynewlifeinromania.blogspot.com She was recently asked to be a guest blogger for BBC Radio Manchester and did a live radio interview! I think the presenter found the idea of a 65 year old moving not to the Algarve but to Romania rather irresistible!

We are still very busy, in many ways more so than ever with the day centre now open five days a week but we are trying very hard to take time out at weekends, if not the whole two days.
Most weekends Johanna and Philip and Kenny come home and whenever possible we try to do something together as a family, even if it's just to watch a film and eat popcorn and crisps on a Friday or Saturday night. When Johanna and Philip come home, their wee Westie, Hamish comes too and as you can see, he and Tiger Lily, our three legged cat get on well together!

baby Yasmina our wee treasure

Yasmina' is developing so quickly - Maybe the litre and a half of milk she drinks per day along with regular meals is something to do with it! I suppose it's the same with every baby, they bring so much joy you can't marine life without them!

Health wise we're not doing too great as a family just now ... Kenny had a severe stomach infection and had to go to Casualty, Amy has Tonsillitis so bad that her throat is almost completely closed and covered with yukky stuff and we have finally decided that the tonsils will have to go ... and Johanna has a chest infection and is confined to bed. Kenneth and I are reasonably ok and Rosie is fine other than some concern at school - despite being bright she isn't keen on school - mind you, she's not alone in that! Other than school and homework I can't say we have many problems with her, she's generally very well behaved and picks up new things quickly - my mum has taught her to knit and she's doing very well at it.

Exams and more ...

I can't believe it's over a month since Christmas, but on the other hand it seems like it never happened! It certainly wasn't the best Christmas we've ever had, but enough said! Our "weans" are now in exam session - Johanna is struggling a little with exams all in Romanian but hoping that the professors will forgive her grammatical errors! Kenny is finding some of his subjects difficult - especially Maths which he didn't have for Bacalaureat as he was planning a career in sport. He also finds Law and Micro-economics challenging to say the least. Amy has had to take up two new languages at her new school - instead of French she is doing German and she also has to take Latin as she is in a Philology class. The class have already done two years of Latin and German so she is very behind and trying hard to catch up.

Kenneth and I are very tired and struggling to keep going at anything like our normal pace! Rosie has been leading us a merry dance with school work (or lack of) and she can be quite hard work at times. Although our upstairs apartment is still not completed it's very nice and since moving up in July it has made a huge difference to our lives and given us some much needed privacy. The downstairs hasn't been properly tidied after all last Summer and Autumn's teams, but we've been too busy and too tired. My mum finally moved into her new apartment and loves it, so she's generally feeling much happier and more settled. Amy will be 18 on 15th February and is keen to have a "Majorat" party like all her friends - she's never had a birthday party in her life so we want to make sure it's special.