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Monday 23 June 2014

Beautiful Childhood Innocence

Born to Love

The recent Cheerios commercial featuring a mixed race couple with their mixed race daughter stirred up such a ridiculous racket, but you must watch this video of children reacting to the commercial. Imagine what a better place the world would be if children never lost this beautiful innocence, and that my friends is entirely up to us, the adults.

Sunday 22 June 2014

It's Officially Summer!

And the pool is out!

Summer Fun

Summer Fun

I won't be going on holiday this year, but I must admit with the fabulous weather and a 3m x 3m inflatable pool on my terrasse, I'm contented with what this summer will bring.

Today I actually did feel like I was on holiday. You know that calmness that descends on the world on a Sunday? Coupled with beautiful sunshine and the splish sploshing of Tiana in the pool I could almost have been on the French Riviera!

I also love Summertime for chilling in the shade a reading a good book. I can devour a book a day if I'm left in peace! My mum brought me lots of Englsih books with her, and I've just finished The Paris Wife today.

The Paris Wife

It's the story of Ernest Hemingway's frist wife, Hadley Richardson, who has become to be known in history as The Paris Wife. Semi-biographical and semi-fiction, a fabulous read into the mind of the woman who made Ernest who he became. A must read in my book!






A Family Catch Up

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks. My parents came to stay and we had a lovely relaxing time checking out lots of little towns and villages in my region. Well, we've done Paris a thousand times and I think we know it better than the Parisiens now! We found some great little places. On the Sunday we went to a village called Moussy le Neuf where they were having their annual medieval festival. It was amazing!

Stepping Back in Time

Stepping Back in Time

The Wine Hut

The Wine Hut

Medieval Tent

Medieval Tent

Medieval Clothes Shop!

Medieval Clothes Shop!

Cauldron Cooking

Cauldron Cooking

Jousting

Jousting

Jugglers

Jugglers

Herding Geese

Herding Geese up the road!

Medieval Feast

And the food .... 7€50 for a feast! And the wine was only 1€ a glass!

Medieval Feast

Getting stuck in with Grandad

We also went to a municipal park in Crepy en Valois that I've heard loads of people raving about and it certainly didn't disappoint. There were animals, a gorgeous river running through the grounds and a play area that ... wait for it ... had swings!

Crepy en Valois

A very grand entrance (which was actually the dining hall for the school across the road)

Crepy en Valois

Crepy en Valois


Crepy en Valois

Crepy en Valois

Crepy en Valois


Can you believe it! We had a lovely picninc of the night before's left overs then Tiana had a good two hours play in the park before we went for a stroll around the town, which was very pictoresque and full of busy little shops on the main street.

We also visited Senlis and Chantilly while they were here.Strangely enough we didn't see any lace shops but we did get a breathtaking view of the Chateau de Chantilly.

Chateau de Chantilly


We ate fabulous food all week long, a good mix of my mum's fab cooking, my equally delicious concoctions and some African barbecuing thrown in.

BBQ Fish

BBQ Fish

BBQ Fish


It was a fabulous week, good food, good company and Tiana throughly enjoyed having her Nanny and Grandad here to treat her like a star!


Friday 6 June 2014

Burka Musings

Burka Musings

Since starting this blog I've been more and more observant about the multi cultural world we live in now. I preached a couple of days ago about how in a world of information ignorance is a choice, and how I still act this way concerning the burka. 

I am always frightened for the women wearing Hadjibs etc in a way that a lot of people are frightened for me being with a black man. 

But yesterday I had a beautiful but sad encounter with a lovely Arabic woman. Her whole body and hair were covered but her face showing.

Her two boys were running her ragged, at the same time she was playing with my daughter and kept smiling at me friendly and apologetically. Then she did something I do when I don't want people around me to know I'm telling Tiana off, I speak in English. Seeing that she was at the end if her tether I was fully prepared for her to starting shouting in Arabic but she starting telling her boys off in Italian. I understand quite a bit of Italian unlike nothing of Arabic! And she was saying to her two boys "you're making mummy look bad, let's go and not bother the lady and the little girl anymore."

My heart went out to her. 

She was covered head to toe, maybe by choice, maybe because of her husband or family, but underneath it all she was really just a young woman embarrassed by her children playing up in public. 

I was guilty of making stereotypical assumptions and tarring everyone with the same brush, the very thing I am trying to help stop with this blog.

I got up from my comfy place in the sun and helped her get her littlest back in his buggy and get the older boy off the climbing frame and back to his mothers side. 

The woman was shocked that I came to help her. But in her eyes I could see it was a good shock. 

Would I have acted the same way if she had spoken in Arabic and I had not understood those all familiar pleadings? Definitely not. 

But now I know that might be what every Arabic woman is saying to her children. I'm sure I will in the future not hesitate to lend a hand, with a smile and a lift of an eyebrow between mummies to say "I know the feeling".

Thursday 5 June 2014

Bienvenue Chez Nous

I was saying the other day about how much I hate dubbed over programmes in France. But the French TV is actually very good. Yes, they have their share of ridiculous big brother style reality shows, but their documentaires are fascinating and their culture shows even more so. The one I'm loving at the moment is called Bienvenue Chez Nous (Welcome to Our Home)

Bienvenue Chez Nous

Every week four couples who run bed and breakfasts around France, stay at each other's b&b's and judge everything from the welcome to the dust on top of the wardrobes! The French definately have a comptetive streak as sometimes the comments and scoring are just ridiculously low but I love it for how it appeals to my nosy nature! You get to see into people's homes, the fabulous regions I've yet to visit and oh the breakfasts are mouthwatering.

Bed and Breakfast Champ-Bruneau

This was the Champ Bruneau B&B in Normany. An old working water mill transformed into a fantastic B&B. Isn't it fabulous?

Bed and Breakfast Champ-Bruneau

Bed and Breakfast Champ-Bruneau

They didn't win but they were such a lovely couple and played the game fairly, not like the others who said places were fabulous they gave them 4 out of 10! I've bookmarked their website and hopefully will go for a weekend there very soon.

Excited!

Open University

I'm one step closer to becoming a student again. I had my place confirmed today, now just to sort out funding!!

Wednesday 4 June 2014

What are Muslims Really Like?

What are Muslims Really Like?

I frequently get asked if Badara is muslim. When I answer yes, that split second reaction that a human has no control over shows up time and time again in the faces of most people who ask me that question. They are thinking oh poor white girl with a black muslim partner, he must be very domineering, did he force her to convert, and omg what if he hits her.

I'm used to it now. I used to get angry and defensive and immediately go into a long speech about how black muslims are much more tolerant than Arab muslims etc etc but I saw this on Facebook a while ago

Ignorance is a Choix


and I realised that instead of getting angry about it, it would be so much better to use my personal experience to educate people. I'm open to questions and make sure people feel confortable asking me. Ignorance is what fuels hatred and sterotypes. I have been guilty of it in the past, and probably still am in certain contexts especially when it comes to the burka. (don't get me started on that one!).

Badara is a private muslim. He believes in Allah but doesn't go to the Mosque, he doesn't pray 5 times a day, he smokes and drinks, he doesn't shove religion down everyone's throats, the only way you could possibly tell he is muslim is when he'll say he doesn't eat pork! His faith is between him and his God. His son and Tiana are not baptised. They are free to make their own decisions when their are older. I'm not religious at all, and although in the beginning of our relationship I would sometimes get very frustrated, we've grown to respect each other's beliefs, and well just don't talk about it!

Every religion has extremists and sure at the moment the muslim extremists aren't doing any favours to the millions of muslims who are just normal people, going about their lives in a peaceful way.

I think we should be helping the middle east get educated not tarring them all with the same brush. That makes us just as bad as the fundamentalists. So I do my bit and help people throw away their prejudices by informing them, and as the famous supermarket chain says "Every little helps"!



Tuesday 3 June 2014

The Party of the Century!

I forgot to report back about the Hen Party I helped with the Saturday before last. It was a complete success! The girls really got involved in their tasks of creating a traditional tapas selection. I'm still waiting for the photos of the finished results but you can have a look at the decoration before the mayhem descended!

Dinner Table & Pink Champagne

Dinner Table & Pink Champagne

Hen Party

Cocktail Corner

Cocktail Corner

Hen Party

Then Saturday gone was THE BIG PARTY, the one my friend Jen and I have been planning for the last two months for her hubby's 40th birthday and their 10th wedding anniversary. We went shopping on the Wednesday and spent the next three days cooking, cooking and cooking some more!

It was a fabulous evening, far too much went on for me to write all about it so I'll let you sit back and enjoy the photos ....

Little Helpers
Little Helpers

Mini Quiches

Mini Quiches

Cupcakes

Beautiful Cupcakes

Strawberry Cheesecake

Strawberry Cheesecake

Afternoon Tea Tent

Afternoon Tea Tent

Pimms

You can't have a Garden Party without Triangle Sandwiches & Pimms!

The Anniversary Cake

The Anniversary Cake

The 40th Porsche Birthday Cake

The 40th Porsche Birthday Cake

The Lovely Couple

The Lovely Couple

Champagne at Midnight

Champagne at Midnight