Our Own Thanksgiving

Today was a nightmare of a day.  It was crazy busy at work.  There was no time for lunch.  My day was filled with back to back meetings, a trip to a co-manufacturer up North and a trip back to the office at the onset of rush hour traffic.  Only to then have to make a mad dash back out to Banbury in time for Thanksgiving Dinner.

I promise I didn't break any road rules.  Even if I'd wanted to it would have been impossible; rush hour had the cars lined back to back on the motorway.

As if I wasn't already running late, I had to stop halfway during my journey to Banbury, because there was a strong sulphurous, acrid smell, which seemed to be coming from my car.  I thought it might be the tyres, but everything seemed to be in order and there were no warning lights on my dashboard.

I finally made it to Banbury, to Bing's, only an hour late, for Thanksgiving Dinner; a golden turkey with all the American trimmings.  I say American because it can only be America where the Yams come topped with melted marshmallows.

We sat, we ate and we drank in front of the TV as we watched last years Macy's Thanksgiving Parade (n.b. the pictures were actually from the parade Bing and I saw in 2011).

So thankful that I have a Bing in my life, who feeds and waters me on stressful days, like today.

Come Dine With Me (Part 2 of 4)

Come Dine With Me Part 2; It's Amee's turn and the theme is 'Curry Fest 2013'.  A good job really, as both Amee and I were given the caveat that if we didn't incorporate Curry into our menu then we would automatically be deducted points.

It all kicked off with a little manilla envelope arriving in the post.  I open it up and inside was the invite with the menu written in the smallest font possible.

Our menu options (if you can read the small text in the picture above) was to start with Curry, then to have a main of Curry and then to finish with Curry.  That's a lot of Curry.  Good job I love it!

As per last time, I won't offer any of our thoughts on the menu or how the food was, as I don't want to ruin our video.  But see for yourselves and decide what score out of 10 you would have given:

Canapes:
Samosas, Spring Rolls, Crispy Mogo with a selection of chutneys and Indian snacks, washed down with a glass or few of Prosecco

Starters:
Mumbai Bhel and Chilli Paneer, washed down with more Prosecco and I think there might have been white wine...

Intermission:
Courtesy of Jess and Bing, a little bit of Bollywood dancing... I believe the saying is 'screw the light bulb and pat the dog'

Main:
Lamb Biryani, Vegetable Curry and Raita... and more wine

Dessert:
Rasmalai, Barfi and Coffees

The funniest story of the night was towards the end whilst we were eating our dessert.  The Indian dessert was Rasmalai, a traditional dessert, which raised a lot of interest from the baker in our group, Bing.  'What recipe did you use?  Is it a cake?  What's it made out of? Does it have flour in it?'

It was almost like watching the Spanish Inquisition.  You could see the beads of sweat appearing on Amee's face as she tried to answer Bing's questions.  And then the penny drops... 'Did you make it?'  'Ummm... I can't take it anymore, no I didn't make it, I bought it from the shop!'

There's no hiding anything from our group Amee!
Next up is Jess.  Best of luck.

Fireworks

Guy Fawkes Night is a favourite celebration of mine.  I love the warmth of the bonfire on a cold night and the sound of the bangs and whistles as Rockets, Catherine Wheels and other fireworks explode in the black night sky.

Working with and having a lot of international friends, I often get asked what this celebration is about.  "It's about a fella named Guy Fawkes who got caught in a gunpowder plot to blow up the House of Lords" I tell them.

And then I get a weird look, a laugh of disbelief and a comment that is usually along the lines of, "that's a weird thing to celebrate".

In the past it was a celebration of King James I survival, but these days it's more about oohing and aahing over the spectacular firework display.

In Birmingham it was a week of celebration.  There were firework displays in all of the major open spaces.  We went to 2; Pype Hayes Park and to the Vale.

Pype Hayes Park was a nightmare to get to.  We ended up seeing three quarters of the display on our walk to the venue, as traffic was a nightmare.  Luckily there was a fun fair and shows of people twizzling flaming batons, so our journey up was not wasted.

The Vale was also rammed, but in walking distance.  So much easier to get to, but a nightmare to meet others there.  It's a bit like the Bermuda Triangle.  As soon as you enter the campus all mobile phone reception disappears and there is no hope of trying to meet up with others.

Another year of fantastic displays of fireworks.  Happy Bonfire Night.

Meeting Samuel

Meet Samuel.  The newest addition to the Carters.  A Prince in his own right and a replica of Princess when she was a baby.

Samuel was born earlier this month, during my vacation in China.  It seems that I'm always abroad when the Carters have their kids; I was in the States when Princess was born.

It's just as well, as both Mini Carters were born in the early hours of the morning, when others were asleep.  The time difference working in my favour to share this special moment with Papa Carter, who was too excited to sleep.

Last Night in Shanghai

It's my last night in Shanghai and I'm in the midst of a picture frenzy, as I try to get as many snaps in as possible before I have to leave.

The night is clear, there's no rain, there's no smog hiding the tops of the buildings.  It's perfect weather for getting the perfect night shots of The Bund.

The view is stunning.  The lights from the buildings pop in the black of the night sky and illuminate the water in a multitude of colours.

It's 6.30pm and it's time to go.  Tonight is all about Karaoke.  Apparently you can't come to China without indulging in a bit of Karaoke.

The venue is New World Emporium.  It can only be described as a maze of rooms.  It is really quiet inside, but that is only because the rooms are heavily padded to block out all the noise.

 

You only realise this when a door suddenly opens and the 'dulcet tones' of those getting into the groove to Chinese music flow out into the corridor.

Teacher kicked off the singing with Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.  I eventually got dutch courage after a few drinks with a rendition of a golden oldie; one of Madonna's classics.

A couple of hours later, with throats coarse from all the singing, we moved on to a club to dance the night away.  Teacher bluffed us into a club called Cirque Le Noir.  An interesting place, but surreal.

Trapeze artists, dwarfs, painters, burlesque dancers, they all came out from time to time to entertain the crowds.  There was a cart filled with popcorn, a photo booth, a candy floss machine.  It was like being at the circus all over again.

Shanghai, it's been interesting, entertaining and most importantly, educational.  Zàijiàn (Goodbye).