Sue’s Blog

Omar has just initiated this blog! I wrote a blog this morning for the first time since August, I just hadn’t felt like it recently and when I commented on this to Omar he said ’sometimes you have to force yourself’.

Which made me think about the things I have to sometimes force myself to do

• clean my teeth (at night) - I just like falling in to bed when I am tired

• dust- and other house work obviously (KC frequently reminds me about this one)

• write my blog - apparently

Its a very short list, but I honestly can not think of anything else right now! KC and other members of my family and friends will tell you I can sit for England, and Mauritius as well now, but there are not that many things I have to do, now that I am retired! I am interested to know what other people have to make themselves do, that just don’t happen spontaneously?

And why doesnt spell check recognise ‘blog’ on a site like this???

Its 05:30 here in Mauritius KC and I have just had a cup of tea and I have just heard the man from the mosque welcoming in the new day; I love the haunting sound at this time in the morning! We have just said good night to Omar in the UK its 00:30 there and I am able to track Hannah’s flight across USA its 16:30hrs in LA where she will be landing shortly! Joey is a little more elusive! (If he reads this ‘what happened to my e mail?’)

Thank god for technology I say!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot more since being out here in Mauritius, Its easy for Mauritians they know who they are and what that stands for!

I have always said I was British, but recently the Welsh and the Scots appear to be more vocal about their heritage and how proud they are of it, so I suppose that means I should be English, but I honestly don’t know what that means, or stands for? The Scots have their own parliament and so do the Welsh so where does that leave us?? And what about Northern Ireland?

Watching the Olympics confuses the issue even more, I am enormously proud that we (Team GB) have 16 gold medals and we are currently lying 3rd Wow Wow!! But when it comes to rugby and football then we are expected to support England, I think? And where does the UK fit into all this? When I write home I write to the UK. So Ive just googled that question and the explanation doesn’t really help me!

And does it really matter any way? I just feel somehow it does and I am really quite envious of the Mauritian people!

I would love to hear what other people think; whatever your nationality!

I am sat here wondering what I should write about? All my lovely family and friends have gone home and the house feels empty and time has stretched…….Normally I write on impulse, but so many thoughts and feelings from the last 10 weeks fill my mind , so what to choose? I flick through the BBC news, actually looking to see how Tasha is faring in her final at the Olympics; this article just caught my eye, for several reasons past and present.

When KC and I got married we did exactly the same; married on a shoestring and it was wonderful, one of the best days of my life! My wedding dress cost £15, my mum’s friends served up cold meat and salad, Pauline and Michael put ribbons on their car, Uncle Alan made the cake, Mum picked flowers from the garden for my bouquet and the bridesmaid baskets, and I made their dresses. Our only extravagance  was £50 for wedding photos which I still treasure (though right now I couldn’t tell you if they are here or in the UK)

Thirty years on we are back to living on limited income and do you know what, it is fun and liberating and makes me appreciate the small things in life! That is not to say I compare myself to families that have to struggle to make ends meet. We are very lucky to have a home in the UK, to be renting a lovely home 5 minutes from the perfect beach and our own ‘grand design’ (ha I hear Adam say) is nearing completion.

And I still don’t know if Tasha has a medal?

P.S. Sadly no medal, but what an amazing achievement to be in a final at the Olympics! Well done you, Tasha!

This is starting to become a bit of a theme in my blogs, that we can control our quality of life; its not what happens to you it’s how you deal with it or how you are programmed to deal with it? Maybe its all beyond our control after all!!

Francois Moscovici, director of psychological consultancy firm White Water Strategies, said that there was plenty of evidence that people had a fixed, underlying “range” of happiness, which could be temporarily affected by major events, but not usually for long periods.

There she was at Sunset cafe!!!! What a wonderful surprise! Adam made a video of the moment they surprised us, but as yet I haven’t managed to up load it!

N.B. Omar has uploaded the video onto his BLOG!

I don’t know what? But watch this space…………………..

Yesterday life, for the first time felt, well normal. I got up at 7:30 and made KC a cup of tea before he went off to Port Louis to sort out our freight delivery. After an hour or so online, I did a bit of housework, a load of washing and got Adam and Dan breakfast before they went off to the beach. Spent an hour with my English student before I went up to Grand Baie on the bus to meet KC and the boys. I stopped and had a conversation with two people in Pereybere ( with no KC they actually spoke to me in English which was great). Mooched around the shops, I am still looking for something to wear to next weeks family wedding and sat on the water front in the sunshine waiting to meet up with the lads. Enjoyed a fruit cocktail and the view in Sunset cafe before shopping in SuperU and going home to cook tea. Watched a video and fell asleep before the end…………..now that is normal!

The unthinkable (by Amanda Ripley) is part study of the science of reaction to extreme fear, part indictment of the US government’s response to the terrorist threat, part call to arms. The call in question is for the individual to make an assessment of the risks we face and then to develop a strategy to help ourselves, rather than rely on others, should the need arise. “If you speak to disaster experts they only talk about what the government should be doing,” says Ripley. “That’s a mistake. Regular people can have an enormous impact on their own survival chances. The problem is: people think it won’t happen to them and, if it does, they’re screwed. It’s really lame if you think about it. We all take ourselves very seriously in other ways.

Thought this linked neatly to my previous blog.

“It’s not what happens to you that makes a difference, what makes a difference is how you handle what happens to you.”

This statement made by an American struggling with the current floods made me feel quite optimistic; its true! Its not what happens to us, although events can make life very difficult, its how we deal with it. It puts us back in control; stops the victim mentality that appears to be flooding (pun intended) our society!