Christmas in The Caribbean

Hi everyone!

As Jon has been getting requests for newsletters I decided that the best way ahead would be to start this blog so that you can subscribe to it and collect up dates as and when I put them on - that way it wont get spammed out and also if I have missed anyone off the email list (blame Alfie for that one - he dropped my laptop smashing the hard drive and lost all my email contacts) those who are in the know can give them the link!! (And ask them to email me their address!)

So what news?.....

Well we have settled in to our new life and now speak like Islanders calling mobiles - cells, rubbish - garbage or trash and finally remembering to cost things in dollars instead of pounds. We are slowly (as in Antiguan slowly) getting our heads around the fact that there are no such things as direct debits here, standing orders do kind of exist and credit cards are virtually non- existent - everything here is cash. Neither do bills come in the post (I have only ever seen the post lady once!) We occasionally get a water bill tucked into the gate but other than that you have to ring up for your bill!

Gas (petrol) has just gone down and is now about £2.40 a gallon... my little car uses so little that 4 gallons last me 3 weeks! Mind you the island is only 108 square miles...

Jon still loves his job - he is very busy and it is so varied he is never bored. I have been working part time on a temporary basis for the same company but that is due to come to an end at the end of Dec but who knows it may continue.

The boys are both at the same school at the moment but we are moving Alfie as the school he is at now is not suitable and we are trying to move Charlie but there is no space in the other school that we want him to go to. Rudi is at Little Flowers nursery run by Aunty Cathy who is lovely and the nursery looks like a little wendy house complete with gingham curtains.

We bought our christmas tree at the weekend - decorations are SO cheap here compared to the UK. Funny how some things are SO expensive here (like second hand cars) and yet others are so cheap.

For those who don't know our house is 90 seconds drive from the beach and we can see the sea from both the front and the back. We have a palm tree by our bedroom window and sea breezes which is lovely as temperatures rarely vary from 28 - 30 degrees day and night. It is so strange buying suntan lotion and listening to christmas carols!

The downside to living here are the mosquitoes who still seem to enjoy a good munch but at least we are getting used to them so don't react as we did. There are also a large assortment of critters... the most humungous moths (seriously they have a 4" wingspan and those who know me well know how much I love moths!)... fruit bats - don't even go there!... and vast crickets (they could be locusts we are not sure). To top the list we have the tarantulas that appear now and again - they are massive!!! And then there is the rat story.... but that is one for another time.

So all in all life is treating us well, we have made some lovely new friends and the days seem to fly by - cannot believe we have been here for 6 months already.

Sunday we went down to Falmouth/English Harbour as it is the Boat Show - my god you should have seen some of those boats - the sorts that royalty would go on - they were vast!!! Unfortunately we did not know that if we had gone earlier in the day that we could have gone on some of them and viewed them, so that is a trip planned for next year for sure - expect some amazing photos.

Well will fill in some more stuff soon... here are some pics too

Love

Sam and Jon