Tuesday 9 December 2008

A West Indian Sunday

We went to church in the morning - Bertie goes with the girls at 9.30am for the Adult and Children's Sunday Schools respectively. The adults are working their way through Ezra and the girls enjoy the colouring in and singing they do. Baby JoJo has his siesta and I enjoy being at home in the peace and quiet for a little while! Then we join them for the main service at 10.30am, where there is lots of animated singing and then the notices - these go on for ages, are given out in a very severe tone so you would feel terrible about arriving late or missing anything, and everyone brings their diary to write down important dates. Good way of saving paper! After this is the sermon, at which point the kids and I go out the back and amuse ourselves until it's over. This week Baby JoJo amused himself by falling down a step outside and getting his face all scratched, poor thing.

A special treat this week was some Christmas songs. But Christmas songs with a difference, let me hasten to add! 'Angels from the realms of glory' was belted out, followed by the most cheerful 'Silent Night' I have ever heard! I like our carols, but it was lovely to hear this alternative style, complete with our nephew on the drums, a bass guitar and singers swaying at the front!

Back home, Mamie was preparing to leave for France, for the marriage of Bertie's younger brother Abel to his fiancee Martine on Saturday. When people leave here for the metropole, it always follows the same pattern: get hair done for a few hours; make a huge lunch and invite lots of people round; do the packing at the very last minute, squeezing as many local products in as is humanely possible; weighing the cases and ignoring the extra kilos; leaving for the aeroport at the last possible minute; weighing the cases and discovering they are too heavy; frantically deciding which items to remove and sending them home with whoever dropped you off. Today was no different!

Poor Bertie came back full of the stress of having to take 10kg out of the cases (they are getting strict at the airport! And no wonder, when we are already allowed 40 kg!) and then getting his Mum and Tatie through to their flight - they were the very last to board and being hurried on all sides! Meanwhile, I did the washing up left from the large lunch and Mamie's much baking. I reckon she must have used every single huge pot that she owns, I was so thankful for my ipod to entertain me whilst I worked! The kitchen is now gleaming, and will probably stay like that till she returns, as Bertie's Dad will certainly not be using it!

Happily Mamie and Tatie are safely there and hopefully enjoying the cold (!) whilst the French side of the family should be enjoying the many local delicacies that did manage to make it through!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great description is your third paragraph - but did Mamie actually take live animals too, as she squeezed in 'as many local products as is humanely possible'?!

Hevs said...

I shall reassure you that Mamie restricted herself to dead animals (and fish) only. I am sure that if there were means of taking live ones over, it would be given serious consideration...!