To find out whether you are left or right-brained by looking at this article from the Aussie ‘Herald Sun’ website. Madelaine came home from school having been shown this and it is fascinating (although how scientifically acurate I cannot say). There’s a silhouette of a lady spinning round and the direction in which you see her turn is meant to show which side of your brain you use most. For me, she always turns clockwise to begin with (in line with my artistic global thinker’s right brain) although she does change direction a few times if I look for long enough.

Have fun, and let me know which you come out as (although most of you left-brainers may not find it as fascinating as I did!!)

If you like this sort of thing, don’t forget the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator, which is tremendous fun and helps you understand yourself and others much more clearly. Click here to read a blog post all about it and to do a wee test to find out your type!

TEN: Having intern Ben Griffin come and work with me for a few weeks, to find out all about ethnomusicology.

NINE: Appearing on Mathieu Assogba’s pop video, which was has been shown on Beninese television (March).

EIGHT: My crazy 5-day trip back to England in January.

SEVEN: Taking the ‘Ethnomusicology Module III’ course and meeting like-minded ethno folk!

SIX: An amazingly cultural workshop in the remote village of Bago, Togo (April).

FIVE: The Summer Party, complete with bouncy castle and live jazz!

FOUR: The dedication of the newly-published Moba New Testament.

THREE: My trip to Bamako, Mali, in April, which ultimately led to this being where we will live from July 2009.

TWO: Rob’s trip back to West Africa to teach a course in Togo (October).

ONE: Arriving back in England in July and seeing family and old friends again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

Answer to last week’s question: the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is a gift from Norway. And the winner was Mark W.

Some of you will have had this year’s through the post recently, but for those who have not (or who’d like to see a colour version you can scroll through) here’s the Bakers’ annual round-up of news from 2008:

The Bakers’ Christmas Letter 2008 in PDF format.

Happy Christmas to you all!

Rob & Lois

Answer to last week’s question: The singer Dido was born on Christmas Day, 1971.

Can you spot her? Lot’s of fun, but it was a very CHILLY day indeed. Just as well she was wearing her peruvian hat, which she lives in most of the time. So, it was almost a very Chile day too (groan!)

Thanks for reading!

No, Milton Keynes is a new (-ish) town not far from us, famous for its concrete cows and large indoor shopping centre. Also, at Christmas, they always have an impressive display of seasonal delights and lots of fun stuff for the kids. Have a butchers:

Nice! We went there on Micah’s birthday and the kids loved it - it was a bit like an indoor Magicland with a Christmassy theme. Of course, birthday celebrations would not be complete without a meal at a certain fast food outlet:

What can you do? This kids love it!

Still, mustn’t be too harsh on Old Blighty - here we have Quality Street, zebra crossings that work, cheese & onion crisps and… X Factor!!

But the strange thing is that, even though I missed home every Christmas and longed for frost, real Christmas trees and log fires, I still find myself missing the Benin Christmas and the friends we spent it with. So, like a true musician, I wrote a song (well some lyrics at least!) to express my feelings. Here it is:

Merry Christmas to you, wherever you are!

Answer to last weeks question: The first motorway in the UK was called the Preston Bypass (now part of the M6). And the winner was ‘Big Al’ (via e-mail).

The first was taken at ‘Magicland‘ in Cotonou a few months ago, the second in the Milton Keynes shopping centre, England, just last week. Not that much difference really (especially not in Madelaine’s classic “laid back” approach to merry-go-round riding!)

The main difference is the weather and the amount of electricity being consumed by extra light bulbs in the latter example. Of course, no extra illumination needed when you have bright sunshine every day (boy, do I miss that!)

More on Milton Keynes soon…