Archive for December, 2008Here are my top 10 moments of the year, as found on this blog… 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. 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! Q: Which famous Yuletide character was created by the Montgomery Ward department store (Chicago) in 1939? Answer to last week’s question: the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is a gift from Norway. And the winner was Mark W. Every year since 1997, we’ve sent out a Christmas circular, summarizing our year’s events and achievements… 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 Q: A large Christmas tree stands in Trafalgar Square, London, every Christmastime. It is a gift to us from which other European country? Answer to last week’s question: The singer Dido was born on Christmas Day, 1971. The other day, Ruth was carol singing at the market to raise money for charity….
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! One American colleague in Benin once thought that Milton Keynes was an English poet! 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! If I’m honest, even 5 months on there are still moments when I feel like an alien in this cold country with its binge drinking, health and safety regulations, materialism and over-keen political correctness… 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! Q: Which famous female British singer was born on Christmas Day, 1971 (ie exactly 10 months after Rob)? 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… Q: The first motorway (highway, freeway, autoroute, Autobahn) in the UK celebrated its 50th anniversary last week. What was it called? Answer to last week’s question: SCUBA stands for ‘Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus’. And the closest answer was from Tim Robinson. |
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