Empire Hotel and Country Club – Improved High Tea Commended

Having spent just short of four years in Brunei, we have been to the Empire Hotel and Country Club a number of times. This self-proclaimed 6-star hotel may not quite be 6-stars in quite a few people’s opinion but it is certainly a hotel that does things BIG and has lovely grounds.

Everything in the hotel is a bit OTT and it is a fun place to go to for an afternoon out and is always popular with visitors. And whenever we do have visitors to Brunei, this is on the to do list – usually for the weekend high-tea followed by a walk round the grounds.

Unfortunately though, the last few occasions we have gone for high tea it has been well below standard (eg. coffee taking 45 minutes to arrive) and was topped off by uncooked BBQ chicken being served the last time we visited. Because of these disappointing experiences we had not been for quite sometime, until today.

We thought it would be a nice way to celebrate a birthday so made a booking to go there this afternoon and we are pleased we did. The set up is slightly different. The weekend high-tea has always been a buffet (as opposed to a 3-tiered cake stand of nibbles on weekdays) but unlike previously, where a large table in the centre of the lounge held all the buffet food, the food this time was placed on individual small tables and scattered round the central area of the lounge. It looked good. The food spread was also good and unlike previous visits, the quality of the food was excellent.

All in all it made for an excellent afternoon out for a celebration and High Tea at The Empire Hotel is back on our ‘ recommended list’.

More pictures now that I am back from holiday:

QF Business Class MEL – SYD

I am going to do a couple of posts on our recent domestic flights in Australia between Melbourne and Sydney. These were flown in Business Class (!) as we had some BA Avios that could be used and worked out good value. So here’s a little taster of our Qantas Business experience…

All set!

Qantas 434

Checked in – 1K

Melbourne (MEL) – Sydney (SYD)

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Depart: 1:00 PM

Arrive: 2:25 PM

Duration: 1hr 25min

Aircraft: Boeing 767-300 (Reg: VH-OGI)

Seat: 1K (Business Class)

We arrived at Melbourne Tullamarine airport around 10.45am for our 1.00pm flight to Sydney. This would allow us plenty of time to use the Qantas Domestic Business Class lounge and get some lunch prior to boarding.

We made our way over to the Business Class check-in area where there was just a short queue. Once at the desk we were politely greeted by the check-in agent and dealt with efficiently. She had to go and check something on the booking (as I had expected) since we had added our infant after purchasing our own reward tickets so they were not on the same booking. This was no problem and we were soon checked-in. The agent asked if we were familiar with any of the Qantas lounges and then duly explained where we could find them once we replied we had not been to them before.

Security was speedy as we passed through the dedicated business class express line. A few moments later we went up the lift to the Qantas lounge area. There are two main parts to the lounge, firstly there is the Qantas Club lounge which can be accessed by any Qantas Club member. This is a larger lounge and busier than the other one for which the entrance is situated at the back. This lounge is the Qantas Domestic Business Class lounge which can only be accessed by Business Class Passengers or those with Qantas Platinum frequent flyer(or equivalent OneWorld Emerald) status making it a little smaller and quieter. It also offers a wider spread of food and beverages.

We arrived a few minutes before the breakfast items were cleared away so there was a selection of yoghurt, cereals, breads and fruit which were all very appetizing. When these were cleared away they were replaced with light lunch options such as cold meats, cheeses, salads etc. Later on hot main dishes were added to this including a lovely beef stew.

Cheese, crackers and a zingy onion marmalade.

Breakfast toast and jam.

Cold cuts and antipasto condiments.

Fresh orange, apple and tomato juice was on offer and there was a (very skilled) barista serving coffee who made an excellent latte decorated with patterns in the way she poured the milk – it was perhaps impressive simply because she didn’t seem to put any effort into it and it just looked like she was pouring the milk normally. The ‘bar’ opened at midday, when a selection of red and white wines was presented. The selection was good, mostly Aussie wines including the sparkling white but there was also a delicious NZ Marlborough Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Sadly we couldn’t stay all afternoon in the lounge as it was soon time to board our flight.

Latte art

Bubbles!

One of the reasons we thought Business Class would be a good use of BA Avios for this short flight was the use of the lounge – as it would give us a chance to relax in comfort with our daughter before the flight and get a  proper lunch. The lounge was certainly worth it and an enjoyable part of the experience.

We arrived at the gate as the queues had already formed for boarding. Economy to the left and Business to the right. We joined the Business Class line, handed over the pushchair to go in the hold and boarded the aircraft.

Boarding at the front of the aircraft it was great to be able to stop at the first row! Our seats were on the right hand side of the plane and I was pleased to see that they were the updated Qantas Domestic seats on this aircraft. There was plenty of room in front of us for the little one to move around while we waited for departure.

View from our seats which had slightly more leg-room than the middle seats.

Once everyone was seated we were offered a choice of water or fresh strawberry and apple juice before we took off. We both went for the latter which was very tasty.

Per-take off drink.

We took off on time and as soon as the seat belt sign was switched off the crew began to prepare for the meal service on this short flight.

To begin with, hot towels were offered to help freshen up before the meal. The very friendly stewardess working our aisle then approached;

Will you be having something to eat with us today Mr Hayward?

Yes please.

Today we have a choice of a cold mezze plate with prosciutto ham or a cheese board. Which one would you like?

The cold mezze plate please.

And would you like some wine to drink with that?

Some red would be lovely, thank you.

The cold meat platter was excellent – and perfect for a short flight like this one. The red wine washed it down well and we were then offered coffee.

Cold mezze platter.

It wasn’t long before we were due to start our decent into Sydney by this time so we just relaxed and enjoyed the extra room and comfort on offer.

The cabin crew were excellent the whole flight, very friendly and cheerful. We didn’t use the service but iPads were on offer for the in-flight entertainment – including economy class.

Relaxing in-flight. Note the fleecy Qantas blanket.

Upon our arrival in Sydney we were straight off the plane and through to baggage reclaim. Unfortunately it took ages for the bags to arrive (almost in the league of Glasgow Airport but not quite that bad). Additionally, it was a bit frustrating that our bags were not some of the first out as they should have been with the priority baggage tag. Only a small gripe but it is all part of the service that should take place with Business Class.

Over all it was an excellent flight / travel experience. Thumbs up to Qantas for providing such an excellent service – even though this was only Domestic Business Class. Right from check-in, to the pre-flight relaxing in the lounge and then the flight itself. The new seats were comfy for domestic travel and very spacious – even for us travelling with a one year old. We were certainly pleased we used some of our BA Avios for this flight and it proved to be excellent value.

Race 20

Just a very brief post to make a comment on this weekend’s 2012 F1 Championship decider at Interlagos in Brazil.

Despite once believing I would never say such words… I hope that the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso does enough to pip Seb Vettel to the title. Of course the ideal situation would be for a Lewis Hamilton win with Alonso on the podium (far enough ahead of Vettel to win the title) as winning the race would really be a fairy tale ending for the McLaren man in his final race with the team.

It should be a fascinating race especially given the unpredictability of the weather – who can forget the 2008 race in which the weather played such a part in deciding the winner and ultimately the championship (won by Lewis through the last corner)!

To demonstrate my commitment to the sport and interest in the outcome, I shall be watching it live on TV despite the drastic time difference between Brunei and Brazil – I believe it starts at midnight in Brunei!

My reason for wanting to see an Alonso title victory is partly because I saw him win his first race of this season live at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia back in March but also because I think this year he has demonstrated that he is the best driver on track. Demonstrated by the way he has got so much out the car despite it starting (and remaining) behind the others in performance this season.

I will blog about my trip to Sepang back in March after the end of this season, and hopefully will be able to say I saw the eventual 2012 title winner win the race!

Who else is going to watch live? Who do you think will win the race? What do you think of the 2012 F1 season?

-PlaneSimple

 

The Nexus Resort – Five Star(ish)?

As the week long half term holiday comes to an end I thought I would do a quick review of the resort where we have just spent a few days.

When making plans for the half term holiday we decided it would be easiest to go somewhere near by and meet the little ‘uns grandparents there. We decided on Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Sabah. Just under a year ago MAS Wings – the Malaysian Airlines Borneo brand – started flying to Brunei, once again connecting Brunei and Kuching (following the cancellation of the route from RBA) and also increasing frequency and competition on the KK route. We were able to book return flights to KK for B$104 for the three of us – which was pretty much all tax!

Flight times were also convenient. The flight is scheduled for just 35 minutes but the off the ground time is much less. With MAS Wings using the ATR-72on this route you get a good view as you mostly remain below the clouds. It was amazing to see just how many areas have been cleared in Brunei for building work. It was also remarkable (and saddening really) to see just how huge the housing complex is that is being constructed between the Mentiri highway and Jalan Muara.

A chunk of cleared greenery.

Further land being cleared by the Muara-Tutong Highway.

An example of the cleared land for building.

A bit more work going on by the highway, just before landing in Brunei. You can see our house if you look carefully!

We were soon in KK and then proceeded to get a taxi coupon at the taxi desk (as required for all taxis from the airport). This is quite a good system as you pay the desk not the driver and the prices are fixed. The Nexus Resort in Karambunai is 30 km from the airport and takes around 40 minutes in a taxi. The taxi costs RM75 for a small taxi but we needed the larger one to the bags we had with us (blame baby not golf clubs!) which cost RM105. We did only pay RM90 for the return from the Nexus though but I think this was because they charged us for a small taxi despite giving us a large one.

Upon arrival at the resort we were fairly efficiently checked in although it would have been nice to have been offered a welcome drink then and there while waiting rather than being given a voucher to claim an orange squash drink at a later time! Once we received our key cards we were driven down to the room which although was only a 5 minute walk from reception was easier to be driven with the bags.

The rooms were lovely, spacious and comfortable. The bathroom was big with shower and a bath and plenty of space for things. The bed was comfy and there was a largish couch and a desk. There was also a big balcony with table and chairs that overlooked the pond by the room. All very picturesque as you can see from the photo’s.

Looking back from the balcony. Clean and roomy with traditional Borneo decoration.

Sink, cabinet and shelving. Clean and modern.

Spacious bathroom with a big bath.

Separate shower section.

Desk area.

Very spacious balcony area.

We were in Borneo Deluxe rooms, a quick walk to the sea and white sandy beach and also to the pool.

Clean, white sandy beach.

View to the sea.

The reason for the title of this blog post is I wanted to highlight some of the excellent things about this resort but also some of the things I do not think are up to scratch with (a) the price paid and (b) the image the resort portray of themselves. The positives first. The grounds are magnificent. Plenty of areas to walk around, surrounded my greenery and ponds. You can see plenty of wildlife, especially on the attached golf course. The pool is big and well cleaned. There is a shade sail over the shallow kids pool and there are three other sections of the swimming pool that are deeper. There is an in pool bar although we didn’t really use this and it didn’t seem to be regularly staffed. The golf course attached to the resort was excellent and very well kept. It is expensive unless you are a resident of Brunei, Malaysia or Singapore in which case it is very reasonable.

Right, the not so positives. Breakfast was included in our rate but for a place that charges 5* prices the breakfast was at best 3* (generous). Coffee was usually warm not hot, choices were heavily Asian based and the food was not kept hot. I am not naive to think there should not be Asian food on the menu in an Asian hotel – in fact I quite like Asian food – but there should be a good selection of world foods in any 5* resort restaurant. A good coffee can make such a big difference. The breakfast restaurant was very crowded and staff did not seem to have much care and attention towards guests.

Beyond the breakfast I thought the staff were polite but not that clued up. Communication was an issue and problems weren’t easily solved. An example being the high tea we were due to have in the lobby lounge. Ordered at around 5pm it was still not with us by 6pm so we had to leave and go back to the room as it was the little ‘uns bath time then bed time. We (eventually) arranged to get the food sent to the room but once it finally arrived there were no plates or cutlery! I should add that it was nice food, and quite well presented, just a shame that we couldn’t enjoy it as planned. To their credit, they eventually apologised properly and it was not billed to us.

The resort had 5 or 6 restaurants / eateries on site but it wasn’t until the penultimate day of our stay we found one we thought was suitable for our needs. The location of this restaurant was good, on the beach front, and the menu was mainly Italian. It was well priced and food quality was good although was in line with the common Asian problem of sweetening all western sauces.

I don’t mean for this post to be a rant about the resort, it comes more from a frustration of seeing how much potential the places has given the location and facilities yet let down by customer service and food option not being 5*. As readers of my last post will now, it’s the little things that make a big difference in quality in hotels. Had there been a few more simple yet quality items (such as decent coffee) available at breakfast then the experience would have been a whole lot more enjoyable.

The resort did have a shuttle bus service every 2 hours to and from KK which also stopped at 1Borneo. We utilized this twice during our stay and it worked out quite well. The charge is RM24 per return journey and it takes a little longer than a taxi – around 1 hour into KK. It was good to have it on offer though and was useful. I managed to get a game of golf one afternoon on the attached course. There was plenty of wildlife on and around the course.

Enjoying the island life!

Spot the beautiful kingfisher.

Picturesque course.

Trying hard not to create too many divots!

It was still a good place to relax and I am pleased we gave it a chance I think in conclusion though I would try out some of the competition before going back.

A quick and convenient get-away

Wow, it’s been ages since I last blogged! Lots has happened since but I just haven’t had the commitment to come and blog about it! So to get back on the blogging straight and narrow this blog is a quick trip report of one of my favourite quick get-aways from Brunei. (This was partly inspired by being asked a couple of times lately what this trip is like).

Brunei is great; peaceful, fairly quiet and easy going. But sometimes it’ s nice to leave the place, usually to feel like you are away from the place you work.  As Brunei and the community is so small, it is easy for work to spill over into other parts of your life, whether meeting people when out and about or just ending up talking about work when you socialise seeing as most social circles include colleagues. So for a quick and convenient get away we enjoy a trip to Miri, more specifically to the Miri Marriott Resport and Spa.

The Miri Marriott Resort and Spa – a favourite getaway!

It’s luxurious, spacious, comfortable and not near work. It takes about 2 and a half hours drive to get there from home (including the boarder crossing) so it really feels like you have ‘gone away’. The food is excellent and it is easy to relax – helped by how welcoming, friendly and professional the staff are there.

Our stays are made more economical through membership with Club Marriott (which is separate from Marriott Rewards, but perhaps more on that later). For an annual membership fee a booklet of vouchers are provided for discounted rates on rooms – including free nights. Additionally, discounts on dining are available. If you stay there more than two stays a year it is certainly worth it – so a no brainer for us!

On this occasion we decided to just visit for one night. The advantage of doing this on a Saturday night on a regular weekend is that we can leave Brunei quite early and get there for lunch, making the most of the afternoon and then check out late the following day making the most of both days. There’s no problem heading down for two nights on a Friday, it just means you lose most of your Friday.

We arrived around mid-day and checked if our room was available yet (which it usually is as they are very good at having our room ready if they know when we are arriving). We dropped our bags off in our room then went straight to restaurant for lunch. Through one of my membership cards we are entitled to 50% off when two of us dine (the little one is already free of course which continues until she is 6, I think). The normal lunch buffet price is RM 68++, or around £16 per person. During our last few visits I have noticed a shift in the food on offer from large quantities to smaller ones but I think this has increased the quality. There is always a fine selection of salads, western main dishes, BBQ/Grilled meat and then also Asian dishes. Pictures below.

Chicken and beef satay – a great ‘local’ way to start the weekend!

After lunch we went back to our room as it was soon the little ones nap time (another reason we time our departure from Brunei to arrive around lunchtime. She sleeps in the car on the way down, is awake for a while, we have lunch before she is too sleepy then after a play she is ready for her nap again). This time, through a room upgrade we were in the main building. The hotel consists of the main building then about 8 or 10 blocks spread out in two wings from the main building. These rooms are very nice and are classed as Garden or Pool rooms depending on their location and all have balconies. The Garden rooms are the cheapest on offer, then pool rooms (which are the same price as main hotel rooms on the front of the building which do not have a balcony). The next category is rooms on the back of the main building over looking the pool that do have a balcony. The balcony is also a little bigger than the Garden and Pool rooms. It was one of these that we were staying in for this visit.

King rooms have a large double bed, a sofa, desk, chair and coffee table as well as a table and two chairs on the balcony. The bathroom was spacious and there was a big wardrobe to hang up clothes along with a safe for locking valuables. The room also has a fridge, stocked with a variety of drinks (including beer and wine) for purchase. All rooms have flat screen TV’s (not sure of the size, but more than big enough). The TV sits on a cabinet that has 3 large draws. The room is all carpeted, different from the Garden and Pool rooms which are either part carpet part tile (upstairs) or fully tiled (downstairs). I must admit, I prefer the fully carpeted room – it was also great for the little one as she was crawling around lots, so much kinder to her knees! The room is probably the same size as the Garden and Pool rooms, perhaps slightly bigger. The real winner is the balcony as it has a fantastic view over the resort pool and out to the South China Sea as well as being a little bigger.

Comfy king size bed and modern decor

Sofa & coffee table (comfy for lounging on while using the wifi).

Desk and chair if you require wired internet

Overview of the room towards the balcony

Safe, slippers and robe that are provided in each room

Tiled and clean bathroom

Towels and mirror

Shower and bath – perhaps one of the few aspects that could do with an upgrade

One of the best features of the room, an excellent balcony over looking the South China Sea

We spent the time relaxing in the pool, enjoying the fine food in the restaurant and watching the sun set from the balcony. A good way to refresh and make the most of a weekend!

Relax!

Golfing in Brunei

Today is Monday of the week long half term holiday at school here in Brunei. Well needed rest and relaxation is helped by the knowledge that a long summer holiday is just round the corner after a short stint of four weeks once we go back to work. The end of a long year is finally in sight. This holiday we have decided to stay in Brunei rather than going away like we normally do. We thought it would be nice to have a few BBQ’s and socialise with friends after a busy time at work as well as make use of the Yacht Club relaxing by the pool.

I have also pencilled in a few games of golf before my annual membership expires at the end of the month. Today was the first game – and what a great way to start the holidays. Rather than writing a long post about golf here in Brunei, I thought I would just write a short amount and then provide you with a number of pictures to give you a flavour of what it is like out on the course here.

I got to the course (Pantai Mentiri Golf Club) just after 8am and planned to play this first game on my own this morning to help me get back into the swing of things. I rented a buggy (B$10 or £5) as although you can carry your clubs here the heat really drains you over 18 holes even early in the morning and I hoped I would be able to nip round and be home soon after 11.

Sure enough, it was fairly quiet and those that I did catch up waved me through. On the occasions I did get held up before getting waved through I managed to snap the following pictures.

View of the clubhouse from the fairway on the 4th

About to head down the 6th

View onto Brunei Bay by the tee box on the 6th

The bunker and the bay by the green on the 7th

View down the 8th fairway

Parked in the shade while waiting for the pair in front to finish off their putts

Palm trees line the fairway on the 8th

View over the water from the 9th tee back towards the club house

It was an enjoyable morning on the golf course yet I was surprised at how quickly I made it round all 18 holes. I was even home by 10.30! What a lovely start to the holiday.

If you want to know more about golfing in Brunei and live here, read about the ISB Golf Society that I run.

Pakistani food – desi style

We visited our ‘local’ Pakistani restaurant today for lunch and as it is one of my favourite restaurants here in Brunei I thought I would blog about it.

Seri Damai (which I think means Peaceful Place in Malay, but correct me if I am wrong) is located in Kuilap. A smallish restaurant at the end of a row of shop houses that looks no different from many Malay restaurants in Brunei.

Seri Damai in Kuilap

Since we last visited they have done up the menu and changed some staff. The menu is good – a fine selection of various traditional Pakistani dishes but not so extensive that you get lost in the choice.

Authentic Pakistani Cuisine (in the Abode of Peace)

A fine selection to choose from

Plain Lassi

Their plain lassi is a must for a beverage to accompany your curry. There are flavoured ones but I usually opt for the plain one (which can be taken sweet or salty).

Today we ordered; chicken ginger, aloo gohbi, beef sheek kebabs, roghni naan and tandoori roti. All orders arrive with a small side dish of raita (yoghurt chutney) and chaana masala (chickpeas in gravey).

The food took about 15 – 20 minutes to arrive (exactly as stated on the menu!).

The freshly cooked bread is always excellent here. The chicken has such a rich flavour and the yoghurt base for the sauce compliments the fiery spices used with the ginger. There were a generous number of thin chicken strips and the coriander finished the dish off nicely – as it does in most Pakistani dishes.

Chicken Ginger and Aloo Gobi

We enjoy aloo gobi when we eat out as it is not something we cook at home. The sweetness of the cauliflower makes it an excellent side vegetable dish.

Beef Sheek Kebabs

The beef kebabs were cooked well too. Although they were nicely spiced they could have had a few more finely chopped green chillies added. They work well as left overs too, heated up in a panini press!

Freshly (and perfectly) cooked

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal in the simplistic décor of the restaurant with posters of a few famous Pakistani landmarks scattered around the walls.  We must make more of an effort to head there for a meal more often! I would recommend paying a visit to Seri Damai if you are looking for a different type of curry than the usual Indian based ones offered here at places such as Le Taj, Sagar or Tandori.com.

Delicious!

So, do you like Pakistani food? Where’s your favourite restaurant? Have you been to Seri Damai? If you live in Brunei, where do you like to go for a curry? Let me know your thoughts!

PlaneSimple

World Maths Day

Tomorrow, Wednesday 7 March 2012, is World Maths Day by UNICEF. And what a great time it is to be a Maths teacher!

Today we had Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 from Primary come up to Secondary for a Maths activity on population growth with our Year 7 and 8’s. It’s so satisfying to see children enjoy ‘doing’ Mathematics. Today’s activity involved going on a Mathematical adventure to an island where the population doubled each day ultimately leading to students (yes even the Year 3’s) drawing the graph of ‘two to the x‘.

I was recently lucky enough to take six students (U15) to Singapore for the South East Asia Mathematics Competition 2012 (known as SEAMC 2012). This is an annual competition held in SE Asia (surprisingly?!) that is now attended by 240 students from over 40 schools in the region. It’s a wonderful event and is all the more special given that schools have no common connection (some American, Canadian, Chinese, British etc.) other than a group of students who love (and are pretty good at) Mathematics. It is inspiring as a teacher to walk into a hall where there are so many students enjoying Mathematics working on various individual and group challenges, puzzles, problems and activities all with a smile on their face.

Each year at this event there is a guest speaker who gives a talk to the students as well as the staff over the course of the weekend. This year that guest speaker was Douglas Butler. A tremendously creative, innovative and experienced Maths teacher with a passion for using technology to teach children Mathematics that is infectious to all those that meet him. He is so good at what he does that he is part of the team to have written ‘Autograph‘, a piece of Mathematics software being used by schools all over the world now. What is so wonderful about this software that does all sorts of graphing and modelling is that it has been written by a Maths teacher rather than a software engineer so is designed with teaching in mind.

Software packages like Autograph and others like Geogebra have helped to make Maths a little more interactive and bring the subject more to life. Through being able to easily model popular games like Angry Birds into Mathematics, illustrate matrix transformations geometrically so swiftly and having the ability to display difficult concepts such as 3-D vectors and planes to make it easier to visualise what is happening behind the algebra.

 

Use Mathematics to model the birds path

So, a little insight as to why it’s a great time to be a Mathematics teacher, oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the upcoming ‘Pi Day‘, 3rd month 14th day…

Do you enjoy Maths? Do you teach Maths? So many people say they hate maths or were no good at Maths at school. Are you one of them? If so, why?

If you are a Maths teacher and have a similar passion for the subject and think we are in exciting times, leave a comment (we even have a vacancy in our department!).

-PlaneSimple

Esther’s week

After the success of my last blog post, everyone says I am a much better writer than daddy is so I have decided to write another one for you all.

I thought I would tell you about the types of things I get up to in a week. I have had both sets of grandparents visit me since I last blogged.   It’s been fun meeting them… they all brought me lots of nice presents! I also get lots of visitors each week, people always seem to want to meet me! When one of my uncles visited he used to fly me round the house like an aeroplane! It was fun but he thought my name was Pumpkin!

Each day, I like to eat around 8-10 times. At first I thought everyone would think I was greedy eating that often, but mum and dad both seem to eat all the time too. They call it snacking.

I usually get taken out once a day – partly to get some fresh air as it is supposed to make me sleep better but also because it gives mum a chance to get out the house! I have visited the Yacht Club, near by restaurants and also some of mummy and daddy’s friend’s houses. This week I even went to the Empire Hotel with my Nan and Grandad. I hope my daddy earns lots of money so he can keep taking me to places like that!

I go on walks sometimes. It gets quite hot but I like the fresh air. I don’t know why people complain about having to walk for exercise, it’s easy! Dad says he gets tired when we go up the hills, something to do with gravity and stuff, I don’t really understand the physics of it yet.

I have a bath every evening. I quite like baths, daddy holds me so I get covered by all the nice warm water. I do my best to try and splash him and mummy and once or twice I have managed to turn the bath into a jacuzzi! (If you ask me I will explain how!)

At night time I am supposed to sleep for long periods at a time but I like to stay awake and have parties. It’s boring when everyone is all asleep so I try and make sure they stay awake with me. I don’t think mum and dad like my parties in the night so much though.

I’ve grown a lot since I was born. It’s because of all the yummy food that mummy gives me. Some of my clothes are too small for me already but it’s a good thing as I get to try new outfits on now. I’ve also had to change my nappies to a bigger size now too – I keep trying hard to fill the bigger new ones though!

I am very lucky in that I have lots of very nice toys to play with – I like the soft ones that have lots of different bits to them that make different noises and bits that feel different. I like to spend time on my play mat but sometimes I get bored quickly. You have to remember that I can only do things for short periods at a time, I am still very little really.

A couple of times I have been into the place where mummy and daddy work. Mummy is off work at the moment to look after me but daddy still has to go to work. It’s been really fun seeing where they work but the best bit is when I get a cuddle in the day from daddy! He says it makes his day but I don’t really understand what that means, I don’t make days.

If you are reading this and live near by, please come and visit me as I like to meet my readers. I will try not to be too cranky! If you live further away then hopefully I will still get to meet you one day.

My name is Esther

My name is Esther. I am forty three and a half hours old. Planesimple has asked me to write a piece for his blog because he is so bad at keeping it up to date. So here is my life story.

I was born on Friday. I wasn’t actually due to arrive for a few more days but somewhere along the line someone decided Friday would be a good time for me to come and join you all. It took quite a while for me to arrive. One of the first things I remember is the lots of people talking. When I arrived there were 5 people on the welcoming committee; Mum, Dad, the doctor and two midwives. It was quite funny to begin with. The first person I could hear was Dad. He kept saying the same silly things over and over again… “well done, you’re doing great. Keep breathing, now push.” He was talking to Mum. I thought it was really silly because Mum was obviously breathing, even I know all humans have to breath to stay alive. And she was pushing anyway, it wasn’t like she was only pushing because Dad said to! It really was funny but Mum seemed to really appreciate it from what she said afterwards so I guess my Dad was doing the right thing. I’ve now seen how much he loves mummy so I guess it can’t have been that easy for him to be there on the welcoming committee waiting for so long seeing everything happen. 

Everything happened really quickly once I did actually arrive so I don’t remember everything that the welcoming committee did. I do know though that as soon as I arrived the doctor put me straight up to Mums tummy where I sat for a short time while they sorted out that big bungy cord thing that holds me to Mum. Mum looked pretty pleased to see me but she looked really tired too. One of the midwives was putting this hose thing all over me that was a bit tickley as it sucked up all this gunk off me. I probably didn’t look very elegant at the time, that’s partly why I’m trying so hard to look cute at the moment to make up for it! The other midwife was assisting the doctor as they were making sure Mum was okay.

Then before I knew it, the first midwife took me away to another room. Dad came with me (I think he wanted to make sure I didn’t get swapped! – already by that stage he seemed to really like me!). It was a bit uncomfortable at first because the room was a bit cold and they had to weigh me and check I was okay. Dad kept wanting to take me back to see Mum again but the midwife seemed to have loads of things to do first. She eventually wrapped me in this really warm and soft blanket and passed me over to Dad. I’ll always remember that first cuddle with Dad. He seemed so pleased to be allowed to hold me and looked like he didn’t want to ever let me go. It’s because of that cuddle that I know he’ll always look after me.

Then he took me through back to mummy. The doctor was still helping mummy so Dad got to hold me even longer! The doctor looked as though she was really concentrating but I think that’s a good thing as it will help mummy get better quickly. You see, she’s been walking a bit slowly since I arrived. I think it hurts her a bit to sit down and move around too. She does look a bit better today though. Finally the doctor said Dad could pass me to Mum. It was really fun having a cuddle with Mum too. It was like time stopped but then it also felt like half my life had just passed by!

I don’t remember a lot of what happened next as I think I slept a lot because of the tiring journey. Lots of interesting and funny things have happened from then on so I’ll try and tell you about a few of them. One last thing about the welcoming committee though, the doctor and midwives were really good at their jobs and Mum and Dad were really grateful to them as well. Thank you!

I’d been told before I was born to expect Dad to be a bit of a joker so I’ve been playing my own jokes on him since I arrived. He’s been quite good at trying to help mummy rest by changing my nappies, burping me and making sure I’m comfortable. A few times he’s held me for a while, rocked me gently and taken me for a walk to try and help me get to sleep. So one of the things I do is pretend that I am sleeping so he puts me back in my cot for my proper sleep. But then just after he’s sat down (this is the funny bit) I start crying to show him I’m not really asleep yet! I don’t think he finds it as funny as I do though! It does mean we get to cuddle together a lot more though – even though Dad looks a bit annoyed sometimes!

Sometimes I wonder if Dad really knows my name is Esther. He often calls me other names like beautiful, gorgeous, darling, cutie and lovely as well as silly things like sausage, monster and rascal. He’ll probably learn eventually though, he is still getting used to me. I’ve been told I am supposed to sleep a lot but I don’t think I do. I like to see what’s going on all the time so don’t always want to be sleeping – that’s boring. It’s funny though, Mum and Dad seem to always want to sleep now. Whenever I wake up they seem to be sleeping!

When we were at hospital Dad was there the whole time which was really nice. He didn’t get food like mummy did though. He did manage to arrange to get some nice looking food one day though – it looked really yummy. It was this big round circle with lots of red on it. Dad said it was called pizza and it comes from Italy. I think I’m going to like Italian food.

Mum and Dad keep telling me that I have loads of friends that want to meet me. Dad’s phone keeps making beeping noises then he reads out messages to Mum and me. They both talk about this thing called facebook too. Lots of people seem really pleased I’m here now. I feel a bit famous! I think Dad likes to show me off a bit ’cause he seems really proud! I’m not ready to meet everyone yet, as I get really tired like Mum and Dad do. I have met one of my uncles, one set of grandparents and one of my great grandmothers on skype though and that was really fun. I think they enjoyed it too.

Mum and Dad say that I’ve been given lots of really nice presents from our friends. A few of them are clothes and I like trying on my different outfits. Dad tells me not to make a habit of it as it will cost him lots of money in the future. I don’t quite know what he means but I don’t think he really means it anyway! I’ve heard some people say that I’ll have him wrapped around my little finger. That’s another silly thing people say. My fingers are so small and daddy is soooooo big! I do sometimes try and cuddle him by curling my arm and fingers round his neck when he’s burping me though. I think he likes it. I like to give my mummy cuddles too.

I’m still learning lots about my new surroundings and what I am supposed to do. Some people that have seen me comment that ‘it’s a hard life being a baby‘. They are soooooo right. I’m always having to do something; trying to feed, trying to sleep, trying to tell mummy and daddy what I want. Oh, and looking so cute is not as easy as you would think. Mum and Dad are learning too. They’re doing well. In the off chance that they might be reading, ‘I love you Mummy and Daddy – keep up the good work’!

Thanks for reading. If I get enough comments I might get another chance to come back and write some more!

[I have tried to upload more pictures to this post but WordPress is misbehaving and not uploading pictures properly… sorry]