The Baynhams

My week in California was very enjoyable - I could at long last put faces to people that I've only ever spoken to over the telephone.

Work aside, I experienced Sushi for the first time, and was surrounded by great scenery including lakes and redwood trees.

My trip home took a turn for the worse however....

Arriving at San Francisco airport there were signs showing that the terminal was in a heightened state of alert called "Amber". This meant that extra security checks were in place so check-in would take a little longer. I was early at the airport so this should be okay, right?

Wrong.

I was deemed suspicious because I was a UK citizen travelling to Australia from the US. My boarding card was marked with yellow highlighter pen and I was told to check-in at a different location. I had to remove my belt, shoes, wallet and discuss with security exactly what was in my case - even having to prove that my laptop and iPod worked.

I was then told to stand in a glass box and to stand still until a red light changed to green.

An automated voice told me it was "preparing gas jets" as I stood there confused. Several "gas jets" later and the red light was still red, not even a hint of green. My own state of alert raised to amber when I spotted other check-in travellers staring goggle-eyed at my glass box and four other security guards were making their way towards me.

The door was opened by a guard and when I politely said that the light hadn't yet turned to green I was instructed to move out quickly. I turned to look at the display monitor at the front of the glass box, and was stunned to see in big, bold, red, flashing letters the words:

EXPLOSIVES DETECTED

"Is that me?" I asked as I pointed towards the display. Well, apparently it was and I was quickly whisked off for an interview. My own state of alert shot up to red at this time and I was shaking like a leaf.

15 minutes and one 'intimate' search later I was given the all-clear and was told to collect my stuff. When I asked how often 'false-positives' occur with the analysis I was told never. That didn't help reassure me though and I walked in a daze for the next half an hour.

Several large beers later I boarded the plane but couldn't help feeling uncomfortable as other passengers were looking at me with obvious suspicion.

I'm glad to be home !

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March 17th

St Patrick's Day!

Green, Shamrocks, leprechauns, Guinness, flags... What more could an Irish lass want?

St Patrick's day was brilliant this year! We had a great morning out on the Red Dragon. We flew the Irish flag off the back of the boat as we sped around the lake showing Carrie all around the shores of Lake Macquarie.

In the evening we had a party at a local club where 60 of our friends turned up with kids in tow wearing every shade of green possible. It was load and noisy but fantastic fun!

Byron was booked on a flight to the US the following morning so it wasn't a late one but we sure made the most of the time that we had!!!

Here are some of the photos.....

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It is Kels birthday today .

Because it is a school day and we had swimming lessons in the afternoon we were struggling to find a time in the day to see Kel and give him his presents and cards. Anne offered to come around and join us for breakfast. We got up early and ran around getting ready for school quicker than normal. By 8am we were ready and Carrie was busy cooking pancakes. We put a candle in one to sing Kel "Happy Birthday"

Generally we make a fuss about birthdays for the benefit of the kids but today I think Kel had fun too!!

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The kids have been great since Byron went away to India last week. They have missed him terribly but have generally been well behaved and have tried to be positive counting down the days till his return.

He gave them all special tasks to do while he was away so that they would feel important. Rhiannon's was to water his precious chilli plants. It has rained almost everyday so that job has been pretty unnecessary. She has found another job instead...polishing shoes!

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Saturday means pocket money day.

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Well we survived the sleepover! .....Just!

I was flagging by midnight and three of the five party girls were sleeping fast but two were still being little night owls!After hearing them promise they were ready to sleep I fell into bed with my bedroom door open in case anyone needed anything. Rhiannon was in my bed. She had been sobbing earlier in the evening because she was missing Byron and I had promised she could sleep on his side of the bed to keep it warm. Unfortunately she misinterpreted my plan and instead wriggled, tossed and turned all night keeping the entire bed warm and me fighting for my share of the duvet!


We had a reasonable start at 7am and after a big breakfast of toast and mini pancakes the girls were itching to make face masks. We whizzed up a banana, some honey and a handful of porridge oats and got a chunky paintbrush out and opened the beauty salon! The girls lined up on their chairs and I went from girl to girl painting the sticky gloop onto their faces.

After 10 minutes there were squeals of laughter coming from the bathroom as they tried washing the dried on mixture off.

Very shortly after the cars started pulling into the driveway and 4 very happy girls with glowing complexions went home having (hopefully) had a lovely time!


Thank you girls for coming to Sian's sleepover and being so well behaved. Thank you too for the lovely presents that you gave Sian. She is a very happy 9 year old!

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Well, I've been in India for almost a week now and I must say it's been an excellent experience.

My initial reaction to the crazy roads and driving still stands -- it's quite simply scary the number of near misses and accidents I've witnessed. Although I wouldn't enjoy driving here myself, I have come to enjoy being a passenger all week with an hour journey each day to the office and back. I've had the same taxi driver all week and he's been laughing at my wincing at traffic incidents and whenever I close my eyes in fear!

I've seen some amazing sights on the roads; so many people hanging out of a bus that it was leaning right over, a family of 5 on a single motorbike, market traders on the pavements sleeping overnight on their food, half-built houses held up with just wooden poles and elaborate Hindu temples on every street.

"What about the food?" I hear you ask -- Oh, the food! Many of you may know that I like hot and spicy food, but I was little worried that my idea of spicy food wouldn't be in the same league as spicy food in Bangalore. The company that was looking after me (Mindtree) looked after me so very well this week, and took pleasure in taking me to different restaurants to see how this Welshman coped with ever-increasingly spicy food. Well, I'm pleased to report that my stomach is made of strong stuff indeed, and much to the amazement of my hosts I handled everything that was passed my way, and it wasn't until my last meal with the team that I actually broke out into a sweat (I blamed the faulty air-conditioner).

I was taken to some truly rustic Indian restaurants, the best of which involved eating off a large banana leaf without any cutlery. The idea is to use a "roti" (a sort of flat bread) to scoop up the food.

Messy? Yes. Good? Definitely.

To be honest, I love curries, but having them for breakfast (yes, breakfast !), lunch and tea every day for 5 days is taking its toll on my waist line - I'm having a night off with a lettuce leaf and water...

I've been in awe of the respect and courtesy I've received this week, from the bell-boy in the hotel foyer, to shop assistants and waiters. My hosts for the week have bent over backwards to ensure I am well looked after, and I am even being taken on a trip to the famous Mysore Palace tomorrow. Here is a picture of the Mindtree team that has taken care of me this week.

It's a strange feeling that a software product I created over 4 years ago is being tested and further developed by parts of this team in India. They're a dedicated group of people.

The worst part of this week has been the fact that I've been away from Gina and the kids, especially when it was Sian's 9th birthday today. Gina has been my alarm call most mornings at 7am and it's been great to hear her voice first thing in the morning. It's also fantastic to hear the kids' voices too, especially when you can hear the excitement in their voices. Well, perhaps Gareth didn't sound that excited but he's a lad after all !

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Sian has had a lovely birthday today.

She went to bed last night very excited. I heard a noise at 5am and found her wide awake in the bathroom reading a book trying to pass the time til the sun came up so she could wake us all up!

Carrie and myself stayed up till after midnight making and icing 70 cup cakes! Some were for the kids and iced in every colour under the rainbow and some were iced with baileys icing for Carrie and me. We went to bed never wanting to see another cup cake again!

This morning all the kids tumbled into my bed (very lonely without Mr B) and we started the present opening extravaganza. Sian got some really lovely gifts. Thank you to everyone who sent cards and parcels. She really was spoiled rotton. She got so many lovely clothes that she kept changing into different outfits all day.

One of the most unusual parcels that she got was a large long brown paper parcel from her friend Alice in England. It had a paint-your-own-umbrella-kit in it! This got squeals of delight when it was opened by Sian and had Gareth and Rhiannon begging to be allowed to help paint it. A very unusual present and so big that it wouldn't be one that I would consider if I was paying to post it half way around the world! Thank you anyway Zoe and Alice! We will have great fun painting it and will blog a picture of the finished masterpiece when it is done.

We spent the morning at Rathmines park letting the kids burn off some energy. We went home at lunchtime to make a wake up call to Byron in his hotel room in India at his 7am. Sian was excited talking to him. He had sent her a video clip of himself singing Happy Birthday in the morning but it was nice for her to be able to speak to him in person. We went to our normal Friday tennis in the afternoon and then home for Sians sleepover party.




Four of her friends arrived with sleeping bags and pillows ready for an evening of pizza, dvds and birthday cake. They have had a great evening and are whispering and giggling in the dark in the next room as I type this blog!








Hopefully they will fall asleep soon as I am shattered after last nights baking and can't wait to hit the sack myself!

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It's Sians Birthday tomorrow and as luck would have it it is a day off school!




Each year on a pupils birthday they are presented with a certificate. Sian got hers this morning because of the day off tomorrow.

Carrie and myself have been working like mad this evening getting ready for Sians birthday tomorrow morning. We have been blowing up balloons, making and icing cup-cakes in wacky coloured icing. Making her birthday cake and wrapping presents. It is gone midnight now and we are just off to bed. Only a few hours now before Sian wakes as a gorgeous 9 year old!

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5 weeks to go and the house is almost finished.

We called in one evening last week and found that the kitchen worktops had gone in and the splashback had been tiled.

The tiles are small rectangular and metallic in a stone/coffee colour. When they get properly cleaned they should look really bright and add a subtle bit of bling! The countertops are caesarstone and are a light cream with stone coloured flecks. All very neutral colours so that we can add a splash of colour of our choice when we put some things out on the worktops. The appliances will go in quite close to the handover date and after the alarm system goes in for obvious reasons.

We called in again this evening to have a look around but it was getting a bit late and the sun was going down so the photos are a bit darker. The girls were in their nightdresses when I shouted at them to get in the car so they thought it was very exciting and even more of an adventure then normal! Anne and Kel came with us too.

The painters have been in and have put two coats of paint on the walls so it looks really smart. There will be one last coat going on but almost at the handover date so that the tradesmen don't leave too many marks on the walls as they do the last few jobs.

The toilets have been delivered and Carrie and Sian had us laughing when they pretended to sit on them side by side in the living room!

The shower screens and mirrors were all new too and Rhiannon couldn't resist pretending to have a shower in the main kids bathroom!

The biggest and best surprise was when the kids went into their bedrooms and spotted that their sliding mirror doors had been installed. They were absolutely hyper! It really brightened up their rooms and made them look really big and open.

Not much more to do now.... Plumb in toilets and taps, fit door handles, install the alarm, lights, switches and power-points. We should sign a settlement contract very soon with a final date that we will pay over the last of the money and officially take ownership! It should be about 5 weeks away. It will take about another two weeks to get floor tiles laid downstairs and to have the upstairs carpeted. It really is getting so close now that we have butterflies in our stomachs!

Roll on May and the start of a new chapter in this great adventure!

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On Saturday night we went to a brilliant party at our friends David and Jane's house.

It was a Curry, Kaftan and Karaoke party. We got a babysitter so all three of us could go to it. For a couple of weeks before we searched for outfits to wear. Carrie bought a turquoise embroidered top in Dublin before she flew here, I bought a kaftan and jangly ankle bracelets in an "alternative" shop locally and Byron got a formal Indian suit in a bizarre retro antique shop in Newcastle. Teemed up with some leather thongs (Footwear here in Australia I might add, not a skimpy pair of undies!) and some jangly bracelets and we were ready to go!

The kids were laughing at us as we said goodbye, Gareth was a bit shocked at the sight of me in a black wig! He kept saying "You are my real mummy, aren't you?"

We stopped at a bottle shop to buy some beer and wine on our way. Byron refused to jump out and pay because he was dressed up. When I went into the tiny shop the lady serving looked at me with her jaw hanging loose. "Is that a wig"" she blurted out and then clapped her hand across her mouth. I laughed and said it was while she turned scarlet. She said the words just popped out and as soon as she said it she panicked in case it was my real hair!

With cold bottles firmly in my hands we headed on to the party. The house was amazingly decorated with lanterns, incense, disco ball, dry-ice machine and Indian music playing! Everyone had gone to huge efforts to dress in Indian clothing and the place was a riot of bright colours and sequins. We had a brilliant evening and stuffed our selves with a huge range of home made curries and side dishes.

The Karaoke started gingerly but surprisingly as the quantity of alcohol consumed increased so did everyones bravado! At first Carrie and myself walked in the opposite direction every time we saw someone approaching with the folder of songs but somehow towards the end of the evening we found ourselves belting out "The Irish Rover" at full throttle and doing an impromptu version of Riverdance in between verses!

The evening ended at a very respectable midnight so that we could carry on helping Byron with his packing for his Indian trip.

At 1am we fell into bed only to be woken at 6am so Byron could leave for his flight to Bangalore.....

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I've been sent to Bangalore for a week by my employer, and I must say it is quite an experience.

After travelling for nearly 20 hours I arrived at Bangalore airport at about 10pm fairly exhausted. I had a very long queue through customs before emerging from the airport to what seemed like a riot. There, hundreds of people were pushing and shoving asking if I wanted a taxi and car horns blaring continuously.

After a brief moment I spotted the words "Mr Byron" being held up amongst a sea of other placards. Bingo.

My taxi driver was just as pleased to see me as he'd been waiting nearly two hours for me to arrive.

Sat in his old Ford Fiesta, we headed off through the melee to my hotel. What a journey - I was warned about the unusual driving habits, but nothing could have prepared me for that drive.

Unbelievable. Motorbikes, rickshaws, cycles, battered trucks, buses and cars all swerving together. No lane markings, just every man for himself, and seemingly the horn was used as much as the steering wheel. Dogs, cows and people kept walking across the road while vehicles just swerved around them. It was dark so I couldn't see much of the city, and I was too tired to take much of it in anyway. The hour car journey seemed much longer than that and I was very glad to get to the hotel.

My hotel far exceeded my expectations. After I checked in as "Mr Byron", I was shown to my room. It was large, very clean, with modern furnishings, two televisions, a kitchen, separate living area and a PC with internet access. The bed looked very inviting too.

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Carrie is the bad weather fairy!

Since she arrived there has been nothing but thunder, lightning and rain!

No more sunshine to be found!

We tried to go to Tball yesterday. The sky was blue but with an ominously dark horizon. More storms were forecast to be on the way but surely not for a few hours? There was a possibility that we might get rained upon but wasn't it worth turning up and seeing? Worst case scenario they get half a lesson before the rain drops start to fall...?

Oh No! That's not how it happened....

We pulled up and parked in the crowded car park. There were over 100 kids running around in their team t-shirts. People were chatting about the forcasted storms but were optimistic about having a good run around before they hit. Then a friends mobile rang. It was her normally calm husband telling her to get the kids in the car and leave NOW.

As we looked above our heads we saw the strangest sky I have ever seen. Pale blue on one side, ink black on the other. Through the inky black was a pale grey cloud that was churning and spinning so fast it was mesmerising. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope. Someone described it afterwards as looking like a boiling pan of water.

As we craned our necks up high the organisers voice on the loudspeaker went from calmly telling us about the game plans to an urgent voice telling us to grab our kids and get under shelter. Kids and parents were running for their cars. I have never seen so many cars rev up and leave so quickly.

The wind went from nothing to strong gusts in the few seconds it took us to run to our car. Even the noise of it was scary. We sat in the car for a few moments and argued about what was the safest thing to do? Sit in a car under the shelter of a large tree or drive the 10 minute journey home? Thunder was booming all around us and the sky had turned a dull green. Our friend Paul pulled his car up to us and pointed at it saying it was a classic sign of large hail stones, often golf ball sized. He suggested we get moving quickly and get shelter anywhere, a petrol station, underground supermarket car park.....

We started driving and found ourselves in a gridlocked road with the rain coming down heavy and the windscreen wipers on full. We inched our way along and then made our way down a small side street where we knew there were a limited number of undercover car spaces. Luckily we got the last one and we huddled under the metal shelter and watched the rain bouncing off the roads.

Within minutes there was a river running down the main street and we watched cars struggle through it. Some broke down, The Fire Brigade screamed past sirens blaring. The thunder and lightning was unbelievable. The kids cuddled up with Carrie and hid in their jumpers until it eased off and we were eventually able to drive on home. What an adventure! At least the plants didn't need watering when we got home!

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I find it hard to believe that this is the second St. David's Day we've celebrated in Australia. The last year has gone so fast.

Most people outside of the UK would say "St. Who?".


Unfortunately, it's much less well known worldwide than the more celebrated St. Patrick's Day.

But nevermind....I've found from experience that the further away from home you are the more you want to reach out for some connection. For example, our children have Welsh and Irish names, and I suppose the reason for that is that they were born outside of our home nations. We try to regularly remind them of their Welsh and Irish heritage:

• we have the Welsh anthem framed on the wall in the hallway
• we have an Irish bodhran (drum) hanging in the living room
• we have an old Irish plaque with inscriptions hanging over the fire place
• and of course there's the Welsh dragon tattooed on my backside that makes the kids laugh

Needless to say, I find it very important to celebrate the patron saint of my home nation. Gina is aware that it's not very well known in this part of the world and makes a tremendous effort to make this house a small part of Wales for the day. Even though daffodils are out of season, she magically managed to "make" some from false yellow roses and some twine. She even made a huge felt leek for me. There was also a large flag draped across the bedroom, and also outside in the garden just to confuse the natives.

I was presented with leeks, daffodils, hand made cards and, best of all a huge, chocolate dragon egg! The kids all wore small Welsh flags to school, Gareth also wore a Welsh t-shirt. The kids were great, Sian even made a speech in school in front of her class about why the leek is a national symbol of Wales:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/wales/saint_david.htm

We blasted Tom Jones, Catatonia and Welsh hymns all day and Rhiannon wanted to learn more about the national anthem and its strange spelling...

The best part of the day was a new tradition that was started a couple of years ago.

Dragon Pie!

Gina and her sister Carrie did a quite magnificent job of somehow stencilling a perfect replica of a Welsh dragon on top a beef pie. Can you spot the difference in the cooked pie below from the pre-cooked one from yesterday's post?

As for the difference in the pie top from yesterday? Today's dragon was holding an Irish shamrock in its hand....cheeky !

Thanks to everyone who made this a special day for me.

Diolch. Cymru am byth.

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