http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Stoyles-blog/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Stoyles blog en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:40:17 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:40:17 +0000 Here we are back in chilly damp EnglandThanks for all your love and support while we were away.We have a new land line telephone number024 76 265831Once we get a bit more settled I hope we will get to see people for social interactionLoveJane and Geoff http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/West-Midlands/Coventry/blog-427310.html Final Blog from PakistanMonday evening here and Geoff and I are feeling very tired having completed the 5 day training programme for the teachers Tired but good as we were really pleased with the response and how it all went It means that we are leaving on a high so if nothing else the teachers of Syedanwala will remember Mr Sock and how to make a flower using a compassThe weather was terribl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-423035.html Dont know why all the text didnt get published Better luck this time Due to power cuts and slow internett this had been a whole Sundays workFinal Fling Blog 5th July 2009 3 weeks and we will be back in Englandmdashit seems so close yet so far awayWe are busy in these last weeks writing the modules for the teacher training that will take place in the last week we are hereI http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-415393.html Final Fling Blog 5th JFinal Fling Blog 5th July 2009 3 weeks and we will be back in Englandmdashit seems so close yet so far awayWe are busy in these last weeks writing the modules for the teacher training that will take place in the last week we are hereI am getting quite quick on the key board The lap top is one of the most useful items that we brought with us infact we s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-415328.html Blog How time flies When yoursquore having fun Canrsquot believe that we will back in England in under 2 months time We have very mixed feelings about itso happy to be seeing family and friends again sooner than expected and enjoying the delights of alcohol and a wider variety of food via pubs and TescosBut frustrated that we may not get all the tasks completed we had hoped to achi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Lahore/blog-406805.html seem to have got a bit of a muddle with blog So you will have to look at pictures on one and read the text on the other one Must be the heat http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-398365.html A Typical Day Not really so letrsquos make one up from lots of other days with all the best Alarm goes off at 5.45 giving me a bit of snoozing time while the temperature is still pleasant. Getting Geoff out of bed is just as hard here as at homeLuckily we have a good bathroom with a shower and a western toilet. Plus geckoes and fireflies and cockroaches But we think that problem may be so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-398364.html A Typical Day Not really so letrsquos make one up from lots of other days with all the best Alarm goes off at 5.45 giving me a bit of snoozing time while the temperature is still pleasant. Getting Geoff out of bed is just as hard here as at homeLuckily we have a good bathroom with a shower and a western toilet. Plus geckoes and fireflies and cockroaches But we think that problem may be so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-398328.html Dear AllJust a quick blog to pass the news on that V.S.O. have descided to stop international volunteering in Pakistan until the political situation becomes more settled so we will be coming back a couple of months earleir than intended. We now plan to leave at the end of July ready to go back to work in Coventry in September. All volunteers are to leave by September. This is sad news for many rea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-397289.html Bits and bobs blogLots of stuff happening here in hot and getting hotter SydenwallaGeoff and I had another visit to India This time we walked Not all the way we are close to the Wagga border crossing. Yes the one where the trainee police academy was attacked so we took a taxi to the Pakistani side there was little evidence of the previous trouble and I had made lots of phone call and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-393207.html Indian InterludeWe have been on holiday When we made the decision to come to this part of the world the lure of India was part of the attraction and as some friends from Coventry also decided to take their holiday in India we made plans to meet. First we needed a visamdashquite a complicated affaire at home but even more so here requiring a trip to Islamabad queues in a car park at ramshackl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-383821.html School blog 2As I write this I think you are all looking forward to half term what ever the weather The holidays here do not seem to be so well definedsome depend on the phases of the moon and others on the decision of the government or who ever runs the school. Any how it means that sometimes Geoff and I are surprised to realise that there is no school today The weather also plays a part i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-377131.html Winter wedding blog.Winter is the wedding season here is the Punjabmdashprobably because of the cooler weather and we have been involved one way or another in a number of village weddings. We have attended the Mhendi ceremony at one wedding and observed others from the roof of the High School .The Mhendi ceremony was great fun and took place on 23rd December. We were collected from our room by a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-367664.html Work BlogBeen looking at the blog entries and realised that I havenrsquot really said much about why we are actually here i.e. WORKI will try and describe a typical day but they are always different which is a good thing reallyOur lsquoofficersquo is a few moments walk away situated on the roof of the Girls High School. The High School is in the largest building in the village and it used http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/blog-362405.html Christmas at the fruit farm 20081230Thank you to everyone who sent Christmas messages. We had a much better Christmas than I thought but missed our family and friends a lot and needed tissues at times We came to a place called Renala Khurd where 2 other VSO volunteers are based. They live in one of the guest houses located at Mitchellrsquos Fruit Farm a well established business that has b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-359034.html Wow itrsquos nearly Christmas and I canrsquot believe that on Christmas day we will have been away for 2 months We had an official review meeting today with VSO AIE and the people we work with and the result seems that we are doing OK I am pleased and surprised as things get so frustrating and seem to move so slowly but according to the bossman we have done well to make the relationship http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Punjab/Lahore/blog-355327.html Just to say thanks for the real Christmas cards You cannot know how wonderful it is to get real mail But dont stop the electronic messages we have finally got the internett sorted and it is goodLonger message in a few daysLove Jane and Geoff http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Lahore/blog-354117.html Eid CelebrationsAs I am sure most of you know there are two Eid celebrations the one after the fasting month of Ramazan and the one to remember the sacrifice that Abraham made. This Eid was the second type and the sacrifice of an animal is the main focusFor the last week or so the numbers of goats and sheep around have increased and many of them had pretty necklaces or decorations on them. We a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Lahore/blog-352965.html Hello allThanks for all the messageswe still dont have internet at the farm but we mansge to get o Lahore every so often and have the pleasure of your comunications then.What newswell we have an electric fire but no plug buthey lets just push the bare wires into the extention lead that is held together with string We have HOT WATER Bliss but the other people on the farm have realised this http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Lahore/blog-351185.html Letter from some where near well 2 hours drive Lahore.Life has changed dramatically for us since we arrived at our final destination in PakistanSyden Walla Farm where we are working with the teachers and teacher trainers in 6 local schools.It is a very rural area and the village of Syden Walla is as it must have been for centuries There are a few modern touches are provided by the farm which i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Pakistan/Lahore/blog-347408.html