Ihadacatchytitleandforgotit

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Here we are again, school´s out and I just found how to do apostrophes on a Hungarian keyboard! Recapping, watched Andrew and several more young men reliving their childhoods on a soccer pitch on Mon night before excursion with six year old class on Tues, hiking to top of Janoshej, Janos Hill to you, for view over city. think I just slept Tues night! Wed I did a sort of science play lesson with five year olds, rocket balloons, had lunch- these kids are always eating! -then observed a music lesson and read them my Alaskan bear stories. School was only half a day on Thurs then a garden party on Fri where this time I was not required to be the magician´stooge! Thurs pm we met Iain (UK friend) off Prague train and went to dinner in an Italian restaurant, super. Fri night was an open air concert where a part of the band looked familiar- turned out to be the Hot Jazz Band who played and sang at the wedding, combined with a string orchestra, very strange! 1OOO seats and standing at the back of a leafy square (For ter?) of about 2 acres. Supper in a Belgian bar where two of the drinks were ´Delirium Tremens´ and, wait for it if you can, ´Safe sex on the beach´.

Saturday was the long awaited cricket match. Andrew has been instrumental in starting an amateur cricket league here, in addition to reorganizing the preschool education system(!!!not entirely a joke, details later) and running a soccer club, Buda Juniors (www.budajuniors.hu) Their first 9proper´ game was Saturday, village cricket at its best but without the cowpats. Even I would have got a bat as their number 11 didn´t show but number 9 was out on the last ball of the 25 overs. Andrew hit two boundaries then thought he´ let someone else have a go, bowled out their captain then ditto. His team won because of some creative scoring of the on-paper variety by Mum, 95-76. Home for quick shower and feed then off to folk concert in the most palatial new concert hall on earth, it is truly wonderful and so is the National theatre next door. Since escaping COmmunism 17 years ago there has been lots of construction resulting in many superb NEW buildings and better roads mixing with many superb OLD buildings, and appalling road surfaces which don´t cope with the extremes of weather here Anyway the concert was interesting, great folk dancers from Transylvania, a ´long flute´ like a small didgeridoo, another wind instrument like a recorder but sounded like it was being played under water and could play at least three notes at once- a very old double bass which its master seemed intent on sawing in half but failed- and a ´sort-of-very-old-cello. These were led by two elderly but energetic gentlemen on highpitched fiddles.

Sunday was wonderful, off to Moni´s parents for the day, lunch of real Hungarian food, a chicken casserole with paprika, tomatoes, gherkins, an unusual sort of egg noodle dish.....followed by pastries, peaches and Swedish chocolates brought back from a recent trip. They speak no English except her dad can say ´No worries´ in true Ozzie style, wonder who taught him? but we played cards with Hungarian cards. I learned to count in hungarian, well up to five anyway. It´s not far away but takes two hours by bus, train and tram to reach their home.

Today with Iain and Andrew, (Moni was teaching three lessons and doing the housewife bit)
I went on an official tourist bus, guided by the wife of one of Andrew´s soccer friends, to see all the bits tourists should see- the Parliament, Heroes´ Square, the Royal Palace/castle, Fishermen´s Bastian, St Stephen´ and ST Matthias´ churches, Gellert Hill (misspelt here sorry) and the amazing bridges over the Danube. When I´ve listened to my voice recorder I´ll tell you the rest. We ended up having Langos, a sort of doughnutty pancake, hot, with cheese, ham and sour cream, from a market stall, also raspberries........and are now at school where Iain and I are abusing the Net and Andrew is having an exam. Gabor and Kriszta are collecting me for the evening, it´s high time I caught up with them and as Moni has a lesson tonight and Andrew has soccer again I saw my escape route........they are babysitting me at the weekend while A&M go to a country festival somewhere. Tomorrow we´re off to Pazmand to see their country place and do a bit of cycling, swimming and, wait for it again, no not that, cricket training with Saturday,s opposition who hail from near there. Saturday night is dinner in an Indian restaurant, eight of us. Sunday G&K put me on the flight to Amsterdam for three dayws with Paul and Marianne then NB I´M TRYING TO GET A FLIGHT CHANGE HOME. I want to go to UK to see a very sick friend and while I´m there of course to catch up with a few others as well but PLEASE if I don´t get to see YOU don´t be upset, if I get there at all it will only be for a very few days and will depend on if I can delay my flight home via Singapore from Amsterdam. Shouldn´t be any problem getting over to Hull either by ferry or plane I hope but am currently waitlisted from Amsterdam home.

That´s all for now folks, have I any readers out there, thanks Keith J for your reply re DVDs, I risked it and bought one. TTFN, Lady C

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