Picture the scene. It's September 1996, and Malcolm, Stuart and I are lying by the pool, enjoying some wonderful sunshine. We have gone on holiday a bit later than usual, as Stuart has left school and is about to go to university at the start of October. Knowing that we will be going back to decidedly autumnal weather, I ask Malcolm why he can't work somewhere warm and sunny ....
...... some weeks later, Malcolm came home from work and said 'remember you wanted me to work somewhere warm?' ... why did I know I probably wouldn't like what he said next! BP had asked him to go and work in Indonesia - cue look in atlas to find out exactly where Indonesia is!
Malcolm spent the early part of 1997 going back and forward on business trips, then in August I went with him for a 'recce'. Now I have to say, this bit was very enjoyable, as we stayed in a 5-star hotel for four weeks, and when Malcolm was working I was forced to spend time at the pool - this is the view of the pool from our room (on the 29th floor!)
and this is the lounger where I spent quite a few enjoyable afternoons ...
often sipping on an iced lemon tea. (a little historical footnote - I was in the Shuttle Lounge in Heathrow Airport, on my way home, when it was announced that Princess Diana was dead!)
Back home, the house was sold, a flat bought for Stuart to live in, and I flew back to Indonesia to start a new and very different life. At first, we lived in a very smart apartment complex - this is part of the landscaped gardens and one of the swimming pools ..
... but in Indonesia, poverty is never far away, and this was the view from our 18th floor apartment ...
and although we were living in comparative luxury, we still had to have bottled water, as the tap water wasn't fit to drink ..
Malcolm's Indonesian colleagues were friendly and welcoming, and this was our first company event ...
My Indonesian never got past the basics, but I do remember that selamat datang means welcome. This was a family day out, with fun and games, and I got roped in to one of the teams ...
It's a pity you can't see what we were doing - we were wearing what could best be described at multi-person skis! We had to 'ski' across the room, turn and come back - of course we ended up in a heap on the floor, and I had some lovely bruises!!
Stuart came out to visit for Christmas and New Year, and we went to Bali for a few days ..
Late afternoons, these food stalls would appear in front of the hotel, ready to feed people on their way home from work. Amongst ex-pats, these food stalls were known as 'cholera carts'!! Of course, when we were celebrating New Year, we weren't to know that 1998 would bring massive political and economic changes to Indonesia, and change our life there as well ... but I'll save that for another day.
ps I have been doing a lot of sewing over the last few days, but I can't tell you about it, because it's for a swap - this is my first ever swap - I always seem to read about them on blogs when it's too late to join. But I will give you just a little look at what I started with ...