Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

Can you believe Christmas has come and gone already?
Despite the economic downturn, Bucharest has been ablaze with Christmas lights. The Mayor shut the area around the People's Palace (Ceausecu's huge building) and made it into a Christmas market. It is all very festive.

In the supermarkets and shops you see lots of signs up saying "Post". These are not places where you can put your letters for Santa Claus, but refers to food that can be eaten leading up to Christmas. Many people observe a fast for the 40 days before Christmas. No meat and no animal products at all (including eggs, milk, cheese etc). It is a very strict diet but it does mean that on Christmas Day (and for the following week) they do go crazy with the food! Out in the countryside the fast is very widely observed and so the poor local butchers have a hard time of it until about two weeks before Christmas. Then it goes crazy and rather unpleasant.

I was trying to arrange transport for the Ambassador to go to the airport and because his flight was leaving the Residence at 6am he did want to use his driver, but just a local person. No-one was available. They were all out in the countryside with their families "killing the pigs". Just before Christmas nearly every family kills a pig they have been feeding up during the year. Then every part of that pig (and believe me I do mean EVERY part) is eaten over the festive period. Often it is the man of the house who kills the pig but also the local butchers are called in to do the job. (Susan - miss this next bit out!!) I said they use every part, and that includes the blood of course. So they pierce the neck of the pig to drain all the blood out. Needless to say this is not good for the pig and their squeals can be heard all day long in the villages. The EU is not happy with this, of course, but it will be a long time before the areas outside of Bucharest give up this tradition.

So pork is the preferred Christmas meat here, not turkey. But we did have the traditional British Christmas dinner at the Embassy Christmas Party. It took place at the Ambassador's residence - and he laid on not just the turkey and roast potatoes but even the brussel sprouts (which he hates). And there were mince pies too, made by his cook. The party was really good. They decided to have a theme - Hollywood. So you were supposed to come as a famous Hollywood star. Some people made the effort, others didn't. Tibi and I decided to use the costumes we had from the Charity Bash in November, so I was a Pharoah again and Tibi a caveman. For the second time running Tibi got the best costume award as Fred Flintstone (even though he had said he was George of the Jungle!). He won a bottle of gin, but since Tibi doesn't drink that's mine! After the fancy dress competition we had a Salsa competition, with 6 professional Salsa instructors to teach us. Along with my dancing partner Georgiana, we won first prize! The prize was a bottle of Pimms, so more alcohol for me. Then it was karaoke. So I drank both the bottles of gin and Pimms in one and sang my heart out until 5 in the morning wearing nothing but the Ambassador's wife's earrings.

Anyone know of any jobs going in Bucharest for a disgraced exPA???

New Year's Eve saw me dressing up again! This time the theme was "Crisis". You could go as a financial, emotional, mental, identity crisis etc. I went as a middle age crisis and was very convincing! The evening was great fun held at the Concept Store/Workshop of Silvia Serban (the designer who had the Communist Party a few weeks ago). And they had karaoke, again. Oh goody. But since we stayed until 6.00am I guess it was not that bad!! I have attached a couple of photos from that party and I think you will agree that I look stunning........or stunned.......or someone who should be stunned!!

Disappointingly it was not a White Christmas in Bucharest. A few snow flurries but nothing much. Up in the mountains and the north of the country it has been bitterly cold and heavy snow. Here in Bucharest it's not been above freezing since Boxing Day. I walked to work this morning and the big screen at Stefan Cel Mare said it was -8c. In Miecurea Cuic they recorded -30.5 this past weekend and even in the daytime it didn't get above -22c!!

Well that just leaves me to wish you all the best for 2009. May it bring you everything you wish for....and more!

Kisses under the mistletoe

Andrew xx