What Was New:
December 2005
1 December
Christmas Round the World
"I've now spent Christmas in Aus for twenty-four, out of a possible twenty-six years of living here. Every year it's the same, the feeling of surprise when hearing the first Christmas carols while shopping, around the beginning of November. I don't think I'll ever get accustomed to hot sunny days and Christmas celebrations." Sydney Sue in New South Wales describes the Australian Christmas.
Christmas in Australia - New South Wales
5 December
Pic of the Week
A Thanksgiving display outside a church in Springfield, Georgia
Thanksgiving display
6 December
A New Start in Vancouver
The "insider's guide" to migrating to Vancouver, British Columbia: What you need to know before you go. This report, researched by Lucy Saunders and edited by Simon Payn, is essential reading for anyone planning a move to Vancouver. Read more here:
A New Start in Vancouver
7 December
Bah, humbug!
"Don't you just love Christmas? The feelings of guilt when that distant relative thousands of miles away sends you a card and it's too late to send them one? ... The arguments in the kitchen as mother-in-law insists that you don't baste a turkey that way? No? This could be the book for you, then." Dave McMahon reviews 'Bad Christmas', a rib-busting collection of news stories and anecdotes about other people's Christmas disasters.
Book Review: Bad Christmas
8 December
Lost for words...
"Apparently, Britons are spending £6 billion a year on the purchase of second homes – a staggering £4 billion more than two years ago. We at The Rights Group felt it would be useful to put together a glossary of terms that we use every day but which may be a little alien to would-be property purchasers in Spain." Stuck for a word? Mark F R Wilkins helps you make sense of Spanish property jargon...
Buying Property in Spain - The Rights Group Glossary
9 December
Christmas Around the World
"One thing I notice is that the people round here decorate the outsides of their houses... Several shops and small businesses, as well as a few private houses, sport half-sized Santa Claus figures shinning up ropes fixed to the gutters. Next year I'll get one myself, but I also need a stuffed wolf to put at the bottom of the rope to make it more exciting." Mike Kingdom-Hockings tells of his Joyeux Noël in France.
Christmas in France
12 December
Pic of the Week
Artificial fruit stacked high on a stall in Bangkok's Chatuchak Market.
Good enough to eat!
13 December
Want to advertise on BE?
We've just reviewed our Advertising Policy in light of the constant flow of enquiries from prospective advertisers. To find out what's changed, including a brand new opportunity to promote your product or service, have a look at our page:
British Expat Magazine - Advertising Policy
14 December
Christmas Around the World
"As a child I didn't give it much thought...do children ever? I assumed that Christmas was just the way we celebrated it. Going to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, then returning to a late dinner of tourtière and eggnog seemed the perfect way to relax and fall asleep. I would have dreamt of sugar-plums, had I any idea what they were." Nora reminisces about childhood Christmases in Canada!
Christmas in Canada
15 December
Spot the Redcoat?
"We'd nearly finished getting the house ready to put on the market, we were due for a break, and we knew there was going to be a beer festival in Minehead. One of the three remaining outposts of the once-mighty Butlin's empire was located in Minehead - and Butlin's still offered accommodation for smokers. The idea of staying there was too daft for words. How could we resist?" Tempted by beer, Kay and Dave return to the West Country...
Beer, Butlins and More Beer
16 December
Christmas Around the World
"'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire'...it's not!! In fact anyone caught doing anything with an open fire between the months of December and April is likely to incur a huge fine in Australia, as it's 'bushfire season'! The Country Fire Service personnel would not be best pleased to be summoned from their Christmas Day lunches for reason of chestnuts being roasted on an open fire and starting a bush fire that's now spread over 15 hectares or more!" Mojan in South Australia gives another view of the Aussie Christmas.
Christmas in South Australia
19 December
Turner Prize 2005
Jemima Rellie, Head of Digital Programmes at Tate, tells us about the Turner Prize and how, if you can't visit the exhibition at Tate Britain, you can still share your thoughts on Europe's leading contemporary art prize on Tate's website, which is sponsored by BT.
Tate Online - Turner Prize
Pic of the Week
This week's pic is Red by Gillian Carnegie, one of the entries in the 2005 Turner Prize.
Red
20 December
Hope for the future?
"I write from Arusha in Northern Tanzania. We at our charity work with street children and/or orphaned children within our community. Every day someone dies here; last week the neighbour next to our office died from HIV/AIDS - she contracted this from her husband - and now her five-year-old daughter will be following the mother shortly as she also has the disease." Ian Williamson describes the bleak prospects facing one Tanzanian community - and what they're doing to help themselves.
A Community in Crisis
21 December
Christmas Around the World
"Tradition here in Portugal dictates that whoever invites the family round at Christmas does a repeat performance on New Year's Eve with exactly the same meal! Boiled 'bacalhau', potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Sprinkled with chopped garlic and olive oil. Imagine eating that while the rest of the (wealthy) world is eating caviar, smoked salmon, Chateaubriand, whatever!" Jayne gets all festive over the Portuguese Christmas...
Christmas in Portugal
22 December
"Here am I, your special island..."
"The Samoan environment is tropically lush, with green volcanic peaks plunging to brilliant coral reefs, an ecotourism paradise still unspoiled by mass tourism. Visitors often stay in open Samoan beach houses called fale (pronounced FAH-lay) and adopt the laidback local lifestyle. Swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, kayaking, surfing, deep sea fishing, and hiking opportunities are all close at hand." David Stanley explains why the Samoan Islands are emerging as an exciting new South Pacific travel destination between Hawaii and New Zealand.
Samoa, Heart of Polynesia
23 December
Cantonese Boy...
"With only a 27-year history, Shenzhen is one of China's most modern cities. Shenzhen will probably surprise you. People from the West have usually never heard of it. Hong Kong media tell you it's the most dangerous place in China and the Taiwanese and Japanese think it's some poor cousin of Shanghai. Shenzhen is actually a city of some 15 million people. It is the wealthiest city in China, paying the highest average salaries." Shenzhen resident and British expat Navjot Singh gives a three-part guide to Shenzhen's main features, places of interest, transport links and facilities.
Guide to Shenzhen
28 December
Marriage - Tanzanian style
"The village was high in the mountains close to the Malawi border. It was cold, and Kalisti has never experienced real cold before. He said that in the mornings he drank boiling water straight from the pan to defrost himself - a little exaggeration here, I think. He was struck - saddened - that in the home village of his fiancée the people there are so very poor even by African standards. It is so cold and they eat maize and beans only." Ian Williamson in Arusha writes about his houseboy's impending marriage and future prospects.
A Letter From Tanzania
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