What Was New:
October 2005
3 October
Maori Maternity!
"Maternity services in NZ are a bit different from those in the UK. Most women are cared for by midwives throughout their pregnancy, birth and post-natal care. Midwives in NZ do all the stuff that GPs do in the UK, ie prescribe medication, refer you to a radiologist for scans, take blood samples etc. Very few GPs attend births any more." Kez in New Zealand gives some useful information about maternity there.
New Zealand - Maternity Service
5 October
Let's Learn Spanish: En El Supermercado
"In El Burgo, my old 'home' town, Julie needed a hairdresser shortly after moving there...we couldn't see one. A quick word with the local bar owner revealed there were seven! None of them had an outside sign as 'if you don't have a sign, you don't need a licence' - and didn't pay local business tax." Bob Fretwell discovers that shopping in the average Spanish village is still a very personal experience...
Shopping in Spain
11 October
"But I was only gone five minutes..!"
"Parking is one of those 'Don't get me started' topics. Everyone has a story and everyone, but everyone, has an opinion whether it's the cost, the evil nature of traffic wardens, the lack of free spaces, the insidious spread of parking meters into residential and suburban streets, or the fact that machines will never give change..." Miranda Irving on the frustrations of parking your car in Britain.
Parking in the UK - forget it!
14 October
Photo of the Week
"We recently went to the CAMRA Somerset Beer Festival, held at Minehead Railway Station on the West Somerset Railway heritage line. There was a fantastic range of beers and ciders there, but inevitably some popular ones ran out as early as four o'clock on the first day - like Timothy Taylor's 'Landlord'. The fact that that's one of my own favourites had nothing to do with it, of course!"
CAMRA crisis!
15 October
Why can't all pubs be as good as this?
"I'd made the mistake of volunteering to drive so was stuck on orange juice and lemonade. Kay had a pint of Young's Special, which was in excellent condition. We chose a corner table, turned to the window to watch the gulls, ducks and Canada geese on the pond over the road, and settled down to wait for our food." Dave reviews lunch at the excellent Greyhound Hotel in Carshalton.
Stuck in Sutton - an update
16 October
India's Garden City in the South
"Life in Bangalore has changed a lot since I first spent about six months here in 1995. It's been said to have been - and maybe still is - the fastest growing city in Asia. Everyone has heard about all the service and software outsourcing to India - Ground Zero of that is Bangalore." BE reader Thomas Elam shares his impressions of life in Karnataka's vibrant yet leafy capital city.
Letter from Bangalore
21 October
Photo of the Week
A gorilla at Melbourne Zoo looks askance at something - or someone! - out of shot.
I knew that!
26 October
Sofia, so good...
"Foreigners, especially the British, have shown a special interest in Bulgarian property. There are two main reasons for this ever increasing interest. The first reason is the country's climate and natural surroundings. The second reason is, more obviously, the low cost of living in comparison to Western Europe." Surrinder Ahitan sets out the attractions and opportunities that Bulgarian property offers.
The Bulgarian Property Market
27 October
Halloween Hype
"I'm sure it was never this commercialised when I was little. There may have been the odd Halloween party - I remember one where (rather feebly) I went as a headless horseman, dressed in nothing more than a pair of jodhpurs, a polo-necked jumper pulled over my head and carrying a riding hat. But we never went trick-or-treating and we never had a pumpkin." Miranda Irving on Halloween in the UK in her youth and now, and in Abu Dhabi.
Halloween Horrors
28 October
Godzilla's Waffle
"Halloween here is usually spent at the cemetery in preparation for All Saints' Day, 1 November. On this day, the cemetery will be alive with activity and the smell of bleach. Come rain or shine the family grave will be washed and scrubbed till it shines, a whole year of dirt and grime and green mossy gunge will be spurged." Jayne looks at Halloween traditions in both Portugal and the UK's Celtic past...
Halloween
Photo of the Week
"It was a fabulous day yesterday. We seldom get such warm days this late in October in Regina. I went walking at lunchtime with a friend and took some photos of Wascana Lake and the Legislative Building."
Saskatchewan Legislative Building, Regina
29 October
Clark's Caledonia
"When I was a bairn, in the north east of Scotland, we had never heard of pumpkins. With the advent of colour television last year, I realised neeps had competition. In black and white, you can't tell the difference." Mike Clark takes a look at the origins of Halloween and the traditional celebrations running into Guy Fawkes Night.
Gralloching a Pumpkin
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