On our recent Passover trip to the desert we stayed in a campsite. It was not the kind of campsite I am used to staying in, it was what I would term 'glamping' (glamour camping). No we didn't all don high heels and dressed for dinner (only the boys), but because the tents were huge domed affairs…
Don’t leave me this way
A new discovery about parenting raised its ugly head recently that I hadn't yet considered. My childers are still of nursery age, in Israel they are 6 before they start school. I pick them up and they are with me for the afternoon from 4pm onwards, but what happens when they start school? In Israel school is a…
Bonfire Night Israel style.
As the smoke clears from a slightly damp Independence Day barbecue the important task of collecting wood in shopping trolleys begins for the next fire friendly festival in Israel, Lag BaOmer. You would be forgiven for thinking that it's just one big festival over here at the moment but in actual fact Jews are currently in the…
Trying to make sense of it all
When you quasi speak in a different language on a day-to-day basis there are words or phrases that you find yourself using a lot, often as a bridge to the next bit of vocab that you have momentarily forgotten. For example when I lived in France I always used 'je pense' (I think), even though most of the…
Smoke gets in your eyes
We are just days away from the barbecue bonanza which is Independence Day in Israel. When every spare piece of ground has a group of family and friends gathered, barbecuing the b'geesus out of their kebabs. When I say every spare piece of ground I mean parks, beaches, roundabouts, grass verges, bus stops. You think of a space and…
Oh pants
Ah toilet training, what joy. The time has come for the last of the childers to go through this rite of passage. As any veteran parent knows the best way to toilet train a child is to let them do it themselves. Arm yourself with even more patience than usual, bulk buy enough cheap underwear to…
Remembrance
In 1986 at age 14, I heard for the first time in a History lesson about the Holocaust In 1997 I met someone who told me about his grandparents who lost parents, partners, siblings and children in the Holocaust In 2005 I saw a number tattooed on an old man's arm as he played backgammon in a coffee shop…
A question for the day
If someone can explain to me why you would put fake bullet hole stickers on your car, I would love to hear it. Is it that old age thing creeping up on me again? Is it because where I live there is a bigger chance of it being real than in say, Chipping Norton?…
7 fail safe ways to impress first time visitors to Israel.
Thank you to everyone who commented and shared this competition entry for http://www.expatblogs.com writing competition, no, I didn't win, but it's the taking part that counts right?! For those of you who didn't see it, here is my entry. Despite what you may see and read in the press there is a side to Israel that…
39 and Counting 