Family Therapy -

Well, it looks like we have found someone to help us work through the difficulties and dilemmas that our adventure in Cambodia threw up. We are going to give joint (family) counselling a go, with a trained counsellor who works with people coming and going from overseas all the time. Catherine is going to meet her a couple of times one to one and then we are going to both meet with her on a weekly basis and see how it goes. If it goes well she thinks it will take a few months rather than weeks. Having never done this sort of thing before we are a bit nervous but the counsellor lent us a book by John Cleese and his Family Therapist, so that should help us to "always look at the bright side of life!"

Up and coming trips

After spending a few weeks settling into Yate and focusing on immediate family we have a few trips coming in the next couple of weeks.

On tuesday we are off to stay with a friend of Tim's from Uni days and her family. They live on a co-operative/communal orgainc farm in Herefordshire. We are very excited about spending time with them on the farm.

From there we go straight on to the Annual Gathering of the Community of Aidan and Hilda near Stratford upon Avon. They are the Celtic-inspired scattered christian community that we are part of.

After a few days back in Yate we are then off to Brighton for the birthday weekend of our dear friend Hannah which includes camping, cream teas, pub lunches, walks and sitting round the campfire with some of our favourite Brighton lovies. We hope to catch up with as many friends as possible but Brighton will need a few more visits this summer we think!

hardcore help and giving triathalon a try

Until the end of July we are staying with friends in Yate, near Bristol. Catherine looks after the boys in the morning and I take them out in the afternoon, giving us time to pray, reflect, communicate, do chores etc., Liking a bit of manual labour I have been doing a few days of volunteering renovating a community centre, ripping out ceilings and lugging hardcore about, that sort of thing - very therapeutic.

I have also been doing a bit of swim - bike - run to get fit for doing a triathalon with my brother in september. The swimming has felt more like drowning with style but I am slowly remembering how to breath. Running has been a non-starter so far as I haven't had any running shoes and the shoes I do have really hurt my achilles heel to run in. But I just found a good pair of trail shoes in a sale. Cycling has been the most fun, painful and eventful. A friend in Yate lets me borrow his racer when he is at work. I love getting out in the fresh air and the sense of freedom (although the clip in shoes took a bit of getting used too!). My brother also took me on a weekends mountain biking trip in the welsh valleys, which was fantastic and lung busting (and very wet...).

Phone Numbers

Tim 07721 015792

Catherine 07876 020175

Landline 01454 315364


The landline is incoming only, so we have to keep our telephone calls out (by our pay-as-you-go mobiles) to a minimum, sorry.

Transition - 4x6

In our transition from Battambang to Blighty we had four six day stays on the way.

We had six days in Phnom Penh to recover from packing and saying goodbye to our friends and house in Battambang. It was also a chance to see some of our friends in Phnom Penh and say goodbyes there too.

Next was six days in Thailand at the Servants to Asias Urban Poor Forum. It was set at a hotel air-conditioned rooms with a pool by the beach in Pattaya. It was agreat chance to flop and we had some very helpful conversations with some old hands about our year.

We were met at Heathrow by Tim's parents who delivered a borrowed car to us. It was lovely to met by them and to have a car for the next few months. We then drove straight to stay with Catherine's parents in Yate, near Bristol. It was an important few days connecting with the Burfoot clan. We were also able to meet up with George and Hazel Baxter (George married us) who offered for us to stay at their house for may and june. With this arranged we headed north north east to visit Tim's parents in their rented house in Lincolnshire.

We got a chance to see the house they are buidling in Horncastle and to day trips exploring the surrounding area - lovely part of the world. On route we stayed for a couple of days with Tim's brother and family and visit some other friends in Peterborough (Tim's old boss). It was lovely to be able to connect with all our immediate family so quickly and still being in transition-holiday mode helped re-entry from being too overwhelming.

We have settled into our host family's home. We all really like it, including Forrest which was our main concern. It is a deceptively large house with many communal spaces, so it doesn't feel like we are living on top of each other. We have a double room for sleeping and storage and the boys share the conservatory with the cats for a play room and place to store their toys. they have shelves very much like in Cambodia and the proximity to garden and kitchen make it very easy for us all. It has worked out so well so far. We have all warmed to the Baxters, especially their youngest son Joshua. He is the only one still at home, studying at six form college.

We take turns looking after the boys, Catherine in the morning and Tim in the afternoon. This gives us time to get on with chores, communications, praying and reflecting. Tim has also just started helping out with renovating a community shop that George is involved with.

The calendar is filling up with long weekend visits to see various people and places but we don't want to travel too much and over stretch the boys, so we won't get to see people as fasted as we might like to.

Re-entry

Well, we are back in blighty after a little sojourn in Thailand at the Servants to Asia's Urban Poor Forum.

We are staying with Catherine's family in Yate, near Bristol, this week and Tim's next, and hoping to sort out something temporary in Yate for after that.

Leaving our neighbours in friends in Battambang was tearful but good, and all the packing and leaving went smoothly. The time with Servants was very good for us all, although Forrest had another bout of tonsilitis. It was great to talk to some old hands who have and done and seen it all before. We were much encouraged by our conversations there.

The journey back was fine, the boys were fantastic and there have been no problems with jetlag or time adjustments.

Re-entry to english culture has been odd but seeing friends and family in Yate has been great, as was seeing Tim's folks at the airport, and the sunshine and spring blossom have been a joy.

We have some wheels which is good too, so we can get about, and we are looking into buying a tent for our road trips around the country.

So all is well.

Tim's new mobile number is: 07721 015792

We are yet to sort Catherine's out, one dud SIM so far!

Return to Ratanakiri

On seeing Becky off at the airport we hoped on an old aeroflot plane to Ratanakiri in the Northeast again (we were there last June for Catherine's birthday and a holiday).

Our mission to Ratanakiri this time was to spend timne with the young homeschooling families there; to enjoy being with other english speaking Mums, Dads and children. We have found it hard in Battambang where we have only really got to know one filippino family. Ratanakiri has three or four families living there at any one time what with home leave and other coming and goings etc.,

We also took Torika, our home-help, with us as a treat and working holiday, as a way to say thank you for all her hard work and patience.

We all really enjoyed alternating between: hanging out with the other families (playing and sharing our experiences); getting into nature (forest walks, swimming at the lake or waterfalls); visiting friends in Tampuen villages (one of the local tribes); and staying with Tim's hero Gordon (Eden has become a devotee too!).

Ratanakiri is a possible place to live and homeschool and work in the future, yet, we focused on enjoying each day just for itself, and, boy, was it enjoyable and well needed. We are all both refreshed and tired out by all the socialising and natural beauty.

Now we have a few days in Phnom Penh bfore heading back to Battambang to pack and say our goodbyes. We will store our belongings and furniture there pending a decision about what we are going to do next but we feel it is unlikely that we will return to live in Battamabang. Where ever we go next we need a few more english speaking homeschooling families around, that much is clear.

Becky Boo from Brighty, Blighty

What a delight and pleasure to have our dear friend Becky come to visit us for a couple of weeks. What a gift good friends are, especially when they turn up for your birthday!

Becky was there for Eden's birth, and sang Taize and ate breakfast with us so often in Brighton, how good to have her here to share in this adventure story too. How good to have someone who knows so much about you, including the dark and difficult and dubious, and yet still loves unconditionally. How good to have a friend who is so good with kids, we have missed her a lot this year and others like her.

It was precious to catch up with each other and find out about friends back in Brighton, and stay up too late telling stories about this and that. It is so helpful to have someone who connects our two lives, especially as we start to think and focus on our retun in mid-April.

None of us wanted her to leave, it was good to have Ratanakiri to look forward. Indeed, we all went to the airport together, Becky to go back to India and us to fly to Ratanakiri, it cushioned the blow.

Living in the riel world

Our friend Becky's parents, who live and work with the poor in Calcutta, describe it as learning to live in parallel universes when they talk about the two worlds they slide in and out of.One minute in a slum, next minute in Pizza Hut.

We talk about living in the riel world and the dollar world. The riel being Cambodia's official currency and the working currency for the majority of Cambodians, the dollar being the working currency of tourists and the rich.

To us, increasingly the riel world helps us to understand how the real world works - that it is what is normal for the vast majority of people worldwide and throughout history. Yet it is a world we only partially enter. The dollar world is what we know yet it seems ever more sur-real and something we will never leave.

It seems that finding peace in living where worlds collide is to accept that both worlds are sur-real or sub-real, that indeed reality is where there contradictions and tensions meet.

We don't all live in a global economy or a global village that is ridiculous from where we are renting and unimaginable to someone immersed in the riel world. The dollar world (which is what the global economy refers to) is another world. People immersed in one world or another rarely meet and even less like to be know each other at a personal level and there are only a few people who live the ghostly realm imbetween the two worlds.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity we have to slide between worlds and get a different perspective on reality courtesy of the friendliness of our neighbours in the riel world and the generosity of our supporters in the dollar world.

We can say is that it is a wonderful thing when the two worlds can meet, get to know each other and kiss in familia love. We can also see that this is not the norm and that both worlds are impoverished when the interaction is expolitative or without insight into how the Others really live. Neither option is without cost, yet the price to paid is very different.

I am reminded as I write this of Gandhi's quote that it costs a lot of people a lot of money to keep him in poverty. I am no longer sure what he meant by this......

Modern Buddhist Cathedrals

There is a proliferation of Wats (Buddhist pagodas cum monasteries) in Cambodia. Many were destroyed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge tried to eradicate Buddhism, all it achieved in doing is changing it.

Many of the Wats have been rebuild and new ones added by and large with money from exiled Khmers in America, France and Australia, mostly from America, from California. Indeed, the Wats along with their pictures of Buddhas life, praying figures and Garudas and other myhtic beasts are covered in credits to so and so from USA giving $xx. Monks are no longer so depend on their alms rounds in the local community as money pours in from overseas.

Why all this money? We are not exactly sure but part of it seems to be secure the exiles return to the land of their ancestors when they die, part of it seems a way to put money back into the country without getting embroiled in family squabbles and jealousies, and there are probably a host of other reasons.

Unfortunately, it seems that the local Wats and monks are becoming less connected to their local community as a result of their new found wealth and patrons. A path that the church in the west went down some time ago. What is it about stones, bricks and mortar, intricate designs and gargoylesque figures that so appeal to the religious?

Often these graphic displays of merit-making sit alongside people on the edge of existence.One wonders what could be done if the money was channelled into health or education or community infrastructure or debt cancellation. But, of course, that would be a lot more difficult with no guarantee of credit or success.....

N.B. Whilst the context is somewhat different in the west I am of much the same opinion about the majority of church buildings - old or new, so, please, understand this is not a cheap pop at Buddhism. Just articulating grief at the way many of us religious haves tend to spend our money.

Back to Blighty

We are all booked to fly to Bangkok on April 5th to attend the Servants to Asias Urban Poor's Forum at Pattaya before flying back to England, arriving at Heathrow at 06.25 on the 12th of April. Not far away now.

In the meantime, we have a good friend, Becky, coming to stay for two weeks as of tomorrow, then we will head up to Ratanakiri again for a couple of weeks before returning to our wooden house in Battambang to pack up and say good bye to everyone here. We will put all our belongings in storage here.

Our plans for being in Blighty are unconfirmed as of yet but we can say we will be around longer than our original provision plan of two to three months. This means we will try to have a bit more of a base than just touring around. We hope to be able to set up base in Yate (Catherine's hometown) and then be able to travel around to see people from there. We will let you know when things are clearer, as you can imaginge there are a lot of arrangements to be made.

Adventure Anniversary

Last sunday made it a year since we arrived in Bodge. Catherine and I asked ourselves what gave us most life about being here and what times were most special to us. This is a sample of our responses:

Watching Eden and Forrest grow and flourish, particular moments including when Forrest did something new that he was really proud of (e.g. triking back from friends in the country and potty learning) and seeing Eden exploring and embracing his surroundings (especially one long hug and kiss of Ausman, a six year old friend, much to Ausman's shock and following delight).

Watching Catherine pottering around the neighbourhood and local garden in the wat with the boys in their hats and colourful clothes.

Catherine baking bonanza of bread and ham and potatoes at Christmas.

Our relationship and growing friendship with our helper Torika, especially seeing her work through on difficult circumsatnces outside of work and playing with Forrest.

Those times of feeling at ease sitting on a table bed under a neighbours house passing the time of day.

The difficult but rewarding experience of learning about ourselves and being challenged about what our priorities really are in life, just by being here.

Party in the Phuum

Last saturday our neighbours had a party as the grandmother was going to visit relatives in Australia for three months. We were invited after the boys were already in bed so only Tim could go, which was a shame, but he had agreat time. Khmer parties can be very formal affairs but not this one. It was just extended family and immediate neighbours and after the mandatory chicken curry was consumed round circular plastic tables it was time to dance.

In addition to the two tables was a karaoke machine with attended public address system speakers set up in a clearing between two houses surrounded by trees and open to the stars. A chair was set in the middle of the clearing as the centre point of the dance. Dancing here, like life, is circular, slow and rhythmic with occasional up beat crescendos, and of course it includes everyone from young to old all. The songs were a fusion of traditional folk music with dance base beats, we really enjoy it (normally from a distance, overhearing other peoples parties across the village).

The only bit Tim was not to keen on was the downing of numerous glasses of beer with ice in it. Neither downing beer nor ice in beer are really his thing anymore (not that ice in beer ever was....). Tim left at about eleven when the granny went to bed, it went on till two. We would like to have a party like this when we leave at the end of march but maybe finish a little earlier!

Chheoung

Our first language helper, Srey Laek, suddenly and unannounced left for America. It is not uncommon here. This gave us the opportunity to reassess our language learning. After a break we restarted with a different language helper each, each having two mornings a week.

Tim's language helper is called Chheoung. We had heard of him but not met him till our friend Gordon from Ratanakiri came to visit. Chheoung and his family used to live and work in Ratanakiri before he got arthritis, malaria and respiratory trouble. They then returned to their family village just outside Battambang town. He now is a farmer and pastor (in his free time) of the village church. He has also helped other foreigners learn Khmer conversation using a book with the same phonetic system that we were already using.

Chheoung is like Gordon in many ways, a good listener who is in no rush. He speaks Khmer slowly and clearly and does not tire of repeating what he has siad or saying it again more simply. He quite laid back and informal as well as being interested in innovative agricultural experiments. He is the kind of bridge person and friend that Tim has been looking for all year, which is very encouraging. His family is very sweet too, especially their youngest boy who is five.

Tim cycles over the bridge and along by the Sangke river and a smaller shaded stream to their house in Okccheay for his lessons. He is really enjoying it.

Eden of the garden

Eden is leading the way in Khmer inculturation. He is not very interested in our hoard of toys, books and games in the house, no, he is off out into the garden to scrabble in the dirt and play with sticks or balls or anything else he can find for that matter. He is commonly found round the back or off by the fence somewhere or alternately making a dash for it when the gate is open. Given half a chance he is off out the gate and round to one of the neighbours with a parting squeal of delight to let you know that he really should have an adult with him. He will chat and play and befriend almost any Khmer that he meets. On our recent trip to Phnom Penh he kept stopping to look at white people, somewhat uncertain of them, before trotting off to find the nearest brown face to play with. It seems he has discovered his Father's love of these friendly yet wounded people.

In the Countryside

We love going on forays in to what Forrest calls the countryside, whether it be out the back of our house amongst the chamkars (snall vegetable and fruit tree farms) or further a field to the paddy fields. Sometimes we go by foot, sometimes by bike, and increasingly Forrest goes on his trike, Gordon, which is really a steam engine. Our trips alternate between racing along excitement and chatting about everything to we see and unscheduled descents into peace, silence and tranquility, moments of awe and wonder. What a gift these times are for us all.

Bon Pchum Ben

Recently we had Bon Pchum Ben - Festival for the Dead, when ancestor are remembered and paid reverence and appeased? It is a big deal here, on a parallel to Christmas without the shopping, just making millions of rice, moong bean and pork cakes in banana leaves (I prefer Chrsitmas cake).

Whilst there is a holiday and festival atmosphere it seems a bit morbid and fearful to us but maybe some feel that way about Easter and the crucifixion. We don't really understand it much to be honest. We went to the Catholic church to see what was going on there as well as our local Buddhist Wat (Pagoda).

The service at the Catholic church, as far as I could make out, was about the cloud of witnesses and God's Spirit being the comforter of those who mourn. At the Wat it seemed to be more about making merit and offerings so that your ancestors are happy for another year (not very Buddhist to my ear; more like Chinese ancestor worship) but as I said we don't really understand it all.

It is a difficult time of year for some (maybe many) as it is a family time, like Christmas, and for those without or with some missing (most here) it can be very painful. This was brought home to us when one of neighbours burst into tears when Tim was visiting them, Tim only asked if they wanted to play a game with us. This was too much for the mother who lost her husband four years ago and has three daughters and relies on hosting card games (gambling) for a livelihood. Gutting.... What can you do?

Not a lot when you can't speak the language or know what one could do to help if you understood life here.

We know that this mother and widow is not unusual. Indeed, from our langauge route in the neighbourhood we know there are many Husbands and Fathers who are not around: absent working, left completely (probably for another woman), or dead. We think some who are apparently dead are really 'as good as dead' or 'as bad' as the case maybe.

Family ties seem stronger by bloodlines (the women seem to stick together) than by marriage. Where are the good Fathers and Husbands?

Jelly Fish

Catherine writes: Learning to cook Khmer style has been great with a friend to show me the ropes. Two of my favourites Da's been teaching me are Amok - Cambodian fish curry in coconut cream and another: Fried fish with ginger and beans. However Asian market shopping is a far cry from Sainsbury's!
After market shopping for a couple of weeks I am ready to consider vegetarianism though after running through the non-meat/fish sources of protein around here I realise it's not really a great option. Don't get me wrong, I love the finished product but my stomach turned just like the fish which flipped it's way out of the display bowl onto the floor. This one is still wriggling after the shopkeeper hacks it's tail off and slices down it's length. (At least it's fresh I suppose). Is that another fish moving under that sarong? No it's just the sellers foot caked in blood and scales which she scrapes off each fish as she prepares it for the buyer. I hand over the cash being careful not to touch the lump of blood and pig's flesh on a note...must've gotten that one from the butcher! Well I made a point of learning how to ask for the fish to be fully prepared: "Can you make it beautiful for me please?".

"Shall we eat sweets" Da asks as we sit at a table beside the market. Large bowls filled with jelly-like substances confront me. Who knows what they contain? I can only describe them as frogspawn like in texture - some yellow, grey, dark green or black - which would you choose? The serving lady spoons the delightful mixtures into little plastic bags for take-away, but there is no time for procrastination for me as I dive into the unknown...only baby coconuts in consdensed milk - yummy! Can we come again tomorrow?

We have a found a house to rent!

We have found a house to rent.
It is the house we are staying in now, yes, Luc's house.
(see family photos link for pictures of it from last years trip)
Luc has bought a house which his father in law is in the process of renovating and extending.
Luc is currently in Europe working but Tharin (his wife) and family are scheduled to move out of their current rented house in the middle of March (very soon!).

We have looked around at numerous houses in numerous neighbourhoods and come to the conclusion that the best house we have seen is the one we are in, so we have decided to rent it for an initial two and a half months trial with the view to staying in it all year.

The new house is not ready yet so it looks like Tharin and Da (the home help) will be staying with us till the end of March. It will be great to have them around that bit longer to get to know them better and to soften the transition to equipping and running a home in Cambodia. It will ne odd but nice to have them as our guests!

Little did I imagine that when I started chatting to Luc in Singapore airport last July yhat I would end up renting his kiddie proofed and electrically sound house.......It makes you wonder.

This week we've been staying at home (Luc's house) until after lunch and then going for a potter about afterwards when its abit cooler. In the mornings Tim's been handwashing and playing with Forrest whilst I've (Catherine) been going to the food market with the house help "Da" and learning how to cook proper Khmer food. She's been pulling out all the stops, we cooked curry from scratch including pounding the lemongrass and spices for half an hour! Forrest is eating rice and meat better than ever. We had our first sweet sticky rice last night as a gift from our friend we met in Taize - it came packaged in a bamboo stem, yummy! Eden has mainly been rolling around in his cot/tent, sucking his toes, eating mashed banana and generally being very yummy too. Forrest has been learning to wave at the monks as they pass by, and he's very assertive at telling the khmers to go away when they poke and prod him in the market! We saw a real ox drawn cart and several horse and traps in town - now you don't get those in Phnom Penh!'

Wild Horses

(Catherine here)
Maybe I am just a bit saddle sore from my new bike (kong) but arriving in Battambang feels like learning to ride a wild horse! We are moving forward at quite a pace but I am not sure that I have got much control over where the horse is going..... The ride has been smooth so far but I am not sure whether I am going to get bucked off at any moment.

Has the horse got a saddle, stirrups and reins?
Tim feels like the saddle helping me feel secure.
The local expats (mainly filipino) and khmers we have met so far feel like the reins helping me get a handle on how to talk and learn where things are.
Any ideas what the stirrups are or how they work?

I feel that if I can just maintain my balance long enough to make friends with the horse we will be ok and be able to enjoy the ride.

Coming of Age

Hobbits have their coming of age party at 33 years old, which is much more realistic I think!
Anyway, I (Tim) had my coming of age on monday, which seemed significant and apt as it was the day we arrived in Battambang (our destination for this year's language learning adventure).

I had a fab birthday party. In Brighton I enjoyed saturday morning brunches with my closest friends; it was one of my favourite things about Brighton. This year saw a sunday lunch at Chit Chat coffee house with all my closest friends in Cambodia - lovely!

Back in Bodge

It is good to be back in Bodge!

This week we have been in Phnom Penh, just slowly settling in to being back.

We have spend a lot of time seeing old friends:
Nigel, Milet, Sean and Jasmine Goddard,
Jim and Agnes Verner,
Kristin, Susan, Kaleb and Emma Jack

Tim has know them all for a good number of years (9,10 and 7 respectively). It seems most of the friends Tim made in his firs few extended visits have turned out to have stayed in Cambodia long term and are all old hands now. This is quite amazing considering the turn over rate of ex-patriates here.

It has been so good to see them all and has really helped settle us down. We have had some good fun and Forrest has enjoyed the company in particular. They have all been so helpful too and helped us find our feet with a place to stay while we are in Phnom Penh, getting us and our delayed bags from the airport, gettting year long visas and a SIM card for our phone (+855-12-916451).

Cambodia is a funny place:
It is harder to get a SIM card than a year long visa, they will let anyone in here but apparently it is going to be a nightmare to gt our shipping through customs!

Forrest is loving being back. He is a very happy little soul and eating better than he ever has: rice, noodles, fruit - he loves it so far.

Catherine is wanting to be in two places, here and back with her family - it is both good and hard for her at the moment.

Eden has learnt to turn over (both ways), started to drink water and had his first suck on food - a very juicy watermelon.

So all is going very well. We are off to Battambang at the begining of next week to look for a house to rent. Before then we are taking a quick trip south to Kampot.

Eden's dedication

Eden dedication
Originally uploaded by just peace and joy.

Two months and counting.......

It is less than two months now till we jump on the plane for Cambodia.
There is still a lot to do.

We have had both our launch events for Friends of Village life, with a combined attendance of nearly seventy people, which isn't bad considering we had around twenty apologies.

We are now officially an explorer's link project with the Community of Aidan and Hilda and we will be joining their annual retreat for four days in January (16th -20th). This will be a great time to emotionally and mentally prepare for moving to Cambodia after all the busyness of sorting out leaving Brighton and the UK. It will also be good to meet the wider community of Aidan and Hilda, as most of our contact so far has been with Ray Simpson, the guardian.

We have received notice from Stewardship Services of our first supporter signing up with them, which is very exciting.

To top it all Eden slept right through last night. Eden has done in three months what it took Forrest 20 months to achieve!

So it all seems to be coming together for the final push before we are off.

We have a leaving date!

We have taken the plunge and bought our tickets and travel insurance.

Our departure date is Sunday 29th January 2006.

We will be flying with Quantas to Bangkok from London Heathrow. Then we will have a week’s acclimatisation in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand before flying to Phnom Penh on Saturday 4th February.

Needless to say we are very excited, it has been a long time coming. Indeed, the day Tim bought the tickets it is almost ten years to the day from when he realised he wanted to live in Cambodia.

Workers in the field

Transplanting the rice
Originally uploaded by just peace and joy.

The view from the edge of Battambang.
All the photos from Tim's trip are now on the Lawrence Family photos link at just peace and joy. As are more of Eden's birthday

Meet Eden

Eden up close
Originally uploaded by just peace and joy.

Eden was born at home after a straightforward labour and peaceful delivery at 4.48am on friday the second of september 2005. He weighted 8lbs. He has been happily breastfeeding and sleeping since. He is a very calm little fellow. Catherine is recovering well and Forrest slept through the whole thing.

A neighbourhood on the edge of Battambang

A neighbourhood on the edge of Battambang
Originally uploaded by just peace and joy.

Statue of the Town Founder

Statue of the Town Founder
Originally uploaded by just peace and joy.

Welcome

Welcome to the Lawrence family blog.

We have set this blog up in preparation for our move, early next year, to live in Cambodia.
For updates on Tim's recent trip to Cambodia see: http://tomyumtim.blogspot.com/

We would like this to be a place where friends and family can come to find out about what is going on in our life.

It is sort of half way between a newsletter and a website. Hopefully it will be more personal than a website and more frequent and colourful than a newsletter. Now doubt we will do a newsletter too.