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Felix’s knee injury, April 2012Felix fell off a climbing frame at school and his knee really swelled up. I was just arriving at the hypermarket on the other side of town when I got the call from the school nurse asking me to take him to the hospital for an X-ray.
He was well taken care of at Oasis Hospital when I got him there…
No fracture, thankfully, so the nurses bandaged him up and gave him crutches…
He found it hard climbing steps and stairs…
He didn’t go to school the next day, but the day after that he got a lot of fuss paid to him, and his friend Laurens from Germany was a great help…
Football tournament, April 2012
The boys took part in a football tournament at the local rugby club one Saturday afternoon from 3pm to 9.30pm!
Felix scored 4 goals, and got a gold medal…
Toby was captain of his team, and they won this large trophy (pictured with his great friend Sammy)…
Jake and Suzanne’s open day at their art studio
Our friends Jake and Suzanne had an open day at their art studio in April 2012. Suzanne’s teenage son, Jacob, is a good friend of Toby and Felix.
Here are some of Suzanne’s pieces: they are all around a metre or more high…
The art above is her first portrait work in 20 years, she says! Wow!
Normally she does sculptures. Here is one…
Here is Jake with some of his pieces…
Catherine, Felix and I had a lovely time seeing all this work in their large, bright studio at the University here in Al Ain.
New local play area
A short walk from our home is a new play area. Felix often rides round to it while Catherine and/or I walk round to meet him there.
You might just make out the dot of the moon above his right knee…
…and you’ll see the moon on this one too at the very top of the photo, above his head…
There’s a mini trampoline…
And lots to climb…
It’s hot work…
Toby at swimming tournament
These photos were taken by our friend Julie who is the mother of Connor Morris from the States who swims with Toby…
Toby wins…
Toby wins 3rd race, April 2012: 100-metre butterfy
In this video you’ll see Toby in second place for the first 50 metres, then catch up and eventually win over the second 50-metre stretch.
You’ll see him shake hands with the boy who came second; cheering on his teammates in the next race immediately after his; and going for his gold medal.
You’ll hear the Arabic commentator say “Tobi John Al Ain” 3 times…
Here is Toby’s time…
Before the race he said he felt very tired.
He had shared a hotel room last night with 3 of his fellow team mates (Connor from America, Bryce from South Africa, and Ossian from Sweden) — and they had talked until midnight then got up at 6.30.
He said he felt a bit sick, and that butterfly is the hardest race. I replied that it was likely that he’d still give it 100% in the race. And he did.
I was shaking from the adrenalin 15 minutes after the race!
Toby was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the 2-hour journey home…
Day 6 in Nepal: microlight flight with Toby
At 7am on Day 6 Toby and I got a taxi to Pokhara airport, 5 minutes from our hotel and got kitted out for a 30-minute microlight flight…
Holiday in Nepal: daily life
Here are some photos to show what life can be like in Kathmandu.
Rubbish on the streets…
Day 1 in Nepal: visiting temples
We stayed at Catherine’s brother Ian’s home in Kathmandu for the first 3 nights…
Day 2 in Nepal: a trip to Changunarayan and Bhaktapur
Changunarayan is about 30 minutes from Kathmandu by car. Ian’s driver, Surinder, drove us there…
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