I am not the most naturally organised person. But moving countries demands a lot of co-ordination…the ‘sorting out’ variety, not the sporting type of co-ordination. Although you will feel like you are juggling a hundred things at once and, when you start to pack up, the more you can carry the better. Organising for a […]
‘Little Deaths’ by Emma Flint – Book Review & Author Interview
Our Expat Book Club book for April was ‘Little Deaths‘ by Emma Flint. I am the first to admit that thrillers are not my usual genre of choice, and I also tend to steer clear of books where children are victims of crimes. And yet this novel, which follows the story of a mother whose […]
Moving On is Hard to Do – My Expat Love Affairs
Like so many of you, we are moving on to a new country in a few months’ time. The hardest thing with any move is the people you have to leave behind. And, while my keyboard could do with clean, I don’t want to be washing it with tears. So this post is about the […]
Expat Author: Cath Brew, ‘Living Elsewhere’
I connected with artist Cath Brew in the forum I Am A Triangle (which is like an online ‘home’ for expats). Cath the woman behind ‘Drawn To A Story’ and has just published her book ‘Living Elsewhere‘ – a series of cartoons that beautifully depict those expat moments when you don’t know whether to laugh […]
A Monday Minute: Do Shampoo Bars Work?
One of the rooms in our house which contains the most plastic (after the kitchen) is the bathroom. The shower, specifically, used to be lined with plastic bottles of all shapes and sizes. Shampoo and conditioner. Shower gel. Face washes. Special shampoos for the kids. A ‘Manly’ shampoo and shower gel combo for my husband. […]
A Monday Minute – We All Need Some Mothering From Time to Time
As all the Brits out there will know, yesterday it was Mother’s day in the UK. I had planned to write a post about it, but it turned out to be one of those days. You know the ones – you have high expectations of a lovely family day together. I have learned over the […]
Expat Author: Saaskia Aark-Bennett
I met Saaskia through the Expat Book Club and was intrigued to hear that not only had she published ten books (in both french and English) but she also has her own You Tube channel with poems, interviews…and fabulous make up tips for over seventies! A truly international woman, this seemed like the perfect interview for […]
A Monday Minute: Spring Reading…
Because, let’s face it, I’d far rather do some reading than Spring Cleaning. Anyone else?! Since starting The Expat Book Club I have been reading more than ever – that coupled with the recent freezing weather which made curling up with a book preferable to doing anything else. But this morning it felt spring-like for […]
8 Essentials For A Successful Expat Move
There are so many things that need to be done when you are doing an expat move. List to be checked off, bags to be packed, things to be sold, things you need to buy. Passports. Visas. Miles of red tape (well, depending on where you’re headed). But here are my essentials, the things you […]
A Monday Minute – Life Is Like A Game Of Skittles…
Or ten pin bowling. And in this game, it’s us who are the skittles (although at the moment I’m feeling more bowling ball shaped, but that’s another issue entirely…). When you move, you end up in a place with lots of other people you have never met before. It may take a while, but these […]