For Maddy ... eight random things about me.

RULES - Post rules before giving the facts - Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves - People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules - At the end of the your blog you need to tag eight people and list their names - Leave them a comment on their blog, telling them they have been tagged and not to forget to read your blog.

1. I always support the underdog.
   
2. To the extent that I tend to switch sides if the underdog starts winning.
   
3. I don't eat the white part of fried or boiled or poached eggs.
   
4. My favourite weather is cold and sunny.
   
5. My least favourite is grey and drizzly. (Lucky I live in England, isn't it?)
   
6. I like moving house.
   
7. I have tried to like gardening, but I really don't.
   
8. I have a strange block when it comes to posting things - somehow all the steps involved (finding an envelope, finding a pen, finding a stamp, actually getting the item into the mail) are too much for me.
   

Eight more people to do this ... Lisa, Lisa, Chris, Rachel, Jennifer, Jane, J, and Madre-Terra.

And for Lisa, who asked if we and the children still felt South African ... Interesting question, though hard to answer... Bobby and I still do think of ourselves as South African. I think if you grow up in a certain country, you can't help but be permanently shaped by it. But I also think that living first in the US and now here in England has changed us. And is still changing us, probably. I suspect that we're eventually going to end up feeling not particularly native to any country. I would imagine that if we live here for another 10 years, say, we'll feel more and more out of touch with South African issues. But I doubt we'll ever entirely assimilate here. For instance, we'll always have our SA accents which (even though we forget we have them) are instantly recognisable as foreign to British people the moment we open our mouths. It's the same for Stephen, he says. The girls feel differently, though. Sophie, who was three when we moved to Florida, says she doesn't feel at all South African, she feels like she's a mixture of American and English, but becoming more and more English. And Emily, who was eight when we left, says she feels like a complete mixture; something new.

It is odd, having children who are growing up in such a different world to the one we grew up in. I always find it jarring when they use different words for things than the ones Bobby or I would choose. For instance, I noticed this afternoon, when I was making marmalade (first time ever - and it worked!) that I still refer to naartjies, but the kids call them satsumas.

Anyway, in case anyone would like it, here is the recipe for this delicious marmalade:

4 naartjies
2 lemons
500 ml water
2 cups sugar
A splash of brandy - added on impulse

Squeeze the juice and pulp from the fruit into a pan. Add the water. Cut up the peel into the size chunks you like. Bring the mixture to the boil, and simmer till the peel is soft. Add the sugar. Stir till dissolved. Boil till it starts getting thick. Apparently the test of "doneness" is to put a teaspoon full on a cold saucer, put it in the fridge for a couple of minutes. If you can wrinkle it with a finger at that stage, then it's ready. Makes enough for two jars full.

Enjoy!