Approaching Xmas now 15th December

No doubt you are gearing up in the UK for the usual festive excesses. Too much food, too much drink and banal TV….oh to be home!!

We have the unusual situation for the first time to be in a country which does not observe this festival, or so we were led to believe.

Whist in Phnom Penh a couple of weeks ago the supermarket, Pencil, was stocked with Santa hats, faux trees and all manner of decorations including an array of tree lights including bananas, chillies and mixed fruit to name a few, all of which maximise microchip technology to great effect by ‘flashing’ in a myriad of sequences. They also have jovial muzak in the background of festive tunes e.g. “all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”! We are unsure if this is mistakenly an attempt to engage the locals and the ‘imported Barangs’ in the Xmas spirit or it is a form of sick dental sponsorship! In any case it all seems wrong. We are grateful though that we do not have television because you are about to enter the period of THOSE adverts ie the ones sponsored by Biosodal or Rennies to help you cope with said excesses followed quickly by Boxing Day sales (usually DFS and the like) and then summer holidays.

Sadly they did not have the usual stock of UK consumables e.g. Xmas pud, mincemeat, ‘instant’ mulled wine kits, spray snow, crackers (for pulling not eating), nor a Santa’s grotto. I’m sure such things will not be too long in coming (but a new VSO friend has supplied us with a pud after her recent visit to the UK – great). Talking of food, we are currently on the hunt for a turkey which apparently can be ordered from the chicken sellers in the market and imported from Vietnam. - This could be interesting in itself, asking for a dressed bird with plump breasts to be delivered all in our fluent Khmer. It may result in our early return or, should I say ‘sent down’, due to an irrevocable fracture in cultural etiquette thinking we operate some sort of executive 'services'. Or we will find the bird 'walked up' from the market and we have to do the dreaded deed! (so be it).

An even more strange event occurred yesterday (Sunday), as we observed four turkeys walking down the road some thirty metres away in front of the house. We were a little unsure at first thinking this was either an apparition induced by wishful thinking or perhaps TDS (or Turkey Deprivation Syndrome) due to our lust for the Xmas bird!

However, our Xmas decorations are up. A small plastic tree (see photo insert), with red LED lights which do the obligatory flashing sequences. Other lights adorn the door and flashing chillies frame the window! Bits of tinsel are tastefully placed and our one other shiny decoration is strung from a bookcase to the door, oh, we do have some small crackers to pull on the day (looks as if my collection of loo roll inners to make our own crackers can now be disposed of, I blame Blue Peter!)

In this land of contrasts we have been informed that our programme office in Phnom Penh is closing for the Xmas period – unusual this as ninety percent of the staff is Khmer and thus should be Buddhists! So they now celebrate their own festivals, the Chinese New Year and Xmas! I’m not sure why we are still at work in Sen Monorom!

Don’t forget to buy your Rennies, plan your furniture purchases carefully and book your bargain holiday if the credit crunch allows!

PS You still have ten more days to simmer your sprouts – the ones started in March, I’m off to track the turkey!