Where were you?

I'm sure you remember where you were on this day seven years ago. We were in one of the motorway services in Cumbria when we saw the first hijacked passenger plane hit the Twin Towers in New York on the tv screen. We were on our way to Edinburgh for a job interview. Everyone was stunned and just stood there.

We continued our journey and had to switch off the radio cos the news was getting depressing. At the B&B, we switched on the tv and spent the whole night glued to the screen. The 9/11 terror attacked changed the world. These attacks triggered the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the term "war on terror" sprouted everywhere.

And I didn't get the job. The principal said that I didn't have any experience of working in a school. *&^% I told him off. My CV's in front of him. Didn't he read it? I'd to travel 532Km from Aberystwyth, for 7 hours to being told that. What a waste of my time... and his too.

Today is also the 11th day of Ramadan and 20 more days to go before my trip to motherland. So far so good. I didn't take any tea breaks, took only 30 minute lunch break and left at 5pm. Plenty of time to rest and plan for meals. Nothing special but my taste buds are kinda weird.

The Chinese shop in Cannon Park is like an Aladdin's Cave. I love rummaging in the tiny shop and there was always something that catches my eye. And guess what? I found they stocked frozen durians from Thailand. My goodness...It was expensive nearly £4 for about 6 yummy pieces. Heaven for me although Kevin's saying NO (politely) and it smelt like gas. Sorry babe, I can't smell anything :-).

I also bought salted duck eggs, tofu which I made into a soup, the usual Maggi noodles, spicy cuttlefish sticks, frozen pau (buns), huge frozen king prawns and mung beans. The mung beans were boiled until soft. Coconut milk and palm sugar added to turn it into a sweet bubur or broth. This is a traditional Malay recipe.

In the world of sports, not bad for Great Britain. Andy Murray reached the Grand Slam final at the US Open since 1963 only to be beaten by 5 times champion Federer in straight sets. Lewis Hamilton managed to hang onto the Belgium GP title for a while. Theo Walcott hit a stunning hat-trick as England thrashed Croatia in a World Cup qualifying tie in Zagreb 4:1. At the Paralympics, our athletes are doing us proud with their 26 golds, 14 silvers, 14 bronze so far.

And Kevin got another lovely picture of the kingfisher.