|
|
||
        
|
Here are our recent news updates, for older stories please visit our
News Archive.
Kathryn appears in CIPFA Magazine (16-Jun-05) Kathryn wrote an article for CIPFA Spreadsheet magazine describing some of her experiences in Eritrea... More  Queens birthday celebrations (14-Jun-05)An invitation to celebrate the Queens birthday with the ambassador at the British Embassy in Asmara? An opportunity not to be missed... More Bens Leaving meal (14-Jun-05) Friday 10th June was my last day working at the University of Asmara... More Independence Day (25-May-05) May 24th 2005 is the 14th anniversary of the Independence of Eritrea. Needless to say it is a big celebration... More  Independence parade (21-May-05)As with so many things in Eritrea, we stumbled across this parade somewhat by accident... More 
Kathryn appears in CIPFA MagazineKathryn wrote an article for CIPFA Spreadsheet magazine describing some of her experiences in Eritrea. In June 2005 copies of this magazine were sent to all CIPFA members in addition to being published online. You can read her article in the CIPFA Spreadsheet Magazine June edition. 
Queens birthday celebrationsAn invitation to celebrate the Queens birthday with the ambassador at the British Embassy in Asmara? An opportunity not to be missed... An invitation for VSO volunteers to attend the queens birthday celebration was posted in the VSO office. Kathryn and I decided to go, quietly hopeful they would have sausage rolls amongst other things!! 12:30 we turned up in our best dress along with many diplomats and others in big, new, shiny and expensive cars. This was going to be a lunch like no other!! Once inside we were immediately offered a drink - Wine, champagne, Boddingtons beer or Cola. These were all so unusual to see here it was a hard choice, Kathryn and I both decided for Coke. Next were the canapés. Again there was a variety and I can assure you we tried most, they were all very good. The ambassador proposed a short toast to peace and the queen. His speech was less than 90 seconds, he claims this to be a personal trademark. Next, more food. This time chicken pie, salmon, cheese, strawberries with cream..... Did I mention most of this food had been flown in especially by Lufthansa for this event? This was a VERY English experience anywhere, the fact we were in Eritrea made it much some surreal. It was certainly an opportunity not to be missed. PS They did have sausage rolls and we ate our fair share!! Bens Leaving meal Friday 10th June was my last day working at the University of Asmara. In celebration of this Tedros (my line manager) arranged for all the IRM staff to have a meal in the evening. It was also the last day at the University for Adil, a visitor from Morocco. In the evening we all made our way to Ghidei restaurant in Asmara. This is a traditional style restaurant in every sence of the word, it is also where our VSO traditional experience was during our first week in the country! We all had a lovely evening and some good traditional food. See some photos from the evening in our photogallery. Independence Day May 24th 2005 is the 14th anniversary of the Independence of Eritrea. Needless to say it is a big celebration. This year the main celebrations in Asmara took place in the National Stadium. Unfortunately Kathryn and I were unable to get tickets. President Isaias made a long speech, the text can be found on the Eritrean Ministry of Information website. 
Independence paradeAs with so many things in Eritrea, we stumbled across this parade somewhat by accident. Our initial plan was to have a meal in the city then wander to the main square to see what activities were going on. As it happened we first realised something else was going on as our bus was diverted along a side street. We decided to get off and investigate… Nakfa house is a large modern building at the end of Martyrs Avenue. This main street leads to Liberation Avenue which forms the centre of the Asmara. Today there was not the normal flow of taxis, busses and cars as the streets were blocked solid from Nakfa house to the city centre with floats and performers. We walked along with the procession and took many photos as we went. There was a great variety to see and clearly many hours had been spent preparing for this day. There were groups from local companies, groups, sports teams, schools and churches. As is to be expected, we met several friends along the way. Mesmer came running over to see us at one point, he had helped organise this wonderful parade. It is also less than a week since the birth of their first child. For older stories please visit our News Archive. |