You're in the newspaper

It's exciting to see your name in today's Jewish Chronicle. Lovely to actually read the announcement of your birth the paper. Now you are official in the world of British Jewry.

Grandpa Jonathan
Singapore

Worlds apart

Less than 90-minutes flying time away, this city state of Singapore -- where your grandfather has just landed -- could hardly be more different from Jakarta.

Tightly regulated and civilised but arguably bordering on sanitised, Singapore is a wealthy country in contrast to Indonesia which is still only of developing status with more than 250 million citizens.  But Indonesia's economy is growing fast, and I am sure it will be a much more affluent nation by the time you grow up.

As I arrived here in Singapore, TV news is showing live images of the first peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian authorities in two years, hosted by President Obama in the White House.  We can only hope that Premiers Netanayahu and Abbas succeed, although this seems unlikely given that the terrorist organisation, Hamas, still controls Gaza.

Oh, Yael, by the time you understand what this was all about, every part of me hopes that the conflict between Israel and Palestine will be nothing but ancient history.

How can neighbours, be it in Asia or the Middle East live in world's apart?


Grandpa Jonathan
Singapore

Beautiful mothers

Unusually for me, I've been tossing and turning in my bed, unable to get to sleep.  I'm generally immune to jet lag.  It's now almost 4.30am and I have to get up at 8am, yet still have thoughts racing through my head.

I turned on BBC World News and watched the entire interview with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.  He left office in 2007 after 10 years in Downing and has just published his memoirs in a book called 'A Journey'.  He made the controversial decision to go to war with the U.S. to overthrow the dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein and continues to be vilified by many. 

Having just heard what he had to say in an hour-long interview, I have to admit to admiring his courage.  He was a true conviction politician, which is rare.

But it is a phone call that I had earlier with my mother that is lingering in my mind.  I am feeling so sad for her right now.  She has failing health, the beginnings of dementia and misses her partner of 52 years.  And yet she tries hard not to complain.

She was so happy when I told her last week that I was coming to London for Rosh Hashana, to take her for dinner to her brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Ruth Sandelson (your great, great uncle and aunt -- who is Israeli), and then to go to schul with her.

It was when she told me with joy that she's just bought a lovely new dress for the dinner that I, all-of-a-sudden, felt so moved.  Just a few months away from 80 and she still has the desire of every woman, to look good.  She told me how she saw the dress in a sale and that she's five sizes smaller than she was.  She said that she hoped I'd like it.

Ageing is cruel.  You are a gorgeous little girl, with your whole life ahead of you.  People admire you everywhere you go, you are constantly looked after and protected.  In contrast, my mother is alone, with limited years ahead of her.  She's not admired when she walks down the high street and is certainly not being looked after.  And yet she was, and is, the most wonderful wife and mother.

I should rejoice in her small joy in buying her new dress.  And when I see her, I will tell her that she's the most beautiful mother in the world.

One day, I hope you will also have a son who admires you, maybe many sons and daughters.  But cherish your youth, because it slips away all-too-fast. 

By the time you read this, you may not remember my dear mother Avis.  So I want you to know how lovely she is.  She has changed with age, but I will always remember her many qualities.  I am so lucky to have her as my mother, as you are for your's. 

My dearest Yael, as I try to sleep, I wish for you to have the same gift that your mother received just three weeks ago.



Grandpa Jonathan
Jakarta, Indonesia

My loyal friend

Loyalty can be a double-edged sword.

Happily my tummy troubles seem to have gone (hopefully there wiil be no reprise), and my loyal friend Mr Appetite has returned. 

Without him, I wouldn't have the motivation to eat, but his reappearance comes at a price.  The special Ramadan after-sunset, fast-breaking buffet at my hotel was so tempting.  Alas, it seems that my hopes for losing weight have been dashed.

However, let me put it on record that I've succeeded in losing nearly 10 kilos this year.  Your arrival has certainly inspired me to improve my fitness, as I would hate for you to see me as a fat and inactive old man.  I have every intention of playing with you without puffing and panting.  Right now, I weigh 124 kilos and my goal is to get back to my 1990 weight of 100 kilos.

Weight creeps up on people over the years, especially if you have Wootliff genes.  I'm therefore hoping that your father doesn't follow in my footsteps as far as his girth is concerned.  Let it be known that he was amazingly fit just a couple of years ago during his army days.

So let's hope that Mr A will always be with us, but that he's not over-enthusiastic with his generosity. 

Oh, that tuna sushi was good, as is the draft Bintung beer I'm now enjoying at the bar while writing this on my Blackberry.


Grandpa Jonathan
Jakarta, Indonesia

Ramadan and traffic in Jakarta

Although my tummy is still rumbling, I managed to eat a little sea bass and rice on the flight to Jakarta, where I have safely arrived.  I will have something light to eat at the hotel and go to bed early.  Hopefully I will be better tomorrow, as I have a busy day including a presentation to 20 people who probably won’t appreciate my running off to the toilet every five minutes.

It’s Ramadan here in this Muslim country and I landed at 6pm which is just after sunset.  This is the time when everyone is breaking their fasts, so instead of it taking the usual 90 minutes in terrible traffic to get from Jakarta’s international Soekarno-Hatta airport to the Mandarin Hotel, it took less than half an hour.  Thanks to Allah.

Grandpa Jonathan

Jakarta, Indonesia

Alive in Bangkok

I'm happy to report that your grandfather has arrived in Bangkok in one piece.  My tummy is still sore and I have absolutely no appetite.  Most unusually for me, I've had nothing to eat for 24 hours now, only fruit teas with sugar.  But I survived the journey without the need for those little aircraft bags.  I am happy to be alive.

Now I am sitting on another plane which is about to leave for the three hour flight to Jakarta.

Yes, this road warrior is well and truly back in the saddle, after the summer slowdown.


Grandpa Jonathan
Bangkok, Thailand

Aircraft seat-back pocket bags

I want to thank God (I believe the first reference to the Almighty since I started this blog) for providing those little waterproof bags in the seat-backs of planes.

Around lunchtime today, just a few hours before me 18 hour journey to Jakarta, I began to get the 'runs' which extended to 'oral projection' combined with sweatiness and dizziness.  Apparently there is a stomach virus around and I have the misfortune of catching it.

I've never used one of these bags before.  But on my short connecting flight from Prague to Copenhagen, I made good use of this wonderful invention.  At least I made it to the airport of the Danish capital from where - can tell this tale.  I confess to absolutely not looking forward to my onward journey.  You can be assured that I'll have one of those little bags close at hand.

Should this be the last blog, you can assume that I drowned in my own 'emissions'.  But I sincerely hope not because I have so much more to share with you.


Grandpa Jonathan
Copenhagen, Denmark

Mother nature

The United States is today marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the Gulf coast, killing more than 1,800 people.  The famous jazz city of New Orleans was worst affected.  It was incredible to see such suffering in the richest country on earth.  The catastrophe exposed the massive divide between wealth and poverty in the U.S.  The world was also surprised by how slowly and ineffectually the George W. Bush administration provided help.

I have been to New Orleans only once, with your grandmother Veronica in 1986 – the year your father was born, when we were living in New York City.  It’s a lovely place where I hope you will go one day.

Unfortunately Hurricane Katrina caused a massive flood, wiping away tens of thousands of homes.  In spite of how horrible it was, it now looks tame compared to the terrible scenes in Pakistan that we are now seeing on our TV screens.

The juxtaposition of these two wild weather catastrophes clearly shows that Mother Nature doesn’t seem to discriminate between rich and poor.  But the difference will be that Pakistan will take far longer to recover than did the U.S.

Tomorrow I leave for my sixth trip to Asia to Asia.  I plan to go to the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday where today a volcano erupted after 400 years of inactivity.  But Sumatra is massive, and I will be going somewhere far away from the Sinabung. 

After the chaos that Iceland’s erupting Eyjafjallajokul volcano had on European flights in April makes me slightly nervous. Most of Europe's airspace was closed for nearly a week.  I was stranded for six nights in Singapore because of the ash it so inconveniently belched out into the atmosphere. Not being the most patient of people, I was climbing up my hotel walls trying to find a way to get back to Europe.  So fingers crossed that the Sumatran hurricane will be kind.

Grandpa Jonathan

Prague, Czech Republic

All that jazz

It's a little after 1am Sunday morning and as I have yet to go to bed, this can still be counted as my blog for Saturday.

I've just returned from a lovely dinner where there is always excellent live jazz at the excellent Prince Hotel on the Old Town Square in Prague.  So I will go to bed tapping my feet to the sound of the music.  I really enjoy good traditional jazz.

As we draw closer to the end of August, I can feel fresher autumn air at night.  Oh, I do wish summer would last for ever.