Christmas in Norwich

This year we had a few days away from home over Christmas as we were visiting my elder daughter in Norwich where she is currently fulfilling a singing role. We took a potted Christmas tree, some lights and decorations to use in the Air BnB we had booked for our stay. I also took the Kruselings because they are small, portable and pose-able.

Sofia was very excited about Christmas

On Christmas Eve we attended the Christmas Procession (nine lessons & carols) service during the afternoon in Norwich Cathedral. Sofia and Michael came too. After the carol service (which was wonderful - the music was glorious), the Kruselings explored the Cathedral.

Our view of the Choir area and organ just before the Christmas Procession service on Christmas Eve

Michael and Sofia in the choir stalls

Michael and Sofia walking along the choir stalls

The Nativity scene in the nave of Norwich Cathedral on Christmas Eve

Michael and Sofia peered through the railings at the Nativity Scene

Sofia and Michael with a Christmas Floral decoration and an angel in Norwich Cathedral

The Christmas Angels were much bigger than Sofia and Michael 

The Advent wreath, Christmas trees and Nativity scene in the nave of Norwich Cathedral

The advent wreath suspended from the ceiling of the Cathedral was so pretty 

The Advent wreath was decorated with lots of beautiful baubles

In the cloisters Michael and Sofia stared up at the floodlit spire of Norwich Cathedral on Christmas Eve

At the AirBnB some Christmas tree decorating had been happening. The Kruselings family had grown somewhat(!).

The original 6 Kruselings consist of 4 girls (Luna - dark hair, Sofia - brown hair, Chloe - red hair, Joy - darker skin and curly hair and Vera - blond hair) and a blond boy (Michael). In my view there are never enough boy dolls made. It worries me that toy manufacturers perpetuate the idea that dolls are only to be played with by girls, stereotyping the types and genders of dolls produced along the lines of 'only girls will play with baby or child dolls' and the only time boys will be interested in dolls is when they play with 'action man' (the complement to Barbie or Sindy dolls), therefore most dolls made tend to be girl dolls and are sold in 'pink' aisles in toy stores. Some manufacturers are starting to realise that this creates a very unrealistic view of the world and limits the story lines which children can create with their dolls (the real world is not one gender only) so are starting to add boys to their commercial collections, but there are still are not enough boy doll characters made in proportion to the range of girl doll characters.

In a previous post I explained how I turned a Luna Kruseling into a boy for the Myanmar trip by cutting his hair.

I've gone further though - I subsequently bought the following to bring my Kruselings collection to 10 dolls of 5 girls and 5 boys:

• a second 'Sofia' (in a different outfit) and cut the hair to a shorter style and redressed and renamed the doll (Max)
• two 'Chloe' dolls (in different outfits) and cut the hair of one to a shorter style, then redressed and renamed the doll (Joshua)
• two 'Joy' dolls (in different outfits) and cut the hair of one to a wild shorter style, then made the boy a special outfit to commemorate a recent important sporting achievement for South African rugby and renamed the boy (Kolisi)
• the blond 'Vera' doll in her party dress to complement the blond haired 'Michael'

Michael and Chloe decorate the doll sized Christmas tree

Joshua and Vera decorate the doll sized Christmas tree

Joshua and Vera

Max, Joshua and Vera

Zarni San, camel and Thet Khin relaxing on Christmas Eve 

Max, Joshua, Vera, Michael, Chloe and Sofia with the Christmas tree

I had bought Joy in her baseball outfit as I liked the detail, the outfit emphasises that Kruselings are very pose-able.

When the South African rugby team won the World Cup in 2019, although I'm not especially interested in rugby, I was inspired to commemorate this milestone (the third time SA have won the Championship) by making the 2019 team outfit in miniature. So I bought a second Joy (in the casual outfit with a yellow hoodie) and cut the doll's hair.

I made the shirt (and painted the badges on with fabric paint), the shorts, a pair of knitted socks and some rugby boots (Kruselings plastic shoes don't fit over the knitted socks). I bought an SA rugby ball key ring which was the perfect size for the scale. I named the doll Kolisi, which is the surname of the SA rugby team captain (Siya Kolisi), it resembles his young son more than it does him, as it aims to epitomise and celebrate how SA rugby has moved on from the days of apartheid SA when it was a whites only game.

Kolisi in his SA rugby shirt, with painted badges on his right shoulder and chest

Kolisi in his miniature SA rugby shirt, showing the painted badges on the chest and left shoulder

Close up of Kolisi's miniature SA rugby ball

Kolisi the Kruseling in his SA rugby outfit

Kolisi and Joy - the sporty Kruselings - in Norwich at Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas in Norwich (I attended both choral services on Christmas Eve and both services on Christmas Day in Norwich Cathedral, we sang with members of the Cathedral Choir at Norwich Open Christmas at lunchtime on Christmas Day and enjoyed our own dinner in the Air BnB in the evening when we finally unwrapped our gifts after 2 days of superb music).

My ever patient younger daughter setting up the Kruselings for their photo shoot in Norwich Cathedral

Merry Christmas everyone

Melanie, Reuben and baby Nina with their live (potted) Christmas tree.

Reuben wears the Noel sweater

Melanie wears DollyDoodles Christmas top and Petrana skirt

Melanie, Nina and Reuben with the camel from the East and their Christmas tree

Merry Christmas everyone.

Dubai with the Kruselings

They have come along like buses - 2 work trips overseas in close succession (first time that has happened for me) and Kruselings (an expanding family).

My two Myanmar inspired Kruselings are not the only ones. Michael and Sofia decided to come with me on a very short work trip to Dubai in early December when I presented at an education conference at a smart hotel close to the International airport in Dubai.

In my hotel room was a bowl of roses. Sofia was glad because her t-shirt says 'Stop & smell the roses'.

Michael and Sofia with the roses in the hotel room

On the second morning, Michael and Sofia discovered it had rained during the night! However the sky was clearing and by the afternoon it was warm and sunny again - winter in Dubai is considerably warmer than winter in England, though it wasn't unbearably hot when I was outdoors.

Rain in Dubai!

Michael and Sofia look out at the rain drenched pool garden in Dubai

When the conference finished later that day many of those attending had an excursion to the Dubai Global Village, via open topped buses. I took Sofia and Michael with me in the camera bag as I suspected there would be a photo opportunity for them.

The journey took an hour. It was fascinating to see the amount of construction work which is going on as Dubai, a very young city, as it continues to grow.

Dubai buildings in the distance

Construction work

Dubai buildings all vying to be the tallest and smartest

The tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa

The city is built on the edge of the desert on the shores of the Persian gulf.

Dubai mosque in the desert

Very manicured parks filled with palm trees between motorway junctions in Dubai

The Global Village is a giant theme park in the Dubai desert, with large buildings representing many countries and regions around the world - it is like a large movie set, with heritage village, showgrounds and a fairground. It is open for 6 months of the year, in the winter, because it would be too hot in the summer.

First sight of the Dubai Global Village

In the Dubai Global Village

World destinations sign post

The heritage village section showed what homes were like before the small pearl fishing village expanded when oil was discovered in the 1960s.

Inside a typical Dubai home pre 1970s

Wardrobe of colourful clothes in the traditional Dubai house

A doll used to show the baby in its crib, a sewing machine and a chest in the traditional Dubai house

The veranda of the traditional Dubai house - some seating is cushions on the floor

A woman was serving chai (tea) or coffee in little paper cups to anyone who wanted it as she sat and crocheted in the veranda of the house, she gave me permission to take her photo as she did her crochet (once she had drawn her veil over her head) but I've decided not to share the photo online.

The outside of the traditional Dubai house

Traditional nomad tent houses, with women working on outdoor weaving looms

One of the shows was a display of Arabian dance skill called 'Yula' - tossing rifles in the air in a dance.

'Yula' at the Dubai Global Village

Buildings from the around the world were represented side by side. In each of the country areas (pavilions) there were markets setting souvenirs and food of those countries and regions.

The Burj Khalifa replica

Russia and USA buildings side by side at the Dubai Global Village

Westminster representing the UK and the leaning tower of Pisa representing Italy

Dusk at the Dubai Global Village

Fire Fountain lake (fountains not in play at that point)

The very grand entrance to the Iran pavilion

On the side of the India building was a display of vivid fabric and dolls/puppets

The India dolls/puppets

Closer view of some of the India dolls/puppets

Thailand pavilion

The Gallopers/Carousel at the fairground with Arabian horses

There was a sign about the Arabian horses on the Gallopers/Carousel

Dubai Global Village mosque

The fairground in the distance at dusk

The America's pavilion

The United Arab Emirates pavilion at night

At the entrance to the Europe pavilion were some Irish dancers...

...and a Scottish piper at the Europe pavilion

Fire Fountain lake reflecting all the lights from the buildings

Michael and Sofia looking towards the Burj Khalifa and Sydney opera house in the distance

The lights on the buildings were changing colour all the time

Sofia and Michael at Dubal Global Village

On the way back to the hotel we went past the world's most luxurious hotel - the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.

The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah at night

Burj Al Arab Jumeirah at night, side view (it is shaped like a giant sailboat sail)

Back at the hotel Sofia and Michael admired the Christmas decorations in the large atrium at the centre of the hotel. A snow scene with polar bears, reindeer and snowmen in the heart of an Arabian hotel.

The giant Christmas tree under the dome in the atrium

The snow village in the atrium

The snow village in the atrium - earlier the tables were thronged with families having their dinner

The atrium ceiling was decorated with frescos

The reindeer and snowman in the snow village

A little Christmas tree with a sprite or fairy

The sprite/fairy

Examples of wedding cake designs in a display cabinet in the hotel atrium

Michael and Sofia peer down at the atrium decorated for Christmas

Michael and Sofia in the hotel atrium

At the airport in the early hours of the morning (my flight left at 3:10am) Michael and Sofia found a camel who decided he wanted to come home with us.

The Dubai camel who bravely travelled to rainy England in my hand luggage

Over a week later, back at home, Sasha baby Nina was introduced to the new member of the family by Sofia and Michael. Nina was wearing the Christmas outfit we won in the SCW raffle this year.

Michael, Nina and Sofia meet the camel from Dubai

Nina and Sofia greet the camel

Michael, Nina, camel and Sofia

A lovely close up of baby Nina, with Michael and the camel (I was experimenting with my macro lens)

Michael, Nina, camel and Sofia with the Advent calendar - this camel has travelled far like the camels in the calendar

A few days earlier camel posed with our SCW charity course doll in memory of my brother

Our SCW charity doll and camel with poinsettia and Table Mountain

It was fascinating visiting Myanmar and Dubai for work reasons and I'm glad I was able to bring back doll related souvenirs from each place.