Hi Kai

Hey Kai,
Its been too long since I wrote anything to you. Sometimes I find it hard to say anything, then I end up feeling bad because I haven't written anything. I'm sorry for not keeping in touch as much though. I dont like writing about myself but I guess you may have some questions about what I do so I'll let you know.

What do I do?
I volunteer at the Citizens Advice Bureau as a generalist advisor.

What is the Citizens Advice Bureau?
It is a place where anyone can come and ask questions on any subject, about the law, about benefits or general things that they may not be too sure about.

What do I do there?
I talk to people get to know what their problem is and help them to solve it. I help them to solve it in many different ways either by telling them what the law is in regards to their situation, or helping them make a telephone call or writing a letter to a company. I help them to fill in forms. sometimes all I have to do is listen to what they have to say and they work out how to solve the question themself. I can't always help everyone though and when that happens I will tell them where they can find someone who has the specialist skills dealing with that sort of issue.

Do I like it?
Yes I like it it keeps me busy and I'm able to help all sorts of people with different questions. I like answering questions, and if I dont know the answer I like trying to find out what the answer should be.

If you ever have any questions you want to ask me yourself ask your mum, and she can ask me until you are old enough to ask yourself.

Lots of love, Dad.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kai,
Ok I know I'm a day early but today is your grandma's birthday she is almost well I would tell you how many years older than you she is, but that wouldnt make her very happy, so I'll let you guess. Its more than 3 and less than 100 though. Do you like birthdays? What do you like about them? I like cake, but I like all kinds of cake not just birthday cake. I especially like butter icing but too much of that isn't good as it is just sugar and butter but it tastes sooo good I don't think it matters if you have some on a birthday. I hope you have a wonderful time and that you get nice presents and a big cake with lots of icing.

Happy birthday and lots of love,

Dad.

Jessica

Hi Kai,

Today is your cousin Jessica's birthday she is exactly 2 weeks older than you. Jessica likes cakes and when Jessica comes to see us your grandma bakes with her. My auntie Ruth is visiting today When she was young she couldn't pronunce her surname and used to call herself duck. Thats a silly name for a girl but maybe she really is a duck.

I think that Jessica will have a nice birthday today Grandma said that she is going to see something with pottery. Pottery is making things with clay. It has been used for thousands of years to make all sorts of stuff. Pots plates cups and hundreds of other things. They are often displayed in museums as they can help to tell a story about the people who made them.

Lots of love, Dad

Seals

Hi Kai,

Near where I live by the sea is a family of seals. I think the biggest one is called Frank but I don't like to ask him incase I scare him away. they seem to be there all year round but I'm not sure if they are the same seals all the time. Seals eat fish and shellfish. These seals like to pull themselves up onto the rocks at low tide and sunbathe and swim. I think they are happy there. I will borrow your grandma's camera and go and take some photos of them so you can see them. Maybe you can find out if the big one is called Frank and what the names of the others are.

Lots of love, Dad.

Poland

Hi Kai,
Last weekend I was in Poland for your aunt Rachel's wedding. She got married to Marcin and we all went out to Dibica in the South East of Poland where Marcin is from. I flew out on Friday morning and came back on Monday. Almost everyone was there, but you great granny wasn't feeling well enough to travel all that way, she was eighty last month, so she stayed at home with your great granda. There was lots of food and too much vodka which is a very strong alcoholic drink that I don't like. There was lots of sausages and ham and so many cakes. Rachel had a wedding cake that looked like a pair of swans. I dont know if they are symoblic to Polish people but your uncle Iain had a toy goose that looked just like the cake when he was a baby. Your cousin Jessica was a bridesmaid. Marcin wore a kilt, which is traditional Scottish clothing it's basically a tartan skirt.
Lots of love Dad

Pancakes

Hi Kai,

I like going walking. It helps me get fit and I can go exploring. This week I walked some of the way of what is called the speyside way. The Spey is a river near where I live it goes through a little town called Fochabers where they have a company called Baxters. They make jams and soups. When I was little your grandma used to take me and your uncle Iain and your aunty Rachel to the restaurant when we would go to visit you great grandparents. The pancakes were bigger than plates. I like pancakes they are easy to make. I made some panckes for myself and your grandad this week. I tried to make some cherry jam to go with it but it was too runny. I poured this juice into a glass and your grandad said it was the best thing he ever tasted! Have you tried pancakes?
I like mine with syrup and butter when they are still warm out of the pan.

Hamish the Haggis

This is Hamish, he is a haggis. Haggis is Scotland's national dish but Hamish is a wild haggis. Wild haggis are very rare and timid creatures and only the most dedicated haggis hunters know where to find them. A wild haggis has a small horn like nose and makes a honk-honk sound, but it's usually very quiet. It is said to be extremely lucky to hear a wild haggis call. They wear tammies with their clan tartan on them this is so they know where they live. This haggis is from Ben Nevis and so is one of the most famous haggis in their society. They are very confused animals thats why they always have to wear their hats, it lets them find their way home if they get lost. This hat-navigation is the basis for sat-nav technology that people use in cars. Wild haggis have three legs, two at the back and one at the front. They are almost like chickens feet but only have two toes. Having long legs at the back mean that haggis' are able to run up hills very quickly but the short leg at the front means they can't run down again and they roll and bounce all the way to the bottom. This is where the wild haggis hunters wait with their nets and catch them before they can get back on their feet and run up the hill again. The haggis hunter will then sell the haggis to shops. That is why a haggis is a very timid wee beastie but if you see a man running near the bottom of a mountain with a big net you will know why he is there.

Banana Muffins

Hi Kai,

Today I made Banana muffins, or rather am making while I'm telling you about them. There are in the oven right now and will be ready and warm and yummy in about 10 minutes mmm mmm mmm. I like cakes and muffins my favorite kind have icing on them but too much icing isn't good for you so the ones I'm making don't have any. I'll let you decide which one you want to have first.

Lots of love Dad.

Buckie Thistle

Hi Kai,

I live in Buckie and this weekend the local team won the Highland League, I don't support Buckie but as it is my local team I thought you may like to know. Most towns in scotland have thier own football team, either in the league or like Buckie non league. People in scotland love football. Buckie wear green and white hoops like one of the famous teams, Celtic. I support Aberdeen they play in red and play in the premier league.

Nessie

I Don't really have a nice picture of Nessie but then again nobody does.
Nessie is a monster that lives in Loch Ness about 60 miles from where I live she or maybe he has been there for 1000's of years or maybe it's her great great great grandchildren. Loch Ness is deep and long and must have plenty of places to hide as no one has really seen whether Nessie exists or not but they keep looking for her. Maybe you'll be the one to find her.

Lots of love Dad.

Cormorants, I think.

Hi Kai,

Today I was near the cliffs in Portknockie and I saw lots of black seabirds nesting there. I think they were cormorants but I wasn't too sure. This is a picture of cormorants though. There are lots of types of birds that live near me, but I had never seen any cormorants in the garden. They aren't like gulls that I see everywhere. There is also a little black and white bird I like, its called a wagtail. It's called that because it often stands and wags its tail up and down, but it's not a seabird it lives everywhere not just at the coast.

Lots of love Dad.

Findochty

Hi Kai,

Today I went to Findochty. I walked there from my home which is about 3 miles away. Its a small village but has a nice harbour with lots of boats. There must have been nearly 70 boats there. Can you count to seventy? Grandma works for the lifeboats, they help people at sea. Your Great Grandad loves boats, I think he must know everything about them!

Lots of Love, Dad.

Hi Kai,
This is a picture of a clock with a sheep on it. The reason I want to show you a picture of a clock is because tonight in Scotland the time changes. very early in the morning, or maybe very late at night, the clocks will go one hour forward. We do this to make the amount of daylight when most people are awake to be longer. It has been done for almost 100 years. It also makes some people complain because they get an hour less in thier bed if they have to go out to work! I don't know if you change clocks in South Africa, but here we do it twice a year, once on the last Sunday of March to move them forward and then we move them back on the last Sunday of September, very close to your birthday.
Can you tell the time on a clock? This is an analogue clock and there are two types of clock. The other is called digital. A digital clock shows the numbers in a row like 10:10 and the analogue goes around in a circle like the one here. There 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour and each number on an analogue clock is 5 minutes. There are also two hands on a clock a big hand and a small hand. The big hand means minutes and the small hand means hours. So if the big hand is pointing to 4 and the small hand is at 2 that means it is twenty past two. Can you tell me what the clock would be like when it is your Bedtime or your lunch time?

Lots of love, Dad.

Apples Bananas and lots of others

Hi Kai,

Today I went shopping and bought some apples and bananas. I hope you like fruit they are tasty and good for you. A fruit is a plant that contains seeds but some fruits are called vegetables and it can be confusing as there are so many. Because there are so many I wondered if there was a fruit beginning with every letter of the alphabet. So I started making this list. I didn't find them all but I wonder if you know any of the ones I missed. These are some of my favourites, I bet you won't try all of them!


Apple : There are apples everywhere most are either red or green. I like the green ones better than the reds. The green ones tend to be sharp tasting and the red ones sweet. Your great grandad has apple trees in his garden but they are cooking apples so I make turnovers with them.

Banana : Bananas are great they have thier own packaging. I prefer them when they get brown spots.

Cherry : Cherrys are small and red. They are sometimes sweet and sometimes sour.

Dragonfruit : There really is a dragonfruit! It has bright pink skin and has white flesh and black seeds inside. It tates a bit like custard.

Fig : I have never had fresh figs but I have had dried figs. Sometimes people dry fruit so it lasts longer and that it doesn't go to waste. I like some dried fruit but others I prefer fresh. There is also a type of biscuit called a fig roll. That has dried figs as a filling.

Grape : Grapes come in different colours from green to dark red and black. They grow in bunches on vines. There are lots of Vines in South Africa but not many in Scotland.

Gooseberry : There is a fruit called a cape gooseberry because it was famously grown near where you live. I think I knew it as a Chinese lantern as thats what people thought it looked like.

Honeydew: A honeydew is a type of melon I like melons. When I was young we rarely had melonsso when we did it was a special occasion. I like eating them because you could use your hands and then the juice could go everywhere!

Ice Cream Bean : I have never tried this and don't know much about this I only added it here because I missed a fruit with E and with H and wanted to add it beacause I liked the name and wanted to add something with an "I"

Jam : Okay so Jam isn't a fruit but it's another way of preserving fruit. It's sometimes called jelly or preserve or conserve, but I don't know the difference between them. My favorite Jam is Raspberry.

Kiwi - Kiwi's are a little bit bigger than an egg but are green and hairy on the outside. Some people think that they should be eaten like a boiled egg by cutting off the top and using a spoon to eat the inside.

Lemon : Lemons are very sour they are not nice to eat like an apple or an orange but they are nice to add to cakes and recipies and lots of people add them to drinks.

Mango : Mangos have a big stone in the middle. Some people turn them into hedgehogs before they eat them. To do that you cut them in half then remove the stone. Then you score the flesh in squares and then turn them inside out so that it looks a bit like a hedgehog.

Nectarines : Nectarines also have stones in the middle, they are a bit like a peach that doesn't have any hair on them or a big plum.

Orange : There are lots of types of oranges and lots of names for them, I thinke that they are called lemoens in Afrikaans and they are called naranjas in spanish. They are squeezed for juice or made into marmalade. I used to eat them at half time when I played football.

Pear : There are lots of types of fruit beginning with P but the pear is my favourite. But I like pineapples, plums, peaches, papaya, passionfruit, pomegranite and pawpaws too.

Quince : I have never had quince but it looks like a pear and is famous in a poem called the owl and the pussycat

Raspberry : When I was a child we grew Raspberries and Strawberries in our garden. There is something special about growing your own food and eating it when it is ready.

Starfruit : A starfruit is strange because when you cut it it is shaped like a star. It tastes a bit like an apple and an orange and a pear all mixed up.

Tomato : A tomato is really a fruit but it is strange because it doesn't taste like the other ones I've mentioned here. An Irish Rugby player once said "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" quite what he meant by that I don't think anyone really knows. Tomatoes are used to make pizza, lasagne, soup, and to flavour and be the base of thousands of other dishes.

Watermelon: Watermelons are green on the outside and red in the middle, they are huge they have black seeds in the middle so you have to be careful when you eat them but i dont think there is anything better than a nice big slice of watermelon straight from the fridge.

Russell

Hi Kai,

Russell was a blackbird that lived in my garden. He was very inquisitve and often came into the back kitchen to steal Brogan's food from his dish. Your Grandma called him Russell as she would here him rustling in the house and then fly away when she went to see what the noise was. This is not a picture of Russell, he was a lot fatter than this bird. I guess blackbirds are not meant to eat dog food, but Russell certainly seemed to like it.

Lots of love, Dad.

Mice

Hi Kai,
Today I saw a mouse in town, he was small and thin and looked hungry and cold. I decided to draw him using paint programme. I'm not very good at using a computer to draw I prefer to use pastels It's much more fun to draw something when you can make a mess with your fingers! What do you think? Do you like to draw or to paint anything? They say that mice eat cheese but I think that mice will eat almost anything but I really think that they like to eat grain and seeds. I think that mouse would probably be cold as it is still winter in Scotland. It is winter here because I live in the north of the world but you live in the south. There are seasons because the earth is tilted. If the earth didn't tilt we probably wouldn't have seasons. But I like seasons my favourite is autumn, not because it starts to get colder but because the trees go from green to all sorts of colours of leaves. I think it's beautiful at that time of year even if I have to wrap up warm when I go out.
Anyway I hope you like the mouse.

Lots of love, Dad.

Polar Bears

Hola Kai,

¿Qué tal?

Today I want to show you some polar bears that your uncle Iain saw when he was in Greenland.
I like polar bears, they are big meat eating white bears that live in the arctic. Arctic comes from a greek word meaning "near the bear" or "north". If I was to name these bears I think Aura would be a good name. I'm not sure about the other, what do you think the other bear would be called?
Polar bears are very curious but they must be very cold with all that snow.

I hope you like the bears.

Lots of love, Dad.

Books

Hi Kai,

When I was your age my dad used to buy me a Mr Man book every week. I thought I'd do the same with you. This is Mr Happy, he's round and yellow and always happy, it's nice to be happy. I was going to post them to you today but your cousin Jessica was visiting and she wanted to see the books too. She seemed to like Mr Tickle more than Mr Happy, but I was happy you shared your books with Jessica.
She will be finished with them soon then I can send them to you. What is your favourite book. Today mine is Mr Happy I hope you like it too.

Lots of love, Dad

What's in a name?

Hi Kai, I'm not very sure as to how to start this but hi is as good a way as any.

I wanted to share with you why I chose Kai as your name, your mum and I had decided that you would be called Kai not long after we met. It was unusual in a way as I think most people have no idea what to call thier children, but we both knew that you would be called Kai. But I want you to know why the name Kai is special to me.

I love fantasy books I read them all my life, but one series was special that was Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf was a hero and he belonged to an order of monks called the Kai, I still have these books and though they are probably too old for you just now, I would like you to have them when you are old enough. I loved those books and I couldnt think of a better name to call you.

I was happy to find another Kai, this one is a Lego Kai, he is a ninja and he wears red. My favourite team plays in red and I love Lego so I had to get you a Lego Kai, I guess you can say how lucky you are to have a Lego man with the same name as you. I bet there aren't many people that can say that they have the same name as a Lego ninja! Anyway the picture is of Lego Kai.

Lots of Love, Dad.