Monthly Archives: July 2012

Dip Prasad Pun

Posted on July 25, 2012 | 1 comment

Today I want to introduce you all to Dip Prasad Pun . He is a British Gurkha soldier. Here is some information I compiled from the internet.

Dip Prasad Pun single-handedly defeated more than 30 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan earlier 2011. For his bravery, he has been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) by the Queen. It is the second highest bravery award in the United Kingdom, after the Victoria Cross.

He was also awarded with Pride of Britain Award for an act of bravery during the War in Afghanistan on the night of September 17, 2010.

Cpl Pun, an acting sergeant during his Afghan deployment, was on sentry duty at the time of the attack when he heard a clinking noise outside the small base. At first he thought it might be a donkey or a cow, but when he went to investigate he found two insurgents digging a trench to lay an improvised explosive device (IED) at the checkpoint’s front gate. He realised that he was completely surrounded and that the Taliban were about to launch a well-planned attempt to overrun the compound.

The enemy opened fire from all sides, destroying the sentry position where the soldier had been on duty minutes before. Defending the base from the roof, the Gurkha remained under continuous attack from rocket-propelled grenades and AK47s for more than a quarter of an hour. Most of the militants were about 50ft away from him, but at one point he turned around to see a ‘huge’ Taliban fighter looming over him. The soldier picked up his machine gun and fired a long burst at the man until he fell off the roof.

When another insurgent tried to climb up to his position, the Gurkha attempted to shoot him with his SA80 rifle. But it did not work, either because it had jammed or because the magazine was empty. He first grabbed a sandbag but it had not been tied up and the contents fell to the floor. Then he seized the metal tripod of his machine gun and threw it at the approaching Taliban militant, shouting in Nepali ‘Marchu talai’ (‘I will kill you’) and knocking him down.

Two insurgents were still attacking by the time the heroic Gurkha had used up all his ammunition, but he set off a Claymore mine to repel them. At this point his company commander, Major Shaun Chandler, arrived at the checkpoint, slapped him on the back and asked if he was OK.

In total he fired off 250 general purpose machine gun rounds, 180 SA80 rounds, six phosphorous grenades, six normal grenades, five underslung grenade launcher rounds and one Claymore mine.

Upon receiving the award, Corporal Pun said that he had no choice but to fight; the reason being that the Taliban had surrounded his checkpoint, and that he was alone.  “At that time I wasn’t worried, there wasn’t any choice but to fight. The Taliban were all around the checkpoint, I was alone. I had so many of them around me that I thought I was definitely going to die so I thought I’d kill as many of them as I could before they killed me. That incident happened in the middle of my tour and after that I thought nobody can kill us now – when we met the enemy I wasn’t scared.”

During the engagement, Pun saved the lives of three of his comrades and prevented his post from being overrun. His actions are cited as “the bravest seen in his battalion during two hard tours”.

Pun originally hails from Bima in western Nepal, and lives with his wife Shobha in Ashford. His grandfather and father both served with the Gurkhas.

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Posted in Nepal

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Chhaithi for my nephew

Posted on July 24, 2012 | 11 comments

AS I mentioned in my post Nwaran and Pasni previously, there a so many rituals in Hindu culture when one has  a baby. Now that I have a nephew, we need to follow the rituals and one of them is called Chhaithi (sixth day) as it is performed on the sixth day after a child’s birth. So yesterday I went to my brother’s place after work to celebrate the Chhaithi of my little nephew.

For Chhaithi, the fufu (baby’s dad’s sister, or the baby’s paternal aunt) will need to bring some koseli (gifts for the baby) which includes fruits and sweet along with a new pair of clothes for the baby. She will also bring a notebook and a pen/pencil.

So to start the Chhaithi, the fufu sits with the infant on the ground and they are be surrounded by 12 oil lamps (diyo, we used tea light candles instead) and one more diyo is also lighted for god.  A puja thali is prepared which is used to put tika on baby’s forehead. Then the baby will be changed into the new clothes.

After that everyone else (starting from the fufus) will put tika on the baby’s forehead and give some money or other gifts to the fufu. The last one will be the baby’s father who will give some gift to his sister and take the baby from her.

After the ceremony when the baby goes to sleep, the notebook and pen is kept on his bed side along with one of the candles. It is believed until that day , the baby’s fortune is not written so that night, god will come and write his fortune using that notebook and pen.

Proud Parents

It was my first experience to be a part of baby’s life from their early days. I really enjoyed it. This Friday we will be celebrating his Nwaran.

BTW, they have a name for the baby now and I will be referring him as Baby BJ from now on.

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Posted in Family, Nepali Culture, Newari Culture

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VS Sassoon Big hair

Posted on July 23, 2012 | 2 comments

First let me make it clear that I am not paid by the company to advertise this product but I loved it so much that I am sharing this with all of you out there.

I saw the ad for VS Sassoon Big hair on TV and decided to give it a shot. It cost me AU$ 89.99 and it is worth every cent. I just love the product.

I have very fine and thin hair. So after I wash my hair, unless I blow dry it properly, it remains very flat. Also as I use hair straightening iron, it becomes flat and doesn’t look so good. But when I used VS Sassoon Big hair, it really worked for me. I think it is a really clever way to add volume to the hair as blow drying on my own never gives the salon result I want. VS Sassoon Big hair gives incredible bounce and volume to my hair and is so easy to use.

It’s so much easier to dry my hair using this as it has both a dryer and brush in one. Even easier is how the brush turns for you, making it absolutely effortless to dry hair.

 Hope you guys will love it as well once you try it.

Here is some information from the website.

Featuring a rotating motorised brush, the barrel-style hair styler spins effortlessly in your hands as you take it through your hair, evenly brushing your strands and injecting volume as it goes. The VS Sassoon Big Hair Styler (VS2775A) combines the benefits of a hairdryer with a hairdresser’s skilful flick of the wrist, which means that you can kiss goodbye endless hours of straining whilst trying to blow-dry your ‘do like the pros.

The soft bristles on the brush work to create optimum shine and smoothness, while the ceramic barrel ensures hair glides smoothly over the brush, creating volume and movement as it goes.

Steps to get the perfect big hair

  1. Wash and condition your hair as usual and comb before using styler to detangle.
  2. If you have long or thick hair you may find it quicker and easier to use a hairdryer first, to rough dry your hair and remove excess moisture. For added volume , turn your head upside down as you dry.
  3. Once hair is 80% dry, you should start to create your style using the Big Hair Styler.
  4. Ensure you section your hair using clips before styling.
  5. Take a hair section approx. 2.5cm – 5cm wide to start styling with.
  6. Slide the on/off temperature switch to either the low or high heat setting.
  7. Place the styler under the section of hair, close to the roots and brush through the section to remove tangles (without brush rotating).
  8. For added volume at the root of the hair , hold the brush in place at the root (hair section is draped over top of brush) for a few seconds.
  9. Move the brush through the hair section (hair is draped over top of brush), towards the ends and as you reach the end of the hair section, start to rotate the brush away from your head by pressing and holding the appropriate rotation direction switch.
  10. As you do this it is important to resist the rotation of the brush by pulling the brush downwards. The brush should be rotating through the section of your hair (without the hair becoming wound round the brush head if you are holding the styler with the correct tension against the hair) to create a brushing effect as it dries and styles the hair.
  11. IMPORTANT! It may take several attempts to perfect this technique. If the brush spins too quickly and hair wraps around the brush head, simply release the rotation button and remove from the hair. Use the low heat setting (low brush speed) and practise rotating the brush on the lower ends of your hair until you feel comfortable with the styling action. If hair continues to wrap around the barrel you need to increase the downward tension. It is important to section your hair before styling and style section by section to get the best results.
  12. For even more volume, allow the brush to rotate, winding the entire section of the hair around the barrel, release the rotation switch and leave in the hair for a few seconds.
  13. To release the section of hair, press and hold the opposite rotation button to unwind the hair section.
  14. Repeat for each hair section.
  15. After use switch off and unplug the appliance.
  16. Allow the styler to cool before storing.
  17. Place the protective brush shield over the brush head to protect the bristles.

 Tips

  • For fine hair types or to gain extra volume use a volumising mousse in your hair while damp before styling.
  • To define layers and give shape to styles , follow step 9 and repeat through the section.
  • To add volume to the roots and body through the top section of the hair, follow steps 7 to 9 but using an upward motion.
  • For long lasting results, follow steps 10 to 14 but then slide the on/off switch to the cool setting for a few seconds, this will set the hair.

For more into please visit their website.

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Posted in Fashion

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London Calling Part II

Posted on July 20, 2012 | 8 comments

Please read the Part I of my London experience if you haven’t already. This is a continuation of that experience.

Tower Bridge and Tower Bridge Exhibition

Tower Bridge, which was built between 1886 and 1894, is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name.

I had seen so many photos of people in front of Tower Bridge that when I saw it for the first time I felt that I had been there before. It was a nice summer day the day we went to the Tower Bridge. We walked along the Thames River taking photos of the bridge from different angel. Then we went inside to see the Tower Bridge exhibition. We had bought a London Pass and it was included in the pass.

The tour started in the lift while up to the top with a tour guide telling us what to expect. When the lift stopped at the top, we were ushered into a room to watch a video (which was good and informative). Then we were ushered to see some pictures of different bridges along one of the enclosed walkways inside the bridge. You can walk through the Tower Bridge exhibition at your leisure and have a self-guided tour as all necessary information was available at each point of interest. We loved reading the history of all the bridges from around the world that were displayed along with their photographs. When we saw Sydney and Harbour Bridge, I stopped to take a photo while when we saw Los Angles bridge, AS stopped to take a photo. I guess his heart is still set in the States despite living here for almost 2 years. Then we walked through the other walk way where they had pictures of cities which have hosted the Olympics over the years.

There were even free Olympic Games for the children, ring tosses, etc. As I am still kid at heart I tried the game and it was fun 🙂

The view from the top level of the tower was fantastic with views of Thames, east & west of the bridge. We both really enjoyed the visit.

Then we went downstairs to see some of the equipment used for raising and lowering the bridge.  There was a video playing with information about the history and making of the bridge. We had the opportunity to see the Victorian-era machines that kept the bridge operating efficiently from the moment it was made operational, as well as other areas of the bridge. The engineering is wonderful to see.

On the way out we went to gift shop and bought some souvenirs.

St Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul’s Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604.

St Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul’s cathedral seemed to have different opening time depending on what’s going on there. We were lucky that we checked the website to get more information and got the information that the day we wanted to visit the church; it was closing at 3pm. So we decided to go there first before going to the other attractions. We took the red bus to the Cathedral.

St Paul’s Cathedral front

You need to pay to enter the Cathedral but as we had London Pass, our pass covered the cost. As soon as we got in, we were given audio guides which guided us through the place very comfortably helping to make sure that nothing got missed. The audio guide gave me a lot of information about the history and the construction of the building. The building itself was really beautiful.

The size of the building is immense, particularly when you step underneath the 365 foot dome. Taking the 259 steps to the dome, the whispering gallery is a must climb, no matter what shape you are in, it can take a while and definitely gives you a workout.  That is when you begin to fully appreciate the magnitude and the sheer splendour of the building. It was a great experience. There is a painted line on the wall and it is believed if you whisper below that line then your words can be heard by someone on the other side of the gallery. The views down into the main church are also fantastic from there.

The dome view from the top

From the whispering gallery, you can take further 119 steps up to the Stone Galley where there is a viewing platform. Inside, I noticed along the way that there was a small window in the floor that allowed us to look directly down at the floor of the cathedral, which meant the window was right at the centre of the dome. From the Stone gallery, we can see many of the most popular sites in London. We could see the Tower Bridge and London Eye in one direction and the Millennium Bridge at other. It was a bit windy at the top but the experience was definitely worth it.

Stone Galley

View from Stone Galley

View from Stone Galley

I thought that was it when we noticed that we were not at the top yet. There are 152 more steps to go to the Golden Gallery. Even though it was tiring, we decided to go to the top as we were nearly there already.  So we went up the stairs for another hike. The top viewing area was really small but people were taking turns to take photos. It was really windy as well so in most of my photos, my face is either covered by my hair or I was trying to hold my hair. But I am so glad we went all the way to the top as the view was even better than from the Stone Gallery. You are so high up that you notice that people and cars on the street look like small dots. I was really happy to see the magnificent view.

View of clock from Golden Gallery

me on the top of Golden Gallery

AS on top of Golden Gallery

After some time there we decided to return but this time we had to take 528 steps to take us all the way down to cathedral floor. It was a great experience with some exercise along the way.

The stairs were narrow

Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus

There are lots of people I know who now live in London but I wasn’t planning to meet all of them due to the time constraint. One of my English teachers from middle school, Mr. R lives there as well. He used to be one of my favourite teachers in school. He is also my Facebook friend and always used to ask me to visit him if I ever came to London, so I asked him if he was free to catch up with us on one of the days we were there. He was happy to meet in London even though he lives in Reading. So we caught up after 15 years.

We both knew what was going on with each other’s lives thanks to Facebook. We introduced AS and his wife and all of us went for a nice evening out at Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.

Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street , to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west.

In the middle of the Square is a small park, in the centre of which is a 19th century statue of William Shakespeare surrounded by dolphins. The four corner gates of the park have one bust each, depicting Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist; Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy; John Hunter, a pioneer of surgery; and William Hogarth, the painter.

Piccadilly Circus looked like a mini version of Time square. It had a similar feeling with lots of lights, the union flags everywhere and big digital advertisement screens. It is surrounded by cinemas, a wide range of eateries, pubs and clubs.

It is also near China town so after the Square, we walked along China town. While we were walking we noticed that one of the restaurant was a dual restaurant, Japanese as well as Nepali. We decided to have our dinner there.

We had bara (Newari version of lentil pancake), our favourite momo and chhoyela. Mr. R and AS also had Chhayng (homemade Nepali alcohol, made from rice). It was a great night out and chatting with my teacher and his wife.

The post is getting too long so I will continue on next post. Please click here for more photos. 

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Posted in England, Travel

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Meet the new man in my life!

Posted on July 19, 2012 | 12 comments

I am pleased to share with all of you the great news that we have a new man in our family. My brother and sister in law had a baby boy yesterday and I am a fufu (aunt on the paternal side) to a gorgeous little boy. As he is the first child in our family, my parents have become grandparents for the first time.

Meet my nephew

It is so exciting to see this little baby who we eagerly waited nine months for to come out from his mommy’s tummy. For the first time in my life, I saw a baby when he is only a few hours old. He looked so cute with wrinkly hands and feet. I couldn’t get enough of him. Now he is here, I am sure my post will have lots about him. His name is still not finalised so for the time being he will be Little J.

New Fufu and Baby J

New Fufaju and Baby J

Both mum and bud are doing fine 🙂

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Posted in Family

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