Second Day of Raya

A grandmother and her grandson

A grandfather and his granddaughter

Ilyas is being hugged by his caretaker when he was a baby

Our second Raya was spent in Kelantan. We took morning flight by AirAsia and were dressed traditionally upon arrival at the LCC Terminal. To my surprise, I cannot find anyone else wearing a full set of Baju Melayu except myself. Nobody else is wearing the Baju Melayu in Kelantan either, but that didn't make me change my attire. In the end I wore it throughout the day even when attending doa selamat majlis and playing with the fireworks!

Foods in Kelantan

Nasi Tumpang

Lemang

Ketupat Pulut

Satay, roti jala with kuzi and others

First Day of Raya

This is the first Raya in Malaysia for Maisarah and we spent the whole day by visiting family and relatives all over Klang Valley. We had our breakfast in Ampang at Jo's mum's, our lunch somewhere in Ukay Perdana and our dinner in Bandar Baru Bangi at Jo's dad's. Ilyas and Maisarah are quite excited to receive lots of 'duit raya' and during the night time they play small fireworks with their cousins.

Maaf Zahir Batin (Maafkan Kami)

Early Celebration

Right after breaking fast at my parents' house in Kajang, Tina brought Ilyas and Maisarah outside and promptly handed them the fireworks. At first, they were a bit hesitating, unsure what to do next. Five minutes after, they kept asking for more. I'm going to tell them there will plenty more of it by the time we are in Kelantan, specially imported from Golok!

Manchester Airport - London Heathrow - KLIA

Goodbye Liverpool

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

Since the Internet connection will be no more in our house starting tomorrow, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Muslims, Eid Mubarak!

Disclaimer

Goodbye Wellesbourne School

Today is Ilyas and Maisarah's last day at Wellesbourne Primary School. Everyone at the school is very sad especially the teachers that used to teach them including the headmistress, Mrs Daniels and the school secretary, Mrs Burns. One of Ilyas' friend, Jack gave him a hug before he is going home. Miss McAuley, Ilyas' teacher, gave him a card and asking him to send her pictures of him and a letter once he is in Malaysia. We will make sure Ilyas keep in touch with his friends and his teachers in Liverpool.

When you are just too tired...

Breaking Fast in Liverpool - Part 4

Today we invited three more families to break fast in our house. We were supposed to have another breaking fast party last Sunday but had to cancel it at the last minute because Ilyas was suffering a mild flu. Thankfully it was nothing serious as he did not has any fever or cough so by Tuesday he is all well and attending his school. During this Ramadhan we have also been invited to several breaking fast party among the Malaysians in Liverpool and we will be attending a couple more in a few days time. We will surely be missing this kind of togetherness once we are back in Malaysia.

Happy Birthday Jo

Red roses from her mother and sister

Lilies, not yet bloomed, from her husband

Today is my wife's birthday and it started with just two greeting cards from me and the kids. Maisarah drew a picture of a birthday cake complete with a flower and a butterfly. Ilyas wrote the message 'We love you' on it. The whole day passed on without anything special, that's it until time to break our fast. Fidah arrived 'unexpectedly' from Lancaster carrying two bouquets of flowers, a birthday cake and a present which is something that we both have been planning for days. It definitely took Jo by surprise, she already thought this year will be the first time she will not be getting her flowers. Hope you will have a wonderful years ahead of you, dear Jo.

Social Media Revolution

Photoshop Pictures

I was in front of my laptop when two successive emails came into my Inbox. Both contains a Facebook notification that tell me when someone tagged a picture of me. I clicked on the link and was surprised that my dear old friend Imran has transformed two pictures in my Photo Albums into something that look like coming out of a canvas painting. I was mightily impressed with his talent and this definitely has brighten up my day. Thank you bro!

V for Vendetta

Dedicated to the government...any government

Breaking Fast in Liverpool - Part 3

Zaid ibn Khalid Juhni related that the Prophet said: He who provides for the breaking of the Siyam of another person earns the same merit as the one who was observing Siyam diminishing in any way the reward of the latter (Tirmidhi).

Breaking Fast in Liverpool - Part 2

Abu Huraira related that the Prophet said: Allah the Majestic and Exalted said: "Every deed of man will receive ten to 700 times reward, except Siyam (fasting), for it is for Me and I shall reward it (as I like). There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts: one when he breaks the fast and the other when he will meet his Lord" (Muslim).