And then there was sun!

Yes, this is Wuxi and the sky is blue!

Despite everyone's scepticism, the sun was shining on EtonHouse yesterday just in time for the first annual school carnival. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, it was warm - what more could you ask for when you have to go to a school carnival on a Saturday!

Wonderful organiser, Nat.

Pete and Tony working hard as usual!

I arrived at about 11.40am, to find everything in full swing, despite the carnival officially not opening till 12pm. I finished my duty of selling coupons by 1pm and was free to enjoy the fun and festivities. I was blown away by how many local Wuxi businesses were there to support EtonHouse and our fundraising efforts - Blue Bar, Decathalon sports store, Uberfood, Amazon BBQ restaurant, a gourmet wine store, a German bakery from Shanghai. So many wonderful things to spend my coupons on!

Thomas and the bubbles. Dutifully selling coupons.

The kids had an amazing day with so many fun activities that are all part of a school carnival - jumping castle, face painting, bubble blowing, sack races, tug of war competitions, balloon popping. It reminded me of my days at the Friends' school fair and other local school fairs running the pony rides - always a popular one but not so fun when you are 15 and just want to hang out with your friends!

Year 2 twins - SangHo and KyunJu. Heide and her little friend.

After wandering around and chatting to people, it was time to settle in with some food and drink. I began with delicious Japanese rice cakes and then followed it up with a German chocolate and cherry cake - how I love my cake! Then we discovered the wine stall......look out! White wine, good company, sun, great music, lively atmosphere, what more could you ask for on a Saturday afternoon in Wuxi? Amy and her camera chatting to Patricia from Uberfood.

Tony and Reinier announcing the raffle winners.

It was so relaxing, sitting in the sun with no heavy coat on and a glass of wine in hand. We met a new Wuxite yesterday - a German man from Melbourne, who happened to be a teacher from Scotch College, just down the road from MLC - what a small world! Many people from the Wuxi community popped in and it was great to chat to everyone in a relaxed atmosphere over a glass of white.

I think Amy and I bought nearly all the raffle tickets!

Amy and her raffle tickets and prizes.

The exciting part of the day came towards the end, when the raffle was to be drawn. Who would have thought that I would get excited about prizes such as Uberfood dinners, Kempinski hotel vouchers and spa vouchers?! So, it was these prizes I was looking forward to, rather than the teeth whitening and McDonalds vouchers. Fortunately, Amy and I had both bought family packages of tickets, so it was going to be an unlucky day if we didn't win anything at all, no matter how small!

Makoto, Yuya and Sodai waiting patiently for their number to be called in the raffle.

Ahhh! Wine in the sun!

Luck did go our way and I was lucky enough to win a 300rmb (about $80) voucher for Yuya, a beautiful Japanese restaurant about 10 minutes walk from my apartment. Amy won a voucher for a downtown bar and a spa voucher! And no surprises, we were the most excited prize recipients, cheering loudly at the mention of our ticket number - the Korean and Japanese winners tended to sneak up to claim their prizes!

Lovely ayi always cleaning, but always smiling!

Two of my favourite things - wine and cake!

The atmosphere was so fun and lively, that I didn't get my planned nanna nap before our trip into Shanghai. So, we ended up leaving much later than intended and having to race home, throw the party dresses into a bag and race to the train station in time to head into the big smoke for the rest of the weekend. More on that tomorrow.

Beautiful Japanese teacher, Fugimaki, and her son.

Balloon popping! It was a little bit too scary for some of those little ones.