Overview

When Pamela O’Cuneen heard her diplomat husband was being transferred to Suriname, her first reaction was: ‘Suri-where?’ Neither she nor anyone she spoke to had heard of the country. Having spent sixteen years in Africa – a story told in her first book, Culture Shock & Canapés – she was prepared for surprises, but Suriname, the mysterious land of seven cultures, proved to be a multi-layered experience that tested all her powers of cultural adaptation. Hummingbirds in My Hair describes Pamela’s move from rainforest Suriname to carnivalesque Trinidad where, beneath the sound of steel pans and soca music, a dark and violent history of enslaved people still influences politics today. Those who read and enjoyed Culture Shock & Canapés will welcome this second episode of diplomatic travels and travails, revealing that what goes on inside embassy walls in developing countries is not just endless champagne and silver spoons. The book unrolls with humour, delighting in a lively procession of multicultural characters and animals, and includes a variety of recipes collected along the way...

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9781917837200

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Reviews

‘Pamela’s stories of life in Suriname and a subsequent posting to Trinidad are unfailingly entertaining... Rich in the sterling qualities essential for a diplomatic wife: good humour, resilience — and the ability to see the funny side of any situation, no matter how grim’ Daily Mail

Author Information

Pamela O’Cuneen was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. After University she worked as a secondary teacher, then set off in 1968 on a two year working holiday to Europe. She never came home.  She studied French in Paris at the Sorbonne and Italian at the Università per Stranieri , then travelled to the UK where she worked both as a teacher and for the British Council. Marriage brought with it the necessity to become an Ambassador’s wife, in Africa and the Caribbean, stories of which which are told in her first two books “Culture Shock and Canapés” and “Hummingbirds in My Hair”.   Pamela trained as a psychologist and Interfaith Minister and now lives in Kent where she writes, leads meditation groups and plays the harp.

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