Family uproot to Kazakhstan
A SLEAFORD family have uprooted to live in central Asia in the former Soviet.
Graeme and Fatima Wilson and their eight-year-old daughter Shayla have sold their home in Rowan Close to start a new life in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, now an independent country.
Mr Wilson and his brother own an engineering company specialising in power generators and have been supplying and installing generating equipment to the developing oil industry in that part of the world.
He said: "I have been working out there for quite a few years but been on shift rotation. The business dictated I have to be out there full time so the three of us will go out there.
"We will go for as long as the work goes on, so it could be years."
The family, who have lived in Sleaford for seven years, have moved to western Kazakhstan where they will have to endure extremes of temperature.
Mr Wilson said: "You can get down to -40C in winter and up to 50C in the summer, so you need fairly good heating and air conditioning."
He added that they would not be without the luxuries of home as the standard of living out there is improving all the time.
"It is not as sophisticated as the UK but the shops are improving and luxury goods are coming in."
Having served in the Royal Navy, Graeme, 40, has travelled ever since he left school and met his Russian wife Fatima, 43, when working in Azerbaijan.
He said Kazakhstan is a muslim country but quite westernised.
He said: "Of the old Russian states it is probably the most stable country out there, with good ties with the UK and the west."
Fatima's sisters live close by as well so they know the area.
Shayla, who attended the William Alvey School in Sleaford, will be going to an international school.
She was a keen member of the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy at Ruskington and principal of the aademy Katherine Mayer paid tribute to Shayla for her commitment and graciousness towards her fellow actors.
Katherine said: "Shayla can always be relied on to be at the right place at the right time, saying the right lines in the right way. We will all miss her."
l Have you come across any unusual local customs or rituals on your travels, such as the offering of a boiled sheep's head? Email andy.hubbert@jpress.co.uk
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Friday 25 May 2012
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