Welcome to our new home

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and another chapter for our family community.

Complete with Mangoes.

We’ve been here a week.

and visited Depth and Green

Nearly everyday. My fave drink is Beetroot, ginger lemonade and we all like the veggie burger, pasta, pizza and apple pie! When they’re available.

But very sorry to let Gingee go …

Two young dogs had proven too much.

And Kaveri set out on a ‘new foot’ with a bath for Lucca

Breakfast is ready.

We’re on a slow start with Kurt and Loe returning to visit from Belgium (with a third member of family) our very first guests.

Last evening we even had games night.

Thanks for helping relaunch us.

A busy moving weekend.

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Thank you to the two teams who moved the furniture and plants this weekend.

We also mustn’t forget the weeks of shifting that led up to this.

Thanks guys, sterling work.

What a team!

It’s sixteen years, this is the place I’ve lived the longest in my 69 years.

Manjula and I created a wonderful home that we were proud to share with thousands of guests from around the world.

I’ll share more memories (there’s hundreds on this blog) but for now here’s our move from Siddarthanagar to Vijayanagar, a thirty minute journey from one side of Mysore to the other.

Today we shifted our potted plants, yesterday it was furniture.

What a team.

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No not this one …. (See footnote for notes about the photo) …

I mean … today’s team.

For the third Sunday in a row … Naveen, Deepak, Akram, Farak, Sowbaghya, and the team leader: Florian have been shifting parcels and furniture to the new house.

Thanks to our great team we’re getting ready take over the new house by the end of March

Foot factoid

But what about that photograph from the early 90s?

This is part of our team when Jill and I managed Disability Services in Kirklees in Yorkshire, in the early 90s.

It’s an example of our fearless coordinators.

There’s more here.

They came to work in shorts to do the can-can, suggesting that I was pushing rules to the limit by wearing my shorts to work. Great that they were confident to take the piss out of their boss.

We did work on creating an inclusive culture.

So what next?

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We’re about to move into a new house.

It’s been a challenge at times with over ten years grieving after Manjula’s diagnosis.

But first MAnjula and our team has continued to do good

Welcoming guests to our home, helping them to love India in their own sweet way

Supporting young people through …

Sponsoring Kaveri and Naveen’s education

Creating innovative events with NGOs and schools within our community for nearly 200 young people

Gifting bicycles, almost 50 since we got engaged

Regular reflective space meetings at mysore BnB for individuals and groups of young people

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So what next?

We’re moving house and will relaunch (rooms will continue to be available later in the year). Do check http://www.manjulasmysore.in

We’ve committed to supporting Naveen through college and will offer work at the BnB

Our immediate priority will be to sell the art ( ( MAnjula was right, I collected too much) and the money will go towards our next goals in supporting young people (and maybe some more elders.)

Watch this space ..

First move.

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Into the new house.

Shifting Manjula’s library to our new house. The team were fab.

Manjula loved the joke

After acknowledging a job well done —— we realised the light switch was trapped behind the shelves.

The gods are nevertheless happy

Celebrating later at home.

Factoid

We opened Manjula’s library after her spirit left for its search.

She’d joked that my constantly bringing books home would lead to her setting up the house as a library when I stop guiding tours at age 75.

So as we never reached there together I set it up in her memory

And now it’s the first bit to establish itself at the new house.