Knock knock
Who’s there?
Mary?
Mary who?
Mary Christmas.
Ho Ho Ho it’s really Father Christmas the bringer of gifts.
Kaveri thought she knew Father Christmas after recognising his bangles SAPA video
Mysore Storytellers Network together with SAPA organised a Carol singing event.
Tomorrow we all go to the vet hospital.
I apologise for ever complaining about Indian bureaucracy
In any case I usually blame the British Raj and maybe the current British Administration might value a lesson.
Sarcasm warning
I travelled to Bangalore last month, a five hour round trip, to submit my passport for renewal.
Yesterday I received an email from the passport office in Liverpool England, with a formal letter attached.
My photos have been rejected for a range of possible reasons. They haven’t indicated which one: it could be only one photo sent, head too small (in real life, opposite being the problem) or any number of other options. They’ve kept that secret.
Clearly my approach of carrying a selection of photos to Bangalore and asking their staff member which ones were suitable and they selecting them ( yes there were two) , didn’t do the trick.
I have twenty days to send to England otherwise my request might be rejected.
I have a new photo taken and place them in envelope ready to send. I avoid writing a sarcastic note about having asked their representative for guidance. I just plead to get it back asap so I can travel again.
At the central post office.
Take a ticket for your place in the queue. We all take one but then ignore the system.
Speed post Sir?
Yes please, how quick will it be?
Twenty days
I’ll send positive affirmation vibes against any delays and rejection of my application.
Please complete the declaration form and sign
Here it is
Three copies
There’s a xerox machine. Gets jammed but quickly sorted.
Copied and signed
ID please with address.
I have my Adhaar card.
Two copies please
Back to the xerox
…
I Zap the equivalent of £19 via QR Code (bet you can’t do that in Britland) It’s done.
Yes I can hear you saying. Why doesn’t he send the photographs digitally?
Because you can only do that if you’ve completed an online form and you can’t do it online when requesting a renewal from outside the U.K.
Just don’t ask, I’m now relaxing
Take over the asylum.
I love it
The yard has so many exciting opportunities.
Including crinkly plastic
I’ve been careful not to get too attached to the Kits. If only life was so straightforward.
As with children we should recognise the need to continue to have playful fun. How else can we enjoy and keep learning?
Oy, stop eating me.
I’ve just got back from walking Lucie and couldn’t find the kits anywhere.
I’d left the garage door open so they had access to the yard.
Eventually I found one of the whiteys and slowly they began to appear from their hiding place under the washing machine.
I think something scared them and mum wasn’t here.
Now they’re relaxed and we’re bonding through biting.
They haven’t worked out eating their soft solids (meat or fish) without sticking their nose in it. …. hence the dirty nostrils.
We’re all ok now.
Testing
Next we’ll consult the consumer and the disposal inexpert
Did I mention we’ve got kats?
Our democratic kits. After a few tussles, with the support of Obama, the election result wasn’t too bad, and they now settle into the off White House.
Action
Mysore BnB and Mycycle tours officially reopened. Nicely Quiet with the wonderful team at Indiasomeday helping out
Spain
Like buses, Spanish come in twos. Two workawayers, the first since earlier this year contacted me about coming to work and one turns up a few days later. She’s from the area in Catalonia that I first visited at age six with my grandparents.
Eva (aywa) has already helped as chaperone so that Kaveri could stay here. Medium term she’ll be elsewhere for yoga teacher training but hopefully will be available now and again as chaperone and English (no not for me 😉 ) teacher.
To impress her with the fab ness of Mysore, we went to see a band at the Wodeyar Architecture College.
My new favourite shoes are yes….. also Spanish, from Camper.
On Saturday we went to see a play based on this book. It was organised by Anna Cheria (clearly she’s a mover and a shaker, someone to connect with and a really good sign is that many of our networks overlap). The book is one of my granddaughter’s favourites. The illustrator and his other books are heavily featured in Manjula’s library.
Kitten Wrangler
Kaveri and I let the kittens and Billet Doux into the house for the first time. Fun.
Dog planet was contained upstairs.
Rangoli
We did it, mine’s the worse.
Kaveri’s progress
I’ve started using phonetics books to help her read English. Her understanding of Yorkshire English is improving fast and her confidence in speaking moves on.
Kaveri was collected by mum and dad Sunday eve.
My Reading
More to do
Vaccination, pension, plan our young adults group thing.
Farrell Factoid
A chaperone enables Kaveri to stay here. I’ve given up on needing one when we do our general activities, it’s just too much hassle. Family issues means she currently can’t stay with her grandmother nearby hence the need for a sensible woman staying at my house.
Ina leaves … The premises and now I’m sad.
Ina from Adelaide was Manjula’s closest friend., amongst our guests
It was as if there was an essence of MAnjula wafting back here with me, as she regaled me with the stories of the times they’d spent together. More dimensions of my wonderful were revealed.
They’d sometimes, maybe usually arrange for Ina to visit when I was away.
I can’t think why.
After first visiting in 2014 she was back in 2015, shortly after we got engaged and then each year with breaks solely due to the pandemic.
In 2018 we had a great time (yes I was allowed to be here) celebrating Manjula’s 45th birthday, also hosting our first ‘ workawayer ‘ Willian from Brazil.
During this visit which lasted two months! The longest ever. 👍🏽🤔🤭🙂
We went to a traditional dance to share with MAnjula. Then made a special celebration of Manjula’s Birthday as Ina had missed our big event in August on her birthday itself.
Led Lucie astray.
… revisited places on Srirangaptnam close to MAnjula and I, that had featured in our wedding.
Ina together with reading ‘a pocketful of happiness’ by Richard E Grant has helped me realise — as oddball in Kelly’s Heroes would say: “less of those negative waves man,” —- that I’ve allowed the grief gravy to engulf me leaving angry bitter negativeness in its forever trail.
So I’m going to sort it and get myself back on track to rewrite our story with one or two innovative tweaks.
Ina’s farewell note:
Stephen having Manjula in my life was one of the best things that happened to me, I still think of her a lot and she continues to be a great inspiration.
Tears again
Me and MYCycle 