What a wonderful birthday!

August 22, 2016 SF4 Comments

Manjula had a great time on her 43rd Birthday. Yes she’s 43!

Travelling out to Srirangaptnam for Puja at the Rangatha Temple to visit Ranga, Laxmi, Garuda, Narsima and Hanuman (so many Gods in one place!) and dinner at hotel Roopa in the evening. Over 43 friends from around the world via facebook and email sent their greetings.. That also helped make her day.

She now is planning her 50th party in the UK!

Farrell Factoid

The Yorkshireman reached deep down into his pocket to pay for the meal for twelve people which cost much less than a recent, probably typical meal in London for three 🙂

As always in India it’s critical to get to the story under the surface. When I first met her, Manjula had three different birthdates. In India when someone doesn’t have a birth certificate (most poor and rural people, above a certain age) they use their TC or Transfer Certificate from school as evidence of their date of birth. As part of the rationalisation of her various inconsistent and conflicting forms of ID she had to sort it out and go for one.

She is a Queen but one birthday is enough!

The best job ever?

August 18, 2016 SF1 Comment

Why is is the best job ever?

I’m sitting here, writing responses to our Trip Adviser reviews. I’m partly avoiding doing the accounts. Lucy is asleep at my feet. We’ve already been for our morning walk. I can hear Manjula in the background. Water is running, there’s swishing and swashing, the team are at it, Manjula gently instructs and actively gets involved. She’s so many good things rolled into one and that includes her tremendous managements skills.

Well it’s a great job because in many ways it’s not a job. It our life, sharing our home, meeting great people, hearing their stories, cracking jokes (which are sometimes understood) and getting the immense satisfaction that people enjoy time with us and have a wonderful time in Mysore.

Here’s just on of our over one hundred reviews and I’ve chosen it because I wasn’t here when the guests stayed.

because we enjoy what we’re doing and we get such positive feedback….

Back at Moksha Manor

August 15, 2016August 15, 2016 SFLeave a comment

this week we’re adjusting back to life in Mysore and welcomed our first few guests who were from the UK and India, Ani from Bylakuppe and our old friend Vinay, Manjula experiences jet lag, discovered what might be a Brexit prequel (there may have been a few) and a keen observation on differences between the India and the UK

Today’s Cycle Tour: we’re back in action

Resting

Manjula is a little rundown, which is not altogether surprising given the mammoth feat of five weeks travelling in the strange country of the UKaos, so we’ve been to the doc and she needs to take it easy and get rid of that cough!

UK and India

Abi, part Yorkshire, part English and part Indian, (what a lovely rich mix? aren’t we all?) is staying with us at the moment and is a researcher into violence against women and mental health implications in Mumbai. (I’ve so told you that we have incredibly diverse and interesting guests!) She came out with a great observation, today, it is of course, a generalisation, but it resonates for me:

at first meeting in the UK people are usually really helpful when they see someone struggling with something whether its a real emergency or just helping with a simple task. Close friends and family by comparison might be more inclined to just leave you to get on with it… not neglect, you’ll understand, but just expect you to sort things out and let them know if you really wanted help.

in India if you’re doing a job, tackling something, often someone (a stranger, or friend) in India will just watch and not get involved, intervene or help unless, of course, its a real emergency. In contrast a relative or close friend would be extremely forthcoming in offering and insisting you took a helping hand, maybe even over do it.

_____

the weird Englishman hoists the flag outside the manor!

Brexit a prequel

Today is independence day and we’ve celebrated it by raising the flag (I so wouldn’t do that in the UK!) and led a cycle tour of two and a bit indians. they had a chuckle about the ‘turned tables’. It occurs to me, however, that previous versions of Brexit were examples of the UK leaving other people’s countries, very often without so much as a vote involved. We celebrate 70 years of independence!

and the dogs barking so it’s time for a walk!

our last weekend

August 12, 2016 SFLeave a comment

The Grand Finale

It’s been a blissful mix of fun over five weeks. Well that’s my take on it anyway…

(Manjula’s perspective might become clearer after she’s settled back at home. I look forward to it! 😉 )

…. The last weekend was no exception, with time spent with Poppy (yes Ben and Alice did trust us to look after my granddaughter all on our own), dinner with Emma at Ben’s restaurant (carefully arranged so that he wasn’t actually working there …. doh!) P1060185 and then on what was a our last public day a sunday ‘open house’ at our friend Angus and Gina’s in Brixton. P1060186

If you weren’t there, we’re sorry to have missed you. It was a great event.

Manjula prepares for the final few days with a serious threading at some shop or other….

and we go down Oxford Street to meet Indian (yes, more Keralans’ sending money back home) and have one last double decker bus ride to take in the key attractions: Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square… you name it, we’ve done it.

Saturday was reserved for bonding with the ‘pop’ (aka Poppy the granddaughter). we went to the park, swung on swings, bathed in the paddling pool and made friends.

I was also called upon to do other duties!

and the grand finale: ‘open house’ at Angus and Gina’s in Brixton to say our fond farewells to friends old and new, family and …. guests from that ..

.. Bed and Breakfast.

P1060532

at the event, we realised that Gina, Frances, Laura and me (Stephen) first met at University exactly 40 years ago!! blimey! 😉

How is that possible?

All this activity just allowed for one more day for a build up of sadness, a last meal with Angus, Gina and Frances to pack and prepare for the big trip, back home.

So that’s Manjula’s first BIG Trip out of India, we’re now back in Mysore and while Manjula gets to grips with what jet-lag is and I wonder

P1060148

what’s next?

well I don’t know about you but I’m keen for her to share her insights from what she’s seen, heard and experienced and maybe then we can start thinking about a few more adventures.

we’ve had a culture top-up!

August 10, 2016 SFLeave a comment

London is such a cultured place!

our great friend Brian and his wife Leverney travelled down from Yorkshire for the day to treat us to High Tea at the British Museum followed by a look at the Exhibition: Krishna in the Garden of Assam (and in passing: one or two mummies taken into protective custody by the British Establishment)

The exhibition is well worth a visit and of course there is much much more to see at this wonderful institution.

As Brian and Leverney are two of the very few people I’ve actually met who voted for BREXIT we just had to cover politics over a couple of pints of beer. The conversation about the UKAOS (as I’ve started calling it) to leave the EU was illuminating. More later.

Manjula often teases me with reference to Krishna and the Gopi girls, so I was in for a little bit more today. It sort of relates to the fact I have one or two exes (three of which remain really good friends and Manjula has met during this trip)

The very next day another friend Victoria (no not an ex) treated us to a visit to Kew

this included the hive, which we’d heard about from Stephen, the bee man and cyclist, and regular visitor to Mysore Bed and Breakfast, check out his article

you’ll find him popping up all over the place.

so yet another collection of lovely memories for Manj

WOMAD

August 2, 2016 SF2 Comments

No MUD WOMAD

Manjula’s Latest FIRST was a camp for the weekend at a music festival.

Manjula once again brought the sun to England! There was cloud but very little rain. Changeable weather, absolute downpowers and all types of mud known to mankind are real risks at any English festival but not this time!

One of many highlights was Anoushka Shankar!

It was full of new experiences for Manjula

We camped (in our own little village of individual tents, event shelter for a living room and our very own kitchen tent) with a great group of friends. Manjula prepared one of her signature dishes for dinner.

Manjula’s view on life

I have no idea what Manjula thinks of the experiences she’s had in the UK. Just look at her clothing! ….. a world away from her daily wear of Saree back in Mysore. It has been a very rich and varied experience and as with other things, she takes it all in her stride. She’s becoming a very western woman 😉

I look forward to hearing her reflections, once its all over and she’s settled back into Mysore.

Farrell Factoid

WOMAD, the World of Music Art and Dance is held annually in the South of England and in locations throughout the world such as in the Canaries and Australia. It was originally created by Peter Gabriel the original vocalist of the band Genesis. its a great mix of international music both contemporary and more traditional ‘folk.’ As a group some of us have attended the festival for over ten years.

Life abroad

July 27, 2016August 2, 2016 SFLeave a comment

no no it’s ……. life aboard.

As you can see, It’s a hard life ‘on the cut’

As part of Manjula’s BIG Trip we’ve spent four days on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Organised by Sally it was an opportunity to test out whether we’re made out for life on the canal. Sally is a previous guest of Mysore Bed and Breakfast who has become a great friend.

Mike, Sally’s parter has lived and worked on or near the canals, all his life. So we had an experienced team in charge helping Manjula and I get a proper introduction to life on the waves!

Manjula’s helping us through the locks to take the narrowboat up and down the hills.

Cooking Mysore specials on board

and taking a well deserved rest!

and Stephen was even allowed to steer the boat on his own, without crashing it and there were only one or two near misses!

There was plenty of time for stops at the Pubs.

Farrell Factoid

In England and Wales there is a network of canals through much of the country. The first to be opened was the Bridgewater Canal near Manchester in 1761 to transport coal. As an integral development of the industrial revolution it became a successful network for transporting goods and living on board. It has a great history and strong community. At its peak there were 6,000 miles of navigable rivers and canals. Now there’s maybe half that number after many fell into disrepair. There has been a tremendous effort to rebuild and reopen after significant investment and the tremendous involvement of thousands of volunteers. It’s now an invaluable resource for holidays and home for many people.

Manjula’s BIG trip

July 21, 2016July 21, 2016 SFLeave a comment

I wake alongside a babbling brook. It’s early and I can hear the trickling of the stream alongside my head. I quickly orientate myself. We must be camping although surely that’s planned for a few weeks later at the WOMAD festival.

It’s Poppy!

we’re staying at my eldest son and his partner Alice’s, who are my granddaughters mum and dad and therefore personal assistants.

Poppy has brought her potty to the living room alongside the futon (I.e. close to the floor) just to the side of my head to have her early morning pee 😉

So that’s me up, empty the potty, wash it out, welcome to Poppy’s world.

manjula manages to sneak a couple of extra hours sleep, her legs are aching after all the walking…..

by now Poppy is an animal! 😉

Manjula’s BIG Trip 2

July 5, 2016 SFLeave a comment

Manjula first impression of the UK……

its all about Shopping

and eating out…..

well it didn’t take long to find our first Indians at the corner shop near to Gina’s where we’re staying. Manjula can’t believe how many shops there are and seemingly constantly busy and she wonders does anyone eat at home?

Chamundeshwari fought the demon

June 30, 2016 SFLeave a comment

It’s early in the morning, a little after 7 am. I cycle up to the brow of the hill and can hear a drumming in the background. Maybe it’s a significant day, a Mela or something else to do with the local goddess.

This is the home, of the goddess Chamundeshwari, her temple and effectively, her woodland garden, the hill is one of the most sacred in the whole of South India.

As I get closer, I realise it’s not what I first thought.

The ‘drums’ are the sound of the diggers breaking up the stones as part of the redevelopment of the hill top.

The hill takes its name from Chamundeshwari the local goddess (aka Durga) who lives on the hill which is just behind Mysore Bed and Breakfast. You can just about see the temple Gopura in the main picture in the far distance.

Chamundeshwari is famous for dispensing with the demon: Mahishasura after which Mysuru or Mysore is named.

It looks to me that there is a new demon that she’ll have to deal with and the demon is development.

A few days later I join a walk up the hill to find out a little more…..

Hundreds of people walked up the hill as part of a demonstration against the planned development. For those of you who’ve visited you’ll realise its a bit of a mess up there. God knows what it would be like it if wasn’t a plastic free zone….. so there is no doubt the need to do something

But does it need a new guest house? (there are already two that are not used), a shopping complex? a mulit-storey car park? and a four lane highway? In our view all these plans will devastate the hillside, damage its bio-diversity and make matters so much worse but do the local powers that be give a damn?

Hence I think there is a new demon in town that the Goddess needs to sort out!

Its that magic word development that they keep throwing around. Politicians use it as a catch-all phrase to defend all sorts of unsuitable decisions. Are we against development? by which they must mean progress… well erm yes, if it means destroying the lungs of the city and decemating the woodland, yes if it means worshipping and promoting growth regardless of the consequences.

It has the potential to be an amazing place, not least for the views of the city.

But for that to be realised, we must have: some participation of the people in this thing called democracy, an end to mindless development and some sustainable and practical proposals to deal with the problems. These are currently unfettered illegal growth, litter and too much traffic. These are practically and relatively easily resolvable with the right approach and many local organisations have come up with suggestions. In my view, it isn’t about grand schemes as they will not work and are, in any case, designed for the short term gain, with money going into a whole range of pockets and the needs of the people and the environment completely neglected..

This will be an interesting story to follow to see how local politicians and the civil servants manage to properly manage the conflicting priorities and show how well they are suited to representing the interests of people and the environment whilst maintaining long-term sustainable development when and where its appropriate..