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?
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.
….. promotes cultural exchange, hosts offer somewhere to stay and in return the ‘workawayer’ helps out for a few hours each day.
In 2018 and 2019 we had help from workawayers.
Willian, from Brazil, got wet taking Ganesh to the river, dismantled all our Mycycle cycles for respraying, rebuilt them and set up our base on Srirangaptnam.
Dani and Chas, from the UK, decorated, provided general help and support of Manjula at a very difficult but important time.
Thank you guys, you all did a fantastic job, and it was a pleasure getting to know you.
We’ve not hosted workawayers for the past two years but now we’ve officially reopened with the arrival of one of our longest staying guests: Ina, we’re open to possibilities.
They’re all very different, which is part of the wonder that is workaway, and we all learn a lot
Our next arrives this week.
Eva is also multi-talented, (such a long list) a Spanish woman, who has lived in the USA so I’ll have to watch my stupid English humour. I’ve already created a list of possibles including teacher, chaperone, and all round good egg. I hope I haven’t scared her off already.
For the Manjula’s Mysore team who helped create the event on Manjula’s Birthday
And a reunion of our holiday in Kannur
And our chance to celebrate MAnjula together.
Me and MYCycle 