Category: people we’ve met

Dancing with the Bees

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Pheromone lure to attract
Ballet
Capturing in the net
Drones (seeking a queen to mate)
Being marked

No bees were harmed. It was ‘citizen’ research on Greenham Common in south England.

Capturing Drones (male bees no sting) who are looking for queens to mate. We hope to track which hives they are from.

It’s one of many places where Drones congregate, as part of their life’s purpose, to find a queen to mate.

Most are unsuccessful and disappointed.

Of course the odds are stacked against them.

Footnote

Initiated by Stephen Fleming with the help of the Newbury and District Beekeepers’ Association on Greenham Common in South England.

Stephen and Richard, from our team, are editors of the leading U.K. magazine BeeCraft.

Follow the link for more info on beekeeping in the U.K.

Meet a friend — Ina

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Ina was already at our house as I returned from the U.K.

The lunatics had taken over the asylum. We have a similar sense of humour but that doesn’t necessarily travel well. 🤔🤭 sorry to Charles, the Canadian giant. He gets it.
Self catering BnB

Ina was an early guest who returned to visit every year bar the coronavirus blot on our landscape. She quickly became a close friend of Manjula helping us celebrate our engagement in 2015. They would mostly hang out together and she’s the guest who’s stayed the most and longest.

We’ve also become good friends. She’s also lost her loving partner and been a great support to me.

Ina has seen Kaveri two years running and appreciates how she’s progressed.

Ina has a strong Scottish accent even though she’s lived in Australia for almost seventy years, having escaped Britain, on a ship, to settle there as a young girl with her family.

Part of the team on Manjula’s birthday.
Bonding over chai and a phone on Manjula’s birthday.
The second celebration of what would have been Manjula’s 50th birthday. Satish is photographer

Ina, is most definitely one of Manjula’s kind. Thoughtfully helping, all around her, emanating a positive energy, appearing to be decades younger than she is but we don’t mention age.

Her initial visit was to meet a Tibetan monk, for the very first time, that she’d sponsored since he was a child.

She regales with stories of her family and her great times looking after her grand kids.

We keep remembering celebrating Manjula’s last birthday.
That’s not our cat
Visiting Manjula’s bench at the museum garden in Mysore city.
Fun together, Ina with Kaveri and Radhika. Aroma Bakery after swimming.

As she says herself

I couldn’t agree more. I’m still learning

Demonstrating the new balancing pod thing, whilst worrying Paul from France
Visiting Chandrika and Mani, Kaveri’s mum and dad.

Ina leaves at some ungodly hour for the flybus to Bangalore airport for a week in Singapore en route to home in Australia after our last meal together at Olive Garden

She’s supposed to have gone but I thought I heard her calling out downstairs. Now that’s worrying.

I look forward to her return next year

Back home in Mysore

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What’sapp between Ani and I

Manjula keeping her watchful eye, caring kindness and wonderful presence.
Ani arrives back from the US en route to Bylakuppe. After retiring as psychologist in the US she became a Tibetan Buddhist nun

Sowbaghya is in charge, looking after the house and menagerie while I’m away.

Waiting to go for a walk, together.
Even growing cucumber
We’ve been waiting to see the beautiful flower, Manjula’s favourite but missed its full glory.

So here, from a few years ago, are the two beauties together

She loved it and we her.

Next stop Bristol

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Sally in Bristol.

Sally first visited us at Mysore Bed and Breakfast, years ago. She now leads textile tours of India.

Exploring the city, finding magic, public arts and engineering innovations.

Magical art found all around Bristol
Banksy Street Art
Engineering marvels by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Camera Obscura

Meeting Ruth

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Ruth visited us at Mysore Bed and Breakfast over the years.

I’m visiting her again in Bath in England. Ruth is a poet and the last time she came to Mysore to collect material for her latest book

Last night I attended a reading of her poetry.

Camping

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I’m remembering last years visit and thinking through what I’ll do this time. All rather last minute.

I’ll definitely go camping again this trip, hopefully with my son Oliver and Rachel.

In 2022 I revisited Dorset where we had a family camp on Manjula’s second holiday in England.

The lovely tent I bought for MAnjula and I to camp together.
My Indian friends can’t quite believe this sea side tradition
I visited Ruth again
Our hostess at ‘the hive’ who remembers my previous visit with the full on family including that beautiful Indian woman.
Just making friends with other northerners visiting the south coast.
More friends.
A lot of effort for a little yacht.

Should I be Retracing steps?

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After meeting up with our mysore BnB family at WOMAD and knocking on a few of their doors I went camping.

I was apprehensive about revisiting the same places in Dorset where we’d had a family camp to celebrate Alice and Ben’s (eldest son) wedding and my 60th birthday during Manjula’s second U.K. holiday

I shouldn’t have been.

It proved to be a tonic.

I like Weymouth
Rachel and Simon of the lovely ‘hive’ cafe even remembered our visit five years ago.
Catching a ferry
Making new friends from Yorkshire
Who’s that bearded idiot?
Then back to Ruth’s in Bristol,

over to bee-man Stephen to drop our beautiful tent, return the fancy hire car and prepare to return home

In my experience, when grieving, we regularly get ambushed by memories of magical times together. They make me both happy and sad. I’ve learned not to run away but to face them, even create them, so it was ok to retrace my steps.

Thank you for joining my journey and your support.