The family grows

May 14, 2024June 2, 2024 SFLeave a comment

No not (just) the car.

It’s important to recognise and realise how much my adopted family here in India as helped me survive the most difficult years in my life.

Sowbaghya is so critical to my life here in Mysore

She’s project managed and coordinated the rejuvenation of the radical red, that is now attention seeking in and around Mysore and Srirangaptnam

That’s the tip of the mountain of help she has been.

Sowbaghya is important to me and has kept me and the business going.

Thank you Sowbaghya for all your help.

I firmly believe that grief is always with us but becomes more manageable as we fill the space around it with important valued people and ‘things’ we do.

The next member of the family, everyone knows, the irrepressible Kaveri. Grief manager extraordinaire.

I can’t begin to list what she does for me.

She makes me smile (and cry.)

She’s cool.

Our mini team is complete with Kaveri’s ‘sister’ Radhika, a wonderful young woman.

I look forward to witnessing her develop and we growing together through the years.

Oh ….. Trishalla and Eregowda, have been a great support through difficult and remembering times, you’ll have to wait to see where that leads.

A special mention for: Sarvesh, Vasanth, Satish, Tanuja and their families.

We’ve all worked together to cherish and continue Manjula’s radiance through our projects: events, school, community meals, creativity days, supporting Kaveri, and making Manjula’s garden in the park.

Not to forget our guests who have become family and my very own DNA family folks in the U.K. and Canada

Ina, our every-year guest who was a big buddy of MAnjula and now me, in front of the banner created by other guests.

There’s not only humans in my family…

Metamorphosis three

March 2, 2024 SF1 Comment

The first coat of the new colour.

Wales

July 25, 2023August 10, 2023 SFLeave a comment

South West Wales, a wonderful location, where we spent our annual camping holiday for many year.

Ramsey from Whitesands

My son Oliver and his partner Rachel, visiting from Vancouver

St David’s, the cathedral that makes the village, the smallest city in the country.

Manjula and my beautiful tent makes it’s first appearance of the year.

Gale force wind and rain then sunny Unpredictable British weather. Normal camping and holidays in the U.K.

Trips to the beach often require heavy coats! whitesands

Our favourite pub, the Sloop Inn in Porthgain.

Teenage work

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023 SFLeave a comment

Reading an article and it’s photographs are flashing me back to work in the 1970s while still at school and later, the gap year before attending university.

I worked in a different location to the one featured in the article but similar situations in the steel city of Sheffield.

One crazy job, from age 17, was when the electric arc furnaces — creating steel — were switched off for the weekend. We’d climb on top of cranes that tipped scrap into the furnace then carried molten steel to be poured into giant moulds.

We’d clip our safety harness on to the structure, then walk along narrow gantries to brush the dust that had accumulated during the week, shovel it into bags to be carried down.

Here’s a photo of a similar crane in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Art gallery in London, formerly a power station.

It’s probably ten metres long and rests on tracks along each wall. The equivalent in the steel works was many (five?) times larger.

It was still really hot, even though the furnace was shut-down and always dusty. By the end of the shift, the dust had worked it’s way through two layers of protective clothing and ingrained into our skin. With sooty faces and light patches (Hanuman style) around our mouth and nose showing the masks did have some protective effect.

Footnote.

It provided insights into how others live that I value to this day. Men and women often working twelve hours, sometimes seven days a week.

It was my first opportunity to supervise a small team.

King Charles

September 9, 2022September 11, 2022 SF2 Comments

A meeting with who was then the Prince of Wales and now the new king but who is that between them? 🤔

Yes it is me on the right. Probably in the year 2000

I used to work for one of his charities. On his suggestion the CEO asked me to organise Prince’s Seeing Is Believing Events in India.

First time outside the U.K. they were designed to help directors consider how they might be more responsible as businesses, usually by developing community partnerships.

I organised them in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore with many MNCs taking part.

They were followed by workshops on corporate responsibility (CSR) and leadership programmes in India and the U.K.

But back to that photograph. It’s from when I first met him at one of our events, of Business in the Community, the charity where I was a campaign director and he was president .

There was another photo circulated amongst colleagues to invite them to make jokey comments.

In the other photo there was the arm of the CEO which looked as if she was about to pull him away from me.

The man in the background?

Obviously security ready to pounce.

Factoid

Can we find her?

July 12, 2022 SF2 Comments

Isn’t she pretty?

Stolen

… in Mount Pleasant Vancouver. Please pass this information on to help locate her. there’s a reward of cash or a free cycle tour and accommodation in Mysore, flight not included. 🤭

I’d planned to bring her back to London and then onto India after she was given to me by my son while holidaying in Canada in July 2022.

Image gallery image — Originally a single gear from over ten years ago a three speed hub Shimano gears and coaster brake were added. The gear control on the handle bar shows 1-2-3 and is scratched.

After a trip to Vancouver island we cycled the goose cycle trail.

There’s more of our history here.

She’s distinctive with her yellow frame, white wheels and pretend leather saddle. She has a single front rim brake.

Meet Trixie

I’ve now flown back but can arrange to pick her up or have her transported when we find her.

My son Oliver Farrell is the proprietor of ‘Feel Good Everyday’ near the railway (train) station in Vancouver and can be contacted there or online. Please email me at sfindia@gmail.com

We’ve listed details here

Manufactured by Regal Bicycles in Toronto, she was known as ‘Count’ over ten years ago as a single gear fixie but now she has the addition of three speed gears and coaster brake and so we named her Trixie

I lead city Mcycle tours and host Mysore Bed and Breakfast in South India.

My experience was otherwise very positive in Canada.

Vancouver and the island are great

Vancouver Island

July 6, 2022July 12, 2022 SF2 Comments

I’m visiting one of the Sari Sisters, a group of women cyclists from Vancouver Island.

They came to India stayed with us and cycled from Mysore to Cochin.

This is my third visit. Lise and Michael kindly ‘put me up’

I’ve had a wonderful few days exploring Victoria, the capital of BC and cycling along the Galloping Goose Trail.

Victoria and the island (as long as England!) is a great place

Cyclists are catered for with cycle routes, great maps, considerate drivers and safe secure places to leave your cycle

With random deer, not cows.

Trixie was with me all the way.

Vancouver

June 26, 2022 SFLeave a comment

Reminded of this wonderful city, visiting my youngest son Oliver, first time in three years.

Well done Ol, great success, I’m so impressed

As everywhere it somehow stimulates memories of elsewhere. I last visited shortly after Manjula died.

The Heart

January 13, 2022August 19, 2022 SFLeave a comment

The Heart and the bottle by Oliver Jeffers. This picture book story is part two of a series of three of my postings, number one is grief gravy. If you visit and read each one you’ll realise it reflects something of my recent journey which many of us share.

His stories and artwork are wonderful. My granddaughters favourite was the one about the crayons writing letters to the child.

whose head was filled with all the curiosities of the world

It might never have occurred to the girl what to do had she not met someone smaller and still curious about the world.

Manjula and I have given many away as gifts. All his books are also available for our guests and friends at Manjula’s Library in Mysore Bed and Breakfast.

Look out for the third posting in this series, revealing more of my journey.

I refer to more of Oliver Jeffers’ wonderful books in other postings. Do look out for his work for the children and adults in your life.