Little Stephen, Auntie Maureen and mummy Ida.
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Queer Eye
Watching queer eye is helpful.
Step Father and teenage son are having a conversation. They’ve recently come together as the guy married his mum.
They’re bonding. Talking about how the father tries to manage challenges himself and not let them in to help.
He doesn’t want to feel a burden to them but it has the opposite effect as they then worry about him.
That’s a trigger for me.
That rings bells.
I’m too independent and realise I could have shared more with MAnjula, that in turn that helped me miss that she did want to be a burden through her illness and all it entailed.
I’m sorry MAnjula. You were never a burden. I love you and would manage anything for you.
I freaked out at you for not taking your tablets. That was about my worries, stress feeling powerless to not be able to help you from deterioration.
There’s so much I would and should have done differently.
Reflecting
On my love for MAnjula.
Snow fall, not really.
Ruth is a poet from the U.K.
A guest of Mysore Bed and Breakfast who has become a good friend.
Not only that she’s actually published books of poetry and some of her poems are about India and her early years living here.
Check Ruth’s latest poem, you’ll realise why I show this image.
Precious permanent memories
Maïlis has been with us now for almost two months. She’s really got into Mysore, become part of our little community and created a wide range of exciting experiences for herself.
I was invited by her wonderful new friends Pravallika and Cade to visit and find out where they’re learning to carve.
At this family workshop they’re famous for carving significant statues and especially Rama for the new Ayodya Temple
But there was a great big surprise waiting for me.
Maïlis as her very first project had carved our Lucie in stone
How wonderful is that?
Just one month ago Lucie gave up, she’d had too much after managing so well with a painful hip and difficulties with her kidneys. She was strong and brave and her gentle friendly nature had helped her connect with thousands of our guests.
… and a cat
A fantastic image of our precious family member which now has pride of place in our upstairs lounge.
We’re all impressed.
Reflecting again
What a fab group from Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Germany, UK, USA, France….
Sharing their perspectives and savouring our similarities and differences.
Doge
I’ve been wondering about Doge… why we have it? What does it mean? I realise now it’s not actually a spoof, it is unfortunately real but it’s also a means of checking that we’re properly concentrating.
That we’re awake
.. and hopefully not complete idiots.
It’s actually a joke, in the most serious sense
So have you worked out how to pronounce it? Don’t lose this opportunity for a knowing smirk.
I was thinking on the lines of doggy.

But no there’s something better.
More on the dodgy dog. Sorry to our canine friends….
Footnote
So what is Doge.
Some might say it’s one of the initiatives to fulfil the coup currently happening in the US
Officially it’s…

…
The head honchos is a certain Musk.
Happy Birthday
or what does it say on the cake?
For our other member of the family
And again two days later.
Flashbacks
Today’s conference reminded me of some of my innovations in the 90s
I was inspired by Negroponte’s book ‘Being Digital’ to explore the Internet … and develop projects to help others to do it … before it became monopolised by big business.
A friend Dave and I would use the Commodore Amiga (much more than a games machine) in the late 80s and gopher to visit US Sheriff’s offices wanted lists.
It got me thinking. As Negroponte stated in ‘Being Digital’ we were going through a revolution as significant as the invention of the printing press.
Often my thing was ‘how do we engage people so they’re actively involved?’
Here was a great inspiration
….
My senior role in government with Kirklees Council — who were very supportive of ‘wild thinking’ — had already provided me with the opportunity to innovate.
Here was another possibility: a creative challenge ..
Cyber Coffee Mornings.
Within a year of the introduction of the world-wide-web we hit the local community and throughout the teams in government introducing them to this revolutionary new way to access the internet.
Invading these community events with lengths of phone leads, modem, over head projector, LCD panels (what we’d use before digital projectors became available) and a Toshiba laptop.
Cyber Citizens
Was the group that took it to the wider community.
The innovative projects came thick and fast.
We were the first Social Services (social work) department in the U.K. web site in the country and electronic information service
Disabled People’s Electronic Village Hall an idea borrowed from north Europe. This was a community project to promote access to learning about computers, becoming confident and surfing the net.
To help all this along we had ..
An EU — European project to share experiences between Athens, Crete, Manchester and Kirklees.
An exciting time
I initiated the projects but they worked because people got involved including students from the university to make them a success
I was also privately sponsored by Pedigree Petfoods (MARS) to provide a workshop to veterinary nurses throughout the country.
…
Footnote
Reflection
For many this was an opportunity to make money
But not for me … as usual my motivation was to serve the community.
made me think …
This image relates to a dog a cat and a woman in my life. All of them my queens.
Manjula lit up our lives, even now when her presence is much more mystical.
She wanted to return as a tree to shelter and support us.
The physical manifestation is now just the man and the cat and still thrilling.
Me and MYCycle 