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.
Ina from Adelaide was Manjula’s closest friend., amongst our guests
It was as if there was an essence of MAnjula wafting back here with me, as she regaled me with the stories of the times they’d spent together. More dimensions of my wonderful were revealed.
They’d sometimes, maybe usually arrange for Ina to visit when I was away.
I can’t think why.
After first visiting in 2014 she was back in 2015, shortly after we got engaged and then each year with breaks solely due to the pandemic.
In 2018 we had a great time (yes I was allowed to be here) celebrating Manjula’s 45th birthday, also hosting our first ‘ workawayer ‘ Willian from Brazil.
During this visit which lasted two months! The longest ever. 👍🏽🤔🤭🙂
We went to a traditional dance to share with MAnjula. Then made a special celebration of Manjula’s Birthday as Ina had missed our big event in August on her birthday itself.
Helped out with the kittens
Led Lucie astray.
… revisited places on Srirangaptnam close to MAnjula and I, that had featured in our wedding.
Ina together with reading ‘a pocketful of happiness’ by Richard E Grant has helped me realise — as oddball in Kelly’s Heroes would say: “less of those negative waves man,” —- that I’ve allowed the grief gravy to engulf me leaving angry bitter negativeness in its forever trail.
So I’m going to sort it and get myself back on track to rewrite our story with one or two innovative tweaks.
Ina’s farewell note:
Stephen having Manjula in my life was one of the best things that happened to me, I still think of her a lot and she continues to be a great inspiration.
Tears again
Thoughtful as ever. She even finds time to wash and leave behind clothes as bedding for the kits.
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.
Manjula’s Mysore is now the name of the new business. and we’ve already done a few things…
A fun day of activities for forty young visually impaired women on what would have been Manjula’s 49th birthday. Please Check the video created by Faizan.
Reopened mysore bed and breakfast and mycycle tours. This month the MCC : Mysore City Corporation issued a business licence and so we’ve officially welcomed our first guests.
The new business has allowed Stephen to get a business visa, to continue to stay in India. So far he’s not been able to get an OCI (overseas citizen of india) and most importantly it’s another way to celebrate MAnjula
Manjula’s Mysore is a three year project to do good as MAnjula would have wanted
I ordered a chai on Lucie and my first walk of the day.
The guy put sugar in the glass, carefully pouring onto it, hot milk. Then hot water in a steel ‘glass’
How’s that my chai?
He promptly threw the milk onto the ground followed by the water and thankfully just about missing Lucie.
I’m guessing it’s a first thing in the morning ritual. I can find out no more, at this stage, given my sophisticated knowledge (don’t ask) of the local Kannada language and the hotel owners grunts.
I did get my chai.
Another connection with the caribbean. In their case before you take a sip of your rum give a little to the ground.
It’s now back home to finish preparing breakfast for todays lovely guests Eli and James from England
Originally written in March 2021 but lost in the ether
I’m officially confirmed as a writer and here’s the evidence.
I have a blank page and pen. I also have a passion, here it is, at the top of the blank page.
I’ve submitted for a competition and got absolutely nowhere, so that’s the ‘rejection’ box ticked.
I‘ve got the writer’s block down to a fine art.. To be fair I think it’s proximity to the ‘wound’ or the trauma that makes it extra difficult. This month creates extra challenges as there’s a pile-up of anniversaries, our weddings and Manjula’s death, but that’s an expected part of this particular journey.
I’m reading lots of fiction, including children’s, non fiction and insights into how to write. How much is being held by this decaying brain is another matter.
I’m inadvertently following famous writers such as Paul Auster and now my writer of the moment, who I’ve only just discovered wrote ‘Stardust’ my favourite film Neil Gaiman
I must admit to liking young people’s story books. I like the pace, find them interesting and I more easily remember what I’ve read.
As the ‘passion’ would say “let’s see.”
First update
It feels like it’s been weeks since I added to our story so I plan to have a different approach, set up my writing place, establish a routine and treat it as a ‘job.’
Second update
It’s written but as I’m a writer I’ll follow a norm and declare it just ain’t good enough
Third update
It’s going to be completely revised and restructured. I’ll break the memoir rules but I just don’t care.
Fourth update 2022 and I’m yet to start. I’ve slipped into a ‘can’t quite get my act-together phase’ I told you I was a writer.
Me and MYCycle 