I think it’s safe to say our garden is looking healthy. Manjula would be so impressed and proud.
It’s not only the plants… The numbers and sounds of the birds from early in the morning is wonderful and we’ve added three Bul Bul babies from the nests in our hidden garden.
I discretely followed it to try and take a photo but I could only get this silhouette before it flew away.
An hour later Lucie and returned home to it resting on the door knob. only to surprise me again and land on one of our windows.
It has the scary images of two reflective eyes on its wings, it’s wing span is seven inches or more and now it’s gone.
It arrived a day after I had, once again, in exasperation called out to Manjula complaining that I couldn’t feel her presence or hear a message.
I’m happier now.
Tanuja tells me it’s a moth. So now we know messages come via Dragonflies, Butterflies and Moths.
We’ll keep you posted as more messengers are added to the list. 🙂🙃🤭😉🌞
It’s 58 minutes, with two minutes to go. The Englishman likes to be on time and a little early.
Tea is made and in my favourite ‘cranky old guys rule’ mug. Lucie’s medicines given, computer switched on, air bud things in my ear, matched to the comp Bluetooth, WiFi working ok. Check, quick splash of the face ooooh forgot my treat, a doughnut from SAPA bakery.
I’m sorted.
Redrafted structure of our story sent to Pam yesterday for discussion today.
We’re ready to roll.
Except woooooooooo I’m exactly one hour early the meeting is at 11.00 not 10.00!
Idiot.
I’ll now spend a few moments reflecting in the present. It’s a new thing I learned from Madam
Is this early onset of, you know A……., over excitement to dive into the ‘Labour of Love’ unlikely as I have to constantly deal with being taken over by ‘idle-ous-ness and lethargy’ combined (it’s in the air and not a new thing).
Or have I just lost it? Probably.
I’ll have to wait.
Doughnut now or later is my biggest current challenge.
News Release
Cummings comes clean to British Parliament on what has been going on under the surface at Mysore Bed and Breakfast. We can now reveal never been seen before comments from the guestbooks
As part of the research for our story I’ve been reading some of the guest comments from our first two seasons in 2011 and 2012.
Yes, it was ten yesrs ago that we started, initially just in the upstairs house.
What a lovely task it’s been. A real joy travelling through time, I’m amazed at how well it triggers memories of the guests themselves and the things we did together.
It’s wonderfully warm, reading the feedback and especially their appreciation of Manjula. Frankly, I could do without being constantly reminded of who was the real boss. 😉
There are one or two that might not be suitable for wider publication…..
Here are some selected highlights.
PARENTAL GUIDANCE
“Steve you’re a bastard.” I’ve edited it in case young people might be listening.
“So we debated for 15 minutes about how to express our emotional response to our stay at mysore B&B.” and then they wrote nothing!
“What an arsehole. No seriously what an arsehole…”
I suppose I’m the ‘has-been’ that never was.
I am of course, seriously and tearfully happy from these wonderful reminders. I’ll include more details in our story next year, where people are just sooooo gushing about ‘you know who.’. You’ll just have to wait.
Is there ever not a problem? But they’re always solvable in India.
This is the corporation office of the non removable assets, meaning where they exchange contracts for land, buildings etc.
In our case, we’re the immovable objects getting married.
These photos have just been found and shared by our good friend Tanuja.
I can’t remember what this was about probably just checking details before the critical point where we sign and are officially joined in matrimony.
The whole set up was confusing and it was difficult to know at what precise moment we actually got married. Maybe this was it.
Look out for the full story next year.
Manjula and I discovered this charity, that Kris set up, at WOMAD music festival, feeling one’s breast and checking for lumps wasn’t something she’d ever heard about.
To be truthful I was to discover that basic knowledge about healthy lifestyles and prevention was and is quite limited especially amongst the poorer communities.
I’ve just recalled a great example of this from one of Manjula’s tales l’ll include it in our story due out next year.
The sticker, all those years later is still at our front door for visitors to read.
Where’s it gone?
We were last here three weeks ago and now its completely disappeared.
The f**king house has gone?
What must the parents think?
It’s all my fault.
I’m gutted.
I wonder if a Bul Bul wonders and imagines.
Whatever I’m sorry.
For some ridiculous reason I thought once they’d used it and as the fledgling had fledged that was it, so I cleared the nest away, to help the gardener access the palm.
But no, Tanuja tells me they might have a second family in the same season and its true.
They’ve now had to build another and this time there are two eggs.
It is a safe place, I promise and I am so pleased that they’ve now returned, Manjula loved it each time they reappeared.
Sorry guys, it was the idiot Englishman.
the guard dog will stop it happening again
the last time, just a few weeks ago, just one egg
our Hindu house has a Pooja room, set up by MAnjula it’s still used for certain festivals. Other households would use it everyday. Our next festival is likely to be for the big rotund guy, my favourite: Ganesh.
No two houses are the same which might be due to the specific Gods, they worship, their caste or maybe just because India is incredibly consistently inconsistent.
In memory of MAnjula as with many households a photo, is placed in the hall (lounge/living room) when people die. For the first year we’d place flowers around her every month, with a special Pooja on her annual death anniversary. This all part of a series of rituals to help her soul spirit find another body and be reincarnated into her next life.
In our house there’s a main photo of MAnjula in each of our two lounges. Fact is there are photos of her everywhere. My son thinks The whole house is becoming a shrine.
Now after two years I’ve decorated her like a Christmas tree with lights all around her.
Sometimes she’ll get a little extra treatment with red or yellow dots and we’ll do a little Pooja. It’s essentially a prayer with a request to god.
We’re flexi here.
For me it’s especially important to acknowledge our being together and celebrate Manjula as many didn’t know about our relationship.
Why?
That will feature in our story.
In Manjula’s library.
Just arrived.
Having just read the amazing true story about Jeremy the snail by Maria Popova (her of the wonderful brain pickings) I now feel so terribly guilty for the snails I used to throw over the garden wall.
In my poor defence, in Hebden Bridge in north England where I still have a house, they would munch away at my plants. It’s quite cool and damp so ideal for them and their friends the slugs!
Here’s selections from Neil Gaiman’s book. Some lovely little messages.
He’s becoming one of our favourite authors.
Me and MYCycle 