












I’m away with Kaveri for a few days with Naveen and his mum Sowbaghya.


Manjula’s Mysore supports their education and now we’re on holiday together.
























I’m away with Kaveri for a few days with Naveen and his mum Sowbaghya.


Manjula’s Mysore supports their education and now we’re on holiday together.











It’s the third year since meeting Kaveri.
School holiday is a great opportunity to spend wonderful adventures together.
In our first week, this year we’ve visited Kodagu, Kannur and Wayanad. A great mix of countryside, sea and sand.











Kodagu in the western ghats is a couple of hours west of Mysore.














I’ve been many time to Kannur, further west in Kerala, and taken quite a few friends. Radhika Kaveri’s sister (auntie) couldn’t join us as her mother had an accident and needed support. Lucie a French workawayer helped out at the school and stepped into the breach. A great help.







Finally Shabaz our wonderful friend from Kannur dropped is Wayanad for a final night before returning to Mysore.
SB was all prepared for todays big puja.







After our ‘family’ weekend, that’s Me with the girls…. Kaveri, her mum Chandrika, sister (aka auntie) Radikha together with Lucie at Chera Rocks in Kannur,





















We introduced body boards to the beach, work and play. A fun weekend together.





One of Manjula’s favourites.


As we enter October more guests arrive. Our next big adventure is Kaveri’s school holiday.
I see her most weeks at school but staying here plus a trip to the seaside is icing on the cake.

It’s been a gas.
A challenge.
Kaveri stayed with me, for the summer school holiday, almost two months. We were ably assisted by the wonderful Ilaria, our workawayer from Italy

The idea was to engage her with a whole series of activities to see which worked.




















They all did

Our second time in 2023
and lots of it.














Travelling with my extended Indian family is like visiting my London family of Poppy, Alice and Ben ….. with lots and lots of eating. 🙂


The holiday was a thank you from MAnjula and I




It was a real joy spending time with good friends who are all so interesting and different.






























On MAnjula’s death anniversary, we came up with a great idea to celebrate her— even more — by going on holiday to one of her favourite places.

Kannur is where Manjula and I first went on holiday together after our engagement in 2015.

It’ll be a great adventure with MAnjula giggling from the antics of the loosely formed team.

It’s a challenge, anywhere, to bring together fragments of four families with two additions of an Englishman and his dog but this is India. It’ll be OK.

It’s a great way to thank Sowbaghya, Tanuja and Satish for the help they’ve been in so many ways, including setting up the new business.

It’s also an opportunity to spend fun time with Kaveri and her young auntie Rhadika.

We’ve got the go ahead from Kaveri’s mum, Satish has worked it out with the school and Jo will definitely have completed her term.

So we’re good to go…

Wonderful

So which amazing place is going to host this motley crew?

I’m sitting with Lucie in our room, at Chera Rocks, which opens directly onto the beach.
It’s been another hot day which cools slightly as we pass 4 0’clock.


We have been visiting our wonderful friends Sally and Shabaz, before Eastenders Sally sadly returns to the U.K.
Together we’ve retraced Manjula and my steps during previous holidays, including Manjula’s deep desire 😉 to visit the drive-on-beach.
















This morning Sally and I walked along the beaches to visit Rosie and Nazir of Kannur Beach House and share my photos of Manjula.

Manjula and I in Kannur to celebrated our engagement in 2015



It’s time for a last swim. We return to Mysore tomorrow.

We did it, followed by a shared shower, Lucie thinks it was all too much. She waits until carefully positioned next to cascade her water drops on my clothes and bag. Ha bloody ha …

