I think we know who’s going to win the bet. It should have been 1000 Rs per flower!
Nearly there.
There are five or six coming out tonight
Tag: Mysore
Ruby
Street dog Update
Ruby was first adopted as a puppy by one of the neighbours. I asked them to deal with her skin problem when it first arose. But they first neglected it then threw her out when it became a real problem.
Ruby disappeared. 
She reappeared last week in a sorry state. We’ve always been friends so today once she’d appeared during the day, I managed to catch her.
Here’s the rest of today’s adventure.
Vasanth and I took her in the auto
. She stunk! But settled in quite quickly. Our destination was PFA – People for Animals. Right over the otherside of Mysore. It’s a great place, we know them well 🙂
I left a donation. The vet will fix her and neuter her. I’ll check how she is when I get back from the UK in August. We can’t have her because of Lucie and she’s unlikely to get adopted. So, she’ll be let back into the street where she was found (it’s the law) we’ll adopt her from a distance.
Lucie was of course very put out and jealous, as you can see. But where is Billi?
Will it, won’t it?
The bet is on! Each year we have a lovely array of Brahma Kamla flowers.
Here’s the buds.
Manjula reckons they will not flower before I leave on Monday. I believe they will. The wager is 1000rs.
Here’s what it will look like
there’s a knock at the door
This is a health warning (part one):
we love our guests so much we go visit them! We sometimes forget to mention that when you book to stay, so be warned. Well you are such an amazing mix of interesting, talented, friendly, open people we’d be odd not to want to return the favour!
Lucy however is not at all impressed, she’s the one that has to stay at home!
It all started with Kathy and Mark in the USA
Kathy and Mark were two of our earliest guests from the North West. Mark as a vet was volunteering for a Vets Beyond Borders (VBB) Project in Bylakuppe, where the famous Ani Samten lives. Mark was helping neuter dogs and inject them against rabies and other viruses for a couple of weeks. Fact is we met so many vetenarians we felt like we were a branch of VBB. We go to know Kathy and Mark so well from their visits they became part of the family. As of course you all are.
So now switch to 2016
Well Ol and I were on a mini-road trip from Vancouver into Oregon. Now, what do you think? It would be rude not to drop in, as we were so close, wouldn’t it? so we did and had a great time visiting them in their lovely lakeside home Kathy was an absolute wonder and Mark kindly led us on a cycle tour of their amazing city… Portland! We had such a great time and this lovely couple had set the bar very very high, could it be matched?
What a great idea, this could get to be a regular thing.
Back in the UK
Carol and Paul were the first we visited in the UK lovely city of Hereford, and the astonishing black and white village trail, check here wonderful Tudor houses and then a great trip by the River Wye, in and out of the Wales/England border, Manjula’s first real expereince of the beautiful British countryside.
Later we meandered over to see Stephen who has become an annual visitor to Mysore Bed and Breakfast. He’s also quite a storyteller (its the Irish in him) and he’s a dab hand with the bees. We now sometimes cycle together in the UK.
But that’s not all, before crashing over at Stephens we  had a wonderful time through Bath and a wonderful few days with Sally on a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal (check here)
Its been astounding, how many Canadian guests we’ve had stay with is this last season. They’ve shot up the chart, passed the Australians and are neck and neck with the number of German guests we’ve had visiting this last year.
Well one of the unlikeliest groups were when…
Lise and the rest of the Sari Sisters (a cycling group from Vancouver Island) turned up (see pics above) at Mysore bed and Breakfast earlier this year with a half baked grand plan to cycle from here to Cochin. Most had brought their cycles and after transport to Mysore this was to be the very beginning. but what seemed like a plan on the back of a fag packet it might have been but they floored us with their enthusiasm, get up and go and they did it. An amazing cycling trip full of wonderful adventures. well done!
So of course, as my son Oliver lives in Vancouver and the sisters came from Vancouver Island we just had to pay them a call when I was last over there. It was fab. We met up with the husbands, had a great dinner and cycle ride together and the tip top flexible Lise was our hostess with the mostest.
Why am I telling you all this
Well, because its part of our story.
We’re often asked how we manage with the constant stream of new faces coming to stay with us. well first off its not constant and second……
Before starting Mysore Bed and Breakfast I hadn’t quite realised what an absolute joy it was going to be.
Think about it.
We live in a super city that more like a town. We can escape to the countryside in a moment. In a country and with people that are open and accepting (mostly anyway). We have a lovely house, I have a beautiful, caring, sensitive, funny wife, another companion in Lucie (who sort of behaves). We have one adventure after another (thats not just dealing with officialdom). Our business/livelihood comes from the Mysore Bed and Breakfast and MyCycle tours which we LOVE doing, so its not work.
The ingredients of this cake are therefore scrumptious and to top it all…..
The ‘icing’….. the health giving properties of connecting with wonderful people comes from you our guests, our big family, the community.
Thank you.
The nest is bare
Where have they gone?
Its an incredible job giving birth, raising your children, being there for them, setting them up with the right skills, having to let go, being there to support whilst pushing them to be independent… its difficult to get the balance right.
There are so many risks
The fledglings have flown
yes, our latest guests have left home.
It was not an easy process, as you might imagine.
Mum and Dad found a great place to nest, in a hanging basket under the driveway roof. It was so quiet at the beginning (were they ever here?) so much so we thought they were being neglectful but the eggs were hatched and three fledglings made their appearance.
One seemed to be a tad bigger than the others, the BIG BROTHER
Today however, just a few days later, has been really hectic.
They flew the nest and ended up all around the drive. We’re using the term ‘fly’ a little liberally, it was in fits and starts… but they were moving and perching……
It did help us realise what a relatively safe place it is and thats maybe why we’ve actually had THREE nests here this season.
Nevertheless in the chaos in the drive there was one fledgling missing and the parents (and us were frantically looking).
they are still hungry guys
But the lost one was found
The parents managed to corral them, get them perched and fed, on one of the plants behind the chair near the front gate!
Where they still are.
sorry about the standard of the photos, can’t quite get a great shot, there are three there
Manjula
I’ve been toying with the idea of having a portrait painted of the beautiful Manjula. Fact is I’m trying to work out if I can afford it. As part of the process I’ve pulled together a few of the photos taken of Manjula over the years, they’re mainly my photos but there are some crackers taken by friends.
Occasionally someone or something else gets a look in…..
and there’s even more here
Manjula caught me doing this earlier and has no idea about the portrait. it occured to us that she’s had hundreds of photos tasken in the nine years that we’ve known each other and to her knowledge just a handful in the thrity six years beforehand.
If I decide to go ahead with the portrait, I’ll send the link to the photos to the artist (my daughter-in-laws sister) who will use them, not to copy but to help her create something that reflects the real person but also emerges from her artistic insights!
Water
We all need water, obviously.
Lucie has a regular stop in a ‘paddling pool’ at a neighbours house. Jains in particular will leave out water and food for cows, birds and dogs.
One of our big problems locally is there just isn’t enough water for drinking or agriculture, let alone industry. So you’d think we’d be a tad more careful with it? Nah….. The re is a massive dispute with the neighbouring state. The Kaveri river passes through Karnataka (our state) before reaching Tamil Nadu, there’s insufficient water so do we find a way to share the problem? Nah, we’re first in the queue so we take what we want. This is a worldwide problem, look anywhere: California, Australia, wherever, same problem.
What is is about us? We know the problems, we know we need to act but do we, not in any significant or meaningful way. As highlighted in this insightful book our empires collapse for many different reasons but almost always because we do t recognise what’s at the 
end of our collective noses and do something about it.
Water is of course a massive problem around the world.
Same here in Mysore.
Close to where we live new borewells are being drilled because that house needs it, of course. Let’s look after our own.
So who cares?
Who’s this then?
I often see pictures, usually of Gods and Goddesses left under trees. It’s as if they are no longer required but they can’t be thrown out. That just wouldn’t do! 
But I don’t really know
Sometimes they just seem to be random pictures of school classes or like this one here, of a Gentleman. I wonder about his story.
Maybe my Indian friends have some insights into why the pics are left like this.
So do you know who these Gods are? They weren’t left under trees, they live at our house and have a story to tell, probably like the old man.
Banana Republic 2
It gets worse.
So to remind you. The BJP who got the largest number of seats has been given by the Governor (BJP) fifteen days (now shortened after the intervention of the Supreme Court) until today? To demonstrate on the floor of the house that they have an overall majority, (which they didn’t get at the election so they will have to poach Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to increase their numbers).
Are you still awake?
Now the president (BJP) , remember he’s supposed to be independent and above politics has appointed a temporary speaker (chair of proceedings) also, you’ve guessed it, from the BJP. This is completely against protocol as it’s usually the senior most MLA that gets the role but he’s Congress so that won’t do, will it? The newish speaker has been in the job before who was censured by the Supreme Court for his….. partiality in a previous situation, involving the same main character Yeddyurappa and corruption.
You seriously couldn’t make this up,
In despair, I’m turning away from this soap opera of unbelievableness to some light entertainment.
Banana Republic
Am I seeing things or is that a straight banana?
First let’s talk about Banana Republics. Well actually that’s a bit unfair. The state that’s probably got most bananas is the least like a banana republic. Generally over the years they’ve had reasonably coherent and stable governance although they’re maybe losing their way more recently. That’s Kerala.
Back to the point.
We’re in Karnataka, where we had a state election last week.
The result was ‘hung’ as they say between three parties: the BJP, Congress and JDS with no one party having an overall majority. The Governor (until appointed he was an active BJP politician, which is not allowed but let’s forget that, he is however supposed to be independent and above party politics), who has authority in these matters, swore in the leader of the BJP (yes, his party, no no no he’s independent remember) after the election.
This is the party with the largest number of elected representatives (called MLAs) but they did NOT have an overall majority. Got it? Yeddyurappa, the leader was given fifteen days to prove he had an overall majority, which he hasn’t ….
Woah, hang on a minute the two other parties with a combined strength had an overall majority and one was the incumbent ie previous Government. They also have signed letters from the MLAs (members of the legislative assembly) , as proof. So surely they were invited to set up the Government as a coalition? Er, no.
The BJP leader was not only sworn in he will not have a cabinet but is already making decisions on revenue expenditure, without even putting together a budget or knowing the financial situation and he’s got fifteen days to prove he’s got an overall majority. But remember, he hasn’t got an overall majority. So how will he solve that problem?
Ta ra ta ra
buy Them? Surely not.
The wonderful, patient, trusting (actually they don’t trust their politicians) people of Karnataka, registered, listened, deliberated, ok some were bribed, queued up, to cast their vote for a person carrying some sticks, a flower or a hand (symbols of each party as so many of the voters are illiterate) got a mark on their finger so they couldn’t vote twice…… used their precious fought-for- vote to elect MLAs who represented specific parties.
It’s useful having parties, by being a member of a party it helps us understand what they stand for in terms of policies, values, future of the state, that sort of thing …. but hang on, if they we’re to switch to a different political party immediately after the election…. for money? Or a job in government. Doesn’t that sort of invalidate the system? Is this real?
Wait …. is it a bird? Is it a plane? Noooooo it’s Super- Court, well Supreme Court….
STOP PRESS
The Court takes action…..
and forces the BJP to prove they can form a government. The BJP chief Minister has now just one day to bribe as many of the MLAs as possible to get his overall majority. Shameful.
So that’s how the largest democracy in the world is currently working out here in the south. So how about the longer established democracies, they working well? A shining beacon for the others to copy? Er well no, Donald being Donald in the Useless US is making a right old pigs ear of things but it’s a mistake to think that. It’s going to plan, it’s working, he’s shifting that society and the administration where he wants it to be, if only he could find the napkin he wrote the plan on, he might have an idea how he wants it to end.
What about the mother of all Parliaments? Well the disunited Britland has the most incompetent Government and opposition, and what’s called the second house is causing too much trouble messing up the mess that is Brexit so the Governments party is going to increase its membership so that it votes its way. Marvellous, now that’s a Banana Republic of the cold cold north.
Equally shameful.
Me and MYCycle 