Sari Time

I can't believe it is Thursday already! This week has just flown by. Yesterday doctor daughter had her Scottish interview, so she was the main focus of our thoughts. Now she and we have to sit back and wait and pray!
My group at school has continued to run with between 2 and 4 pupils attending each day. My two new pupils have both been attending regularly, both are much more developmentally delayed than the others and so the work I am doing is much more like that done with our younger Canaan kids. I've also been working with the three school pupils as before and the two lowest classes on an alternate daily basis. They all love working with songs which is nice. It's really nice having parents in with my young kids too as they too join in the singing! I produced a feedback sheet last week which I am distributing. It was translated into Tamil for me, but the two I have had back so far have both answered in English. The picture below is S who is 20 months old and arrived in our physio's hospital clinic the other week. Joel referred him straight to me and we are now working together with him twice a week, which is great. The authorities didn't seem to know of his existence till then which I suppose is down to the fact that there is not a GP system here, so families are not linked with a doctor unless they are sick and then they go to a hospital out patient clinic.

The wildlife here continues to amaze and delight me... usually - I'm not sure about the two inch long bee which I had to duck to avoid as it flew around my classroom today... I am not exaggerating its size either. It was a bumble type bee, most of the bees I have seen around are jet black and really quite sinister looking. Suddenly the world is full of chameleons - there was one sunning itself on the wall at Kovalum last weekend and I caught this one sunning itself outside my classroom today. The paddy fields around the school which were being planted when I first became aware of them, probably early December, have been harvested at some point over the last week without me noticing! Now it is full of birds searching what is left for food.
There are lots of egrets and crane type birds around, mainly white but also some black ibis which are large and extraordinary to look at. Keep forgetting to take a picture of the egrets because they are just everywhere, the picture is of a black ibis at Tuckerammalpuram, it was the best part of 2 foot tall! The birds of prey here are phenomenal, it is really strange to get used to eagles, kites and buzzards circling around above me all the time. Some of them are huge, I saw them mobbing some crows today as I walked home,quite a sight but no-one but me seems to notice them!
I thought that in spite of Mike's comments about jack fruit - which I really like the taste of incidentally - I would put up a pic of them growing, they really are extraordinary and look almost like a parasitical growth rather than the fruit of the tree they are growing on.These are still quite small only about 12inches long, so roomt o double in size yet, you can imagine how odd the tree looks by then! For your information, you can get them tinned in the UK in Asian grocer shops if you would like to try them!
The last pic is a sign I saw on the road the other day. It was next to a steam filled with some of the most pungent effluence I have yet come across and made me smile. The Indian people go in for signs and slogans in a big way and sometimes shorten them to just initials which is very confusing for people like me! You'll probably have noticed advertising slogans painted on practically every wall or bus or lorry which i have photographed.

The other news is that I have a pair of purple rumped sunbirds living near to my house and coming to the red trumpet flowers outside my window to feed from the nectar. I get a really good look at them and the male is stunning - purple rump as expected and iridescent green around his head which flashes is the sunlight, gorgeous. Perhaps I will yet get to see a pair with their young.  Photos will be no good though as there is a mesh covering the window. I don't think the birds would stand for me being that close to them either!
PS My nose is peeling!!

Today has been a very lazy one workwise! I had to be at the Tuckerammalpuram site (the post school provision) by 10.00am so had a leisurely start. The opening ceremony took place at around 11.30, we then had lunch and I came home. Not too stressed then! Tuckerammalpuram is around 10km from Tirunelvelli so about 5 from here. it is a small community on the road to Trivandrum. the school has had a site there for years with the groundnut farm on it. The site now has a large building... hall cum dining room cum multi-purpose. there is a new kitchen, the bakery has been re-sited there too. they have now got finance and approval for dormitories and work areas too. Today's ceremony was to officially launch the project. In some ways I'm glad it is over as it has dominated school life for the past few weeks. the principal and his wife were out at 11.30pm last night marking whitewash lines along the edges of the road to guide people there this morning! I was glad of them when I arrived in my auto, knowing the approximate area but not the precise location... nor did my driver!
As always in such events here the first to arrive were the children and staff, from 9.00am onwards.

Various local worthies all of whom are involved with the school and are regular visitors were next, then came 'The Collector' I can't quite work out what he does I think he is the equivalent of a provost or something certainly a secular appointment. He has a big house in Palayamkottai and travels with his own guard in a funny uniform. Next came the Tamil Nadu minister for Social Welfare (a lady), two other local big politicians were next and we finally began proceedings at around 11.45. It is really funny to see the pecking order here. The most important person is usually last to arrive. When their car is spotted everybody immediately stops what they are doing and rushes to greet them or to be seen. People leave their phones switched on and answer them in the middle of functions and while people are making speeches. they all have their secretaries sitting behind them and deal with correspondence while on the platform. Appearances are really important and it is vital that ordinary people (even school principals) are seen to be paying sufficient respect to the right people and not showing anything that could be interpreted as disrespect, while the worthies themselves act almost outwith these rules.
Some more pictures of the day follow.

Well it's Monday now and I've done my first days work of the week and a full day it was too. I had my usual group which fluctuates in numbers, 2 today of the 4 possible. I also had my new girl M who is coming in the afternoons. Then there were S, and G the two brothers who I see separately. the morning was interrupted by a visit from local Rotary Club members to see the clothes they had gifted at Christmas being worn.That meant that all the girls shot upstairs to change out of their uniform and into their posh clothes, then the reverse after the guests had left. Lunch was being donated by a family in memory of one of a daughter who had died two years ago of cancer aged 27. We had a veg biryani, with a potato side dish, onion pickle, the curd rice and paysam... a sort of rice/semolina/tapioca pudding which is a local delicacy. It was a lovely family occasion albeit a sad one, there were parents in their 60's I suppose, 4 daughters with husbands and children and son with his wife and children. A very happy gathering, but I did feel for them. This is the second year they have marked the anniversary in this way.
I had a great weekend in Kovalum, picked up my glasses on the way out of town, almost fell down the steps on the way out of the optician as the change in angle of the varifocal is obviously significant!
The pictures below are firstly of overloaded lorries, which often drive at night with no lights on as they are not exactly legal, and secondly of some fishing boats at the beach at Kovalum.

We got to Kovalum around 4.30, so I shot into the hotel, changed into my swimming stuff, put respectable clothes over the top, grabbed a towel and headed off to the beach where I stayed for about an hour. It gets dark between 6.30 and 7.00pm. I went out for dinner to Fusion and had citrus grilled chicken and chips, wow, really enjoyed that. I must admit when I am out and away from home I tend to go for the more western foods and really enjoy the change.
I had a wander around the shops, they have some really good leather shops with everything from Gucci to Dior, bags at very good prices, most under £20! I'm sure they are all genuine. There are a lot of jewellery and trinket shops, mainly from Kashmir - Indian jewellery tends not to be made for the tourist trade. It is interesting, in shops in towns, the gold and silver are charged by gram weight with a small making charge. Here they are charged as a piece rather than by weight and the design is very different. Indian ladies tend only to wear gold earrings and necklaces (one of which is their 'marriage piece' which they should not take off). The only silver I have seen them wearing is on their toes or ankles.
Saturday, I was up with the lark (for me!)at 9.30 a quick breakfast in the German Bakery of poori masala. I have to say their pooris are not a patch on Tirunelvelli ones, they make good coffee though!
Poori is a puffed fried bread a bit like a chappatti but as it is fried it puffs up into a hollow puff, masala means it was served with a spicy potato sauce cum side dish. We had poori at Holy Cross when Rachel did her cookery demo for those who remember. I remember being in the kitchen with the rest of the Mair family standing over boiling fat cooking 150 pooris so missed most of the demo. I seem to remember it involved the ladies of Holy Cross in chopping onions, potatoes and vegetables all morning to help prepare for the demo, we did though have a gorgeous meal for the entire congregation.
It was then down to the beach by 10.15 and I stayed there all day, apart from a brief sortie for lunch - till early evening again. Those who were with us in 1997 wouldn't recognise Kovalum these days it is much more developed, but not a real tourist resort. It is busy but low key, very much a local affair still with no big companies in and setting rules and regulations. There are sunbeds... much repaired and beach umbrellas and a constant stream of beach sellers... Lunghis, bed spreads, sarongs, cigarettes, wooden boxes, fresh fruit "Papaya, mango coconut, banana, fruit salad" is the cry of the ladies, they also offer to rub coconut oil into you to help the sun... deep fried Sally, no thanks! In 1997 we were warned it was not really acceptable to wear swimming costumes, so we all trooped down to the beach, fresh off the plane and swam in our clothes, not a pretty sight in my case nor a particularly pleasant experience either! I had dinner on Saturday in a restaurant called the Swiss Cafe... having a European weekend obviously! and had a chicken sizzler. Which is served sizzling on a hot platter with a spicey (never!) sauce and rice and veg.
Sunday it was back to the beach early, no church today I'm afraid but I did do my readings and listen to a radio broadcast later. I stayed till around 1.00pm, had a quick lunch then a shower then it was back in the car. we came back via Kanya Kumari, not at sunset though. I wanted a shell curtain for my classroom. It cost me 40 rupees for 24 6 foot strands of tiny, winkle shaped shells. Kanya Kumari is a sacred site on the very southern tip of India, used to be called Cape Comarin. Three Oceans/Seas meet there and it is called the Tri-Sea - Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. There is a huge Hindu Temple, a Mosque, two monuments on islands out at sea and a Gandhi memorial amongst other things. Away from the sea there is an enormous Roman Catholic church and another CSI one. this time I just went shopping though. There were around 200 small shops and stalls selling the usual tacky souvenirs, toy shops where everything was either 5 rupees or 20 rupees! 75 Rupees to the pound so work it out! Sarees selling for 100 rupees. An amazing election of fresh spices, cashew nuts, shells and so on! You can also get a ferry to the various monuments, but I didn't bother this time.

I got back to Tirunelvelli at 8.00pm, tired but having had a great break and battery recharge!

Not been a very eventful couple of days, I'm really looking forward to my trip to Kovalum. I'm leaving at lunchtime tomorrow from school. The school is in the throws of getting it's 'post-school' project established and the Principal has been missing at various meetings for most of the week. The first major event is the removal of the school bakery... tomorrow apparently, although the first we heard of the imminence of the move was today. Indira the bakery manager is very much a part of the school staff and is not particularly looking forward to the move, but if it is to be part of the work experience then it makes sense that it is situated out of school. Tuckeramalpuram is about 4 miles out of Tirunelvelli in the countryside in a very small community whereas at the moment, we are in the middle of a town so she will notice the difference, staff pop in all the time at the moment and that just won't happen. the first pupils are not moving out to live until next year, although some will go out each day. I'll miss the convenience of being able to pop in and have a bun or veg puff any time of day too!
I bought a couple of ready made churdi das suits this week which are cotton and better for the hot weather which is coming. Here are a couple of pics of me wearing one with class 1 and with some of the staff. I took jasmine flowers in today for everyone (well all the ladies)for their hair. people are always bringing me flowers so I decided to return the compliment! Please note I did not by choice stand next to Jasmine, the assistant next to me who is so gorgeously slim! She's lovely and I would stand next to her at any other time but not for size comparison!
I'm just about to have dinner, then I'm off out to pick up my new glasses from the optician. It's very useful shops being open till 9 or 10 pm here.

Grrrrr! I've just come back from a wasted journey to pick up my new glasses! I got there to be told there had been a technical fault and they were not ready. When I pressed about the nature of the technical fault had the lens cracked, were the frames not strong enough for the lenses...? I discovered that the courier had not brought them this morning so they were not ready. I really want to take them this weekend, so fingers crossed that they meet the next promised deadlline of 12 noon tomorrow!

Just to let you all know that the server has been down all day and it is now after 11pm so I am off to bed!
First though I'm off for a shower, I go through a regular hokey cokey every night. Having a cold shower is like that you know... a real dilemma, which bit goes under first, then out again quickly, before it gets too cold, then the next bit and so on! I do have hot water from my bucket wash, but I try to be economical with that so get wet first with cold water then enjoy the hot as a follow up rinse so to speak... I suppose it sounds a bit like a car wash actually, I'm sure the last phase of that is a hot rinse, I draw the line at the final wax finish though!
Goodnight!
PS Found a frog in the kitchen again, about 3 inches long and chunky... how on earth they are getting in remains a mystery. I caught it and set it free outside to try again tomorrow!

This morning a child brought me a present.
A purple rumped sunbird nest with two eggs in it.
Guess I won't see them hatch now.
I couldn't be cross, he has a severe learning difficulty, but I was very sad.
All the rest of the morning, the poor female bird has been searching for her nest and chirping loudly. I've put the nest in a clump of branches further up the tree, but I doubt she'll find it or accept it. I hope she had laid all her eggs or she will be very uncomfortable as well as distressed.
I have been watching them working on that nest for around 6 weeks and now all for nothing. Nature can be very hard sometimes. I have however had the chance to have a quick look at the nest, it is amazing, the outside is animal hair all woven together and last week I saw them lining the inside with either cotton fluff or down.
In Memoriam!

I went for my eye test and after 1 and a half hours ended up at the opticians, they wanted me to choose new frames... after having my pupils dilated I couldn't see a thing in focus. They seemed surprised when I said I would come back later when I could see properly. maybe that is why some people end up with horrendous frames, they couldn't actually see them when choosing them.
I then went out into blazing sunlight onto a flight of white marble steps with no hand rail and no edge of step marker band as we would have here. I could hardly see where I was going, and had to shade my eyes with one hand. My photo-chromatic lenses don't change here, as the air is so dry, it was very frightening! I made my way to a row of autos who are obviously used to people feeling their way across to them with one hand over their eyes! I decided I deserved a coffee before going in to school. You would think someone would have mentioned to the eye hospital the need for good visual contrast on stairs to aid depth perception and the need for a hand rail before now. I feel a letter coming on!
This is a dilated pupil for those who have not seen one before! Scarey!

When I got to school I was glad I had not rushed when I discovered that in spite of checking 3 times and for a final confirmation at 4.30 yesterday that school was open as normal today and that only a few staff would be going to the conference being held in Junction, the place was empty of all teachers and senior pupils. I had arranged for 2 of my pre-school pupils to come in though, one of whose birthdays it was. I waited for them and we had a lovely session with a wee birthday gift for Ra of a cup and a card. She on the other hand ( or at least her parents) had brought cake for the whole class, a bag of sweets for the whole school to share (seems to be standard procedure here that when it is your birthday you give to others... nice!), and for me, a carrier bag full of goodies. I said I would share them with Metilda tomorrow and they went and found someone to translate to say that this bag was ALL for me. Ra's parents have a sweet and savoury home made snack stall in the next town and this was a selection from there for me! There is enough to last me a month! I think I'll be sharing them out around my neighbours. For size reference and to help you realise how much there is, each piece of cake in the box is around 2 inches square! I also found I had missed off a bag containing 250g of Bombay mix, it was still in the bottom of the carrier bag! Here is Ra. enjoying her birthday cake!

I came home after they left as there would be no more children coming in, a nice unexpected half day for me. I've been drawing up a questionnaire for parents to get some feedback about how things are going and how they see their child doing. Agnes is translating that for me so should be ready by the end of the week. I've also been writing up a brief paper for staff which will also be translated to try and explain more about what is going on. Although they have all been watching, I'm sure that hearing it in Tamil will make it a little clearer.
One other nice thing which has happened is that the parents of little A, the smiley child from last weeks pic, have asked if he can come in every day now instead of alternate days which was all he could really cope with before. He has really come on well being with the other children so I was delighted when they asked.

Today I had two new pupils in for assessment and one of them is actually a child with MDVI (multiple disabilities and visual impairment). The day started with the arrival of a child I had been expecting referred by Joel one of the physios. The little boy is just under two, severe CP, vision and hearing affected, but useful vision. He needs physical support to sit, can hold himself up with a rail if put into standing and can roll over, makes some sounds but no real speech as yet. Child two, a little girl, is 6 in June, attends a clinic run by the other physio, but found out about my class from a colleague. A sad story, 32 week pregnancy, emergency section then born asphyxiated, was revived after 30 minutes. She has some sitting balance and moves by an adapted crawl/roll movement. The saddest thing of all is that only immediate family and no friends or neighbours know of her existence. She is taken out in a car in the morning to the clinic, back for lunch then out again if necessary. She has an obvious cerebral visual impairment, light awareness and is able to fix on objects, but I'm looking forward to doing some real assessment with her to see if I can find out more. Child one is going to come twice a week initially and the other little girl, every afternoon for 30 minutes or so to start with.
I have made two appointments today for myself. I am going to the Aravind eye hospital tomorrow morning to have my eyes tested. I find I am constantly taking my varifocals off to read or use the computer, only wearing them for distance which is rather pointless! It opens at 7.30am and apparently if I turn up by 8am, I should avoid most of the queues, as well as an eye test they also do a dilation to allow full examination of the eye. Don't think I've ever done that before. The whole thing takes between 1 hour 15 minutes to around 3 hours dependent on the queue.
The other appointment is a trip to Kovalum.... I've booked transport and a room at the Rockholm for the weekend. I'm looking forward to the change.

We haven't seen the monkey for two weeks and what happens, Penny asks me about it so yesterday there it was strolling bold as brass in front of my window as I sat at my computer! It had the cheek to make a face at me as it walked past too!
The other picture below is of a man making lily flower garlands, I mentioned the flowers for hair a few days ago. This man... wearing a daringly short lunghi... is individually knotting together the flower heads to make garlands which are used either to welcome special guests, to give at weddings etc or to take to the temple. I mentioned the other day that I always try to ask before taking pictures, and this guy not only said yes, but gave me some lily flowers to take home and now the whole room smells gorgeous!

I found myself today making that strange figure of eight movement of the head which Indians use which looks like our headshake of 'No' but actually means 'yes go on then!'or is an informal form of greeting.
I thought you might like to see some of my kitchen gadgets! The first is an aluminium milk boiler, it is like a double boiler, you put water in the nozzle thing at the side, milk in the bowl, then when it is heated , the nozzle at the side acts as a whistle. You then boil the milk for 3 mins. The brown thing is an aptly named lemon 'squasher' much more fun than squeezer and describes what happens.
To make the perfect fresh lime (or lemon) soda:
Cut lemon or lime, place one half, cut side down, in squasher. Place over glass, squash! Add 1 teaspoon sugar and soda water, stir carefully and indulge... I'm afraid it's even better than the ones I get in the 'Canny Mans' back home.
The funny yellow things are a local delicacy.. why?... palmyra shoot. Dug out of the ground, the outer covering removed and boiled in salty water. the are then split lengthwise, the very tender inch tip of softest shoot is eaten then the rest is stripped of its outer cover and chewed as a snack. A bit tasteless but ok I suppose.
Went to church last night and was thrilled to be asked to read the lesson at evensong. Mark chapter 9, the healing of the boy with an evil spirit and his father's faith. that made me really feel I had been accepted into the congregation. next the guest preacher was called form behind me and who should it be but Carrie's husband.. I hadn't noticed him there nor him me, I don't know which of us was most surprised when the other got up and went to the lectern!

For anyone who couldn't spot the goat yesterday, click on the picture with pink flowers and a pop up will open of a large version of the picture... goat is dead centre tucking in to the bush!

It's hard to believe how quickly Sunday comes around again. Today being Saturday I was free to do as little as I chose and I'm afraid I did very little. I finished updating my report to date. Checked out some toys and school equipment from a Montessori company I found on the web did a little shopping and read. Spoke to the family of course, Skype is a great blessing when you are far from home. there are plenty of phone centres... about 1 in every row of 6 shops! which you can phone from. It's not the same as calling from home though. An Indian person I know said to em that India had leapt straight into the mobile phone age but had largely missed out on landlines and that is true. Practically everyone has a mobile, or cell phone, but I would say only around 30% have landlines.
Nancy very kindly brought me some chappattis and potato for breakfast which I kept for lunch as I had already eaten. I then went out to the post office to buy stamps and to get milk. I realised I have often mentioned goats but I don't think I've put up a pic. here is a solitary goat, I'll find a herd later and put that up. they wander the streets with sometimes some really tiny kids with them. They are generally far more attractive than the cows but still wander all over the road causing havoc! the milk we buy from shops here is apparently a blend of all sorts... cow, buffalo and goat... do oxen give milk?.. they are probably in there too if so!

On the way back from the milk shop, I came across a group of men cutting down a Neem tree which was intruding on some shops... have I mentioned my local shop is called Christ Stores?...I asked if I could take their pic which they found hilarious and agreed happily. I try always to ask people out of politeness if they mind and occasionally end off running off prints on my printer to give to them. neem is a tree which is very valuable to the Indians - the leaves, fruit and bark are all used in effective medicines.
The guy up the tree was holding one end of a saw which was about 4 foot long while the guy on the ground was pulling on a rope to provide the other end of the sawing action. Very effective as you can see form the branches below. The one they were cutting was about 12 inches in diameter. As you can see the man in the tree is wearing his Lungi. It's not really a towel chris, its around 2 metres long sometimes sewed in to a tube and sometimes not! They are usually of quite nice cotton and I have used one as a sheet before when travelling by train and not sure about the bedding!

As you can see the weather has dried up again thank goodness. I went out in the evening to the Sri Janikaram at Junction which has a very pleasant roof top restaurant and I usually relax there with my book and my dinner. On Fridays and Saturdays they have local Tamil singers so it is very pleasant. Tonight though I arrived and found a table fairly easily, settled down and the place filled up. First the head waiter came over and said did I mind a man sitting there to eat as there was no room with his family... of course I didn't. Next I was half way though my food and a group of 3 and a tiny baby sat down too... that was ok too, they didn't order though and after a while I had this uncomfortable feeling and sure enough when I turned around there were more people hanging around behind me waiting for me to finish and leave. Well that put paid to my relaxing evening and I just decided to finish up and come home which I did! The head waiter was most apologetic, sadly though most of their tables seat 6 and having me alone on a table is not very economic for them. I think there had been a big wedding in town so the hotels were all full.

Friday again, I don't know where all the days are going to! I have been priding myself on having lost a little weight, but I think Nancy, my landlady who lives upstairs, is determined to build me up again... I'm not exactly a 10 stone weakling, but there you go! She very kindly keeps bringing me down breakfast. So for those of you who ask if I really eat curry three meals a day, the answer is YES! Moreover, as one eats with one's fingers they are frequently turmeric yellow all day and smelling of spices. At least that way it is easy to remember what I had to eat last. Here is a picture of idli with sambar (local veg curry). Those who know me will realise it was a particular act of love to eat idli. Like Dosa, they are made with a dough which has been left to ferment overnight and idli are then steamed - dosa are fried like pancakes or Chappattis and I really don't like the sour taste of either. Along side is a vadai. The vadai looks like a doughnut, but don't fall for that one as some I know have, it has the odd chilli in it!
I think India invented the fast food stall, at every corner and sometimes in the middle of the street as well, there are tea stalls which sell snacks too. You can buy: Vadai, Murrukku (like chick pea noodles), banana chips, potato chips (crisps), fruit prepared for eating, breakfast and tiffin items. If you want tea to drink there, it comes in either a glass, a steel tumbler or a wee plastic cup. If you want it to take away they put it into a poly bag and tie the top then another bag to carry it away in. Everybody uses these stalls from the highest to the lowest and it is not unusual when in a shop, to be offered a cup of tea 'on the house' if a boy is passing in the street with a tea urn strapped to the back of his bike.
I realised that I have not put up a street sign for a long time, so here is one about the dangers of driving whilst using a mobile phone! This is taken on the main road from school out towards my house - Trivandrum Road. it is the main road from Kanya Kumari on the Southern tip of India to Madras and points north. There is a bypass which misses most of Palayamkottai now, it cuts off just before Perumalpuram and then cuts across the town roads just by the river which separates us from the Tirunelvelli side of town. Unfortunately, the traffic therefore still has to cross the main town road at a very busy roundabout, at least the heavy and through traffic doesn't actually go along the shopping streets though. Note the scaffolding poles which are in fact, in this case, advertisement hoardings, and made of bamboo.
My bird is sitting on her nest, I do hope she manages to produce a brood, I'd love to see that before I leave.

Penny asked me two questions... the blue machine thing at the back of the classroom in many shots is a paper pressing machine... apparently it used to be used in the workshop and was supposed to be removed in November. I've given up on that one. It is a lot safer now that the only moving part, the cast iron circular drum, has dropped to the table surface. Fortunately I spotted it was about to fall and flew across the room to rescue the fingers of the hyper active child who was busy exploring it while in for assessment... I was talking to mother and father was watching the child at the time, No harm done fortunately!
What happened to the monkey... your guess is as good as mine, probably heard the rumours of what might happen to it and went back from whence it came, nothing has been seen of it for about a week now, so fingers crossed!
Finally congrats to my niece and her fiancé, who got engaged on Valentine's Day... I haven't heard yet whether it was seeing that pic of her on the Scotsman mag cover last week that finally swung it. Time to buy another hat!

Well it's raining again and the locals are up in arms. Funny thing is they keep asking me if I like this weather and are surprised when I say 'No!'. There have been fantastic thunderstorms for the last two days because there is no real drainage though the puddles quickly form. there is a picture of our front gate below. As one wears open flat soled sandals, walking is not much fun and you just know you are going to have wet muddy feet all day. It does bring out the fashion disasters though! Today I have seen:
1. A man with a carrier bag on his head.
2. A man with a hanky (wet!) on his head.
3. A man wearing a woolly hat.
4. A man wearing a yellow, flowery, plastic raincoat.
5. A man holding a tray over his head while riding his motor scooter.
6. A child being carried with a crash helmet on her head... they were walking along the road at the time.

On the subject of dress, it does seem unfair that women have to be covered up in Sarees or Salwar suits at all times. (except in their own homes when they can change into a nightie... which is common day wear here and not a sign of slovenliness or of having slept in). men however seem to wear as much or as little as they wish. I have seen three piece suits (must be unbearably hot), slacks and open necked short sleeved shirts, open short sleeved shirts with lungis, t-shirts with shorts (which look more like boxer shorts at times), lungi only... I presume there are underpants underneath but have not checked! Lungis can be worn full length, when they resemble an ankle length skirt, they can also be worn folded in half (up the way so that they can be easily dropped again)to about knee length which is more practical for wandering around, riding a bike/motorbike or working. They are used for day or night wear and are usually checked or patterned including floral patterns!
Older men often wear dhotis which are usually white, and silk or cotton with a border around the bottom edge, often in gold thread. White is also the colour for formal wear for weddings, (you can wear a dhoti formally, but not a lungi) functions etc. The picture of the youth festival has a reasonable selection if you look closely. )If you click on any picture, a larger version will open in case you didn't know).

When it comes to shoes, people wear them or not, you will see people walking around town with no shoes on also cycling bikes, driving autos and motor bikes. It is customary to take them off when entering a church or temple and in some cases especially Hindu temples, this is compulsory. It is courtesy to take them off on entering someone's house to avoid trailing dust everywhere - polite but not compulsory - this is also the case in some shops. Women are expected to cover their heads when praying with the tail of their saree or the scarf of their salwar. Men do not cover their heads. Most people remove their shoes when praying, quite subtly without any fuss, just slipping out of them, one advantage of slip on shoes.
By the way, the wee bird I've been watching (see yesterday's post) is a purple rumped sunbird! Can't say I've noticed the purple rump but apparently it's not its most distinguishing feature unless you happen to be another purple rumped sunbird!

A bit of a quiet day today except for my pre-schoolers who had water play, after the 12 noon prayer time though - as seemed sensible! The chaos was as you might expect, but they all had spare clothes and had a lot of fun... mum's who wear beautiful sarees get very used to being wet and to drying quickly in this weather, I however can never got used to that and my heart always sinks as I get wet and imagine, as in Scotland, that I am going to be cold and wet for the rest of the day! As a matter of interest, Carrie has now settled into Toronto and is finding that compared to -17 which it has been since she got there, Scotland has a warm sunny climate!
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been watching closely as a pair of small birds of as yet unidentified species, have been making the most intricate nest outside my classroom window. At first I thought they were simply collecting nest materials from a lump of windblown rubbish which had got wrapped around a branch, but gradually the truth emerged. The nest is perhaps 3 inches from top to bottom and of an enclosed variety, I though of weaver birds but I'm not sure and my bird book is woefully inadequate, I have ordered another, but in the mean time I wait. Agnes tells me they are called 7 sisters as you rarely see them without a crowd of relatives. I hate to tell her, but one of these two is not a sister! the birds are about 2 inches long, both have yellow breasts, the male has a glorious blue/black back which glows in the sunlight, the female has a dowdy brown back, they have long beaks of the sun bird type, and tails which are a similar shape to that of a wren but longer.
The only problem is the position of the nest,as yet no pupils have noticed the nest, but it is in a spot the whole school goes past constantly, being on the veranda outside my room. I hope it lasts, I'd love to watch and see the outcome! I might add that that is not my finger across one of the pics, but the bars of the classroom window space.

It appears to be autumn here or probably more well named, fall, as the leaves are coming off some of the trees at a rate of knots! The almond trees have leaves 8 inches long by 4 inches wide and as they fall they actually make a thumping sound. I say almond, and they tell me they are almond, but the nuts don't quite look right, and nor are the leaves to my mind! I'm sure I remember picking up almonds from under a tree in Rome which were as we buy them in the shops. These have a green fleshy out covering to them. I keep being promised that someone will open me a ripe one, and I wait in anticipation.
I had a fresh mango from the tree in the school yard today, lovely. They tell em though that it is not mango season, yet the tree is full of them. I do not understand!!!

Somehow, I didn't quite get around to writing yesterday, but be impressed as here I am at 8.30 in the morning all organised and ready to go to school and the auto doesn't come for another 30 mins!
Those of you who got the Scotsman on Saturday may or may not have noticed the stunner on the front page of the magazine section, for those of you who did not, the lady in red was my niece Michelle.
Monday in school was relatively quiet, of my pre-schoolers, only two came in, but one of them A, who spent much of his early time with me either crying or hanging on to his mum was just amazing, just look at the smile on his face. He is not yet 3, but was anticipating and laughing for most of the session! Great.

During the afternoon, i was working with class 1A which has the most difficult and diverse group of pupils. The principal is very keen that student teachers should all see the school and thus widen the awareness of its existence and remit.  Unfortunately they tend to turn up by the coachload, without warning and process through the classrooms with a chat from each teacher explaining what is going on. they are usually diverted away from my class, but this lot found their way. First of all I looked up to see one male student looking in my window, as I looked up he called 'Sir, Sir' and his lecturer too came and stared in. I felt like a monkey scratching itself in the zoo or something! Then the rest of his group, then they came into the classroom. At that point Metilda had been called away, I had 8 pupils all ready to go into orbit at the slightest excuse and 30 students all in the classroom. I tried to carry on, but the  they started asking questions at which point the kids reached ignition point and chaos resulted. I felt such an idiot, but it was just impossible to carry on with such interruptions. We survived the first 3 groups, but then Metilda came back and we managed to divert the rest... AArgh!
It rained again last night absolutely bucketed down. That means there are big puddles everywhere, and as one wears flat sandals that means manky feet all day!
One nice thing, last night Mrs Lydia, widow of Bishop Jason came to visit me, she is very sweet and kind and gentle always and last night was no different. She sends her regards to those back home who know her. The 2nd anniversary of the Bishop's death is in April and she is publishing an English version of the memorial book of his life and has asked me to proof read it.
Time for school now! The auto is here.

Seeing as how it is Sunday today and also the first Sunday in lent, I thought today I would give up doing things! Only joking but I did have a lazy day and for those interested I've bought myself an Every Day with Jesus to add to my daily readings book for Lent and probably the rest of the year too. My long lie went for a Burton when Nancy rang my door bell at 8am to offer em some iddyappam for breakfast, from the street seller who comes around every morning, ringing his bicycle bell and calling his wares. They are a rice flour sort of vermicelli looking thing which one eats cold with grated fresh coconut, and milk with or without sugar, they are quite nice, something I've eaten often, but she has been keen to get me some and today was the day... could have done with a long lie though, still mustn't grumble must I.
The pics below show today's offering and also an old picture taken in 2003 of Carrie's home help. She is making iddyappam in Carrie's kitchen!

Having finished A Suitable Boy (Vikram Seth) last week, I have been reading The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka, which either Ruth or Mike sent me as part of a bundle - very good, quite a quick read but really interesting, set in Sri Lanka and Malaysia and spanning most of the 20th century.
I went to Evensong at 6.00pm, I thought you might like to see a picture of where I go, It is called Christ Church Military Lines and celebrates its 150th anniversary on 23rd February. It is of course in Lenten array at the moment in spite of the silk carnations on the altar which I am sure the eagle eyed amongst you would spot. As a piskie, I somehow seem fated to attend what is known as the "English" church, not only here, but also in Scotland! Anglican Communion yes, but CSI (The Church of South India) is no more Church of England than is the Scottish Episcopal Church.

For those who don't know there is a Lent Blog being coordinated by a group of Episcopal Church members, it is called Beauty from Chaos and is at http://beautyfromchaos.wordpress.com/.

I had a bit of a quiet day today, it's so nice to have some time to myself. everyone wants to fill my time for me so some space is good! I did a little shopping, so I've lots of street scenes to show today.
I had a leisurely 'get up' dropped off my ironing at the laundry, I thought you might like a pic of the guys doing the ironing, they have very big brass and steel irons, filled with charcoal, what a job in this heat, ironing from 10.00am to 10.00pm every day including Sunday.

I then headed off into town at 2pm with Santosh, the auto driver that Augustina, who provided my cooker recommended. He picks me up occasionally and always asks why I didn't phone him...answer.. I'm never actually that organised and tend just to head off when the whim takes me! We went first to the tailor who had been fixing the hole in the knee of my red trousers which I tore when I fell last week... knee is much better, purple and beginning to scab over.. yuck! Then off to Tirunelvelli town, over the two tiered bridge. I spotted these ladies with a huge load each on the way. We went through the market are in town, massive array of fresh fruit and veg... here are some onions, one of about 15 stalls all selling onions. All seem to be red onions here, I don't think I have ever seen our white variety in shops.

I went to Pothy's as I have realised I need another double sheet - most of my sheets are singles and I am now using the bed which Chandramohan and Agnes lent me... it is a small double about 3 foot 6, so not really big enough for two bit nice for one. Pothys is extraordinary, it is like a big city store in Tirunelvelli Town which is otherwise full of small shops and businesses. It has always been big but renewed it's frontage in the last couple of years and now looks out of place. However it has a very good selection. It sells all clothes.. men's women's and children's, household textiles and lots of fabrics, silks, cottons, trimmings etc.. Sheet bought, I then went to Junction where I picked up some things for the classroom and had a wander, Santosh had stayed with me to act as transport and safe deposit vehicle for my shopping. The street scene pictures which follow the one of Pothys, are taken in its immediate area and show a sugar cane crushing machine (to extract the juice which is then drunk with ginger or other spices). A stand selling jack fruit pieces, Jack fruit grow on trees, they can go to around 2 foot long by about 18 inches diameter, inside they are segments, so a little like pomegranate in that they are clearly separated, but obviously in proportion to the overall fruit size they are much larger, yellow and fairly sweet. There is a whole fruit on the back left of the stall. I put a pic of a lorry load a few days ago to give you some idea.

The next pic is of a cycle load, it was enormous carrying what look like scaffolding poles... except they use bamboo as scaffolding p;oles here and these were metal! Finally for Mike, a Silver shop... actually selling stainless steel. Everything is made of steel here from pots to dinner plates to tumblers and all variety of things you have never seen all of which have their own uses. I may say as well that although the streets look quiet, I was actually rising life and limb dodging the traffic! That bike, for example is actually going the wrong way round, there is a one way system, around the town centre, which is actually built around the town temple. The auto drivers hate it as there is a huge detour and most of them are going to the Pothy's area which is back where they come in. they always try to do a sneaky right turn if the policemen aren't looking.

Then it was back into the auto and to Palayamkottai to the Aaryas supermarket to pick up some groceries, this used to be the only such shop in Tirunelvelli/Palayamkottai but now several have sprung up. It's a bit strange, staff are so desperate to help that they get in the way shadowing me and standing between me and the shelf I am trying to look at, ready to pick things up and show them to me. I try to remain polite as they are presumably doing what they have been told, but I feel like a shop lifting suspect!
I then called Jeyapaul Abraham and his wife Snowfia, they are people I met through Cursillo and very, very kind, but almost overwhelming. He is in the tribunals dept. of the local transport and fairly powerful man, she is head of the IT dept. in Trans World Radio (India) a Christian broadcasting station. They have been pressing me to visit so today I was organised. Snowfia's mother was also there but doesn't speak much English. I had a delicious Guava - fresh picked from her Mum's tree! They have moved into a house in the centre of Palayamkottai, in fact I have seen it every day as I go to work but of course not known it was their house. The house is immediately behind a building site which is progressing every day. When I say immediately, I mean it! If you go through the door out of their kitchen, you are about 8 feet from the hole in the ground which is the foundations, to your right are shelves! they knocked down Snowfia's kitchen to build the new shop and will rebuild it when they are finished the new construction. It's a rented house so they didn't really have any say in the matter.

Today, I had two really nice sessions in school.
Number 1 was S who has been with me since day 1. his normal occupation is sitting in class in a corner tucked out of everyone's way repetitively twiddling a toy. He has been doing well in interaction sessions with me and has gradually begun, in my room, to explore and play with objects. The picture below shows him exploring some of the things I have on the A frame which was made by the local carpenter. He was putting things in and out of the bucket, pouring into a tub, putting the bangle on and off his wrist, taking my arm and putting the bangle on me!... that is a real 'wow' for those who are in the know about children with his sort of needs. He has also been doing more in his own class and actually stood at a table, playing (alongside, not with) a child who had a toy he likes.

Number 2 was my group of pre-schoolers, I had 4 today as the boy who normally comes earlier on his own, today, came at the same time as the other 3 by mistake. We ended up after our song time, out on the veranda playing with sand. a lot of fun and this time when A tried to catch the sand streaming out of the jug he was able to do so... learning point ... you can catch sand but you can't catch water as it runs through your fingers. It was nice to see too that they had all come with a change of clothes ready to get one set messy. One girl too had brought her granddad as well as her mum so he could see what was going on! I'm going to have the two girls every day next week and the two boys as well on alternate days, so for 3 days I'll have the group of 4 with Metilda and I doing individual sessions within that time. Great fun!
Lent here is marked all over the town and diocese each day, by the church bells ringing out at noon and everyone stopping what they are doing for 5 minutes silent prayer, including our school. We decided that would not be possible for my group though, however the rest of the school gathered all around us, on the verandah, as is their custom, for the prayer time. They were silent, we were not. We may have to look into the logistics of this for next week as we are only 3 of the 40 days down so far. Sand wasn't too bad, but next Wednesday's water play could be a different story.
The final picture is of one of the two class groups I am working with, the progress is amazing, the kids come running into my classroom and immediately sit down in a circle on the floor and hold hands ready to start... a phenomenal change in a few weeks. It's so rewarding to see them smiling and laughing, passing objects around the circle and even beginning to anticipate what comes next. If you look at the blackboard behind, you can see my crib sheet of phonetic Tamil words for the songs we have been using... the one beginning 'Taleye, toll, muttee, viral' is Head, shoulders knees and toes! Just in case you want to practise!!

It's raining and it is not supposed to rain here in February! It started at about 2pm but was obviously heading that way all day and so got very humid, it has hardly stopped all evening... for heavens sake this is India and not Edinburgh. What is going on?
Daughters are doing well at home, doctor daughter is at that horrid stage when she is applying for jobs for consultancy/specialism training as you do after your first two years post-qualification. You probably read about it last year and the absolute chaos in the NHS world as people applied for jobs but their applications were anonymised ? is that a word? and couldn't apply for jobs if they were turned down for others the result being many highly qualified candidates not even getting interviews - and an exodus to other countries where they could get jobs. The following links explain better than I can.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6657289.stm   and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7171601.stm
Good luck to all in this position and prayers please for a happy outcome, preferably in Edinburgh, for my own junior doctor.
Daughter number two has just passed all her first semester exams at uni!!! Yay to you girl! What a star. She will never ever have to open a history book again! Don't burn the books though, we can sell them second hand. 

I went to a 'Spiritual Life Conference' here this evening, an evangelist Charles Price, Senior Pastor of the people's Church, Toronto and an acclaimed international evangelist who broadcasts world wide. He has a TV programme called Living Truth. An interesting experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the 200 strong choir and the pleasure of singing 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' with the rest of the audience.
I went with Nancy, her husband and mother - she was amazed that I seemed to know almost more people there than she did. To be fair they lived in Abu Dhabi for 26 years, so are just settling back into the community here. It was funny though, nurses who have treated me, there have been several opportunities for that of course, pastors, parents of pupils, people who have spoken to me in the street, Cursillo friends! I even met the pastor of Military Lines Church who introduced me to someone as a 'member of his congregation!' A  really good biryani meal was laid on afterwards outside where it had fortunately stopped raining although the ground was very muddy. Eating with one's fingers makes outside catering so much easier as you don't have to try to balance a knife and fork as well as a plate! Delicious!

Well today I was up with the lark... well at 7.00am which for those who know me well will realise was very early, especially as I am not sleeping particularly well just now as my leg is still uncomfortable (all together now, aw!). Anyway I was up at 7 and in church by 7.45 a ten minute auto run away so that wasn't bad. I've discovered that the pastor of the church I go to is the uncle of one of the school physios, it really is extraordinary how threads keep weaving in and out of things and connections happening unexpectedly. The service was in English, but not as I had hoped a Eucharist, no ashes either. The Roman Catholic churches do it, but not CSI (Church of South India) or not in this diocese anyway. After that I headed back home in time to meet Bala, Nancy's cleaner who does any major cleaning I need doing. Normally there is only about 20 mins available for her so today, as I was not going in to work, I got her to do the floors, which involves a large bucket of water and a brush made from twigs and is incredibly effective. It takes Bala around 10 minutes to do the whole house and me about 20 to do a room! Each room has a hole in the equivalent of the skirting boards, at ground level to allow water to be swept out of it, then has a wooden bung to stop cockroaches etc getting in! After that it was time to head to school as Chandramohan and I were going to the bank to change the travellers cheques which the trust is giving to pay for staffing for a year. I had asked that we phone the bank in advance (2 days ago) so that things could be ready for us, £2000 is a lot of rupees. This meant that they were expecting us today. In spite of that it took the best part of an hour to carry out the transaction. In a tourist area it would have taken around 5 minutes. For those who are interested, the amount was 1,58,200.
That is not a misplaced comma... explanation coming hope you can make sense of it. Those who have read Vikram Seth's epic, A Suitable Boy, may remember the child prodigy getting upset that not all the powers of 10 have special names: ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million. In India 100,000, or 10 to the power of 5, is called a Lakh, so the amount above is 1 lakh,58,thousand 2 hundred. they also have a name for 10 million, 10 to the power of 7, which is a Crore, It takes a bit of getting used to! In a way though as we operate a decimal system,having a special name for the powers of 10 is logical. In the book the boy was upset to find there was no name for 10 to the power of 4, 10,000 doesn't have a special name, nor 10 to the power of 8 10,000,000. Apparently the Chinese though do have special names.
End of general knowledge section!
Here are some local views, washing along the river, a view of my house - I am in the ground floor apartment, entered by the front single gate, a view of a lorry load of logs on the road, loads here are so enormous it is a wonder there is any suspension left on the vehicles.

I came home for 1.30 in time for lunch upstairs with Nancy and her mum who is a remarkable 87 and goes off for walks around the neighbourhood, she doesn't like cows though and sometimes falls trying to get out of their way, there is not much of her to put up any resistance actually. After lunch, time for a siesta, and after last night's restless night I was horrified to find I had slept for 2 hours. I ten went round to the hospital to have my dressing changed and I think got Attilla the nurse. She used raw iodine and I just about hit the roof, then instead of the soothing cream the doc has prescribed, just used iodine on gauze and taped it on. It has taken about 3 hours for the fire to go down on my leg and for me to think I might be able to get to sleep tonight, I feel such a wimp, but it was extremely sore.
One of the boys at school got a burn yesterday and they treated it with ink and honey, it was all done when I was elsewhere or I would have put in a strong plea for cold water and a doctor! I saw him today waiting for his mum to take him home, his foot had huge burn blisters and looked extremely sore. He had been to the doctor eventually yesterday and they had cleaned it up and given a cream to apply and an injection both of pain relief and of antibiotic. It will take a long time to heal and he will have difficulty walking for a long time.

Shrove Tuesday today which always makes me think of Carl who was one of those on our first visit to India in 1997. He died when the mail plane he was flying crashed into the Firth of Forth shortly after take off on Shrove Tuesday 2001. I remember having heard of the crash on my way to my Church, which is about a mile from the crash site and then hearing from Idris when I got home later that it had been Carl's plane. Unbelievable then and now.

School was a tad strange today as none of my young pupils turned up... could be because they had all gone to get their disability registration cards after yesterday's discussions. I can't really complain as the parents were doing exactly what I wanted them to do. Offering support to each other and sharing information and experiences. Fantastic, just what I had hoped would happen! It seems that if you register your child as disabled... they work out the percentage disability and record it on a card, apparently Ra. who is almost 3 is 82% disabled... not quite sure how they come up with that figure, but never mind! Once registered children then qualify for a 500 rupee per month allowance which is a reasonable amount actually. Not enough to make up for a parent not being able to work, but better than nothing. It's a shame really that nobody was here today as tomorrow the school is closed for Ash Wednesday. I shall be up at 7am for a 7.45 service. You lot will hardly be asleep by then,. but don't worry I'll pray for sweet dreams for you all.

I made my pancakes tonight with remarkable success, dosa pans are just like pancake pans, so tossing them was easy too. I invited Nancy and her husband and mother down to share them with me. I think they enjoyed them, they certainly ate them up and Nancy's husband had an extra one. They hadn't heard of Shrove Tuesday before, so were intrigued at the idea. They do however give things up for Lent... flowers in their hair (the ladies not the men), many give up meat, sweet things etc just as we do. Others put a handful of uncooked rice into a bowl every time they have a meal and give it to the church when the bowl is full for distribution to the poor. The churches also give out Lenten collection pots in which to put the money saved by not eating meat at a meal or not buying sweets, flowers etc. The money pots are then collected on Good Friday in church. I quite like the idea of not just giving something up but of putting aside the money saved as a result of that to be used for the good of others.

How come I have never seen a chameleon before and now there appear to be three living on the tree behind my classroom? I know it is not the same one in different places because they are all different sizes before anyone is smart and picks me up on that! It's extraordinary isn't it how you can just 'not see' something then once you notice it, it is everywhere! Just for interest, I also got one which has a squirrel nose to nose with a chameleon and also in the background a mynah bird for those wot are interested! You'd almost think they were reading this blog wouldn't you. the third picture has two chameleons in it, I'll give you a clue they are both on the tree trunk!
The other picture is of K one of the pupils at the school, who communicated very clearly by sign, gesture and facial expression that he was far more interesting than any chameleon and I should take his picture... so I did to his delight!

I went out to the shop- at around 6.30 this evening and managed to trip over an uneven bit of road surface... we don't have nice neat road edges and pavements and things here, the tarmac just goes to the side of the drivable bit then stops. This means the edge of the road is a wavy line, the tarmac though is up to 3 inches thick, so there are gaps in the wavy edge bits which turn into holes and I tripped over one in the dark... The result is a skint knee! A passing car stopped and a lady got out to see if I was alright, at that time my main concern was my dignity! I looked down and saw my trousers were torn and thought oops! I thanked her and said I was fine and carried on to the shop to get my carrots for tea! (Note to self must eat more carrots they help one see in the dark!) By the time I got home I could feel the warm trickle down my leg so removed the trousers to find a deep graze which fortunately as I had been wearing trousers, did not have too much grit in it! I cleaned it with dettol, then with saline solution then with antiseptic wipe, then tried to stop the blood while hopping around all the time. Just then Reggie (Carrie's husband) arrived and tried not to laugh at the picture I presented... I was glad I knew him well enough not to be embarrassed! He went out to find me some more dressings without success, so I made do with one of the two skintact dressings I had brought from Scotland and thought I would look for more tomorrow. After Reggie left I cooked my carrots, I had a fusion of East and West tonight for tea, a tandoori chicken breast I bought in a local restaurant... cost me 40p, and mashed potatoes and carrots! very tasty.
I had just finished eating when Nancy and her husband got back. He went out to try and find another dressing while she went to her Mum's. When she came back she said her husband was concerned and could she see the cut... I was beginning to feel like an exhibit here! Anyway upshot was... you've guessed it another visit to another hospital, an iodine clean out, a new dressing, antibiotics, painkillers and a vitamin supplement...! and instructions to come back for the next 3 days to get it changed. I managed to convince them I didn't need another tetanus, as I had had one in September, but they made me promise to check with Doctor Daughter which I have! As Nancy had introduced me as a missionary here to work with disabled children, they wouldn't accept any money for treatment though I insisted on paying the £1.50 for drugs, nor would they accept a donation which makes me feel like a fraud, so I'll have to send an anonymous donation somehow.
I'm sitting here typing away now as my knee stiffens up and the gecko has been running up and down the wall just within my peripheral vision beside me. This is quite disturbing as I am constantly thinking 'What was that?'. The geckos live one per room and are around 2-3 inches long and a sort of translucent yellow colour. There was a clunk a few minutes ago and gecko shot down the wall and has just reappeared with a cricket in its mouth which is as long as the gecko is! I hadn't even noticed the cricket in the house but they are a nuisance especially in the bedroom as they periodically land on the top of my head and make me leap in terror in the middle of the night... then they are impossible to catch so I end up sleeping in the spare room bed which is about 5 foot by 2foot 6 and not up to my body mass at all!
By the way are those of you on blueyonder email aware that the email system is not working and hasn't been since 30th Jan? They keep saying on the website it is a priority (I should thinks it is after 5 days!) and that they are working on it. If you need to contact me please either contact me through the blog and I will email you back if it is not for publication, or use one of my other email addresses if you know them.
Please do read today's main post which is below, this is just an additional moan looking for the sympathy vote!

Not a monkey this time in fact much less aggressive, timid in fact. I was peering out of my classroom window this morning watching the squirrels... 'Anil' in tamil - they have stripey backs and are much smaller even than our red squirrels-anyway I was watching them and noticed one not moving much on the trunk of the tree when I realised it was in fact a chameleon! I took a couple of shots from in the classroom as I have learned better a bad shot form far away than finding it has gone when you get closer! I then created hilarity by dashing out of the school grounds and round the back of the building, the chameleon sure enough had gone, so back to class. (I've been meaning to say, the people here refer to the other side of anything as it's 'backside' eg, she has gone round to the backside... she is living in the backside of the house, etc, etc. I have a wee juvenile smile to my self,and think some things just don't translate do they!)
When I got back to class, looking out of the window again, I spotted the chameleon again, so that's right, you've got it, back out round the school etc, etc. On my way I heard Metilda saying 'Bird, Sally?' which is my usual reason for dashing off camera in hand. I was creeping up to the tree trying to be inconspicuous... just who is the chameleon here anyway! When I heard an amused voice saying 'Sally Auntie' one of the classroom assistants had spotted me and the whole class was at the window watching my antics. Got to the tree, there was the chameleon, but it was camera shy, lying along a branch, as I went to one side, it rolled its body behind the branch, when I went to that side it rolled it's body back over again and so on for 5 frustrating minutes! Below are my best shots!

Can't find a squirrel pic at the moment but they are always there. I have an amazing array of wildlife outside my window at school, it is a wonder I get any work done at all. I made a list so here goes: Ox, dogs, cats, crows, kites, eagles, mynah birds, bee eaters, kingfishers, weaver birds (currently building a nest), pond herons, green parrots, squirrels, chameleon. and I'm bound to have missed some. the school also has budgies.
The school has just been given a big fishtank on a stand (4feet by 2 feet by 2 feet)and any of my colleagues back home will tell you that I've always been keen on fishtanks in school. I think that the filter making its bubbling sounds and the variety of colours and differing speeds of movement of the fish combined with pond weed etc provide visual stimulation and yet also have a calming effect. So, on the condition that I get to keep some in my class too - which I had already semi-organised, hence the instant contact with a fish expert - I have offered to have the tank set up for them which will cost around £30. I have it all organised, a man is coming tomorrow and for the princely sum of £4 per month will come and clean and maintain it! A bargain.
Jeyakodi has said they will name one of the fish after me... perhaps and Angel fish? Suggestions please! It's great, as well as what we would call cold water fish, all these tropical varieties can also live in just normal tank water, no need for a heater! I'm going to go out with a couple of older pupils in an auto to pick the fish - What fun! Chandramohan was laughing at me, he says he had forgotten how Scottish people like to do things at once and not, as in the Indian way, when they get around to it.

Had a bit of a long lie today till around 9.30! It was nice having nothing really to do apart from potter on the computer and write up my month 3 report. I am now over half way through my trip and this month have really begun to feel and see some progress being made. I suppose it is the consolidation of what went before, but it really does feel good. I am also trying to equip the project with everything they could possibly need while I am still here as it is easier for me to purchase stuff now as a possible need arises, rather than Metilda or someone else try to buy things then have to justify to others! Sorry trustees! I'm really being very good honest! That's us out of Epiphany now, and into 'before Lent', the year is really flying by. I'll let you know how I get on with pancakes on Tuesday!

I saw that monkey again today... and it growled at me so I'm keeping my distance, didn't much fancy it anyway I have to say. It was sitting on my fence post and taking on one of the local dogs! Don't much fancy them either to be honest. I grabbed a pic and will no doubt continue taking pics over the next few days to try and get a good one... not if it snarls though, I shall go inside and shut the door! I say 'he' although to be honest, I haven't actually got close enough to check - although I am sure, were it a female, it would have come in for a cuppa rather than growled at me!

Just met the landlord at the gate... Ponraja, he is very nice and friendly. Not to monkeys though... he's reported the monkey to the Forestry Dept. who should come and try to catch it, but were not very positive about their success. To which he replied that if there was any trouble he had a gun and would deal with it himself. I'm glad I'm a good tenant! I must say though it's not a wee cutie, and there are two very young children next door who wouldn't stand a chance if he took a dislike to them Hopefully though the forestry dept will come and catch it.

The following report was in The Times of India on 21st October. You can look it up online if you wish (Google it)
...........................
Delhi's Deputy Mayor S S Bajwa died on Sunday
NEW DELHI: Delhi's Deputy Mayor S S Bajwa died in New Delhi on Sunday of head injuries after falling from the terrace of his house following an attack by monkeys.
The 52-year-old Corporator from Anand Vihar ward was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Apollo hospital on Saturday with multiple injuries and his condition deteriorated later leading to his death on Sunday morning, BJP Delhi President Harsh Vardhan said.
Bajwa, a businessman and Delhi BJP Vice-President, was walking on the terrace of the first floor of his house when the monkeys attacked him after which he lost balance and fell from terrace at around 8 AM on Saturday.
Bajwa was elected to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for the first time in April this year. He is survived by a wife and a son.
This is not the first case of monkey attack on the city's denizens.
The High Court has pulled up the Municipal Corporation of Delhi several times in the past to curb monkey menace in the Capital.
.......................

It rained today which broke the heat a bit... but not much - it was 29 degrees C over night last night. There is really very little difference between night and day temperatures unless you are in direct sun of course. I've spent the morning, naming all the pictures I took while Colin and I were travelling, only 389 of them, plus those I took on my phone. Then I named all the recent pics I've taken otherwise, several hours work, so I think I was very justified in having a bacon and egg sandwich for lunch, it was sooo good I can tell you.
This afternoon I am going to write up my report and then do my accounts, I'm not very good at such things, but as it is not my money I have to be very careful... mind you half of the receipts are in Tamil and I have to remember what they were for.
I got a row the other day for not eating Indian food, I'm just not telling you about it though. I eat Indian whenever I am not at home, which means every lunch time and if I go out to buy my tea.  I even eat with my fingers and off banana leaves. Occasionally though I just crave blandness or familiarity and that's when the bacon or poached egg start to shout to me! Honest floks, I'm not in here eating beans on toast every night and avoiding all the fabulous fresh food that is available.
Nancy just came down and gave me something called Boli, which is a pancake/chappatthi type of thing with coconut and sweet things in it. Very nice! She says that Balagi, the driver has been giving her very good reports on the way I have been looking after the house over the last 3 months and told them they should learn from me!!! Not sure what he means by that, but glad I am a good tenant. I'm unlikely to be kicked out early that means, so that's a relief. Opefully Ponraja won't need to get his gun to me either!
Carrie arrived in London yesterday and today flies out to Canada, she met up with her elder son, Handel, at Heathrow and they spent the night at Jessie and Anand's house in London. Handel is doing a Masters Degree in media management at Bournemouth University and she hasn't seen him since he left India in September, so that was a special meet up for them both.

No - that's not news of a meetings of Archbishops, but about the monkey in my garden... I saw it today! It's about 2 foot tall quite heavily built and has a tail of around 3 foot, I think it is a macaque. I certainly won't be getting to close to it that is for sure! I'm afraid Nancy is going to lose all the fruit off her trees though, it was tucking into an unripe pomegranate when I saw it, there was another on the ground and the mangoes have all disappeared too.
I am going to fall out with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. I have got used to the irregular but regular 1 hour a day power cuts, but this week for three days the power has gone off about 9.30am and stayed off until after school finishes. It has been so hot in class with no fans (every room has a ceiling fan in most buildings) and there is no escaping it... popping outside for a breath of fresh air doesn't work as it is hotter outside than in! The one good thing is that it has been back by the time I get home so I can collapse on the bed and revel in the draft from the fan. Still it also saved me defrosting the fridge!
Today in school we had a ball! I had the three children together for the first time and as expected they all operated fairly independently, they have not got to the peer awareness stage yet and are used to being the centre of attention. That was no problem, there were Metilda and I, 3 mums and 2 dads between the three kids. We did our usual circle songs to start and they are really getting the hang of that. I then got out two big bowls filled with water... we went out to the verandah! They had a ball, we all got soaked, but little A who normally just sits and sings to himself, had his hands in there, he was sharing with one of the girls who really doesn't know about sharing! He was trying to catch the water in his fingertips as it poured down. The parents had as much fun as the kids I think! Next time I'll get a third water bowl.
One nice thing too was that one of the fathers, whose little girl has only been here this week asked how I thought his daughter was doing. I had a long chat with him and the upshot is he and his wife are delighted with what is happening and want their daughter to come every day. I also had a chat with the principal who I had dragged over to see what was going on and he was really pleased too.
We also had a presentation to Chandramohan from the staff to celebrate his PhD. they gave him a suitcase, not sure the significance of that one!!