The weather here has been quite cool... 30'ish, and cloudy as if preparing me for my return!
I've done all I can today to prepare for today and my flight, including having a massage tonight. Now I have to go back to the hotel and wash off the ayurvedic oils or I'll be coming home yellow and no one will want to sit near me on the plane! I have a wake up call, assuming I've been to sleep that is at 1.30am, my flight is at 5.05am so 3 hour check in time. I get back v. late Tuesday and for a couple of days will only be contactable from around 10am - 9pm as I try to bring my body clock back 4.5 hours, at least I'll be awake in the mornings!
My India mobile is receiving calls and texts, but not sending them, so if I don't respond, please forgive me, thanks Freddie and Joyce! My UK mobile is also receiving texts.
I am flying from Trivandrum airport in Kerala and if you want to see the hotel I am in currently go to www. then rockholm.com (I have not typed the address correctly as if I put it as a link then my viewing figures are all messed up.)
Looking forward to seeing everyone soon, especially Jon as he meets me off the plane tomorrow evening! Goodbye from India. & Namdri! (Thank you in Tamil)for all your support.

Well here I am back at Kovalum for 36 hours before flying home on Tuesday. It's really strange here as the season is finished and ,lots of the shops are closed adn boarded up. The sea is really wild, I had a long soak in it today but now swimming.
Yesterday was horrid! Saying goodbye to lots of people and delivering all the last bits of household furniture and goods to friends and charities. I went outy for a meal with Prem and ida, but we ddin't eat till after 10 which I am never very good at, on the way home we had to go to his hospital as 2 patients needed help so I ended up getting home about 11.30 still with packing to do! aaaargh! I made it to bed at around 12.30 and was up again this morning at 6.45 ready for Raja to pick me up at 7.15 to take me to the early morning English service at Military Lines Church. I was doing the intercessions, it was a nice surprise to see Steven lionel taking the service and to meet up with Manoah, Felicia and of course Reggie too.
Raja took me home again after church, came in for coffee then headed off. I'll miss having my personal auto back in Edinburgh! I headed off with Balagi at around 11.30 getting to the Rockholm about 3.5 hours later... good time, the roads were pretty clear. Down to the beach for a few hours, then back for a hot shower yay! This evening Iam back down to Fusion for my dinner. Gopt your soaps Maggie, but no nice box Colin... sorry. I may go in to Trivandrum tomorrow if the sea is as rough, no room in my cases for any shopping though!

Today really was my last day in school, Santosh and Blessy were both in which was nice and Mariam's father came in to see me as well and pick up some info I had for Mariam's mum. He asked me to pray for them and added that they would pray for me and my work in Edinburgh which was very touching, they are a Muslim family. Mariam has not been in school this week, only the morning crew! I thought a pic of Blessy's family would be nice as they are so nice and so supportive of each other.

I spent the rest of the morning going through my files with Jeyakodi so that he was up to speed with everything. they are so hung up on using scales to measure children's progress on. I have tried to explain I don't know how many times that although they can be useful, in many ways as what we are doing is so individual, a scale can be a hindrance rather than a help. When children here go for registration as disabled, they are given a percentage disability as a figure! For example Ramiya who has Downs and no speech and limited mobility is 65% disabled !!?? Anand is 80% and Santosh 85%, I would love to see how they work that out.
At the end of the morning I said a quick goodbye to the children and their mums and headed straight out to my auto. Raja said I was looking tired... not so much tired as in my usual way emotional! I had booked myself a pedicure... very nice, as a treat so I now have painted toe nails, she then offered me a manicure and to my horror trimmed down all my carefully nurtured finger nails! After that, it was off to Selsil for lunch where Joel, Metti, Ida and Aksha, Metti's daughter came to join me. Heh guess what Ali, Janaksha did a dance for me!

I keep putting off saying goodbye to Metty, I have to go round there tomorrow with my dining/computer table. Raja reckons he can tie it on top of his auto.
Reggie and Joseph are coming soon to take my cases and weigh them on a weighing machine which gives a digital read out and is in one of the shops, fingers crossed that there is no bad news. I think I should just make it and would like to slip one or two other bits and bobs in if there is space. I am having to send a box of books separately so I hope they make it back to the UK ok - Colin's birthday present sent registered post last month hasn't washed ashore yet!
I am off out to dinner this evening, to the Janikaram rooftop restaurant I think unless the current thunderstorm carries on... yes it is raining again, but hopefully just to break the humidity! It was over 40 degrees today.

Well that's one word for it! Today Metti came and took most of my belongings which I am not bringing back to the UK. Everything from kitchen dishes, pots and pans,bedding to table and chairs! We packed everything up into carrier bags and Raja took everything in his auto to their house. I have had to borrow a plate and bowl for breakfast tomorrow from Nancy! This shot of buses behaving badly was taken on the way to school, I'm not sure about the message on the front of the pink bus! The buses are all in competition with each other so race to get to the stop first, putting passengers, pedestrians and other vehicles in risk of their lives!
It was Santosh's birthday today so we had a wee celebration in class, of my 9 regular kids, 4 have had birthdays since February! Joel came in on his Bullet, so here is a pic of him!

Raja took me into town and I bought some brass bells for class, on the way back passed the big Tank (lake) which is low on water in spite of all the rains, the daily average of 39 degrees is drying it up quickly. Apparently the rain we had in April (lots) was the first recorded for 133 years! Normally only traces are recorded. it kept the temp down too, it is now getting very hot. The tank was full of pelicans, I counted around 20! there were also storks as well as the usual cranes, ibis, heron and cormorants.

My social life really took off after I got home! Lunch with Augustina who phoned today said she was off work for hols now and how did I fancy lunch next week! I said very much but it might be tricky as I would be in Edinburgh! Augustina is the lady who lent me a stove. She has a cashew tree in her garden and I saw a cashew fruit with nut attached, really strange looking beast! The fruit is 2-3 inches in length, the nut about an inch and a half as it is in some sort of shell. On my way home I met the guy who comes around the neighbourhood everyday with his sewing machine looking for work to do! One of the wheels is on its last legs I'm afraid.

I got home just in time for a visit from Kiruba, the lady who runs the home for girls around the corner.She dropped in some goodies and came to say goodbye. She left and Metti, Samuel and Aksha arrived to strip the house and bring me a goodbye pressie. I will find it really hard to say goodbye to them, they have been so kind to me.

Metti is wearing the sari I gave her for her birthday. Before they had left, Reggie and Joseph arrived to see if they could help me at all and they were still here when Raja arrived to take me to deliver the stuff to Metti, visit Rajan and go to the tailor! Only time for a quick coffee before home again. On the wall at the foot of the stairs to Nancy's house, was this frog, a different breed to those I normally see and quite photogenic I'm sure you'll agree!

Tomorrow really is my last day in school... Oh dear, bring out the hankies! I am going out for lunch with Metti, Ida, Joel and Aksha which will be a nice finish.

Today I was in school for my 'babies' group from 10-11 as planned. It is great to see such progress in them in a comparatively short time too. Buvena is now holding and releasing objects, her grip was largely non-existent before, she has better head control and is generally taking an interest in what is going on and has a delightful babble. Santosh is just a load of fun, he has the most bewitching smile and tries really hard to do things asked of him. His tone is very high and so any controlled movement takes a huge amount of effort. Baby Blessy is just irresistible, her mood depends really on whether it is time to eat, sleep or be awake as with most 6 month old babies. Today it was her turn to prove to me that her bladder works! What really gladdens my heart though is to see the three mothers for once not focussing on their children but:
a)Trusting us to work with them
b)Chatting amongst themselves, supporting each other and really relaxing.
Having said the three mothers, I definitely do not mean to exclude Blessy's father who is sitting in the background and comes faithfully with his wife and daughter every day. He has a lovely way with her, in fact they both do. It is so good to see them growing in confidence with her though, as they pick up ideas from what they pick up in class and from the other parents. She was hungry the other day and they only had water, so Santosh's mum gave them a biscuit and showed them how to break it down with a little water and feed it to them. It's such a privilege to be part of all this.

Most of the work with the children is on an individual basis, working 1:1 with Joel, Metti or I, as developmentally they are not really ready to work with a group. We start each session all together though with a hallo song and end with a goodbye song.
The older group's mothers have the same sort of relationship developing and I am so glad. One of the aims of my project was that I find a way to support mothers - so I am so happy to see it happening with little involvement of school staff.
This evening was the long awaited 2nd anniversary memorial 'service' for Bishop Jason along with the launch of the English book of tributes and memories that I have been working on for weeks. It was delivered by the press as promised at 12 noon today in time for the 6.00pm service. We gathered in the garden at Lydia's house on plastic chairs at 6.00pm in sweltering heat, it has been around 38 degrees this week! There were various pastors and lay people paying tribute. I sang Be Thou My Vision more or less successfully. I think I may have wobbled at the beginning as I was rather nervous... singing with a microphone to 200 people is not my usual occupation, especially when I realised that the other two songs were being sung by professional singers with CD accompaniment. I had Thomas the guitarist on keyboard. Which is not to belittle him, he played really well, it is just a little difficult to focus on a starting note and point especially when the sound is coming through 4 foot high speakers and you are at the other end of the garden to the keyboard. That meant I could not even 'read' his fingers as he played - which is my usual method! The Bishop was unable to make it at the last minute, so I was asked to 'launch' the book officially too!
Still now it is done, I shall be able to relax a little more, slowly my responsibilities are disappearing along with my time here.

This week is already disappearing at a rate of knots! My cases are more or less packed... in fact more more than less! I'm distributing left overs to all and sundry and nicer things to the friends! People keep giving me edibles too which I really don't have room for, Raja the auto driver struck lucky tonight with a bag of goodies from the savoury snacks shop.
I met up with Shriram and his family last night, he used to live in Tirunelvelli but about 3 years ago moved to Chennai with his wife and daughter, since then son has come onto the scene too. It was nice to catch up with them although his mum was miffed that I hadn't been to see her before now even though Shriram wasn't around. People here are so welcoming and hospitable. We had a lovely meal, although it was late for em, I prefer to eat in early evening whereas here 9-9.30 is quite common. Aparna who is almost 5 did some Bharanatka dancing for me, just look at those finger positions... quite the performer. Kanishk was a little more restrained although in the family shot he looks like he has been practising the hand movements he is not 2 yet though!

I was up on the roof with Nancy this evening... it is much cooler up on the roof! Most of the neighbours were up there - on their own roof - too... very strange! There was a real glow to the trees and bushes.I took this pic of a flower last week up in the mountains and meant to put it up before, it was beautiful, looks almost alpine.

I had an end of visit meeting with the Bishop yesterday, he is really pleased with the way things have gone and is very keen to keep the momentum going.
Tomorrow is Bishop Jason's memorial payer meeting with hopefully the launch of THE BOOK! Lydia has asked me to sing so I offered her a selection and she has chosen Be Thou My Vision. I met up with the keyboard player tonight having heard he did not know the tune, did not read music and would play it by ear as we went along... He's actually a guitarist! I thought a pre-performance meeting might be a good idea. All went well though and hopefully will go OK tomorrow evening too.

Well that's my last Sunday in Turnelvelli gone. I spent it fairly quietly, Nancy had left me some iddiappum in my kitchen for breakfast(the white sort of noodle looking things which you eat with milk sugar and coconut). I did some packing and rearranging of suitcases, I'm going to have to do some culling of things wot I need to take home I think!
Did some washing, something else to look forward to, hot water and a washing machine, on the other hand,as a plus which Tirunelvelli has over Edinburgh, my washing was dry in two hours when I hung it outside, including a thick towel. Took a Chudi das to the laundry to get nicely ironed... I will miss that! Then it was time for church. Raja picked me up on time as usual, he's been off for the last two days since the death of his friends wife, she died aged 26 of TB. I met Rajan on his way into church which was nice, he is one of my Tirunelvelli Cursillo friends. His daughter once travelled for 3 hours in 1998 on a bus sitting on my knee to the mountains where we went to 'Take bath' in a waterfall, Renee is now 18 and choosing her university course - doesn't time fly.
Today's pictures are appropriate for a Sunday and show what a very multi-cultural place I live in, The Christ Stores, is directly opposite Siva cabs, who provide me with my auto driver each morning, Ignatius, who is Roman Catholic!

After church, Raja took me into Tirunelvelli town, I wanted to buy some garland type beads from by the temple but the shop I bought the last lot in was closed so I'll have to go back tomorrow. Stopped for coffee on the way back and met Jason the 'other' physio from school who introduced me to his wife and son. back home again and hopefully and early night unless Nancy's mum comes visiting. She is 87 and doesn't like to take a door key when she goes out in case she loses it, however she usually gets back before Nancy and comes tottering in through my front door to wait for her. Problem is that she is very deaf but doesn't like her hearing aids, her English is good though so we usually end up with me writing my part of the conversation and her speaking hers... which of course is much quicker than I can write! Hard work though!
Monday morning, I had an extra half hour in bed which I needed as I slept badly last night. I went to school via Methi's house to pick her up and found Joel there too or at least just across the canal, he was picking up his new motorbike, a bullet, a 350CC Royal Enfield, 350CC is the largest allowed on Indian roads. Talk about boys toys, they are as bad in India as they are in the UK! Here is a picture from the website, his is red! You can find the pictures and info on the Royal Enfield website which is as usual, www. then royalenfield.com

We were working with our 2 year olds and baby Blessie, the school was very strange with no pupils around. After school I headed off down to Junction to exchange the 2 blank DVDs I had bought, which turned out not to be blank after all but to have copies of someone's wedding video on them. then I went to have some copies of papers made... busy tying off loose ends before I go. Then it was off to Lydia's, she has asked me to sing at the memorial prayer service on Wednesday to see what she would like me to sing... thank you David for the music! To the Aquarium shop to sort out maintenance contract... closed and finally back here for a catch up on some sleep. I have to meet the Bishop at 4.30 so need to be on the ball! Hopefully I'll be able to relax tonight.

I just threw the empty can of cockroach killer at a cockroach... and it worked!

This is a short clip I took at the tea plantation where, to look at the pictures, on the blog of the 17th, all looks idyllic and peaceful. in reality, the sound made by the insects was almost deafening. have a look at the clip, and make sure your speakers are on. It's not white noise, it's thousands of insects in full concerto mode!
I thought I would put this up as much to remind me, as anyone else.
Appearances can be deceptive... enjoy!

For some reason the controls of the media player have covered the bottom of the film and it all looks a bit stretched widthways... never mind takes me right back there immediately!

If Thursday was difficult then Friday was more so! I arrived in school in time for our usual staff/ pupil assembly, but of course as it was the end of the school year it went on rather longer than usual, over an hour. the children cope really well though and are incredibly enthusiastic when a hymn they know comes up and they can do actions. These are interspersed with lots of readings and prayers too. I sat as usual on a mat with Daphny, Ida, Methie, and Thiluga... they gave up putting a chair out for me a few months back when I kept ignoring it and sitting with the staff on the floor. I have had a problem the whole time with the school trying to treat me as a special visitor and me wanting to be one of the staff! I sat in a slight world of my own as the proceedings were in Tamil, when all of a sudden I realised that one of the senior pupils had been asked to pray and was praying for me! A very humbling experience, being prayed for by a boy with learning difficulties. I was already realising that today was not going to be easy for one with emotions as close to the surface as mine can be at times! Next I was called out to the front and the principal spoke to the pupils about me, they call me either Sally Auntie (a term of respect for a female older than oneself) or Sally Madam, a term showing even more respect and slightly more formal. I was then asked to say a few words.. again not easy, what can you say except Goodbye and thank you and that I hoped to be back to see them all again before they were much older. I was then presented with two gifts, by the senior boy and girl, a bag and a candle made in the vocational workshops.

Assembly finally over, we raced to my classroom passing the ducks on the way! They were a gift from one of the fathers who has a duck smallholding near nazareth and have come to terms very well with being chased around the playground at playtime!
I got to my class where the little ones had already arrived and were being taken care of by Joel. I will be seeing them again next week so no problem there. Next to arrive were my 3 year olds, Anand, Ramiyah and Sanjay! It was wonderful to see Anand walking the length of the verandah holding his mum's hand and grinning ear to ear. We had a final song session and some play and lots of chat! There is never a quiet moment when Ramiyah is around. Her father had come too today and he gave me a large carrier bag full of Indian snacks, unfortunately I may have to eat them all as my cases are full to weight limit! Both Mums were quite tearful as they said goodbye and I was not much better. Throughout the morning, residential pupils had been going home from the hostel as they were picked up by their parents and I was touched by how many of them brought their parents to say hallo (or goodbye)! Many live a good distance away, 4 or 5 hours on a hot bus, so the parents had set out very early.
After class, it was time for lunch, today I joined the staff on the mats on the floor, I have always eaten at the table with the male staff up until now as I am not good at sitting cross legged for long periods. Today though I wanted to be with those I felt closest to. At least eating with your fingers is a little easier than trying to use a knife and fork when sitting on the floor. You should try it sometimes even sitting at a table, eating rice and runny gravy with your fingers... you soon learn to bend close over your plate and sook, preferably quietly!
All too soon lunch was over though and it was time to say goodbye to the staff. I had arranged with Raja for him to come and meet me and to be prepared to just scoop me into his auto and drive me home! However at 12.30, just as lunch started, I looked at my phone and found two missed calls and a text message from him. The wife of the man who drove his other auto had died during the morning so he was unable to come and pick me up as he had to be involved in the proceedings. Funerals etc all take place every quickly here, due to the hot weather, usually within 24 hours and involve long prayer meetings which may go on for 2 or 3 days. I think that is to compensate for the fact that as the funeral is held quickly, people arrive too late to take part and so a large gathering takes place instead. I called to let him know that I had picked up his message and asked about the wife. Apparently she had been only 26, so understandably everyone was very upset.
Of course I couldn't blame him at all for not picking me up, but it meant that once I did manage to leave, I had to walk the long walk up the drive to the main road instead of being whisked away out of sight quickly. Methi, Ida, Jasmine, Anoushya, Nirosha and Anandi all hugged me and then stood at the gate and waved me off till I was out of sight. A long and lonely walk in the full mid day sunshine. I will see Methi every morning next week and we hope to meet up with some of the others for lunch one day, but some live far away from Tirunelvelli.
I decided that walking was perhaps the best way of calming myself down and set off in the sunshine, I walked about half way home then stopped for tea at Arryas - once I could be sure my face looked more or less respectable again. I then wandered on a bit further and caught an auto the rest of the way.
I visited one of the neighbours in the afternoon for tea and cake and then in the evening had a wander around town. There was an evangelical meeting on one of the sports grounds the bright lights and the loud music blaring through the speakers were amazing. I took some night time photos too of all the lights which give the whole place a magical feel in the evenings. I was on my way back when Prem passed me in his car and picked me up and gave me a lift home which was a nice end to the day.

Today, Saturday, I spent quietly, some packing, some paperwork, lunch with Lydia and Enoch and then dinner out at the Selsil restaurant. I'm off for an early night now.

I've had a wonderful but really difficult couple of days, Thursday and Friday as my work in the school has come to an end.When I set my dates to come here, I was not aware of the school year in Tirunelvelli, however school closes mid-April for the summer break. That was yesterday. I have one week left here in which to tie up lose ends and say my goodbyes, without the need to be in school full time. I will be in from 10-11 every day next week along with Joel (physio) and Methilda to work with my babies - Santhosh, Buvaneshwari and little 6 month old baby Blessie. Joel and I had planned this a while ago and when Methi held, she said she would come too, even though she is on holiday at which I am delighted, but I would never have asked her. Joel has different holidays and is paid to work at the hospital when not in school.
The pictures are firstly of Buvana and then of Mariam in class.

On Thursday, I said goodbye to Mariam and her Mum who has grown in her confidence in us so much since coming to class. It turns out (emerged gradually a little at a time) that Mariam's mum is a paediatrician. She told us she worked in an office when she started. She has been asking all sorts of questions and has asked for some info on our communication system. I've also been helping her with ideas for objects of reference (a way for a child to communicate a need or desire by offering an object: eg bringing a cup to ask for a drink). All fairly straight forward but need to be tailored to the needs of the child.
She is also bringing a friend of hers to talk to me, on Wednesday. This lady is also a doctor whose daughter, like Mariam, suffered birth asphyxiation. This lady lives in Madurai about 3 hours drive away and her daughter is 3. She is blind with additional disabilities and her mother has been unable to find help anywhere. I am going to try to put her in touch with Sense India, who have a base nearby in Trichy, who work with deaf blind people.
Mariam's mum brought me a handbag as a goodbye present and gave me a huge hug when leaving, it's hard to believe she is the same woman I met in February who was so defensive.
At 3.30 we had our usual end of day group with the two classes 1 and 1A together as tomorrow there are no main school classes and the children will be going home throughout the day after a parents meeting. I said goodbye to Subbayah and Guruvaiah as well as the other two day scholars in the group as they will not be coming in tomorrow. The Collector ( a bit like a provost) today declared tomorrow a public holiday for school children. That doesn't help our children who are largely residential and just means that instead of going to classes, they stay in the hostel. However even that won't happen as it is end of term.
The picture is of our cook with one of the pineapples I picked! We cut it up and shared it among staff at break time, yummy!

At the end of the day, Methi, Anoushya, and Ida the three teachers I have worked most closely with, along with Jasmine and Nirosha, two of the assistants hung about in my room and then gave me a gift from the five of them, I was really touched as they have little or no money and apart from Methi, little or no time to call their own. As the other 4 are unmarried they live in the school hostel which means they work from waking to sleeping everyday with the children.
I headed off with tears in my eyes to go home.
In the evening I went with Raja in his auto down to Junction to pick up some photos for the staff and then for dinner. On our return I helped him set up an email account for himself on the laptop.
Bed quite late, but not before I arranged with Raja before he left, to pick me up from school at 1.30 on Friday, straight after lunch. I explained that as I am a fairly sentimental person he was going to have to just drive me home as soon as I got into the auto and that I would probably not be fit for conversation as I would have just said goodbye to everyone! He said he understood and that he would be there.

Having left the rubber and tea plantation, we drove back down the hill a little to rejoin the main interstate road (it doesn't look like a main interstate road though, nor feel like it! We went first for lunch and had a 'chicken meal' these are the bargain of the day here in south India a little like a Thali which we can sometimes get in the UK. They consist of a main curry, veg, fish, mutton (goat) or chicken, in sauce, rice, veg side dishes usually at least two, pickle, sambar (a veg thin curry/gravy), rasam (a pepper thin sauce), curd or buttermilk with more rice and sometimes a poppadum, sometimes paysam too which is pudding. They come and top you up throughout the meal with everything except the main dish. The meals vary in cost from around 30 rupees (under 50p) to around 70 rupees, just under a pound, but they are the most popular dish in restaurants or cafes.
On leaving the cafe, we went back along the road to a magnificent damn complete with viewpoint. It was a stunning location with water then tumbling over rocks and down into Kerala. We carried on along the road to the Venture estate, which we turned into and there was something I have wanted to see for years, a pineapple plantation, pineapples stretching into the distance as far as the eye could see. The plants grow about knee high with one fruit at a time per plant.

We met up with the workers who immediately carved us up a fruit using a machete! First he slashed the leaves off from the top leaving the central core and making it into a handle shaped piece, a bit like a pineapple lollipop, then he took the peel off, then using the point ran a series of vertical cuts down from top to bottom a bit like the segments of an orange, leaving the harder core behind. He then held it out to us to take a slice. It was delicious, warm from the sun and juice like nectar. heavenly, the best I have ever tasted. I bought 5 to bring home to Tirunelvelli, which cost 50 rupees, about 75p. After that it was back into the car and to Tirunelvelli, we finally got home around 8.30pm and it was straight to bed for me absolutely exhausted after a great day!

Wednesday was amazing, I was up at 7am ready and waiting to be picked up at 7.00, at 8.05, I phoned the Bishop's Chaplain to see where they were, (as always just drawing up outside) Jeyakodi had told them not to come for me before 8.00am while he had told me they needed to pick me up at 7 and somewhere things had got very confused when he failed to pass on to me that they could come later or to them that we would be ready at 7.00am. Never mind we set off in the Diocesan 4x4 and apart from a puncture as we drew near to Shencottai all went well. At Shencottai we picked up the local pastor who was to be our introduction and guide for the day. the road went in a zig zag fashion across the Tamil Nadu border and into Kerala, then up the side of a hill/mountain one of the Ambanaad hills, part of the western Ghats, till we reached the tea plantation at 4,500. It was in fact part way back down the other side of the mountain so the road must have cleared 5,000 feet. Not up to Ken's standards in the Andes and Himalayas I know and in a car not on foot, but there you go, we all do things in our own way! The road was green and lush all the way with flowers and trees and bushes lining the road. there were waterfalls and lakes as well as streams and rivers running through mountain gorges. they kept telling em how cool it was ... Yeah right! Must have been only about 28 degrees rather than the 36 we having in the town just now!
Here are some pictures taken en route.

When we got to the top, we entered an area called the Ambanaad Hills, entry fee! No charge though as we had the pastor with us. Over the top and suddenly, we came across a huge factory (well huge-ish!) made of silver painted corrugated iron apparently dating from the 1840's this is the Arundel estates. They were delighted to hear that Arundel was an English town. They had no idea of the name's origin. Many of the estates here are named after their owners or their places of birth, there is one nearby named Merchiston... a district of Edinburgh, owned by the Richardson and Forbes families. There is also a Forbes Road in Bruntsfield another district in Edinburgh.

The equipment in the factory looks like the sort of stuff I used to play in on farms as a child, wooden conveyor belts, like hay bail lifters in barns, shaking trays and (not that I played in these) big turbines.

While we waited for the factory workers to return from their lunch break, ee had a wander around the estate, there were tea workers... naturally, working both in the factory and the fields. The ladies seem to do most of the picking with an intriguing combination of shears and collecting box, they then unload the collecting box into the amazing and presumably original 'tea-bag' hanging from their heads. The leaves are then taken to the factory, dried over warming trays and fans till they turn brown, they are then squeezed and pressed and filtered at various stages through sieve type things into the final selection of 10 grades, ranging from Orange pekoe (best) through floury pekoe, broken pekoe and tips, to broken orange pekoe fannings... basically dust!

I thought you might like to see the executive desk! The nice man was kind enough to sell me some top grade which is only for export. It was picked the day before I bought it... wow that is fresh! I've put in a fab pic of a water purifier.... no thanks, I think I'll stick to mineral water! and a mission statement.

I saw men working the rubber plantation, they really do 'tap' the trees. There is a pic of latex as it comes from the tree... extraordinary, it looks just like PVA glue as it leaves the tree! I caught this lizard on one of the factory garden walls, the flesh coloured part of its head looks as if it has a face made in relief on it. Fancy a bit of detective work on this one for me Mike?

More about my trip tomorrow!

Had a great day in school today. Ramiya who has been absent so her mum told me for 20 days... I think she had been counting!!! bounced back into class like the wee ball of fire she is. What was really nice to see too though, was how much Anand had come on in her absence and to see him grabbing toys back from her and handing her objects during the game. I have had these two for 4 months and it's so nice to see real progress. The two mums were glad to see each other too.

I got the copies back of the school pics today which are great! My versions are below.

these three are those I have been closest too in school I think, Jasmine, Ida and Methi (who is the gorgeous slim mother of Janaksha, Mike!) We have had such a lot of fun.
At the end of the day, three of the staff kids came in, it was the birthday of one of the boy's, so they had provided paysam pudding as an afternoon treat for the Bishop Sargent kids. Here he is with his brother and sister looking incredibly proud in his birthday new clothes.

The evening was spent as many seem to be just now, playing catch up! I had to pick up more sand bags for physio, have some pics printed, oh and eat! I keep forgetting but that doesn't seem to make much impression on my waistline!
Tomorrow I won't be in school as I am going with Nancy and the Bishop's Chaplain up into the Ghats to a tea and rubber plantation. I asked the Bishop ages ago if it would be possible as I have never seen a tea plantation and he arranged things for me. I'm really looking forward to that, 4,500 feet up!

This is the only kind of cockroach I can handle, it is particularly nice to find that the stuff which says lasts for up to 4 weeks obviously does! I found this chap when I came in tonight. They are beginning to reappear, up until the day before yesterday I had only seen one since Colin left at the end of January, I saw two the other night so went round and sprayed, there was one dead in the bathroom this morning and this chap tonight. Sorry to those who are insect lovers, but I don't love these! Something else I won't miss when I leave India.

It's New Year again today, I could start to get used to this, New Year every week and a Monday holiday! It's also Raja (landlord's) birthday today so I am invited for dinner. This picture is of my dinner yesterday which was the official New Years Day, today is the public holiday which follows it as it fell on a Sunday. Lunch was Pongal (a dall/lentil/rice and vegetable concoction, much tastier than it looks, fish, papaya and banana. All served on a banana leaf which can later be fed to the passing cows so no washing up!

The sun is shining and I am off to Metilda's in half an hour, it is also her birthday. I've bought her a pink sari which if she doesn't like we can go and change.
Well actually Lydia is picking me up in half an hour and we are going to the diocesan Press to see the final, final, final version!
Bala is doing the job which I hate most... and Yes, I have done it several times... which is cleaning out the water tank in my tank room... the one which looks like a big bath but isn't. She is singing 'Alleluia, Alleluia', softly to herself as she does it and sounds really happy. The tank builds up silt and needs to be cleaned once a week, but during this rainfall more is building up than usual and smells a bit... Not Nice, take my word for it. I will be so glad to see our nice clean water again at home!
Home again this afternoon and some more paperwork to do, my washing is up to date - another thing I'll be glad to see is a washing machine, and hot water come to that! When I was in Chennai I found a Marks and Spencer and, sad lady that I am, I bought me some undies and binned the ones I had been hand washing for 5 months. I felt like ceremoniously burning them to be honest. They were quite clean but I was just fed up of the sight of them and with the dirty water, they needed a regular bleaching to bring back any semblance of white. Mind you it broke my heart seeing the price of clothes in Marks and the fact that it was pretty well the same range as in the UK. I don't see how they can possibly afford to keep that shop. Guess it is being well subsidised by the UK branches. There are not that many ex-pats here and the shop was empty apart from Maggie and I. The clothes are not really suitable any way culturally and undies etc are about a fifth of the price they were in Marks even in other quality stores.!
School tomorrow then I am going to Joshua's family in place of Saturday's visit. Wednesday morning I am being picked up at 8.15 to go to a tea plantation, I have never seen one in all my time in India so the Diocesan vehicle is coming for me. Chandramohan offered me a 6am pick up but could hear my voice when I queried this and said 'Ha, I want to punish you!' and laughed and said would an 8.15 pick up at my house be better! Charming, I just love folks with a cruel sense of humour.
Thursday is the last proper day of school as many children start going home that evening from the residential section.
Well talk about the best laid plans and all that. Went to press, met up with and had lunch with Methi and Janaksha as planned, then went to the tailors and finally home again. The picture is of Janaksha (5 years) pretending to drive Raja's auto while he looks patiently on. the other is of us saying goodbye after lunch.

I had hardly got in when the doorbell rang and it was Joshua's dad come to pick me up, I said but that's tomorrow and he said "No today, I have everything ready for you", so off I went. the whole family was there, 4 daughters, 2 son in laws, 4 grandchildren and the 5th arrived soon after.

They gave me a lovely mutton biryani for dinner followed by fruit and tea so I now feel absolutely full and have had to call off from having dinner with Nancy and Raja upstairs, fortunately Nancy was understanding and they have others coming to eat, so I will pop up later when they have finished. Still it means I shall have tomorrow evening free at least. I cannot believe how although I had never heard of Perumalpuram let alone been able to spell it until I moved here, everyone I know lives in walking distance or at least not far off: Prem and Ida, Jasmine and Mathialagan, Frederick and Suzie, Joshua's parents, Maharajanagar where Shriram's family, Carrie and Reggie and Lydia and Enoch live is 5 minutes by auto. The house is really in a perfect position.

How come that this is summer? Last years stats show that the average temp in April was 38 and average rainfall was less than .005mm this year the temp is around 28-30 and rainfall this month so far has been 407mm and is usually 46!
I think I must have missed summer when we went to Chennai that weekend! Actually if it wasn't for the fact that the rain is wet - the ground bounces it off so that puddles of up to 6 inches form in no time - it would be quite pleasant if you know what I mean! I saw a dog swimming along the roadside verge this afternoon... I kid you not. I didn't have time to get my camera out but it would have been a fab shot! The roads are all breaking up again and I shall be very careful when walking as my last fall took a full 8 weeks to repair and now just to add insult to injury, my 1 inch diameter bright red scar has a mozzie bite in the middle of it! The rain is bringing them out in their swarms too, not fair. Having said that, this house still has fewer mozzies than any other I know, everyone who comes in comments on how cool it is, so I am really extremely lucky... I just like moaning! Remind me in three weeks that I said that my house at 29 degrees C. was cool won't you!
I slept late today, I had a really bad night last night, Balagi left for Trivandrum at 2.30am and as the Ambassador is Diesel, it makes a heck of a racket starting up, right outside my window. He was as quick as he could be, in getting it going, but it still woke me! I got up, mucked around on the computer, did a couple of sudokus, read my book, caught up on the Daylight readings I had missed and had a drink of hot milk. Then went back to bed, but was still awake at 4.30am when Raja (landlord not auto driver) turned on the water to fill the tank, doesn't disturb me but I just noticed it and thought good grief, I'm still awake and he is getting up!. I finally got to sleep around 5.
Joshua's dad came at 10 and spoke to Nancy to apologise and say he had to cancel my visit today but would call back to re-arrange so that took the pressure off for a while... no need to be sociable! Have rearranged for Tuesday.
I finally got up around 10.30 and had a shower to try to wake up! I went out around 2.00pm to do a couple of bits and pieces and got Ignesh to drive me as he is getting cross that I am not using him during the day apart from to go to school. He actually takes his mobile out and shakes it at me and growls (unfair, but he has a really gruff voice!) and says 'You call... junction, town, shopping, everything, you call!' He gets very upset that there are actually other autos that I use. I have been calling Raja (auto driver not landlord)as it is just so nice to be able to chat in English.
Ended up at Lydia's to wish her a Happy Birthday and do another final edit. only took me 3 hours this time I must be getting good! Simon arrived to see her while I was there and I had bought a couple of small cups for his boys so he took them with him. Lydia has now got to the stage where she is really relaxed with me and at one point went off for a doze... Next I heard the thunder so shot out into their garden to bring in the washing. She laughed when she saw me coming back in and said I looked like a dhobi (washing) woman!!
The heavens opened again about 5 minutes later, then the power went off... what fun! Joseph her driver drove me home after prayers at around 7.00pm, he's only 19 and a bit of a hairy driver, makes Lydia very nervous so she sends her son Enoch with me. I reckon I can control Joseph better than Enoch can though! Shouting 'STOP' in a loud voice works well I find! My power was on, hurray, when I got in so I made some eggy toast with fried tomatoes and settled down to watch one of my Prime Suspect DVDs which I got for Christmas.
No real pics for today, so some form my files. The sign about children was in Chennai, I think the bit about being plastic refers to our ability to mould and shape them! Also in Chennai is the detective agency, obviously private detective's do well for themselves and have plenty of business here! I didn't spot any shifty looking men in raincoats and turned down hat brims hanging around though. The sign about harassing women is from the train. Just look at that list of No! Nos! Nice to know you can't sing songs about women either! I see the imprisonment for lighting a stove though is longer than for staring or gesturing etc at a woman. I'm quite pleased it is high though, and not surprised that they have to forbid it, you'd be amazed where you see folks making up a meal with primus typ