Year: 2019

I don’t normally vent – life is kind – but I will about this. I was given a VISA GIFT CARD by a good friend a while back. I tried to use it, with some delay, only to find it was declined each time. Today it was top of my list of things to do,…

This week we went to a Bee Hive Demo given by the knowledgeable Darryl and his wonderful wife Wendy. We were treated to bee treats for Morning Tea and then bee hives were explained, layer by layer.  Starting from the brood box and the all important Queen who will lay the eggs, to the collection…

She left for another world six years ago today but pops up intermittently to check up on all of us. Recently I felt her presence as we negotiated those treacherous roads in India. Now that I am back she came in and landed on the wall just so, a treasured and beloved symbol of my…

Wondering what he might have on, if anything, under his bee suit ? Come along to the Bee Workshop and ask him yourself ! Monday 11th February 2019. 10 – 1pm. Message me for details.  Yes, our hive is up and running and the bees are busier than ever. I had my first encounter with…

India, in all its glory – ever changing scenes of daily life which delight and surprise. The world is not flat and boring but full of colourful  moments which are there for us to admire and share. A Theyyam performance from Kerala.  Washing drying, the army squashing up and snack time.   The Fire engine complete…

There are 184 sessions and many evening events and music concerts. To balance my enjoyment with my love of sharing I will cherry pick some of my favourites, the quotes, the titles and books and the authors and personalities. Ben Okri the author of “The Famished Road” on writing fiction “Authors need to have a…

In one of my first visits to the Literary festival I met a young tuk – tuk drive called Vishu. He dressed like a Bollywood star and looked like one. He stood apart from the other drivers. I have never seen such eyelashes on a man. I wrote an article about him for the Indian…

Indian fabrics are spectacular in themselves but when they are taken and lovingly transformed by talented designers into the most appealing tunics, saris and shalwar kameezes exhibiting Ajrakh block design, embroidery and weaving, that is when you regret that extra naan and the jelabis in syrup you wolfed down at lunch. Not that I could…

And there she was against a big black iron gate – a garage opening – where her art lay hanging on the railings. Black and white mainly but with occasional splashes of colour they are, what she describes as zentangle art. This immediately reminded me of my son whose doodles grace his walls, his pen…

On my desk I found this notice – A package designed to appeal to the single woman traveller in India. In my room a CCTV camera is on 24/7 showing me the corridor outside. I am in a designated wing of the Hotel. Welcome initiatives?  I always read the papers when I am here and…