The Course continues apace for Neil, and last week he was required to submit a 9,000 word essay. Not too much of a hardship there you’d think, apart from the fact that it had to be handwritten! Having worked out what to write, Neil sat down and 11 ½ hours later, 61 pages of manuscript were produced and duly submitted. Neil was happy to have achieved the aim, but his sore writing arm has started to affect his golf swing which may be disastrous for his golf game.
We all travelled to Coimbatore for Louise’s birthday and had a wonderful stay in the Meridien Hotel. Daisy and Ava loved playing in the pool, even if it was a little chilly, whilst we had a great time with Ian and Elaine, drinking cocktails and having a lovely meal. Fathima and Anandh decorated the apartment with jasmine and lilies, including some from our garden, before we left, and Fathima made a delicious chocolate-covered carrot birthday cake. It had a music-playing candle shaped like a lotus flower, which closely resembled the Olympic Torch. Daisy loved it, until it flamed like a Typhoon on reheat; but after retreating to a safe distance we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’, and Louise had a lovely weekend. She and Ava both received lots of cards and presents and were really grateful for everyone taking the trouble to send post out here for their birthdays.
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| Daddy and Ava by the Pool |
On Friday night we attended the first performance by SCADS, or the Staff College Amateur Dramatics Society. The one thing we’ve learned about the Indians is they like to put on a show and they love, and we mean LOVE, their amateur dramatics. Even the most serious presentation on the most mundane topic has to have a ‘comedy’ skit to emphasise the point. Friday night was a mix of music, dance and comedy plays. Unfortunately, the majority of the 2 ½ hour show was in Hindi! But the production, costumes and visual spectacle was amazing. After the show, we threw a party for all the British and Australian Sponsor Students who helped with the ISPs the previous week. After a few Kingfishers, Neil started talking about volunteering for the next SCADS production and dusting off his acting ability. You never know, maybe Catherine Zeta Jones would come and watch him again! Anyway, only time will tell if it was just the beer talking, but all the other Indian students did seem quite keen on seeing a “White Boys” band taking to the stage next time...
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| SCADS Dancers |
Over the weekend, we embarked on potty training with Daisy. Following Gina Ford’s advice in “Potty Training in One Week”, we confined ourselves to the apartment for the weekend and concentrated on wees and poos. Daisy was brilliant, and after a messy Saturday, Sunday was a real success, and she’s progressing well and is now out of nappies in the day, with a lot more going in the potty than on the floor. We’ve never been so excited about a poo before!
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| Potty Training and Ready for Anything! |
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