Belated Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year!

We've been very busy this last week or so playing hosts which has given us a great excuse to become tourists ourselves and get out about and visit some of the places we've been told and read about, and we still haven't done it all yet. With just a day and a half left with our guests and having been hampered by illnesses we'll just have to save some sights for next time. Off to the beach today for a play.

Our Christmas day was an extremely relaxed affair thanks mainly to the 'Takeaway Christmas Dinner' we all enjoyed. One 12lb turkey stuffed and roasted to perfection with all the vegetables and trimmings. All we did was order it from The Park Hotel, specify a time, collect it, carve it and dish up - Bootiful, really bootiful! We've only just finished eating it all up now.

Father Christmas found us in India thank goodness, even though the kids were all so tired that we forgot to sprinkle the magic reindeer dust on the driveway, he's so clever that man.

Snakes Are Like Buses

Nothing for ages then they all turn up at once. It's the time of year I'm told.

There were 5 or 6 this morning, non venomous but can inflict a bite apparently and they are teeny tiny, if you didn't know what you were looking for you'd miss them.

When I mentioned the big one that Dileep had seen to the Head Guard, he laughed, 'Dileep a good actor Madam'. Hmmmm thought as much.

SNAKE!

Apparently our first (that we know of) snake was spotted in our garden....errrr about 15 days ago! Thanks for telling us guys, would have been nice to know.

DH and assorted drivers, gardener and guards (I'll bet he's just loving all that help!!) are today building our climbing frame in the garden. I went out to offer refreshments and morale support, for about 5 minutes and Dileep, one of the guards says to me 'Snake Madam, one night by the generator, THIS BIG', he says with arms outstretched very wide. So girls, we all know that it was, in all likelihood, actually just a small snake don't we? That's what I'm hoping anyway.

In Answer to Your Questions Part II

Yes, the England v's India test match was here last week, no we didn't see any and yes it was as hot as it looked on the TV, in fact so far I don't think the daytime temperature has dropped below 28degrees, night time low is around 24degrees. All the Indian's think it's really cold -If this is their winter, I don't think I'll survive the summer!!

Dinner is whatever I cook, so all our usual stuff really, adapted slighty depending on ingredient substitutions, but not that many as you can get most fresh things here and we have a well stocked store cupboard. The meat is OK here, could be worse anyway and I think there are a few suppliers who have cottoned onto Western wants and needs. Imported stuff like cereals, ham, bacon, cheese, pasta sauces etc is VERY VERY expensive, even by our standards. It's always nicer to eat out though which we do at the weekends. We've also found a good Indian, Chinese and a Thai takeaway!

Yes, it is very weird not driving in the sense that you can't just hop in the car anytime you like, for whatever reason, you are always reliant on someone to take you and you have to have a reason to go out to get out (does that make sense?) You know how sometimes you might go for a drive and just see where you end up and what you might find, it would be soooo nice to do that. Mind you, I'd only be brave enough to drive in the middle of the night when the roads are quiet if I could. Some Ex-pats drive themselves on Sunday's but unless you know exactly where you're going and where you can park I wouldn't risk it every day.

Can we walk in the park? Errrr no, not really, well we haven't found one nearby yet. I'm sure there are some - note to self must look harder for a park! Will let you know what I find.

Yes! We have Skype - where have you been??! Will email you our address (again, I'm sure). Yes! We do now have an international phone but the time difference (5.5 hours) makes it difficult to slot in a decent time frame to call to chat. When it's good for me you're either all in bed, at work or school, and when it's good for you, we're tired, going or gone to bed! In the next couple of weeks we will have some new fantabulous phone with a UK number that'll only be pennies for you to call. Must try harder at the weekends.

The answers to this one could change over time...at the moment
Five things I Like About India - The people (some of them), the weather (this month), Our house and staff,....errr I'll get back to you on this one. Living here is very different to holidaying here.
Five things I Hate - Men constantly using the street as a toilet, the dirt & rubbish, the poverty, lack of privacy, the constant race against time.

TV? What do we watch on TV? That'll be a whole new post in itself.

The Dreaded Lurgi

It always happens doesn't it? You finish work and school for the festive season...and everyone becomes ill...just in time for Christmas. The very same happens in India.


First down was me, nasty throat and cold. Second was DD with a sickness bug and high temperature, and then me again with the sickness bug, aches, pains and dizziness . A hairy couple of hours were spent in limbo while we waited chewing our nails to see if DS was going to develop the same bug. Thankfully we think his 'minor' (compared to the rest of us!) technicolour yawn was just a case of gulped bedtime milk. We are now much, much better, DD has slept and watched alot of Christmas DVD's, I've slept...alot but my cold has returned.

Maid #2 has been a treasure with DS and all the washing. DH took a day off work to help out too. I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that nobody else develops anything nasty either before or during our visitors stay...including them!

My sympathy goes out to anyone here,or there who has or develops The Dreaded Festive Lurgi...keep well.

Deck The Halls

We spent Saturday morning 'getting festive'!

DS was very intrigued by our 'naff' dancing tree and thought it was hilarious as did Maid #2








DS was napping when DD and I decorated this one thank goodness.





And, when we did this one funnily enough!







And after all that hard work, what better way to chill out than down at the beach with a bucket and spade and an ice-cream to cool off!

Kumar & The Chef

I can't believe that I forgot to mention this, but Kumar and his friend Suresh had a rather nasty motorbike accident a couple of weeks ago and we have been without him for the last 10 days, they're both much better now but I must admit that their injuries really gave me the shivers. Thankfully he is fit and well again and has returned to us today and DS was so pleased to see his best friend again...and so was I, first stop Farm Fresh for some 'good' fruit n veg. The relief driver was never going to find it and I decided it was best to avoid the frustration!

School's Out

Friday was the end of term for both DD & DS, no-more school until 5th January.

They both had Christmas parties at their schools with the obligatory visit from Father Christmas. DS cried when he saw him (see above) and ran to me to hide and DD noticed that he wasn't as fat as when she last saw him!

It is now a week and 1 day until my sister and family arrive and we are all looking forward to their visit. Particularly as nearly all the other families we know excitedly flew out of Chennai to either go home for Christmas or to go on some fantastic adventure, which made me a bit homesick. But is is still too early to come home...I still might (might!) struggle to come back here again!

Another One Bites The Dust

Maid #1 - Left
Maid #2 - Doing Well
Maid #3 - Sacked on Friday

Maid # 3 was a tough one as she was very good with the children, hygienic, English good and always on time, however she was slow, good at looking busy and pushy, after just days she asked if she could do her family's washing in our machine and after 3 weeks started sounding me out for a loan for her son's schooling! The minute she started Kumar warned us that he had asked around and she had a reputation for being dishonest...we thought we'd give her a go as her last employers (of 3 years) reference was very good. Maid #2 had also voiced her concerns to Kumar as she also knew of her before and was worried that any trouble would reflect on her.

Two weeks in and a friend told me that she had heard something about her from another ex-pat and so we dug a little deeper, turns out that there are convictions for petty theft in the family and when you begin to hear things like this it is terribly hard to trust someone.

As time went on Little Miss Pushy became pushier and I was getting really tired of finding her rooting and sifting through our rubbish, we were told she wouldn't comply with the guards on bag searches and a couple of times I found her in places in the house that she didn't need to be in.

The crunch began when we were getting ready to go to the BBSC Ball and DH discovered his dress shirt studs were missing and then one of the kids advent calendars disappeared, after 4 days of searching high and low and me ranting and asking no-one in particular, 'Where on earth can it be?' It turned up, she found it, behind some books but it was strange how nearly all the doors had been opened and re-closed and I swear I'd already looked in that place!

So, on Friday evening we confronted her and she left, much to the relief of all the staff and also to me....today is a much calmer day :-)

Tut Tut! It Feels Like Rain

Tut Tut! it Feels Like Rain (AA Milne, Winnie the Poo, for those not reading or watching his adventures e-v-e-r-y day).

So? What do you think you do when it feels like rain in Chennai? Answer: You adorn the very latest in designer head gear to keep dry - THE plastic carrier bag, and you very delicately and carefully roll the handles up so as not to cover your ears (v important for hearing all the traffic and horns). This year's colour is definitely white, although there are the odd one of two fashion rebels I've seen wearing blue and black.

This chap really could have given his wife on the back of the bike (sorry, photo not good as we were on the move) his rain hat...poor girl, another bad case of Humidity Hair for her today!

The War Against Mosquitos

Do you like my bat? I LOVE this bat!

This is THE BEST invention since sliced bread and the wheel. This bat is my main weapon in my personal 'War on Mosquito's'. There are loads of the little blighters here and there are even more since the monsoon season descended. They are mean, vicious and cunning and will find the one spot of skin that the repellent didn't get to. They are dangerous and carry untold nasty diseases. We have all had our vaccinations but the one disease you can't protect yourself from is Dengue Fever, the first time you have it, you apparently hardly notice...you run a temperature, your limbs ache and your feet and joints swell, could be flu...only it ain't. The mosi's that carry it are the ones that bite in the daytime. The next time you get it, you apparently really know about it as it increases in intensity. I had a grand total of 15 bites the other week and felt really lousy for about a week, slight temperature, swollen limbs and aches and pains...but you keep going, because you have to, not even the beloved Piriton helped. It's only now being a little more informed that I think I know what the problem was.

Anyway back to my bat! We have about 4 of these, one upstairs, one downstairs and one in each car. You plug the bats in to charge them, you spot a mosi, you grab the bat, press the button, take aim and swipe.....the little devil doesn't stand a chance (as long as you've managed to keep track of him that is) There then is a very satisfying electrical crackle and the little mosi falls electrocuted to the floor. Great Sport....like I said, I LOVE my bat!

A Busy Christmassy Weekend

On Saturday evening DH and I attended the BBSC (British Business & Social Club) Christmas Ball complete with Roast Turkey and all the trimmings! A great evening enjoyed by all and as a result there were certainly a few tired and sore-headed individuals (DH being one) who headed out for the next Christmas event of the weekend - the OWC (Overseas Women's Club) annual Santa Brunch.

Father Christmas had also been to the Ball, wonder how his head was?!

Present Time

After all the excitement DS needed a little lie down!

There were lots of craft tables and all the kids had a wonderful time, icing and eating Christmas Cookies, making Pot Pourri, drawing and colouring and playing together. Everyone felt quite Christmassy I think, until we stepped outside again into the warmth and the sunshine.

The Elves and the Furniture Maker

The one big mistake we made before coming here was to get our loose cover furniture upholstered, the mistake being that we took wrong advice about the quality of Indian upholstery fabric and decided to get it done at home rather than waiting until we got here. The result was the 'new' furniture looked OK in the UK but looked like it belonged in a care home when we got it here, way too dark and depressing.

We decided we couldn't live with it, so we went in search of fabric and at first it was a tough job as there was nothing that we liked then we stumbled upon a couple of really nice shops. All the time in India you hear tales and stories about bad service, delays and bad workmanship, well I'm going to tell you of a very good experience that we had.

At 4pm one Saturday afternoon we placed a fabric order and on the following Tuesday morning we got a call to say it had arrived. On the Wednesday morning the 'Tailor' and his band of merry men (varying in number between 2 and 6 depending on the day!)arrived at the house and began their work. I was curious as to their initial estimate of 2-3 days to complete the work as it sounded very optimistic (and it was!) especially there being 3 sofas, 2 chairs, 2 pouffes and loads of cushions, oh yes and they were also making us curtains for 3 large windows and 3 large sets of French doors.

They set up their sewing machine, just the one, on a mat on the floor and got to work. Over the next week they stripped our sofas, they cut and they sewed well into the night, most nights which wasn't so good, because if they'd started earlier each day they might have left our house, perhaps by 7pm leaving us to have some sort of evening together, but no, and on the evening that DH had a trip to Delhi they were here until gone midnight and I finally just had to boot them out or I was never going to get up the next morning.

And so, just over a week later, hampered by the bad weather and floods, power cuts, a motorcycle accident and a needle through a finger we are the owners of a swish set of lovely new sofas - again! And the total cost for all this work, fabric and curtains...well we got a few pennies change from £grand, not bad eh?

Lovely Weather

2 days after the rain had stopped

Since the cyclone moved on the weather has actually been very nice, and everywhere has been drying up nicely. The humidity has disappeared and all told it feels really nice here at the moment, it could pass for a nice English Summer day. I was playing at guessing the temperature yesterday and thought it felt abround 20 degrees. I was actually very shocked when Murasoli told me that the car was registering the outside temperature at 29 degrees! Either it was wrong or I am finally getting used to this climate. Like I said though, virtually no humidity I'll probably struggle again when that old friend returns.

I Have Legs, I Can Therefore Walk

Madras Club Christmas Tree

Believe it or not, I can! I miss walking. Before India I walked whenever and wherever I could.

Today I decided there was an event I wanted to attend at the Madras Club, which is all of about 500 yards away from our house and so, at Midday I set off down the drive towards the gate. The guards got into a bit of a fluster as I approached, so I explained where and why I was walking. 'Car Madam?' NO.CAR.NEEDED. Comprende?

The Madras Club

They weren't sure and even as I glanced back as I rounded the corner at the top of the road there were two guards standing watching my progress, while shaking their heads. They were probably even more shocked by the fact that probably 5 minutes or so later one of the maids left in the car to run some errands. Hmmmm? Madam walking and Maid being driven - not quite right to them, but for me it was very liberating to walk even just a short distance...on my own, without being watched. I did a little hop, skip and a jump and felt like I'd escaped!

On my return, being the other side of the gate was strange, no-one heard my knocking so just to tease them a little more I made loud BEEP BEEP noises, to which they all came running and found amusing, but only after apologising profusely for the 20 second delay in opening the gate! It's OK, I can live with that, and many other things...including my legs, I found them today and they still work.