NOT the Type of Pedicure I Had In Mind

Oooops! Had a bit of an accident today. Well I couldn't let Ian take all the sympathy now could I?

A large crowd of us descended on The Park for our last Sunday Brunch and all was going well, the adults enjoying good food and all the children fed watered and ensconced in the hotel's viewing room watching Shrek.

Luke decided he wanted to climb up on my lap and as I pushed my chair back to let him up, my flat soled sandal skidded on a chip and my toes rammed straight under the metal base plate of the table. Huge pain, blood, stars, nausea, the lot.

My very own Florence 'Juliet' Nightingale quickly and deftly administered first aid and ice while Nurse Sejal made calls to her doctor...and it was straight off to Apollo hospital for me. Xrays to make sure nothing was broken, nothing is. But once my toes were cleaned up it was apparent that my big toe nail was split right down to the base. "We'd better take it off", says the Doc.

After two lots of local anaesthetic a crowd of around 10 Doctors and nurses have gathered around my feet to watch the removal of my big toe nail and I just feel like fainting, but I managed to stay awake with Juliet focusing my mind. Credit due, when it was all over it looked as though the lovely Doctor had done a good job!

It just wasn't the kind of last Indian pedicure I'd been planning - I had intended that once we had moved out of the house and into the hotel for a few days I'd slip down to Salon 2000 for one last complete works...because it ain't half cheap here and as of next week I'll be back to taking out a small mortgage for any pampering of that kind...Ah well, at least my toe's not broken, and, I got to see the inside of yet another Indian hospital before we leave!

PS...A very big thank you also goes to Andrew Purdy who also accompanied us to Apollo and kept reminding me that I do have a sense of humour. Like you said Megan, he doesn't 'do' blood though!

So Long, Farewell

Just take a look at how the Desperate (ex-pat) Housewives of Chennai spend ALL their time!





Last week a very fond group of us did the school run and then de-camped down the coast to Fishermans Cove for my leaving lunch and we had THE BEST time. Expertly arranged we enjoyed a peaceful time relaxing around the pool...the first time I have been able to do this since...well I can't actually remember when! And then enjoyed a lovely lunch in the Bay restaurant overlooking the Bay of Bengal with a nice sea breeze to cool us down.


Fruit Mocktails - it was only 10am after all!


A wonderful group of girls who have all helped me settle in here and made my life in Chennai a little bit easier with regular injections of humour and shared experiences and tales of our lives in India. Thank you all for coming, Thank you for the wonderful gifts which will always remind me of you all...and thank you for being here in Chennai the same time as me! There were a couple of girls that I include in all of that who were missing on this day, you know who you are. Going to miss all you girls xxx

Where's that box of tissues?

Countdown

1 day until the packers arrive
1 week (yesterday) until departure day
4 days since my lovely leaving do
1 hour before we see the English Patient
1 hour before our last ever Chennai brunch with many lovely friends

The (Impatient) English Patient

I am sparing no details on this one!

Poor Ian has been suffering with recurring bouts of tonsillitis for the last couple of years. Our doctor in the UK had recommended 'the op' last year but he didn't have the time. Uh Oh. After several rounds of anti-bionics(!) a doctor here also recommended 'the op' but there just wasn't time, there never was.

He got back last weekend from his 2 week trip and unbeknown to me paid another visit to the doc. He had seen a 'little window' of opportunity as only Ian does!

Ian: "I'll think I'll have my tonsils out before we go".
Me: Errr pardon?
Ian: "Have my tonsils out...before we go"
Me: "Right. When exactly?"
Ian: "Saturday"
Me: "The Saturday before we leave? 2 days before the packers arrive? That Saturday? Oh help me! Lots more dialogue followed on the pros, cons, whys and wherefores...the BAD timing, but you get the picture I'm sure!

On Friday evening he went to the hospital for his pre-assessment and at 10pm tells me that he will need to be there by 7am and that someone has to stay and be with him for the entire time, I couldn't understand this?? When I had mine out aged 14 I was in hospital all on my lonesome whilst my Dad was away on business and my Mum was looking after my sister 20 odd miles away. Granted I ran out of 5 pence pieces nervously phoning home every 10 minutes beforehand but in the end the pre-med shut me up and I succumbed.

We all awoke early this morning and Ian went off with Murasoli to the hospital while I got the kids up and ready and waited for Mary, who had been hurriedly drafted in, to arrive. By 8.40am I arrived with Kumar and was whisked up to what I can only describe as the 'Penthouse Suite' of this hospital. Ian is lying there serenly with Murasoli quite literally almost holding his hand and looking very worried and concerned. A nurse arrives and I have to sign consent forms and at 9am he's wheeled off to theatre.




I kicked off my shoes, curled up on the sofa, put BBC World on the massive widescreen, opened a Diet Coke and had a well deserved snooze. Until firstly Kumar arrives to tell me that the entire mobile phone network is down throughout the City so he MUST give me a different number just in case I need him and secondly a woman comes to ask if it is OK if someone comes to take some pictures of THE ROOM - got that? The Room. OK whatever, maybe today isn't the best day...Oh no, but it HAS to be done today.



Five minutes later a nurse arrives to tell me that the Doctor needs to see me down on the 2nd floor, I fly down the stairs imagining a problem, but am greeted at the door by said doctor, "Take your shoes off put a gown on and follow me" he says. Before I have even grasped the fact that we are all barefoot and the sleeping people around me are actually 'in the recovery room' he presents me with a small bowl containing Ian's tonsils!! Euewwwww! "Please sign here to say you've seen them". Now I do actually know what Ian's tonsils look like after the number of times he's asked me to look and check if they are swollen or have white spots on them. Had he been having his appendix or something else removed I wouldn't have had a clue...could belong to anybody! After making sure a very grey looking Ian was OK I exited as soon as I could without even looking left or right...I really didn't want to see anything more.



Back upstairs the photographer(ha ha)has arrived and has not just set up a camera but a huge very professional video camera and I'm thinking there's something not quite right. I leave to wait outside, but they insist that I just sit down as I was and they'll work around me. Back on my comfy sofa I pick up my out of date edition of Marie Claire and then I happen to glance up to see this huge bloody camera trained on me! It dawns on me that they think we are medical tourists, people who travel to India to get all sort of Ops done because the NHS lists are too long and private is way too expensive...unless you come to India, and we're actually a convenient marketing tool. Then the guy says, "Mrs Wilson would you like to talk to camera about your Apollo Hopsital experience?" Errr hmmm, in a word NO! They beat a hasty retreat, to just outside the door? A few words in the 'Directors' shell like along the lines of...if you think you're filming my husband when he gets back here, you can think again, they get the hint and eventually leave.

Poor Ian arrives back, looking the worse for wear and then croackily announces that "This must be even worse and as painful as childbirth". At which point I stopped mopping his brow, lost all sympathy and wondered to myself where in Chennai I could get hold of a bag of Walker's Salt and Vinegar crisps...just for him!

Oh just one more thing....did I mention that a couple of hours later he asked for his laptop because there were some emails he needed to see? Good job I had sent it back home. I mean...Arrrgggghhhh...Men!

Luke's Party

We threw a little party in honour of Luke's 2nd birthday last weekend and we invited a small group of friends and our staff to join us.

The Cake

Pool Time!

Cake time, except Luke wasn't that impressed with his cake and candles. We'd been practicing 'blowing out' for days but on the day he got a little stage struck!


When I said we'd invited our staff that meant, Kumar and his 2 children, Pushpa and her son Balaji, Murasoli and Mary. As usual I thought I'd overdone it on the catering front but as it was Mary's daughter Angel also arrived (pale pink Salwar) together with Mary's sister, husband and 3 children! The whole spread disappeared before our eyes and so did they! As I went into the kitchen this is the ensemble I came across...with rice and more chicken cooking on the stove! Not a morsel was left! I think they had a good time.

Only in India...rounding off the day with a nice game of cricket! Luke is a pretty mean bowler!

Countdown...

2 weeks (yesterday) until departure day.
3 days until my leaving do.
1 week until the packers arrive.

...and I'm feeling remarkably calm, errr it just doesn't seem real at the moment!

Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

I can't believe that our little boy is the grand old age of 2 years today. His 2 years have been a whirlwind for his parents in more ways than one but he seems to have come through it all pretty much unscathed!

Daddy has been in the US and UK for the past 2 weeks and arrives home in the early hours of tomorrow (Hallejuleigh!), so today has been low key and busy busy with jobs, school concerts and sorting out. Tomorrow we will celebrate with a little party with some close friends and our staff.

Wonderful people come and wonderful people go...today is a very happy day but also a sad day for me and my sister. Miss you so much Mum xx

MOF MOF...From A Saucy Chef

MOF MOF - "Minimum of Fuss, Maximum of Flavour", the motto of Chef Antonio Carluccio...a man after my own heart.

With exit day looming ever closer you'd think I'd be sorting out, chucking out, selling stuff and getting organised. Well I'm trying to muster the enthusiasm...but on Tuesday I took a bit of time off and headed to The Park Hotel (remember our take-away Christmas lunch and our best party ever...THAT Park)



Chef Antonio OBE, 72, is, I suppose, a consultant of sorts for The Park Hotels throughout India advising and coaching their chefs in all things Italian and whilst he was here in Chennai he gave a fabulous cookery demonstration to a room full of doting women. I think it's probably fair to say that there's not many men his age who can make a room full of women 'Oooh' and 'Aaah' and 'Gasp' in quite the way that he did! Now was it HIM? The food? Or his saucy jokes...you decide!



What treats did he have in store? Mmmmm let me tell you... Pesce in Carpione (Sardines marinated with onions), Peperoni Mandorlati (Peppers with Almonds), Egg Ravioli, Pollo Alla Limone (chicken with parsley and capers) Parmigiana Di Melanzane (Aubergine Timbale)...and...the old faithful...Tiramisu


Telling another joke...this was probably 'The Boobs in Soup' one!




And the best bit? We all got to stay for lunch and sample all his lovely dishes - DE-Lish!

All the Way to Pondicherry...and Back

We've been spending alot of time apart as a family at the moment so when Ian arrived back from his 3 week US stint we decided to get away for some family time.

The Dune resort near Pondicherry came very highly recommended so we trundled off down South again in the hope of some 'chill out' (Ha ha ha!) time. Unfortunately it was not to be.

The place was lovely, our 'Kerala House' which had been renovated and transported to Dune from Kerala was beautiful and full of character but the A/C was minimal and with temperatures soaring way above 40C and with very little shade to be found unless you were inside we began to melt.

It had a fantastic pool and beach but again, no shade. We arrived lunchtime on the Friday, the kids played and we all had a refreshing dip in the pool around 5ish. Fine so far. Luke was up and down and all over the place and then he discovered the pond in the garden...Well, that was that neither Ian or I were going to be able to sit still and relax ever again and short of tying the little tike up there was no way to contain him. More to the point I was beginning to get concerned at the speed he was going and how little he was drinking and was imagining heat stroke or drowning.

We had dinner, very nice...French (ish!), Luke finally fell asleep and we turned in for the night...only Ellie couldn't sleep, it must have been past midnight by the time she settled and guess which little person it was that has us ALL awake at 6am? I don't think I need to tell you.

We were all in the pool at just gone 7am, we had breakfast, we took the kids on bikes to visit the animals on the Dune Farm and all the while the temperature was rising and rising. At 10am Ian and I looked at each other, looked at a tired and melting Ellie, looked at Luke bombing around the pond with sweat soaked hair...and asked ourselves what exactly are we going to do until 5pm when it's comfortable enough to go back to the pool? Neither of us wanted to be the one to disappoint and suggest the inevitable but then a little voice piped up.

"It's too hot here, I want to go home".

Within minutes we were packed up and ready to go, we called Kumar to meet us in the car park and I think he was as relieved as we were..."Too much hot here Madam". Tell me about it!

We have never enjoyed an A/C car drive home as much as that one and as we had plenty of time we stopped off along the way and took in some of the sights.

By the way, if you are thinking of going Dune it is a lovely place...probably more comfortable in December/January/February!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

4 Weeks...

Until we leave India.

When I looked back to see how I was faring 4 weeks before we moved out here, it was a different story altogether! I was disappearing under mountains of cardboard and deliveries and chaos and the packers were due any day to ship our belongings.

This time round it feels far more civilised. The packers will be arriving just one week before we leave and our shipment will go directly to the US ready for our arrival after our summer in the UK.

At this point in time there is just one spanner in the works that may slow things down...apparently once your belongings are packed in the container and at the dock they have to wait there for 3 weeks before setting sail, now I can understand 1 week if you'd just managed to miss the boat, but 3 weeks?? We pressed for further information and in India (only in...??) the powers that be have to obtain confirmation from the airline that you have definitely left the country before allowing your stuff to sail, and of course, as with most things here - the bureaucratic cogs turn slowly and it all takes a long time.

Something has just crossed my mind and it has just dawned on me that we are all going to be living out of suitcases for a long time...might not be such a civilised move after all!

The BEST way to have a PARTY...Ever!

Those of you that know us...know that the Wilson's enjoy a good party!

We had always planned to have one (probably more if we were staying) in India but when everything went topsy turvey it seemed that we were never going to be able to fit one in!

Enter the BISC (British International Social Club) who asked me if we'd be willing to host a 'Spring Garden Party' one Friday evening. 'We'll invite everyone, the Park Hotel will cater for everyone and bring the whole shebang with them, the bar will be taken care of' Hmmm...let me think about that for about a nano second...Fine with us, bring it on!

On the Tuesday before the event there were about 20 people confirmed and it looked like it might be pulled. On the Thursday there were 40 or so and it was decided it would go ahead. By Friday afternoon 60 were confirmed, and, on the night a whopping 90 people turned up! 90 people in temperatures of about 90 degrees, boy was it a hot night!

"It's a cocktail party in a sauna" commented Allan. He nailed it right on the head!

Despite the balmy temperatures I think a good time was had by all...the last stragglers departed and Pushpa and I finished up and went to bed.

So where was Ian when all this was going on? Poor chap, he was flying back from the US and arrived home about 5am...

Ian: Hello darling, I'm back.
Me: (V groggy after 3 hours sleep and needing more) We missed you, now go to sleep.
Ian: How did the party go?
Me: Fine
Ian: How many people in the end?
Me: 90
Ian 90!!!! No way! It doesn't even look as though anything or anyone has even been here...where's the mess, the debris, the aftermath??

Like I said - The BEST way to have a PARTY....Ever!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's Official

In just 4 weeks and 2 days we will be leaving India and now we know where to. About time...it's been a very long wait with our exit date looming ever nearer.

Firstly we will be returning to the UK for a few weeks and then we will be heading off to North Carolina, USA for Ian to take up his next assignment. We are all very happy and excited at the prospect and the opportunity!

However our move is tinged with sadness as we will of course be leaving behind our wonderful staff. The drivers will be fine, but after I told Kumar the news and saw his reaction I just couldn't bring myself to tell Pushpa and Mary by myself. Ian and I broke it to them yesterday evening and it was truly heartbreaking. These two women have been more than just 'maids' to me and between them they have looked after us so well and made settling into India an awful lot easier than it could have been. I hope to be able to find them new jobs before we leave as they deserve that much after all their hard work and loyalty.

So, it's back to the beginning of this blog in some ways...Ian is off to the US and UK for two more weeks on Saturday, I'll be packing up, sorting out and saying goodbyes but I have made a promise to myself that I am not going to stress and worry as I did before. I'm sure there will be moments but I've done it before so I should be able to do it again. Right? Wish me luck!