The Market!

How I love the sights and sounds and smells of the market!!! More of that in a minute.

Last weekend our Dorm Activity was "Community Service" on the Lushington campus. The boys were assigned into groups and given specific tasks to perform which would be of benefit to the school. My group was to re-dig the drainage ditch along the side of the Titch Pitch. The dug up soil was taken by wheel-barrow across the road to beside the Tennis Court and used to level the ground for an additional Parking Lot. Can you believe that? As more parents are able to drive the distances to school, we are running out of space in which to park vehicles during Parent's Week. My group dug and a second group leveled the soil which was brought in. My boys had great fun challenging each other to see who could do the round-trip of full to empty wheel-barrow in the shortest time! Lots of laughs were had as the driveway entrance was missed or the empty wheel-barrow tipped! Following the Community Service activity, the boys cleaned up and then were given 125 rupees to go to town for dinner. At 8:30 they came back to our flat and about 25 of them watch the DVD "Bench warmers".

Sunday was a quiet day! Monday dawned bright and early with Gigi leaving to go to Coimbatore with Virginia at 7 h00. I was in charge of "Dhobi" and had to work with the dhobi man in getting this week's load ready and in checking off the clean clothes which were being returned. Once that was done, I was on my own for the day. I quickly decided it was a good time for me to visit the market. As I was alone I would be able to go up and down the narrow passage-ways of the market. I was also able to visit the non-refrigerated meat section. The beef was "on the hoof" and the fowl were "strutting" around!

The many fresh fruits and vegetables as well as spices and other food products were both colourful and pungent! I had a great time and really enjoyed "just looking" at all there was to see.

The rest of the week flew by and I found myself as the solo Tuba player in the Concert Band. The First Chair Tuba player was leaving on Friday and would not be there for Parent's Week! Not only I am the solo Tuba player in the Concert Band but I have also been "drafted" into the Junior Band and the Brass Ensemble for the events of Parent's Week which is next week.

For Parent's Week the normal schedule is partially suspended. More about that later.
This morning the Men's Prayer Breakfast went for a hike. We left school at 6 h 30 and returned shortly after 9 h 00 after hiking up to a lookout point at approximately 2500 m. altitude! The hike up took about 1 hour 40 minutes and needless to say the trip down was considerable quicker! The view was quite spectacular through the early morning mists. On the way up we came across a herd of wild buffalo and they were more frightened of us than we were of them. We also saw the buffalo in the Toda village just above the school. Just before going in through the back gate by Hoz a pot-seller was coming up the path carrying his wares on his head. The load looked very heavy and yet he carried it as though it were as light as a feather. As if the hike wasn't enough, Gigi and I then went to town shopping! (We did take an auto back up the hill!)

Brooklands

On Friday, March 16 I was privileged to be one of the staff members who accompanied the Standard 13's for their Leaver's Weekend in Brooklands. The students made their own way from school in Ooty down to Brooklands, in Coonoor. Some took the local bus, others hitch-hiked, and a few were driven! Most of the staff went down in the Trax with all the equipment for the weekend. Brooklands is a retreat centre and has been around for a long time. Since my last visit in 2007 a new coat of paint has been applied, buildings have been freshened up, and the meals have improved considerably.

The weekend was well planned with sessions on re-entry into the Western World and discussion about universities in various countries. One of the sessions was on Canada. The fact we speak two languages and have some rather extreme weather in certain parts of the country formed part of the presentation.

The views of the tea plantations are stunning as you can see from the photo. As my wife, Gigi, stayed at school to be Dorm Parent to our 15 boys, I had a room with bathroom, attached, to myself. There was cold water in the sink, a toilet, and a hot water faucet along with a large tin-tub!

This week has been the presentation of candidates for the position of co-president of the Student Council. The election was held earlier today with the team of Ande and Sam being declared the co-presidents. I am sure we will hear all about it in the Dorm meeting later tonight.

On our day off, Monday, my wife and I visited the local Tea Museum and then walked back down to town along a rather smooth road with very little traffic. We came down on the Selborne side of Ooty and saw scenery not seen previously. It was a wonderful sunny day and we enjoyed our time together.

Lushington Day

Since I have last updated the blog we have had two very significant events at Hebron School. The first was last Friday, March 9. It was the Triathlon. Teams of students in the various standard levels were formed. One member of the team was the designated swimmer, a second member was the designated runner, and the third member was the designated cyclist. There were "spare" members for each team as well. The event started at the swimming pool with the swimmer swimming two lengths of the pool before clambering out and setting the runner off. The runner had to go down a set of steps and then down the driveway to where the cyclist was waiting. Once the runner crossed the line on the driveway the cyclist shot off down the hill to the Big Pitch and navigated around the course. Once the cyclist had completed the course it was back to where the runner was waiting on the driveway. The runner then ran back up the driveway to the pool. Once the runner had crossed the line the swimmer was back in the pool for another two lengths and the process was repeated as many times as possible within the given time limit. Both my wife and I sponsored students who have yet to claim the amount!

Saturday was Lushington Day. This started bright and early in the morning with breakfast outside. Tables had been set up with Indian and Western breakfast. It was serve yourself and eat as much as you wished. At 9 h 00 the boys assembled on the big Pitch in teams. All the boys from Middle School to the end of Senior School participated. There was a mixture of students of all ages on each team and there were 12 teams in all. Teams rotated through football, volleyball, and Frisbee football at fifteen minute intervals. The picture to the right shows, from left to right, the score-keeper, the time-keeper, and their assistant! The schedule was arrange so that each team had a 15 minute break between contests. At the end of the morning the points were tallied and a winner was announced.

Lunch was also held outside. This time the buffet table was placed in front of Lushington Hall. The food was absolutely delicious! There was a great choice of food - much more than usual and we all sat around enjoying the meal and the view. During the afternoon the various age groups had time at the swimming pool. The afternoon swim was interrupted by "High Tea!" Wow - I couldn't believe my eyes. Many of the staff had spent hours in baking a colorful variety of baked goods which were pleasing both to the eye and to the pallet. We had been issued tickets for 3 "cakes" and once all had gone around once we were able to go back for seconds. It was a most mouth-watering experience.

Supper, also buffet style, was on the Big Pitch. People sat around the huge bonfire and enjoyed the meal before participating in a "Barn Dance" organized by one of the staff. It was great to see how the boys entered into the spirit of the evening and had such a great time. All through the evening "smores" were available. Once the festivities were over, our boys, the Standard 12's, were in charge of the clean up. This was quite an operation as we had to sweep[ up the hay which had been put around for the Barn Dance and put it all back into the back of the Tempo. We had only "borrowed" the hay from a nearby school.

The day was well-organized and everyone in the school community had a good time. Sunday was really a "day of rest" in every sense of the word!

On Monday, our day-off, my wife and I joined some friends for lunch up at King's Cliff. We sat outside in a covered terrace and enjoyed a wonderful meal of lamb and fresh vegetables. I had carrot soup as the starter course and finished the meal off with a Creme Caramel! So delicious!!!

On Wednesday my PD group, the Standard 13A class, did the school assembly. They were wonderful as they recounted their own stories of God's faithfulness and also did a humorous skit showing God's faithfulness to Noah. I am very proud of everyone one of the students in 13A. Well done!

After the leopard, what now?

After the excitement of a leopard having been sighted on the Hebron site, this week was relatively calm! If any school week is ever "calm!"

We had the visit of a group of 40 students from Stanes School, Wellington/Coonoor last Saturday. The first event was a friendly game of Basketball on the outdoor court with many spectators cheering on the home team. As there were not many supporters for Stanes, We also cheered on the Stanes team. The teams were fairly even in terms of skill and ability. Hebron was victorious.

Just after half-time, the spectators were divided into two groups for indoor activities. One group went to the GSM Hall for table games and the other group went to the Sports Hall for some relay races. Following regular school supper, a special supper was served in the main dining room for the "A"-Levels from Hebron and our guests. The catering department went all out for this special meal. There was a good mix of students at the tables and both groups of students expressed their pleasure with the meal. Following the meal we all went to the GSM Hall for some entertainment performed by both groups. That concluded the visit by the students and the staff from Stanes. The girls who had joined us from Selborne were bussed back and Lushington returned to a quiet Saturday night.

Sunday started early as Gigi was the "Lady on Duty" for the morning. The duties included saying grace at school breakfast, answering the phone in the kitchen, supervising the kitchen men as they prepared the noon meal and making sure the noon meal was served. I joined to assist at the noon meal by watching the students as they put their dirty plates in the bin. Any student who had not eaten their meal was asked to complete the meal and not to waste food! After the meal I became the "Man on Duty." My duties consisted of welcoming visitors to the school, keeping an eye on the kitchen men as they prepared supper, answering the phone, and making a list of supplies which were taken out of stores by the kitchen men. There were no visitors to welcome and there were no phone calls to answer. It was a quiet afternoon. Thank goodness for my Kobo reader as well as a book of puzzles.

The boys of the dorm have suggested to Gigi that savory snacks would be greatly appreciated. Gigi is still experimenting and has found a great use for our iPod. She is able to research recipes which are suitable for high-altitude cooking. She is having a great time and the boys sure appreciate her efforts. Last week we had a chocolate birthday cake with vanilla icing and strawberries as the main item. Mrs. George showed Gigi how to make Kerala toast - a great favourite of the boys.

On Monday,our day off, we went out for lunch with Virginia, one of the art teachers. We had gone to the Sidewalk Cafe before and that was our restaurant of choice again. The food is prepared for you and is served hot. We have had good eating experiences when we have gone there. This was no exception! The rest of the week had gone by and here we are getting ready for the weekend. There are French tests to correct tonight and a Dorm meeting for which i need to prepare. Tomorrow is "Lushington Day" and we will learn about it as we go along.

It was a LEOPARD!

Now how about that!

As you can see from the notice on the Staff Room board, we did have a leopard on site during the early part of this week. The woods are still out of bounds and there are still extra watchmen on at night. There has not been any further activity for the last 3 days! Neither my wife nor I had any "chance" encounters with the leopard!

The rest of the week has been quite uneventful! Comments are due from the Personal Development tutors. I have to read the reports for the 21 Standard 13's for whom I am responsible and make suitable comments. I also have to proof-read the comments of the subject teachers as well. This is quite a time consuming task.

Last Monday we got our new acquired cell phone charged up and we have discovered it costs 1 rupee per minute to call Canada. It's too bad there is a 10 hour 30 minute time difference with Montreal and surrounding area! We did manage to Skype our grand-children last Sunday night suing our neighbours modem. We still do not have our modem installed. The telephone line was installed and then there was a 1 day general strike. The school technician had the phone company in to check things out and has since had to spend 2 days in Coimbatore with his daughter and emergency surgery - appendicitis. He is due back today. So, hopefully we will have our modem early next week.

I did manage to take some pictures of our flat and you can see we are well equipped in the kitchen to make cakes and other mouth watering delights!

I did lead the A-level Boy's Bible study last night and had some good insights from the boys. The Dorm boys are still a delight to work with. The other night they were all late returning from the Sports Hall. The excuse was there was no clock and no one had a watch with them! Now, really, boys! The following night they were all in the dorm one minute early and the kitchen was very clean. Well done, boys!