Bill In India

Talent night show

2012-02-18T03:13:00.003-05:00

Since I last updated my blog there is not really much to share.
Last Saturday the Standard 12's had a weekend "at home" and celebrated this by having a Talent Show after supper. There were three judges for the 10 teams which participated, needless to say, I was one of them in my role of Lord Chancellor from last semester. You might say it was "Indian Idol" Hebron version! There were lots of laughs and some pretty good talent as well. It was a great way to spend the evening and it did provide some insight into the likes and dislikes of the students and also how they view some of the school rules!

Sunday afternoon my wife and I went over to Selborne for "Afternoon Tea" sponsored by the Standard 9 girls. We were greeted by two girls in black and white attire and escorted to our table on the lawn, given a menu, and had our order taken. The food was simply delicious as was the coffee. The food was so delicious that I indulged and had a second dessert! No surprise to some of you! We came away with our souvenir name tags with some great Origami. Thanks to all who made it a special afternoon.

The rest of the week was what is becoming a "normal school week" with classes, preparation, correction, and after school activities. I am now playing E flat Tuba in the Concert Band and Gigi is giving voice lessons to a staff member. This is in addition to her teaching Standard 9 French, doing some vocal coaching for the music department, and assisting in the DPD office.

We do find time to attend adult Bible studies by alternating Monday and Wednesday evenings. This allows us to meet members of the larger community and to visit other schools and houses. There is always a snack to start the evening and a meal of South Indian food to close the evening. Lots of great memories are being made.

Last night was the combined Dorm meeting of the Standard 12 and 13 boys. Today the Standard 13's are off to Black Thunder, an amusement park down the ghat. The Standard 12's are out to dinner at Nahar's tonight. Tomorrow there will be church services as usual and then we are into next week.

Village Visits

2012-02-11T23:21:00.004-05:00

After our wonderful weekend in Cochin with the Standard 12's last Monday was spent with the Standard 7's as they visited to local villages. The first was a Toda village called Muttanamund. There are about 15 houses in the village with less than 50 inhabitants. The women were sitting on the grass doing the beautiful Toda embroidery. The children were running about kicking a football (soccer ball) and the water buffalo were wandering about enjoying the grass! We were able to see the new water supply which is being developed and we also visited the site of the regional temple. The village priest happened to walk by while we were there. The students had to draw a sketch map of the village showing roads, buildings, and other features.

Following this visit we moved on to the village of Atthikal. This was a much larger village with about 200 inhabitants and many more buildings. Again the students had various tasksto perform. There were very few people about as it was early afternoon. We did see people working in the fields.

The weather was hot and sunny and even with sunscreen on there were several healthy looking faces by the time we returned to school later in the afternoon.

The rest of the week was spent in getting French lessons prepared and teaching the Standard 7 and Standard 8 French classes as well as doing the Standard 13 registration and PD class. The boys of the dorm are a great bunch. Last Friday evening we had all 39 (12's and 13's) for the weekly Dorm meeting and then birthday cake for the boys who had celebrated their birthday during the week.

We are getting to know them and are really enjoying our work at the school.

We are busy!

2012-02-08T09:08:00.006-05:00

Since my last blog update there has been much activity.

Our first weekend was spent at the Staff Retreat which gave us an opportunity to meet the new staff and renew acquaintances with others. One of the highlights of the Retreat was the Staff Picnic. There was plenty of time for walking and enjoying the scenery. Following the 4 days of Staff Retreat, we had 2 days in which to prepare our lessons for the new semester. This was rather difficult for us as neither of us knew the pupils and their capacity to learn. We also had to leave work for someone else to teach as we were leaving for a 3 day weekend trip to Cochin with the Standard 12's after their Trial Exams.

There is much going on at the beginning of semester. As well as getting to know the names and the faces of our 15 boys there are also 6 other Standard 12 boys who live "up the hill" in Blades.

Our new accommodation is proving very comfortable. The on-site shower and our own hot water supply is very appreciated. The access to the boy's dorm is from our living room into their Common Room. This makes it easy for us to visit them and also to check to see if the lights are out at 10:30 P.M. each night. They are quite good at getting to bed. They are not quite so good at getting up in the morning! We know all their names and are able to call them by name when we meet them around the campus.

The trip to Cochin was a treat after a week of Trial Exams. We spent 13 hours in the bus going while the return trip took just under 8 hours. We came back by train to Coimbatore and then by mini-bus to school. During our time in Cochin we went to Wonderland Theme Park with lots of water slides and other rides. We had great fun - the Windmill, the Ferris Wheel, the wonder Splash (log ride)! The students enjoyed the more daring rides! We all enjoyed the Wave Pool. On Saturday we did a BackWater cruise and saw some amazing vegetation as well as air-conditioned house-boats!

We are now well under way with classes of French, standard 7 and Standard 8, 2 classes each of 3 lessons and Gigi has Standard 9. Between preparation, correcting Prep (Homework) and just being around we are quite busy. The weather is improving. Last week it was 8 degrees outside when we got up and not quite 13 degrees in the house. We have no heat! Today it was 23 in the house as the afternoon sun shone down on the roof and warmed up the inside air.

Hebron, Take 2

2012-01-26T07:58:00.003-05:00

Having left the land of ice and snow I am now basking in the warm sunshine.
The 32 hour trip was long! The flights were on time and there was plenty of space to spread out be comfortable. The over 6 hour taxi ride is really something to try and avoid if at all possible.
Pictures of the new housing will be taken shortly. We have a large Living Room/Dining Room with working firepalce, a kitchen with a full-sized fridge, a 2-burner gas cook top, a convection/microwave oven and other equipment. Our bedroom is large with a wardrobe cupboard (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) and we actually have our own hot-water heater in the bathroom for nice hot showers without having to walk outside in the cold morning air. The 3 minute shower, 3 times per week is still in effect.

Our first day was spent unpacking and getting our new house in order. As we met with the members of the administration we discovered we were needed to teach French to Standards 7, 8, and 9. I will be teaching the 7 and 8 classes for 12 periods per week and Gigi will teach the Standard 9 classes for 6 periods per week. I also get to do Standard 8 Math and Standard 13 Personal Development. We are meeting new staff and meeting our 15 boys, ages 16 - 18!. So far, so good.

New Year 2012

2012-01-06T11:18:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year 2012!
That's right, the year has started and the first blog is late! Can you imagine how that happened!?! Let's not make excuses. We left India on Sunday, December 18 just after 3:00 A.M. Bangalore time and arrived in Montreal at 1:00 P.M. Montreal time. Our body clocks were still on India time and it sure felt like 11:30 P.M. India time!
Then the whirlwind activities started and I am now able to catch my breath and update the blog. We were met at the airport by Stef and Marc and very quickly felt the ''-8 C'' temperature. It was ''+25 C'' when we left Bangalore. The week before Christmas was filled with reading mail, buying gifts, re-stocking the house, and just getting ready for Christmas. We celebrated on December 26 with my brother and his wife, our children and spouses and grand-children. An even dozen sat down to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings before the gift exchange. Following dinner the 2011 Pit Game was played. Nick was the winner this year and Stef has posted the score sheet.
While all this was going on Gigi and I had our pictures taken for our new visas and made a trip to the Indian visa office in Montreal and made application for employment visas as it is our plan to return to India shortly.
When the grandchildren were here we managed to go tobogganing at the park in Westmount. Darcy went to see the Disney specail with her Grandmaman and Wesley and Papa visited the ''Enchanted Forest'' at Ogilvy's. A good time was had by all.
One of our delights was seeing the new outfits on Darcy and Wesley. He loved his ''karate'' pants! Oh well, you can't win them all!
Hope you all have a great New Year 2012!

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-14T03:35:00.007-05:00

Well, here we are at the end of our stay in the fascinating country of India. In just 2 days time we leave Hebron in Ooty and start our voyage home. We will have a brief stop in Bangalore before boarding the plane to Frankfurt and then to Montreal.

Last Saturday was a very exciting day in the Hebron community. It was the day of the Annual Christmas Dinner and the Staff Pantomime. The Sports Hall was the location for the dinner and had been transformed into a Winter Wonderland by the creative use of banners. There was a wonderful festive feeling in the air as the students arrived dressed for the occasion. The staff were in their finest, as well. There were 3 serving stations and each was very pleasing to the eye in the layout of the food and the decoration.
Following the dinner all adjourned to the GSM Hall for the pantomime. This year's panto was "Snow White." The staff had worked diligently to learn their lines. A very enthusiastic audience helped to stoke the adrenalin and a stellar performance was delivered. The students screamed with delight as they saw their teachers on stage in all manner of costumes!

Sunday night we had Carols by Candlelight on the football field outside one of the dorms. The event was open to the community at large and such a large crowd gathered it was necessary to fetch more chairs. The students were seated on blankets on the ground. (Much like the outdoor concerts at de Lanaudiere) There were white lights around the periphery, a cloudless sky above, and about 500 candles burning brightly. Indeed, an impressive sight to behold. A wonderful reminder of what it must have been like on the night the angels made their announcement to the shepherds those many years ago.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Stay tuned for new developments in 2012.

Christmas Fayre, Formal Dinner, and St. Stephen's

2011-12-09T05:08:00.005-05:00

It has been quite a week with all the activities which are taking place as we get ready for Christmas. The Christmas Fayre was a sight to behold. Various organizations from the Ooty community and surrounding area had set up their stalls in the main dining hall as well as the Junior dining hall. There were ladies in Toda dress selling the various Toda products, shawls, bags, scarves, and other hand work. The Freedom Firm group had jewellery for sale as well as Christmas cards. There were several book tables from the Christian book stores in Ooty. There were hand crafted artificial flowers and all other items suitable for young children to buy as they did their Christmas shopping.

In the evening was the Standard 10 Formal Dinner at Nahar's vegetarian restaurant. I am becoming quite "vegetarian" in my food choices! The Standard 10's organized the entertainment and we all had some good laughs.
Sunday night was the Carols by Candlelight at St. Stephen's Church. The church was decorated with hundreds of candles which were used for illumination during the service. The Hebron choir and the St. Hilda's choir participated in the service.

Joint Carol Festival

2011-12-02T22:31:00.005-05:00

The weekend of November 25 - 27 was one wet, ugly weekend. The power went off on Friday afternoon and we were on partial generator power for Friday night. It rained ... all night! The generator, which is located right outside our bedroom window, was turned off at 10:30 P.M. Around 3 in the morning the power was restored, briefly! We got up to cold showers, no power and more rain! After an early lunch we boarded the school bus to Coonoor for the Joint Carol Festival. The bus did not quite make it out of Ooty before breaking down. We sat in the bus on the side of the road while we waited for another bus to pick us up for the balance of the journey. We arrived at St. Joseph's just as the Festival was starting. We had to walk across the football field, which was about 2 cm deep in water, to the auditorium, in the p o u r i n g rain! There were 8 schools in the festival which was MC'ed by 2 students from St. Joe's. The last group was the staff of St. Joseph's singing several carols. The ladies were very colorful in their sari's. Following the festival we had tea in the lower level of the building before we had to make our way back across the campus to wait for our bus. Due to the bus breakdown we had to wait over one hour for another bus to pick us up. The rain clouds had sunk to a new low! We could scarcely see in front of us. Finally the bus did arrive and we had to walk down the driveway to the bus. The bus was unable to make it up the driveway due to a tree which had fallen across the road and knocked down some of the power lines. By the time we got on the bus we were damp, wet, soaked - it all depended on who was holding the umbrella! It rained all night, again! The power was by generator until 10:00 P.M. Sunday night! Still no hat water for showers. On Sunday afternoon a bus load of girls was sent over to Lushington for their showers! They had full generator power but also ran out of hot water! It's been a long time since we have seen any sign of the sun. this morning the sky is clear and blue. Hopefully it will stay that way for most of the day. During the week there were interviews with the Standard 12 students as the term reports were shared. Most students were not surprised by their results. There were a few tears! We are now in count down until the Christmas break and are going to the Christmas Fair this morning.

November 25 Update

2011-11-25T06:02:00.005-05:00

Hi Folks:

Sorry for the unimaginative title, this week. It's been one of those weeks.

It started off with a walk to the market last Saturday and all the sights, sounds, and smells that go with being at the market. We bought some oranges at the market and some cheese at Shivni's before heading to Cafe Coffee Day for - coffee. After lunch we had a walk on the hill opposite Selborne. If you look in the middle of the photo you will see a cement retaining wall. This is the wall that keeps the driveway from completely washing away when it rains. The trees just above the wall are at the front of the Selborne Hostel property. You might be able to make out the guard's hut through the trees. Later in the afternoon I went with the Standard 10's to Farley, a guest house. We had 2 huge bonfires prepared and burning when we arrived. Once the coals were nice and hot we were given poles which were 2m in length. We were also given dough which was wrapped around the poles. Once this was done the poles were held over the red-hot coals until the bread was cooked. We then took the tube off the pole and filled the interior with either chicken or beef - both prepared ahead of time - and cheese. A kind of hot dog in reverse. After supper we sat around the remains of the fires and sang Christmas Carols.

Sunday afternoon we were taken to King's Cliff for dinner by our good friends, Ros and Nigel. The meal was sumptuously delicious and the views were spectacular. Unfortunately I did not have the camera with me. On Monday Gigi and I went to Willow Hill for lunch by auto-rickshaw. After a delightful meal taken on the terrace, we walked down to town! One and a half hours later we arrived at the market. We were tired and the sun was hot. After buying some costume jewellery we took finally made it back to Selborne.

This week there have been exams of all kinds and Standard 7's have been away at Avalanchi. We are looking forward to a quiet weekend with only a trip to Coonoor with the choir. And the Christmas carols festival continues.

Cross Country

2011-11-18T09:24:00.004-05:00

After the weekend with the IAYP trek a weekend at Selborne was not to be! We were Dorm Parents for the weekend and had plenty of activities with the girls. We started Friday evening with the weekly Dorm meeting where we showed the photos of the trip to Jungle Retreat and also the ones taken on the IAYP trek. There were a quite a few laughs as we remembered some of the highlights. We followed the slide show (Date Projector) with cake and juice.

Saturday morning breakfast was at 8h 15 so that everyone could be at Lushington for the 9 h 30 start of the Cross Country Race. Both Gigi and I were marshalls and were posted at strategic spots to provide direction when the runners came by. I was in the "forest!" This is a treed area on school property with a winding trail. The sun shone nicely through the trees and the birds sang and kept me company while i waited for the runner to come up the trail. Some of the more senior runners set new records and obviously had "personal best" results. It was a great morning. We stayed at Lushington for lunch and then made our slowly back to Selborne. A lazy afternoon followed. At 17 h 45 it was time to load up all of Selborne for the trip to Lushington for the Student Council Event. the Sports Hall had been decorated in a Shrek theme and many of the students and staff were in theme related costumes. We had earlier received "Shrek" tokens which were used to purchase food or to pay for games. The staff, in their native dress, cooked and ran the Dosa stall. Music was provided by the staff and students. There were some great variety acts. At 21 h 30 it was time to board the buses back to Selborne and put the girls to bed.

On Sunday morning we slept in and the girls had the option of attending church. Most of the girls took the morning to relax and all attended the IG service int he evening. The IG service was lead by the IG's, of which Gigi and I are a part. Gigi participated in the skit about God's grace which was based on Hosea. One of the IG's talked about God's grace in her life and I used Ephesians 2 as the text for my presentation on God's grace. There was some great singing and then a demonstration by one of the IG's. the evening concluded on the patio outside the GSM Hall with doughnuts, cookies, and milo.

Glen Morgan - IAPY trek

2011-11-12T04:36:00.010-05:00

Well, here I am back at the keyboard and bringing you up-to-date on the latest happenings.
Last Saturday, November 5, a group of 25 left Ooty for Paykara and a trek to the Glen Morgan Tea Plantation. It was raining lightly when we left Selborne and we had to wear our rain gear - pants and jackets. We also had to make sure our back-packs were waterproof. The girls had to carry food for 4 meals, as well as tents and sleeping gear.

Gigi and I had been invited to sleep in the guest house, so we had only our food and a spirit stove to carry.

All 25 managed to squeeze on to the local bus and 45 minutes later we disembarked at Paykara. Some of us had managed to find seats, the rest had to stand in the aisle along with the back-packs.

The girls were divided into 5 groups and the 4 adults formed a separate group. The weekend was the IAYP Bronze trek and the girls had been given a map with directions to find their own way to the check-points. The adults also had to find their way to the check-points as well! The first point was the rendez-vous point where we left the road and started across fields. From there it was through forest/jungle across land to the next point at the junction of 3 roads. We had lunch in a clearing with a good view of what was behind us as we trekked. We started our trek at 11:00 A.M. and arrived at our destination at 2:30 P.M.

Once at Glen Morgan the girls had to set up their tents, without adult assistance. While they were doing that we, the adults, enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea which the owner had graciously provided. One group had not arrived and 2 of the adults started to back-track in an attempt to locate the missing girls. Fortunately, the "lost" group were only about 10 minutes from the destination. They had taken a wrong turn and had to retrace their steps.

Once all the girls had arrive it was time for them to get the fire going to cook supper. They had to prepare the wood, light the fire (difficult with damp wood) and cook their supper - all without adult assistance. The adults had to cook their supper as well. We had spirit stoves which were much easier to light than damp wood! Sunday morning breakfast was again on the open fire and then a hike following compass bearings. There was much beautiful scenery along the way. We also met some of the local children playing as well as cows along the way!
The girls were fantastic. They worked well as a group and had a wonderful time.

Week ending November 5

2011-11-07T03:05:00.008-05:00

For those of you who have been following the blog you will know we had quite an adventure. Now it is back to "normal" which is anything but "routine." Every day is different! Gigi is the exam coordinator and I am the Standard 12-a Form Tutor. That just means to say I do the registration each morning and do a Personal Development class for 80 minutes once a week.

On November 5 the Standard 10 dorms (boys and girls) went to Jungle Retreat for the day to celebrate the birthday of one of the classmate members. It was a great day, right from the commencement. 4 vehicles had been ordered to transport the girls from Selborne. Only 3 vehicles arrived and the drivers assured us we would all fit in for the drive. Well, after waiting 45 minutes with multiple phone calls a solution was reached and we set off down the Western Ghat with its 36 hair-pin bends. It was quite an adventure! The National Highway is a strip of pavement with dirt road on either side and presents some very interesting situations when you meet an oncoming vehicle.There was fantastic scenery along the way. The mist was coming up the valley as we went down. One minute we were in full sun and the next minute we wondered where the road was! The driver of my vehicle was excellent in that he drove sensibly, not like our first driver who drove with his head out the window!

Jungle Retreat is a resort center with a swimming pool and open space for games. A delicious buffet luncheon was served and the group spent the afternoon in the pool with lots of laughing and splashing and just good-natured fun. One of the highlights was seeing Mr. Bates with chocolate cake all over his face as his birthday was also celebrated.

During the afternoon a goat herder came through the grounds with his goats - large and small, black and white. We enjoyed watching the goats eating the grass and just strolling around, not being bothered by us at all.

After lots of splashing and having a great time, it was time to get back in the vehicles for the ride back up the Ghat. There was a slight traffic jam just as we drove out of Jungle Retreat! We managed to make our way through the congestion and were on our way.
Once back at Selborne it was a quick change and then out the door to catch the 6:00 P.M. showing of Johnny English at the Assembly Rooms Theatre. We had seats near the front which were not padded as we had only purchased 20 rupee tickets. It was not one of the better Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) films. The price, however, was right. When we came out of the theatre it was pouring rain. I managed to get all 18 girls in 4 auto-rickshaws and sent them on their way. Gigi and I went in to the Cafe coffee Day and enjoyed a hot coffee and some cake before getting an auto-rickshaw and making our way back to Selborne.

It was certainly a week and a day to remember for quite some time.

Our Trip - Final Entry

2011-10-29T11:43:00.008-04:00

The overnight train from Mumbai to Goa was on time. Gigi and I had A/C sleepers. I had the upper and she had the lower plank! We were given sheets, a blanket, and a pillow. As long as you didn't turn over you were OK. My head touched one end and my feet touched the other end of the side sleeper. Not much sleep, but at least we were able to stretch out and we were cool! We disembarked at Margao, Goa, and took a prepaid taxi to Panaji, the capital. Arriving at our hotel just before lunch on Friday gave us time to settle in and get our bearings before eating. After lunch we walked about the town and enjoyed the refurbished Portuguese architecture. We melted in the heat and humidity! We quickly discovered you do not move fast! We got tickets for an evening on the river and then headed to Auntie Maria's for some air-conditioning and afternoon iced-tea! The sweets were delicious! We struggled to stay in the shade and took advantage of the various shops which were air-conditioned. Not much was purchased.

Early Saturday morning we made our way to the market which was both outdoors as well as indoors. The smells of the fresh fish were extremely powerful as nothing is refrigerated nor on ice! We were surprised at the lack of animals, dogs in particular, in the market area. Morning coffee was back at Auntie Maria's - more for the A/C than the coffee!

Following lunch our driver took us to the Archbishop's Palace and then to Old Goa where we saw the remnants of the Portuguese town which was decimated in the seventeenth century by malaria and cholera epidemics. At the ruins of St. Augustine's I discovered an altar to St. William . The most impressive feature is the remains of the 46 m high tower which served as a belfry and formed part of the facade of the magnificent church. It was then of to Bom Jesus and then St. Catherine' s Cathedral before a drive back to Margao and the overnight train to Shoranur Junction in nearby Kerala state. We were met by a driver from school and were back in the lovely coolness of Ooty by 3:00 P.M. Sunday afternoon.

It was certainly the trip of a lifetime and one which we will remember for a long time. Now it is back to life in Ooty!

Our Trip - Part 4 - Mumbai

2011-10-28T22:20:00.007-04:00

What a fascinating city we found Mumbai to be!

After a great night's sleep due to a very quiet air-conditioning unit, we enjoyed a sumptuous buffet breakfast before our driver arrived to take us on a tour of Mumbai. We certainly enjoyed the comforts of an a/c car. As soon as we left the car our clothes just "stuck" to us! The heat and humidity were most oppressive. We learned later in the day the weather is unseasonably hot for Mumbai in October! Mumbai is very uch a city of contrasts with shanty town on one side of the road and modern high-rise apartments on the other.

The first stop was the Dhobi Ghat. This is the city outdoor laundry. 1000 men work in cement rock cubicles. There is plenty of water and they takes the clothes and beat them against the rock sides and then hang them out to dry. All kinds of clothes and all colour, too. A sight to behold!

We then had a brief stop at the house in which Gandhi had lived. There was his library and other artifacts.

Then on to Marine Drive - a walkway along side the coast with tall, modern apartment buildings lining one side of the street and a beach along the other side. Can you imagine walking out of your apartment, crossing the street and going swimming in the ocean!

Then was on to the Gateway of India constructed in 1911. Of course we had "reserved" parking in front of one of the tourist stores. We had to "shop" before we could sight see! Gigi and I had decided beforehand there would be no purchases this morning. The VISA card was not used! The Gateway to India is an impressive monument and is in front of the Taj Mahal Hotel which was severely damaged about three years ago. There was no trace of the damage visible!

Then it was on to "Leopold's" for lunch. This quaint restaurant has kept its 50's flavour and decor. We enjoyed a vegetarian meal and then had time for some window shopping before our driver picked us up for the afternoon.

We drove through the Malabar Hill district to the Hanging Gardens which were absolutely beautiful. However, our visit was short due to the extreme afternoon heat and humidity. We did our best to stay in the shade. This visit was followed by a drive by the Victoria Terminal, the main railway station built in 1808, which handles 3 million passengers a day as well as 1350 trains! We took a few photos from the car as it is impossible to park anywhere near the station!

A trip across the sea link allowed us to see Hajji Ali, a mosque off the coast completely surrounded by water. It can be quite easily reached on foot at low-tide!

A visit to Mount Mary's Basilica just about completed the tour. A stop at a high-end shopping centre was our last visit before returning to the hotel for a rest, supper and then the taxi ride to the train station for the overnight train to Goa.

More later.

Our Trip -Part 3

2011-10-27T12:03:00.008-04:00

Leaving Fatehpur Sikri we started our return to Delhi. We did stop at various other forts and tourist sites along the way. We also stopped at a Government Tourist shopping centre and managed to buy a few things! All I can say is: "Thank goodness for the VISA card!"

One of the sites was a summer palace that was surrounded by water. It was constructed this way in order to keep the occupants cool in the warmer weather! What an idea!!! That was on one side of the road. On the other side of the road was a group of camels in full regalia.

As we made our way back to Delhi we stopped at a restaurant, which I immediately recognized, for lunch. I had stopped at the same location when I was in India in 2007. It had not changed at all.

The traffic was thick and we finally made it back to our hotel after 8:30 P.M. Our driver was great in getting through the traffic tie-ups and other obstructions along the way.

The following day we were taken to the airport for our flight to Mumbai. The plane was late leaving Delhi. When we arrived in Mumbai there was no ground crew to take the luggage off of the luggage cart and place it on the conveyor belt so that we could retrieve our luggage. In spite of the late arrival of the plane and the delay in collecting our luggage, we were met by our new driver and were taken to the Executive Enclave Hotel. Once we had checked in, we took a walk through the neighbourhood amid the countless number of locals who were returning from work or who were just out shopping. Gigi was very interested in a top but found the price of 1800 rupees exorbitant. After bargaining and then walking away, I ended up paying 1000 rupees! Well done, Gigi!

It was back to the hotel for supper on the roof top terrace. The view wasn't much and it was hot and noisy. An experience not to be repeated! And then to bed!

Our Trip - Part 2

2011-10-25T11:59:00.007-04:00

After visiting the Taj Mahal which was constructed from 1631 to 1655 we went on to Agra Fort which was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565. It is constructed of red sandstone with both a dry moat and a wet moat beside the Yamuna (?) River. Once again there was ample evidence of inlaid stone work and translucent marble. We were able to see where Shah Jahan was imprisoned until his death. One of the interesting features of the Agra Fort was the perfumed fountain. It would seem perfumed water was carried to a holding tank and then flowed down through the fountain.

After a visit to a carpet weaver we were on the road to the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri. this fortified ghost city had been the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. The many arches and fine stone work in red sand stone were quite remarkable to view. The city was abandoned due to an inefficient water supply. We had to take a tuk-tuk from the car parking lot to the city as it is classified as a Heritage Site and there are environmental concerns similar to those of the Taj Mahal.
Once back in out A/C car we were on the road to Jaipur, the Pink City, which is a real jewel and is worth a second visit. We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon after fighting all kinds of vehicles and animals, not to mention construction, as we made our way through the city. We had a short walk and did some shopping before dusk fell at 18 h 30. After a good night's sleep and a power failure while Gigi was in the shower we were on our way again and had to wait for the 9 h 00 opening of the Jantar Mantar Observatory built by Jai Singh in 1728. The 27 m high gnomon (sundial) is accurate to within 2 seconds. On the day of our visit it was necessary to add 11 minutes to the shadow for the exact time. It was correct! Jai Singh was very interested in celestial bodies and had all kinds of different structures for viewing the constellations and other heavenly bodies.

The it was on to the Maharajah's Palace (City Palace) all in pink! Highlights were the 2 large silver vessels, 1.6 meters tall each containing over 4,000 liters of water in which Maharajah Madho Singh II took holy water from the Ganges with him when he went to England!

Our Trip - part 1

2011-10-24T09:15:00.007-04:00

For those of you who are wondering what happened to the blog, you will notice it is back up and running. Apparently there was some suspicious activity on my G-mail site and so the e-mail and blog were shut down. Upon arriving back in Ooty yesterday I was able to clear up the situation and everything should now be as it was.

On Saturday, October 15, 2011, my wife and I left Ooty by taxi for the 3 hour drive to Coimbatore airport. The taxi arrived at Selborne early and by 8 h 35 we were on our way. There was very little traffic going down the mountains and in just over 3 hours we arrived at the Coimbatore airport. We saw lots of monkeys at the side of the road wherever there was a lookout point. Obviously people have dropped scraps of food. The driver stopped at a veggie restaurant and we had an early lunch before checking in for our flight. We had 2 security checks before boarding our flight for Delhi with a stop-over in Mumbai. Our new driver met us at the airport and took us to our hotel and so approximately 12 hours after having left Ooty we arrived at our hotel in Delhi. We were quite pleased with the hotel with A/C and had a light dinner in the hotel.

At 8 h 15 Sunday morning our driver met us and we started our sight-seeing of Delhi. Our first stop was India Gate and then up to government house and then the parliament building.

We had a stop at the Qutub minar before going on to the Lotus Blossom Temple.

By noon we were leaving Delhi behind to make our way to Agra. We stopped along the way for lunch and arrived at our Agra hotel just after 16 h 00. By 16 h 30 we were on our way to visit the Taj Mahal before sunset. The pictures speak for themselves. Following our visit to the Taj Mahal, complete with bicycle ride as cars are not permitted in the vicinity of the Taj due to environmental concerns, we visited an inlaid stone works to see how the decoration of the Taj was accomplished. Finally we were back at the hotel for dinner and bed! It was a great day and we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

Drama Week 2011

2011-10-14T02:11:00.002-04:00

Drama Week 2011 is over! The winners have been announced. The scenery has been cleared out of the auditoriums! The props and costumes have been put away! Cast parties have been held! It's over and now time for a break.

Monday last was the evening for the Standard 7 dramas "The Truth About Geroge" and "Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic." Tuesday was the Standard 9's with "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Bugsy Malone", Wednesday the Standard 11 groups presented "Murder in the Catherdral" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and last night the Standard 13 combined group presented "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" Many hours were spent in adapting scripts to fit the talent available as well as the limitations of facility!

"The Truth About George" by "Standard 7-a" was the Junior winner and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was the Senior winner.

We have had plenty of parents here visiting with their children as well as former students. It has been a wonderful week and everyone seems to have had a great time. We have had lunch outside every day and the rain has held off. This has given a wonderful festive tone to the Drama Week festivities.

Mid-term break starts at 12 h 10, in fifteen minutes time. We leave for Delhi tomorrow morning with stops at Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai, Panjim (Goa) before getting back to Ooty on October 24. More after our return.

Quiet Corner

2011-10-08T22:42:00.004-04:00

So much has happened since I last wrote I scarcely know where to begin.

The week following our Mysore trip was crammed full of drama rehearsals. That's right - drama - my wife and I are assisting with one of the Standard 7 drama productions. We had our first performance last Wednesday and have our final performance on Monday, October 10, for the parents and larger community.

Last weekend Gigi went with the Standard 10 girls to a birthday party not far from Quiet Corner. On Saturday morning I left in a large taxi with 8 students for the journey down the 36 hair-pin bends to Quiet Corner. We were one of 6 groups going for a Leadership Weekend with the Standard 12's. Once at Quiet Corner the fun began. Can you imagine preparing morning tea for your team if one of you is blind and another is mute. That's what the scenario was. The group had to figure out how to communicate as the "boss" was not able to move from location and runners had to transmit messages by signal as to what was available for tea and how many of each item should be ordered. The peanut butter sandwiches never arrived. We did have some bread with some jam placed helter-skelter on it. My 7-Up turned out to be some orange drink!

Different activities throughout the day were designed to have the group of 47 Standard 12's find creative solutions to the problems posed. My job was to make sure the rules of the game were followed and to be a resource person as well as referee! Fun! Fun! Fun!

Gigi did join me in the afternoon and we were able to share some laughs together. One of the highlights was the egg drop contest. Each group received an egg on Thursday and had to look after the egg and make sure "Eggbert" participated in all the activities. It was a real challenge to see how they managed to keep "Eggbert" safe during the ski race! The groups were given materials to prepare "Eggbert" for a fall. Some interesting solutions!

Each group was responsible for serving a meal and for ensuring the clean-up happened.

At night a huge bonfire was prepared and we past the time with skits and stories about "Eggbert" and how he came to be! Some were absolutley hilarious.

Following church on Sunday morning, the service was planned by the group, Gigi and I went for a walk in the area just outside the camp ground. The land is very fertile and we saw some crops being watered. It was an enjoyable experience even if we ate with our fingers all weekend!

Mysore visit

2011-09-30T11:43:00.009-04:00

On Saturday, September 24, 2011 the 10 International Guests took a bus from Ooty to Mysore. Fortunately we had reserved seats on the bus and were able to sit together as a group for the journey. Bouncing along the road we were treated to many of the sights and sounds of India! The local bus took the long way down to avoid the 36 hair-pin bends. Some very beautiful scenery was missed ( I had done the trip in 2007) but we did arrive safely at the bottom of the mountain. It would appear the authorities have become very safety conscious and buses and large vehicles are prohibited from going down the 36 hair-p;in bend route! We did have some great views from the bus windows and we zigged and zagged our way. A morning coffee stop gave us a beautiful view down the valley.

After more than five hours on the bus we arrived at our destination, Mysore. The 8 younger members of the group stayed in a women's shelter and Gigi and I stayed at the Parklane Hotel with air-conditioning! (It was 32 degrees C in the shade) After a wonderful lunch on the hotel restaurant terrace we took a short stroll around the central part of the city. There were people everywhere, not to mention the multitude of street vendors who are more than willing to sell you souvenir objects.

Sunday morning was the time to visit the Mysore Palace. After paying our tourist entry fee of 200 IRS per person we made our way to the shoe depository! That's right - shoes and socks were removed and we entered the Palace in our bare-feet! The cool stones felt great at 10 h 15. The security to any of these historic monuments is high and after having our bag screened I had to deposit my camera at the camera depository! That's right, no cameras are allowed in to the Palace. Mobile phones posed no problem whatsoever! Can someone please explain! When we left the Palace and went to retrieve our shoes we realised just how hot the day had become. The former "cool" stone had become "hot" stones. We were not the only ones who experienced the discomfort! Once suitably attired we then were able to take pictures of the grounds and also the audience hall of the Palace. There were some great attractions! We returned at night for the light show and were not disappointed.

Monday morning we visited the Mysore Zoo following which we were taken by our rick-shaw driver to several silk and rosewood shops! My wallet is considerably lighter! The photos of the animals will tell their own story. After lunch we all boarded the bus for the return trip. Our driver swerved, careened, and blew his horn for the 5 hour trip back to Ooty.

Hectic week!

2011-09-23T04:24:00.003-04:00

Well, here we are at the end of week 7! Where does the time go? Why does it just seem to disappear?
Last weekend was bright, sunny, and dry! The perfect ingredients for a "back yard" picnic and that is exactly what happened at noon on Sunday. Gigi was on kitchen duty and couldn't figure out why the tables were not being set in the dining room. As she had never been on kitchen duty before she really didn't know what to expect, even though she thought it rather "strange" no tables were being set. Then all of a sudden she realised the men were taking the huge food containers outside. That's when she realized we were going to be having a "back you" picnic. We sat around everywhere - some in the sun and some in the little shade, on benches, at tables, and on logs! We enjoyed a wonderful meal and also had a most enjoyable time talking with our fiends. Her 3-hour shift came to an end at 13 h 30 and we then had some time to ourselves. One of the benefits of staying with friends is they do let you help out and so at 15 h 30 it was my turn to be on kitchen duty for the next 3 hours. I read my Kobo reader and did Sudoko puzzles. When the cooks were finished, the head cook dictated the list on ingredients which had been used in the preparation of the noon and evening meals and I had to record all of the items in the inventory control book. The kitchen team worked well and, for my part, I got some extra reading time which had not been anticipated!

We are very fortunate to have flowers in abundance about us. Here is one team member refreshing the flowers at the front entrance.
We had planned on going out for lunch on the Monday. Our plans had to be somewhat flexible as we were caught in a deluge! After spending about 45 minutes under awnings in front of stores we commandeered an auto rickshaw and went to the tailors! Gigi had bought some material and wanted some tops made that she can wear back home next summer. The tailor was just arriving to open up shop and so our timing was perfect. After the tailors we went to Willy's for lunch! Willy's is a coffee house and they do serve light meals. We had pizza - Indian style - mighty spicy! Our goal had been to walk up to the King's Cliff Hotel and have lunch there. That will have to wait for another week.
We are off to Mysore for 3 days. More later.
Thanks to those who have posted comments. At least I know the blog is being read.

another week

2011-09-16T11:56:00.004-04:00

Here we are at the end of another week. That means 6 weeks of our stay have gone by.
As I mentioned at the end of my last entry, we were preparing for some work with the youth who were in training for the IAYP awards program which many refer to as the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The youth were to learn how to light a camp fire. You need to remember we are in the middle of the monsoon season. The group was divided into teams and each team was given a piece of rubber and some matches. The challenge was to find enough dry tinder and wood to actually get a fire going. Some groups did extremely well and other groups seemed to be sending up smoke signals! We all had a very distinct "smoky" smell about us at the end of the morning.
After church we went for lunch at the home of one of our new friends. The meal was simply delicious! We greatly enjoyed our time together and had another opportunity to practice eating without utensils! I am actually getting quite good at making a ball of the food and using my thumb to push the food into my mouth.
Monday was a simply gorgeous day and a walk in the botanical gardens was in order. There were many people in the gardens and my wife and I certainly stood out. We were approached on many occasions to have our picture taken. We felt like "movie stars"! It must have been quite a novelty for the locals to have their picture taken with someone with a very different skin color. The gardens are vast and have many types of vegetation.
Following our visit to the gardens we walked up to the Holiday Inn Gem Park for lunch. It was quite a walk up and gave us a very different view of the Nilgiris. We enjoyed a wonderful meal in very western surroundings. Quite a change! While there, the clouds came in and the rain came down. After meeting with some other friends, we walked back down to the town and made it back to our residence at the same time as the water truck was making a delivery of water. This was just before the rains came again!

One of the most unexpected happenings this week has been the number of times the power has gone off. Actually we were without power all day last Saturday. This meant the pumps for the 3 wells were not operating and as a result we had a water shortage which necessitated a delivery of water on Monday afternoon! We have had several other power failures as well. Last evening we had 3 or 4 blackouts within the space of an hour. Sometimes we can be without power for 6 - 8 hours, at other times the interruptions are very short. Candles, matches, and flashlights are kept close at hand.

Another event was my first haircut. I went out looking for a "Saloon" and found one just down the road from the back gate. It is called "Star Saloon" and has the usual tinted blue-glass windows which prevent anyone from staring in. I opened the door and went in. The "barber" greeted me politely, took my umbrella, and showed me where to hang my jacket. then I saw the two old brown cracked-leather barber chairs. I jumped in to one of them and the barber started. Let's just say "I got clipped!" (No photos are available!!) I guess I really shouldn't complain because I really got my money's worth. The cost 60 rupees which is about $1.40 Cdn.

Monkeys seem to be everywhere at Lushington. Just yesterday I saw one of them flip the lids of a garbage bin and start rummaging inside. We have got to be very careful with any food garbage to place it in the correct bins.

Hot water! Oh, for the comforts of home! Do you realize I have to heat up less than 1 litre of water every morning so that I can wash and shave! Water is very precious and I am learning to appreciate just how fortunate we are to be able to turn on the tap and have water. There are many families in town without running water! You realize this when you walk through town and see people at the outdoor tap with their water pots collecting water and then taking it home. We are indeed fortunate to have a supply in our flat.
That's it for now.

Snowdon!

2011-09-09T12:08:00.004-04:00

Here we are at the end of week 5! Wow, were has the time gone?

Last weekend was a Hindu festival and because of the crowds and the parade the decision was made to keep everyone at their respective settings instead of going to church. We had a service with the girls here at Selborne. One of the IG's, Liz, shared her very moving life story with us and I followed up with a thought on the wise and foolish builders.

On Monday, our day off, a group of 8 IG's went for a hike. We had ordered picnic lunches from the Lushington kitchen. After having the security guard open the back gate we walked up the Toda path and then through the Toda village until we found the forest road. We really had to watch our step as we went up the path due to the fact the buffalo use the path when they come down to town. Once we were up the path we had to negotiate lots of mud! We saw the Toda temple and one of the residents told us only the priest can enter the temple.

We followed the forest trail for some time and then went through various trails in the brush. We slipped and slid in some places and just about had to crawl on all fours in other places. We eventually found a clearing at the top only to realize we had come up to the wrong peak. The peak with the tower on was right in front of us, across a valley. As we had been on the way for over an hour and a half, we had lunch and chilled for a while.

We came back down through the Botanical Gardens and then made out way back to Selborne. Tuesday was the normal "music Tuesday" with Junior and Concert Band practices. We went to Bible study at one of the local homes on Wednesday night There were about 25 of us. Some sat in one room and about 14 shad to sit in the other room. The leader ended up sitting in the doorway between the 2 rooms! It was quite something. Thursday we were on supper duty and then on Prep duty and tonight was the dorm meeting. The dorm parents had a beautiful fire going in the fireplace. The treats were great as well! Tomorrow we are involved with the training program for the D of E awards. We are not really sure just what our involvement will be. More later.

One month ago

2011-09-03T04:29:00.002-04:00

One month ago we left Canada for our visit to India.
Thanks to all of you who have posted comments on the blog entries. It is good to know the blog is actually being read and is a source of amusement for some and a source of information for others.
Since the lost entry after the Monday visit to Coonoor there is not too much to report. Tuesday was my first day in the Department of Enhanced Learning (DEL) and I met several groups of students. As the week progressed so did my timetable. There was even the addition of 2 after school French classes for students in Standards 8 and 9 who have not had French before. That is quite a challenge. I am also sitting in on 3 Standard 8 Math classes to provide in class support for a pupil. This is, of course, in addition to the 15 class periods in DEL. So, I am kept quite busy during the day.
We are coming to grips with the drama group. We are still sorting out props, costumes, scenery, and music. Some of our actors have done a great job at learning their lines. Others - need lots of practice (on their part) and lots of patience (on our part!) We have only 5 more rehearsals before we perform before the school. It is really neat they way drama is organized. It is only the Standards 7, 9, 11, and 13 that perform in a given year. All students have an opportunity to be in the spotlight! Some take to it very easily and others need quite a bit a coaxing and encouragement.
Gigi and I were invited to share our life stories at the Staff Meeting on Thursday. It was quite an experience and we have received many encouraging comments from the staff. We also shared part of our story with the Standard 10 girl's dorm last night.
This morning was spent rummaging in the props cupboard and in the wardrobe cupboard for useful articles. We really hope to be able to find some old style wooden desks for our play.
Tomorrow there is a Hindu festival and parade in town. There will be lots of people in town and there will be lots of noise as well.
Sorry, no pictures to add today!

Coonoor Trip - Aug. 29, 2011

2011-08-30T12:41:00.004-04:00

Well, I just couldn't wait until the weekend to update you.

Yesterday, Monday, August 29, 2011, was out first day off. A group of IG's met early in the morning and took the local bus to Coonoor. The trip took just over an hour and the distance travelled from the road signs was about 19 km. The cost per person was 8 rupees, or about $0.08! The bus bounced along the road for most of the journey. Every so often the bus would stop along the roadside and people would either get on or get off the bus.

Once in Coonoor we went to the train station and reserved our seats on the afternoon 4:30 P.M. train from Coonoor up to Ooty. The reservation cost was 15 Rs and the ticket was 3 Rs per person!

Once that was done we, 9 of us, took a taxi up to Dolphin's Nose. Our original plan was to walk back to Coonoor. We realized as we drove along this was going to be quite an event and so we decided to keep the taxi. After looking about Dolphin's nose and taking pictures we got back int eh cab for the trip to Lamb's Rock. Again more pictures and then back in the cab for the return to Coonoor. The driver let us off in Upper Coonoor at the Quality Restaurant. We enjoyed a great buffet meal for 120 Rs. A taxi for 2 hours 30 minutes and sight-seeing cost us 900 Rs or 100 Rs per person - $2.20 Cdn! That's hard to beat!

Gigi and I walked back down to the main town and the train station. The younger crowd did some shopping in Upper Coonoor and then took a rickshaw taxi to the train station in time for the train.

We really enjoyed looking at the tea plantations, the monkeys, and the absolutely fantastic scenery. Some of the photos didn't turn out that well due to the mist which was swirling around.

Our train ride was quite the experience as we were told we were waiting for the right train. Just 5 minutes before departure we discovered we were waiting for the wrong train. we had to cross the tracks and take the train that was just pulling into the station. As the train came into the station is was being pulled and pushed by two steam locomotives. The steam locomotives were uncoupled and a diesel locomotive pushed us up to Ooty. The trip took about 65 minutes! Again the views were spectacular but somewhat misty as it was now raining. All in all quite a day!

Week 3

2011-08-26T23:31:00.005-04:00

This marks the end of three weeks since we arrived in India. The first week was filled with orientation activities and planning for the Kids Club which took place during Staff Retreat. Week 2 saw the arrival of the students and the commencement of classes.

Week 3 was a full school week with some unexpected happenings.

The first happening was a birthday party for Andy. He is one of the IG's and a party was organized in his honor. Liz, Deanna and company (the other female IG's) baked up a storm. They had 2 kinds of scones - plain and cranberry. They were d e l i c i o u s !!! They had an assortment of other munchies as well. Candles in the sconces completed the event and gave us our "cake"! I provided lots of laughs, especially when Dan and Andy did a fashion show of men's dress!

The second happening was on Wednesday afternoon when the Middle and Senior School classes were cancelled and the students along with staff went down to Coonoor to watch the Under 19's play the final football match. And W I N!!! Great rejoicing all round.

This morning started rather early with rain on the corrugated roof and the light (sun) coming in through our bedroom ceiling. We have 2 white corrugated-plastic panels just above the bed which let in an immense quantity of light! We have a 2 room suite as you can see from the photos. Our washroom has a toilet and sink with COLD water tap. If we want hot water we have to heat some up in the electric kettle. Showers are taken in the shower room, 3 per week 3 minutes each, which is in another building out behind the staff dining room. Don't get me wrong. We don't have far to go even in the rain. It is not even the distance of the hallway at home. Some of the other staff and IG's have quite a walk to get to the staff shower room. One shower for us to share. So far I have not had to wait!

The girls are away at a conference today so Gigi is going to the tailors this morning and then we will probably go out for lunch. A walk to the Green Tea store is planned. Stay tuned!

Busy days!

2011-08-25T11:05:00.002-04:00

For those of you who are looking for pictures and a list of places we have visited, there is not much to add.

We are both finding our days quite filled with filling in for staff who have not yet arrived. Once the staff arrive our schedules will change and we will be able to do some sight-seeing.

I have joined both the Junior Band and the Concert Band. In the Junior Band I am playing Trombone and in the Concert Band I am playing E-flat Horn! That takes up most of Tuesday afternoon and into early evening.

Yesterday the afternoon classes were cancelled and the school population went by bus to Coonoor to watch the Under 19's win the football tournament. It was quite the afternoon.

Today we took an auto-rickshaw for the 2 km trek from Lushington to Selborne as it was raining and we were getting quite wet even though we had an umbrella. We had to close our eye on more than one occasion as we were driving on the left side of the road and a car going in the opposite direction was headed straight for us, on our side of the road. Oh, I forgot to mention there was a parked vehicle that we had to drive around. There were probably 10 centimetres between the vehicles. Too close!
Tonight we did the supper duty and have just finished providing some relief for the Prep supervisor.

The weekend should be quiet and we might get to see the Botanical Gardens or take a train ride to Coonoor. It will depend on the weather.

More later

The fun has started!

2011-08-20T07:08:00.003-04:00

Wow - can things ever change quickly when there is a need!
The German teacher has not arrived due to visa problems and therefore my wife has been assigned the Standard 9 and 10 German classes as well as doing some supervision for the Standard 11's and the A-levels.
The French teacher was in an accident and will not be in school until the end of the month. I am teaching Standards 7, 8, and 9 French.
We are both involved as directors of a Standard 7 drama. More about that later.
We are really enjoying Miss Lily's meals at Selborne. We are discovering that she spoils us royally! Thank you, Miss Lily!
We are also involved with the Standard 10 girl's dorm and we all, 26 of us, went for lunch at Nahar's Garden restaurant today with the Tarters and Deanna. I had a cheese Dosa and Gigi had a masala Dosa. We both enjoyed sweet lime soda.
After a trip to the market for wool and lots of window-shopping (without the windows) in the market area we went for our first real coffee since leaving town 2 weeks ago. We went to the Cafe Coffee Day and enjoyed our coffee with a chocolate brownie drenched in chocolate sauce. Mmm, so delicious!
Gigi is on shower duty on Wednesday and Friday. She along with another IG are to time the girls for 3 minutes while they shower. Many of the girls shower for 1 minute, soap up, and then shower for 2 minutes. According to Gigi the girls respect the time limits. Water is a very precious resource.
We are also both on bus duty on Friday afternoon. Gigi is on the 4:15 and I am on the 5:15 bus from Lushington to Selborne. There is always at lest 1 adult on the bus.
I will try and get some pictures up later.

Life at Selborne

2011-08-14T10:27:00.004-04:00

The first week is over and the students will be arriving very shortly.

We have spent the week in orientation and have learnt many interesting facts about India and Ooty. One really interesting piece of news is the shortage of water. Here we are in the monsoon season and we are being told we can only have 3 showers per week and the length is not to exceed 3 minutes. Apparently we have municipal water supplied for only 3 hours per day. The rest of the water is either rain water or well water. As we are located at an altitude of 2 200 m. you can imagine some of the difficulties we are facing. Any municipal water must be pumped up to us. there is not much water pressure.

We are very fortunate to have Miss Lily as the house-keeper. She takes great pride in running a tight ship. The meals have been fabulous. There are fresh flowers all through the house. Everybody is friendly. The laundry is returned within 36 hours and everything is ironed! What a pleasure.

Ooty is a hill station. The view from the Common Room window will certainly help you see why. In a sense it is quite a bit like Switzerland as nothing is flat. You are either going down a hill or you are going up a hill. There really doesn't seem to be much middle ground.

From Bangalore to Ooty

2011-08-14T10:12:00.004-04:00

To pick up from the earlier post we left the Bangalore airport at about 1:30 A.M. on Friday morning.
The car was rather small and only 1 suitcase could fit in the trunk. The other suitcase was placed on the front passengers seat. Both Gigi and I sat in the back seat. We had to search for the seat belts! The ride was rather hair-raising, to say the least. The driver drove with his head out of the window so that he could stay awake!
We arrived at the gate to the reserve just before 6:00 A.m. and had to wait until the gate was opened at 6. Once the gate was opened our driver drove as fast as he could to pass as many cars as he could before we met any oncoming traffic. We saw deer, elephants, wild boar, bison, and peacocks.
Eventually we came to the mountain and 36 switch-backs later we were up at the top. We arrived at Hebron just before 8:00 A.M. After a cup of tea and a brief meeting with the IG coordinator we were driven 2km over to Selborne and were shown to our rooms. We slept from about 10:00 A.M. until noon. We managed to spend some time walking through Ooty and by 8:30 P.M. Friday night we were in bed. This was the first time in bed since getting up on Wednesday morning!

RETURN TO HEBRON

2011-08-13T23:58:00.008-04:00

After an absence of 4 years I have returned to Hebron in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. This time I am not alone. I have come to enjoy the sights and sounds of India with my wife.
Our home base will be the Selborne Campus in Ooty.

We will make this our base for travel around India. It is always nice to have a place to come home to and get the laundry done as well as have contact with a great group of fellow travellers.
While we are at Selborne we will be assisting with the Standard 10 girl's dorm.

Before getting too far ahead of myself I guess I should tell you how we came to arrive in Ooty. We left Montreal on August 3 aboard Air Canada for the flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

After about 6 hours at the Frankfurt airport we boarded a Lufthansa flight to Bangalore and arrived shortly after midnight. Once we had gone through immigration and found our luggage we found our designated taxi driver for the almost 7 hour taxi ride to Ooty.

Just before arriving in Ooty we drove through the game reserve and saw some wildlife. More of that later.

At Hebron, once again (take 2)

2011-08-06T23:16:00.024-04:00

Editor's note: This post has been republished due to wonky formatting. Apologies for any confusion.

My wife and I arrived safely at Hebron on August 5. We flew from Montreal to Frankfurt on Air Canada and after almost 6 hours in the Frankfurt airport we flew on to Bangalore arriving at 00h15 Friday!

An overnight taxi, almost 7 hours, took us through a game reserve. As we arrived at the entrance just before 6:00 A.M. we had to wait until the gates were opened before proceeding up the mountain! As we drove through the reserve we saw elephants, deer, wild boar, bison, and peacocks.

We arrived at Hebron shortly before 8:00 A.M. and after a hot cup of tea we were driven to the Selbourne campus and shown to our suite of rooms. Living room, bedroom, and bathroom with cold running water for the toilet and sink. We are permitted 3 showers per week of 3 minutes duration. We have to walk outside to the staff shower room. Only 1 shower! We had a walk through noisy Ooty where alll the drivers sound their horn to let you know they are coming. Walking on the road along with the traffic does take some getting used to as there are many areas where the sidewalks simply do not exist. We went to Mizpha childrens home for an evening of song on Saturday night and we are off to St. Stephen's for church this morning.

Comments from the original post have been copied and pasted here:

From Keith: Can't you stand in the rain and shower???? Nice pic of Air Canada in the blog. Well done.

and from me, Stef: And you can post yourself this time - great!

not long now

2011-07-27T20:18:00.004-04:00

The count down has started! The suitcase is out and clothes and meds and ''stuff'' are starting to accumulate. My next entry not be from home!
Stay tuned!
Last Saturday my wife and I attended the wedding of Melissa Wight. She is the daughter of my good friend who is an airline pilot. My friend was flying when his wife was due to give birth. My wife phoned the school and left a message that I was to come home right away as my friend was having a baby. There were several staff members who heard the secretary say''Mr. T. your friend is having a baby!'' Did I get some funny looks when I arrived for school the next day!!!

In the meantime here is a picture of a squirrel on our back fence and he is eating an apple from our neighbor's tree.

Enjoy!

It's back!

2011-07-11T10:51:00.002-04:00

That's right! The camera is back - a little late for pictures of the grand-children when they stayed with us last week.
On July 1, Nick, Sue and family arrived for the weekend. After a beautiful afternoon at Uncle Marc's cottage we all returned home with a stop at Labelle's in Lachute for some hot dogs and fries! Mmmmm, so good!!!
Saturday was mostly at home with a visit to great-grandma in the afternoon and a B-B-Q at night. The Sunday picnic at Beaver Lake on Mount Royal with tadpoles, mounted police and lots of fun at the park was a great success. Nick and Sue returned home and Darcy and Wesley stayed with Grandmaman and Papa. We visited the Biodome and saw beavers and penguins along with lots of other animals. We went to the splash park not far from the house and had a wonderful time getting wet and shooting the giant water pistols.
The breakfast menu was the standard crepes and waffles - with fruit, if you please!
Lots of fun activities both at home and with Emily, the girl next door for Darcy.
A VIA train trip was a treat as neither of the children had been on a long train ride before. Sue met us at the station and the holiday with Grandmaman and Papa was over. Sorry there are no pictures to document this event.

Here is the first picture taken at the camera store by the resuscitated camera!

That's all, folks!

No camera!

2011-06-23T07:08:00.001-04:00

There will be pictures for a while. My camera is ''sick'' and I have had to take it to the ''camera doctor.'' So sick, in fact, it has been recalled. That's right! The technician took one look at the screen with its bizarre pattern and said ''recall!'' So, the prediction is 4 to 6 weeks. Hopefully, it will be 4 and not 6! Time will tell.

Stay at home tourist

2011-05-17T07:39:00.004-04:00

My sister-in-law is visiting us and my wife and I are playing ''Stay at home tourist'' and seeing lots of sights and sounds of the city. We don't often get to some of these places. Playing ''tour guide'' gives us just the excuse we need.

We have used the Metro and bus systems extensively. As a matter of fact the BMW has come in quite handy. (For those of you wondering, we didn't make a purchase. We simply us Bus, Metro, and Walk!) Due to our age we are all entitled to reductions on admission fees as well as the Metro! It's kind of neat, in a way.

We have visited the 1976 Olympic installations, the Jean Talon and Atwater markets and other interesting places.

We even have managed to get in a visit to Ottawa and the Parliament buildings. We had great weather on Sunday afternoon on ''The Hill''. It rained the next day when we visited the Museum of Civilization! At least we were inside.

Stay tuned. More next week.

April 2011

2011-04-04T09:43:00.003-04:00

Time flies when you are having fun!

Last month, March, was March Break in the school system in Ontario. My wife and I decided it would be a good time for a visit by our grand-daughter to Montreal. When we were in Ottawa visiting the family we made the suggestion that Darcy come to Montreal for a few days for a visit.

The tears flowed!

We were sure the answer would be negative. Were we wrong! Darcy had very mixed feelings about coming when the subject was raised. As the day progressed she warmed to the idea. By lunch time she had decided she was coming to Montreal and would return home on Wednesday. I thought we would be lucky to keep her until Tuesday!

Coming home to Montreal Darcy spoke with her Grandmaman in French for the first hour. It seemed that Grandmaman could scarcely get in a word. I wondered if she was breathing in! There was certainly a lot of hot air coming out. All of a sudden she said, ''That's enough for now. I am going to speak English'' And, she did!

Monday morning was baking time with Papa. Chocolate cookies with walnuts were the order of the day. In the afternoon Darcy and Papa visited the Redpath Museum while Grandmaman went shopping. Then the three of us had to buy souvenirs for Darcy to take back to her brother and her parents.

Darcy enjoyed being able to play with the toys at our house and to build farms and stores without her little brother knocking everything over.

Tuesday morning was at home and painting was the main activity. After lunch a visit to the McCord Museum, a ride on the Metro and a ride on the bus was all we were able to do.

Aunt Stephanie joined us for dinner and had the privilege of being read to at bedtime by Darcy! There is certainly a role reversal going on here!!!

After another good sleep the breakfast menu of waffles with berries was a success. A picnic lunch was packed for Darcy and Papa to eat on the bus trip to Ottawa. Just after leaving the island of Montreal Darcy commented ''these look like Ottawa forests!'' Papa replied they were really Québec forests. Once we were across the provincial border and into Onatrio, Darcy was convinced ''These forests look more like Ottawa forests!''

We were met a the bus terminal by Nick and then had a pleasant afternoon with the family before Papa boarded the bus for the return trip to Montreal.

All in all a great time that is sure to be repeated!

February 2011

2011-02-16T11:46:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone:

It's been quite some time since my last post about our vacation in October 2010.

It seems like such a long time ago. Much has happened since then.
After returning home in early November I was looking for something to occupy the time of day. I really wasn't looking for anything full-time or permanent.

Guess what? I was asked if I would take the leadership role in making sure various Christmas activities happened. It seems there were some challenges and my former employer thought I could get the job done!

It was a challenge. With the cooperation and assistance of a great staff we managed to do a Christmas Party for the sick children following the Santa Claus Parade. We had gifts for the children and their siblings. All the gifts had to be wrapped and labeled with the child's name and the names of the other family members.

Then we had the Kirkland Food Drive. Again a great team effort and 8 pallet loads of food found their way to the warehouse.

Then we had the Christmas Hampers all 1500 of them! The great team and lots of volunteers got the job done.

The Angel Tree was a success. Thanks go out to the person who played a huge role in the organization of this massive undertaking. Thanks, Francois! Thanks, too, to the dirvers who collected the toys from the various participants and to the participating companies and organizations who contributed the toys!

Well done everyone!

Retirement is once again my pleasure. There are several little ''jobs'' which i will be undertaking just to get me out of the house.

Stay tuned.

The Cruise!

2010-11-07T09:13:00.005-05:00

This was our retirement year and to celebrate we, my wife and I, visited the family in Switzerland and then took a 16 day cruise from Rome to Fort Lauderdale. Wow!
We flew from Montreal to Lyon, France, just before all the trouble started, and then took a train to Berne. While in Berne we visited Gruyere and went up to view the Jungfrau! A few days at our favourite village in Leukerbad and then on to Rome for 3 days before the start of the cruise. Leukerbad is surrounded by mountains. It is a delightful town with plenty of walking trails as well as the Thermal Baths. We had a strool up to Bodmen followed by lunch on the terrace. We took the telepherique up to Rinterhutte, had lunch at the top and then walked down to Torrent Alp before taking the telepherique down to Flaschen and then the bus back to Leukerbad. We eventually flew out of Bale to Rome and spent 3 days in Rome enjoying the sights before boarding the ms Noordam.
We had several ports of call along the Mediterranean before the 7 day Atlantic crossing. Among the ports of call were Liverno (Pisa), Italy, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Barcelona, Cartagena, Malaga, and Cadiz, Spain and finally Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
The crossing was smooth and the weather was great. It was so hot, 26C I had to buy a pair of shorts to wear on the boat. The ms Noordam (Holland-America) with 1894 guests and 791 crew brought us back to North America. Our stateroom was on deck 8, 4 doors dwon from the bridge!
One of the high-lights was seeing the north of Africa and the south of Europe as we went by Gibraltar.
Now we are home and adjusting to cool temperatures, 2C! Reality!!

Update - September 30, 2010

2010-09-30T11:40:00.002-04:00

Good news!

My visit to the eye doctor last week is the last for 6 months! Can you believe that?

My IOP is stable at 14 and the doctor is well pleased with the results of the two surgeries - Ahmed shunt and then the cataract removal. Everythng is settling as it should. Only one (1) eye drop for the right eye and only once a day! Wow, such progress.

The left eye has been and continues to be stable with two(2) medications. One is the same as the right eye. I am now getting used to the new normal!

Swimming is now up to three (3) times per week at the local Y. I managed 36 lengths on yesterday. I'm going for 40 tomorrow.

The official retirement was this week as both my wife and I received certificates indicating the number of years we have worked for The Salvation Army. My wife has worked for 18 years. I have worked for a total of 10 years since my retirement from teaching. There was broken service as I retired for the first time in 2005 and came back in 2008 after 5 months in India. Hence the title of the blog!

Right now we are both working around the house and getting used to not having to go to work! That is quite an accomplishment to sleep in past 6 o'clock in the morning!

We both have received requests to help out here and there. So, we are planning some holidays for later this fall to get us away from the city and the telephone!

Thanksgiving is not far away and we have already purchased the turkey! Pumpkin pie should be on the menu!

Enjoy your turkey!

Wonderful news!

2010-09-03T15:09:00.004-04:00

The doctor has reduced my medications from 6 different eye drops down to 3 different medications. One medication is once a day in both eyes, the second medication is twice daily in the left eye, and the third medication is three times daily in the right eye.

This is so much more manageable.

And ...

my next visit is in three (3) weeks time. That is great after having visits weekly and then every other week. Now 3 whole weeks between visits and reduced medication - wow! Wonderful news!

I am now back doing regular activities - cutting the grass, gardening, and vacuuming the carpets. I am also swimming and can wear goggles!

Life is getting back to normal - whatever that is. Now that I am retired, people are finding all sorts of different ''tasks'' that ''could you'', ''would you be so kind as to'', ''it would really be appreciated if you would'' - you get the idea! My days are filling up nicely.

More later, when there is something worth sharing.

After the surgery

2010-08-07T11:32:00.002-04:00

For those who have been following, you will know I was to undergo Cataract surgery on August 5.

Well, that is now behind me.

I arrived at the Montreal General Hospital at 7:30 A.M. and reported to the 10th floor to check in.
Shortly after 8:00 A.M. I went down to the 7th floor to the Day Surgery pre/post op area. after getting suitably attired in 2 hospital gowns, the 1st with rear opening, the 2nd with front opening, I was ''admitted'' - questions about medication, blood pressure, and preparatory medications. The nurse administered 4 different eye drops, 3 times each.
Just before 9:00 A.M. I was wheeled out of pre-op into the foyer of the 4 OR's. After a few moments, the doors opened and the patient before me was wheeled out, then I was wheeled in.
More eye drops and a topical anesthetic and gel and the procedure was underway. The cataract was removed from my right eye and a foldable lens was implanted.My doctor kept up a running commentary with his assistant and periodically asked how I was doing. Nice touch!
The procedure called for irrigation of the eye on several occasions and the water cascaded down my face and under my head. After a few moments the procedure was over and I was being wheeled out of the OR. I had to wait in the corridor while the next patient was wheeled in before being taken into the post-op area.
By 9:30 A.M. the nurse had called my wife and shortly after 10:00 A.M. I was back home wearing an eye patch. The patch prevented me from wearing my glasses and so it was rather difficult to watch TV or work on the computer. Thursday was long!
Friday morning I was at the doctor's office at 6:00 A.M. and by 6:04 A.M. I was heading out of the Drummond Medical building with an appointment in 2 weeks time.
As i write this on Saturday, I have discovered that some of my central vision has returned to the right eye. There is still a fair amount of blurriness which is normal and will clear up in a few days/weeks time!
So far, so good.
More following the next visit.
Sorry - no pictures.
You can visit Youtube and look for Cataract Surgery, S. Cohen and see a video my doctor has posted.
Enjoy!!

Bye for now.

B.

July update - Part 2

2010-07-29T13:05:00.001-04:00

The verdict is in:

Cataract Surgery - August 5, 2010!

I guess the old body is getting worn out and some parts are in need of replacement! What can you expect from a World War II vintage body!

July update

2010-07-25T09:21:00.002-04:00

This will be short.

June 10 eye surgery and Ahmed shunt resulted in lower pressure. Good.

Peripheral vision now blurry/cloudy. Bad

Have we solved one problem and created a second? Possible cataract surgery!!??

July 28, next visit to specialist.

More later.

Eye Trouble

2010-06-20T08:43:00.002-04:00

This post was not expected.

Some of you may be aware I was planning an extensive trip outside of the country following my ''retirement'' this July. You may also be aware I have been receiving treatment for Glaucoma for many years.
My left eye has responded to medication and the pressure is under control with no significant loss of vision.
My right eye is quite another story! Laser surgery twice, a Trab in 2005, needling in 2007 and 4 times since last October, change in medication, and a very concerned doctor. All to no avail. The pressure does not want to drop and stay in the teens.
Prior to May 26 my doctor had suggested further intervention if the recent changes in medication did not produce the desired result
Following my May 26 visit to my doctor, with the desired result not obtained, there was a referral to a specialist. On May 31 I visited the specialist and his opinion was a shunt would be beneficial in pressure reduction. I had previously discussed the pros and cons with my doctor and now had the same discussion with the specialist. the decision was made to undergo the procedure. The question was ''when''. I would have preferred November after my time traveling. His response was ''right now, forget the traveling''.
On June 10 I underwent surgery to have a shunt installed in my right eye. The pressure is down, I am currently on eye drops every 2 hours for another week and then a decision will be made as to future care/treatment.
For now, traveling out of the country for a prolonged period of time is out of the question. Just how long this moratorium will last, will depend on my eye pressure!
You can imagine my frustration on learning surgery was recommended sooner rather than later and that I would have to put the travel plans on hold. The up-side is that in just over 2 weeks with our Universal Health Care system I was able to go from my doctor to a specialist to the operating table. The compressed time period has helped me to realize just how serious the elevated eye pressure was.
My eye sight is more important than any travel plans. I would still like to travel Time and healing will tell.

Later.

June 3 dining Room report

2010-06-04T16:47:00.002-04:00

Hello again:

It's only been a few days since I last posted some news about the Dining Romm at Lac L'Achigan. The progress is dramatic. Only last Friday there was all kinds of exterior wall not covered with the ''cement board'' cladding. It actually looks quite a bit like the old clapboard that was on the building. It is supposedly ''fire proof'' which was required due to the proximity of the Dining Room and the Staff Rec.
The flooring in the kitchen area is completely installed and the base baords are in, also. The hard wood floor in the Dining Room is just about all down. The construction worker was hard at work finishing it off during the site visit on June 3.
The electrician was actually installing the fixtures in the kitchen area. Everything had been pre-wired and now it is getting the fixtures in place.
The Dining Room is really bright and cheery! It is not quite the shade that had been chosen. the larger windows and the sky lights certainly let in a lot of light. It was a grey day and there was plenty of light.
Next week 3 coast of clear varnish will be applied to the floor in the main Dining Room. The kitchen equipment will start to be installed on Tuesday, June 8.
We are getting there. the staff arrive on June 19 for a week of training and 120 women arrive on June 25 for a 3 day weekend camp! Everything MUST be in order!
I will post more later.

I will try for a link.

L'Achigan Dining Room - May 28, 2010

2010-05-28T18:07:00.004-04:00

I have just had an amazing revelation. My blog is called ''Bill In India'' and I haven't been there since December 2007. I wonder if I should change the name or would people be confused!

Obviously this post is from Canada and concerns my visit to the camp at Lac L'Achigan this afternoon.

The progress on the Dining Room is wonderful. By the time I left they workers were putting the last piece of metal roofing in place. This is actually quite some feat as the pieces are one long continuous sheet from bottom to top, or should I say from top to bottom. There are some finishing touches to be done around the ventilation towers.

The cement wall-board is being installed. Cement board was called for due to the proximity of the Staff Rec to the back of the Dining Room. The boards do not fit into each other like clap-board would.

The wood has been installed in the Dining Room and now needs to be stained and varnished. The Dining Room is quite bright and airy. It was very pleasant inside even though the outside temperature was nearly 30 C. The insulation in the roof is already paying off.

The flooring is almost completely installed in the kitchen. The Agroverre wall-board has been installed in the kitchen. this will be very easy to wipe down. The walk-in fridge is up and running. Real cool!

There are lots of finishing touches to be done before the first group of people arrive in 2 weeks time. I hope it will all go well.

More later.

Preivew look of Dining Room

2010-05-18T21:05:00.004-04:00

Well folks,

The building was sealed last week. That is the ''Blueskin'' on the roof and the windows were all in.

The plastering is moving along nicely and there are small hot-air blowers drying out the plaster. The contractors have started installing the pine ceiling. There is a ''rough in'' for where the fireplace will eventually be located.
The walk-in fridge and walk-in freezer have been installed. The compressors are coming in shortly. The wall covering for the kitchen was chosen today as the first choice was rather pricey!!!
The lids on the toilets will be bolted on to avoid the campers playing in and with the WC.

Here's a link to some photos.

enjoy!

Dining room - May 7, 2010

2010-05-07T18:27:00.002-04:00

More pictures have been posted on here .

As you can see things are moving along. Enjoy!

Dining room update - May 4, 2010

2010-05-04T17:32:00.004-04:00

Dining Room update - May 4, 2010!

That's right. Things are moving along nicely.

The main trusses are up for the dining room portion as of May 3. The ''ladders'' are in place as of May 4. The ''blue skin'' vapor barrier is being installed. Once the building is water-tight then the interior finishing can begin.

Here are a few pictures. There are more on my flickr site.

April 30,2010

2010-04-30T15:48:00.007-04:00

What a month this has been.

On April 1st, Gigi and I spent the night in Wellington, Ontario, in a wonderful little hotel in a former foundry. Our room overlooked the creek in which we were able to watch the fish swimming. We also had time to walk on the sand-dunes just outside of Picton, ON. We ate in the dining-room which had a limited menu - only 3 choices! Wow, was the meal absolutely superb!
Then on to Windsor to visit with Nick, Sue and Darcy and Wesley for Easter weekend. We did manage to change the carpet on the front balcony, go out for a meal in a restaurant with Wesley, and had a walk down by the river. Wesley enjoyed throwing sticks through the new vertical railings along the edge of the river.
Home on Monday, April 5. The drive was long enough and uneventful. We did have a friend with us and were able to have some great conversation.
Late on Monday, April 5th I received a phone call from my brother to say my Dad had passed away. Late that night we drove out the the Herron Residence to say a silent farewell to Dad. I drove back out on Tuesday to tell Mom. Somehow she already knew that Dad was gone.
Nick, Sue and family arrived on the Thursday. We had only left them on Monday and here they were with us 4 days later. The funeral was on Saturday and we were delighted and blessed by the friends and relatives who came up to Lachute for the visitation, stayed for the funeral and then came to grave side at the Harrington Protestant Cemetery. Off the beaten path to be sure with a magnificent view down the valley. Mom and Dad used to picnic in the cemetery parking lot and had chosen the site. Everyone marveled at the beauty of the final resting place.
While all this was going on, Nick had received a text message to say there was great interest by a perspective client in buying his house. (House had been for sale since February as Nick is moving to Ottawa - much closer to us). By the time Nick returned to Windsor an offer had come in. The offer has been accepted with a closing date of May 14, 2010!
As I write this, Nick & Sue are in Ottawa house hunting. In fact they have just advised a house has been found, an offer made and accepted. Some final details to be worked out for a closing date of May 26! Talk about moving quickly!!!!!
Oh, I almost forgot we had a nice dumping of snow last Tuesday, April 27.
A visit to camp this morning revealed much has been done and there is much to do. Hopefully the roof will be closed off by this time next week.

Moving along!

2010-03-19T09:09:00.004-04:00

We had a site meeting at the camp on March 18, 2010.

The building has really begun! Believe it or not.

you will find the evidence here

March 2010

2010-03-05T15:33:00.005-05:00

Hello Everyone:

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog and catch up on the latest happenings in and around.

Last month I posted some information about the rebuild of the dining room at Lac L'Achigan, the Salvation Army camp just north of St. Jerome, with which some of you may be familiar. For those unaware, there was a fire in February 2009 which badly damaged the dining room. There was the hope that since really only the kitchen portion was badly damaged the dining portion could be saved. Alas! such was not the case and the entire building was demolished. By the end of August the architect's drawings were accepted and the go ahead was given to get started. Oops, before you start, how much is it going to cost? The pencil pushers did their thing and the price tag is over $1,000,000.00! That's right over 1 million - for a wood structure dining room - as built! That seems to be the glitch. The insurance policy calls for ''replacement'' as it was. It seems the magnificent wooden trusses are costly to replace and also presented an engineering challenge as steel is the preferred product today, not wood.

Anyway, with a great deal of delays, discussing back and forth, construction finally started. Only to stop on February 12, 2010. To date there has been no further work. The explanation is relatively simple ''We are waiting for the city building inspector to inspect the foundation wall.'' The rebuild must be on a concrete foundation due to the new building code. The approval has been given and work is to start again on Monday, March 8, 2010. The contractor is still maintaining the completion date of April 30, 2010, will be respected! Time will tell!!

In the city we have had a rather mild winter with little snow. As a matter of fact, there has been so little snow, the driveway is clear and dry. And we are only at March 5.

I did visit the camp on Feb. 26 and I will post a few pictures of the snow covered site. The snow was about 30 cm deep. You can see my footprint!

The new metal roof on the chapel has been a real help in not having too much snow accumulation on the roof as this photo shows.

Until next time.

Take care.

Bill

Lac L'Achigan update Feb. 14, 2010

2010-02-14T17:32:00.005-05:00

I just have to keep you all up-to-date on the progress being made with the re-build of the Dining Room at camp.

The building code required new construction to be built on footings and foundations rather than pillars. Hence the concrete work. The footings are in, the foundation walls are in the back fill has been done.

A vapour barrier will be laid over the back fill and then a covering of 2 to 3 inches of sand will be added. This will prevent the vapour barrier from being damaged when people are in the crawl space under the kitchen, storage rooms and the dining room.

The contractor hopes to actually start with the wooden structure as early as Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. The work schedule calls for the building to be completed by April 30, 2010. Only deficiencies and landscaping for May,.

So, here's hoping it will all work out.

January 2010

2010-01-30T15:00:00.003-05:00

Wow! Here we are at the end of January. We have had some snow and some really cold weather.

Today is bright, sunny, and cold. the temperature is ''minus 16'' in the sun. If you factor in the effect of wind chill it feels like ''minus 24''. That's right! Nice and crisp. In fact you need your sunglasses to cut down the glare of the snow. Here we are all bundled up in multiple layers, scarves covering our faces and wearing sunglasses.

Late in November, 2009, I had some touch up surgery on my eye surgery from 2005. It seems the bleb (?) was not draining properly. The treatment didn't work too well. So, I had another ''treatment'' last week. This time with stronger medication and a larger blade into my right eye-ball to release the pressure. Before the ''treatment'' the pressure was 24 and we are now in the mid-teens with medication twice daily and some external pressure. I am back to see the doctor in 3 weeks and we will see how the pressure has stabilized. The doctor is trying to stabilize the pressure to avoid further damage to the optic nerve. (My left eye is fine)

On Thursday, January 28, 2010, I went to visit the Salvation Army Camp at Lac L'Achigan. The dining Room which was destroyed by fire last February is rising again. The footings for the foundation walls have been poured. They were pouring the footings for the columns which will support the beams which will support the joists for the floor. There is another site visit planned for 2 weeks from now. I will take pictures and post them so that you can keep track of the progress.

The construction is to be completed by the end of April with the deficiency list corrected by the middle of May. Hopefully there will not be any delays and all will be up and running for the camping season of 2010.

February is just around the corner and then March is not far behind.

More later,

New Year 2010

2010-01-01T12:04:00.005-05:00

Sorry folks, I guess I missed my December update.

So, on this first day of January 2010 I will high-light some of the December activities.

The best part of December was celebrating Christmas with the family. We were able to actually celebrate on December 25 for the first time in several years.

Nick, Sue, Darcy and Wesley arrived in time to go sledding on Dec. 24. And what a time we had. We laughed and laughed. We had lots of fun. Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures as I had to pull the grandchildren on the sleigh. We had many trips down the hill with the snow flying in out faces. Auntie Stephanie was with and did get some great pictures.

On Christmas Day we had the traditional family dinner followed by the exchange of gifts. This year we tried a ''Secret Santa'' idea in that we drew names and bought a suitable gift for the adults. The children received gifts from everyone. And there was paper. the living room floor disappeared under the discarded gift wrap. Wesley decided at one point to get in a gift box and put paper over his head. Much laughter all around. I will post some pictures on my flickr site later. All too quickly the visit was over as Nick and family had to return to Windsor with a stop at Cambridge on the way.

Today, New Year's Day, Gigi and I went for our traditional walk on Mount Royal. The light snow, the winter sun, and a balmy ''minus 5'' degree temperature made for a very pleasant way to start the new year. A stop at Fairmount Bagels on the way home rounded out the morning.

So, Happy New Year to you all!

November 2009 updte

2009-11-14T13:58:00.003-05:00

Wow! Where has the time gone. It is hard to believe it is over a month since my last entry.

After coming home from the vacation work-week in Windsor (950 km away) it was nice to get back to the office (3 days a week) for a bit of a rest. Thankfully the Thanksgiving weekend was just around the corner so that gave an extra day to re-energize!

Gigi and I broke tradition this year and went up to Mount Royal on Thanksgiving morning. We enjoyed the bright sunshine, the clear air, the squirrels rummaging around, the birds, and above all the beautiful colours of the leaves on the trees. We parked at Beaver Lake, since it was before 10.00 A.M. and there was still space in the first parking lot. We walked along the bridle trail until we came to the lookout over downtown Montreal. The view was magnificent. There were a number of runners, walkers, and tourists enjoying the view. We then took our time ambling back along the bridle path to the chalet over looking Beaver Lake. I really enjoyed the natural setting of beaver Lake. There was quite a controversy in the paper this summer over the fact the city was letting weeds, actually reeds, grow in the lake. It is a much more natural setting for the ducks and other water fowl to swim among.

We managed to get a window seat in the chalet and enjoyed our coffee while watching the ducks in the lake, families with children in tow walking around the lake and a ladies exercise class on the balcony. As it was now well after 11:00 A.M. there were all kinds of people out and about enjoying the sights the mountain has to offer.

My October visit to my eye doctor revealed the pressure in my right eye was climbing again, even though I had a Trabulectomy. So this past week, I underwent minor surgery as he ''needled'' my eye. It looks really gross but actually doesn't feel bad at all. Back to the doctor's on Monday for a check-up and then a few days of R&R.

We continue to enjoy life and are delighted to learn that the Windsor part of our family will be on the move next spring. Ottawa is the chosen location and is about a 2 hour drive from Montreal. Needless to say, there will be many visits to see the grand children as we can do day-trips instead of 4-day weekends.

More later.

Renovations in Windsor

2009-10-05T17:05:00.003-04:00

Guess how I spent a week of my vacation? Doesn't that remind you of the first composition in school in September. You remember how you were told to write about ''My Summer Vacation''. Oh, the memories.

Well, I just can't resist recounting some of the happenings of my week spent in Windsor with the family. There is the desire to put the house on the market and so there is a need to do some sprucing up. It has been 6 years since they moved in and the paint is starting to look 6 years old! So, the decision was made to brighten up the kitchen and to change to look of the upstairs bathroom, as well as to change the color of the entrance hallway and stairs.

First the old wall-paper had to be removed from the kitchen. I think it must have been put on with contact cement. It took a lot of effort and much longer than had been planned. Getting rid of the wall-panel on the lower walls was quite quick. Paint colors were chosen and all the family pitched in. We quickly moved from the kitchen to the hallway and stairs. Darcy lent a hand painting the hallway. then on to the bathroom and a change of color, a new sink and vanity, new wall cabinet and new towel rods completed the job. the old brown carpet is gone from the stairs and the upper hallway and a new one has been ordered to be installed later this week.

Once the painting was done it was on to removing 4 layers of tile and linoleum in the kitchen and one really well stuck layer of tile in the hallway. The installation of a new sub-floor in the kitchen made the floors level from the front door right through to the back door. Wesley was a great help in getting up the old tiles.

The window treatment was redone in the kitchen with the installation of Roman blinds handily crafted by Gigi.

All in all quite a week. We are all rather tired and sore, having discovered muscles that had not been used for some time.

September 2009 - update

2009-09-04T16:00:00.004-04:00

Well, it looks like I missed my August chapter. So, I guess before September gets any older, I had better get something down.

August started out with a visit from Nick, Sue, Darcy, and Wesley. We actually had a double visit from them as they stopped by on their way to Music Camp and then stayed with us for a few days after camp. We actually went up to camp for the closing program. Stef and I ended up playing with the kids and had a wonderful time. Wesley is quite the kayaker!

Saturday night we had a B-B-Q in the garden. Wesley certainly enjoyed his corn-on-the-cob!

The high-light of their stay was a visit to the Biosphere, the former United States pavilion from Expo '67. The main attraction was the ''water'' room which featured at least 10 different types of hands-on activities for children. I am not really sure who had the most fun, the adults or the kids! Needless to say, there was water everywhere and lots of laughs. One of the best was Darcy in the ''Mind Shaker'' a closed-circuit TV projection.

Eventually we moved into the rest of the exhibit and took in a 360 degree movie. This meant we had to swivel around on the stools to see the movie all around us. Again, lots of fun. Finally we made it up to the observation platform with a great view of Montreal.

All too quickly their visit was over and they left for some sight-seeing in Ottawa before returning to Windsor, via Cambridge.
Later in the month we had another family dinner to celebrate Stef's birthday. This was followed by a visit to the cottage and the beaver dam.

Here it is Labor Day weekend and we are getting ready to start bringing the plants inside. That means it is time to put up some shelves under the windows in the living-room. We bought the shelves today at Ikea. Now there is no excuse!
Life goes on - 3 days a week at work followed by a 4-day weekend! What can I say?!?

July 2009

2009-07-31T13:06:00.004-04:00

Here we are at the end of another month. Where has the time gone.

If you have been following my facebook entries you are aware that time has been spent refinishing doors. Two wood doors had been painted by one of the previous owners of our home. The doors were taken off their hinges and taken outside. Several coats of stripper were necessary to get rid of the multiple layers of paint.

Hours, or so it seemed, of snading and then the doors were ready for the finishing coats of Varathane.

Both doors turned out to be beautiful wood doors. The bathroom door would appear to be oak. The basement cupboard doors seems to be cedar around the edges with a hard wood middle panel. Whatever it is, it has a beautiful grain to it and left natural is a wonderful color.

We had a brief visit last weekend from our married son with his wife and 2 children. they are coming back tomorrow to stay over for a few days. We did manage to visit them up at Music Camp last night and got in a couple of pictures which have been posted to facebook.

We are looking forward to them spending a few days with us so that we can get to know our grand children. Home for them is about 950 km. away. It is not a trip either we or they make very often.

Stayed tuned and see what August will bring.

June 2009 - update

2009-06-29T20:10:00.003-04:00

What a month this has been! It is simply amazing at how quickly time flies by. Here it is, June 29 and I am just getting around to my monthly update.

The weather in Montreal this spring has been very spring-like! Yes, we did not go directly from winter to summer as has happened in the past. We actually had a spring with cool or warm days, with or without sun and/or rain. The plants did not wilt when they were planted in the garden. As a matter of fact, the plants grew rather slowly, or so it seems. the garden is now a rich tapestry of colors and textures with a good mix of perennials and annuals. Hopefully there will be a few more perennials added next spring. I have had lots of fun consulting the big plant encyclopedia and checking out which perennials are suitable for zone 4. There are so many varieties and colors to choose from as well as blooming periods and height to consider. All in all, an excellent exercise and I am pleased with my first attempt in this dapple shaded garden.

Gigi and I took a week of our vacation and paid a visit to Windsor to visit the grand children and their parents. Darcy and Wesley were delighted to see us and we had a great time with them. Darcy is very lady-like for a 5 year old and has picked up an excellent vocabulary in French from her Junior Kindergarten year. Wesley does not have the extensive vocabulary of his sister. He is an outdoors boy. At any and every chance he had, it was out the door. We enjoyed our visit to the NFL park early one morning and there are a few pictures to share.

Following our Windsor stay with Steve, we went on to London for dinner with my cousin and his wife. It was great to catch up with them. The next day it was on to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. We took in The Three Sisters (Chekhov) and Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand). both were outstanding performances. We were duly impressed by Cyrano played by Colm Feore. We later discovered he is well known in the English Theatre circles and also for his role in Bad Cop, Bon Cop.

We ended our vacation with some friends in Toronto, had a walk along the boardwalk, lunch at Prarie Ink, and also attended the Commissioning of new Salvation Army Officers.

The month has gone and July is just around the corner.

April, Oops, make that May update!

2009-05-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

Where does the time go?

I just realized, now that May is almost over, that I haven't done the May update. Only to discover I haven't done the April update wither.

So, here goes - 2 months in one!

The highlight of April was a trip to Windsor to visit the grand kids. And what grand kids they are. Darcy was just a treat and Wesley took to us quite well as we hadn't seen him much. Darcy is doing well at school in the French immersion program So much so that she said the grace in French. This was the well-known Merci Seigneur ... grace - complete with well rolled ''R's''.

We did all the usual mall and outlet shopping as well as eating out. Auntie Stef joined us for the weekend and took plenty of picture which are already posted on her flickr site.

May has been productive around the house with getting the garden in shape. The mint is growing and we have had a beautiful pink rhododendron at the side of the back stairs. Much time and effort has gone into getting rid of the invasive ground cover which had been planted by the previous owner. Now that is over I am putting in some perennials which should make the job easier next year. Astilbe, bleeding heart, purpole bells etc.

When the sun is out in the morning it is quite comfortable on the back deck. The sun is required as we are only reaching a high of about 10 degrees - not really sunning weather.

March update

2009-03-22T14:43:00.002-04:00

Well, I realize it's been over a month since my last post, so I guess it's time for the March 2009 update!

The snow is going down! At lest it was until this morning when a few more centimeters fell. Nevertheless we are starting to see the grass through the snow.

Just yesterday we saw the first snow drops. There is life under the snow. The sun is bright and we are expecting minus 12 tonight!

Since last time, I have been kept busy around the house. The sea Shell border was removed in the main bathroom, the wall patched, 2 coats of sealer to hide the blue and then 2 fresh coats of café-au-lait on the walls. Much improved! Also some new hardware for hanging the towels up as well as new knobs on the cupboards. Nice job, if I say so myself.

My wife has made Roman blinds for the Dining Room and they are now up after battling with old plaster and No. 4 screws that broke in the oak window frames. No. 6 screws worked out just fine. The Living Room is next. Hopefully we have all this finished soon as it will soon be time to get out in the garden and see just what we have inherited.

I am looking at plants for a semi-shade garden as well as full sun. Out yard is bordered by tress, so some sections really do not receive any sun and the centre section received full sun. I want to plant perennials that will give plenty of colour and texture with as little work on my part as possible.

Recently my wife has taken up knitting Izzy dolls for Health Partners International. These stuffed dolls are used in packing medicines and other needed products which are then shipped to countries where there is a tremendous need. The dolls are distributed to the children when they come for their medication. These toys reduce the non-recyclable packaging materials. We have quite a family of dolls ready to give away, as you can see from the photo.

That's it for March '09!

Later,

February 2009 update

2009-02-20T13:20:00.004-05:00

Since the last update there have been a few significant events.

The first is that I finished off the base-boards in the renovated basement. As you may imagine the basement floor is not exactly 100 % level - no surprise!!! So, as a result the base-boards do not always touch the floor. In some cases it was fairly easy to nail one end of the board and then push down on the other end to get it as near to the floor as possible. Thanks to my good friend, Keith, I had the use of a mitre box. This certainly made for a much nicer looking overlap when joining sections together.

If I say so myself: ''It looks great!'' I am quite proud of my handiwork.

We are enjoying the comforts of the basement with the surround sound which is very effective when we are watching a movie - whether on TV or a DVD.

During the first week of February I spent 4 days in Victoriaville. This was a spiritual retreat for the leaders of The Salvation Army in the Province of Quebec. Our special guests this year were Majors David and Beth. They had previously been in Montreal and it was a great pleasure to spend time with them and under their ministry. The theme was ''Names of God'' and 4 names were considered in the devotional times. As a member of the divisional leadership team I, along with my wife, was responsible for meeting them at the train station and driving them from and then to Montreal. The time in the car was well spent as we had the opportunity to chat about ministry opportunities and challenges.

The third and final event just happened on Tuesday, February 17. At about 2:00 P.M. I was called into the bosses (DC's) office to listen in on a phone call from the Youth Secretary. He had just been advised of a fire at the camp at Lac L'Achigan. My face fell when he mentioned the Dining Room was on fire and perhaps even destroyed.

It would seem there were snowmobile tracks leading up to the Dining Room and that the door by the Canteen had been forced in. The fire which had started somewhere in the kitchen area was noticed by the caretaker from his house, just up the hill. He could see the smoke was more than a neighbor with a fire in a fireplace. So the fire department was called and then Montreal was notified. For those of you unfamiliar the camp is about 80 km north-east of Montreal. The camp closes for the winter and was closed by the beginning of October 2008. Louis, the caretaker, makes regular rounds in the off season to monitor the build up of snow on the cabin roofs. When necessary he removes the snow so that there is no damage to the cabins - roofs falling in and/or walls bulging out.

It took about 20 minutes for the fire department to arrive from Prevost and St. Jerome. They were able to save the main part of the building, the actual Dining Room. The kitchen area, back storage room, canteen, walk-in freezer and walk-in cold room as well as any items stored in the attic were destroyed. The dinner bell which was on the back wall obviously fell to the ground as the wall gave way. The electricity and the propane gas had both been turned off for the winter - fortunately. At this point in time it is still too early to really know what caused the fire. We are waiting for the report by the investigator(s). Many of you will have spent some time at L'Achigan either as a camper or on staff, some as both.

more later.

Here is the bell all snow covered still attached to its frame!

Renovations complete

2009-01-15T12:53:00.005-05:00

You might be wondering what has happened to me! I think I mentioned we were having some renovations done in our basement. Well, the renovations were completed in early December and then the finishing had to be done to get the basement ready for Nick, Sue and family when they came for a 6 day visit. Painting, carpeting, drapes - to provide privacy to the sleeping area, washer and drier, shower curtain and bath mat. We had hoped to put in a full size shower. This was not to be due to the proximity of the drain stack to a foundation pillar. An alternate had to be found. We ended up with a mounted mini-bath tub and shower. By mounting it off the floor we were able to add a pump to pump the water up and over into the stack.

All kinds of little projects that turned out to be not so little after all. We did not replace the ceiling as having an open concept gave just a bit more space for the taller members of the family. We are getting used to the spray painted white ceiling with the wires.

It's all over. Nick, Sue and the grand children came and stayed for 6 days. We had a wonderful time. We managed an afternoon on Mount Royal. Darcy really enjoyed tobogganing down the hill with Auntie Stef or Papa. The picnic in the snow with hot chocolate and cookies really topped of the outing.

Now it's back to reality - paying for the project! Ouch - a bit more than budgeted. Isn't that always the case. When did you ever hear of a project coming in under budget? Oh well, it had to be done. The finished project is quite nice and we are very comfortable watching TV downstairs, being able to do laundry, and having the extra space.

Perhaps the photos will give you some idea of the final product.

Happy New Year to all.

Holidays 2008 - Part 2

2008-11-28T16:09:00.005-05:00

I guess it's about time I completed my ''Holidays 2008'' entry.

After our time in Spain, Gigi, my wife, and I went to Switzerland to see her family. We stayed with her brother and his wife for a few nights and then with one of the sisters and her husband for a night.

We spent most of our time in Lukerbad or Loeche-les-bains at an altitude of 1400 m. We rented a fully-equipped studio in the same building as Francoise and Edouard. Having fresh bread and croissants in the lobby every morning was certainly irresistible! The view from our balcony was stunning.

We did manage to go up to the Torrent pass and the Gemmi pass. both were at about 2300 m. with spectacular views. We spent our time walking the many trails, enjoying the view from the Burger Bad (thermal baths) and having coffee with fresh cream!

We ended our stay with a family get-together for Tante Betty's 90th birthday. It was a wonderful occasion for Gigi to see all her cousins and the remaining aunts and uncles.

Holidays 2008

2008-10-13T16:17:00.005-04:00

You may have been wondering why you haven't heard from me for a while. Truth be told, I was having too much fun being on holiday. Now that I am back at home and have settled into a more or less ''normal'' routine, I guess it's time to post. So, here goes.

The first part of the holiday was spent on the coast of Spain in the little town of Salou, southwest down the coast from Barcelona. We, that is my wife and I as well as her two sisters and their husbands, stayed at the Blau Mar Hotel, 4 stars, almost on the beach. As a matter of fact, from our balcony you could see the beach and even the waves as they came ashore. We had a lovely room with separate bedroom from the living-room and kitchenette area, completely air-conditioned. When we arrived in Barcelona the temperature was 25 C and be the time we got to Salou by air-conditioned train the temperature had reached 31 C. Needless to say it didn't take me long to get into the pool that first day. That was my only time in the pool. The rest of the time is was the beach and the Sea. What a superb time we had.

The breakfast buffet was wonderful. Fresh fruit, cold meat, cheeses, croissants, eggs and much more. We did not go hungry. Because of the great breakfast we did picnic lunches on the beach. Dinner at night was another glorious buffet. I was amazed at both the quality of the food and the numerous choices. During our stay not too many of the dishes were repeats. Soups, salads, cold buffet, hot buffet, cheese tray, dessert buffet and I must not forget the grill. We had trouble leaving the dining room. We all gained a few pounds that week.

Most evenings we walked along the boardwalk and had coffee at an outdoor terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Beautiful!

That's the end of part I. Part II to follow.

After the move!

2008-09-06T11:54:00.003-04:00

Here it is - September 6, 2008! Where has the time gone?

It seems only yesterday we were getting ready to sell our condo in Verdun. Now, all that is history.

On August 1, 2008 we bought our new house. It is actually quite old having been constructed in 1922. It is a lower duplex, that is there is another flat above us which is owned by the occupant. We have a half share of the basement and the upper has the other half - naturally!

We took occupancy on August 8, 2008 which allowed us to get the floors sanded and refinished, and most of the house painted before we moved in on August 14, 2008. We worked hard and the house is really quite comfortable.

The living room is large with an arch way through to the dining room. Both living and dining rooms have lovely French doors with frosted glass panes. There is a large nook in the hallway which we have made into our library. The hallway then leads past the bathroom and master bedroom to the kitchen and office (2nd bedroom).

We are in the process of having contractors come and give us quotes for finishing the basement with a second washroom and guest bedroom. The family room will also be there and will give plenty of space for the grand children when they come to visit.

Once I find the time to take some photos, I will do so and then add them to this post so that you can have a better picture of our home. (The pictures have been added - enjoy!)

We are off to the wedding of my best friend's eldest daughter this afternoon. That should be a wonderful time as we celebrate with family and friends.

More later,

Bill

New House

2008-08-01T16:18:00.002-04:00

July was a busy month as we finalized the sale of our present condo and then had to decide on where we would re-locate. Fortunately we had our eyes on an older home in the NDG area of Montreal. It is a lower duplex built in the 1920s with beautiful oak woodwork.

We signed for it this morning and are able to take possession next Wednesday, August 6,. We are having the floors redone and then the painter arrives on August 11, the stove and fridge on August 13 and we move in on August 14!

Wow, lots of packing to do between now and then!!!!

The house has a separate living-room and dining-room with a den and 2 bedrooms as well as kitchen and bathroom on the main floor. In the basement will be TV/Family type of room and possibly another guest bedroom. We will have to add a bathroom in the basement.

We are quite excited about it. There is both a front and rear garden - both are small! - which will give me plenty to do outside of the house and will also allow space for Darcy and Wesley to play when they come to visit Grandmaman and Papa. In fact they should be arriving any minute now for a weekend visit. It should be fun!

June Review - Sold!

2008-07-01T10:12:00.003-04:00

Last update we were selling our condo.

It looks like we may have sold for August 1. We have found a place and are now negotiating for August 1. More later.

June was the month to celebrate our 41st Wedding Anniversary as well as Marc's birthday and Darcy's 4th birthday.

Darcy, our 4 year old grand-daughter, took part a 100 meter run and received a medal for her efforts. She really enjoyed running. Sue, daughter-in-law, was prepared to run with her. When they got to the starting line, Darcy informed her mother that she was running the race ''all by myself''. Talk about growing up and being independent. She is all set for pre-school in September.

Our daughter, Stephanie, was not to be out-done by her niece. Stef went to Boston with her competitive Dragon Boat team and finished first. Stef came home with a gold medal and the team will be participating in the New York competition later this summer. We went to the Olympic Basin last Saturday and enjoyed the Montreal recreational competition. Stef's women's team finished first! What a day!

We celebrated June 24 in Windsor and thoroughly enjoyed Darcy and Wesley. They are growing quickly and we certainly see the changes between visits. Hopefully they will get a chance to come to Montreal this summer and visit at our house.

Today is Canada Day and I am planning on taking in a pipe-organ concert at St. James United Church. The featured piece will be a 85 bar Bach world-premier. the Jazz Festival is in full swing and today is dry and not too humid. So, it looks like a great day to visit the Jazz Fest.

That's it for June. Keep reading for more later.

Condo - For Sale!

2008-06-06T11:50:00.002-04:00

That's right!

May has been an exciting month as my wife and I have struggled with deciding whether or not to relocate.

Now that I am working only 2 -3 days per week and my wife is going to be working only 4 days per week, we will have some time on our hands. Also, we have two grandchildren who are growing. We will need more space for them when they come to visit. Perhaps with more space they will come to visit more often. (Hint, hint!)

We decided to sell our second house a number of years ago when we both were working 5 and sometimes 6 days per week. There simply was not time to look after the house and the garden. We had lost all our helpers as the children had left home.

Now as we start to find ourselves with time on our hands, why not go back to a house with a small (!) garden. We are looking forward to this.

We have had a very good offer on our condo which is conditional on an inspection. The inspection will take place this afternoon. We have already seen the house we would like to buy and have made an offer conditional on the final sale of our condo.

I have had another birthday and am now a year older than when I last wrote. Sixty-six is a wonderful age! My wife took me to dinner at the Crescendo restaurant and we had a table overlooking the marina and the river. It was a delightful evening, just the two of us, excellent food, great ambiance, and wonderful company! what more can I say? We had a family dinner on the weekend with the Montreal group. We had a good time together.

We will be celebrating Marc's birthday soon and that will be another family time.

In all of this I received a request to return to India. At this time it is not possible but it is on the radar screen for next year. The chance to live in another country for several months is a real privilege.

Life is good. My health is good.

Until next month.

April in Review

2008-05-10T09:02:00.002-04:00

It is a little late, but I guess I should honor my word and do the monthly posting for April.

April was a kind of ''stay at home'' month. Not much happened of any consequence. There were a few bright spots that I think are worth sharing with those of you to whom I do not write on a regular basis.

The first bright spot is that the snow finally stopped falling and actually started melting. By the end of the month we were snow free and were able to put away the winter boots and get out the running shoes. It also meant taking the snow tires off the car and putting on the summer tires. Yes, we have two sets of tires for the car. For those of you without much snow you will need to understand that it is really important to have the proper tires in winter if you plan on driving before the city snow crews have plowed the streets. This can sometimes take a couple of days!!

Another bright spot was a telephone call during dinner one night from a high school classmate. Next year marks the 50th Anniversary of our High School Graduating class. We are trying to locate as many of our former classmates as possible for this event. Date and place still to be decided.

The third and final bright spot was an unanticipated email from Hebron. They were hoping that I could do a return visit for a few months this fall. Unfortunately that is not possible for both my wife's schedule and mine. So, one of these both my wife and I will hope to get to Hebron and renew acquaintances.

That's it for April. Sorry, no pictures this month.

March in review

2008-04-06T09:19:00.004-04:00

I guess I am a few days late in posting my blog entry for March. It's hard to believe we are into April. As I look out the window I see piles of snow. We had about 10 more centimeters last Friday, April 4, 2008.

I am enjoying working part-time at my old job. Being able to arrange my hours to suit my schedule is really an advantage. I can come and go as I please as long as the work gets done. I seem to be averaging about 17 hours per week. That's good enough for me.

The really good news for March is that I got my blood test results back from the Montreal General Hospital Tropical Diseases Center. All the tests came back negative. They were not able to tell me what disease I had while on my return from India. They did say that I am not infected now. I am clean! A nice feeling after about 10 weeks of wondering.

Gigi and I managed a few days with our son Nick and his growing family. It was great to see Sue and Darcy and Wesley. Darcy and I had some great moments together on the floor playing with her doll magnet set sent by Auntie Stef. Little brother Wesley did try to get hold of some of the magnets much to the chagrin of his big sister. We even had some snow while we were there. Fortunately we had our boots in the car and so we were not hampered in anything we wanted to do.

Wesley really enjoys playing with and eating the dog sent by Uncle Eric. It was his favorite toy the whole weekend. the little rascal doesn't sleep long during the day. Little cat naps of 15 to 20 minutes here and there. He played strange when we first arrived as he hadn't seen us for just over 2 months and at that age it is understandable. He is now just over 7 months old.

Darcy didn't play strange at all. She could hardly wait to jump into Papa's arms.

The traveling was great in both directions. The 401 was dry and bare. Our timing was good as we managed to avoid the rush hour in both Toronto and Montreal.

We also celebrated Eric's birthday with a family dinner at home which included roast beef and yorkshire pudding. Mmm, good!!

That's about it for March. More later.

February 2008 in Review

2008-03-03T18:46:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since the last post and some of you may be wondering what I have been doing.

Since the end of January I have been working at a part-time job, 2 days per week, with The Salvation Army. For most of February my work consisted in filling out various sheets having to do with the budgets for this year. Quite interesting if you like figures.

I have also done some traveling with my wife, Gigi, in relation to her work in Public Relations. We were due to get up early and go to Quebec City on Feb. 12 when the phone rang at 5:10 A.M. It was Gigi's sister calling to say the Gigi's mom had passed away. Needless to say, this was quite a shock. Maman, 96, had had a slight stroke about 10 days earlier and as was her custom was starting to rebound. This time she didn't make it. The funeral which was well attended was held in a church in Corseaux-Corsier. The same church where Papa's funeral was held almost 8 years ago.

We had been fortunate to have visited Maman in December and have wonderful memories of her. We went to Switzerland on Feb. 14 for the funeral which was held on Feb. 18. Following the grave side ceremony there was a reception at a nearby hotel. It was a great time to meet all the cousins and see all the family members.

The occasion also allowed us time to stay with Charles-André and Claire-Lise, in Corseaux, as well as with Jacqueline and Rodney, in Bern. We also had a a quick trip to Bale and stayed with one of Gigi's nieces.

While the occasion was a sad one, we were able to spend time with Gigi's brother and sisters and their spouses.

We are now back at home and have adjusted to the 6-hour time difference.

Trip to Windsor

2008-02-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update on my blood infection. It was identified as a bacteria. It is over, 5 different medications in 2 weeks, and I am back to normal. I am still waiting for results from the sample taken at the Montreal General and sent to Winnipeg for analysis. That could take another couple of weeks.

It is nice to be back home and have plenty of hot water for showers and some of the other conveniences of home. The weather is quite a challenge with winds over 80 km/hr and icy sidewalks, not to mention the blowing snow! (Yes, we have sidewalks!)

On the weekend of January 20th, Gigi, Stephanie, Marc, and Bill, we all went to Windsor to see Nick, Sue, Darcy and WESLEY! I finally saw my new grandson who is now over 5 months old! He is full of life and kept us all busy during the weekend. Sue's family arrived Saturday afternoon and we all enjoyed a wonderful buffet which Sue had prepared.

Sunday was Wesley's dedication at church which was followed by a wonderful meal which was catered. Marc and Stef were on the road by 2:00 P.M. and home in Montreal at 11:00 P.M.

Gigi and I left a little later and only went as far as Toronto as Gigi had meetings in Toronto on Monday and Tuesday. We left Toronto at 3:00 P.M. and arrived home just before 1:00 A.M. Wednesday morning. There was a 3 hour detour on the 401 and then we drove slowly through the snow. It was nice to get home and sleep in our own bed!

I have landed a part time job, 2 days a week, with flexible hours. I am enjoying the challenge and it is nice to have something to do on a regular basis.

I will try to remember to update this site once a month.

That's it for now.

Switzerland

2008-01-14T08:43:00.000-05:00

On Friday, December 21, Gigi and I left Paris on the 8:00 A.M. TGV for Lausanne. The trip was delightful as we went through a fairy land landscape. There had been frost on the tress and they sparkled like diamonds in the early morning sun.

We arrived in Lausanne at noon and were quickly on the local train to Vevey. Charles-André met us at the train station and it was home for lunch with C-A and Claire-Lyse.

After lunch Gigi and I walked down to Vevey and then to Les Phares to visit Maman (96). She was her sprightly self and insisted on being taken out for a walk - we complied! Following hte walk we sat around until dinner time. It was the Christmas Dinner and each resident could have two guests - Gigi and I were the guests! The menu was delicious and Maman was ravenous. When it was all over C-A came to get us and we enjoyed the rest of the evening at home.

Saturday, Dec. 22, we went to the Market and saw the Christmas Serenader's, including Claire-Lyse on guitar, singing in the Market. We then took the train to Leuk and the bus to Leukerbad. The views are stunning. We were joined by Stef, Eric and Sam, and Marc. Also there were Chantal and Carlos and the 4 kids, and Francoise and Edouard. We were 14 for dinner on Saturday and once a day during the week.

I came down with and infection and spent most of the week in the apartment looking out the window while the others went skiing, snow-boarding, walking, and swimming in one of the thermal baths. Everyone had a wonderful time and a really different Christmas.

After Hebron - Paris!

2008-01-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

On Monday, December 17 I said Good Bye to India as I left from Coimbatore to Mumbai and then to Paris.

Tuesday, December 18 was an exciting day as I met Gigi around the luggage carousel at Paris -CDG and then on to the trains and the subway to our hotel which was just 2 minutes from the subway. After freshening up we were on our way to see the sights and sounds of Paris in December. The first stop was the Opera. Unfortunately the Nutcracker was sold out! Oh, well, there is always Les Galeries Lafayette. What lights! What colours! What a tree! What a crowd! After Ooty this was really bright, loud, noisy life! We managed to find a quiet (?) corner for afternoon tea. We had supper that night at a little Pizzeria just around the corner from the hotel. The food was delicious and the atmosphere very jovial.

Wednesday, December 19 saw us changing our return tickets for the TGV at Gare de Lyon. It was quiet easy to get there and we would have no trouble with our luggage. The Champs Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe and all the boutiques and other attractions took up most of our time before heading back to Les Galeries Lafayette to take pictures of the lights. We wandered the streets enjoying the sights and sounds before going for dinner in a wonderful restaurant with real table clothes and excellent service. Then it was on to the Tour Eiffel for some night time pictures. Everything was nicely lit up and gave a festive air to Paris.

Thursday, December 20 we went to Sacre Coeur and surrounding district before heading off to La Défense and hundreds of outdoor Christmas boutiques. It was fascinating to look at all there was for sale. We ended up in the shopping concourse for a wonderful afternoon tea and pastry! It was back to the hotel to freshen up before going for a Thai meal not far from the hotel. Again, the food was great. An early night was we were on the TGV at 8:00 A.M. Friday for the trip to Switzerland.

Last Post from Hebron

2007-12-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

This has been a very interesting week as everyone has been preparing for the holidays. The students started leaving as early as Wednesday and others left early (8:30 ) on Thursday before the school assembly. There was quite a transformation in the Sports Hall between Saturday's dinner and the assembly. There were a number of empty chairs.

Following the assembly I left with 6 students for Bangalore. We drove down the Western Ghat and its 36 hair-pin bends. It was a relief when we got to the bottom. We went from an elevation of 2200 m. to just over 1000 m. The temperature increased dramatically. We then went through two wild life sanctuaries and managed to see monkeys on the side of the road as well as a wild boar.

Just after arriving in Mysore we went by the famous Mysore palace and I managed a quick photo as we drove by. We stopped at the "usual" Pizza Corner for a lunch of pizza, chicken, and other "western" food before continuing on to Bangalore.

We arrived at the Bangalore Majestic train station and the parents and/or guardians of three of the students were there to meet and pick up the respective students.

The traffic was thick to say the least. Our driver took us to the hotel and we found there was "No Reservation" for Hebron School. As we had only 1 1/2 hours we had dinner and then drove to the airport. One student was met by a friend at the airport. We arrived at the Bangalore airport at 9:20 P.M. and as the two students flying were "Unaccompanied Minors" I had to purchase their identification. Once this was done, the flight attendant took the two students and I was released of my responsibility. The time is now 10:30 P.M. and I went looking for the driver to no avail. Once the flight was called I went back to the car and we left the airport at midnight. Driving back through the wild life sanctuaries we saw no wild life at all! The driver had assured me we would see deer, as he drive the route often.

Carol Service

2007-12-11T10:50:00.000-05:00

More decorations were added to the Sports Hall for the Carol Service on Sunday night. All along the edge of the balcony were lighted candles as well as two large candle chandeliers.

The Concert Band, Choir, Chamber Choir, and a Tamil Choir participated as well as readers and monologues.

We had visits from King Herod and the Inn Keepers Wife.

It was an enjoyable evening and a fitting conclusion to the end of Term I.

On Monday the Junior School presented their musical "It's A Miracle" with the Reception Class (4-5 yr) doing Baa-Baa-Baa, Baa-Ba-Ba-Ba! A real whole school participation.

Tuesday and Wednesday are normal school days with a final assembly on Thursday morning and by 10:15 A.M. most of the students will be on their way. I am escorting a group to Bangalore for a mid-night flight. It will give me a chance to see Mysore and Bangalore. We are going by taxi for the 300 km journey which will take between 65 and 7 hours. I will be given lunch and supper money. The taxi driver and I will stay overnight in a hotel, school expense, and I will return to Ooty on Friday. Hopefully there will be opportunity for some pictures as we travel along.

Stay tuned.

Christmas Dinner

2007-12-11T09:42:00.001-05:00

The Sports Hall was well decorated and places were set for 510 dinner guests. The students were in their finery as were the staff. There were candle centerpieces on the tables as well as other decorations.

The caterers had set up four food serving areas each nicely decorated. The food was appropriately displayed and it almost seemed a shame to break up the display by taking the food. Within 1 hour all 510 had served themselves dinner, buffet style, and had dessert of Christmas pudding and ice cream.

Following dinner there was a presentation by the String Quartet. This allowed the staff to get into costumes As soon as the tables were cleared of dirty dishes etc., the Pantomime was presented by the staff. The theme was "Peter Pan" with suitable Hebron School adaptations. The students cheered and howled with delight as the staff members danced, pranced, flew, and sword fought their way across the stage. The appearance of the Crocodile was a real hit.

It was an excellent evening all round. The "A Level" boys and their IG had to take down the tables and generally clean up the Sports Hall in readiness for the Carol Service on Sunday night. More later.

Trip to Market

2007-12-10T09:03:00.001-05:00

The market in Ooty is very interesting and colourful as you can see from these pictures.

The market is contained within a cement wall with the initial "M" on the outside. There are vendors at the various entrances to the market.

Once in the market you can find just about anything you may want to eat or use in cooking along with other household items like clay pots and baskets.

How do you like your chicken - Dead or Alive! Your choice!

Did you say fish?

How about some coconuts?

The sights, sounds, and smells are hard to imagine without actually being there. It was quite an experience.

Christmas Serenading

2007-12-10T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday afternoon the Music Department recorded a 30 minute Christmas Radio program to be aired on All India Radio on the evening of December 21, 2007. The Concert Band, the Chamber Choir, the choir, the staff octet, and a solo were the musical items. There were also several readings.

Later in the evening I heard the sound of voices. I thought the boys of the dorm were practising their Christmas Carols for Sunday's Carol Service. This went on for some time, growing louder all the time. I was curious and went to investigate. As I opened the door I was greeted by the words to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". The boys had song books and flashlights. They were in shorts and T-shirts. They were having a great time. It made me realize just how close the end of term is and that Christmas will soon be here.

The weekly Thursday staff meeting took a different form this week as we all went over to Selborn, Girl's Residence, for a Christmas Party in the Common Room. There was a decorated tree in the lobby and a fire in the fireplace. The room was festooned with streamers and there were candles on all the tables. There was a quiz for each table to complete. We had to solve the riddle. For example 3 B M and the answer is Three Blind Mice or 8 P in the S S = 8 planets in the solar system. It was good fun. Then we were given a lump of Play Dough and one person was given the clue and had to build the clue so that the others could guess the item. Fun for all!

The eats were out of this world. Miss Lily, the Head Caterer at Selborn, spared no effort. A wonderful soup, home made donuts, mince pie, apple crisp and a host of other edibles. This was followed by dessert of 3 kinds of ice cream and rhubarb, fruit salad or other toppings. Milo (coffee with milk) ended the food part.

We had speeches of "Thanks" to all the IGs and appropriate responses. Then Santa arrived with a small gift for everyone. it was a wonderful evening.

Sorry folks, no pictures for this one!

Avalanche - Part 2

2007-12-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

Here are a few photos of the camp setting which some of you may enjoy.

The camp is located on 16 acres of land. The bush is dense as you can see from this trail leading down to the lake.

The kitchen is really not much more than a shelter over the counter and the wood-burning stove. This is where the wonderful fried rice and noodles where prepared along with the roasted potatoes and mixed vegetables.

The terrain is rather hilly and the tents are set on the hillside not far from the washrooms, or should I say, toilets. There are taps for washing at the right hand end of the building. Cold showers are available for those who wish. You can get hot water by the bucket from the kitchen.

The camp property touches the lake at three (3) points and there are plans to open up a second camping section.

The 4.8 km walk out was through forest (jungle) with some excellent scenery.

Avalanche!

2007-12-02T16:51:00.001-05:00

On Saturday December 1, 2007, I left Hebron with one staff member and 20 Level A boys for a weekend at Avalanche. Avalanche is the Scripture Union Camp site not far from Hebron.

We went on chartered buses to the drop off point and then took the truck, with luggage and live chickens, as far as possible and then walked the rest while the truck churned on through mud and ditches.

The camp site is quite primitive with no electricity, open area dining room and camp fire/chapel site. The boys enjoyed kayaking and swimming as well as abseiling (rappelling and then dropping into water). They boys even found an old sailboat and had fun seeing how many they could get into the boat before it capsized. The mud along the shoreline was great for mud bathing!

The fire was kept burning all weekend and so most of us are quite well "smoked". It will be a few days before all the smokey smell is gone from our clothes. I managed to borrow a sleeping bag and woollen hat for the night. I was quite warm.

As we were praying through our prayer requests on Sunday morning the chicken started to squawk and the "silence" followed by another squawk and then "silence". The roasted chicken we had for lunch was delicious; as were the fried eggs we had for breakfast. Now I know why they chickens were so silent on the trip in on Saturday.

I chose to walk out the 4.8 km. to the bus drop off point. It was pleasant enough in the forest (jungle) with some rather spectacular sights to enjoy. The weekend was wonderful and I will remember it as one of my highlights.

Christmas Party

2007-11-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a very busy one with the Christmas Fayre in the morning and early afternoon and then the "A" level party for three (3) homes and/or orphanages. We had girls from Freedom Firm, a group which rescues young girls from prostitution, and Smyrna Home, a home for girls who have been discarded by their families and both boys and girls from Mizpah home, an orphanage run by the Head Caterer's wife.

The children arrived in the afternoon and played games on the Big Pitch with some of the "A" levels while the rest of us prepared the staff room. following the large outdoor group games the approximately 50 children came into the staff room with all the "A" level students who were assisting at this event. (There were 2 other groups of "A" levels doing events with the Junior School and the Middle School) The different groups presented items and we had a Christmas Tree decorating competition.

Each child went home with a gift. The girls of freedom Firm and Smyrna each went home with a new pair of slippers. The children from Mizpah went home with craft and school supplies.

On Sunday afternoon Hebron School hosted the Nilgiris Carol Service. There were a total of 7 school choirs in attendance along with our concert Band. Some of the groups were easy to listen and others were not quite as tuneful! There were congregational carols as well. There was even a Christmas Tree with lights!

Exams are over and the deadline for Reports is Thursday night. I have two (2) classes of French students to mark and report on. The red pen has been flying through the exams.

There will be another Carol Sing on December 9 for the Hebron School and the community. More later.

More pictures!

2007-11-22T09:28:00.001-05:00

Are we going to hit?

Street market - fish anyone?

Potatoes anyone?

Open air market!

Lots of sights and sounds to see and experience.

Chennai et al

2007-11-21T08:42:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures and a bit more detail about the wonderful weekend in Chennai and Pondicherry.

First there is our "air-conditioned" bus with windows wide open for all the sounds of the journey, especially the honking of auto and truck horns.

Then there is the elephant in front of the temple in Pondicherry. The elephant was eating from people's hands and also had small children on its back.

Talk about "fish and chips" for lunch and you got the whole fish.

And talk about "fresh pineapple" juice. It was simply delicious.

You certainly took your life in your hands driving in a three-wheeled auto which didn't seem to obey any of the conventional rules of the road.

If anyone wishes to write, they can try bill.titcombe@gmail.com hopefully this will get through.

More pictures will be posted on flickr.

2007-11-19T08:18:00.001-05:00

After a reasonable night's sleep in a room where the air-conditioner stopped at 4 in the morning and we couldn't open the window we were up at 8 and ready to go. The "we" was Tim and myself. The girls were going to go shopping for the day. Tim and I preferred to see the sights. We had breakfast at the hotel. I had a wonderful glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a scrambled egg sandwich.

We took an auto to Fort St. George and saw the museum and St. Mary's church. The fort complex is now the Secretariat for the government and so there were plenty of military police around. We were not hindered as long as we kept to the tourist areas. When we tried to walk up the steps to the flag pole we were very quickly stopped by two women soldiers with guns. No fooling around here.

The museum showed the outline of the fort when it is in operation. The church was still quite beautiful with some stained glass windows and a small garden.

Following the visit to the fort we walked up to the High Court buildings. There were many auto drivers who offered to take us on a tour of the city for 10 Rs an hour. This is a trick to get you in the auto and then take you to a shop where there is pressure for you to buy! Tim had previously experienced this in Delhi and so we just walked right on. There was a separate entrance for the judges at the High Court. We went in through the main entrance into the grounds and walked around and eventually made our way into the court building itself. We went up to the first floor and saw court was in session. After checking with a black-robed clerk/lawyer or whomever we went into the back of the court room and observed the proceedings for about 20 minutes. The court room was a juxtaposition of old with beamed ceiling and stained glass windows and new with neon lights and air-conditioning.

Following our time at court we headed for Marina beach. This is the longest stretch of beach in India and is very dirty with the flotsam and jetsam of the city. You certainly do not go swimming in the water. There is an advisory to not go barefoot on the sand due to broken glass and other debris. We did see some fish laid out in the sun drying.

After enjoying the sound of the Bay of Bengal and getting all covered in salt spray we took an auto to Spencer's shopping complex. This is a huge mall on 4 levels. We found the Food Court and had lunch. After looking around the shops for a bit we took an auto back to the hotel and just relaxed until it was time to leave. The girls eventually returned with their purchases and we left for the train station. We had supper just across the street and then were on the train at 9:00 P.M. for the overnight trip to Mettupalayam.

Pondicherry

2007-11-16T08:52:00.001-05:00

We, the 6 IGs, arrived in Pondi late in the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 10. We went to the suggested hotel and found it was FULL. We went to the second suggested hotel and it was FULL, as well. (People don't believe in Reservations as there is ALWAYS room!) Fortunately our autos drivers were patient and knew where other hotels/guests houses were. We finally found space in guest house 5, the Sri Krishnas Guest House and booked the last rooms.

With a good map of the city we were able to find our way to the Le Rendezvous restaurant for dinner at 7:00 P.M. We were given a roof top table. The place filled up and by 8:00 there was a long line waiting to get in. The restaurant was supposed to be "French" with a wonderful Western menu. I tried the tomato salad and the guiche Lorraine. The food was delicious and the service was S-L-O-W!

Most major attractions were closed on Sunday but we did manage a walk along the Goubert Salai with its statue of Gandhi. We also saw the Notre Dame des Anges church which was built in 1858.

Walking in the French sector, between the canal and the Bay of Bengal, we were surprised at the clean streets and the lack of people. It was pleasant walking as we didn't have to watch where we were putting our feet.

We had picked out a quaint looking Pizzeria for lunch only to find out the dough was rising in the oven. So, we settled for Pizza Hut. An afternoon stroll through the bazaar area was noisy and action packed with all kinds of clothes, articles for the house, and food for sale.

We got to the bus depot at 5:00 P.M. and had to line up and buy a ticket to reserve a seat on the bus for 10 Rs. We left Pondi at 5:30 and arrived in Chennai at 9:45. This time we had a RESERVATION for our Comfort Hotel rooms.

Mamallapuram

2007-11-15T08:53:00.001-05:00

After leaving school on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and taking the overnight train to Chennai we, the 6 IGs, arrived by bus at Mamallapuram around 3:30 Friday afternoon. Almost 24 hours later.

We found a hotel right on the beach and then went for lunch at Bob Marley's. The food was delicious and the view was great. We could watch the fishermen bring in their boats and work with their nets. We could also watch the children play.

There was time for the beach and just walking along and enjoying the sand and the sunset before going off to dinner at another beach-side restaurant. I had grilled prawns with onions as my main course. Again we could hear the ocean in the background and we also had a fireworks display as it was Diwali, the festival of lights.

After a very warm night without air-conditioning it was breakfast at our hotel and then out to visit some of the sights. The Shore Temple and Arjuna's Penance, a huge stone carving in the natural rock, were the highlights.

Mamallapuram is a quaint little fishing village. There are many stone carvers who work outside and the sound of their hammers can be heard all through the town.

After a quick lunch we were on our way to Pondicherry. More about that later.

Keep Posted

2007-11-14T09:59:00.000-05:00

Back at school after a whirlwind trip to Chennai (Madras) Mamallapuram, and Pondicherry. Over 300 pictures to review and then prepare post.

So, keep posted.

BBQ "A" Levels

2007-11-05T12:12:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had 60 people prepare a B-B-Q? There is a first time for everything. I had that wonderful experience on Saturday afternoon.

The "A" level boys were informed they would be participating in such an event on Friday night. They were divided into teams for shopping and food preparation. Each team was given more than enough money to cover the cost of provisions from the market.

The boys and the girls went shopping on Saturday and all provisions and personnel had to report to Selborn for 4:30 P.M. "Let the games begin!"

It was really interesting to see how the preparations came along.

One team worked on the potato salad. Their cutting technique was interesting to watch. and their mixing technique was quite ingenious!Another team was charged with making the green salad - lettuce, oranges, green peppers, carrots, etc.

A third group worked on preparing the salsa for the chip dip.

The coleslaw was prepared by yet another group.

Not to be outdone was the group charged with making the hamburger patties! You want me to mix that!!! A wood fire was lit in the fire pit and then members of the hamburger team cooked the burgers, chicken sausages, marinated chicken, mushrooms, and some garlic.

The final group was responsible for making the banana splits with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. (no pics)

The meal was delicious even if I still smell of B-B-Q smoke.

Following supper we all went inside to watch the film Rain Man! How prophetic. While we were watching the film the skies opened and the rain came down in torrents. When we left at 10:30 P.M. the sloped driveway was awash in water. My feet got wet as the water came up over the back of my running shoes as I walked down the driveway. I was fortunate to grab an auto for the trip back to Lushington Hall. I was soaked right up to my knees.

Today, Monday, the Road's minister is in Ooty inspecting the poor condition of the roads. Something must be done as the water was at least 6 inches deep on Saturday, right up to the middle of the hub caps on some vehicles

On Thursday a group of IGs leave for our long weekend. We are going to Chennai and Pondicherry on the overnight train Thursday and coming back on the train Sunday night.

Stay tuned for details.

Bollywood?

2007-11-04T12:06:00.001-05:00

Saturday, November 3, started off with some very loud music and "one, two, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight" at 7:30 A.M. I had heard a heavy truck drive through the gardens. The film crew were setting up in the Botanical Gardens right below my flat. You will see from the pictures what is meant by "right below." The director or whomever kept calling out "one, two, one, two ..." and the music blared! You can see the roof of my flat through the trees and the group are right below.

After the Men's Breakfast I took my camera and went down to see what was going on at 9:30. I figured there would be a full scale production with all kinds of dancers, singers, actors and others. There was a group of women all in purple saris looking on, as well as others. Was I wrong!

Just one fellow in a green jacket lip-syncing to the music while being filmed. It would seem he never did more than 12 bars of the song before being stopped. The music was a repeated over and over and ... . This continued all day. At least in the afternoon they moved out towards the main gate and the noise diminished. When I went down for the second time at 4:00 P.M. they were still going strong.

Week 13 in Review

2007-10-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that my time in India will soon be coming to an end.

The first 13 weeks have flown by and there are only 7 more to go before the end of term and my flight from Coimbatore.

As mentioned in the last posting there was a timetable change and I am now teaching 1 class of Level 9 French for 2 periods and the entire Level 10 class of 24 for 4 periods per week. I am also doing all the Level 12s in conversation after school for 4 periods. A couple of the days are really long but that's OK with me as I would rather be busy than have nothing to do.

It took 5 days for my running shoes to dry outside from last Monday's rain. Tuesday I had a French conversation class after school before Concert Band practice. After practice we had a "Music Supper" for the staff and IGs who are involved in the Concert Band. We had some excellent homemade pumpkin soup. It was delicious with fresh whole wheat bread from the bakery in town. The soup was followed by a wonderful vegetable salad with Balsamic vinegar. (this was a first for me!) and stir-fry vegetables. Simply wonderful. NO RICE!!!

Wednesday I met both the Level 9 and Level 10 French classes. The students are nice and there is quite a range of ability in both classes. The actual French level is quite rudimentary in comparison with what I taught at High School. Wednesday night was my turn for telephone duty. This means that all incoming calls, after 5:00 P.M. came through my phone - even the direct calls to the dorms. No matter what number was being called my phone rang and rang.

Thursday was a long day what with a planning meeting at 9:00 A.M., a full school day, French conversation after school and the Staff meeting until 9:30 in the evening. there really wasn't much else to do because of the rain!

Friday I managed a quick run down to the store for toothpaste. I literally walked in a cloud. The umbrella was not effective at all as the water droplets managed to stick all over my glasses. Friday night it just poured.

Saturday was fine. So fine that Nigel (neighbour) and I walked to town and bought masks for the Masquerade event last evening. This is the major Student Council event for the term and was held in the Sports Hall. Everyone was asked to come in a mask. Some of the IGs with dorms had supplies to make their own. I had to buy mine.

There were stands selling Hot Dogs, Fries, Dosas, Pancakes, and Chilli Chicken. There was also a drink stand and a bake stand as well as games. The music was loud and the students had a wonderful time.

Today the sun shone just long enough to get to church and then the rains came again. I was fortunate to ride in the Trax and didn't get wet. Some of the students had left their umbrellas at school and ...

More photos can be found on the Hebron School website under Photos there is a series on last night's Masquerade.

Back at School

2007-10-23T13:27:00.000-04:00

The trip to Delhi (and all the other sights) was wonderful, but it's good to be back on solid ground. It took a couple of days to get used to not being on the train.

Sunday, October 14, was Harvest Festival at St. Stephen's church. The church was decorated with fresh flowers and fruits on the pillars. A watermelon made a lovely flower vase and a pumpkin became a fruit basket. The ends of the choir stall were decorated with fresh flowers and a banana leaf basket greeted you at the entrance.

We sang 11 verses of a 4 verse song as the congregation came forward with their gifts in kind. There was basket after basket of 2 buns and some rice from the girls of St. Hilda's school. Fortunately the food donated was sent to 2 homes in the area as the bread would not have kept for long.

Following the service there was a coffee time outside the church. Coffee and fresh samosas were served. So good!!

During the break a staff member returned from a fund-raising trip. He took over my 2 Level 7 Math classes and I consequently had a new timetable. This didn't last for long. On Thursday I was asked if I would take over the 2 Level 10 French classes. The regular teacher is on sick leave due to pregnancy. I start this new challenge tomorrow, October 24. New text, new students and marks due in 4 weeks. Wish me luck.

We are back into the monsoon season. Yesterday, Monday, I got caught in the rain twice. I had an umbrella which kept my top dry but did nothing to keep my pants dry. The water was bouncing up off the sidewalk and//or road. One pair of wet pants and shoes in the afternoon. The rain stopped. The boys went out for supper.
After supper the boys stopped in at the store for some snacking food before coming back up the hill to school. The rain came again. The umbrellas were out. A second pair of wet pants. A second pair of wet shoes. My room looks like a laundry with pants and jackets hanging up all over the place.

Guess what happened today? We had sun this morning. And more rain this afternoon and evening. Puddles everywhere and more to come for the rest of the week. Who said India was a dry country? Not in this part and not at this time of the year!!

Train Trip

2007-10-16T08:48:00.000-04:00

After 4 days of travelling around in an A/C coach it was on to the train for the return journey to Coimbatore and then school.

The train left Delhi on Wednesday, October 10 at 11:30 A.M. and arrived at Coimbatore on Friday, October 12 at 5:30 A.M. That's correct! It was another early morning. The journey was 2630 km and came down through the heartland of India before veering to the eastern side and then back across to Coimbatore.

The train accomodation was 2 tier A/C. That means an air-conditioned coach with a 2 tier berth, bedding of 2 sheets, blanket, pillow, and towel supplied. There was space for 4 people. We were 3 most of the time and 5 at other times! Due to the fact there were only 2 Europeans on the train there were many stares into our compartment and many people who had to recharge their cell phones with the plugs in the compartment. Many interesting people were met this way. One lady was particularly friendly and useful. She made sure we were getting off in Coimbatore and she made sure we had an auto that would take us right to the bus for Ooty. The train arrived at 5:30 A.M. and by 5:55 A.M. we were on the bus from Coimbatore back to Ooty. Arrived in Ooty at 9:30 and then took an auto back to school (30 Rs).

En route the train passed through Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Gwalior (Mayda Pradesh), Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Bhopal (Mayda Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Warangal (Andhra Pradesh), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) almost to the Bay of Bengal, then back inland through Salem (Tamil Nadu).

The landscape was very agricultural with all different kinds of produce - sweet corn, sugar cane, rice, carrots, and either peppers or something similar. There was also a brief section of arid land.

Now it's back to school and a changed timetable. More of that later.

Tour Day 4

2007-10-15T12:48:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, October 9/07

There was no wake-up call this morning which was fortunate as we arrived back from Agra at 11:15 P.M. on Monday night. It was wonderful to sleep in until 7:30!

The first place visited was the Qutb Minar. This is the tallest sandstone tower in India with a base diameter of 14.3 m and a diameter at the top of only 2.75 m. Its foundation was laid in 1199 and it is 239 feet tall. (Interesting that some details are metric and some are Imperial!)

Outside of it are two large stone structures known as Metcalf's Folly. They are interesting to look at and one wonders what must have gone through Metcalf's mind when he built them.

The Lotus Temple of the Bahai faith was next on the tour. The grounds are magnificently kept with interesting round trees. The temple was constructed in 1986 and opened to the public in 1987. It has been called the Taj Mahal of the 20th century.

The 42 m tall India Gate was next. This was constructed in memory of the 90,000 soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.

The round Parliament building (one of two round buildings in the world) and the North and South Government buildings were next on the agenda.

Following lunch it was on to the Indira Gandhi Memorial. This was her house at the time of her assassination. The blood spattered pavement in the yard has been covered and is there for all to see.

The Teen Murti (Nehru) museum was next on the list.

Finally it was on to the Red Fort in all its splendour which was constructed between 1638 and 1648. As we went through the screening at the entrance we saw the high security in full effect.

Tour - Day 3

2007-10-13T10:37:00.000-04:00

Monday, October 8, 2007, 3:07 A.M. WAKE-UP CALL!

The bus left at 4:20 A.M. from the hotel in Jaipur. Our first stop was FATEHPUR SIKRI, a fortified ghost city about 40 km west of Agra. It was built as the capital of the Mughal empire from 1571 to 1585 by the Emperor Akbar. Akbar had a great idea but unfortunately chose an area with no water supply.

In the fort is the Panch Mahal a 5 storey pavilion used by court ladies. The lower floor has 84 pillars - all different. The front set of pillars on each level are double.

The Diwan-i-Khan (Private Audience) has a magnificently carved stone column in its centre.

The Pachisi Courtyard was used by Akbar to play Parcheesi using slave girls as pieces.

Then on to AGRA FORT. This red sandstone fort was built on the bank of the Yamuna River. It was started by emperor Akbar in 1565. It consists of several buildings.

There is a huge slab of black stone which was used by Jehangir when he was prince Salim.

The Musamman Bury and Khas Mahal are built of white marble when Shah Jahan was imprisoned for 8 years. He could look out at the Taj Mahal tomb of his wife.

After lunch it was on to the Taj Mahal.

On to the Taj Mahal. With the trees that have grown you really do not see too much of the Taj before arriving at the main gate.

The price of admission was steep for "foreigners" at 750 Rs a head. The "ladies" had one line and the "gents" had a double line. Due to the fact that I was a foreigner I was able to jump the queue and took about 15 minutes to clear security with the metal detector and frisking. Once inside the west gate it was on to the main gate which is a 30 m. high red sandstone structure. Through the gateway one has a glimpse of only part of the Taj Mahal.

Once through the gateway, the view is stunning. The Taj Mahal is simply "beautiful" to look at. Its symmetry is perfect. A walk alongside the reflecting pool lead to the official stairway to the raised platform. It was here we had to take off our shoes before ascending the stairs. The sandstone and white marble were hot to the bare feet.

The door to the tomb is impressive. The light filters into the tomb through finely cut marble screens in the archways. At first it was very dark and almost impossible to see the 2 tombs behind the inner marble screen which surrounds the false tombs.

This second screen has 43 different types of semi-precious stones decorating it.

After the Taj it was back to the hotel in Delhi at 11:15 P.M. One long day!

(Stef will add the pictures on Monday. Sorry to make you wait, folks!)

Update: Stef is having some difficulty uploading this morning. I'll try again at lunch.

2nd update: the pictures are all up now!

Tour Day 2

2007-10-12T09:36:00.000-04:00

Sunday, October 7 dawned bright and early with a 4:00 A.M. wake-up call and a 5 o'clock departure.

By 8:00 A.M. we were at the Dargah in Ajmer. The Dargah is the tomb of a Sufi saint, Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti who came to Ajmer in 1192 and lived there until 1233. The green and white mosque was built in 1571 with later additions. Upon arrival a khadim asks for a donation, 200 Rs in my case.. There are over 4000 khadim's in Ajmer. Upon arrival at the saint's tomb in the inner courtyard which is surrounded by a silver platform and silver railings, a further donation is requested, 100 Rs. In return a prayer of blessing is made over you with the edge of a tomb blanket. Bare feet and covered head are the rule for both male and female worshippers. There are all kinds of shops selling flowers outside the dargah.
A buggy ride brought us back to the bus.

News Update: On Thursday, October 11, there was a bomb blast at the Dargah. 2 were killed and 17 were wounded. This came at the end of the fasting period!

A bus ride took us to Pushkar and we saw some monkeys (92) on the way.

After a Western breakfast of wheat porridge, banana pancake and Indian coffee at the Hotel Navratan Palace it was off to the lake. The ever-present guide handed me over to a "priest" and it was no shoes, again! After explaining about Vishnu, Brahma, and Ghandi ashes it was prayers for bad karma out and good karma in, for peace, prosperity and contentment. This was followed by the awarding of a Pushkar Passport of red and yellow string around the right wrist and red and yellow daubing on the forehead with rice. Red and yellow coloring also went on the hands which was washed off and dried with a small coconut into which a donation was placed. There are 52 bathing ghats around the lake and most of our party went to bathe as they are of the Hindu faith. Then back to the hotel for a 7 Up and a quite read by the pool while waiting for 1:30 departure time. Check out the camel on the way back to the bus.

Delhi

2007-10-12T08:48:00.000-04:00

On Friday, October 5, I left school at 8:00 A.M. for the bumpy bus ride to Coimbatore. Once at Coimbatore a short taxi ride had me at the airport just in time to check in at 12:40 P.M. for the 2:10 P.M. to Delhi, via Mumbai. With carry-on luggage no time was lost getting out of the airport and into the waiting taxi to the Panicker's Guest House.

On Saturday, October 6, the alarm went off at 5:00 A.M. and after a quick breakfast it was to the bus for a 6:00 A.M. departure for Rajasthan. Our first stop was the Amber Fort. The fort at the top of a hill was started by the Maharaja Man Singh in 1592.

The Diwan-i-Am (Public Audience Hall) features a row of columns and latticed galleries behind which the wives could watch the proceedings below.

The Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory) featured inlaid panels, and a multi-mirrored ceiling with both concave and convex mirrors. One candle was reflected in hundreds of directions.

From here we went to the Jantar Mantar (Observatory) which was built in 1728 by Jai Singh. The largest piece is the sundial with a 27 metre high gnomon which is accurate to 2 seconds.

On to City Palace (Maharaja's palace) and its various buildings. The first was the Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II Museum with its collection of royal costumes and shawl's Sawai Madho Singh I's clothing is there. He was 2 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide and weighed 250 kg. The welcome to the armoury was spelt with ceremonial daggers. This former women's palace still had some of its mirrored and gold inlay ceiling. It must have been very beautiful! The last hall visited was the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) with its large silver vessels, each 1.6 tall. The Maharaja Madha Singh II, a devout Hindu, took holy water from the Ganges with him on his visits to England. The vessels are supposedly the largest silver vessels in the world.

The last visit on Saturday was the Birla Mandir Temple. the building speaks for itself.