India

so, a few distractions and technical hitches have meant it's been 12 days (yes 12 whole, criminally negligent days - and a big thanks to uncle chancy for making that point crystal clear in what can only be termed as the email equivalent of a bitch slap) since the last post. for the above, you can substitute a single word that will surprise few of you, seeing as it stands as more than just an excuse, but also as a way of life. that word? FAFF. been sucked in one end and blown out the other. a graphical account of that (spiritual) state is what follows: 3up for orange lollies a living, breathing, walking shrine to everyone's favourite decade it's official: Dumps can work my vans better than i can ....to say nothing of cardboard boxes! ...and cycling shoes! local birthday assemblage two new friends.... yes Dumps, we can see you without the binoculars.. Charlie and Satya: the self-proclaimed 'Schmallies' coconut throwing from our roof seemed like a good diversionary tactic....at the time. would you trust this man with your fish?

it has recently been pointed out by various friends and family members, that i have been getting my butt whipped pretty consistently by 'The Wife's Blog' in some kind of he said/she said war of the cyberweds. i'd like to go on record saying that i am more than happy for the whipping to continue, since, next to Tash's long and unstinting service to Blogiverse (or whatever the hell hipsters are calling it these days), mine is a drip in the proverbial bucket. What's more, my good lady seems to be courting acclaim and controversy in equal measure, and now that some of the patnem mothers have got wind of it, there may be a need for some hasty revising if we're going to keep things friendly for pick up time at the Kindergarten so, best stick with the pictures while others do the colouring in..... Egg goes for a spin with Raj the Rickshaw Wallah Come to India....learn basketball Victoria: purveyor of finest books, paints and stickers Egg experiments with local haulage techniques Trouble descends on Palolem Beach Trouble descended Tourism trumps fishing these days One of these people has just had a nap A Dream Realised: Dumps finally gets to hold the baby (and is the only one happy about it) Coconut milk: not all it's cracked up to be

Just had my first proper bike run to Agonda and back after dropping Egg off at school. Here are the vital statistics (if I’ve calibrated my watch properly): ·      Distance: 9.75 mi ·      Time: 31:22 ·      Av speed: 18.6 mph (suggests I haven’t got the calibration right, despite double checking in the tyre measurements just now….although it is true that I didn’t really need to touch the brakes at all between palolem and agonda) ·      Top speed: 31 mph ·      Av heart rate: 154 ·      Top heart rate: 174 ·      Kcal: 517 ·      Outside temperature: ~32 C ·      Body temperature: off the bloody Richter Whether it was the heat, or the dust, or a degraded level of fitness since arriving here, I had my first near-puking experience while riding.   It was an interesting sensation, having dry heaves while being passed by busloads of waving locals and trying to stay astride my Thai clunker, (with its one functioning derailleur and a headset which is probably a touch loose, given a persistent knocking noise over the bigger bumps). However, it looks like the fastest bicycle in goa…which, admittedly, isn’t saying a whole hell of a lot… Here's the route.            

Two weeks can feel like a decent stretch and can also go by very quickly -- usually depending on whether you're working or on holiday.  For us, it's been a bit of both (although I suspect most of you would conclude that holiday is the predominant flavour in this particular recipe). The last week saw, in no particular order:  both boys starting school, Tash getting a mole carved out of her leg, the Hindu festival of light/noise/colour called Holi, a bicycle purchase (with two punctures and counting), a brief stint mixing on a borrowed soundsystem, and a haircut.  The busy pace  looks set to continue: Eggs is off today on a school trip inland, where they have gone to observe how things were in Goa's 'olden days', then there is the possibility of a quick sprint up north to our old stomping ground with friends Lee and Julia, and, well, actually that's pretty much it for scheduled activities until my parents arrive in a month.  Perhaps my definition of busy is undergoing a slow transformation... As I write this, a roving band of painted celebrants are cavorting around the courtyard of the house opposite, banging drums and sticks, in the hope, i think, of wheedling some money out of the inhabitants. Best look busy and get some pictures in.... Egg on his first day of school Egg after his third day of school The aforementioned haircut (photo courtesy Dumps) three boys in a tree Chaudi market Egg encounters Hanuman in the streets of Chaudi Contemplative cat points fore, listens aft Lee and Sascha at the Riverside Rave Egg nears 170 handwriting 'ticks' Egg the Explorer departs for the Interior Town ends, debris begins. Cue birds. Man living with sugar cane £80 worth of Indian bicycle (except it's made in thailand) heavy as a tank, gears don't work, extremely puncture prone. note child pad at front.

We've been very lucky to find a little blue house that just about fits our circus sideshow act: two bedrooms, a kitchen-diner, a little porch and a sandy patch for the inevitable kicking of footballs.  it's in the middle of some fields, so if the game gets serious, we can upgrade our pitch.  also very quiet as a result.   we appear to have inherited two dogs and a cat, but perhaps best of all, it's right next to the little kindergarten which Dumpie is now attending like he's been there half his life (it's day two). Today we also went to look at a school for Egg, and were delighted to find a lovely little place in Colomb run by a Hungarian lady for kids between 5 and 16 (about 20 in all), so we're going to try that one tomorrow.  we were amazed to find that they work to the Cambridge curriculum up to GCSE level, so we should be covered if we decide to stay out here till then (only joking - the way the government are now tightening up on visas, i wouldn't be surprised if fourteen days became the standard issue for tourists...with a mandatory three months between.  all for the love of bureaucracy and cash injected at the government instead of the local level). although the house is nicely shaded by coconut and peepul trees,  midday is a fairly hot business and getting hotter each day. it's amazing how that translates into a fairly pronounced laziness, so here's some pictures to pick up where i trail off.... Dumps takes in the Talpona river Eggs is hit up for baksheesh by some locals i was unable to resist a day's worth of bike indulgence. the disc brake and electric starter seemed like cheating....at first Dumps completes his first day at Vrindahvan nursery with Tania Family with new home and old mess Egg and Raj drive us…

we have, for a ridiculously small sum, availed ourselves of some local pay-as-you go mobiles. here come the lucky numbers: jay:   +91 88064675-three- 5 & tash:  +91 88064675-three-2 (numbers have  been somewhat mangled to put off the bots...and protect the innocent) incoming international sms messages still seem to be going astray, but most of the other stuff works....