Photos ......Goa

 Beach hut table where we sat at night

 The beach hut from the front 

Grandma and Grandad arrive, Julie, Goa

Grandma and Grandad arrive

There was no hope of getting Max and Milo to school last Tuesday. Andrew's mum and dad were due to arrive at 9 in the morning so we had to make another apology to school to say why the boys weren't there . The day before they had made a welcome banner to hold up at the exit. While we were waiting at the airport, it made lots of people smile as they passed by. Grandma and Grandad appeared on time and the boys were so pleased to see them.
The journey back to the house wasn't too bad ( about an hour and a quarter) and luckily it was a bit cloudy so the heat wasn't as intense. They hadn't had any sleep so we had a calm day at the day with a gentle walk to the club house. Our kind neighbours ,Salma and Merdad, have lent us their bikes so we can use them as well.
Mala was beaming when she saw our guests and immediately set about cooking Indian food.  I did repeat several times "little spice" , and she got the message. (Mala and Arjun have one level of dinner and we have another and we have to encourage her not to get carried away with the chillies. I would hate to mix their dinner with ours , I dread to think how spicy it is !)

Julie

Andrew's sister has used FaceTime a few times and it is quite amusing as she always seems to appear in her night clothes as she contacts us early in the morning. She always forgets that it is a different time of the day here and that we have people with us ! Hopefully Mala will get to see her dressed properly one day !


Goa

After a stormy weekend , we got up at 3 am and set off for the airport to go to Goa.  We arrived in plenty of time but as usual nothing went smoothly. Men and women are checked separately so we were split up. Christine and I went through and put our phones etc in the boxes for our x ray machines. We Went through without any problems and then went to meet the others. Milo's bag was being searched because one of his toys looked like a bullet . It was an army car or something. As we looked for the gate , Christine said she didn't have her phone. We went back to security and asked . Luckily,there was the phone in one of the boxes waiting to be collected. That was a relief.
A second toilet trip was needed for the boys and then Andrew got an alert to say that the plane was leaving soOn and boarding was closing ! Panic set in and we started to walk/ run. We just got to the bus  in time as it set off for the plane. It was very close.
The journey took 55 minutes and because we only had hand luggage , we were straight out and in the waiting car supplied by the resort to go to Palolem which was an hour and a half away .
This journey was quite interesting and it was best to shut your eyes and hope for the best as there was a lot of dodgy overtaking on both sides of the road but we made it safely .

We were on the beach by 9:30 am ! The sea was like warm bath water . I thought that the boys were tricking me to get me in the sea but it was so warm .

We have a beach hut right on the beach with air conditioning, a fan , a small fridge . It is beautiful sitting beneath the coconut trees. The boys have a bunk bed and we have a king size .

Derek and Christine have a hut behind with an upstairs balcony with sea view .

The food is fantastic and basically we have not moved further than 100ft since we got here.

This morning was exciting as there was a boat trip to see some dolphins in the bay and a herd of calves marched a long the beach .

The only downside is that the three white boys have overdone it in the sun surfing and swimming and are all red and burnt. My warnings were ignored and they are spending the day in the shade today . Let's hope they can cope tomorrow and Friday morning before we go back to Bangalore .
Meanwhile, we'll just have to sit and watch the blue sea and the beautiful sunsets .

An intruder, Holi, Pizza Party, plus Paul is on TV!

An intruder

At night, we leave all the windows open that we can to create a breeze. The windows have bars on them and some have the mosquito nets. On the windows in the back room, I have fixed our old nets from England, using pegs, I might add. Andrew went downstairs one morning and then loudly demanded to know who had pinched the chocolate croissant from the kitchen top. It was a mystery -until Andrew noticed a trail of crumbs and a hole in the mesh where a creature (a manky cat) had pushed it back and sneaked through. There was also cat hair on the net. We had been raided in the night.

So Mala has now closed the windows ! ( No opening doors and now windows!))

Apparently, the normal mosquito nets can thwart cats but my attempts were weak although the mosquitoes didn't get in!

Holi

It was the festival of colour, Holi which is the celebration of Spring. We all wore our oldest clothes , including underwear, and set off down to the football pitch (or dried mud area).

On entering the area, someone will approach you with a bag of brightly coloured powder ( organic and non-toxic we hope), shout,"Happy Holi" and wipe the powder all over your face. Then, before you know what is happening, people are throwing all their powder everywhere and there are children and people with water pistols with coloured water. It was total chaos! Everyone was running around throwing the powder in a random manner. The children were in their element because they could shoot water at unknown adults, smother them with powder and not get told off.

It was extremely good fun and it really does make you laugh and smile . The amazing thing was that there were some drummers and dancers wearing  brighlty coloured satin clothes and no one touched them. They walked straight through the middle of the mayhem and got away unscathed and spotlessly clean as did one of the guards .

We cycled home completely wet and brightly coloured , managed to get past the cream walls inside the house without touching them and showered. Although three days later we still have patches of colour that don't seem to want to go.

Pizza Party

We had decided to have pizza party and invited all the new people that we have met. We lit the pizza oven and cracked on with the pizzas like we usually do. There were also snacks and cold pasta etc, so that there was plenty to eat while we got going . The children played in the street with all the nerf guns and the adults chatted . I think by the end of the evening we had made over 50 pizzas ! 

But the highlight of the night was the dancing. Milo, Max and some of their friends had had the boom box on all afternoon and were practising a dance routine. We hadn't really taken any notice as we were making dough .... When it was dark they switched on the disco light and called everyone to watch. 

It was so good ! There were four dancers, Milo, Max (not our Max but another one), Tomeck and Nima . Our Max and his friend Sawyer did the music and organised. We were treated to several short dance routines that were so exciting. All the young children were sat watching in awe! 

They then had a Mums dance display and then a Dads one. Then everyone joined in in a mass dance off.

We really had a wonderful time and were quite pleased the next day to see that there were no complaints on the society app about loud music and exuberant behaviour!

Paul is on TV

My brother, Paul and his husband, Jonathan, were filmed last year on their move to Spain for Channel 4's New Life in the Sun .We watched the first episode yesterday showing how they were getting on selling their soaps, candles and beard oils that they make. Max and Milo were so pleased to see them on the TV. I haven't tested whether the Indian post will get some products to me yet but we are quickly running out of bug buster candles and Andrew needs more of their beard oils (hopefully they will be selling their products to new people that watch the show). 

Their website is www.dandy-lions.co.uk

Snakes and lizards, Paintings and the Dyson, Holi and Parties, Ice creams

Snakes and lizards

I think that we are being too casual about snakes. Mala is constantly telling me to close the doors,        ( they haven't got nets on them yet- they're next on the list ) in case snakes get in to the house. Then , on Wednesday, when I was in the garden, I noticed a rounded hole in the grass. Mala got a plant pot and covered it, waved her hands in the air and wailed about snakes.
Apparently, as it is getting hotter , the snakes seek cooler places to go . The gardener filled in the hole but couldn't see any signs of a snake but there are some in Palm Meadows and there is a local snake catcher that we can call.
After this, I was reading the local news where a man from Bangalore was getting a taxi. While waiting , the doors had been left open in the car and, as they set off, a cobra slithered out from under a seat. The taxi driver stopped rather quickly and they abandoned the car.

I am now paranoid about leaving the doors open!

Mala further proved that the doors needed closing when we were sorting out the new bed downstairs. As we decided where to put things, she moved a curtain and a huge lizard with flappy toes ran out. We have seen them walking across the ceiling upside down on the outside terrace and so presume they have some sort of "suction pads".

Mala started to scream loudly which set me off and that caused Arjun to come running. We managed to usher it outside with two brooms while Arjun shook his head at the performance that we were making. Mala says that the lizards are fine outside but they can run over food that is uncovered and spread disease . So she has a point about closing the doors.

We have measured up for some nets!

Paintings and the Dyson

I had a man to come round and look at putting up our paintings. Arjun was not there at the time. I was feeling brave and thought that I could deal with things on my own. When the man starting saying rather large prices for things,  Mala starting poking me, gently in the back, in warning . She sloped off to the kitchen to phone Arjun who then rang the man to tell him to come back another day when he was there.
Arjun then decided that he would put up the pictures and so we spent all of Thursday afternoon being his assistants , holding ladders and passing pictures. He did a really good job but there was lots of plaster dust on the floor afterwards.
I introduced Mala to the Dyson  (again!). I think she thinks it is the work of the devil and was gingerly pushing the machine around like it might attack her. Mala always dusts with a few twigs like willow and, of course, the dust goes up in the air and up your nose. So, I showed her the Dyson to point out that it stops the dust going up in the air. She likes the hand held Dyson that is battery operate and rechargeable but I still haven't managed to win her over as she was back with the trusty twigs again this morning.

Holi
It is the festival of spring called Holi. This involves lots of coloured powder that people throw at each other and coloured water (in water pistols - the boys will be so pleased) There are also lots of coloured lights everywhere. In Palm Meadows we are going to go and throw the colours on Saturday morning. Needless to say, we will be wearing old clothes and Andrew may need to wear his bathing cap as white hair and coloured powder don't mix ! He has already been painted at work but just on his face. He even attended a meeting with the powder on him afterwards. I hope it wasn't too important.

Parties

We are hosting our first pizza party after the powder session. I have actually lost count of how many people that we have invited but it is at least 50! Mala is coming in to work on Saturday to help me Just as well, as she is better at chopping things than I am.

Then on Sunday we are at another party in the afternoon.

Max and Milo will never get all their homework done!

Our two shopping trollies for the party with Arjun and Mala.


Icecreams
On getting off the bus one day, it was really hot - about 35- we decided to go into the shop .We had an ice-cream and a drink and it was lovely.
We have been watching the news about all the snow and thinking of you all but we know where we would rather be !