THIS MONTH
Comment.
Our anniversary
Our roof
Our weather
Garden visitors.
Chickens.
A friends bike.
Aaaaaaaah.
Aaaaaaaah.
Comments from Kris
Comment
When I was a young boy (no jokes please) of about 8years my parents sent me to ‘Sunday School’. This was the 1950’s and most of the children I knew did the same or went to the main church with their parents on Sundays. A minority did neither. Now I know I can’t apply that to national figures because different circumstances for different people mean they make different choices. On the whole, though I believe at that time my experience was typical for a family in the lower middle class. My father was a policeman so it also reflected on him what his family did. It was there I first learnt about God.
The bible stories were fascinating, giants and great battles, fire from heaven purging the non-believers and sinners. Miracles of healing or messages from God, there was even a talking donkey, great stuff.
The bible is a great read as an adventure book, a tribe fighting to survive and find a home. their trials and successes. Try it you may be surprised.
From there I was encouraged to join ‘The boy scouts’. For those who don’t know it is an organisation originally for boys but by the time I joined, there was a sister organisation ‘Girl Guides’. Both were committed to teaching values of honesty, selfless help for others and a belief in God and His work.
"Duty to God" is a principle of Scouting, but in 2014, after a steady decline in church attendance, more and more boys (and girls) that had no faith in God were becoming members. United Kingdom Scouts were given the choice of being able to make a variation of the Promise that replaced "duty to God" with "uphold our Scout values",
It is very hard to calculate church attendance at this time what with Christmas services that filled churches, weddings and such. So for the main calculation confirmation numbers are used with numbers of church members to do this calculation. These figures reflect the numbers who regularly attend church.
In 1950, 142,948 people were confirmed that year. By 2005, that number had fallen to 29,800. Less than a third of the 1950 total.
In 1950 (source The Telegraph newspaper) Council estates were not riven by crime; it was possible to leave the back door unlocked at night; public buildings were not covered with graffiti; vandalism was rare, and gross incivility towards adults and police officers was unusual.
I was born in 1951 when the crime total was at least 10 times less than it is now. Those who committed an offence were more likely to be caught and punished: the police cleared up 51 percent of robberies, compared with about 24 percent today, and clear-up rates for burglary and theft were twice what they are now.
But by 1981 crime had risen remorselessly: 3.2 million crimes were recorded that year, compared with 434,000 in the year I was born, and there were 400,000 recorded burglaries. (2005)
Burglary has fallen markedly in recent years, largely because more householders have fitted alarms and better locks, often under pressure from insurance companies after break-ins.
Drug use in the 50’s was a very rare thing. The main drugs being alcohol and tobacco. Only musicians and others "on the fringe" of society used marijuana in the 50's, the so-called "reefer madness". (Wasnt there a film of that name?)
In 2007, (source Christian Guy Director, Centre for Social Justice) Breakthrough Britain identified a fatalistic drug treatment system which trapped many thousands of addicts in state-sponsored dependency and provided few answers for those with non-opiate addictions. Alcohol abuse was neglected as a problem but the Governments (All) made it even more accessible with liberalised licensing laws. In schools, very little was done to prevent young people starting on a path to substance abuse.
The scale of the problem is shocking. 1.6 million people are dependent on alcohol in England alone. One in seven children under the age of one live with a substance-abusing parent, and more than one in five (2.6 million) live with a parent who drinks hazardously. 335,000 (one in 37) children live with a parent who is addicted to drugs.
Through these conclusions and the thousands of people who shaped them, the CSJ demonstrated the need to identify and tackle the root causes of poverty, not merely the symptoms. They showed that for too long, five pathways to poverty have characterised life in our poorest neighbourhoods. These are: family breakdown; economic dependency and worklessness; educational failure; drug and alcohol addiction and serious personal debt. These pathways are interconnected. For example, a child who experiences family breakdown is less likely to achieve at school. Someone who fails at school is less likely to enter work and more likely to be on benefits. Consequently, they are then more likely to live in financial poverty and debt. And so the cycle continues.
I could go on and on quoting statistics from the past and comparing them to now, but I think I have given you a taste of Britain then and now, and demonstrated the decline in religion and the rise of social ills as fact.
Am I the only one who looks at these figures and sees a correlation between the fall in belief in God and the rise of massive social problems? Really?
I am not suggesting this is the only cause but I think it plays a significant part.
When you remove spiritual teaching, social values, a desire to be a good person, a willingness to help your fellow man, belief that you are part of a great family of God from our young you destroy the very foundations of our society.
Those who are reading this and are not of faith will disagree. You will blame a multitude of different reasons, I believe you are wrong.
Belief in Jesus my saviour shapes my life, makes me who I am now, not who I once was.
I have been down the drug route; I know the crime and violence that goes hand in hand with it. As a Christian, I cannot even think of behaving as I once did. The teachings of the bible, particularly the teachings of Jesus guide me in my day to day life.
If we all now do nothing the trend downwards will continue.
We, all of us must turn away from hate, greed, selfishness and the belief that success is measured by how much money we have. I know that it is hard; I know that others will laugh at you for your faith, I know because I have been there.
In 2012, my wife and I sold all our possessions and gave the money to an Indian boy’s hostel then moved to serve the Lord in India. Friends of faith supported us in our belief that this was our path, some others thought we were mad and said so. When we said that we believed it was God’s will one person commented ‘poor delusional fools’. So yes it takes courage to put your old life behind you and come to God’s love but it is worth it beyond measure.
Our society doesn’t have to be the way it is, give yourself a chance, give our society and our young a chance to know God’s love.
I truly believe if ours was a society based on these simple rules we would not have the world we have today but a far far better one.
(Teachings of Jesus)
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22:35-40 Christian Bible
What sort of world do you want for your children? You can be part of the cure for our ills or part of the cause. Try to find your true self, that part of you that whispers to you when you do wrong, turn away from sin and wrongdoing, turn towards God.
It’s your choice but I will never regret my decision to let Him into my heart, I really am a different person since that day.
One last thing, I include here a quote from Tim Farron# from am MP's meeting that for me and many other Christians is a fundamental truth:
Tim Farron # is clear that Christians are no better than other citizens:
"Christians aren't good people...Christians are people who have worked out that they're not good people."
Farron is also clear that his Christian faith is not simply private and personal since he believes that the Christian gospel is true, he wants others to believe it too. He closed the same meeting by challenging the assembled MPs and Peers, saying:
"What I want to encourage you to take away today is that the Bible might be massively confusing, hugely challenging, [with] bits of it you might find hard to believe – but there are four or five days in Jerusalem, 2000 years ago, the evidence for which is staggeringly compelling, and if it's true: everything – everything – changes."
Please think carefully about your next decision, if the Bible is true as I believe it is one day we will all have to justify our life choices; only through God's love can we or our society truly be saved.
# on course to be elected Liberal Democrat leader
Our Anniversary.
Well, it’s been five years, in the main very happy years. Oh, we have had our ups and downs as every couple does but our love and our faith makes us strong.
As usual, we invited friends to come and eat with us to celebrate our day. We always invite those people who have helped us in so many ways to become part of this society. Caste or colour doesn’t matter neither does their faith.
When we first started what has now become an annual event we were told that having different faiths and different castes there would never happen.
For the record: this year we had low to high caste Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, and non-believers. It has been this way since year one. There is no segregation, everyone gets on together and talks. Maybe in our own way we are helping teach racial and religious tolerance. Indians are a very tolerant people. They accept strangers and their hospitality is second to none. We have often said ‘why can’t the world come together as we do in our garden’. What a wonderful world that would be.
Getting ready for the party, tables and chairs here, just the caterers to set up.
Above a few pictures of Jackie and his family. Jackie is a rickshaw owner/driver and we have
known him and his family for over three and a half years.
Below Jasminder on the left, her husband Jaideep and their daughter Mishti on the right. They are friends, neighbours and work colleagues. We have known them since moving to the colony.
This is Shanti lal, Kris's adopted son
Below getting ready for our first guests to arrive
Below some of our friends who joined us to celebrate our anniversary.
Below Chris and I renewing our vows Indian
style, Shanti lals mother makes us our garlands
every year. We have all the garlands she has made
The time: Monsoon 2015
The place: Here
The problem: water that should have stayed out, coming in.
The cure:
Today two men and a pile of sand and cement arrived at our door. The labourer started by stripping up the covering on the damaged roof. He worked all day on his own really hard. Kris made sure he had water and chai (milky sweet tea with cardamon in it).
Chipping concrete by hand in 45degC on the roof. I nearly melted just going out to turn on the water.
Day two
To do the job they have used our: hammer, shovel, pick, sieve, steel bowl (for carrying) and our garden digging tool. What would they have done if we had said 'sorry we don't have tools'? ............Now they are using our hose as well!
After another hard day, the roof is about finished being broken up. This time, our first-day labourer had help. Guess who the boss is! One thing still puzzles us, normally Indians start early especially in the summer to avoid the heat. So we were up and ready by 7.30am. Both days they didn't show up until after 9am!
Day Three
Well, here we go again. today they should finish. Start time 9am!
Look at that sky, not a cloud in sight, this is 11am, still warming up!
The roof is now complete and will be flooded daily to protect it from drying too quickly in the summer heat.
On a very positive note, with the roof completely flooded there is only some seepage through the joint between roof and stairwell wall, a vast improvement from last year! the builder is supposed to be coming back to fix this.
Six days later: the roof has been flooded daily and to date, the only leak is as stated above.
We have spoken to our landlord about it and he has contacted the builder again.........no sign of him yet.
Six days later: the roof has been flooded daily and to date, the only leak is as stated above.
We have spoken to our landlord about it and he has contacted the builder again.........no sign of him yet.
Our weather
Well, this month we have had it all, wind, rain and of course the heat. We had several nights when it clouded over and the wind really blew hard. It stripped any remaining fruit from our Amla trees and dumped rubbish up the road. this usually happens just before the monsoon so we were a bit surprised that it had come so early. hopes of early rain were dashed later that week.
Rain.
We had a brief period of rain this week (19th) about twenty minutes. It was great while it lasted but sadly not enough to make much difference to our garden, lots of thunder and wind then heavy rain. Kris and I both played in it splashing like two children up and down the drive! we weren't alone in our joy as several other people and a mass of children appeared and did much the same.
The continuing heat.
We still have to buy our water but as we have said before at least we can afford to, many cannot.
The temperature this year has been very high, and it’s not over yet. As I write the temperature has passed the record recorded in Rajathan reaching 51degC on Saturday 21st, thats 123.8degF. Deaths from the heat are increasing daily.
We have bought a ‘Desert Cooler’ it works by passing air through a water drenched filter to cool it then blowing that cold air into the room.
Advantages: cheap to run, we can use it during power cuts (more on this later) and it is semi-portable as it has wheels.
Disadvantages: A great big grey box, having to fill its water trough three times a day with a bucket, after about an hour the humidity goes way up because of the damp air, meaning we have to leave the windows or door open while it is in use. it does do a good job though of pulling the temperature down to bearable levels especially if you sit anywhere in front of it, a cool (damp) breeze.
Bleu' loves it and often just lays on the floor in front of it or stands with her back end facing it..........
Power cuts have become a real problem this summer, it has become a daily occurrence sometimes several times a day. the high temperatures and the fact we have about a third of our food (home produce) in a freezer has meant we have had to buy an expensive piece of kit or risk losing it all.
Not something we wanted to do as we had better uses for the money. However, at least now we can relax a little and know that our fridge and freezer are protected.
It is called an inverter, it works by charging two enormous batteries while the power is on, then during power cuts feeds the stored power at 240 volts to the house. The one we have can deliver up to ten amps for hours. obviously the bigger the load on it the shorter the use. it also cuts in when the power level falls to protect electronics from damage. it won't support the A/C but fans, lights, the fridge and the freezer and the cooler is no problem using only 50% of the output. It also supports our internet so that doesn't keep dropping out anymore.
Fully automatic, it has already got us through several long power cuts.
Garden visitors.
One of the local monkeys enjoying a rest in our garden
This spider is amazing he has been with us for several months
It lives in the shrub above and here is a close up view.
Bleu' either has not seen it or has sensibly kept away.
Chickens.
We do have some sad news. a wild cat about twice the size of a domestic cat got into our chick pen during the night. It ate two chicks and killed the rest. Kris found it still in the pen and chased it out with a large stick.
We have now reinforced the pen and are getting Bleu' used to being in the back garden. When we restock we will be much more aware than we were of the danger these cats pose to poultry.
Working on a friends bike with him.
From standard Desert Storm to aggressive street bike, lighter and faster than the original. a lot of work from both of us but well worth the effort.
Ok, some of you are not into bikes...........
Aaaaaaah PAIN
Who has had a slipped disc? If you have you know the pain associated with it.
I went to bed with back ashe and awoke in real pain and unable to get out of bed. I eventually succeeded by hand walking up the wall to stand.
I went to bed with back ashe and awoke in real pain and unable to get out of bed. I eventually succeeded by hand walking up the wall to stand.
Kris saw the pain I was going through and insisted I do something….doctor Chiropractor hospital were first choice scenarios for us. That was until a very good friend said he knew an old man who had spent his life manipulating bones to ease pain. Well, it was Sunday so a bad day for medical help so off I went.
To cut a long story short, he laid me on the floor in a small unfurnished room with all the people who could get a view watching! This is India, no tv to watch so real life is embraced to the full, besides its a foreigner!! Always of interest.
After a few moments of feeling my back, he began to rock me back and forth like a log being moved. Finally, he pressed very firmly on my spine. Pain… no improvement. He repeated the rolling this time from the other side. The whole room heard the crack as he pressed…pain gone!
It only goes to show that a diploma on the wall or not there are some very good and skilled people who make a simple living helping others. The cost was a small donation (very small).
Every day we learn something new and amazing about this wonderful country.
The EU debate
Many of our readers will have strong opinions as we do on how to vote on the 23rd, the UK should remain in Europe or leave.
We have decided that this blog should remain impartial. We do not want what is now an account of our life here to become a political statement by voicing our opinions here.
All we will say is vote honestly and be true to what you believe will be best for the UK. Please vote. Have your say in our future. If you don’t vote don’t complain at the result, you lose that right by taking no part in the decision.
Comments from Kris.
WARNING for anyone out there who has metal in their joints, I have 2 titanium knees so I include myself here.
Do not go out in the sun without protecting the area with metal in, and try not to stay out in the sun for long periods or you may regret it.
Last week I was in the garden in my shorts and it was fairly hot, I coped at the time but later that day and for several more days I was in absolute agony of pain in my knees where I have my knee replacements. I couldn't understand why I had as much pain as I did post operatively. My hero Chris then remembered that his friend used to say that if the joint got over heated it was agony for him, and maybe this was the reason for my pain. Eureka that was the reason, the sun had heated up my metal joints and I was cooking from the inside, so ice packs to the ready and amazing relief, I still had pain and discomfort for several days but I now stay out of the sun when it is at its hottest.
This is not easy as we have been experiencing mega heat waves here. So please take care of those metal joints you may have and remember to wear sun screen to prevent malignant melanoma, it isn't just India where skin cancer is a problem.
This year has been very hard to cope with the soaring heat wave it just zaps what little energy you may have. There have been red alert warnings over the last few days advising people to stay indoors between 11am and 4pm. We have taken note this year and have tried to be sensible, even the locals are finding it hard to cope with, and with water shortages its especially hard on the poorest of the city.
The party was amazing we had fabulous food again catered by Zucchini of Udaipur who did us proud, and the company of our friends made it a night to remember. Interesting, fact here in India it is normal for guests to come chat, then eat and leave immediately afterwards but most hung around after eating to chat and many had seconds and thirds, especially the children with the ice cream. (Chris had seconds of ice cream and gulab jamon (a sweet sugary sponge type dessert) too, my share as I am lactose intolerant). So same time next year with the same caterers who have served us so well over the last three years, our first party was catered by the local resort before it changed owners. Interestingly we were a little late getting the invitations out and many said they thought we weren't having a party this year and were happy that we were!
Bleu' is growing well but is struggling with the heat and having her first season, as Chris says she loves standing in front of the desert cooler and looks at us odd when it is switched off.
Our two hens are still going strong (they were safe from the cat as they were in a different pen) they lay daily and the eggs (anda) are still so much better than the local mass produced ones.
It was a shame we lost most of our crops to the lack of water and the high temperatures but we did get our leeks which were fabulous, a few tomatoes and our English vegetables which are all now frozen.
Just contemplating braving the heat it is now after 5pm and I must pop to the local shop for some provisions, luckily there is a small shop nearby, too far to walk to in this heat but manageable on my bike.
Well, things never go quite as planned the local shop was closed probably because of the heat and most people staying indoors rather than going shopping so I had to go further afield for my supplies. Forty minutes later I returned absolutely exhausted as it was still very hot outside with the few provisions I had managed to get. Ahh for fans and the air cooler, thanks Chris for helping to cool me down on my return.
I am so amazed that the Indian labourers continue to work outside in such harsh conditions, most rely on daily wages to survive. At least we can ensure they get enough water to drink and top that up with cups of chai (sweet tea). Most of the communication is done with a little Hindi and sign language but everyone understands panni (water) and chai (tea). We did consider not having them work but that would mean they didn't get paid and the heat wasn't going to go away before the monsoon comes and the roof must be repaired before the heavy rain comes so its a catch 22 and it was our landlord who arranged the work.
The least we can do is look after them whilst they work for us, today they got Paratha with their morning chai, Paratha is a vegetable filled roti which is popular here. 
I think they were surprised that they were given Paratha its not common to feed the labourers and secondly that I cooked them myself. They seemed to go down very well and they like my chai. In the early days, my chai left a lot to be desired either too sweet or not enough sugar and a bit bland, I have now perfected a really good cup of chai that even the locals appreciate. I can't taste it myself as its made with milk so I rely on Chris who has become a Connoisseur!!
It's been a crazy month so a longer blog than usual, hope you enjoy it.
God Bless you all
Chris and Kris
I think they were surprised that they were given Paratha its not common to feed the labourers and secondly that I cooked them myself. They seemed to go down very well and they like my chai. In the early days, my chai left a lot to be desired either too sweet or not enough sugar and a bit bland, I have now perfected a really good cup of chai that even the locals appreciate. I can't taste it myself as its made with milk so I rely on Chris who has become a Connoisseur!!It's been a crazy month so a longer blog than usual, hope you enjoy it.
God Bless you all
Chris and Kris
