Update from India 87

Happy New Year

Christmas with the Hyde’s

Boxing Day (26^th Dec) we had a private day to enjoy our traditional Christmas Turkey with as many of the trimmings as we can get in India. We invited Melissa and Peter to join us and Melissa made lovely cauliflower and broccoli cheese, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets which I have to say did not last very long at all.

We also had new potatoes, leeks in cheese sauce, bread sauce, mint sauce, peas and carrots and gravy.

We decided we had no room for pudding.

Our Turkey

pigs in blankets made by Melissa

Cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce

Covered wth bacon just out of the oven

Just a small portion please

Melissa's roast potatoes, yummy

Baked onion, home made sage and onion
stuffing and pork ballsm made by Chris

Our own home grown English carrots with peas

Dinner wouln't be dinner without
yorkshire puddings

Boiled new potatoes

Home grown leaks in cheese sauce

Home made sage and onion stuffing from our
own sage and mint sauce from our own mint

Warm Aid

On the 23^rd December we went out to deliver blankets to the needy sleeping on the streets in Udaipur city. The gang consisted of Chris, Kris, Peter, Melissa, Tush and Geeta dressed in a santa suit. All the adults wore santa hats to identify them just in case we were rushed. Might sound strange but we have been mobbed in the past so we went prepared.

We were surprised that there were less people sleeping rough this year but many we recognised from last year. This we see as a positive and we would be over the moon if next year we found no one.

We  gathered at our house around 9pm for drinks and to discuss our plan for the night sitting around our open fire outside as it was cold and left Jeevan Tara around midnight in the jeep and two cars. At our first stop near the railway station we changed to the jeep and one car. Geeta and Kris sat in the back which Geeta thought was great.

Geeta had been asking for a couple of weeks when we were going out to distribute the blankets, she was with Kris when they were bought and asked lots of questions about why there were people needing blankets. We both feel it is important that she is aware of the needy and less fortunate and she has great compassion for people especially the sick. The people were obviously struggling and in need with very few belongings if any. Again this year we saw strangers sleeping together to keep warm and many families with young children and the elderly. We even saw one lady who is due to have a baby in the next few days. It really tugs at the heart strings that people are having to live like this and makes us very thankful for what we have.

We are still planning to distribute blankets to the villages in the next few days. Geeta can’t wait she just loves helping people.

We have welcomed Melissa to the group and she is great at fund raising so has helped tremendously with this difficult task. Two of her friends also went out Christmas eve to distribute blankets, see our Warm Aid Facebook page for more details.

Distributing blankets to the needy for Warm Aid

Melissa and Geeta giving out blankets

Peter in festive spirit, attending to the needs of the needy

Tush and Melissa reassuring people we were here to help

There were at least four very young children under the blanket
 tryingto keep warm by snuggling together

Peter has been a volunteer since we started Warm Aid, he
has been on numerous distributions and raised money to
buy blankets, he has a heart of gold.

Melissa's friends found this group in need of blankets so
on behalf of Warm Aid they gave out 30 blankets

Just having a short break

People sleeping on the pavement in the middle of the road
at the top of Chetak circle traffic lights, very noisy, polluted
and cold

Chris our faithful driver and overall bodyguard checking
constantly that we were not being mobbed, hence the
santa hats to easily see us

We met at our place 9pm, returned about 7am

Melissa our brilliant fundraiser

Geeta 

Christmas day 

we had the family around to celebrate with us. This consisted of Amba, Naryan, Jumna the kids Tulsie, Lolita, Gunga, Raul, Perim. Getta’s mother and father, Dloo and Rupesh. We also had Kris’s son Shanti lal, his real mother and his niece who always come to celebrate with her for her birthday (Yes Kris is like the Queen she has two birthdays), then there was Chris, Kris, Geeta. We had friends pop in Peter, Melissa and Tush.

To say it was noisy would be an understatement but a great fun and happy day. As Amba and her family were fasting from alcohol and non veg we went all veggie, with a buffet. The kids were excited to get their presents although this year we only gave small gifts as we are still paying off our trip to the UK.

Amba receiving her gift from Geeta

Geeta santas little elf distributing presents

Naryan and his children

Jumna having a day off work to share Christmas with us

All excited with their presents, Bleu' where's mine?

Geeta getting ready to give out presents

Tulsie wondering what is it?

Geeta opening her present and no she didn't want or need help

Perim the youngest quietly opening his gift

Geeta keeping Kris right

Add caption

Wow its a solar kit robot

Kris and Shanti lal

Shanti lal and Geeta 

It's a scarf

My gift its a vase

Geeta's cake

Geeta bought this cactus for Chris

Nice to have all the family together, noisy but fun

Kris's Birthday/Christmas cake from Shanti lal

Lots of chocolate and yummy Kris didn't eat the cream just the sponge

Christmas day buffet adults at the table with older children 

The family

The Garden

Our front garden continues to undergo change, we have planted lots more roses and instead of lawn we now have beds covered in white marble chippings and the process is ongoing. We have more plans to make the garden our own in the next few months but we will discuss these as they happen. We now have some spectacular chilli peppers which Chris grew from seed and our tomatoes are doing very well (at last). Our English carrots are going to be cropped in the next couple of days then we will plant our leeks which again we grew from seed. The carrots will be frozen within an hour of picking ensuring freshness, that is if we can stop Geeta eating them first. We had our own carrots for Christmas dinner and they are definitely scrummy, nothing like Indian carrots.

Our banana plants are doing well and we have a great crop of Chinese cabbage.

Chris got another Cactus for Christmas from Geeta so that will go into our cacti bed that we are creating much to the shock from the neighbours who think were mad. Chris pinched the rocks out of the chicken enclosure to make a rock garden for the cacti, to be honest they were too hot for the chickens to walk on in the heat of the summer so better suited to the cacti.  The hanging baskets at the rear of the house are doing well and our Jamun trees are thriving, we are donating these to the NGO we work for next year when they are ready to be replanted.

Geeta helping with the marble chippings

Chris hard at work

levelling the chippings on top of the plastic liner

Its starting to come together

Kris laid the plastic, Chris laid the chippings

An awful lot of chippings needed

Plastic liner laid

Starting to take shape

Happy we decided to line the beds prior to putting
the marble chippings down it will reduce the weeds

Geeta doing clean up of leaves

Bulletiapa

Sun Beach Resort, Gorai Beach, Mumbai

The annual India Bullriders Motorcycle Club (IBRMC) weekend get to gether.

Well much anticipated and this year we decided to take Geeta with us as she missed us going to the UK. So no going by bike, well it had to be sleeper coach from Udaipur to Mumbai. Geetas first time on a sleeper coach so she was mega excited it was 14hrs on the coach. But we managed it then got the ferry to Gorai Beach to go to the resort.

What a fabulous weekend, Geeta did not want to come home. She paddled in the sea, jumped the waves and played in the rock pool, no she didn’t fall in but Kris did uggh, but well that’s life. There was a childrens playground and swimming pool. Obviously the pool was the winner and Geeta spent many happy hours splashing around in the water and trying to swim. Her first time in a swimming pool may not seem much but its huge progress as she used to hate the bath tub. We got her arm bands and a ring to give her confidence in the water, she even braved putting her head under the water. Will definitely take her swimming when it gets warmer.

She danced late into the night long after the other children had gone to bed and partied till she was tired. Such a friendly bundle of happiness and fun. She can’t wait for next year to come again.

Geeta is now asking when we are going on holiday again, but that will be a long time away when we’ve paid off our debts.

For Chris and I this year Bulletiapa was even more fun because of Geeta’s infectious love of life, mind you the food was good too.

  We are continuing to encourage Geeta to catch up with her missed schooling and she has made good progress, we have a plan to get her up to date before the next school intake in July.

Geeta has seen the plastic surgeon and needs more tests and if they are satisfactory the plan is for her to have more surgery on her arm and hand to release the contractures. She knows it will hurt but has been exercising her arm, hand, fingers and shoulder to get them stronger before surgery and she has attained more movement over the last few weeks. We will know more in the new year. She has requested Kris to be with her in hospital but we will have to discuss this with her parents and the hospital.

It's not easy being a Princess

Seating areas overlooking the sea and beach

Beautiful views

We saw locals fishing off these rocks then selling the cooked fish it was amazing

Geeta's first time in a swimming pool

Having a splash around

Fun at the pool

When are we going to party?

View from our chalet

Some of the guys messing around on the beach

Ferry to our Resort

Geeta's favourite saying "just five more minutes please"

Geeta and some of the other children having fun

Chris and Geeta on the ferry on our return journey

Yes Kris fell in the water only minutes after telling Geeta to be
careful as she could slip and get wet ah karma

Yes I did think it was funny falling in the rock pool

Geeta coming to Kris's assistance after she stopped laughing

Geeta's new friend at the hotel

Swimming lessons

Party time

Love the t shirt a friend bought her "Whatever"

Come on lets go this way

Some of the guys chilling out

Chris chilling out

Geeta off to paddle in the sea

Geeta loves nothing more than sitting with Chris on the sofa eating Pizza out of the box.

Ahh Geeta’s teddy lost an eye and needed to go to the Hyde hospital for an operation to put it right. Chris glued it in place and I put a putty (bandage) on it and Geeta nursed the teddy. Great keeping it all in the family. Chris often repairs Geeta’s toys and I do the sewing and bandaging.

Teddy recovering after his operation

Well that's all from us hope you enjoyed all the photos and updates

Take care and till next time

God Bless

Kris, Chris and Geeta in a cold Udaipur