Important Notice . . . .

There STILL appear to be endless problems at Blog HQ and I STILL cannot upload photographs, which are obviously the most important part of a Blog Diary like this one - I am sorry. I am trying to find out what is going on. If the problem does not get resolved very shortly either I will go up in smoke or I will start a completely new Blog with a different outfit. I am just about at the end of my patience!! It was so easy for the first three months or so and now . . . .

Because the refinery is being doubled in size the township is also having to be doubled in size to house everyone and so there is building work going on all over the place. But scaffolding never looked like this in the UK or America for that matter!! Hard hats are not seen very often either. And only limited amount of machinery. As much work as possible is done by hand with men and women working as labourers and lifting heavy weights. The women bring their small children with them as well. There are some accidents but not nearly as many as you think there ought to be given the attitude on the building sites to health and safety issues.

Navratri is a fabulous festival towards the end of September. There is dancing every night for about nine nights between approximately ten in the evening until one in the morning!! Here at the township a huge, huge circle was cordoned off outside the Civic Centre with rows of chairs around the outside and stalls outside of that selling all sort of snacks, soft drinks (remember Gujurat is a 'dry' state), balloons and whatnot.

The colours and glamour of all the costumes was quite fantastic and a wonder to see. I just wish I had learned the dance so that I could have joined in!! The costume below is being modeled for us by a young lady of about twelve years old. She was really pleased to be having her picture taken!! No shyness here!!

PORTBANDER is about an hour and a half's drive from here and is the town where Mahatma Ghandi was born and therefore is a special place in the heart of many Indian people.

The building on the right with a pink facade is the entrance to a large courtyard surrounded by a museum and gallery and a small shop. Items and personal effects from his life, including all his lifetime's journals are displayed here. Many photographs have been enlarged and are displayed here. His autobiography and other writings about his life and beliefs are sold here. No one is allowed to take photographs inside the building. Because of this I think it would be a good idea if postcards were available for sale, but India (at least not in this area) does not seem to realise what a good idea postcards are for the encouragement of tourism and India wants very much to encourage tourism.

An archway in a far corner of the courtyard leads to the house where Ghandi was born and brought up. His great-grandfather purchased a single story home here in 1777. His grandparents built another story and his parents added another one.

I found the whole place fascinating, beautiful and peaceful. I have purchased a copy of his autobiography which I have started to read. Many,many years ago I was able to visit Ghandi's resting place in Delhi, so feel now as if I have come full circle.

These are some of the people who are grating up the herbs and spices just using a very old fashioned cutter supported by their feet.

This is the Spice Market in Portbander, about one and a half hors drive from here. The day of our visit was Sooooo hot, but the herbs and spices were good to see. Everything was so carefully laid out and displayed.

Although we only had a very short while to explore we did manage a walk on the beach first thing in the morning - and very lovely it was too.

The weekend after we returned from the UK (the first weekend in Octobert) a group of about ten of us went to the island of Diu for a couple of days. Some of the roads were alright but some were not . . . so it felt like a nine hour drive each way on a 'off road' driving course!! When we got there the hotel was really lovely as you can see. The island of Diu used to belong to the Portuguese and although still very Indian is also a little bit different. We explored a little bit on our first evening there and had dinner in an open air first floor restaurant overlooking the sea. Unfortunately, Gavin got food poisoning and so we were obliged to stay an extra day and return with Peter Steeb the day after everyone else. But the troubles only lasted twenty four hours and as soon as the dehydration had been taken care of with a large injection of who knows what by a local doctor all was well.

These are the views from our balcony. Our building is the same as those shown. All through the residential areas of the township are gardens that look like these. Aren't we lucky to live in such a place. The whole township is like a giant oasis in this part of rural India. It will take quite a while to get gardens like this when we move to our Barn in France! But the dreams and plans are there - will just need to put in the effort.

We have a lovely little balcony which is in the shade all day. Never thought I would think that was an advantage! There is a great little garden centre on our side of Jamnagar where we have bought several potted plants to make us feel as if we are in a conservatory all the time! A lovely place to sit and read a book! A tough life, but someone has to do it!!

We moved a couple of weeks ago after about eleven weeks in the Guest House. The last week or so of the refurbishment of this block was fraught with ups and downs. Plumbing that was leaking; air conditioners not working properly; whether this colour curtains should be upstairs or downstairs as there were two different colour ways; whether or not the internet connection was operating or not; whether enough of the selected furniture had actually been delivered yet or not; oh yes, there was no outlet for the waste water from the washing machine; and so the list could go on. But everyone was trying hard and so we moved as soon as we could. Most of the difficulties have now been sorted out. But some never will be and so we just work around them. All in all we have all that we need and will be very comfortable here for the next six to nine months.

I am so behind with sending you pictures and telling you about the things we have been doing and seeing that it was difficult to know where to begin again!! So thought I would start with our new apartment. So that you can see where we live now that we have moved out of the Guest House.

I can hardly believe that it is a month since I last added anything to this Diary! On the other hand so much seems to have been happening that time has just flown by and so perhaps I CAN believe it is a motnth already!!

Anyway, enough of that nonsense!!

The first hiccup was the fact that I had a few days of severe dehydration. In fact I ended up in the Infirmary here at Reliance Greens having all sorts of tests and then being pumped through with all sorts of re-hydration drinks and monitoring. I slept practically round the clock and then felt much better. I think what happens at this time of the year here is that the outside temperatures are so high that we stay inside in the air conditioning as much as we can and then (because this is quite cool) we forget to drink enough water and then we do go out in the extreme heat and - wham!! But I must say that I was really well taken care of by all the staff in the Infirmary and received heaps of sympathy from all our other ex-pat colleagues and friends.

Then we had the sad news that Gavin's Aunt Frances had died in Fife and so we made plans to return to the UK for her funeral. Within twenty four hours we were packed and off to Jamnagar Airport to fly to Mombai and then to Heathrow, where we hired a car and drove north to Scotland.

All funerals are sad occasions, but in this case we were also celebrating the life of a lady who was ninety-four years old. Who had enjoyed a long and happy marriage; had sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There were cousins present who had not seen each other for forty years and Fife towards the end of September with the sun, trees beginning to turn for the autumn and being beside the sea is a beautiful place.

It takes two days to get from here back to Scotland and two days to return, with all sorts of time changes in between. We were only away for a week (I think!) but we also managed to see brothers, sisters, mothers, sons, daughters and grandsons and do enough shopping to bring back here to require us to bring a second small suitcase!!

A couple of days after our return there was a Public Holiday here to be added to everyone's one day weekend and so it was decided that all the Bechtel staff and partners would take a trip to Diu, a tiny island around the coast on the southern side of Gujurat (there will be pictures in due course). It was a long way to go on some pretty grummy roads but we saw lots of countryside and experienced other places and sites and walked on the beach and enjoyed good company.

We had a lovely dinner out in the old town of Diu in an open air restaurant. Unfortunately, Gavin ate something which seriously disagreed with him during the night and he woke up in the morning to some severe dehydration. So, more doctors and re-hydration drips and so on. A twenty four hours of almost non stop sleeping and then back to normal (sound familiar!). So Gavin and I, together with Pete, stayed behind for another twenty four hours before returning to the township.

Since our return, two or three others have had the same problems. It really has been VERY VERY hot. Perhaps we had not realised just how hot. Anyway, we are led to believe that the temperature will not go up any more!! That it will now gradually ease off and become more manageable for us 'foreigners'!!

And then during this past week there has been a fair amount of work going on in the apartments which are being renovated for Bechtel couples and we started tidying up as we thought we were about to move out of the Guest House after ten weeks here. But this was not to be. There still appear to be some electrical, plumbing and plastering problems. The Guest House is very comfortable, so I guess we will be spoiled here for a little longer!!

And so, suddenly a month has gone by!! I have lots moe pictures to share with you and I will add these as soon as I can as I want you all to be able to share a little in what we are enjoying here.

This is the little wood carving place we found. With just a handful of chisels and a hammer these two produce the most beautiful and intricate carving, from small plaques to coffee tables, chairs, front doors, bed heads or whatever anyone may order from them. One of the scary things is that they just hold the wood in place with a bare foot - hardly adhering to any health and safety regularions!! We have two or three little plaques already as 'samples' of their work and are considering commissioning some front doors for our barn in France.

The little Hindu Temple in the township is really pretty; set in a little garden and the most peaceful place to be. Most of the Indian residents are Hindus and this is a popular place for people and families to enjoy a little time together in the evenings after work.

Bank and 'hole in the wall' machines do not look the same in Kensington High Street, Aberfeldy or Jamnagar!! This is the one we go to in the Township. But, hey, money is money!!

Nothing really to say!!

These are some views of the Fish Market in Jamnagar - I am not sure if I need to make any additonal comments!! The pictures say it all!!

The man in the blue shirt is holding up the biggest prawn I have ever seen!! The lady with the blue headwear is gutting fish and beside her is a hessian bag of live small crabs and a basin of additional crabs on ice.

By the way, a lot of fish is eaten in this area as we are only a few miles from the sea. Not that we have seen it yet - we have just been told it is there!!

Just some of the flowering shrubs found all over the place in the Township and particularly in the Park right behind the Guest House. The third one down is called Frangipani. I do not know what the others are called!! But just thought you would like to see the pictures.

This Hindu Temple is only about forty-five years old. Chanting is a big part of Hindu worship and there has been chanting here, twenty four hours a day, every since the building was opened. It is in the Guiness Book of Records and mentioned on the internet, so obviously an important situation.

Halleluiah!!!

Two brilliant things happened this morning.

Our Air Freight boxes arrived from Mombai.

And the rains must at least be virtually over as the swimming pool has now been cleaned and refilled and is ready for use again.

The Air Freight boxes arrived in Mombai about three days after we did!! But only arrived here this morning!! When we first arrived our passports had to go to the local Police Office in Jamnagar for the preparation of our Residency Permits. So our passports and the huge volume of paperwork could not go to Mombai until after that. By this time the Customs Office at Mombai Airport had almost decided that these boxes were not going to be collected and they were already beginning to arrange for them to be returned to London!! And then, of course, there was the matter of the fact that many roads have been flooded between Mombai and here with the Monsoon rains!! But never mind, they are here now and everything is in good order!! All we need now is the apartment to go with our things!!

The swimming pool is enormous and outdoors. There is 'ladies only' swimming every morning from nine to eleven. And virtually the only people who will be using the people are three of the ex-pat ladies (including me) so it feels as if we have our own private pool, We swam for the first time this morning and it was absolutely heavenly!!

I tries to put these pictures side by side, but although it can show this way in the draft, it doesn't seem to happen the way I plan when the piece is downloaded to the Blog!! Oh well . . . . !!

Anyway, if Housekeeping arrive to tidy up and clean our room and we are in residence we have found this tranquil place beside the central gardens of the Guest House!! Just the place to read a book for a little while, while someone else does my domestic chores!! A tough life, but I am trying to deal with it!!

These pictures show the Hindu Temple right in the heart of Jamnager. Surrounded by little shops, people and traffic in a very bustling part of town, it is an oasis of beauty and colour and open to everyone to visit and view as well as those who want to come in to pray to their Gods. We were welcome inside having removed our shoes, but I was not comfortable taking pictures inside although I told there was no reason why I shouldn't.

The whole of the inside was painted in bright colours (and I do mean very bright colours) showing patterns and story scenes of Hindu gods and Hindu tradition. There were two large (and loud!) bells which was rung whenever a Hindu devotee passed by. There were lots of candles as well. There does not appear to be a timetable of services, just the opportunity for devotees to attend and either read from their religious books, chant or simply be there.

There are hundreds and thousands of Hindu Gods and because of this there can be numerous Festivals almost all the time.

When some people saw me with a camera in Jamnagar yesterday I was asked to take this lady's picture.

Apparently, she has been fasting for a whole month prior to the Ganesh Festival. It was said that this was a personal purification process and a way of proving that she is a suitable candidate to move closer to being a better Hindu.

All things considered, we thought she looked remarkably healthy. All she has taken for the past month is water.

Today is the Hindu Festival of Ganesh - the God that looks like an elephant. And models of Ganesh are paraded through towns and villages all over Hindu India from yesterday for about a week I think. Not a brilliant picture I am sorry to say, but one I took from the window of the car!! I missed included the camel in the picture that was pulling the cart - sorry, about that!! But I am sure you get the idea!

We enjoyed a lovely barbeque dinner party with Sheri and Carl Lake, our new American friends, on Saturday evening. Because so many different people are having a look at this Diary now perhaps I should tell you the names of all the people present. The first picture shows Sheri at the head of the table. The other pictures show (from the left) Doina, Joy, Gavin, Carl (Sheri's husband), Laurie, Malcolm and David. What a motley crew!!

Sheri and Carl are from Houston, Texas, Joy and Malcolm are originally from Yorkshire and now call Scotland home, Doina and David are from Romania and Wales. So with Gavin and I from Scotland as well, we are quite a cosmopolitan bunch. And between us we have also lived and worked in all sorts of places all over the world. So you can imagine that the conversation was varied - to say the least!! A great evening was had by all.

So, what do you think of this as a mode of transport!!! Everything from people (young and old) to animals (sheep and goats); from vegetables to sacks of grain; and from furniture to building supplies and goodness knows whatever else are transported in an out of the busy, busy, busy and erratic traffic!!

I wonder if one would be useful for popping in to town to pick up the groceries!!

This is the little roadside store where I got a new strap for my watch.

The storekeepers noticed my camera and want to have their picture taken!!

The parks in the township, all the road sides and apartment building gardens etc are well cared for lovely to see. The gardens in the Guest House area are lovely too and this is one of our gardeners. They have virtually no tools, they just work away all the time crouched down with a bag for the rubbish. Even working all over the lawns taking the weeds out of the grass one at a time by hand. But the results are lovely.