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![KATHMANDU VALLEY TOUR FOR UK GROUP]()
15 Oct, 2025KATHMANDU VALLEY TOUR FOR UK GROUP
Yesterday, I successfully completed a 3-day assignment to show the very best of what the Kathmandu Valley has to offer to a group of 13 visitors from the UK. Some had visited Nepal before, but, for most of them, it was their first experience. Thanks to not only my investing a lot of time and energy in advance in planning the itinerary, selecting both the lunch venues and pre-ordering the meals, liasing with the group leader, Greg, and renting a vehicle, but also to input and assistance from Arjun, everything went very smooothly, from the 9:30am pick up from their hotel in Bhaktapur to dropping them off again there in the mid- to late-afternoon. The skies were blue and cloudless, the sun shone--perhaps a little too brightly--and everyone was more than satisfied. In fact, Greg messaged me to say, 'You both went far beyond expectations and have left a very happy and grateful group!' The image shows some of the group in the courtyard of Shechen Gompa, Boudhanath, which they thoroughly appreciated not only for its cultural and religious significance, but also for the oasis of peace and shade it provided in the noonday heat.
![KRISHNA ASHTAMI]()
16 Aug, 2025KRISHNA ASHTAMI
On Saturday16 August, Nepal, being a predominantly Hindu country, celebrated the birthday of the god Krishna, an occasion known here as Krishna Ashtami. Unlike in previous years when we had gone to various places associated with Krishna elsewhere in the Valley, this time we had decided to visit the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness... aka Hare Krishna) centre, just a 30-minute walk from home. We had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for.... Queues, crowds (difficult to estimate but tens of thousands, I would guess) heat, finery, eye-poking umbrellas. Inevitably there were lots of little boys dressed up as Krishna and a decidedly smaller amount of little girls pretending to be Radhe, his girlfriend, plus a preponderance of peacock feathers, this being a symbol of Krishna. It was an experience of endurance rather than culture, and one that we certainly won't forget... or repeat. I cannot imagine the mayhem that must have ensued when there was a cloud burst not long after we got home.
![DOG WHISPERER!]()
13 Aug, 2025DOG WHISPERER!
My love of dogs is no secret. Apart from Maya, our own four-legged family member, there are numerous other dogs in my life on a daily basis: Kaire and Lakhe, our landlady's dogs; Sweetie, the community dog who I feed every morning and evening; Cookie, a decidely impolite and rude bitch (!) who lives in our neighbourhood; and WiFi, a friend's dog who we meet on our morning walk. It should really come as no surprise, therefore, that my favourite image among all those I captured when I went to observe the Mataya tradition in Patan two days ago is this one: no connection to the parades, the participants, the culture. Just two dogs in the courtyard of a bahal, touchingly showing that skin to skin contact is as soothing and comforting for animals as it is for humans. May both of them be blessed with jucy bones, sufficient food and a cosy place to sleep all the days of their lives!
![RETURN VISIT TO THE UK!]()
08 Jun, 2025RETURN VISIT TO THE UK!
After much planning and anticipation, I spent a wonderful 8 weeks--from mid April to early June--in the UK. It was my first time back in my homeland for almost 12 years and people had warned me that that I might be disenchanted by the many changes that had taken place in the interim. On the contrary, I loved every moment I spent there, revelling in all that remained unchanged. My favourite haunts were much as they had been in the past and friends were as welcoming and generous with their time and hospitality as ever. Although I am a Mancunian born and bred, I spent very little time in the city itself and visited many other places that held memories for me--York, Lancaster, the Isle of Man, Buxton and the Peak District; new destinations like Edinburgh and Oxford; while others, like London, simply could not be omitted from my itinerary. I had looked upon this as probably my final visit to the UK--but now I am not so sure about that. There was something so soothing and yet energising about being being back there, whether among friends or wandering on my own. I fell in love alll over again with the British countryside in Spring. I rejoiced in the fellowship of friends, with whom I share so many memories. And yes, there was an indefinable joy in my heart, the feeling of being in my 'home of homes'.
![HAPPY BIRTHDAY!]()
24 May, 2025HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Today, I celebrated my birthday with my friend from university days, Sue, and her family, in her beautiful home on the Isle of Man, located in the middle of the Irish Sea. It was a very special birthday in every respect: not only was it the first birthday that I had celebrated back in the UK since I left to live and work abroad in Autumn 1985, but it was a 'big birthday', a significant one, numberwise.
When my first book, A Rainbow of Chaos, was in the content proofing stage at Atmosphere Press, one of the questions I asked my editor was whether, during the course of the book, I should state my age outright or not: in the draft, I had not done so. It was, in some ways, relevant, as the book deals with, among other issues, my entering into a relatioship with Arjun, who I made clear was decidedly my junior. But it other ways, it was not. We tend to pigeonhole people, and women more than most, according to their age; we have expectations of what they should be doing, of how they should be behaving. And by stating my age, I was afraid that I myself would become subject to such judgement. After some discussion on the issue, it was agreed that my age should remain if not an actual secret, then at least not stated openly. In that way, a mere number would not be allowed to dominate the narrative in any way. It is a decision that I don't regret!
And so, I simpy celebrated a 'significant birthday' today, rejoicing in the company of friends, receiving messages from so many well-wishers, and generally feeling at one with myself and the world. What greater birthday gift could I ask for?
