AHMEDABAD 2

Dear Mum

I have been in India a couple of days now and it has a time and pace that is so very different from Europe…. magical, dusty, beautiful, crazy…. it is difficult to find the right words! The country teems with people, sights, sounds, colours and the heat - it is 30 degrees in the morning and mid 40s in the  afternoon !!!!! I am coping quite well in the heat, I put factor 50 cream on my face, wear light full length clothes , drink lots of water and just keep in the shade! 

We have been travelling around visiting Artisans in rural villages which has been amazing. My friends work with craftspeople and their villages - so they have been visiting them for meetings etc - it has been wonderful for me as the children and the villagers have seen very few, if any white people , and I am regarded with great interest. There is usually one of the older children who  can speak some English and I just love to talk and laugh with the children. The women are shyer to start with but then they too come round and want to ask me questions. They have mobile phones with cameras - and they want to take pictures of me  - they might live in very basic houses but they use Facebook and modern technology at the same time as following very ancient crafts and traditions     

The roads are a mixture  - in the city they are jammed packed with cars, auto rickshaws, lorries, buses, motorbikes, pedestrians and cows! In the villages less traffic but but herds of goats, sheep, water buffaloes and more cows of course! The other night when we went out for dinner we met an elephant walking along the road - it is trained to put its trunk into car  windows and take money!

This is my favourite photo - you have to look hard to see me in the middle of all the children!

Hope all is well with you my lovely Mum - look after yourself  and lots and lots and lots of love      

Tricia xxxxx

AHMEDABAD 1

Dear Mum

I do live an amazing life! I left my Australian friends at the beginning of the week and am now with my Indian friends - I have been made so welcome here - it is just amazing! It really feels like family - especially as last time I was here I was with Jenny for Kathan and Swati’s wedding.

Yesterday I went for a walk on my own - India is so welcoming - it is really special to be a white woman on her own - as so many children and adults come up to me and start talking - smiling and welcoming me - magic!

After a meeting at a university I was then treated to lunch. If you show Jenny this photo she can tell you who everyone is!

Then Shraddha and Swati took me to the tailors as I wanted to get a couple of tops made - we had a grand time and went to lots of places before the ‘stitchers’ with my material - shopping in India is just a completely different experience!

Later one we all went to dinner at Uma and Deepak’s house - they had prepared a feast for me - and I felt very honoured! Then we drove back along the noisy, crazy Indian roads!

Today I am going out to some villages to meet some of the people involved in the work of the Manthan organisation - which will be really interesting. I am really so amazingly lucky not just to be in India but to be meeting people and being welcomed into their homes.

Hoping you well and happy and getting out everyday to feed the ducks on the moor! My friends all asked after you as they know of my family from conversations over the years, so I can send you their special regards from here in India.

Lots and lots of love my lovely Mum, 

Tricia xxxxx 

Abu Dhabi!

Dear Mum

Well I am in Abu Dhabi! airport! I left Melbourne last evening and it was a long flight around 13 hours to here.

I was lucky with the seats again and got the one with all the leg room at the front - I had eaten a big dinner at Kerry’s so I just went to sleep on the plane - listening to Little Dorrit on audiobook and knitting when I woke up this morning. Can’t say it was a full nights sleep but I definitely got some sleep so that was good.

I have a few hours here until my flight leaves for Ahmedabad, but I asked a young man where the restaurants are and he gave me two vouchers one for breakfast and one for lunch - which was a bonus. I also found a shower so I had a good wash and then went to duty free and smothered myself with very expensive face creams and Channel No 5 perfume! Things to do when at an airport for a while!

With the magic of the internet - here’s a photo of me writing this letter - and a little girl playing on a statue of a camel behind me!

I think when you read this letter I will be on my flight to Ahmedabad - the time difference is very confusing - I am now 6 hours behind Australia and three hours ahead of you - but that will all change tonight when I get to India - then I think I will be 4 1/2 hours ahead - which is pretty crazy!

Say Happy Birthday to Ann for me please as I am sure you will talk to her today - and I hope she’s completely over her flu!

Look after yourself my lovely Mum and I will send a letter from India when I can - lots and lots and lots of love your nomadic daughter

Tricia xxxxx 

Leaving Melbourne

Dear Mum

I hope your cough is getting better and that you do not have too bad a cold. Jenny told me that you had caught a cold and that a lot of people have had it in Cheshire - that seems strange for May - you’d think the cold season would be over.

Anyway my lovely mum I do hope you shift it as soon as possible - eats lots of fruit and drink extra orange juice - vitamin c is always good for a cold.

I am still at Kerry’s house but go to the airport this evening to start my journey to India. Kerry, Stephanie and I have just been out for a Chinese lunch - which was delicious but I think we all felt a bit sad. So I will say good bye to one dear set of friends but look forward to seeing you by the end of the month!

Alex is in Spain at the moment they have taken little Alba to meet her Spanish family. From the photos she looks like she has put a lot of weight on and is flourishing!

It is lovely to think that we will all be going away together in July and Alba can then meet her British family!

Here are some photos of our holiday house this summer in Anglesea to cheer you up we are going Friday 17th July, I am sure it is in your diary!

Look after yourself my lovely Mum and I do hope you feel better soon - lots and lots and lots of love
Tricia xxxxx 

Newcastle letter - out of sequence

Newcastle

Tricia 23 April 2015

Dear Mum

It was just lovely to speak to you on your birthday and I had updates and photos from Jenny,Fiona and Sophie and it sounded like you had a glorious time - I am so pleased.

I have been having adventures here in Newcastle, New South Wales. Stephanie and I arrived on Monday morning for a three day workshop and it was raining quite heavily. However no-one anticipated the storm that then happened over the next three days - it was enormous! As you can see - the Storm of the Century was how the papers described it!

Sadly the workshops had to be cancelled as everywhere had to close down and the roads were impassable. The storm raged for over 36 hours, we lost power in the hotel but we had candles and torches . We were fine - the hotel really took care of us - providing food whilst we all waited for the storm to die down. I have never seen such winds and rain - some of the gusts were classed as Cyclone 3 level winds - so I suppose quite close to a hurricane . We could see the sea from our hotel room and it was wild.

Yesterday we went for a walk around the area and there were lots of trees down and the sea and clouds were spectacular.

   

We met up with some people yesterday afternoon and we are going to the University this morning for a meeting and then will fly back to Melbourne this evening. I am speaking at another Workshop in Melbourne on the 8th of May and some of the people who were going to be coming to this one will now attend the other one - and who knows maybe they will ask me back again!

I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Australia and have met some really delightful people and can see me doing some more work here in the future. I didn’t really anticipate that but life is such an adventure!!!

Lots and lots and lots of love my lovely Mum - I do miss you. 

Tricia xxxxxxxxxx 

Loving the learning - and recognising both the happiness and the sadness

It's my last few days in Melbourne and I have a morning to myself which has meant I could catch up on my blogg and write to my Mum etc....  all good stuff!

I have been using my time here in Australia and New Zealand, to reflect on what I want to do in the future.....   and that was the learning that I wanted to come out of this journey.

But in the last couple of weeks I have actually felt more confused about what I want to do in the future.......... however what has becoming increasingly clear to me is that I need to get myself more prepared to go through the doors that I know will be opening for me in the future.

I do have faith and certainty - I am totally certain that these doors will appear ......  the uncertainty is that I have very little idea what these doors will actually look like!

My first bit of learning from my time here - is that these are new doors  - opportunities will appear and will come in ways and forms that I don't know and can't foresee -  and I have to become completely comfortable with that. It must be perfect to have no idea what these doors will look like, what is behind them or where they will lead........

This is an important piece of learning as I have been trying to predict what the doors will look like - based on my previous work etc - but I am now moving into uncharted territory - and cannot know what it looks like!

So that is my first bit of learning -  I will embrace the fact that I have no idea what the doors of opportunity will look like or where they will lead........ and I will be excited and fearless about the unknown!

The second piece of learning is that I now need to prepare myself more as an independent operator.  In some ways I have already started this - planning to leave the University, my flat in Liverpool etc but what I must also do is to prepare myself with the tools that I will need to be independent.  I have been focusing on the leaving Liverpool stuff and the time has now come to prepare myself for this one woman future and the unknown options - but there are some basic prerequisites that a professional independent business requires - so I will start there and see what happens!

It's funny, but of course other people see things that you don't, several people have been telling me this for quite a while but I just wasn't ready to hear. Learning is all about being ready for the next step, and you just cannot learn something until you are ready.  The details of this are not yet clear to me, however the next steps are.

So I will take this knowledge with me to India on Tuesday, use my time there  to learn more.....  and then back to Liverpool, (briefly!) and a plan is being formed!

But all journeys involved partings....... and today I have also been thinking about the transient nature of relationships.  A friend once told me  that people come into your life ' for a reason and a season'  and  that is so true.  The 'season' for some people in my life, like my mother - has been my whole life, and for others the  'season' has been for a much shorter period. The 'reason'  for people being in my life is not always clear at the time but thinking about my time here, I can see people who have really helped me learn -  and that's what it's all about -  however many people there are in your journey, the learning you do on your own!!!

So  feeling blessed,  feeling happy - consciously happy, but also recognising and cherishing the beauty of sadness of the transitory nature of our humanity.

Thank you blogg!

Melbourne but not for long.....

Dear Mum

It's Sunday morning here in Melbourne and it is raining cats and dogs! I am coming to the end of my stay here in Australia and I’m surprised how emotional I’m finding it. I am really quite sad to be leaving as I have had such a really special time here.

Last night Kerry invited some friends round for dinner, I made a chicken casserole, which I have to say was very good and Kerry made Pavlova which was absolutely delicious. Here is a photo of Kerry and me and the pavlova.

We then played cards, Kerry and her friends play solo but they had never played estimation whist, so I taught them how to play Matches and we had a grand old time. it reminded me of playing cards as a child with you and dad and my sisters, and the many happy hours playing cards with my own boys.

In the morning we had been to the Queen Victoria market, it is such a lovely market, really huge with stalls selling everything. We bought the ingredients for the dinner and then I bought lots of little souvenirs to take with me to India.

India - yes the next leg of my journey is India! I will leave here on Tuesday evening and fly to Ahmedabad via Abu Dhabi. My friends in India have planned a very full two weeks for me. I will be based in Ahmedabad with trips to various villages to meet people and to see some of their work, so my amazing journey continues!!! In the market I bought lots of pencils and pens with koalas, kangaroos and other images of Australia on them, to give out to the children that I will meet on my travels.

I feel amazingly blessed, I have been made so incredibly welcome here and now there is another group of wonderful people planning exciting things for me to do in India. I just feel so grateful and appreciative , especially for the people who are in my life.

It is Mother’s Day here in Australia and Kerry will be going to visit her Mum this afternoon and I really miss seeing my lovely Mum! It’s nice to write you letters and hear how you are getting on from the others, but I am really looking forward to seeing you at the end of the month . I will be over to see you in the last weekend in May!

Hoping you are well and happy and I am sending you great big hug from Melbourne.......

Lots and lots and lots of love my lovely Mum - Tricia xxxxx 

Melbourne again!

Dear Mum

How are you - well I hope?

I’m now back in Melbourne , we flew in from Christchurch on Monday evening after a really lovely week exploring the South Island of New Zealand.

The landscape in New Zealand was truly spectacular with amazing mountains, lakes and the sea. We spend a very lovely week driving around in the camper van just taking it all in!

We spent one night with my friend Paul and Sue’s son Sean and his girlfriend Claire , they are a lovely young couple who are travelling at the moment and currently living and working in Dunedin. They made us very welcome by cooking us beautiful food and then taking us to their favourite spots - it was a very happy time.

They are currently living in a beautiful little house which overlooks the ocean and it has a really sweet garden which has lots of ornaments - I saw these two little owls and thought of you!

I heard from Jenny that Ann had been ill and she also thought she might have caught the bug herself - I do hope they are both better now and that no-one else caught it.

I hear from my boys quite regularly and Jim has been over in Paris meeting his little niece for the first time. Sadly Rachel couldn’t go to as she is still having problems with her visa. Here’s a lovely picture of them!

Hope all going well with you my lovely Mum, lots and lots of love

Tricia xxxxxxxxxx

    

New Zealand 2

Dear Mum

We are now in a place called Haast - tiny - population around 200 people - New Zealand is such a sparsely populated country - we have been driving through the most amazing countryside with hardly any houses - quite a lot of sheep though!

Here's me having a breakfast cuppa in the campervan - with the sun rising behind me!

This is just a short letter as we are now going to set off - for another day of amazing views! 

Yesterday we saw Cook's Mountain and the Fox Glacier - apparently there are over 3,000 glaciers in New Zealand! Today we will spend some time on the beach then head inland.

   

Lots and lots of love my lovely Mum Tricia xxxxxxx 

New Zealand 1

Dear Mum

Well - I am now in New Zealand - we arrived very late Sunday evening and picked up our camper van Monday morning and drove out of Christchurch. To start with the countryside seemed very normal but as we drove it started to change around every corner! One minute there would be rolling hills, the next minute big black peaks in the distance and then amazing beaches. 

This coastline was black, presumably volcanic - black sand and black rocks. The weather also seemed to change by the minute too, and we drove through sunshine. showers and rainbows - the sky stretching up and away in every direction with the clouds also making another landscape above us! The camper van is great and we stop and make cups of tea etc and our lunch watching the sea break on the rocks, or out to a lake and peaks - beautiful!

The scenery is truly fantastic - and really does take your breath away. It is much greener than Australia and looks more 'British' but on a much grander scale - all the beauty of the Lake District but really amplified - with hardly any people and loads of sheep. The towns are very small and sort of old fashioned in a nice way! Sue and I get on well and have laughed a lot.

The weather has been pretty wild and tonight - Wednesday - it is blowing a storm - but we are nice and cosy with our knitting!

Lots and lots of love my lovely Mum Tricia xxxx 

Sydney

These were sent via the phone - and both Jenny and Claire had real trouble printing them out!

Sunday 26th April Sydney

Dear Mum

Am now in Sydney and leave this afternoon for New Zealand. Through the magic of the internet I now know that Claire has a printer - so I can send letters to Abbeyfield again - thank you Claire! The technology is magic as I am writing this letter on my phone! I have left my computer in Melbourne as this afternoon I am going to fly to New Zealand with my dear friend Sue - she is from Bacup but is staying with her brother in Australia for three months.

I flew down from Melbourne yesterday and had a grand day walking around Sydney - the weather was extraordinary - when I arrived it was baking hot - walking down into Sydney I had my sun glasses on and looked for the shade it was so hot. But by the evening there had been hail storms and I really needed my jacket and scarf!

Here was the view from the apartment I am staying in - 12th floor with a great view of the back of Sydney! I walked down to the famous waterfront - it is funny seeing things in real life that you know - Sydney Opera house was just like I knew it - but bigger - and the waterfront was sort of smaller than I had envisaged! I got a ferry and did a round trip of the harbour - it had loads of ferries and reminded me very much of Hong Kong.

I got back to the waterfront and was walking around the Opera House when the weather changed completely and there was a short but very violent hail storm - crazy weather!

The sun then came out and I walked back! So summer to winter in one afternoon! Am off to New Zealand this afternoon - we are in a camper van and I may not be able to write that often - but hope you well and happy my lovely Mum - with lots and lots and lots and lots of love.

Tricia xxxxxxxx