Bombay/Mumbai

Suketu Mehta

Mira Nair

I started reading Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta. I have just begun a research period in preparation for a trip to India. This is one of the books recommended to me by a friend.
Mira Nair the filmmaker has worked with Suketu Mehta also on e.g. Salaam Bombay!I like her work very much.I will also re-visit her films in this time of delving into anything pretty much to do with Bombay. Do you know her work?
It is early yet in this book but so far it is very easy to read. The language is almost chatty. Informative it is for certain, even though it may be the author's very own opinions they are worth reading.
So I will get back to you on this one. But it is a perfect book for a snowy afternoon as the dark settles over the valley.

It's snowing again...

Beekeeping and Moonrise

Yesterday I made my weekly trip to Hexham, our nearest market town, just south of Hadrian's Wall.
After a sumptious lunch with Noah and a love session with Sofie, my grand-cat we went to visit a painter, Paul Stangroom, who now lives in Hexham and paints Northumberland. He is an extraordinary crafts-man.
It was a very warm, jolly and enjoyable visit. Noah took to Paul right away.
Then I had planned to go to an Introduction to Beekeeping talk at the local high school.
I arrived as the moon was rising large and very yellow over the Hexham abbey. Absolutely stunning.
The talk was very informative and they also showed us a dvd film on the ins and outs of the "hobby". It is more of a calling and a communion really. I am interested for several reasons. There are courses offered and membership in an association also. I am thinking about it, because, although I live in the countryside, my actual garden area is quite small. Probably too small to keep bees. But I am going to find out more!

A real winter

I feel blessed with having a "real" winter for a change. Today the world outside is white and sparkling in the sun. Rain may be important for the earth but it is dreary day after day. SNOW is winter. So this winter has been more real than anyone since I moved here. In the US we had plenty of snow, almost too much! Several huge storms each winter season, at least in Northeast we did. Shovelling walkways and parking spaces were all part of it and hairy walks as one had to step gingerly over ice and slush. A pair of good weather boots and a puffy jacket and voila one was prepared.
This particular winter in the UK has been pretty extreme however. First two years of sodden summers and massive floods and then a winter like this. Still the beauty of the snow and the brightness it brings makes all the difference. Snowdays make me happy.

Moonlight on the snow

This is the fourth anniversary of my arrival in Tarset! How is it that four years passed with so many full moons in such a whirl?
The seasons almost blended at times through the amount of rainfall.Yes, and yet some of the hot days and some of the snow days stand out as highlights! Bringing with them a strong experience of the place, this unique place, this valley.
Tarset is particular and especially in moonlight on snow in the orchard. The clear skies at night here are so extraordinary, the stars seem to perch just above our heads and the skies are so vast, so huge we feel almost like happy little ants.
The full moon is one of the many important times in my calendar. When it is clear here it is magnificent. Often it is overcast and cloudy.
Tonight is spectacular.The moon shadows of the trees and sheep cast on the white snow.