DAY 501

I've seen some great road signs recently with reminders for drivers to take care, stay in lane and don't talk on the phone - but much more poetic. This one is on the road from the city to the airport in Kolkata. I saw another one in Delhi recently that said 'Chance takers are accident makers'.

DAY 500!!!

Day 500! An early morning start: I met Ed and the kids at the airport as they returned from England and then raced off to the domestic terminal to fly to Kolkata. I hadn't been to Kolkata for years and had forgotten about their fabulous yellow Ambassador taxis.

DAY 499

Today was Eid - the end of Ramadan. We had the day off from work and I did a cycling tour of Old Delhi with Delhi by Cycle - it was great. I'll definitely do another. We cycled around the old city and climbed up to a rooftop near the Spice Market, looking down on this mosque as it filled up with people for the early morning prayers. The streets were packed, which made cycling a little bit difficult, but you could feel the excitement of Eid in the air.

DAY 498

Nothing particularly exciting happened today, except for a manic day at work, so here are some nice doors in Old Delhi, with an onion seller.

DAY 497

This photo is from Saturday, so I'm cheating a bit, but I wanted to include a picture of this fantastic embroidered textile shop in Pharaganj (the one I tried to go to last weekend). This is Manu Bhai - he's been collecting textiles for 35 years from all over India and sells them here in this shop. I've bought several pieces from him, going back quite a few years. I still struggle slightly with the ethical issues that surround tribal textiles and handicrafts being sold and ultimately taken out of the country ... but looking through his collection is a real joy. Next time he has promised to show me his 'museum pieces for serious collectors'. He showed me one or two this time and they are incredible. 

DAY 496

Today I did a guided trip to the Jama Masjid to watch the iftar celebration, where people come together to break their fast during Ramadan. It's very nearly Eid, so there's a lot of excitement in the air. It was really special to be inside the mosque with what must have been thousands of people. I took lots of photos and it was difficult to select just one, but I think this summarises the atmosphere the best.

DAY 495

Nothing very interesting happened today so I'm posting this photo of an Old Delhi chaat (snack) stall. This stall specialises in 'kulle chaat' which is hollowed out vegetables (tomato, melon, etc.), stuffed with pomegranate seeds and cooked chick peas, with a delicious masala (spice) mix and lemon sprinkled on top. Mmmmm. If you look closely, you can see a picture of them behind the man's head, and there are some waiting to be served on the box behind him.

DAY 494

Delhi Metro rules #2: James Bond, take note.

DAY 493

These painted doors are advertising a brand of tea. India always used to be covered in hand-painted lettering on shops and walls. A lot of it has been replaced with large printed acrylic/vinyl signs, especially in the cities and larger towns. Sigh. There's a great little film about this here (scroll down for the video).
This sign is actually quite a good lesson in the way written Hindi works. On the right, you can see the slightly cut off letters that makes up the brand name in English, 'Sufiyana', vertically. The same thing is reproduced in Hindi on either side of the cup. However, because of the way Hindi works, instead of letter by letter, the word is written syllable by syllable. From the top to the bottom: 'Su' 'Fi' 'Ya' 'Na'. This is because vowel sounds attach to the consonant in a different way to if they are independent. So they have to be written together. 

DAY 492

Meanwhile back in the UK ...

DAY 491

This is a new, very long park that has been built on top of a notoriously stinky open sewer between our house and the metro station. It's completely transformed the walk to the station - off and above the road, with lots of people running and walking ... very happy that it's finished. And it's not smelly any more.

DAY 490

It's just about cool enough to walk to the metro station and back now so I have been making good use of the network ... it's great! This is the mascot of the metro. Something about her reminds me of the collection boxes that used to be around towns in the UK for the (then) Spastics Society, and now immortalised by Damien Hirst. Remember these?

DAY 489

Saturday and a trip to Pharaganj to visit the best textile shop that I have found in Delhi ... but it was closed. Still always nice to visit this part of town though - lots of memories from our backpacking days. This is the door to a mosque - we're nearly at the end of Ramadan. One of my colleagues is fasting so we have been having lots of interesting discussions about it. 

DAY 488

Today was a very good day. My colleague and I attended the South Asian mbillionth awards ceremony as we had been made a finalist in the m-education and learning category for our app Jobseekers ... and we won! Jobseekers has been a project particularly close to my heart so I was very proud to accept the award on behalf of the whole team. You can see more about the app here.

DAY 487

Today was a notable day because I took the metro home from the brand new station that has opened a short walk from our office, and home at the other end. When it cools down a bit it's going to be fantastic. I liked this sign of the escalator rules. 

DAY 486

Back in the office for two days and then off travelling again ... today in Bhopal for a very positive meeting with the state government about a potential project. Bhopal is known for the gas leak tragedy, but it is also famous for its two large lakes. This is a statue of Raja Bhoj who reigned in the 11th century and was the founder of the city. He's famous being a great thinker and philosopher. He also appears to have had quite short legs.

DAY 485

This is bike shop #12, taken around the corner from our flat. This man was very keen for me to take his photo, and in fact posed with another bike that was standing nearby with his chick blind making kit on it (see Day 410)... but I thought this one of the furniture was more interesting. I've promised to deliver him a copy of the photo.  

DAY 484

Back to work today and it is HOT. Everyone is waiting for the monsoon. Meanwhile water trolley-walas across the city continue to reap the benefits. I've featured water trolleys before (see Day 421, for example), but I liked this one: totally tropical.

DAY 483

... and I'm home: reacquainting myself with the heat and introducing myself to a brand new bottle of mosquito repellent.

DAY 482

... followed by an hour in Istanbul airport ...

DAY 481

 A quick pit stop in London, (where the skyline seems to have changed every time I visit - there's the Walkie Talkie building!) ...

DAY 480

Early morning swim in Chapel Pool, as featured on Day 129. I had the world's quickest swim, avoiding two jellyfish and a school of minnows who had been trapped by the tide.

DAY 479

Look at the water! Lansallos - one of my favourite beaches in the world, at the end of a mile long walk down a woodland valley, with a really lovely National Trust campsite nearby, in case anyone is interested - more here.

DAY 478

A very English summer lunch: food is always a highlight in Cornwall. On the cheeseboard from the top and clockwise: Wensleydale with cranberries, red Leicester, Cornish gouda, Cornish blue, Cornish yarg (my favourite) and goat's cheese. Mmmmmm.

DAY 477

Now in Cornwall, staying with my parents in Polperro. It's been lovely and sunny so far - long may it last!

DAY 476

... topped off with a trip to the spa on Sunday morning. Who could ask for more?

DAY 475

And now a fantastic weekend in Frome with the town at its absolute best: sunny skies, Frome festival, a brilliant party last night and lots of lovely friends...

DAY 474

One last photo from the farm of my favourite chicken. Not sure you can completely appreciate that bizarreness of her hairstyle: it's a kind of feather afro.

DAY 473

... just in case it looks as if our summer holiday is completely idyllic, I'm including this photo to represent the work that I am still doing, although finding increasingly hard to concentrate on. Today I was working on my essay which was due two weeks ago but for which I will hopefully be given an extension, as requested three weeks ago. Fingers crossed while I continue to read and write (which makes it a little bit difficult).

DAY 472

A trip to Bath today but I forgot to take any photos until we were back at the farm. So here is one of our many croquet matches (and new shoes - just like my old ones, but with a twist)

DAY 471

Friends at the farm today for an animal scavenger hunt, a walk around, a pony ride and a picnic. And a meeting with Archie the owl.