WARNING - If you are only interested in our travels round India and not remotely bothered about what we did on our trip back to the UK then stop reading now. We've had such a busy time in the UK over the last 10 days that I want to remember what we got up to, but appreciate that this is unlikely to be relevant for people other than me.
We planned our trip with the objective of balancing work / holiday, seeing as many friends and family as we could, and doing the things that we miss in India. The main reason for our visit was for Richard (Phil's brother) and Frances' wedding in London on Saturday 15 March, but we arrived early to fit in other things and make sure that we were fully fit for the wedding itself.
So here's what we got up to. I'll add some photos later this week.
- Dinner with Richard and Frankie at a fab cheese restaurant in Spitalfields (a much-appreciated late Christmas present from them to us), step 1 in satisfying our cheese cravings and a nice pre-wedding catch-up.
- A dinner and night staying with George in Cambridge, including more cheese (step 2, excellent) and a good natter.
- Coffee with Jo and Dorothy, and an opportunity for Phil to meet his new Goddaughter.
- Lunch and a handbell peal (plus a third of a failed handbell peal, my fault) with DCB. Relieved that I haven't forgotten how to ring.
- Hot chocolate and chat with my school friend Kaf.
- Nice walks round Cambridge in the sunshine. Traditional activity of getting stuck behind boathouses on the Cam when walking the wrong way to the bridge between George's house and the town centre.
- Parkrun with the Cambridge crew (extended Pipes plus PhilO). Not pushing it too much, but thankfully the boggy conditions had dried up a bit for our arrival. Plus more runs in York and Cambridge later in the week.
- Lunch in the brewery tap in Peterborough, with really good proper real ale in a pint glass (Phil was happy).
- A Posh match (and win) for Phil, and two hours looking round John Lewis in Peterborough (also a win) for me.
- Visit to see my Grandad and Grandma and Sunday Lunch with my mum, dad, aunt, uncle and cousins (Sharon, Steven, Thomas and Olivia) near Wakefield. Traditional navigational fail from the Butlers reminiscent of many past ringing holidays, but lovely to catch up over lunch.
- Two days and nights in York, including walking the walls, tea and cake (lots of), admiring Mary and Derek's new kitchen, shopping for essentials, eating a lot of cheese (step 3 in cheese marathon) and generally enjoying the city and company.
- Ringing with Phil's dad for the first time! Derek is ringing the treble to doubles and is, in Phil's words, "exceeded expectations". That is a big compliment from Phil, and it was fun to join the practice (refreshing my Grandsire and Plain Bob) and pub session afterwards. More real ale (tick for Phil).
- Dinner and night staying with the Pipes, including a yummy chicken pie and more tasty cheese (step 4). Good catch-up and pre-India holiday planning session and struck by increasing height of Henry and Alfie every time I see them.
- Pub dinner with Charlie Isitt, including pre-India holiday planning session and a brie fondue (step 5). Large beef burger for Phil, also missing in India.
- Breakfast with my brother Peter, not including any cheese.
- Drinks with Graham, Charles, Rachael, Jill, Tessa, Leigh (more real ale) and fahitas (cheese included) at the new Beadman / Simpson residence.
- A few days' of work, split between London and Cambridge, mainly a mad dash catching up with many colleagues in the time available, but really good to spend time seeing people in the office.
- The highlight - the big wedding! A brilliant day with Richard, Frances and family at Sutton House in Hackney, Dishoom for lunch, tea in the afternoon and a party in the Narrow Boat in Islington in the evening. Big congratuations to Richard and Frances, and we're very happy to have been there for the big event.
- A glorious long Sunday walk from Kilburn up through Hampstead (including joining the locals for a ring), Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and Regents Park to meet family. The weather was wonderfully sunny, which inevitably resulted in somewhat ironic sunburn for someone visiting the UK from India in the middle of March.
- Lunch with Mary, Derek and Ros at the Wallace Collection, one of our favourite spots in London.
I am certain that I will have forgotten something, or someone, but I will add more once I've worked out what's missing. Although we were in the country, we missed the Guild Dinner (the first one I've missed since my first in 2005, I think) and were sorry not see friends there, but that's the way things go, and part and parcel of making the decision to move away for new adventures.
I'm now at home back in Mumbai, but alone for a few days as Phil is coming back later, arriving here on Thursday this week. The new airport is super quick, plus it's a Bank Holiday today, and I got home at midday from a flight that was scheduled to land at 1125. Not bad at all. I feel like I could do with another holiday really, but there's lots happening at work and I'll be back into the swing of things again tomorrow.
There are things that we miss about the UK, but our general approach in life is to look at the positives and all the things that we can enjoy here in India instead. Cheese and real ale are summountable issues, but seeing family and friends over the last 10 days has been fantastic. India does feel more relaxed than the UK though, with less stress and anger, although a lot of people here in India have more justification to feel that way. Living in another country makes me see my own in a different light; for the better and worse. I think that's what's supposed to happen when you move to live in a different culture, so I must be learning something!
We planned our trip with the objective of balancing work / holiday, seeing as many friends and family as we could, and doing the things that we miss in India. The main reason for our visit was for Richard (Phil's brother) and Frances' wedding in London on Saturday 15 March, but we arrived early to fit in other things and make sure that we were fully fit for the wedding itself.
So here's what we got up to. I'll add some photos later this week.
- Dinner with Richard and Frankie at a fab cheese restaurant in Spitalfields (a much-appreciated late Christmas present from them to us), step 1 in satisfying our cheese cravings and a nice pre-wedding catch-up.
- A dinner and night staying with George in Cambridge, including more cheese (step 2, excellent) and a good natter.
- Coffee with Jo and Dorothy, and an opportunity for Phil to meet his new Goddaughter.
- Lunch and a handbell peal (plus a third of a failed handbell peal, my fault) with DCB. Relieved that I haven't forgotten how to ring.
- Hot chocolate and chat with my school friend Kaf.
- Nice walks round Cambridge in the sunshine. Traditional activity of getting stuck behind boathouses on the Cam when walking the wrong way to the bridge between George's house and the town centre.
- Parkrun with the Cambridge crew (extended Pipes plus PhilO). Not pushing it too much, but thankfully the boggy conditions had dried up a bit for our arrival. Plus more runs in York and Cambridge later in the week.
- Lunch in the brewery tap in Peterborough, with really good proper real ale in a pint glass (Phil was happy).
- A Posh match (and win) for Phil, and two hours looking round John Lewis in Peterborough (also a win) for me.
- Visit to see my Grandad and Grandma and Sunday Lunch with my mum, dad, aunt, uncle and cousins (Sharon, Steven, Thomas and Olivia) near Wakefield. Traditional navigational fail from the Butlers reminiscent of many past ringing holidays, but lovely to catch up over lunch.
- Two days and nights in York, including walking the walls, tea and cake (lots of), admiring Mary and Derek's new kitchen, shopping for essentials, eating a lot of cheese (step 3 in cheese marathon) and generally enjoying the city and company.
- Ringing with Phil's dad for the first time! Derek is ringing the treble to doubles and is, in Phil's words, "exceeded expectations". That is a big compliment from Phil, and it was fun to join the practice (refreshing my Grandsire and Plain Bob) and pub session afterwards. More real ale (tick for Phil).
- Dinner and night staying with the Pipes, including a yummy chicken pie and more tasty cheese (step 4). Good catch-up and pre-India holiday planning session and struck by increasing height of Henry and Alfie every time I see them.
- Pub dinner with Charlie Isitt, including pre-India holiday planning session and a brie fondue (step 5). Large beef burger for Phil, also missing in India.
- Breakfast with my brother Peter, not including any cheese.
- Drinks with Graham, Charles, Rachael, Jill, Tessa, Leigh (more real ale) and fahitas (cheese included) at the new Beadman / Simpson residence.
- A few days' of work, split between London and Cambridge, mainly a mad dash catching up with many colleagues in the time available, but really good to spend time seeing people in the office.
- The highlight - the big wedding! A brilliant day with Richard, Frances and family at Sutton House in Hackney, Dishoom for lunch, tea in the afternoon and a party in the Narrow Boat in Islington in the evening. Big congratuations to Richard and Frances, and we're very happy to have been there for the big event.
- A glorious long Sunday walk from Kilburn up through Hampstead (including joining the locals for a ring), Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and Regents Park to meet family. The weather was wonderfully sunny, which inevitably resulted in somewhat ironic sunburn for someone visiting the UK from India in the middle of March.
- Lunch with Mary, Derek and Ros at the Wallace Collection, one of our favourite spots in London.
I am certain that I will have forgotten something, or someone, but I will add more once I've worked out what's missing. Although we were in the country, we missed the Guild Dinner (the first one I've missed since my first in 2005, I think) and were sorry not see friends there, but that's the way things go, and part and parcel of making the decision to move away for new adventures.
I'm now at home back in Mumbai, but alone for a few days as Phil is coming back later, arriving here on Thursday this week. The new airport is super quick, plus it's a Bank Holiday today, and I got home at midday from a flight that was scheduled to land at 1125. Not bad at all. I feel like I could do with another holiday really, but there's lots happening at work and I'll be back into the swing of things again tomorrow.
There are things that we miss about the UK, but our general approach in life is to look at the positives and all the things that we can enjoy here in India instead. Cheese and real ale are summountable issues, but seeing family and friends over the last 10 days has been fantastic. India does feel more relaxed than the UK though, with less stress and anger, although a lot of people here in India have more justification to feel that way. Living in another country makes me see my own in a different light; for the better and worse. I think that's what's supposed to happen when you move to live in a different culture, so I must be learning something!
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