A New Week Dawns and a Meeting with Annabelle

Monday, November 5, 2018
Bombay

A New Week Dawns and a Meeting with Annabelle

     Namaste from Bombay!
     A new week dawned when I awoke at 6.00 am and with it came news that it is Guy Fawkes Day in the UK--"Remember, remember /The Fifth of November?" My Twitterfeed through the day was filled with references to fireworks, bonfires, shivering dogs, a Grenfell Tower effigy being burned, to Guy Fawkes and the plot to attack Parliament, etc etc. I blogged (it took me exactly 20 minutes) and read up mail.

A Different (and very welcome) Breakfast:
     A quick cup of Java later, I was dressed and left for the gym where I spent an hour while reading The Sunday Times. Back home, I showered and had breakfast. It was slightly different today as just when I was leaving my flat to go to the gym, I saw a paowala or bread vendor making his way down the stairs of my building.  It turns out he arrives every day with a straw basket filled with freshly baked bread that he sells from door to door.  I asked him if he had any 'brunes' and he did--and so I bought one for Rs. 3! And I told him to come to my house and sell them to me too.  I am not sure I will buy a brune daily as I do wish to watch my carb intake...but it will be a good occasional treat. A 'brune' for those of you unfamiliar with it, is also called  'gutli'. It is a round loaf of bread with a hard brown domed crust which provides a fabulous crunch when you bite into it (even when it is not toasted). I spread some sundried tomato cream cheese on it and cut off some slices of Cheddar cheese and with that I had myself a super tasty breakfast sandwich.

Russel's Physiotherapy Session:
     Then, I left for my Dad's place in time to witness Russel's 10.00 am physiotherapy session with Lenita.  As the orthopedist had said that we could have her come in just once a week, I wanted to take a look at how she is progressing with Russel so that on the days when she does not come, I can assist Dad and Russel's ward boy in getting him to walk with a walker.  Lenita did arrive a few minutes later and we were engaged for the next hour in helping Russel take steps with the walker and teaching him how to use it. He was making good progress even though he feels discouraged and frustrated and articulates his unwillingness to work on it. We are pretty sure that over the next week he will become more proficient at using it and will do better.

Work and Lunch, Tea and Phone Calls:
     Back home, I responded to a whole lot of email and then began to transcribe the interview I did yesterday with Dawn.  Before I knew it, it was lunch time. My new tiffin had been delivered in the morning and I sat down to enjoy mince curry, white pumpkin with lentils (one of my favorite things to eat) and chicken cutlets while watching Come Dine With Me--it is an entertaining British TV reality show that I used to watch when I lived in London.  Finding it on You Tube is a great treat.
     I then took a 20 minute nap and when I awoke, I began working on the conference paper that I will be presenting in Calcutta. This took more than two hours after which I stopped for a much-needed pot of tea and cake.
      I then spent about an hour on the phone, talking first to my cousin Bonnie to give her some sad news about a death I had heard about in Canada. From her, I got the telephone number of Joel, the ex-husband of my Dad's cousin Sybil in London who has been a faithful rock to her in her prolonged illness. As Joel is himself not keeping too well, I decided to try a whatsapp call with him and, wonder of wonders, he picked up! We chatted for over half an hour and he brought me up to speed on his health issues and his family news--which I shall convey to Dad.

Drinks and Snacks with Annabelle:
     I was then just in time to get dressed and leave for the Bandra Gym where I was interviewing an old friend called Annabelle who has been in the performing arts field for at least 25 years. We met in the lobby and then made our way up to the bar (as the restaurant is closed). We got ourselves lemonade (me) and a virgin mojito (her) and a starter of Funghi Trifolati--which was mushrooms with three colored peppers (red, green and yellow). Annabelle found it too spicy and asked for Crostini instead. I asked for toast so that I could pile my mushrooms as it as it was a tad spicy without it. We chatted non-stop for a long while. Unfortunately, I could not pull out my notebook as we were really enjoying a very casual chat and decided to actually do an interview on another day.
     I got back home and felt quite tired today. Although it was just a little after 10.00 pm by the time I checked email, I brushed and flossed my teeth and fell straight into bed.
     Until tomorrow...