Sunday Rounds off a Weighty Week

Sunday, February 10, 2019
Bombay

Sunday Rounds off a Weighty Week

     Namaste from Bombay!
     After ages and a very restless night, I fell asleep in the early hours and did not wake till 7.30 am--probably the longest lie-in I have had since my arrival in Bombay! I arose to summon the bread man to my studio, then read through Twitter (no time for a blog post today) and got cracking. I was attending the 9.15 am Mass and only had the time for a quick cup of coffee before I left my place for the walk to church.
     Mass was said by Fr. Colman--after which I picked up a vada pau for Russel and stopped off at Dad's place to drop to off.  This always mean that I have a mandatory visit of at least half an hour (although I was quite hungry and rarin' to get back to my breakfast). Russel was in great sprits. After a very good hot wash, much of the dead dark skin from his lower leg has begun the peel off (as the doctor said it would). He is walking unassisted around the house now with his walker and says that he is in no pain whatsoever.  Thank you Lord for your little mercies. I did not stay long and in a little while, I was back home and tucking into my breakfast--broons with spreads and coffee--which I ate while watching excerpts from the Graham Norton Show on You Tube as Llew had suggested I watch the one with Laura Linney talking about her kiss in Love Actually--which, as everyone knows, is one of my favorite films of all time.
     I then began the cleaning of my studio (as I do mostly on Sundays). I now have it down to a science with cleaning (with Fantastic and Bounty--Thanks heavens for them too!) of the window-sill and window tracks, kitchen counter top, top of fridge and microwave, sink and water faucet, inside of microwave after steaming water in a small bowl, polishing of my sterling silver tea set, washing of the mugs that hold my kitchen utensils, washing of my electric kettle, wet wipe dusting of my night stands and TV set, dry dusting of my night stand with wet wipe dusting of my lamp, sorting through and discarding of surplus paper on it, sweeping of the floor, swabbing of the floor, cleaning of my toilet--inside and out--washing of the floor, walls and shelves in my bathroom, washing of my soap dish and rubber soap saver, washing of the faucets and wash-basin, changing of the bin liner in my garbage bin...and then I was done! Phew! This might all sound like a lot, but the spaces are very small...so it is not really fatiguing. However, one is constantly fighting a losing battle with dust in India--which is persistent and uncontrollable. Still, the secret is wet wipes!
     By this time, I had ordered lunch from Bandra Gym--on Russel's recommendation, we had just tandoori grilled starters: Achari Mushrooms, Seekh Kebabs, Chicken Reshmi Kebabs and Vegetable Rolls--all with naan and roomali roti.
     It was not long before Sameer from the gym was calling to tell me that my lunch was ready. I picked it up and went straight to Dad's where we sat down to have our lunch with glasses of Thums Up. Everyone seemed to enjoy the lunch with cake (sent by a neighbor to celebrate a birthday) for dessert. The cricket match (India VS New Zealand) was on and both Russel and Dad were watching it. I did not stay long after lunch but told Dad that I was only a phone call away, should I be required to return as we had a tentative appointment fixed with a new young man whom we are looking to hire as full-time, live-in domestic help.
     Back home, I had a short nap and then sat down to finish transcribing my interview with Merlin D'Souza and to draft my blog post for the day. At 4.00 pm, Dad called to tell me to return to his place as the young man, whose name was Rohit, would be with us soon. A little later, he was sitting across from us and we were chatting casually with him. After he left, Dad and I realized that we have a lot of inquiries to make regarding his background. We continue to ask for your prayers that the Lord may send us the right person to undertake this task.
     I left for my home soon after and told Dad that I would not be back again. Back home, I continued transcribing my interview with Merlin and completed it. I went in for a shower and then decided to spend the evening with a drink and dinner and a movie. I watched Glorious 39 through Hoopla on my iPad--a film that was bizarre to say the least. Set in the 1930s on a British country estate (shades of Downton Abbey, Brideshead Revisited and Gosford Park), just before the onset of the war, it stars Romola Garai and Bill Nighy with smaller roles played by the likes of David Tennant, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, etc. It gripped me fully as I ate my dinner but at the end of it, I was rather perplexed as to what exactly happened and what the plot was all about.
     A long call with Llew during which time we discussed documents he needs from me regarding the filing of our taxes kept me busy for another half hour before I switched the light off and went to sleep.
     I had a really interesting weekend and I am happy to look forward to an interview-free week coming up when I hope to catch up on the long To-Do List by working entirely from home.
     Until tomorrow...