tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43911376978063882292024-03-13T08:57:46.283-07:00H4H India March 2010Kate's Blog for the H4H India Women's Build, March 2010.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-87593077866785096182010-04-04T17:09:00.000-07:002010-04-05T16:48:00.692-07:00Flavour of the Action ...Hi,<br /><br />Here's a little flavour of the building action from India ...<br /><br /><object id="vp1z1f8I" width="432" height="240" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://static.animoto.com/swf/w.swf?w=swf/vp1&e=1270511265&f=z1f8I0nA1Mvzk009RI43Jw&d=335&m=a&r=w&i=m&options="></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed id="vp1z1f8I" src="http://static.animoto.com/swf/w.swf?w=swf/vp1&e=1270511265&f=z1f8I0nA1Mvzk009RI43Jw&d=335&m=a&r=w&i=m&options=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="432" height="240"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />and some of the craic from the hooley on Saint Patrick's night ...<br /><br /><object id="vp1oI8OY" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="432" height="240"><param name="movie" value="http://static.animoto.com/swf/w.swf?w=swf/vp1&e=1270494330&f=oI8OY9mnWRCU1Mx1vXiefw&d=212&m=a&r=w&i=m&options="><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed id="vp1oI8OY" src="http://static.animoto.com/swf/w.swf?w=swf/vp1&e=1270494330&f=oI8OY9mnWRCU1Mx1vXiefw&d=212&m=a&r=w&i=m&options=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="432" height="240"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />And that's the end of our adventure in Bangalore.<br /><br />Thank you for reading the blog. If you've any comments, I'd be delighted to hear at catherine.docherty@tinyworld.co.uk,<br /><br />God Bless till next time,<br /><br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-37077992338633623002010-03-22T01:07:00.000-07:002010-04-24T14:36:59.258-07:00Between the Jigs and the Reels<div><div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451473070641321634" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7huRYGNKpl2_lUSZM2PLY231vtIzFybzhXFYlny21_4_WcrJnLUEwUnYAkROoC_WQiqFfdlT6Ha26S3Mi3RHXuAx8JlL8nxBu4U_h5ciBskZGCXre3bMqUhFJuaQylOjBNg84OGSlHKk/s400/Wed17March+130.jpg" border="0" /><br />Hi again,<br />Back to a reasonable connection and I can close out the news on the Habitat Women’s Build in Bangalore. The Saint Patrick’s night party was a very fitting finale to a great adventure.<br /><br />Everyone from all <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnr7rYLc9glXimxav5WmRFjEELt0rL9-wfEiBn5no3w99YFUCIOL47J42377WjDC6Mp951sqfNJ4-2AJMf_YpT0RBshRFMQAvWGxhK4RMdfyATHMMW373Yo6K9Df807MkgbrpIw6h-9EA/s1600-h/Wed17March+149.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451473642103671554" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 240px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnr7rYLc9glXimxav5WmRFjEELt0rL9-wfEiBn5no3w99YFUCIOL47J42377WjDC6Mp951sqfNJ4-2AJMf_YpT0RBshRFMQAvWGxhK4RMdfyATHMMW373Yo6K9Df807MkgbrpIw6h-9EA/s320/Wed17March+149.jpg" border="0" /></a>over (even the few who couldn’t claim Irish connections !) joined in. Huge thanks in particular to Bernie for bringing the music, organizing the dancing and holding practice sessions the previous night so everyone could join in, and to Jenny for printing out song sheets so everyone could sing. It turned out to be a wonderful evening and many of us felt it was the best Paddy’s night we’d had in years.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrg1gkufAeHzlEKVXZRKQwgdWt2PNdFcDFDrAFVQEKvQI__TgKP0ZicGeFc0TQB7AiKdeNog0l-meRxwsFIKH5RTFZEq2FmZfVKVPAx4EV7-eB8Z8zwmuqxTry0d0OreDL5r0uF1p_8GY/s1600-h/Wed17March+108.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451474227652038834" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrg1gkufAeHzlEKVXZRKQwgdWt2PNdFcDFDrAFVQEKvQI__TgKP0ZicGeFc0TQB7AiKdeNog0l-meRxwsFIKH5RTFZEq2FmZfVKVPAx4EV7-eB8Z8zwmuqxTry0d0OreDL5r0uF1p_8GY/s200/Wed17March+108.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The top photo shows Bernie treating us to some Sean Nos (old fashioned Irish Dancing), which went down a treat.<br /><br />I’ve never danced a jig in an Indian outfit before but I decided to mix the cultures and give it a go. Here’s Una teaching me a few steps.<br /><br />The dancing was brilliant and it was amazing how quickly our American cousins took to The Walls of Limerick and the Peeler and the Goat !. Rachel, our adopted Australian team mate was a natural and she and I were partners for a few dances. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EUfWovUmiwnPrBaMp_p29JGOLnwon1kGFJfqPWLJmP90dGMc3jQgH9IQNFYF31T5ey4QtpTY1qynk72CtuZgTzLtNKKrk19bqBtgrRwQY20grkD5CD987AqHVuZkr91Ek1Cr7ypUut0/s1600-h/Wed17March+157.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451474955069079330" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EUfWovUmiwnPrBaMp_p29JGOLnwon1kGFJfqPWLJmP90dGMc3jQgH9IQNFYF31T5ey4QtpTY1qynk72CtuZgTzLtNKKrk19bqBtgrRwQY20grkD5CD987AqHVuZkr91Ek1Cr7ypUut0/s320/Wed17March+157.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There are not many who can successfully negotiate the Siege of Ennis in a sari, but Nirmala managed beautifully !!<br /><br />Jenny’s song sheets went down a treat and any and all sorts of accents were soon belting out Molly Malone, The Boys from the County Armagh, The Wild Rover and many more.<br /><br />I’ve added lots of pics below so you can get a flavor of the evening .. a great close.<br /><br />So that’s the end of our wonderful adventure.<br /><br />Thank you so much to Jenny for leading the Northern Irish team with distinction and looking after us all so well. Also to Nirmala, Joseph, Mahesh and all the Habitiat folks from Bangalore and all over India who came to help us.<br /><br />Bye till next time,<br /><br />Kate<br /><br />P.S. I’ve now headed off on another little adventure to explore some of India before I come home. I have a separate blog for that trip. It’s at http://www.kateindiatravels.blogspot.com/, if you’d like to check it out.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBXebbKAJAo_BxUbQtCuyBbhr573rtd8X1iuUDyto30lNz9FaAK0bgJ_9KquBQDRTwTEeL_66yMzs6I743peE2dKsVr548thHNXXjQhoySirzMpeVBnJ_pNBs7MvX0ov2xOJUg3C7leY/s1600-h/Wed17March+142.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451477153622652706" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBXebbKAJAo_BxUbQtCuyBbhr573rtd8X1iuUDyto30lNz9FaAK0bgJ_9KquBQDRTwTEeL_66yMzs6I743peE2dKsVr548thHNXXjQhoySirzMpeVBnJ_pNBs7MvX0ov2xOJUg3C7leY/s200/Wed17March+142.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhW9ipaFA0a6vkz_PBbZ7YdmCVu7BPSUKRGPqSmibtvjGNvjWR2sUUy_FLSGo1PrGuW6AQmLbc_kRxuyxxtcdTnPZpH8fKd8q_6gGId4n5N0hjCW0c46-IoZHKuIrY5LN3eIDYBSl8iJs/s1600-h/Wed17March+118.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451368363261856546" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: right; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga33PBTWvQ3HcAt22AgescGw4XSSC1Y_YwzWODvPvGLdAqX_XWN-vGA44k0MSOZvOB0skvB9BWO6aVglroKYBVBh5pyMHD1DhXdnCb7e01ttE9Tb6SknWLyWpvfkDdmGZFluhASdows3M/s200/Wed17March+148.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGnVHotBByVqGvIU9T-FI0tnPDd1SsDIy3ORkBp2FfuTed8po15lg_FeydQOzgNCB-5qX7NT1GpDXDRRMEBvZwJgPmUv6ObLAFQo3eR7ooy7C1u-xRtYr9UEsXW3G9630aHOADvml7D4/s1600-h/Wed17March+111.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451367724613474034" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGnVHotBByVqGvIU9T-FI0tnPDd1SsDIy3ORkBp2FfuTed8po15lg_FeydQOzgNCB-5qX7NT1GpDXDRRMEBvZwJgPmUv6ObLAFQo3eR7ooy7C1u-xRtYr9UEsXW3G9630aHOADvml7D4/s200/Wed17March+111.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidp6BRC-mD47AbTodcqo_E9TevydbW0oGhtl0BjFGzMtnYsiZs3zMmoS69wUGVncmhL7b55K7_N1NwKI4QEcb-Q8YIA8sDsdokXLIz-hfIVjmX33ziJ6X8H6LJDlPBcxdWVfB_wopa10U/s1600-h/Wed17March+121.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451368672646898354" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; 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float: right; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_fnBs9bFgIlGyje0nuv2hLEaYACIKYpWSlA0IWC0buew3Kmn0iNzguuoOntcMJGain2-qI-_niraBshsbOkeE0xjPoEW6sFum4Vjr28jARIQjd43Q1X9JYkWOfiZA1Pu0SrvYAwqxWs/s200/Wed17March+144.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrlmfEZeeeUc6GCGR4HO9MnoagYN4XtExP_4T06r04pmmjvIPRArm3wOwffaASIZu5cSU3mVzp9X2nKh1j88FeoKQfqEZZnSyKTENBXqhmwfiHi5Jde1XlklYE2OYhNpGjr0L9sErgsM/s1600-h/Wed17March+153.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451370023635057890" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrlmfEZeeeUc6GCGR4HO9MnoagYN4XtExP_4T06r04pmmjvIPRArm3wOwffaASIZu5cSU3mVzp9X2nKh1j88FeoKQfqEZZnSyKTENBXqhmwfiHi5Jde1XlklYE2OYhNpGjr0L9sErgsM/s200/Wed17March+153.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMC-UhdkqOCtxgACibN8VqPnbg3I1fxsf9lsyoQKW7whT-yl4OQNeub5WCHmMqwn9Jg23FpXFbXba-FdkfOTrtrDLE0tOfTPD-8D6nlGsMM59ds12_m-9ARygIAnwhothSoC6yB1aIxCE/s1600-h/Wed17March+109.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451367395786393650" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMC-UhdkqOCtxgACibN8VqPnbg3I1fxsf9lsyoQKW7whT-yl4OQNeub5WCHmMqwn9Jg23FpXFbXba-FdkfOTrtrDLE0tOfTPD-8D6nlGsMM59ds12_m-9ARygIAnwhothSoC6yB1aIxCE/s200/Wed17March+109.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65j7EWih9ygeMCQ59lL1WSdOIeq0-SZoX8566tSckyTGrR0IGQ9Bbk6rMojBz9ZAK2mDkWwT0KkFChoP57SA2QTsEpNfZA87cXKlqIIM0perhGGkzT-Mvfp4tZQ_3VSeAPO_EJte5JDo/s1600-h/Wed17March+154.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451370300187719234" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65j7EWih9ygeMCQ59lL1WSdOIeq0-SZoX8566tSckyTGrR0IGQ9Bbk6rMojBz9ZAK2mDkWwT0KkFChoP57SA2QTsEpNfZA87cXKlqIIM0perhGGkzT-Mvfp4tZQ_3VSeAPO_EJte5JDo/s200/Wed17March+154.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-38776775171308077922010-03-20T05:33:00.000-07:002010-03-20T05:34:44.718-07:00Back Soon ...Hi Folks,<br /><br />Sorry for the delay in updating. I've moved on from Bangalore and the internet access is very patchy. I'll do the update for our final evening Irish Party as soon as I can get a good connection,<br /><br />Tks,<br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-23581789049246067132010-03-17T16:19:00.000-07:002010-03-17T17:12:35.364-07:00La le Padraig i mBengaluru<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOV1GVBWKznc6nBst160hNoXFWaB497-O1fY_cXMqti6Vee-zwLZ1XoF01tqUVXVouEeMcx5R6Va_npckQ9AjOkZ1OFcXt3sFu9PLQ1NcGmWKhZ3Hj1C9x-p1Vp8a0Fekx36Imkw8fsNI/s1600-h/Wed17March+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOV1GVBWKznc6nBst160hNoXFWaB497-O1fY_cXMqti6Vee-zwLZ1XoF01tqUVXVouEeMcx5R6Va_npckQ9AjOkZ1OFcXt3sFu9PLQ1NcGmWKhZ3Hj1C9x-p1Vp8a0Fekx36Imkw8fsNI/s400/Wed17March+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449746852557237730" border="0" /></a><br />Hi,<br /><br />Well, Saint Patrick's day got off to a rousing start, with a chorus of 'When Irish Eyes are smiling' before we boarded the bus. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKh_SKkl0Y-Gnmj5eqk0EGYd19T_Yvum9KvwWMoaW1vGrGhswrHgJ2sNZdGho7SZq9SMzmxVfdxlKVCIdioFjL2C0J86-61zDiwRW6DXXzPZx3pBR_vqhZvahV94ONxQipmwVWvKSE6pU/s1600-h/Wed17March+012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKh_SKkl0Y-Gnmj5eqk0EGYd19T_Yvum9KvwWMoaW1vGrGhswrHgJ2sNZdGho7SZq9SMzmxVfdxlKVCIdioFjL2C0J86-61zDiwRW6DXXzPZx3pBR_vqhZvahV94ONxQipmwVWvKSE6pU/s320/Wed17March+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449747849614447986" border="0" /></a>Here's Bus 3 on our last day, on the way to the build. Everyone was Irish today and we continued the merriment on the journey to the site. Here's Charley discovering his Irish roots with Jenny.<br /><br />Back at House 4, we had a busy morning. The wall above the lintel has been built up to full height at the front and the left hand side and today's job was to build up the 4 layers of blocks above the lintel at the back of the house. This involved moving blocks and concrete up the various stairways, barrels etc., to t<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xH0_8Nmm5xMuJH2wxD6-g94l8IfIXELpGk61-5eqw_1cz5EyOZpl_F_5sjZi3RwZ34s7JzRyF9UdqSoSXfMP7bl5Hx1SZK47e3xAi_XOYwTCyQQuhj6O_vHI80veSZHxxFWO9ji3yPc/s1600-h/Wed17March+025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xH0_8Nmm5xMuJH2wxD6-g94l8IfIXELpGk61-5eqw_1cz5EyOZpl_F_5sjZi3RwZ34s7JzRyF9UdqSoSXfMP7bl5Hx1SZK47e3xAi_XOYwTCyQQuhj6O_vHI80veSZHxxFWO9ji3yPc/s200/Wed17March+025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449749184049761346" border="0" /></a>he top of the scaffolding. Fortunately, we had Santosh and Magi and one of his brothers Praveen with us today. Lifting and moving blocks is child's play to them, so we were spared the heavy stuff today.<br /><br />As well as being Sain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_r1jw46Qe2YsNjaR_GCAHIB4JVktSH44fs6hGuoQRRNoQSUR3VqJL9n_3gz4vR85lcuYEXKr7-PSyj4cdA5vOK3z-atjxijkewOum6E-P1XEt38nsl4N3_ZhG5hL5scp0q1mrF_MYgg/s1600-h/Wed17March+042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_r1jw46Qe2YsNjaR_GCAHIB4JVktSH44fs6hGuoQRRNoQSUR3VqJL9n_3gz4vR85lcuYEXKr7-PSyj4cdA5vOK3z-atjxijkewOum6E-P1XEt38nsl4N3_ZhG5hL5scp0q1mrF_MYgg/s200/Wed17March+042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449751340342743954" border="0" /></a>t Patrick's Day, it was also a festival day here in Bangalore and everyone was on holiday, so we had a full house at the site for the last day. Lots of neighbours and friends dropped in and we had some good fun and exchanges with the family. Amalia came with us today to translate and help with the small blessing of the house and the family before we finished work at about lunch time. It was a very moving and beautiful little ceremony, very informal. We all just said <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaLi1r-zDgpT7lSAhomf8Y0L8XwAqUpEoU5vdxIbtMAac0r5vPTZ2vVubRgHc3xJwhkQvaS1ETM9HtkVdJMcGzLPpxTSaRVY7lv4hb38X-xUo-c5EOLQJIO3d3foZZ-NzZrmlZdPuceQ/s1600-h/Wed17March+032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaLi1r-zDgpT7lSAhomf8Y0L8XwAqUpEoU5vdxIbtMAac0r5vPTZ2vVubRgHc3xJwhkQvaS1ETM9HtkVdJMcGzLPpxTSaRVY7lv4hb38X-xUo-c5EOLQJIO3d3foZZ-NzZrmlZdPuceQ/s200/Wed17March+032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449749889371461266" border="0" /></a>a few words about our experien<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8t0rJLpXQGNuGdfg06C2h4xxXxz74vqM6uV1HzPlqPU7SIvvLCEtJcejt0KhP5FMreGjoyCzIssQna8jzPtJsueG22P9PwtOFgjsQF0OQQdnslBh0B412nYuMxN1WG8DTKTfqAJ54WM/s1600-h/Wed17March+022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8t0rJLpXQGNuGdfg06C2h4xxXxz74vqM6uV1HzPlqPU7SIvvLCEtJcejt0KhP5FMreGjoyCzIssQna8jzPtJsueG22P9PwtOFgjsQF0OQQdnslBh0B412nYuMxN1WG8DTKTfqAJ54WM/s200/Wed17March+022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449750170738666498" border="0" /></a>ce and what it had meant to us. Amalia translated for us and then the family talked to us about their feelings for the build and the new house. It was indeed a privilege to be part of this intimate gathering. Charley had talked about 'Crying and kissing time'. He wasn't wrong !<br /><br />After this little<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNe9znxwjf9sh3j8gEb-TgIQM75G8GtUapRyaqUK0RvX_Bg_BrSWevaWmWknUopMIkiL7b2zsLI92jEvdpujMQWYBG4GdU5SQwFC2-sHmaahyphenhyphen5NWx5OY7lj-gA3DNLVbNWpcgwfTGx8nw/s1600-h/Wed17March+052.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNe9znxwjf9sh3j8gEb-TgIQM75G8GtUapRyaqUK0RvX_Bg_BrSWevaWmWknUopMIkiL7b2zsLI92jEvdpujMQWYBG4GdU5SQwFC2-sHmaahyphenhyphen5NWx5OY7lj-gA3DNLVbNWpcgwfTGx8nw/s200/Wed17March+052.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449752499469385634" border="0" /></a> gathering we went on a walk about to see some of the other houses. The neighbours on the next street were laying the concrete for the roof .. that looked interesting. It was all hands on deck, as the concrete had to be passed a long way from the front of the house, up the scaffold and across the length of the roof to be layed. We watched for a while them moved along to lunch.<br /><br />After lunch today we had a few words and a short evaluation exercise of the build with Mahesh and then we headed back to the site. One of the new Habitat homes was having it's Door Ceremony and we were all invi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZU1d66ED8pDSXsGPrTh-oIPlep_Lq83GtTwaQTn1gf856ezKMKkq5_CUd6NVXVoQAj4lv4qp6x3pKMT_oSQy2EgHoofzlX_fcYvEGf0GXcWlSg0X4LvyVt4mA25U-99Go-cfF-fJy2mQ/s1600-h/Wed17March+079.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZU1d66ED8pDSXsGPrTh-oIPlep_Lq83GtTwaQTn1gf856ezKMKkq5_CUd6NVXVoQAj4lv4qp6x3pKMT_oSQy2EgHoofzlX_fcYvEGf0GXcWlSg0X4LvyVt4mA25U-99Go-cfF-fJy2mQ/s200/Wed17March+079.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449756640054021266" border="0" /></a>ted. This ceremony celeb<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8Z0wDboIGgzpVEOmmV6IVYDWsdz2hQ7Vgmo9UIXPuKrvLOPkccXKdC2IKT1QWgUn3MyC883UgOj1wYubLC2lo7MJqWUJTsOzFxKzLFSu-q2k7-cK6-rMuJfFkxT_ghLkOwAbT6Ap9Sw/s1600-h/Wed17March+071.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8Z0wDboIGgzpVEOmmV6IVYDWsdz2hQ7Vgmo9UIXPuKrvLOPkccXKdC2IKT1QWgUn3MyC883UgOj1wYubLC2lo7MJqWUJTsOzFxKzLFSu-q2k7-cK6-rMuJfFkxT_ghLkOwAbT6Ap9Sw/s200/Wed17March+071.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449756252065347986" border="0" /></a>rates the new house and invites blessings on the hosue itself and the family. It was great to be a part of it. The yard of the house was decorated and a ribbon had been placed across the door. The 5 Habitat team leaders cut the ribbon and this formally opened the house. The ceremony invloves boiling milk <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYt1NJb8BPx24e7Abzu9lPxO_Im7C2PUhWFltdiPfmLyusPTHsZCGLqNQ2sJKK8vF7k8JOlUbXQsSjboAkke0R9pJ_o_tmfGRlxTO3N2gPytUB9CjO7J-LIoBVoenWuAj-yN2lRX7pLlo/s1600-h/Wed17March+080.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYt1NJb8BPx24e7Abzu9lPxO_Im7C2PUhWFltdiPfmLyusPTHsZCGLqNQ2sJKK8vF7k8JOlUbXQsSjboAkke0R9pJ_o_tmfGRlxTO3N2gPytUB9CjO7J-LIoBVoenWuAj-yN2lRX7pLlo/s200/Wed17March+080.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449756977248808242" border="0" /></a>inside the door to bring good fortune and blessings. The ceremony was attended by all the neighbours and friends as well as by the Habitat group. There were lots of cameras and movie cameras too. The tradition is for all the guests to touch the walls of the house and pray for the family.<br /><br /><br /><br />We then went back to our regular meeting place at Coconut park, for the final get <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93_yfgYEnd5Ny2TA3uv4xIVxYDvU7j5oAoyJq_xqTYN3i7-VruBUhhBTXgXdQ-L6zH4pU-wDkbPdwgc_6OJa2EDqHhPdKk0P6B3QzPBY1msUxuQ2eNsqCazA71feGTJrc30X_IqcZeKM/s1600-h/Wed17March+093.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93_yfgYEnd5Ny2TA3uv4xIVxYDvU7j5oAoyJq_xqTYN3i7-VruBUhhBTXgXdQ-L6zH4pU-wDkbPdwgc_6OJa2EDqHhPdKk0P6B3QzPBY1msUxuQ2eNsqCazA71feGTJrc30X_IqcZeKM/s200/Wed17March+093.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449754521598598002" border="0" /></a>together with the community and the family we'd been building with. This was a great last opportunity to know a little more about how the community and in particular the Women's self help groups work. A few ladies from the various Sanga (the self help group) talked to us (thru Nirmala) and explained how they set up their groups and what they did. One of the groups was a tailoring group, and their sevretary spoke to us. The group has 15 members and each member saves 25 rupees a week. They have had a few smaller bank loans and are delighted to have just had confirmation that their bank has now ap<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BOzv3SZPAkA88Pww38HDG_jWA8BYr0O1bN2wtcCrzVB71_37c_ye1RTPIvJiFFNyhnwn-gMoknedlv97iH6Rc1vMeDq6dGj1PjVRClpoWRUbN-NcL0WLC2EfTDscgXR5o9MO94YqJgU/s1600-h/Wed17March+104.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BOzv3SZPAkA88Pww38HDG_jWA8BYr0O1bN2wtcCrzVB71_37c_ye1RTPIvJiFFNyhnwn-gMoknedlv97iH6Rc1vMeDq6dGj1PjVRClpoWRUbN-NcL0WLC2EfTDscgXR5o9MO94YqJgU/s200/Wed17March+104.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449758497318746562" border="0" /></a>proved a loan of 1 Lakh (100,000 rupees), for the group's business. All of the families we built with attended this final celebration and we had a chance to see our Shanti and her family from House number 4 again. I also got the cahnce to meet Pauline and the family from House 13 that I'd worked with last week, which was great.<br /><br />Here's Sorona, Shanti's son whom we've worked with all the time on house 4.<br /><br />We said our goodbye's and boarded the busses one last time to go back to the hotel and dinner and and Indian Ceili, hosted by the irish team !Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-88543281045159679612010-03-16T10:33:00.001-07:002010-03-16T18:16:00.661-07:00Stairway to Heaven !!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBm0WQ703cdDyyY_BDYpTVO03fsqLntFotCFRLcjmneYkzOxavFut3hMaVlGntngToUWoXto6ChNjVr0oDYFQjO4ytIakcf-yZWCK7faChxFs_WqZtorekL8fjuGsHSQUGRqCcwGmLTuY/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+052.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBm0WQ703cdDyyY_BDYpTVO03fsqLntFotCFRLcjmneYkzOxavFut3hMaVlGntngToUWoXto6ChNjVr0oDYFQjO4ytIakcf-yZWCK7faChxFs_WqZtorekL8fjuGsHSQUGRqCcwGmLTuY/s400/MonTues15-16+052.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449286521000717106" border="0" /></a>Hi,<br /><br />Back at house 4 today, the first job was to build a stairway from the blocks so we could use it to pass the blocks up over the lintel for the next row of blocks. (I know it's a day too early, but the St. Patrick's Day shirt is just the build up to tomorrow !). We built a lovely silver stairway ! and used it to pass the blocks up overhead (definitely a tricky proposition). Again, we were left in th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwef1jGJdE6bsb486v7R6pXn3ywrDxFkQoGkpu96oU6-c_JmntETV-AIESppuKxeA-1QX3m6mHLIuwxRkwE-6BBaM65G9Ydu3z0mfQnXp-M5WRrhtvU-vVsckT88Vq2XdmIvZrZlFDipc/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+075.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwef1jGJdE6bsb486v7R6pXn3ywrDxFkQoGkpu96oU6-c_JmntETV-AIESppuKxeA-1QX3m6mHLIuwxRkwE-6BBaM65G9Ydu3z0mfQnXp-M5WRrhtvU-vVsckT88Vq2XdmIvZrZlFDipc/s200/MonTues15-16+075.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449287974021268450" border="0" /></a>e half-penny place by one of the local lads, Maggi, who could lift and carry them over his head one handed ! I think he enjoyed impresing us ! but we didn't care. We were delighted to have him. He doesn't live at the house. He's a friend of Santosh, Sonara's son and he's definitely in demand along the street as an extra builder. So today, too, involved a lot of lifting blocks and pans of concrete - but this time they had to be lifted higher and higher each time as the rows of blocks increased. So we had some creative solutions, like extending our stairway and building a new one .. on <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RVtbVry3aY-pAla6E3tWN-iPFHbSjFYaZoEqzDqVEF9LTXlbzpPcAZpObW6gy8RNW6x09qMb03MB7iHBBSb8mvsMTnmkFw5i-4GFS_Ps9dek3G9ddYRLrbI3nTJU4B55bi59mW6g6b4/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+062.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RVtbVry3aY-pAla6E3tWN-iPFHbSjFYaZoEqzDqVEF9LTXlbzpPcAZpObW6gy8RNW6x09qMb03MB7iHBBSb8mvsMTnmkFw5i-4GFS_Ps9dek3G9ddYRLrbI3nTJU4B55bi59mW6g6b4/s200/MonTues15-16+062.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449290759521018674" border="0" /></a>top of a barrell ! All good fun, and we did eventually get the blocks up and in place. Here's Sonara collecting some mangoes for our break.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMrX2hDZi645ohFw2kR0o82up4UNE2uzLluERby0BZiUqVKj9V5ldEW0gKgtTMFZt_bauEHzg0CHxqFaNtG-XovU6fUCD8s5dU86ma0w50S2DOMiB3mdn4b594NYJ81I2P7qetF5eP1Y/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+059.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMrX2hDZi645ohFw2kR0o82up4UNE2uzLluERby0BZiUqVKj9V5ldEW0gKgtTMFZt_bauEHzg0CHxqFaNtG-XovU6fUCD8s5dU86ma0w50S2DOMiB3mdn4b594NYJ81I2P7qetF5eP1Y/s200/MonTues15-16+059.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449290128124136466" border="0" /></a> I have to admit, they weren't a lot better than the one I had in the restaurant last week ! but nevertheless we enjoyed them. And here's Cathy working as builder's mate for Sonara on the roof. We had a mad rush at about 4 o'clock today as we tried to get the top row of blocks in place before we had to leave for the bus back. We were a few minutes late, but we got there.<br /><br />Tonight we had our Closing Ceremony, which was really touching .. just a few simple words from Joseph and Mahesh and some of the other leading Habitat personnel. We saw the professional photos that had been taken during the build and footage that had been broadcast on TV. The build attracted a lot of attention and there were a number of items. Well done to American Cathy from our House for an excellent TV interview .. and wait till you see Liz hurtling a pan of sand through the air .. priceless ! I think we will get copies.<br /><br />We then had a very nice meal in the garden and took the opportunity to take some photos of our new friends. H<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsYC43SlK6VT8Jrk7oUZFPkF4ZFavEjexQIqG8KX_QC_aGW7cvAdmfxIEOsGw1YvNtuUSNu_wkNYkPUJo05T9ERB1AeTnXdne6269FI64okEtxoNusz0kQpi_MFoUbVEwa1yEqhJEhys/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+096.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsYC43SlK6VT8Jrk7oUZFPkF4ZFavEjexQIqG8KX_QC_aGW7cvAdmfxIEOsGw1YvNtuUSNu_wkNYkPUJo05T9ERB1AeTnXdne6269FI64okEtxoNusz0kQpi_MFoUbVEwa1yEqhJEhys/s200/MonTues15-16+096.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449292738810580386" border="0" /></a>ere I am with Lynn and Hugh, wh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8x13ZzrZu2TynZrF7JSCUKzTgexnD3FAz6rEGxuLVqsSZYRqdGL4mZhaF5UQ7ExewKD1TsVDXa-thj5ff3mk6DpYLsLQoIMF5Sd_vJUx_2grebqrSonS5uHPr_4_YM6nfybjodegklQA/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+090.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8x13ZzrZu2TynZrF7JSCUKzTgexnD3FAz6rEGxuLVqsSZYRqdGL4mZhaF5UQ7ExewKD1TsVDXa-thj5ff3mk6DpYLsLQoIMF5Sd_vJUx_2grebqrSonS5uHPr_4_YM6nfybjodegklQA/s200/MonTues15-16+090.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449293323733927346" border="0" /></a>om I worked with on House 13. They had lived in India for 2 years when they were in the Peace corps and they definitely look the part. And here's two of our wonderful bus leaders who looked after us so well .. Diana and Amalia.<br /><br />It's really hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day building. The time has gone so quickly and I'm sure we will all be very sad to finish up tomorrow. But we've had a wonderful time building alongside the families and the Habitat staff in Bangalore and at the end of the day, some very lovely families will have a new house .. and that's what it's all about ..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTt_Au8Hm8KE8MxumQ-4xWMuZuZArdhifS204wC55PUHIuxc9C3cne8GFbroYkwmgdYYjQAxhCwnnIXy2xdlgeZah3bHSx8F8VzCMhVqwWuAJ67Kd0pbSzW6i_Asil3EJfpqCidx0iG8/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+091.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTt_Au8Hm8KE8MxumQ-4xWMuZuZArdhifS204wC55PUHIuxc9C3cne8GFbroYkwmgdYYjQAxhCwnnIXy2xdlgeZah3bHSx8F8VzCMhVqwWuAJ67Kd0pbSzW6i_Asil3EJfpqCidx0iG8/s400/MonTues15-16+091.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449405111255095746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />More tomorrow (probably with a few shamrocks involved ..)Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-8069637102158782552010-03-16T09:57:00.000-07:002010-03-16T10:31:38.487-07:00Jenny's Singing and Dancing Class ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfI6FdpB3I8kcpn7PCC1fE7Fusm-F5M6iKNY6QeSp6JyonwgtQnnapf0OXQtSk2W70PAFozW8tAQ8Vn5lnNFlR63Sd4idpcE55vja5E2Z1b2hc7tN4rE8K2JBsDRu0AcddT8vEvOOank/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfI6FdpB3I8kcpn7PCC1fE7Fusm-F5M6iKNY6QeSp6JyonwgtQnnapf0OXQtSk2W70PAFozW8tAQ8Vn5lnNFlR63Sd4idpcE55vja5E2Z1b2hc7tN4rE8K2JBsDRu0AcddT8vEvOOank/s400/MonTues15-16+038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449277700353128946" border="0" /></a><br />Hi again,<br /><br />One of the great things about Habitiat builds is the opportunity to get to know and to get involved with the whole community and not just the one family we build with. No one embodies this better than Jenny .. here she is with her new friends. She taught the children some singing and dancing and they performed for us by the busses today, where they had an audience. They absolutely loved it and so did we<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyV01nrDHNxWtR1EhkeKr3eTjqDlImIvVKSonjAvrM1GqoQJoECoGD07Js32-n3Ag-18glPv1eSU5bwq3bhbdLJSWmkk7N4NrYr1K0P-kvI-o2TC3Pl6ybvfOL5CywYQHrGGih4NQ7u4/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyV01nrDHNxWtR1EhkeKr3eTjqDlImIvVKSonjAvrM1GqoQJoECoGD07Js32-n3Ag-18glPv1eSU5bwq3bhbdLJSWmkk7N4NrYr1K0P-kvI-o2TC3Pl6ybvfOL5CywYQHrGGih4NQ7u4/s200/MonTues15-16+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449278644038054018" border="0" /></a> !<br /><br />Today I was back at house 4 with my original team, as we were ready to build the rows of bricks above the lintel. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtd643jYvySxf3VZQR3G3DJpo29-KZWVEl_D3QyEuXnJkqkn0VBoLAF5rrG2KjNXLaWnf4vhb3Dff1bAYOpxsyb17JxzcjuKbfqTl6opAd-xwrqYvPpkYNTWzmwW8aGuK6Eyl3zYtWuc/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtd643jYvySxf3VZQR3G3DJpo29-KZWVEl_D3QyEuXnJkqkn0VBoLAF5rrG2KjNXLaWnf4vhb3Dff1bAYOpxsyb17JxzcjuKbfqTl6opAd-xwrqYvPpkYNTWzmwW8aGuK6Eyl3zYtWuc/s200/MonTues15-16+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449280518441884962" border="0" /></a>We had a new team member today, Harry, the Finance Director from Habitiat in Chennai. Harry is from Bangalore and his family still live here, but for the past 5 years he's been in Chennai helping to organise Habitat's response to the tsumani. Habitat, along with their pa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zIkIwme1kKwHUPeX_07faEj_CsI2IaM5HgPkDfpBjgoDcAWHJcczcXUP5r294xZWnn8QsjgikxllIVSdJ_D3_uuJE9Oj_oFtmJqIMFjUElBMDKT0Y1rjKiPrpH1Fndzv2jII4w3A7xk/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zIkIwme1kKwHUPeX_07faEj_CsI2IaM5HgPkDfpBjgoDcAWHJcczcXUP5r294xZWnn8QsjgikxllIVSdJ_D3_uuJE9Oj_oFtmJqIMFjUElBMDKT0Y1rjKiPrpH1Fndzv2jII4w3A7xk/s200/MonTues15-16+027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449281509679424818" border="0" /></a>rtner organisation have done remarkable work and built 14,000 new homes. Harry told us that for many familes, it was in fact a blessing in disguise, as their new Habitat homes are far better than their previous accomodation .. so there is a small silver lining i<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvH5k-k0RHLTeZ4hXvcExVju3TGAVkc3n_62G9JZLtzdv1RVDzj5KY6nDQnGZoirYwHuv966Vq8_Em4qgYaZkU9-iwwNvp5dIp6nSHaIy5YVzEFMJzCQ90JgdvKureUXN9Hs8lTOmL0V4/s1600-h/MonTues15-16+029.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvH5k-k0RHLTeZ4hXvcExVju3TGAVkc3n_62G9JZLtzdv1RVDzj5KY6nDQnGZoirYwHuv966Vq8_Em4qgYaZkU9-iwwNvp5dIp6nSHaIy5YVzEFMJzCQ90JgdvKureUXN9Hs8lTOmL0V4/s200/MonTues15-16+029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449282138664988946" border="0" /></a>n the whole affair !<br /><br />The work today was all heavy lifting and there was an endless pile of concrete blocks on the street outside that had to be brought into the yard. We got our chain gang going and by lunch time we managed to complete the pile .. we were very happy to see the back of them ! After lunch there was a lot of carrying sand, cement and mortar and mixing. We carried and Sonara, our home owner mixed. I've never seen anyone work so hard. He's a real power house. The concrete mix then had to be passed up to fill and seal the lintel ready for laying blocks on top tomorrow. It was fun to watch the local lads shifting the pans and basins of mix .. like it was a feather .... whereas we were struggling .. a really good fun day, where we had great craic with the family and the other local helpers, but still worked hard and managed to achieve what we needed to.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8DzuegVzMIPTdQUNf0pidv8fNScFhHQ5VUSTm5qIbcgeUdE55r7I9y2kGABUJk3kDAibsUfjbePUlYuNlfWphy3hNZMciHgFPCTC2yAkLMtp8R-ksa9fwhl3y6neBVsAEwbBx98kHk4/s1600-h/DSCF1270.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio8DzuegVzMIPTdQUNf0pidv8fNScFhHQ5VUSTm5qIbcgeUdE55r7I9y2kGABUJk3kDAibsUfjbePUlYuNlfWphy3hNZMciHgFPCTC2yAkLMtp8R-ksa9fwhl3y6neBVsAEwbBx98kHk4/s400/DSCF1270.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449283393057536578" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpGvQUIZBSMY7z_jaMb8Dh7KJR2WYDbeErs-0tFDYgdHoalOxIk3FqdXnnR3A6V0ybgnWsd2lQCjPt9oq8q94QHSQibQybLuNwDEyIZAMARr2Og8vbdPrEKlFqZGkjOh-oGjlIgr9ys8/s1600-h/DSCF1290.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpGvQUIZBSMY7z_jaMb8Dh7KJR2WYDbeErs-0tFDYgdHoalOxIk3FqdXnnR3A6V0ybgnWsd2lQCjPt9oq8q94QHSQibQybLuNwDEyIZAMARr2Og8vbdPrEKlFqZGkjOh-oGjlIgr9ys8/s200/DSCF1290.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449284786154967154" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDz1oXOfJI-Fw-mqRZwpGgyNFa3dgiul57NstLKkorDPH29RPHmOMKmKVJD-5Urzph6ax2nmX5-soez4lMIQKJxxt2KpLbm3pkTH6HBRsGEncAvXlEX2TX5HCW89OhO-2bVIumUpXOQA/s1600-h/DSCF1275.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDz1oXOfJI-Fw-mqRZwpGgyNFa3dgiul57NstLKkorDPH29RPHmOMKmKVJD-5Urzph6ax2nmX5-soez4lMIQKJxxt2KpLbm3pkTH6HBRsGEncAvXlEX2TX5HCW89OhO-2bVIumUpXOQA/s200/DSCF1275.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449284283447580354" border="0" /></a><br />After work today, there was a visit to a local orphanage, which was wonderful but heartbreaking at the same time. The children were delighted to see us and we talked and played with them for a while. Some of the older ones were coming back from school in their immaculate uniforms. And here's Emily having fun with some of the youngsters.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXbNZc7Eo7Opl8HLfkQP1Q5DiReAuFHbM-QC_rqWPx0yI55lapXQJQcVhfdaDqSwAVdczm0vFS6bKiF77i5m1CIrWoN8jsZWzzpgp48YP583uwENWC8RVp_hbPmDNd8rp6rqDSWrLoXs/s1600-h/DSCF1283.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXbNZc7Eo7Opl8HLfkQP1Q5DiReAuFHbM-QC_rqWPx0yI55lapXQJQcVhfdaDqSwAVdczm0vFS6bKiF77i5m1CIrWoN8jsZWzzpgp48YP583uwENWC8RVp_hbPmDNd8rp6rqDSWrLoXs/s200/DSCF1283.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449285068585499602" border="0" /></a><br />It was a great opportunity to meet the children but left us quite subdued and a bit sad.<br /><br />Another great day and more to come tomorrow !Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-32279208316828009592010-03-14T09:59:00.000-07:002010-03-14T10:47:38.113-07:00Relaxing Sunday ..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8RiAm9R_FmiGLCBPAf0PhhYcApJlZF3T1jWLA5igfavAQ0M89Fr2zjXtjV0j7YFPTP5GRJk0Q9_8l7oT3VqoRbU9CAXasMasSbeM2rkeAKneZHObnsLa-0NP_7RLej45V4NlikzXET4/s1600-h/Sunday1403+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8RiAm9R_FmiGLCBPAf0PhhYcApJlZF3T1jWLA5igfavAQ0M89Fr2zjXtjV0j7YFPTP5GRJk0Q9_8l7oT3VqoRbU9CAXasMasSbeM2rkeAKneZHObnsLa-0NP_7RLej45V4NlikzXET4/s400/Sunday1403+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448541716062855970" border="0" /></a><br />Hi again,<br /><br />Following our very long and busy day yesterday, we had a nice relaxing day today. A late start about 12 and the highlight for me today was our lunch .. a wonderful meal in a very authentic South Indian restau<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yzdcBdtuVHppJAB3EDU978dtYWkCOGGMLqtI_xUNESz-NXCR8kAdteyRk853HJZ803NlxnrWTzdV78hVpdZ7FKpo3xwcnEtNttl4PdtpTSa08OJAYuZ1PlvPd7Z9tDb88JlgMMJTixA/s1600-h/Sunday1403+005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yzdcBdtuVHppJAB3EDU978dtYWkCOGGMLqtI_xUNESz-NXCR8kAdteyRk853HJZ803NlxnrWTzdV78hVpdZ7FKpo3xwcnEtNttl4PdtpTSa08OJAYuZ1PlvPd7Z9tDb88JlgMMJTixA/s200/Sunday1403+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448542935178263442" border="0" /></a>rant in town. That's my meal above, served up on a huge bananna leaf ! Thankfully, we had Stalin with us to explain what everything was and how to eat it ! For <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmQpwp_KOIj84bAT0MDp4xtVxFW1DeWO4TpsBOU0oSkOYHGdosxG4aqniB1S67RxC4FDa-8EXbUHWBdtBdQWviWdAEXsvHm9HVxQeRiiWCOOHIwGKNTWlPEpofvnfHZ-7lWdfghk2aWg/s1600-h/Sunday1403+007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmQpwp_KOIj84bAT0MDp4xtVxFW1DeWO4TpsBOU0oSkOYHGdosxG4aqniB1S67RxC4FDa-8EXbUHWBdtBdQWviWdAEXsvHm9HVxQeRiiWCOOHIwGKNTWlPEpofvnfHZ-7lWdfghk2aWg/s200/Sunday1403+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448543844436628354" border="0" /></a>me this was the best meal yet. It was definitely very local. We were the only tourists in the restaurant. There's no menu. You get served rice, dal and some vegetables automatically, with lots of additional dressings and flavourings. I couldn't begin to describe them .. there seem<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8jN_Z9bekEjjca1Ux4S4-B63TQ4P_2P9UswmiCixvr897PHQclZdg4irzvjOdeaD6emjd4BDCNzcULzPPl99ZAi0F00N1r0doer1PgWf358-jyaFGL-LH-kk8-QHNOt6meE2PbXgcpM/s1600-h/Sunday1403+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8jN_Z9bekEjjca1Ux4S4-B63TQ4P_2P9UswmiCixvr897PHQclZdg4irzvjOdeaD6emjd4BDCNzcULzPPl99ZAi0F00N1r0doer1PgWf358-jyaFGL-LH-kk8-QHNOt6meE2PbXgcpM/s200/Sunday1403+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448544635110070274" border="0" /></a>ed to be hundreds of them, (see all the little pots) and they were all fantastic. Here's Stalin showing Liz how it's done and don't Una and Bernie really look the part, eating from the bananna leaf, with their beautifully decorat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEdB-13lGfcdCWEbWznVsdbbH-X7nPOVsAe3M5i9Vxsl4s-pobp8JUQq0gerkL5jV55_9Jsf9tuTtoRiJk1aXt7VuXBfqbe5ES41cAPsoTkylvXfomHSsC2l8zeotV3uCaKrCvPWGNSI/s1600-h/Sunday1403+012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuEdB-13lGfcdCWEbWznVsdbbH-X7nPOVsAe3M5i9Vxsl4s-pobp8JUQq0gerkL5jV55_9Jsf9tuTtoRiJk1aXt7VuXBfqbe5ES41cAPsoTkylvXfomHSsC2l8zeotV3uCaKrCvPWGNSI/s200/Sunday1403+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448545199961746434" border="0" /></a>ed hands !! I think we'll leave them behind ! One of the chefs continuously circles the restaurant with a huge pot of rice and delivers big spatulas full onto your leaf .. unless you object, when he looks at you as if you're mad. We had a fantastic meal and the sheer entertainment of sitting in the middle of this drama was brilliant. We left some carnage behind us .. but not too bad ! Here's<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaD8vNW1_xTCqhAX94I2FxE9vBofcuZtJqK0YDETvGYuQYsyfo7BKelL8a5j7B2MWD9eIlvCyLepL-FP13g0nZtA_giWQcf2EDDcoJGsZG1b9E_y-W19-nmn1XS7MwWVu5kmYgKjcfd9g/s1600-h/Sunday1403+019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaD8vNW1_xTCqhAX94I2FxE9vBofcuZtJqK0YDETvGYuQYsyfo7BKelL8a5j7B2MWD9eIlvCyLepL-FP13g0nZtA_giWQcf2EDDcoJGsZG1b9E_y-W19-nmn1XS7MwWVu5kmYgKjcfd9g/s200/Sunday1403+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448546036031115282" border="0" /></a> Emily reviewing the damage !<br /><br />After lunch, we hit the shops .. enough said ! and then back to the hotel to relax before dinner. Tonight, there was a sepc<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FPQhndEa3VTi3kP2vleJsE_5Grxf7f8H4Zl8RnzAu1sG7h6SNukN5qeIRgMA2bsSFbZ-Ch87dP3lCGCGOE2UJDBRvyrbUjWR2qHmskmTOm5U-9oUEcad022lraYKT0OE97VHVNUcnIU/s1600-h/Sunday1403+020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FPQhndEa3VTi3kP2vleJsE_5Grxf7f8H4Zl8RnzAu1sG7h6SNukN5qeIRgMA2bsSFbZ-Ch87dP3lCGCGOE2UJDBRvyrbUjWR2qHmskmTOm5U-9oUEcad022lraYKT0OE97VHVNUcnIU/s200/Sunday1403+020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448546255632824626" border="0" /></a>ial celebration for all the Birthday Girls .. anyone who has a birthday during the build .. including our Liz .. Happy Birthday Liz (it's actually on Wednesday 17th March .. as if we needed another excuse to party on 17th March !! but we'll take it !).<br /><br />That's it for tonight - I'm off to bed, to be ready for another busy day on site tomorrow. Only 2 and a half days left and tons to do ..<br /><br />Bye for now.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-49075660678410791632010-03-14T04:38:00.000-07:002010-03-14T06:00:54.717-07:00A long day .. but a good one !!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqQ-3m0YClGziiTmS70562Qrd3yle4xEbcE5wCcqL-ejNjL9y72WHSX234ifSRMTqnZWA-p61_z-fTjGMwLwB5fD52ZfDuDFcBgKVXaell_RmlSln-d_6qETXdohSMuoR7lJff86_hYE/s1600-h/Saturday1303+035.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqQ-3m0YClGziiTmS70562Qrd3yle4xEbcE5wCcqL-ejNjL9y72WHSX234ifSRMTqnZWA-p61_z-fTjGMwLwB5fD52ZfDuDFcBgKVXaell_RmlSln-d_6qETXdohSMuoR7lJff86_hYE/s400/Saturday1303+035.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448457653885412914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwMswPEblYvK02ezScpd9F7IUPG1I9IfiBwHwQs3Va_cRdaGWIYsAO_pIApBIvFqVfPwH62dPBgJA9RrLOJqamTYxtlLWg5E23yFvU2fuHJtz9eRf1C0FPh7rg_oD72pYIf5FDPWzsi4/s1600-h/Saturday1303+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwMswPEblYvK02ezScpd9F7IUPG1I9IfiBwHwQs3Va_cRdaGWIYsAO_pIApBIvFqVfPwH62dPBgJA9RrLOJqamTYxtlLWg5E23yFvU2fuHJtz9eRf1C0FPh7rg_oD72pYIf5FDPWzsi4/s200/Saturday1303+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448459921176271922" border="0" /></a><br />Hi,<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lxM5x2hs4X6wfPl8T4Iq882j3Ev3RnjRxBCepvS4MJpGdDuvQhS_rpdnsROnuRFKo05Jw2j9KNBppwrcnrRjvc_RqCh6t4uZvCbjli-pIqg2Oo_vK0-eeBGHDo6xZXNY6jrc4Qq_rDc/s1600-h/Saturday1303+005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lxM5x2hs4X6wfPl8T4Iq882j3Ev3RnjRxBCepvS4MJpGdDuvQhS_rpdnsROnuRFKo05Jw2j9KNBppwrcnrRjvc_RqCh6t4uZvCbjli-pIqg2Oo_vK0-eeBGHDo6xZXNY6jrc4Qq_rDc/s200/Saturday1303+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448460290733284194" border="0" /></a><br />Today we set off at an unGodly hour (6am) for a day out in Mysore. We stopped off for breakfast along the way and our first visit was to the Summer Palace. This is where the rulers of Mysore came to spend the summer as it has more shade and is cooler than the city. The building is 50/50 granite and wood and still has many elaborate painted walls and ceilings. The ceilings patterns were painted onto paper and stuck to wooden planks to form the ceilings. There are no internal photos as you're not allowed to photograph inside. We had a local guide called Madan who told us the story behind it. It was built in 1792 by Tipu Sultan to commorate his victory over the British in the 2nd war of Mysore. The upper hand didn't last very long however and he was defeated twice after that by the British, first in 1792 in the 3rd battle of Mysore and again in 1799 in the 4th battle. This one, the 4th Battle of Mysore, was won by Arthur Wellesley, who went on (under Nelson) to defeat Napolean at Waterloo in 1812. There's an interesting story ab0out his defeat in the 3rd battle. His penalty, for having lost the war was to pay a sum of 33 million lac rupees (that's 33 million x 100,000 rupees) to the British. He didn't have this <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyrm8bxLV-O4iJBWkJO92Ly7C3YKOOra1CV3tjBAm1MyjAeBHrOKag7X9RxqM1QHRuzi0681nlFFHC-QtqMomHfQScHRwAfe48Govd7yumCODcVuwOyz_CG5-HwDjZiFs-o2HcV306u0/s1600-h/Saturday1303+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyrm8bxLV-O4iJBWkJO92Ly7C3YKOOra1CV3tjBAm1MyjAeBHrOKag7X9RxqM1QHRuzi0681nlFFHC-QtqMomHfQScHRwAfe48Govd7yumCODcVuwOyz_CG5-HwDjZiFs-o2HcV306u0/s200/Saturday1303+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448462280016152034" border="0" /></a>and couldn't <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhGjtAUtwPW4szvusZc1INUZZcFxdRDFPOZPDSlNEvNjn9pCe5ZbEgR-Gpr9GRwXNkmSw8Mmb95ScTco7BUUzTMlmtccNPK_ARJL-YCOQCm9PMqIRrMNw87GiwqeQl-aMrt0Xcljp4pI/s1600-h/Saturday1303+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhGjtAUtwPW4szvusZc1INUZZcFxdRDFPOZPDSlNEvNjn9pCe5ZbEgR-Gpr9GRwXNkmSw8Mmb95ScTco7BUUzTMlmtccNPK_ARJL-YCOQCm9PMqIRrMNw87GiwqeQl-aMrt0Xcljp4pI/s200/Saturday1303+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448462605022182898" border="0" /></a>pay, so he had to surrender 2 of his sons until he could pay. It took him 2 years to pay the sum and he did then get his 2 sons back !<br /><br />When we left the summer Palace we stopped briefly at Saint Philomena's Catholic Church. It was built by the 24th ruler of Mysor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2JpO_U59CEd-qfN-Vm-rdLyvsKgsUjn1u-9eSRDO0qa4OzpLiPgYklJSIjMXH13FG0TCKc2lRoHmnPRC7It-Re69QwOEMW3xuq9747Vq1aLYlVRggzOXpgRb6gOXV1qYnq4sNdTMiqQ/s1600-h/Saturday1303+014.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2JpO_U59CEd-qfN-Vm-rdLyvsKgsUjn1u-9eSRDO0qa4OzpLiPgYklJSIjMXH13FG0TCKc2lRoHmnPRC7It-Re69QwOEMW3xuq9747Vq1aLYlVRggzOXpgRb6gOXV1qYnq4sNdTMiqQ/s200/Saturday1303+014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448462775910333810" border="0" /></a>e, who also build Mosques and temples .. so he was very enumencial i<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDXldpVeYRcYIFTLHi3r7lZifPwZXk7IXspfazxpt3tGtfcZ4UHpEIcBI0y_e-SyGmm2y_UTSs_dNM8S8aco3AdQ1lhiv3nxdwMAEnNwYJsMgXSIdB5shmMS6ECLZcIxucg73Xn-6Mi0/s1600-h/Saturday1303+023.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDXldpVeYRcYIFTLHi3r7lZifPwZXk7IXspfazxpt3tGtfcZ4UHpEIcBI0y_e-SyGmm2y_UTSs_dNM8S8aco3AdQ1lhiv3nxdwMAEnNwYJsMgXSIdB5shmMS6ECLZcIxucg73Xn-6Mi0/s200/Saturday1303+023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448463967742946642" border="0" /></a>ndeed ! It's a really beautiful fully functioning church. There's must be a school housed with it, as the children were just coming out of school. Many greeted us in excellent English.<br /><br />After Saint Philomena's, we dropped by a wood factory and a silk factory, where we saw wonderful furniture being made and also some sandlewood carvings. I was delighted to see beautiful pink granite on the stairs of the silk fatory, the same as the granite chunks we've been using for the foundations ! It definitely looks much better on the stairs !<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-8P9hvlR1zAdSgfYywyxNzrTFqyV93tuvm71KlIOsI8g9m9W7RNuc_ioi2zonkqmy0UET1G_y4Bb2xQDEOOXIFlCOTKcyCszTEy4zIUZ00Xo2NpiQHb0GceBFOZR0VyTyFDYr0iQQ-4/s1600-h/Saturday1303+021.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-8P9hvlR1zAdSgfYywyxNzrTFqyV93tuvm71KlIOsI8g9m9W7RNuc_ioi2zonkqmy0UET1G_y4Bb2xQDEOOXIFlCOTKcyCszTEy4zIUZ00Xo2NpiQHb0GceBFOZR0VyTyFDYr0iQQ-4/s200/Saturday1303+021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448463613165176818" border="0" /></a><br />After another lovely lunch (the highlight was Indian ice cream, but since the Indian flag is the same colours as as the Irish tricolour, we claimed it as an early Saint Patrick's celebration !), we set off for the Royal Palace of Mysore<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBlIoW5u4T3sl6hiQJp1DRuLVZTw0ZpcMYS7R5dmU2JCoy1oYh9E2K4B1Rum0qUqxqrYFp9ebaJj1pVyAslTTgmeSV_qHTW0dVsYuxyuThyphenhyphengb_gVlfgJbWN8hrCw7xKCq8OMVHyh1Z7o/s1600-h/Saturday1303+026.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBlIoW5u4T3sl6hiQJp1DRuLVZTw0ZpcMYS7R5dmU2JCoy1oYh9E2K4B1Rum0qUqxqrYFp9ebaJj1pVyAslTTgmeSV_qHTW0dVsYuxyuThyphenhyphengb_gVlfgJbWN8hrCw7xKCq8OMVHyh1Z7o/s200/Saturday1303+026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448465999600582706" border="0" /></a>. This is a hugely impressive structure (main picture above). I don't know the size, but it has 96,000 light bulbs ! Again, we couldn't take internal photos, so only exterior shots and the gardens, and the temple in the grounds.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAG87TOpn6Y3RRQmS7KUiqxLBBOFiSF9ovaCQstyR3gWJxYowk-efb2cfbj4enA_zYhQfYcNdou6Q7kEddR-DWm_p5hqOlvax_HNaN5LL81w3TZ490Mxs53DIuWZGespOCgCwjBv-90vM/s1600-h/Saturday1303+028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAG87TOpn6Y3RRQmS7KUiqxLBBOFiSF9ovaCQstyR3gWJxYowk-efb2cfbj4enA_zYhQfYcNdou6Q7kEddR-DWm_p5hqOlvax_HNaN5LL81w3TZ490Mxs53DIuWZGespOCgCwjBv-90vM/s200/Saturday1303+028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448465785033927490" border="0" /></a><br />We had a tour of about 90 mins around the Palace. It's very impressive and what you'd expect a real palace to look like, lots of gold, very ornate, a mixture of Indian, Islam and Muslim architecture. Interestingly, all of the stained glass and<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJyL8wgKClMo7vM4VHzd2kHE_Fjng5CrxHngYt0s3KcLaP20PJck_6z0YXchNTkBn1asVmMjMBIOdSpTsZac8DIL7MjpD4oS2I0opi0M-_ahmzMS32QFKK0L-CBsJuTaiLkcaRHTNYtY/s1600-h/Saturday1303+031.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJyL8wgKClMo7vM4VHzd2kHE_Fjng5CrxHngYt0s3KcLaP20PJck_6z0YXchNTkBn1asVmMjMBIOdSpTsZac8DIL7MjpD4oS2I0opi0M-_ahmzMS32QFKK0L-CBsJuTaiLkcaRHTNYtY/s200/Saturday1303+031.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448466952607622146" border="0" /></a> many of the chandeliers came from Glasgow ! and there are also many gifts from various countries around the world. The kings chair, the Howdah, is on display. It weighs 270 kilos and 80 kg of these are solid gold. There is a also a magnificent Silver door depicting the 10 incarnations of Ganesh .. it's fantastic.<br /><br />Another interesting fact for us was that the palace architect was an Irishman, Henry Irvine, who was also the architect for Saint Philomena's, above. No wonder we felt at home !!<br /><br />When we left the palace, we headed off to the magnificent Brindavan Gardens. This is huge area of very impressive water features and gardens. The was a lights and music show and after this we had a won<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_tUWKa78L1RCZrnvqklmIW0kjhMmYyjXvebSt22PWn44RvdnQUQPhurrZX9JKeS9GUbHgV3UpoHMasRDP-nauC6xTSVJyKJw09_ZHRvfcJ7CUhAhhEAE91P42ECxwdcYk9-Z5Ep32A4/s1600-h/Saturday1303+048.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_tUWKa78L1RCZrnvqklmIW0kjhMmYyjXvebSt22PWn44RvdnQUQPhurrZX9JKeS9GUbHgV3UpoHMasRDP-nauC6xTSVJyKJw09_ZHRvfcJ7CUhAhhEAE91P42ECxwdcYk9-Z5Ep32A4/s200/Saturday1303+048.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448471981498943458" border="0" /></a>derful dinner in the on site hotel, the very beautiful and traditional Royal Orchid.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsCpQ3WwxC457GZQW775ELdgX_SqsXreaoZgAkSGQAABUqGHRwJqfBHjtmYaAvLSgP2aa0w1vQrLFenNFHT-pekAnDd0rftUvlOBi9fz1lEZBzJLfKdzK4omtw1BplJy0f8ZphPAi9nE/s1600-h/Saturday1303+045.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsCpQ3WwxC457GZQW775ELdgX_SqsXreaoZgAkSGQAABUqGHRwJqfBHjtmYaAvLSgP2aa0w1vQrLFenNFHT-pekAnDd0rftUvlOBi9fz1lEZBzJLfKdzK4omtw1BplJy0f8ZphPAi9nE/s200/Saturday1303+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448472610311204306" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At about 9.30 we headed back to the hotel .. after a long and tiring day. The journey back was a bit slower than coming out because it was dark and we arrived back at about 1.40 am exhausted !!!<br /><br />A great day nevertheless and we're very glad of a rest day tomorrow.<br /><br />Bye for now,<br /><br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-8163475219343497122010-03-12T08:12:00.000-08:002010-03-14T04:37:24.689-07:00Charley's Angels !!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxJ9s3GiwId7H2kd2O0vxX6skO7dr6fCngudJc3LO_Z6KL-mdFrCXb541oFXwoV78Xo5RESlOwx4uYlxnwl76S6moDjGPao5a-zGcIPBiQ9AdNzYuPbvsmxNa1Ueo6ZI6yxSQFbAO-Vs/s1600-h/Friday1203+025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxJ9s3GiwId7H2kd2O0vxX6skO7dr6fCngudJc3LO_Z6KL-mdFrCXb541oFXwoV78Xo5RESlOwx4uYlxnwl76S6moDjGPao5a-zGcIPBiQ9AdNzYuPbvsmxNa1Ueo6ZI6yxSQFbAO-Vs/s400/Friday1203+025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447781295980460114" border="0" /></a><br />Hi,<br /><br />Today we had a special treat after work, fresh coconut juice straight from the tree. Here's we are with our esteemed leader Charley, enjoying the start to the weekend !!<br /><br />Back at Number 13, we had a very hectic day. Here's the site as we joined it this morning, with just the first row of bricks in place for the platform on top of the foundations.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghj63G1twbrXeSI-o5Pgu6UynbmIOaaEIlRHyBvAiH0J4n5Gf7kRF9W7hyphenhyphenSkV7ugZEabhIhwFCY10U2jZ0BWTwqPzBiwuqtei0FeBdWeLwJ0R_pjztkmqGbGJrY-sV4XPW_OqAeXaJA0E/s1600-h/Friday1203+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghj63G1twbrXeSI-o5Pgu6UynbmIOaaEIlRHyBvAiH0J4n5Gf7kRF9W7hyphenhyphenSkV7ugZEabhIhwFCY10U2jZ0BWTwqPzBiwuqtei0FeBdWeLwJ0R_pjztkmqGbGJrY-sV4XPW_OqAeXaJA0E/s400/Friday1203+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447781883895503538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrQPUqPCSG3I2ap4RmR7yBYjqL-1nDXG5fbdgCiHpvZP9FKMGvr-Aw7JNKwj4rYsiPd9TTMQ6zrfS5nLFSooVmfFc8gaqZVn2GUjgpT7DN1TqKruf6IhncDM0OyqqCw-QtNkVMa0YoqM/s1600-h/Friday1203+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrQPUqPCSG3I2ap4RmR7yBYjqL-1nDXG5fbdgCiHpvZP9FKMGvr-Aw7JNKwj4rYsiPd9TTMQ6zrfS5nLFSooVmfFc8gaqZVn2GUjgpT7DN1TqKruf6IhncDM0OyqqCw-QtNkVMa0YoqM/s200/Friday1203+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447784048782099778" border="0" /></a><br />Today's work would be to complete this and the next layer of bricks and fill in the mud in the centre, ready for the floor, so it could dry over the weekend and be ready for Monday. It was a really busy day. We started moving the huge rocks in from outside on the road, interspersed with various 'Cement Lines' and 'Sand lines' to transport whatever was needed into the masons.<br /><br />And here's the house as it was progressing during the day. It's definitely begining to look like a house and not a hole in the ground anymore !<br /><br />At lunch today we had a visit from one of the Women's Self Help groups. They brou<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU7KskBGN6jU7aaZgxi_18WmP3zIy4UKPbDq1wbl4dmmMPikyUIopbnCfA6GzQXmnwc1dPI7uCcapujZomus4BxbRfXLz3iPW-sMt5z_3Pop1tXnutVqCVCVhhcTpuyhxUqLDFek1Ipw/s1600-h/Friday1203+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU7KskBGN6jU7aaZgxi_18WmP3zIy4UKPbDq1wbl4dmmMPikyUIopbnCfA6GzQXmnwc1dPI7uCcapujZomus4BxbRfXLz3iPW-sMt5z_3Pop1tXnutVqCVCVhhcTpuyhxUqLDFek1Ipw/s200/Friday1203+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447785686109294642" border="0" /></a>ght some of their wares to<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NgO9w3fiYeaffKAjE6QUDtnkeYaMeo6n9DHPVf9MPIZRY-5UMiPpZ1pRtQ5kWnps01rv11HKE-F9oZkqOaV6CLLGSmoV1iEVz2mI9e3JbWrFPj8Z7el_R_s3gNfio91vaIAui5wKXKw/s1600-h/Friday1203+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NgO9w3fiYeaffKAjE6QUDtnkeYaMeo6n9DHPVf9MPIZRY-5UMiPpZ1pRtQ5kWnps01rv11HKE-F9oZkqOaV6CLLGSmoV1iEVz2mI9e3JbWrFPj8Z7el_R_s3gNfio91vaIAui5wKXKw/s200/Friday1203+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447785437994196034" border="0" /></a> show us. We saw clay jewellry, which we could buy ; some candles being made and another lady showed us how she makes designs for patterns on saris. We also had someone making pottery. We heard a bit about how the self help group operates. It's a wonderful system whereby the women start with the discipline of saving and then move onto supporting each other through group bank accounts. There is also training available for various crafts .. like some of those we saw today, to enable income generation. It's a facinating subject, one which I hope to learn some more about before I leave.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzkLPsQ2YLalFxr3bPuioNEb-X3DC9o6k97WEyC-0-9gIktlo3EIE0u3TXteqjgdD7UtQDD9frxBpB7KKsILqOCw8ttuJfisP3EKdtRi6H36hdfRbKS2X7ZAz07Ce44icBpxKnAovZDc/s1600-h/Friday1203+015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzkLPsQ2YLalFxr3bPuioNEb-X3DC9o6k97WEyC-0-9gIktlo3EIE0u3TXteqjgdD7UtQDD9frxBpB7KKsILqOCw8ttuJfisP3EKdtRi6H36hdfRbKS2X7ZAz07Ce44icBpxKnAovZDc/s200/Friday1203+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447787245930383490" border="0" /></a><br />In the afternoon it was back to the grind ! Here's m<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGs5pPMPhajfqejC85Yp9WFBCHuomOYN0-jiz8c3vLM3d74nXdd66_ZGhqKWRwC_mfCtdMUs787JY2fgE5i8TFUoGitBvNdq1qHDYJtJAn-X05EJXRdcz8IYdLglKd2vpoafRpbnMY04Q/s1600-h/Friday1203+018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGs5pPMPhajfqejC85Yp9WFBCHuomOYN0-jiz8c3vLM3d74nXdd66_ZGhqKWRwC_mfCtdMUs787JY2fgE5i8TFUoGitBvNdq1qHDYJtJAn-X05EJXRdcz8IYdLglKd2vpoafRpbnMY04Q/s200/Friday1203+018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447788002343806930" border="0" /></a>e and Diane, from the US, my shovelling partner tackling the huge mound of stones needed for the mix used in the floor.<br /><br />The base for the floor was looking a bit better when we finished up, but there was still some to do so the family and the masons worked on and we'll pick up with them on Monday.<br /><br />After work and our celebration coconuts ! we headed back to the hotel for a quite night before our long day tomorrow, when we start off <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZE7cngmzOX-oQeKdjUkbMi1TjHsiLzxHohYBKFKZYXMgo5IcctrxjFlMy3xRmhVGWxgE1qkj_g9T15v29FiBuh6W2Qld7me4LO4mooAD7zgcKOnTuzeeyfPfgtdE_He0w73226RC7Wbs/s1600-h/Friday1203+026.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZE7cngmzOX-oQeKdjUkbMi1TjHsiLzxHohYBKFKZYXMgo5IcctrxjFlMy3xRmhVGWxgE1qkj_g9T15v29FiBuh6W2Qld7me4LO4mooAD7zgcKOnTuzeeyfPfgtdE_He0w73226RC7Wbs/s320/Friday1203+026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447789107665090674" border="0" /></a>at 6am to go to Mysore.<br /><br />Tonight the clothes that had been ordered and measured for during the week were delivered. Here's Emily looking stunning in her new Indian outfit ..Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-42637965790841568262010-03-11T09:59:00.001-08:002010-03-11T10:43:01.542-08:00Meanwhile back at the ranch ....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8VEZdUDd8AUFvWQJ_5ilfZ7xpht-JaZblQ0tz2B62RVJFR8xWhw6xaEAgMgAJbUNzuxPWbIP8Q00FM9lq7YjNm4r75i7jlPI8T6Nc2DxIBB6lxU6T-LCRNTur2leG3Nu0fuYvifzPxA/s1600-h/Thursday1103+068.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8VEZdUDd8AUFvWQJ_5ilfZ7xpht-JaZblQ0tz2B62RVJFR8xWhw6xaEAgMgAJbUNzuxPWbIP8Q00FM9lq7YjNm4r75i7jlPI8T6Nc2DxIBB6lxU6T-LCRNTur2leG3Nu0fuYvifzPxA/s400/Thursday1103+068.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447438975539513938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0qh0Nwz_4U9NI3y5Or_ABeh50YzYPGTcX1-fyLJIgj2Vw-bJCER7XVnM-eWi9KGFMSPZVX-qrp80z7K_m4V7LEdQs8r5bJo9-yiJ7yOWWE8t-JYhOvjzD9yJVkLgM2-fTaMPoIUTVok/s1600-h/Thursday1103+005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0qh0Nwz_4U9NI3y5Or_ABeh50YzYPGTcX1-fyLJIgj2Vw-bJCER7XVnM-eWi9KGFMSPZVX-qrp80z7K_m4V7LEdQs8r5bJo9-yiJ7yOWWE8t-JYhOvjzD9yJVkLgM2-fTaMPoIUTVok/s400/Thursday1103+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447437887247974498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1MzX3jBqekzruoSZgmkMy75Mj9CYIpbLMr846Ju8nbLAK1_71fFJXEihIvgTzACHCaEl8t3-XFUk9Ed-2kUO4AMa3O33oLb-4MLq8g3ozFgkrp6casLhK3FHoQRqS2lQo6EBEunelq8/s1600-h/Thursday1103+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1MzX3jBqekzruoSZgmkMy75Mj9CYIpbLMr846Ju8nbLAK1_71fFJXEihIvgTzACHCaEl8t3-XFUk9Ed-2kUO4AMa3O33oLb-4MLq8g3ozFgkrp6casLhK3FHoQRqS2lQo6EBEunelq8/s320/Thursday1103+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447438414469527746" border="0" /></a><br />So back to my new house, Number 13 today. The mason and the family had finished the second layer of foundation after we left yesterday and today was about build the plinth - the next layer up. It will be about one foot high and made from (more !) huge rocks, with concrete and earth mixed in. So after meeting and greeting with the family, we set to work on moving some of the huge rock. We formed our usual chain gang which worked every effectively .. admittedly not quite as effective as our friend in the photo above. It's amazing how he can carry these massive rocks on his head !<br /><br />The rocks were placed very carefully on top of the foundation layer and there is an amazing system of leveling to ensure that the line is plumb. The masons have a long narrow rubber tube, filled with water and some coloured dye. It's place against the first brick in the corner and the other end of it is placed against the ingle brick in the next corner. The dye line starts to moved and hold still when the 2 rocks are plumb .. amazing. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZxJx3n5pdVcWI6c0JoUyjOJ5TinGiz4tn25yODB-nlPaPbm7DrjnsB6cMQR3U3mE1aRtsQy32ckYDgrHMX_Hj94NJuSJNBNi833PH4Z_l-6hM8DjG4n0W-5etXetvWNWQ7594fT387o/s1600-h/Thursday1103+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZxJx3n5pdVcWI6c0JoUyjOJ5TinGiz4tn25yODB-nlPaPbm7DrjnsB6cMQR3U3mE1aRtsQy32ckYDgrHMX_Hj94NJuSJNBNi833PH4Z_l-6hM8DjG4n0W-5etXetvWNWQ7594fT387o/s200/Thursday1103+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447441381423589938" border="0" /></a>They then tie a line between these 2 bricks and all the rocks in the row between these 2 are placed inside and touching this line. I couldn't believe how straight the line was with noth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NWtl14bie6xKBY39DViEQtq4E3q1f7OKNxyA264Tso5xSJd3PZjlFBYq3Q-tgQlPKbDyAo2j-aPeMM0ZXSvn5RuPZX3-qD0UFMpVYHWMnzT4Sfx_fWl9xdBW9BWdUfgeYh03nxZ4NY0/s1600-h/Thursday1103+016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NWtl14bie6xKBY39DViEQtq4E3q1f7OKNxyA264Tso5xSJd3PZjlFBYq3Q-tgQlPKbDyAo2j-aPeMM0ZXSvn5RuPZX3-qD0UFMpVYHWMnzT4Sfx_fWl9xdBW9BWdUfgeYh03nxZ4NY0/s200/Thursday1103+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447441531995839234" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ21Fs0qnXAeMUJy1EK4M_eSkHeXzZY74tagKPeSKhJZ27dIv1Hxh2r6DZ2-lHjAx7fVxF6PKijFfOk-8XyW786UQPZj71yNRh9tOKwdObsP4ohpv04k5GEdQ0vvu89_EbL9R4TpruII/s1600-h/Thursday1103+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ21Fs0qnXAeMUJy1EK4M_eSkHeXzZY74tagKPeSKhJZ27dIv1Hxh2r6DZ2-lHjAx7fVxF6PKijFfOk-8XyW786UQPZj71yNRh9tOKwdObsP4ohpv04k5GEdQ0vvu89_EbL9R4TpruII/s200/Thursday1103+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447443820009576754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXiGXOfj-NFK8XNq_YY6LhfTsYzFVriLNHvxKKjOB2-0m6qmWh12TSfSWMaSWiqg9YsqNqSYH1TqWquXg545CGavQ-1BYgCEPDSQMDwgt0NitEBoLU7ZA9EQ07NTVfMt-87PgFSk1XLo/s1600-h/Thursday1103+019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXiGXOfj-NFK8XNq_YY6LhfTsYzFVriLNHvxKKjOB2-0m6qmWh12TSfSWMaSWiqg9YsqNqSYH1TqWquXg545CGavQ-1BYgCEPDSQMDwgt0NitEBoLU7ZA9EQ07NTVfMt-87PgFSk1XLo/s200/Thursday1103+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447442072782982002" border="0" /></a>ing but a small rubber tube and a piece of string for guidance .. The result was perfect.<br /><br />There was a lot of shifting back and forth of morter to hold these rocks together and then as before when the rocks and the morter were in place, we needed to cover them with earth from the mounds around the edges. So we spent a lot of today in chain gangs passing something or other up and down the lines. We also shovelled earth into wheelbarrows and pushed these into place to cover the rocks when needed .. so quite a variety of work today. The best part about today was that everybody joined in. The family were involved working alongside us in the chain gangs and even the bus guy joined us as he had to wait about to bring us back since we're a sort of 'outpost' ! Another great day on the site.<br /><br />Tonight we had a treat - a Bollywood night at the hotel. We had a very nice meal and then some music and dancing .. and henna hand painting available too. It was a great evening's entertainment and many of our team were involved both in the dancing and the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsvrOu1BLr2BtAZYDWKBNnBWEdPY-V_XBA2sVdpB07ClhClzlyw4s4vJWBRwT_PMHPIHcMr_fKZT33N_5jl2oEhm-KpLTzrieERQa3neGwTVHowW_y0-wy8SVC8r_5mDW7NfewX5UsZk/s1600-h/Thursday1103+104.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsvrOu1BLr2BtAZYDWKBNnBWEdPY-V_XBA2sVdpB07ClhClzlyw4s4vJWBRwT_PMHPIHcMr_fKZT33N_5jl2oEhm-KpLTzrieERQa3neGwTVHowW_y0-wy8SVC8r_5mDW7NfewX5UsZk/s200/Thursday1103+104.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447445718012972754" border="0" /></a>painting ..<br /><br /><br />Here's Liz and Charley showing us <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8sYcaXCvIqTAFvlFc9VAOg9GVM5GGUaqj8UsgNOisu6fsxSrRxhOlhk3_GLO8dr6KocSfc7It_ObKC7zu4axc7I06iE7rdyTVdd7Qj8xXQKmUJyGzvJ677Zw1fizNA6GmKfwDUlFhsM/s1600-h/Thursday1103+108.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8sYcaXCvIqTAFvlFc9VAOg9GVM5GGUaqj8UsgNOisu6fsxSrRxhOlhk3_GLO8dr6KocSfc7It_ObKC7zu4axc7I06iE7rdyTVdd7Qj8xXQKmUJyGzvJ677Zw1fizNA6GmKfwDUlFhsM/s320/Thursday1103+108.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447446380959658914" border="0" /></a>how it's done and Jennie and Cathy entering into the spirit !<br /><br />Bye for now .. more <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2R4UfJCmwjv0CF1ipITYYyedpbJDurjyPVWhkRmdhSz6ZmtEfYq-s3eLyMN_pf2xPfndCjQO3Lp-oYyjt548blN5uqz850zdRBBPi1xUVq85Bmg4PJUmr6X2y0X-v_s5VuFI1RwUsej8/s1600-h/Thursday1103+089.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2R4UfJCmwjv0CF1ipITYYyedpbJDurjyPVWhkRmdhSz6ZmtEfYq-s3eLyMN_pf2xPfndCjQO3Lp-oYyjt548blN5uqz850zdRBBPi1xUVq85Bmg4PJUmr6X2y0X-v_s5VuFI1RwUsej8/s200/Thursday1103+089.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447447182355446258" border="0" /></a>tomorrow. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHYzY1ayAIEopzjgXdSqYBICKTDHIvF9qjdk-ULi1huKfyztwIARvpT3hqalscsfiag8lYbBAGnaDqDYQAOmbpSXLmhtSnoAAld76hI_HiaJuM4KerNILBDynh2nmGGPuanCDTgcYPto/s1600-h/Thursday1103+111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHYzY1ayAIEopzjgXdSqYBICKTDHIvF9qjdk-ULi1huKfyztwIARvpT3hqalscsfiag8lYbBAGnaDqDYQAOmbpSXLmhtSnoAAld76hI_HiaJuM4KerNILBDynh2nmGGPuanCDTgcYPto/s200/Thursday1103+111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447445379161542482" border="0" /></a>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-3653029899521483832010-03-11T09:34:00.001-08:002010-03-11T09:58:48.060-08:00Whistle Stop Tour<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54TVx8oDRHgoNYX-6IHuaqK-578Pouzx8peRw78N-4sZVuu98OhKKhT3071h57cM7S-EexVlBpxgLsAO8e3SZR6CoUiiE9Soc7No7jPbz5y17PNdis8wHNcI1gYGGlN2kkEpOKEzYD78/s1600-h/Thursday1103+036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54TVx8oDRHgoNYX-6IHuaqK-578Pouzx8peRw78N-4sZVuu98OhKKhT3071h57cM7S-EexVlBpxgLsAO8e3SZR6CoUiiE9Soc7No7jPbz5y17PNdis8wHNcI1gYGGlN2kkEpOKEzYD78/s400/Thursday1103+036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447431825687699410" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn388E9w_oDpx1rFUc_gr9EBJl1lU1irW2uXXDCGzCstCbL3AuFWsHNcaah8urXVeWl4lgAQge3xZvxf_fB02QcqJj-40_FT0IaAJhgPK0UbBV-_ZJVapBk9j0n0T8VagzBMTZP2ncmBY/s1600-h/Thursday1103+038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn388E9w_oDpx1rFUc_gr9EBJl1lU1irW2uXXDCGzCstCbL3AuFWsHNcaah8urXVeWl4lgAQge3xZvxf_fB02QcqJj-40_FT0IaAJhgPK0UbBV-_ZJVapBk9j0n0T8VagzBMTZP2ncmBY/s200/Thursday1103+038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447432840658891506" border="0" /></a>Today, I was lucky to have a chance to join a whistle stop tour of the different houses, to see how they are all coming along. The houses are all at different stages and not all are the same size and design, so it was great to see the similarities and differences. It also gave me an opportunity to gather some evidence ! and show you that in fact the entire NI team is working and not j<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPhwWwg51xHSoG8rm6wkzWKRkzEVTfNsZdw5V588XximgcyEMLIb9cZoY3KIJ4Ln5_bbVlROo-4ytixen3eU2b9FxcKtz6cayluDIrFkfj67I5ctcfT2KNJmu61aK2I6PeuX3nbRlXRw/s1600-h/Thursday1103+023.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPhwWwg51xHSoG8rm6wkzWKRkzEVTfNsZdw5V588XximgcyEMLIb9cZoY3KIJ4Ln5_bbVlROo-4ytixen3eU2b9FxcKtz6cayluDIrFkfj67I5ctcfT2KNJmu61aK2I6PeuX3nbRlXRw/s200/Thursday1103+023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447433129820286290" border="0" /></a>ust me, Liz and Cathy from house 4 !! Here's Bernie and Una at work (see - I told you they work !!) on House number 10.<br /><br />I caught up with Jane and our Australian friend Rachel at House number 12. They are a bit further ahead than we are at house 13 and have completed the foundations and were ready for the blocks.<br /><br />Emily moved to House Number 11 today, her team<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwz8aictjGiPR7_Xp7AjTodaD73Jdkt128YNu2DBuTSjxXv8ibioeVy9CiM3ZPuEj5xv2-Pr36Bahvl3i97Nfo7H6qMGsKPXuDJt2ogzwxkAnpVNcyOKD38ObZ9kPoYeeQ0B6bB5LeMg/s1600-h/Thursday1103+030.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwz8aictjGiPR7_Xp7AjTodaD73Jdkt128YNu2DBuTSjxXv8ibioeVy9CiM3ZPuEj5xv2-Pr36Bahvl3i97Nfo7H6qMGsKPXuDJt2ogzwxkAnpVNcyOKD38ObZ9kPoYeeQ0B6bB5LeMg/s200/Thursday1103+030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447434090892183618" border="0" /></a> h<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRZ6QD18nTQNOtxvU4tCZRzmLYBQngEp4PECIMXBUKQ96Gf8La4uWxSEQCJa75D97fvSXO56Gc8DcI3sTMiFN1RkB34HJPaZPDQqiDfGYWrwi5aiIlUbwCAgRdTXBs1UsqDRe3cuDFzE/s1600-h/Thursday1103+046.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRZ6QD18nTQNOtxvU4tCZRzmLYBQngEp4PECIMXBUKQ96Gf8La4uWxSEQCJa75D97fvSXO56Gc8DcI3sTMiFN1RkB34HJPaZPDQqiDfGYWrwi5aiIlUbwCAgRdTXBs1UsqDRe3cuDFzE/s200/Thursday1103+046.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447434736922393922" border="0" /></a>aving completed what they could do on the previous house.<br /><br />The best call of the morning was at House Number 8, Liz's new home, where the kettle was on and thre man of the house made us some tea .. which was very nice indeed.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTEc6VTc4EPy7l4A5JlvxZ0tX_7sY8H28HJ6OsT9TU50p_mfE2l79hKwFjnWtGtr455xwKqH6OOs-Yu95PPDh6lij0D5DrAJpOT_JYVi8chn4aNHehvDELN9k4KeYALzq13yNWddA5xY/s1600-h/Thursday1103+047.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTEc6VTc4EPy7l4A5JlvxZ0tX_7sY8H28HJ6OsT9TU50p_mfE2l79hKwFjnWtGtr455xwKqH6OOs-Yu95PPDh6lij0D5DrAJpOT_JYVi8chn4aNHehvDELN9k4KeYALzq13yNWddA5xY/s200/Thursday1103+047.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447434915316330066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We then we<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rnfo25Y2ZMHX-31wOr3yyDKfTur-lKGSkQijkmw5gpYWoUBno35V6uyRXabpjQQrns2WppcJUA1x5x-2Ela0sx9SHke_d7fs_KVzyZG_xRhRatLNl64OjECS0H9_crO-0oxnU0qM9lc/s1600-h/Thursday1103+058.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rnfo25Y2ZMHX-31wOr3yyDKfTur-lKGSkQijkmw5gpYWoUBno35V6uyRXabpjQQrns2WppcJUA1x5x-2Ela0sx9SHke_d7fs_KVzyZG_xRhRatLNl64OjECS0H9_crO-0oxnU0qM9lc/s200/Thursday1103+058.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447435436848080498" border="0" /></a>nt in search of Jenny ! and found her hard at work digging at House Number 7.<br /><br />Cathy was at House Number 3 today - here she is watering down the walls and Jennie McQ was back to House 2B.<br /><br />It was a great idea a<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcraVuKAPZgioa6_dhfEm6hQwB8qcWQ3kLL8pevOEDcUf-2x4ChwAecV3SQyILUtWkc4FdFMw1SChD5V0_3CBfreJi9CFtj1kj1sqL8YFyaaSdNXPjRQ3R9E93ektkYsHQZsuynJb4oeU/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+055.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcraVuKAPZgioa6_dhfEm6hQwB8qcWQ3kLL8pevOEDcUf-2x4ChwAecV3SQyILUtWkc4FdFMw1SChD5V0_3CBfreJi9CFtj1kj1sqL8YFyaaSdNXPjRQ3R9E93ektkYsHQZsuynJb4oeU/s200/Wednesday1003+055.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447436311931168098" border="0" /></a>nd a privilege to be able to get around all the houses to see everyone and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip (and<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnA-nXxKQQMSGXjEs5KNePdQ6rFh4pQ_prZUqpk0yJbmj0sJw94Ds48EoGQnfIKZdiNGnxDPdRAx81GljOXzL2LOV8po2pqjMoHk_XynFyqzckbrUMZjBV-yVuAkHEaASEMQx1tfL1_cQ/s1600-h/DSCF0908.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnA-nXxKQQMSGXjEs5KNePdQ6rFh4pQ_prZUqpk0yJbmj0sJw94Ds48EoGQnfIKZdiNGnxDPdRAx81GljOXzL2LOV8po2pqjMoHk_XynFyqzckbrUMZjBV-yVuAkHEaASEMQx1tfL1_cQ/s200/DSCF0908.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447436680127281554" border="0" /></a> the tea !).Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-32095058630366740882010-03-11T08:55:00.001-08:002010-03-11T09:31:14.809-08:00Change of scene ....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzLG7I6jnkzN5FTUUHTutbJZTrK2rtsq0N6wRhWIWd0-b7eJXgGtr2bAwIYxpd17B7yt6nxP7dUwNz8dRJaZXAjMiulsc6r8exJgO9gVTaFnVQdyjl47975qwaIm1Lq1oucvE7INA2eA/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzLG7I6jnkzN5FTUUHTutbJZTrK2rtsq0N6wRhWIWd0-b7eJXgGtr2bAwIYxpd17B7yt6nxP7dUwNz8dRJaZXAjMiulsc6r8exJgO9gVTaFnVQdyjl47975qwaIm1Lq1oucvE7INA2eA/s400/Wednesday1003+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447422021075696770" border="0" /></a><br />Hi again,<br /><br />Firstly, sorry that we had no blog last night, but I obviously spoke too soon about the good internet connections ! and we had no connection since Tuesday, but we're back on track now.<br /><br />Yesterday, Wednesday, since<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7JgOB4kTTmDzi0ZtyhBz8fbkvUbueQjlTF0ioFXj6FR3KAUbaRYDboZQETESlXmaRbiKMUWTr19F97YrySlT_SEDsOjn6sdp-fK0uebaeb3z9-1S2vh78TdwVU74N02FKytxODDxX20/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7JgOB4kTTmDzi0ZtyhBz8fbkvUbueQjlTF0ioFXj6FR3KAUbaRYDboZQETESlXmaRbiKMUWTr19F97YrySlT_SEDsOjn6sdp-fK0uebaeb3z9-1S2vh78TdwVU74N02FKytxODDxX20/s320/Wednesday1003+011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447423712028309938" border="0" /></a> House Number 4 was very well advanced and there was little we could do until the masons have completed their next phase, our team was dispersed among the other houses. I went to House Number 13. It's a bit further away from the central meeting point than the other houses and we have to go there in the bus. It's a<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mvDyvDYy7Cu2d8XzmUCtsb_AF5PW8brw2rIdAKmq-Bro3D2X-raehksSj7IjHUYhGrG1jUrsQOmoUVQKNSkNZj3dFF4bQDDrSTqwrbzkDkMd-Ib053Brs03us7HheHdszZFZzOdxL4w/s1600-h/Thursday1103+074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mvDyvDYy7Cu2d8XzmUCtsb_AF5PW8brw2rIdAKmq-Bro3D2X-raehksSj7IjHUYhGrG1jUrsQOmoUVQKNSkNZj3dFF4bQDDrSTqwrbzkDkMd-Ib053Brs03us7HheHdszZFZzOdxL4w/s200/Thursday1103+074.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447424719574077842" border="0" /></a> wonderful big site and I've joined a lovely team. There are lots of big shady trees, which is a definite plus in the heat.<br /><br />The main picture above shows the stage the house was at yesterday morning, with just the foundations dug. They are about 2 feet deep. It looks a lot more, but in fact it's just that the earth which was moved has been deposited like a huge mound around the edges and it<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivEke20RhPEe_EdLmWuNWDfuC1j2FxrEVsKC0fchAiPtVuYOjjxAi_XcHCkgRrL2Hr2lwGEb98aoNTiTRLL1ZhK1vK7Iptgaot61n2rH4HJrWIlMdilb7wRMOZCoQ0zJWs_rocygY9R4/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+048.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivEke20RhPEe_EdLmWuNWDfuC1j2FxrEVsKC0fchAiPtVuYOjjxAi_XcHCkgRrL2Hr2lwGEb98aoNTiTRLL1ZhK1vK7Iptgaot61n2rH4HJrWIlMdilb7wRMOZCoQ0zJWs_rocygY9R4/s200/Wednesday1003+048.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447425215541078146" border="0" /></a> looks very deep indeed.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDcT4lE6gjcodSxWK8uTY8L-qcAOR8J4n2wfcplGOmu8wPYYadfMv7GM8-ew5d9KPD3PNTneERRu7gC6HNfOrLw8D1dKKuvdcRJ0i8qege6w5huID78IFjJdU5BVQNjoF1ss88Lz30oA/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDcT4lE6gjcodSxWK8uTY8L-qcAOR8J4n2wfcplGOmu8wPYYadfMv7GM8-ew5d9KPD3PNTneERRu7gC6HNfOrLw8D1dKKuvdcRJ0i8qege6w5huID78IFjJdU5BVQNjoF1ss88Lz30oA/s200/Wednesday1003+017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447426762377688754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The first job of the day was to move some huge chunks of granite (and we thought the cement blocks were heavy !) to be used to fill the foundations. I couldn't believe that we were sinking this beautiful stone into the ground to be crushed ! There were even some wonderful pink pieces which would cost an arm and a leg at home for use as work tops .. but there we are .. that's the way it works over here.<br /><br />The first layer of huge granite chunks was layered with smaller pieces and then some of the earth which had been taken out is spread back over the layer of rocks and soaked with water, so it can be spread and evened out. During the watering process, we ran out of wat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8tPfwdkBWuPClsLGiXoD2WJmDTUldKxY6J4CVVeREb5dBxBR4QrTcpXfLqqoQQpTOB4syzUXZaJTNh4e5Dtar-jPCNwbN8_K8UCF5Xsh5_Hi_iSGIAXQlkYEh9CfQ5ujQbLbgyRrAbs/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+040.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8tPfwdkBWuPClsLGiXoD2WJmDTUldKxY6J4CVVeREb5dBxBR4QrTcpXfLqqoQQpTOB4syzUXZaJTNh4e5Dtar-jPCNwbN8_K8UCF5Xsh5_Hi_iSGIAXQlkYEh9CfQ5ujQbLbgyRrAbs/s200/Wednesday1003+040.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447427322601788210" border="0" /></a>er and had to wait for a delivery be<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmeOW08LDoCgMasSU9YJyZrA96-k6123t0VUF3Gl1T23ZKyiXQnBspJgb2lgPfMoPyOtuv1XP31v3cG-Ub4LzedJGJ9m94k4_0yR5M_C7i2PT2olA6TVk7IAev8bIoRUzRG4ky2Ewzu8/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+045.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmeOW08LDoCgMasSU9YJyZrA96-k6123t0VUF3Gl1T23ZKyiXQnBspJgb2lgPfMoPyOtuv1XP31v3cG-Ub4LzedJGJ9m94k4_0yR5M_C7i2PT2olA6TVk7IAev8bIoRUzRG4ky2Ewzu8/s200/Wednesday1003+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447427567787384882" border="0" /></a>fore we could carry on. They say the every cloud has a silver lining and this one certainly did ! As we waited for the water, our host family looked after us very well. They cut down some coconuts from one the tress in the yard and sliced them open for us to drink the juice and eat the flesh. They were absolutely delicious ..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_w1PSSgQyd3AMrglarqDwS9GFs5mxucpmS982JztFGx4CN3yJT5rzUugHCzVVMC0wZ9uq4JrrZT_Gwd-4W-orgx8Oz1rQX47TkaKlUyU6y-GR4Vvx93Ihh4IhnTpD95ZA73E0pTBd4c/s1600-h/Wednesday1003+058.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_w1PSSgQyd3AMrglarqDwS9GFs5mxucpmS982JztFGx4CN3yJT5rzUugHCzVVMC0wZ9uq4JrrZT_Gwd-4W-orgx8Oz1rQX47TkaKlUyU6y-GR4Vvx93Ihh4IhnTpD95ZA73E0pTBd4c/s320/Wednesday1003+058.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447428280469731266" border="0" /></a><br />After lunch when the water had been delivered, it was back to shifting the granite and layering it big chunks first and then the samller ones and then the earth, followed by the water.<br /><br />The mason and the home owner did most of the rock laying and we continued to lift and carry the rocks to them and pass them along by chain gang. The second layer of the foundations was almost complete as we left for the day.<br /><br />It had been a heavy working day - but very enjoyable. My new team are mostly American, with some very experienced Habitat builders and some novices. The family are lovely too. I need to find out some more and report later, but there is a lady of the house and her daughter and son in law and some grandchildren. The site is big and the house has 3 rooms (bigger than number 4). It has a hall / lounge ; bedroom and kitchen. The yard has some wonderful fruit trees. There's the mango tree that we use for shade, a papuya tree and of course the all important coconut tree.<br /><br />More shifting and lifting tomorrow to complete the foundations.<br /><br />Bye for now.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-83634154492087051302010-03-09T08:53:00.001-08:002010-03-09T09:59:47.140-08:00Good Day at the Office ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqO6TrzWFopJ4IcmSap7lFBZ3i5MFbAIczJEEg9slJx_ITKU7BWUOkyH-D6pRlsHy9-PritjAqWZEL-Vn9gfPE6vxMElDeNuRXIhIxL5aNfPvqVYXXMNfxd2Z_u2aTMwLWiByGQ5Cf0o/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+028.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqO6TrzWFopJ4IcmSap7lFBZ3i5MFbAIczJEEg9slJx_ITKU7BWUOkyH-D6pRlsHy9-PritjAqWZEL-Vn9gfPE6vxMElDeNuRXIhIxL5aNfPvqVYXXMNfxd2Z_u2aTMwLWiByGQ5Cf0o/s400/Tuesday0903+028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446679403022952434" border="0" /></a>Hi again,<br /><br />Well today was a great day's work on site along with our owner families. We started off at 8.30 and met up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4vm3O6IprE_ceiYNgVVnQb_gHo7WjZqdtCR1uozHm4zRR_12HizsoWU38sFAA2k1WC0dXYDrugPcmzoyvu-tuEY2LhpWi8T_gdGjOyjq100SfpmthPuunIvLNLgOopGhJEw8mbXmsLU/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4vm3O6IprE_ceiYNgVVnQb_gHo7WjZqdtCR1uozHm4zRR_12HizsoWU38sFAA2k1WC0dXYDrugPcmzoyvu-tuEY2LhpWi8T_gdGjOyjq100SfpmthPuunIvLNLgOopGhJEw8mbXmsLU/s200/Tuesday0903+017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446680516620556514" border="0" /></a> with our house and block leaders and got to work again.<br /><br />Number 4's looking good ! Today was mostly laying blocks and carrying them ! and mixing sand and cement. We managed a better system of carrying the blocks today and our chain gang worked very well !! We worked alongside the masons, S<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9G61c6tqLPh-vI6waSyuPeCCTqcgKUxTpyPPFp2vXMnUfaAG88hjH0RoIYIa4QUwqZwGPFK-Sv0JGYrjlIQ8qLbpu8FWArJtGvjgtfa9HAQrfjlN2w8hvdOGXC47YJr8L0vrpAO-zWTg/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9G61c6tqLPh-vI6waSyuPeCCTqcgKUxTpyPPFp2vXMnUfaAG88hjH0RoIYIa4QUwqZwGPFK-Sv0JGYrjlIQ8qLbpu8FWArJtGvjgtfa9HAQrfjlN2w8hvdOGXC47YJr8L0vrpAO-zWTg/s200/Tuesday0903+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446681443124467602" border="0" /></a>antosh, Sonara, the son of the owner, and his son, another Santosh, and were soon in the swing of laying<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHg108sS9Rd65W6BD436ByKRz1sC-mF6ysebP0AcTmxMOUCXJlC2GiBf7J0UDHCNVsxUogqIMJt5TYJ4fCe3FGGt3luOZzSkjF_kAsJfuoG9I9epOI_DaLvhtgVOnFXTJQmK7PFCuU_0Q/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+023.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHg108sS9Rd65W6BD436ByKRz1sC-mF6ysebP0AcTmxMOUCXJlC2GiBf7J0UDHCNVsxUogqIMJt5TYJ4fCe3FGGt3luOZzSkjF_kAsJfuoG9I9epOI_DaLvhtgVOnFXTJQmK7PFCuU_0Q/s200/Tuesday0903+023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446682195707648114" border="0" /></a> the blocks and filling the gaps with concrete. This was my first job this morning - to lay the blocks for the wall between the door and the window.<br /><br />We also had a chain gang for carrying the sand and cement for mixing and for transferring the mixed concrete in <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMKjwY7HSl8DHRlEBsEfXZ7qxWhOu-aBeif5PBD-RrkZSQ9xm1r09xXB9M7nGNjX7LuIJxyJkRhKjgNbSfl3wEWKEKfmCKs3oiTUI_FUMD6iCI6a0DPfuhHBhx2kJ54UjeGnCAOYutfo/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+046.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMKjwY7HSl8DHRlEBsEfXZ7qxWhOu-aBeif5PBD-RrkZSQ9xm1r09xXB9M7nGNjX7LuIJxyJkRhKjgNbSfl3wEWKEKfmCKs3oiTUI_FUMD6iCI6a0DPfuhHBhx2kJ54UjeGnCAOYutfo/s200/Tuesday0903+046.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446682580672653762" border="0" /></a>the 'Pizza Plates'.<br /><br />And here's the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNRxVy3vDlU1adqCDAVHhch83f1shaDiDZesYfF79iVPip0vu2DhR9xAx9IclJZGRPBSP77gQp7Vr1-9iIyoOlGa5731u76DQO5s6VzFvaMyjGPOiJZItNeQCjW0m4jzT3z-3FzhyDow/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNRxVy3vDlU1adqCDAVHhch83f1shaDiDZesYfF79iVPip0vu2DhR9xAx9IclJZGRPBSP77gQp7Vr1-9iIyoOlGa5731u76DQO5s6VzFvaMyjGPOiJZItNeQCjW0m4jzT3z-3FzhyDow/s200/Tuesday0903+022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446683016566556930" border="0" /></a> full chain gang .. after a full morning that absolutely flew in.<br />We had another lovely lunch and bumped into a movie set on the way back !!! Here's one of the action shots ! I'm sure we would have been discovered for Bollywood, except we were in a rush back to the concrete !!<br /><br />The afternoon broug<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8bNpz4W1yqBQQLvAvWVUql43pP1TCKm0QzI-7ZZw2V8oywZErPGRqzyANh0CI2dFyDI3v0ZrswPMMHtAHg9ARP8YfTDwiYr1AltxPnuTrNvI2omGsnUTOZBMMQW9HIK-yCW37xu97Fs/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8bNpz4W1yqBQQLvAvWVUql43pP1TCKm0QzI-7ZZw2V8oywZErPGRqzyANh0CI2dFyDI3v0ZrswPMMHtAHg9ARP8YfTDwiYr1AltxPnuTrNvI2omGsnUTOZBMMQW9HIK-yCW37xu97Fs/s200/Tuesday0903+038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446684277744210610" border="0" /></a>ht more mixing, carrying and block laying. Here's Cathy, having found <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMQyq18UmsQwnItEu_9_iUqIAvauQD3izXz4mZb7KUX3s1KICNWeehvxxGV8nBOA-2mFqDM1VJavhPa2VG6q9MXwesXPc8IuUjSL2HoNRuzsbr_ca00Tz3cGqaYdKUo_TkIiDTU6jqhc/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+057.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMQyq18UmsQwnItEu_9_iUqIAvauQD3izXz4mZb7KUX3s1KICNWeehvxxGV8nBOA-2mFqDM1VJavhPa2VG6q9MXwesXPc8IuUjSL2HoNRuzsbr_ca00Tz3cGqaYdKUo_TkIiDTU6jqhc/s200/Tuesday0903+057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446684612849241922" border="0" /></a>her new vocation as a Birckie ! We finished up about 4pm and we look forward to another great day building tomorrow.<br /><br />We learned a bit more about the family today and directly after lunch we had a chat (through Bunty, our local co-ordinator) with Shantammal and her nephew Sonara. Sonara has three children (I must have missed one out yesterday !). His eldest son Santosh was building with us along with his father today. His next son and daughter are at school and don't get back till about 5pm so we haven't met them yet. I hope we may do before the build is over. With the 3 children and Sonara, his wife, mother and aunt, there will be 7 people living in the new house. The house is about 350 Sq Feet, and about 11 feet by 24 feet. There are 2 rooms.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vgAFk1Az6auFrr2bkRdot1BFGch4Dj4Azu7MsfjwcsESZBMGjuxnZdnZo-pRIhOy6WKjoAbhfiHo8-Rxo1OGHUx90Zujkr1b0YROuq3QJIcQK1zCsmyvF5Q-YheUm382Q_-hhvXFEBQ/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+052.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vgAFk1Az6auFrr2bkRdot1BFGch4Dj4Azu7MsfjwcsESZBMGjuxnZdnZo-pRIhOy6WKjoAbhfiHo8-Rxo1OGHUx90Zujkr1b0YROuq3QJIcQK1zCsmyvF5Q-YheUm382Q_-hhvXFEBQ/s200/Tuesday0903+052.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446688063682983074" border="0" /></a><br />The family keep goats for milk. We were amazed to see 5 goats in a tiny lean-to behind the old original house.<br /><br />We also met one of the neighbours and her children. The lady has the most beautiful English and she introduced us to h<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fkKmM9UsTYSkzPQ0xqzCfZ22MLBTLyBTNPOoTywoCjthwyjREXolATXIx0d1A50imFkjgbfC_GArIYlk2W8h4whA8mxHn3gWvhTZHfm0BFYcPo1GicoGYaqp7JY9iNH17Z8r26gipiA/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+061.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fkKmM9UsTYSkzPQ0xqzCfZ22MLBTLyBTNPOoTywoCjthwyjREXolATXIx0d1A50imFkjgbfC_GArIYlk2W8h4whA8mxHn3gWvhTZHfm0BFYcPo1GicoGYaqp7JY9iNH17Z8r26gipiA/s200/Tuesday0903+061.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446687500755841666" border="0" /></a>er children, a boy called Karthik and a smaller girl, whose name I didn't catch. They learn English at school and spoke perfect English. They love the cameras and are delighted if you show them the screen with the photo after you've taken. I'd say the little girl had never seen herself in a photo before .. she ws so excited. Here's some of the children. That's Karthik with his school tie and his little sister.<br /><br /><br />Tonight we were treated to a lovely meal out in town. It was quite a drive away but I think a lot of that was down to the traffic. When we got out of the bus and had to cross the road, it was really scary. There didn't appear to be any law and order and it was definitley survival of the fittest. Nirmala, our host co-ordinator brought us across the main road. She had to take her chance and just walk out bravely and stop the traffic and we all walked together across. I was very glad I didn't have to do that alone .. I think I'd still be there !<br /><br />The meal was lovely and i<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkGDQfBZRbFvpf5XzytnCxABXdFRggBOri_3veqFUTCAmAN__xbMd3l50TFW9rXTCYjY4wYMObVmaj3o5aCQ4KZ7DEp5Ly1gunynSLGx3bpHVApdJuPu29hOtNoOmaGbYM2R4RJevtz0/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+073.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkGDQfBZRbFvpf5XzytnCxABXdFRggBOri_3veqFUTCAmAN__xbMd3l50TFW9rXTCYjY4wYMObVmaj3o5aCQ4KZ7DEp5Ly1gunynSLGx3bpHVApdJuPu29hOtNoOmaGbYM2R4RJevtz0/s320/Tuesday0903+073.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446690821283839314" border="0" /></a>n a very authentic local restaurant, and I had an interesting experience with a loc<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kZBK2_RmdpFB5Le4YSnZkQv-PaYqzALzpDj0-7Zffq2LIC6qSkbil0e4NU9JXebod4EYUQAY_WANQEGnGN7-kiDvXW5ugkaz6EUGK9jbfegBDz007MicazlhT8-DIaY_ApXwDRVWWC4/s1600-h/Tuesday0903+071.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kZBK2_RmdpFB5Le4YSnZkQv-PaYqzALzpDj0-7Zffq2LIC6qSkbil0e4NU9JXebod4EYUQAY_WANQEGnGN7-kiDvXW5ugkaz6EUGK9jbfegBDz007MicazlhT8-DIaY_ApXwDRVWWC4/s200/Tuesday0903+071.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446691844205936386" border="0" /></a>al mango ! I took one from the buffet to try (on second thoughts, it may just have been for decoration and not to eat !). I asked the waiter for a knife to cut it and he very kindly took it away to cut for me. What came back bore very little relation to what I know as a mango .. It was white inside - looked like the inside of an apple and tasted really hard and bitter. The poor waiter could see I was a bit confused and went off to bring me something to make it better. He brought a big plate of Chat Marsala and told me it would be much better this is .. Unfortunately he was wrong ! and I remain confused about Indian mangos. I think the season is not quite started yet and maybe it's just that it wasn't ripe and ready to eat .. an experience nevertheless !<br /><br />We got back safe and sound (Nirmala had to get us across the road again !) and we'll be ready for another full day tomorrow,<br /><br />Bye for now.<br /><br />P.S. A very warm welcome to Bernie's friends who have joined to follow the blog and apologies that I don't have any pictures of Bernie at work (She does work - honestly !!). It's just that we're working on different houses and I don't see her during the working day. I will try to get some pics of Bernie at work tomorrow.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-9625179579348318302010-03-08T08:28:00.001-08:002010-03-08T09:43:56.458-08:00Wonderful Day One !!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uiozSiEoqZeY1Ryz1SCQLnmT_H-FlfB0iqyScLTiVv_yNDX7HGDb7XfO6xaZ1A8NfU0JUa27UTP-1pKU7wNXdiFr6KHUVa0Mz0sqHOtcKtFxwy-CJAAzXMwxgBgReAL1gQelbESDbZQ/s1600-h/Monday0803+036.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uiozSiEoqZeY1Ryz1SCQLnmT_H-FlfB0iqyScLTiVv_yNDX7HGDb7XfO6xaZ1A8NfU0JUa27UTP-1pKU7wNXdiFr6KHUVa0Mz0sqHOtcKtFxwy-CJAAzXMwxgBgReAL1gQelbESDbZQ/s400/Monday0803+036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446302305753213122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-I3ir2aS5dn_Gw5arKVidS2Z_dS4fhTNQiAn_0FbDZqbtpvoIqrRXOjYubPOEIdlZNb7xMJiiSSiP4ylbJGTQxrO8IqDuHEALwveljYAn-mXWs2mbeSu1ahnoRsu_HNY2LZWc5Xw9l2w/s1600-h/Monday0803+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-I3ir2aS5dn_Gw5arKVidS2Z_dS4fhTNQiAn_0FbDZqbtpvoIqrRXOjYubPOEIdlZNb7xMJiiSSiP4ylbJGTQxrO8IqDuHEALwveljYAn-mXWs2mbeSu1ahnoRsu_HNY2LZWc5Xw9l2w/s200/Monday0803+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446303454251438162" border="0" /></a>Hi,<br /><br />Today was an incredible day where we packed in what felt like a week's activities ! It is of course International Women's Day, and the first day of our build in Hegda Nagar. We started about 8.30 and the busses transferred us to the site for a special Welcome from the local women whom we'll build with. We were each adorned with flower garlands and bindis. There was a water and fire ceremoney which is to ward off negative thoughts. It was very friendly and engaging, even though we couldn't understand each other ! Charley <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZpJs5lpNoEWeMgITZpCy2veb7TgNgw6aXG4sl5AuXAPIAFk70ep_KQrMVp3ougzxa4dWo0Aqu4Pz9BWCFyPs0t2uDPMOJuepWgXiFNlMCuNagwTNqnqUDEPnj-RTElMsgocuC6hWytw/s1600-h/Monday0803+015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZpJs5lpNoEWeMgITZpCy2veb7TgNgw6aXG4sl5AuXAPIAFk70ep_KQrMVp3ougzxa4dWo0Aqu4Pz9BWCFyPs0t2uDPMOJuepWgXiFNlMCuNagwTNqnqUDEPnj-RTElMsgocuC6hWytw/s200/Monday0803+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446303929853870914" border="0" /></a>did a good job at interpreting.<br /><br />We then went on a walking tour of the village. This was a terrific introduction to the Community and the work we'll be doing. The scenes seemed familiar, maybe from films or TV documentaries, but I hadn't seen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfDT7YWeeihFg-XswtEuuuf2HxP1KcnFz9yZsLzeJ8IhWxZwtqp7qJU83ogU3gihMmdKCK6o-CaF4CD1YIMeUU9fDxc0z7q8n-4KdgcBgyVSrQVs4H_r91WhvIZOC0OhgBZUmdgjiQWI/s1600-h/Monday0803+020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfDT7YWeeihFg-XswtEuuuf2HxP1KcnFz9yZsLzeJ8IhWxZwtqp7qJU83ogU3gihMmdKCK6o-CaF4CD1YIMeUU9fDxc0z7q8n-4KdgcBgyVSrQVs4H_r91WhvIZOC0OhgBZUmdgjiQWI/s200/Monday0803+020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446304684749409970" border="0" /></a> anything like them live before, the colour, the lively children and the animals strewn around the streets. The streets are narrow and the houses very basic and some in very poor condition. Charley brought us to meet some of the familes we'll be working with.<br /><br />Here we can see Pyari and her family at Number 12. Her story encapsulates the urgency of the moment. The mud wall to the side was part of their old self built hut. Since we were starting to build today, they knocked down the old hut yesterday and will live in the corrugated iron s<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Vj3T79yP63BQNlf0ekkiYG3edVkWnaAyNzx8n-VWVFKJ4n3aRxkxXGl6PP84ZALCW3uuGC0CLfeDqi4EVmTbHrYR-JcQMQpjj-rkqP3QZcf_xtCMF1kTQ5kt4XWT8LQHPZvG6r1Tp3E/s1600-h/Monday0803+032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Vj3T79yP63BQNlf0ekkiYG3edVkWnaAyNzx8n-VWVFKJ4n3aRxkxXGl6PP84ZALCW3uuGC0CLfeDqi4EVmTbHrYR-JcQMQpjj-rkqP3QZcf_xtCMF1kTQ5kt4XWT8LQHPZvG6r1Tp3E/s200/Monday0803+032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446304915271127058" border="0" /></a>hed to the right, until the house is complete<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9zwxVb-0sAkL5cHo5zPoR8YYYYfeIC8eYJzMFz0Ou6g0E32064lW5-LxenjkGjgh-eqj0S6z0i3E_74Jhwkv-DFffcJOpWE0L2EKrQPlzBD3ehT_df5dZLHSSRgpWcA3LMU7gM7Znxk/s1600-h/Monday0803+033.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9zwxVb-0sAkL5cHo5zPoR8YYYYfeIC8eYJzMFz0Ou6g0E32064lW5-LxenjkGjgh-eqj0S6z0i3E_74Jhwkv-DFffcJOpWE0L2EKrQPlzBD3ehT_df5dZLHSSRgpWcA3LMU7gM7Znxk/s200/Monday0803+033.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446305351992554866" border="0" /></a>. All of the stories are triumphs of dertemination and hard work over adversity and it will certainly be a pleasure to build alongside these folks.<br /><br />After the village it was off to the site of BIRDS (Brothers Integrated rural Development Society), a sister organisation of Habitat for our International Women's Day Celebration.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgtHUtw6vI-lROpWm9QmLkUXFBUkSWT04ZvEWaD9jb5D4duJ-vkyQkxF1MNW2TwrnJj4WA4_ikKiORP11-WEqgsIwxK-wjgBqR2vgSo7mUoGGbbDolRxs4vw3tbcTeFxqHw-p8VKTMO0/s1600-h/Monday0803+059.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgtHUtw6vI-lROpWm9QmLkUXFBUkSWT04ZvEWaD9jb5D4duJ-vkyQkxF1MNW2TwrnJj4WA4_ikKiORP11-WEqgsIwxK-wjgBqR2vgSo7mUoGGbbDolRxs4vw3tbcTeFxqHw-p8VKTMO0/s400/Monday0803+059.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446308658384449170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl6G-UrF6RHdL9bOHSQtFst5n8Rt43ZM3uREfBb1Ey7_UMYxFLtd182QDvDn5H3Q401wDxB_2BftoG8MOp64M847TYGdbyn4W6dDzGwn1TRxtPzvKL-nFpCk6IjTt5Rm42ChhG5EOdww/s1600-h/Monday0803+082.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl6G-UrF6RHdL9bOHSQtFst5n8Rt43ZM3uREfBb1Ey7_UMYxFLtd182QDvDn5H3Q401wDxB_2BftoG8MOp64M847TYGdbyn4W6dDzGwn1TRxtPzvKL-nFpCk6IjTt5Rm42ChhG5EOdww/s320/Monday0803+082.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446315002588489778" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdh67IcCmMRWDk6QWdHqPmVdYlpzxxvOYs0tWAvsd-kzMXR6yRaMqbhtqUC5xy8_AAkVGKagFooJjNO21h5HsgDs-e0S2bS28yjpu8IMIiKL_oW2bzlQyPEgQ0HKw8z-OIZJS7RTrMRw/s1600-h/Monday0803+056.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdh67IcCmMRWDk6QWdHqPmVdYlpzxxvOYs0tWAvsd-kzMXR6yRaMqbhtqUC5xy8_AAkVGKagFooJjNO21h5HsgDs-e0S2bS28yjpu8IMIiKL_oW2bzlQyPEgQ0HKw8z-OIZJS7RTrMRw/s200/Monday0803+056.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446310990070444194" border="0" /></a><br />It was a truely amazing spectacle. We were seated in a huge marquee, where the women from the village and some of the children came along in the wonderful colourful clothes, along with many dignatories, including the first ever woman to be Director General of the Police in <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgip5X5WadgD2K965M3DjW1QIRJ0X8lAAS4vxNNCaJYZ4a2aX7KJP9aO2qH4joHdcixYOlRH55DNKdTrZiYqt_4eM1PbIWTDfCLT8xENzoDoTdeJOtplJXPl2DwNb5fmjfj8gjJXIBhrN0/s1600-h/Monday0803+080.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgip5X5WadgD2K965M3DjW1QIRJ0X8lAAS4vxNNCaJYZ4a2aX7KJP9aO2qH4joHdcixYOlRH55DNKdTrZiYqt_4eM1PbIWTDfCLT8xENzoDoTdeJOtplJXPl2DwNb5fmjfj8gjJXIBhrN0/s200/Monday0803+080.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446311378349554786" border="0" /></a>Bangalore. There were encouraging words frm many of the VIPs, some wonderful local dancing and singing from the children.<br /><br />There were a few ceremonies build in. One was the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_bxt1FRVPn8F5-FtYa_WjRPWu_KExfBSD17pYoHW82bK3RCezMZlHlnYZjIRvmJD3Mb0k88Lf2vKz418NNQpGJ1HBv1k_A-YcQM_m_51pkvj_v07phpNc0kZ8uauGO8dLEfIz7jGjA0/s1600-h/Monday0803+086.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje_bxt1FRVPn8F5-FtYa_WjRPWu_KExfBSD17pYoHW82bK3RCezMZlHlnYZjIRvmJD3Mb0k88Lf2vKz418NNQpGJ1HBv1k_A-YcQM_m_51pkvj_v07phpNc0kZ8uauGO8dLEfIz7jGjA0/s200/Monday0803+086.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446312109461132754" border="0" /></a> the VIPs for the begining of the build, and one where the Team Leaders came forward to accept the tools of the trade for their teams. Jenny did us proud ! as she accepted the tools for the Northern Irish team.<br /><br /><br />After the ceremony, we had a very nice lunch and then it was down to the real business of the day. We were divided into teams and set off to build. I'm on the team for House 4, with Cathy and Liz from our NI team and Peggy and Cathie from Florida. Peg<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygYQTO4gdNuLtqruwjSljXUrzZUlNsa2zYJuLW93uYFy9PVJO5GpOghltSiNmjBw3-vAwZLDb5I0ZcbbKH_pIl9Virsek85InNYAUie4c-T67puc7I679GmgQrQ7wdALpvyiFdx6aUso/s1600-h/Monday0803+092.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygYQTO4gdNuLtqruwjSljXUrzZUlNsa2zYJuLW93uYFy9PVJO5GpOghltSiNmjBw3-vAwZLDb5I0ZcbbKH_pIl9Virsek85InNYAUie4c-T67puc7I679GmgQrQ7wdALpvyiFdx6aUso/s200/Monday0803+092.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446316142874552146" border="0" /></a>gy's grandparents are from Mayo .. so she's one of us really !! We set out for House 4 with our Habitat Team Leader Bunty. The home owner is Shantammal, a widow who will live in the house with her son and his wife and family. Shantammal wasn't on site today, but we met her sister and her son is the chief mason on the site laying the block<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxJT_eBCgMfVo_UFTrLFwQEtpnaHK54DlpGOfPQ8ayBHKfngBUVdBbKjVWbp6mnGQ0emVD1IuGSAen4xB3cv9stwlra5itsqjDd4S9gPmiuJHKIw71GtIRx95Qe82WQJ4FYfdwHNk2Y8/s1600-h/Monday0803+094.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxJT_eBCgMfVo_UFTrLFwQEtpnaHK54DlpGOfPQ8ayBHKfngBUVdBbKjVWbp6mnGQ0emVD1IuGSAen4xB3cv9stwlra5itsqjDd4S9gPmiuJHKIw71GtIRx95Qe82WQJ4FYfdwHNk2Y8/s320/Monday0803+094.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446317066590260562" border="0" /></a>s. Here's the house as it ws when we arrived to work today. The temporary dwelling at the back is the one room construction is where the family of 3 adults and 2 children live today.<br /><br />Our afternoon was mostly carrying blocks (They are heavy !!) and mixing sand and cement for the blocklaying.<br /><br />Although it was a short day's work given all the other activities today, we were exhaused after it, mostly because of the heat .. it was sweltering, so we found the shade when we could, and we very much look forward to working with the family and crew again tomorrow.<br /><br />Tonight was low key with dinner in the hotel .. as we were so shattered ! Tomorrow night we have dinner in town, so we hope to be more alive tomorrow night !<br /><br />Bye for now.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-78635451313892541192010-03-07T08:43:00.001-08:002010-03-07T09:39:00.910-08:00Touch Down in BangaloreFrom here .... London Heathrow ..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6SyhebOy-7UGFBJTJyGzlAu7KSStGzKhYadYU5hrxEzn7gGp-3BMPQa71HYXlW4yukE6c50P_-oYYurVE4qhN_G3lTXUPKNENTMGzC5D69DKnyLR6DQT0WpfYBuJIZh2RN5eeStXa3U/s1600-h/Sunday0703+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6SyhebOy-7UGFBJTJyGzlAu7KSStGzKhYadYU5hrxEzn7gGp-3BMPQa71HYXlW4yukE6c50P_-oYYurVE4qhN_G3lTXUPKNENTMGzC5D69DKnyLR6DQT0WpfYBuJIZh2RN5eeStXa3U/s400/Sunday0703+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445933758972887378" border="0" /></a><br />to here .... Evoma Hotel garden in Bangalore<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLUF6gAggvqMrZVckrRoe5udxgVidLJ3WWhJ-OXPlx5aFpByi7iGwA6I39Fuf4aRBnxz4ypm3VpciqNgCGkKpiLefgtRPokcLfCfr0sGNZuUPxRDxpmtOqDnMOXqHmGKMr61OSFOp4x4/s1600-h/Sunday0703+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLUF6gAggvqMrZVckrRoe5udxgVidLJ3WWhJ-OXPlx5aFpByi7iGwA6I39Fuf4aRBnxz4ypm3VpciqNgCGkKpiLefgtRPokcLfCfr0sGNZuUPxRDxpmtOqDnMOXqHmGKMr61OSFOp4x4/s400/Sunday0703+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445934108526060306" border="0" /></a>We met up at Belfast City Airport at 5.45 am on Saturday and after a fairly uneventful journey, we arrived in Bangalore at about 5 am on Sunday morning. We were transferred to our hotel and had a nice relaxed day to recover ! The hotel has been taken over by Habitat for the duration of the build and there are women here from all corners .. many from the US and Canada. We've adopted 2 new<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2MydJBwkMkiEsx80RUB4cIsrLtp93_tWNxo4ovpNsbBUKYPVwEODTaRRMyDBTV3pFznqKUuPNtFrYZfDR5xgCBWUrmOIFlRsttmPaolcTiu98bkXELlfhaT2N8w6_XyizPJunlApfCk/s1600-h/Sunday0703+012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2MydJBwkMkiEsx80RUB4cIsrLtp93_tWNxo4ovpNsbBUKYPVwEODTaRRMyDBTV3pFznqKUuPNtFrYZfDR5xgCBWUrmOIFlRsttmPaolcTiu98bkXELlfhaT2N8w6_XyizPJunlApfCk/s200/Sunday0703+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445938927441320370" border="0" /></a> members to our Irish team, that's Rachel from Syndey Australia and Meenal originally from Mumbai but now living in Dubai.<br /><br />We had a lovely Welcome dinner in the hotel and then our local orientation. We were welcomed very warrmly by the local Habitat team and introduced to the folks who will look after us for the duration of the build. We learned a bit more about the project. The homes we'll build are in the Hegde Nagar district to the North of Bangalore, and are in a resettlement colony, where people from the slums pockets of a number of surrounding provinces have been moved to. Initially, as they were illegal encroachers of government land, they had no rights and no land. The cause was championed by the late Shri. Ramakrishna Hegde, and the area is named after him. The families were moved from the slums and allocated small pockets of land in the urban fringe of Bangalore, at Hegde Nagar. This is the land we will be building on.<br /><br />The homes will be for Women's Self help groups. These are groups of women, who individually would not have access to bank accounts or loans/mortgages for the homes. However, as a group, when they pool their resources, they can gain this access and the practise is that th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCemAqwO6TEXXiA0_Kxr654J5u0aGAhyphenhyphenhgI9F_KW07ui082B9HHOBt66H2C_efIeNQ-iAtKCWObGTF3U_dKbGryilqVf-JBlhTurzcojF0s9sOTaPzvkJ7yfsOkIeuDI9uFwWQupcUz0/s1600-h/Sunday0703+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCemAqwO6TEXXiA0_Kxr654J5u0aGAhyphenhyphenhgI9F_KW07ui082B9HHOBt66H2C_efIeNQ-iAtKCWObGTF3U_dKbGryilqVf-JBlhTurzcojF0s9sOTaPzvkJ7yfsOkIeuDI9uFwWQupcUz0/s200/Sunday0703+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445943116049445346" border="0" /></a>e group signs as guarantor for a loan or mortgage for a member. The member then, though savings, will repay the group and will pay the mortgage for the home through their income from local hourly paid employment. This is an excellent example of Habitat's policy for a 'Hand-Up' rather than a 'Hand-Out'<br /><br />We met Charlie (right) , who is our site supervisor. He sounds like great fun and I'm sure he will keep us on our toes. I loved his comment that a western toilet on the site is more important in India than the Taj Mahal ! and he assured us that we'll be reasonably well served.<br /><br />Tomorrow, after breakfast, we will celebrate International Women's day at the Opening Cermoney along with about 2,500 others, volunteers, local house owners and Indian dignatories. We'll be in<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgCyoDoiz8hH2iIaDjA2BVJclO_aTTE6B17LD_5wZ8ruHAqOIXsk9Hu0UOehkZsfHPmtIRY4O7Fk2Dm4vMvTMgSe4rP_gde_ljSHAiPJXzRzR5WX3xKk_WfQXK79wj9KTPtLK_F4Zohw/s1600-h/Sunday0703+016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgCyoDoiz8hH2iIaDjA2BVJclO_aTTE6B17LD_5wZ8ruHAqOIXsk9Hu0UOehkZsfHPmtIRY4O7Fk2Dm4vMvTMgSe4rP_gde_ljSHAiPJXzRzR5WX3xKk_WfQXK79wj9KTPtLK_F4Zohw/s200/Sunday0703+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445944907936602146" border="0" /></a>troduced the the familes whom we'll build for and we'll start to build in the afternoon.<br /><br />We're all really looking forward to getting started tomorrow.<br /><br />The internet facilities at the hotel are great - so I should have no problems updating every day.<br /><br />Good night from Bangalore,<br /><br />Kate + team.<br /><br />P.S. can you believe that Bangalore hs a popultaion of 6 million. That's the whole of Ireland North and South put together living here in the city.Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4391137697806388229.post-59436013045483984032010-03-04T14:25:00.001-08:002010-03-04T14:34:32.107-08:00Setting Off for India<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-vzzSPUlcYejc8_Dr3NlGC24I3vXN75NqDQucQkjrtnv1mBuK9r9xOHIgMS3S-B9bz6wknQzPLP6gO0DOyjlfs3wmuy5G4wjQn8BBBzVeQA4_tneKQDOBFscCHtNmXYZ2K4Uy4DeEvE/s1600-h/india1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 395px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-vzzSPUlcYejc8_Dr3NlGC24I3vXN75NqDQucQkjrtnv1mBuK9r9xOHIgMS3S-B9bz6wknQzPLP6gO0DOyjlfs3wmuy5G4wjQn8BBBzVeQA4_tneKQDOBFscCHtNmXYZ2K4Uy4DeEvE/s400/india1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444908614964997314" border="0" /></a>Dear friends and sponsors,<br /><br />Thank you all once again for supporting my trip to India to build houses alongside local women from the slums of Bangalore. This build is specifically a Women's Build. We leave on Saturday 6th March. We start building on Monday 8th March, International Women's Day and we finish on St. Patrick's Day, 17th March, a good day to finish for our Irish team from Belfast !<br /><br />We look forward to meeting and working with about 150 women who have travelled from all over the world to take part in the build and I will attempt to update the blog daily, (internet connections permitting), to let you know how we're getting on !<br /><br />Best regards,<br /><br />KateKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15222900804913632643noreply@blogger.com2