Weather's fine, having a lovely time, wish you were here

Although it did hammer down with rain for a couple of hours yesterday this didn't really make any difference to us because we were in the flat under curfew.

 

As you may have heard, the King addressed the nation on Friday evening, apparently to bring about peace and reconciliation. However if this was really his intention then he and his advisors seriously misjudged the political temperature because his statement that he was "handing power back to the people" was not backed up with any new proposals as to how this would be achieved. Call me naive but I think having an announcement immediately after his speech that the curfew was extended from 8pm to 2am was not the greatest olive branch. The consensus seems to be that the King has offered too little, too late. I won't bore you with more political news, I'm sure the Sunday papers at home will have it well covered.

 

We got up bright and early yesterday, nothing on the news about curfews so we headed out to go shopping. Thought we'd stop at the Pacific Guest House on the way to catch up with the other volunteers and I was just having a nice cup of chiya (sweet milky tea) when the word came that there was going to be a curfew from 12 to 8pm. Joy! Back to the flat via the food shops to get some more veg and eggs. Good news, one of our local shopkeepers is not profiteering and Sheila managed to get bananas for NRs 40. I finished the fiendish Sudoko on Friday so yesterday was a tidying up papers and reading day. In the afternoon we got a good 'ol thunderstorm. We thought it strange when all the kids rushed out to the garden with umbrellas at one stage  and then we saw the rain had turned to hailstones and they were playing with them like snowballs.

 

Same morning routine again today except our cunning plan to set off earlier was thwarted by the news that curfew started at 9am (until 8pm). Sheila's happily cutting out material which she'll take to the tailor (don't get ideas, this is a lady with a sewing machine in a tiny shop round the corner), I off to finish reading the papers.

 

Happy Sunday.

 

Roshan

 

P.S. Welcome home Ben