On Saturday, a client who was quite annoyed with some poor customer service in the past returned to our fold. I was very pleased that he had accepted my apologies and reconsidered his decision to move to competition. We also welcomed a house guest who sought shelter after a big row with her family. Took me back to 1963 when I too had to do something like that and did not have a place to park myself for a night. I spent the night on the beach in Chennai and moved into a hotel the next day. That brought back a lot of other memories and it was time well spent reminiscing. I have come a long way since then!
Saturday also had Ranjan’s friend Harsh who I used to meet regularly at our park on walks, drop in with some Diwali goodies to enquire about my progress. It was nice to talk to him for over an hour.
Sunday had us entertaining three friends in the morning and, in the evening, a charming young lady who has just adopted me. All four contributed to our cache of Diwali goodies, and who am I to complain? Sunday also saw me getting a phone call from Sandeep who has come to India for a short visit and is scheduled to visit us on Tuesday.
Monday was quiet and I was able to catch up with some reading and filing work. I was also taught a lesson in patience in tracing a delayed pension payment of my father’s. It was a typical merry go round that one experiences with the Public Sector over here.
Tuesday started off badly with my father feeling very feeble and wanting a doctor to come. By the time we could organise that, he recovered and decided that he will not require medical attention. I suspect that he simply wanted a B-12 injection and a chance to chat with our friendly doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor is indisposed and an alternative was not acceptable to him. An unexpected bonus of this little drama was that he finally agreed to use the walker instead of a cane to walk around and so with great delight, I got a carpenter to dismantle the walker that he had converted to a mobile mini table. He is now content to use the walker the way it was meant to be. I was relieved that he will be that much less prone to a fall.
My brother Arvind called just to shoot the breeze and it was nice chatting with him for a while. I really had a great time after many years when he was here last month catching up with all old news and updating other developments and I miss him often now that he has gone back to Chennai.
I was also able to sort out the pension problem and the day was crowned with a treat from Manjri who brought some great sandwiches and natural ice-cream.
Wednesday started off with a big bang. My journalist friend has just been made editor of a leading newspaper of India and I was delighted. He too was when I called him up and congratulated him. A very well deserved promotion.
Wednesday also saw Sandeep coming over in the evening to cheer me up. It is nice to see him back in India and before he goes back he and Deepali will come over a few times. Both are great uplifters of my spirit.
Thursday had two of my favourite couples drop in. Sandeep and Deepali in the morning to share with me all their adventures in the UK the past many months and to invite me there to their new home in Sheffield. They will shift when they return by the end of this month and all going well, Ranjan suggested that I go over next summer while he takes charge at home here.
In the evening Mazo and Norbert another couple who played a major role in in our lives over 12 years ago and who have stayed friends since then, came over with a cheese cake that the former had baked to put some “pep” in me as she said. They spent over a couple of hours and there was a great deal of laughter and friendly ribbing.
I was greeted with a new flower from the same Indian Mock Strawberry that I had written about in September. The sturdy plant has clung on and survived and surprised me with a lovely bloom early on Friday morning. Made the morning cuppa all the more enjoyable.
Friday late evening had my young friend Praveen from Mumbai on a long chat on the phone on esoteric subjects which exposed me to the uncertainties of the younger generation of today. I hope that he benefited from the discussion as much as I did.
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