A week in Beijing.

I was very lucky as I had a week in Beijing.  I was able to spend time getting to know the place a bit. Having called in on new colleagues with the company I now work for,  I was able to then reconnect with my colleague and line manager from Kg, who now lives in Beijing. We walked around, we got on buses and we had meals together all with Beijing in the background of our conversations.  Beautiful trees, good food,  snippets of life. Yan'nan food, nights buses.

 Then when he was not around I became a tourist again, I popped into the nearby National Art Gallery, which was very good as the style of art, is so different in China.  I also did a day trip to the Great Wall, which was lovely.  I could not walk very far up and down it, but it was nice to walk some of it.  We were lucky to go fairly early (people from a small range of hotels in the area) when it was relatively quiet but by the end it was packed and this is the quiet season.  It was so hot I just sat in the la of the wall and watched people enjoy themselves. Once back down again we all went for a brilliant meal,  tucking into dish after dish after dish.   I went to the Hockney exhibition, which was both expensive and rather concerning as the new gallery it was housed in was so inaccessible,  what with its small stair lined ups and downs almost as if one was in a bunker before emerging into the spaces housing the paintings, then I was disappointed as there were very few of his more recent works which I realise are  the ones I like.  My favourite activities were in the parks.  I tested my colleagues assertion that I would find Tai Chi in all parks by heading north at random and dropping into one park there.  There was so much going on that by the time I came out the other end, I had seen card games, dances,  done Tai Chi, visited an ancient site and seen a food market.  It had been so intense that I had no energy for the monastery housed nearby and instead headed for a hutong where there were lots of lovely individual type shops,  that were slightly reminiscent of Camden lock. On the last day I finally really really really turned tourist, as I was subjected to searches,  before spilling onto Tienanmen Square and into the Forbidden City.   Just watching the many Chinese tourists enjoying the spaces was lovely.  TS is immense and has a forbidding feel, whereas in the Forbidden City,  it is like one box in another box in another box.  I do not know if there are places within that you can see, but I only found spaces you could peer into,  so I plan to revisit the Last Emperor to get a better feel of how this space operated when people lived in it, but the use of pottery and space is very interesting.  Then suddenly one is out and back in modern Beijing.  So I hoped on the tube and for my last hour in town dipped into the summer palace park, which again was massively popular with locals.  And then that was it and with regret said farewell to China's capital.  

Happy in my hutong

The first day in town I spent pottering.   I had a late breakfast and Mr. Lee's, I went over to the very nice offices of EF and spent time with the teachers there, then had a wonderful dish of pork and rice with probiotic drink in the mall before returning to my hotel room and a rest.  I never managed to take a picture of a sign in my room telling me no prostitution, or gambling, and my room was rather cold but apart from that is was compact,  had a very useful kettle and some tea,  and had a simple view of the hutong roofs.

Beautiful Beijing.

The entry to Beijing was after a long slow progress across deserts with intriguing roads and stopping points marked out.  Out of the window I thought the city might emerge glorious but instead a dust rust sun hovered in the haze over a modern building on the outskirts The Norman Foster semi circular airport buildings looks beautiful in parts and provides space for the queues of people waiting to have their hands to be finger printed, their passports to be corrected and the expectant newcomer to spill out and onto a modern train whisking one to the baggage and then onto the trains into Beijing.  The adverts passed declared Beijing to be a green city but few people seemed to be using the train - and the IC sign for the underground pass card was only apparent to newcomers like me searching for it - so my assumption that there would be huge queues was totally incorrect.  Looking out of the window on the golden ginkgo enhanced route into the capital - no one took notice of me, one of the few foreigners - whilst I was fascinated by the tattooed young couple opposite me and the women with their fashionably dyed hair.  No uniform look and even those in uniform did not stand out or dominate the scene.
From the airport train,

Metro advertising.

I squeezed into the metro, again no one took any notice, not even to think this older foreigner might need help with her bag, except that just when this thought was going through my head, a hand whisked the cumbersome object up some troublesome steps,  with a merry "you are welcome"  in response to my thanks.   Then as I peered at the map trying to work out which of the many exits to use to reach my hotel a woman about my age, looked at the map, looked at the hotel address, which was handily written in Chinese and English, consulted her phone and told me in English how to get where I was going  Moments later,  a short walk along an unattractive main road, and right turn past signs to the Hockney exhibition and there in the lea of a high rise block and next to a grey low rise hutong, nestled my wonderful gaudy Chinoiserie hostel, with a cheerful welcome.

Despite having had little sleep I was determined to go out.  The young woman at the desk doubted I could walk to Tianaman Square, so I followed her suggestion and walked along to the park behind the Forbidden City.  Jianshan Park.  Peckish I grabbed the last meal available in the park kiosk - beef and noddles and having no idea what food would cost paid way over the odds for it, which rankled for much of the time once I realised how cheap most things were in the town.    Huffing and puffing I joined the legions of Chinese people also making their way to the top of the park to look down on the city that was Forbidden to the them for so long.   One man expressed surprise

Airport arrivals.

I was travelling alone but was reassured when I explained a friend lived in Beijing.  Beyond that and a few smiles shared amongst travellers following the same route, no one spoke to me, however, I felt very at home watching people pick up the leaves and take pictures

Beijing

Pollution protection

The Forbidden City

Chasing service.

I know this is modern life but currently chasing up things with Western Union - money not arrived - CPS stupid incorrect assessments - JohnLewis complaint, Nationwide Insurance - there are not enough hours in the day to resolve all the things that arrive mainly from poor service.I would like to spend my down time enjoying myself, but no such luck today.

.........


Phoned WU and they solved the problem, but I forgot I was cooking whilst on the phone and set the fire alarms off, so had to go out to get some food and wore the wrong glasses Plus made coffee without coffee and just spelled the word developer, delevoper!. All over the place in other words.

Poignant, positive, pouring, pointless Poitiers.

Went back to Poitiers to try and secure property in little town outside of Poiters only to experience a very cold, wet weekend with no trains So that was a bit off putting.  Then the sunshine came out and there was this lovely exhibition in the the Poitiers Palace, so not only did I see where Eleanor and the Duc de Berry got to hang out, but I saw some wonderful art currently installed there including the frightening glass floor.   Still not sure what to do, but the weekend was positive in the end and I braved going into a French restaurant after and had a lovely meal for about £15, then took the train home all the way to England.   Brill. 

Tearful

Very tearful angry etc. Bloody CPS apparently the police did charge BB but the CPS then pulled the case.  Their lawyers consistently justify their decision on incorrect grounds e.g. saying I gave the person money when that is not what I did, I put money into a business account, which turne dout to be his personal account which he had renamed.   What do you do when those who represent justice just completely ignore you the evidence etc. Even Bex has told them he has the money and that he has not given it back in all these years but still that cuts no ice.

I have also asked for his address several times, and not succeeded, but I might now have a way of getting his address.  So the battle goes on.    Now instead the battle is to ask the CPS why does it keep ignorring the evidence and why it has proceeded to a review when they know the OiC (Officer in Charge) is on secondment and that no one else seems to have taken on the case. 

Meanwhile though we are not leaving the EU on the 31st, but who knows still what the future brings. 

Never Knowingly Undersold - until now.

Is John Lewis officially worse than Curry's ........Yes is the answer to that.


I bought a computer from them in good faith, which I believed to be the same model as the one I had had to return to Curry's because of the fault. It took several months to sort that out with Curry's but in the end I got a full refund and they compensated me too for the trouble. Nothing like enough to compensate for the time, lost revenue, stress but at least they compensated me. They also replied quickly to my complaints, their replies were incorrect, and unhelpful, but they were at least replies.   John Lewis has failed to do anything remotely to help and they have also tried to sell me two products that were incorrect to resolve the problem! Their returns policy is crazily draconian - so because I bought the product, switched it on, set it up and then realised it was not the same as the HP that I had bought from Curry's as it had no ethernet cable - they refuse to let me return it.  My understanding under the law is that products bought online can be returned but I appreciate it is a difficult situation because I had used it once and to the best of my knowledge it does not have a fault - but this in essence means that if you have done the instintive thing and turned on a product then you cannot return it. I am not sure that is what the law intended.    Anyway so I have this damn computer and now have to find out whether they will return it or suggest a way of using an adapter to make it work.  Can I get this information from them?  No I was promised a reply about 20 days ago and have not had that reply, when I rang the women in Customer Services today to ask why I had not had a reply to my now several emails she said of that if I keep writingin that pushes me back in the system!  So their system is set up to disadvantage people with an ongoing query.

Because no one had replied to my emails I went in some time ago to John Lewis and tried to buy the adapter The sales person confidentally and cockily dished other technical support staff and said he could deliver. Whilst in the queue though I took another look at the product he had advised that I buy only to realise that whilst it had an ethernet port, it did not have a USB end so I would not be able to use it.   I could not find him, so gave the offending item back to his colleague and he told me to buy something that was a usb -c  I decided to ignore his suggestion until I had had email confirmation re what to do. That confirmation never came, so today I found a phone number rang in and their someone in passing said not to use a usb - c, as they are only for phones, but to buy....... So I have had this computer for almost a month. I have had only one reply from Customer Service and that was to say I would hear in 72 hours!  I have been in and been given incorrect advice.  etc.   Sadly it seems that John Lewis do not sell the connector - if you cannot rely on the sales staff to do their job, if the law seems set up to ensure you are in the wrong,  - how does one buy a new computer with confident. Of course you could argue that given I am employed by one company really they could ensure that I was provided with the right equipment, but that would be another battle.    So for the time being I am just hoping that once I get the right adapter I can progress.  But in the meantime  sod John Lewis' not going to you either now in the future./I have never really been there before as in my own head it is too expensive for me, but when Curry's were so awful, JL's was suggested, but from where I stand they are actually worse, because at least they have compensated me for their inefficiency. 

Lying in the Hert - a poem for National Poetry Day.

Do I leave the Lea

Lying in the Hert

A half river, New too

Two vistas to 

London town 

Plane plain 

That nevertheless

Nestles bright green life

And dark green paths

I forage here; gathering my buds.

Getting behind by having fun but stressing.

I am getting all behind with the news both personal and societal partly because so many things are going on.  Boris being declared unlawful for example in a landmark decision by the Supreme Court. Luckily I turned over the TV just as the decision was being declared so that their thinking was clear.  Ironically the lack of back up documentation seems to have been part of the problem, an incredibly naive, sort of we shut down parliament because we did, rather than any justification for their action so that the judges almost had no choice but to find him illegal once they had decided that their could judge the shut down.

You would have thought that Boris would have been chastened a tad, but no he and his side kicks came out swinging in what was such a vicious attack especially on women MPs that I thought his partner should have walked on him in disgust.  Same day impeachment proceedings started against Trump.

Meanwhile in Japan brother Nic, and his wife, were winging pictures from the Australia V Wales/ Wales v Georgia match back home, much to my delight.  But I have spent more and more sleepless nights since getting an offer on my home trying to work out the right thing to do.  I have asked them to increase the offer as that will make what I am trying to do more feasible but no word. Meanwhile it has been rather nice to be home.  In art we had a wonderful inks use workshop and today the garden group have been making a scarecrow for the local church festival.

Prior to that I had a lovely week away in WAles in the full heat of the sun was just wonderful and I finally found a place I wanted to live, got to the theatre in Brecon and saw the Chekhov shorts, which had me guffawing into my hands by the end,  but the house was not in Machynlleth and I think as a town that is a place that really suits me.    All around town there are veg growing tubs with help your self on them and they just look lovely. I also managed to find the town growing scheme.  So whilst in some ways I am much clearer than I was on what I want to do, all the options are still on the table.  One of the good things about Mac though was staying in the very old school hotel,  a great excuse each day to try another of their cooked breakfasts,  then through out the town there are good cafes and I got to chat to lots of people and be shown around the Owain Glyndwr centre, so all in all a very successful trip.             

Sandwiched in between the trip to France and Wales, I paid Old London town a visit - a bit fairly near the South Bank University in Bermondsey where there is a textile museum,  I had not really heard of it until recently but there was a lovely if small exhibition of Peruvian costumes, which reminded me a bit of those seen in Ecuador.   Then this week, I delivered my application for the trip to China and got out sufficiently early to head to Wilton's Music Hall for the Old Stock A Refugee Love Story.   I had seen the main singer at Cambridge and he had mentioned he had this piece on,  it consisted of the tunes I had already heard and a very effecting stark story of escape to Canada from the Romanian pogroms.  Both this production and the Chekhov, showed the great versatility of actors who are musicians too.  Interesting and unexpected Q and A after with the production team and representatives  of refugee groups.  

Last but not least, posted a poem on the Places project https://www.placesofpoetry.org.uk/

Compared to many of my friends I do not have a busy life, but this seems fairly busy to me. 

Oh and also time to say farewell to my best friend in this area.  Someone who has made the lonely times disappear,  just simple walks and chats, by the river can make the whole world better. 

Regrets

My Grandma sort of went mad. I sometimes wonder if it is because of the regrets she had over the decisions she had made during her lifetime.    Anyone who reads this blog - i.e. me - will realise one of the stupidest things I did was get together with Bex Banjo - if I have pursued him for the money he owes me perhaps it is because I am kicking myself for my stupidity. I was on target to buying a place in Portugal and being able to live nearer my son, I did not have to be distracted by his plans - the challenges he set me were things I had dreamt about e.g. an interesting job - a very interesting job, and trying to buy a property through auctions - but I had just about got to the point in my life where the last thing I needed or wanted was an interesting job.  I did not even really need property in the UK if I was going to Portugal, but I could see that the beauty of the job being offered was that I could do it anywhere and that having a small property in which to keep things in the UK might be useful.  So it was easy for him to talk me into making a deal with him - because I in effect rationalised myself into doing something that I had not planned on doing and I have regretted it so much since. I am lucky I did not hand my notice in, which might have been really serious in terms of the situation at HRC at the time, I did not give him any of my savings, I gave him new money that I never expected to have - but I totally messed up buying in Portugal as that sale was immediately put on holdand then never went through. If I had not been stupid enough to listen to Bex Banjo I might have been living in Portugal for the last few years. Probably would have drive my son up the wall but .......  so many things might have been differnt. So perhaps that is why I have pursued "justice" as a way of dealing with some of the demons about myself since he came into my life. 

Sadly the CPS has yet again said that they will not prosecute him.  For reasons I do not understand they do not seem to have the evidence that they should have - they do not seem to know for example that he gave me a false addres or that I have asked him and various family members for his address so that I can prosecute him myself through the civil courts, but he refuses and when I try to talk to his family he threatens me with libel - but the CPS just say I should prosecute him myself. I feel like I have come to the end of what I can do as I have no control over what evidence is submitted to them by the police.  But whatever happens, I will never have that house in Portugal back or those years with my son. 

Two nations united way back in time - a poignant trip to Poitiers.

Many moons ago I was really into the art of the hours as captured in the Duke de Berry's Book of Hours; my mother was equally captured by the ideas of Courtly Love and the history of Eleanor of Aquitaine -so my recent visit to Poitiers was a delightful remind of these past pastimes as Poitiers was where the French court met.    Eleanor was Queen of England and of France, she rode with the second crusade so travelled to places as far afield as modern day Syria,  she was by all measures an extra-ordinary woman.   The main tourist sight from this period is currently closed, but just walking around Poitiers lovely honey coloured buildings somehow the medieval past is present.  From the streets bearing Eleanor's name to the wonderful Notre Dame in the market with its colourful columns the royal connection is there, but other historical figures have a connection with Poitiers too.  Joan of Arc was I guess one could argue a kind of Frenchixter in that she wanted to wrestle France back from the English and part of her campaign was fought in the area.

A more recent connection with Poitiers is Camille Claudel - I only know about her as a former colleague from HRC, someone who used to put on vignettes of music and story, put on a piece about her and her relationship with Rodin.  A talented sculptor in her own right, but his art and her role as muse dominate their history, so it was very nice to be able to see some of her work at the local museum including the only too well named Old Helen!

Apart from the streets and the range of shops with independent artisans, I especially enjoyed having bio supermarkets just around the corner where one could help oneself to what was needed - the food was excellent. I also found a place that just served coffee and tea, no food and each day in the market a different street food vendor would set up, but my favourite was the restaurant in the park. I had wondered into the Blossac and was thinking this place really needs a cafe, but there was no reference to anything like that on the park map and I almost headed out after conversing with a friendly duck, but then realised that if people were hiring bike type things then maybe there would be a cafe and what a cafe - lovely vegetables cooking out in the open, fish or meat to go with them, so despite not being realy really really hungry, I felt it incumbent on me to sit in the sun and enjoy myself.

I also often was equally happy to make food in the little kitchen provided where I was staying and sit out in the sun on the patio and just enjoy being still. Poitiers is very quiet compared to living next to the main Cambridge to Liverpool Train line, and just being in the sun and taking stock was brilliant.



Whilst I was away all hell was breaking out with rebellions in Parliament and Johnson calling for an election,  BBC News was really helpful as they were showing a live feed from parliament.  I could not decide if it was great to be away and looking at property in France or motivation to stay on and fight in Britain.  It was really interesting to visit property in France, one place seen in Montmorrillon had a wonderfully bonkers array of wall paper but no bathroom, whilst another had a door from the internal house that opened onto a staircase up into the loft - like a whole secret space. With more money and energy I think I would have been happy to live in any of them, but worry I have left it too late, with worries that health provision will cost a lot if one goes to Europe escape seems more complicated than originally imagined, however, I was very pleased to be able to use my French and navigate the train system and see beyond Poitiers and if I can make it work would happily return for longer and on a more consolidated basis.

Unbelievable Boris

The man does not know whether we sell pork pies to the icelanders, but he tells porky pies and now he has gone to the Queen who infuriatingly does not even seem to have at least suggested that parliament be closed for a couple of days rather than weeks. This is the greatest constitutional crisis since 1936 - and Queenie has caved in.   Parliament should have been recalled rather than suspended.  And these bloody elites have the audacity to say this is reclaiming democracy. So angry. Well done everyone who has already taken to the streets.  

Not currying favour

If my two old ancient computers had not failed me today, I might almost have been willing to laugh in disbelief at Curry's complete disregard for politeness, efficiency, care and service. However, I urgently need my computer but having tried 4 times to schedule its arrival Curry's seem to work on the premise - one shared by the property ombudsman, who failed to uphold a valid complaint about W H Brown for their scurrilous behaviour -  what are you complaining about you once had a computer it once worked and now it does not and so what if computers are supposed to last for a few years rather than a few weeks and so what if we are supposed to give you proper advice - bullocks to you all.  You keep coming back, you keep buying, you keep complaining but us at Curry's do not care.


Honestly all the reviews of the company are staggeringly bad, but then when reviewers talk about taking Curry's to the Small Claims Court they are rubbished by the other people for somehow daring to complain.   I struggle with the illogicalities of life. There are rules and Curry's flout everyone of them but there is n't a decent way to get redress and those who think of it are rubbished by their peers.     Once upon a time as a GLC information officer, I used to write to people like Curry's and get the victims their money back, but my efforts on my own behalf just end up on facebook and here as grumbles at the inefficiencies of life.      Not sure what to do anymore as they have my computer and they are ignorring me and my consumer rights but I need the computer for work, and need it urgently.  

Unbelieveable part two CPS. Without prejudice!

Incandescent with rage.

Some of you will know that during a very difficult personal time, I was offered a new job and a business opportunity with someone I believed to have my best interests at heart. I put money into the business he set up to buy a property and then he pulled out of the purchase and i found out that the money I had put into the business account had been removed by him. He acknowledged to the police that he had the money and said he was keeping it to take me to court for libel. Action Fraud refused to take up the case on the basis that the man would not be traceable, but that was nonsense - his nephews are regularly on TV, so he could be traced through them Luckily the police took up the case, however, despite the numerous lies and the grooming, they felt he had been so clever with stitching me up that they felt proving intent, which is what is required for fraud, would be too difficult, so they agreed to prosecute him for theft. It seemed like an open and shut case. He was never given the money, it went into what was believed to be a business account and he used it for purposes other than those for which it was put into the bank account. but guess what according to the Crown Prosecution Service, that does not constitute theft. Cannot even begin to express how furious I am, The police have used words like grooming with me, they say now he could have been prosecuted from coercive control, but I cannot even get the powers that be to charge him for theft despite him acknowledging he has my money!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would of course have taken him to court myself, but guess what this man gave me a false address.  B. B is just laughing - no wonder he seems to feel the law cannot touch him, if the powers that be say that taking someone's money is not theft.   I appreciate that this is all part of process and I am learning a lot more about process as a result of this, but many citizens - myself included, work on the basis, that you report a crime, it is investigated and then the case is prosecuted, now I discover all this unexpected twists and turns.   I cannot take the man to court as he gave me a false address,  but without taking him to court and showing he has not returned the money CPS say at present then there is not sufficient evidence of him dishonestly taking the money from me that they cannot pursue him for theft.   So catch 22.  There is a review process, so I will try and await the outcome of that calmly but again weirdly they do not ask why you disagree with their decision so whilst I have said that some of the decision making seems to be based on incorrect information I have no guarantee that that will be factored in. 

Unbelievable

Greatest five minutes of live sport on TV - the Cricket World Cup final playing out  on Channel four or five at the same time as Djokovic and Federer battle to the last tiebreaker of the last set of the Wimbledon final.  Unbelieveable as England batsman accidentally knocks ball to the boundary causing the last final super over.

A nice break from the unbelievable and depressing news that Boris has gained power at number 10.

Unbelievable, new computer already broken, but Curry's decision to repair it a complete nightmare as they fail to deliver it back to me, answer phones, or do anything correct and work so much harder without a properly working computer.

Unbelievable - having arranged a last minute dash to Portugal to see Om and see if we can at last find somewhere to live there before Brexit and he completely forgets about it and organises to go to Croatia for a wedding instead, Meanwhile Ryanair strikes threaten all holidays so may not even be able to get there, but count down over the cliff edge cranking up several notches now Boris in.

Believable climate change - which puts all other problems into perspective!. 

Fabulous fun is France.

A very good friend of mine moved back to France a few years ago and ever since then I have been trying to catch up with her there, so I was delighted when she said she was free for a few days this June and I duly booked what I thought was a four day trip away only to discover when I checked my Ryanair details that I had only booked Saturday to Tuesday!  Despite this we managed to pack a lot in, not only was her tiny village enjoying a marathon

when we sat out for our morning coffee and having a day showing off old crafts and having sausage suppers at midday, but down the road was a major eco event where my friend had been asked to look after three of her grandchildren whilst her son's band play.  It was brilliant,  it was warm but not too hot, the food was 10 times better than any British festival and some of that can be pretty good and the band were great, with everyone up and dancing by the second song. I joined in too which was great.    And then the second day we had time by the fire having long heartfelt discussions about our roles in life now we are older, then had a lovely three course meal in a local restaurant and a walk around the local lake, before I bus into Toulouse for the evening and the flight home today.  Brilliant.  Amazing what you can do and talk about in two days. 

My friend's rental house is amazing - a large old building and she has made it look wonderfully homely. She is close to her children and grandchildren and children, but independant of them and does not want them to define her in her closing years. I am not a grandmother and I am still working but I feel very detached from much of life these days and am finding it very difficult to know how to manage my later years. I would like to travel that much I know - longer and further away than I can currently but with climate change is that feasible?  I would like to move too, and have a garden, a proper garden, but is that compatible with travelling. i want to be near family but they are scattered in four different places, so cannot please all of them by avoiding their patch!  And whilst I am lucky enough to own my own home I cannot sell it at present, its value may go down, etc etc etc. I am not alone with these concerns. And while I am happy bumbling along in many ways, indeed these days bumbling is a great joy, but could I be doing more with life whilst I have it and if so what?  The kind of debate we shared.   Meanwhile wish my own house had as much character and also feeling very blessed to have friends in such interesting places. 

A few more glimpses at sunny Sardiniabefore the locusts moved in!

Still railing, despite a wonderful day

It is funny how one can have a wonderful day and yet still want to rail at the world. For reasons I do not fully understand a woman on the bus really annoyed me.  She sat for an hour looking at her phone. Her bag sat beside her and no one who stood because there was not a seat even asked her to move it, it was like she did not see them and they did not see her, just a bag and so the seat was not free.   Yet everyone who got on and wanted a seat expressed their frustration with the world that there was not a seat and they dashed for one the minute a person got off, and all this was invisible to the woman whose bag sat next to her taking up people's seats. She and the world were in their phones meanwhile outside the waves were crashing on the shore, to the right of the bus and flamingos were flying in formation on the other side of the bus and it was as if no one else could see all this going on and that was why I was railing at the world.

Bt are also enough to drive anyone up the wall, since getting a new hub, the service has got worse and worse and they keep making it worse and worse e.g. cancelling the engineer and then telling me that I was the one who cancelled.

Anyway, I will try and regain my sea side calm again by putting up some pics of

flamingos.  Bus trip to Pula totally worth it, both for the views en route then the Roman remains of

Nora and a fab but wildly and unintentionally expensive meal in the cafe there. ln theory should be working now to pay for it all, but as you can see displacement activities have won out again! 

Unexpected Cagliari.

Cagliari is unexpectedly turning into one of the best places I have ever visited,  I always enjoying travelling, but so many things have just happened whilst here it has been magic so far.

First there were the dolphins, which completely blew me away, and the others who saw them.  I know they are not whales but I have attempted to see Whales in Scotland and Iceland, but failed totally, I missed the one seen by the others in Ecuador, as I did not go with them that day and the closest I have come to any such siting is the river in Senegal where I did see a dolphin at a distance, and was looking out for it, but the dolphins here in Cagliari were right under our noses, so close up one could see their markings. There was even a white one, which grew gasps from those who had gathered to watch, so after that it will be hard for Cagliari to fail as an attractive place, but there is also this brilliant weekend on this weekend, a bit like the Open House scheme in London, but with the added benefit that the tour guides are the local school children and in the evening free music events are being put on in some locations. An English speaking Thai woman, who now lives here and I, were for example given an almost exclusive tour of the palace of the Viceroys. And this evening I have jigged around to an evening of Irish music put on in the university palace.   Wonderful. I was even serenaded when I stopped off to have tea and cake before returning to my pilgrimage hostel by a crooner in the next door cafe.  Brilliant day. 

So excited - I hope you can see why.

Which report finds a high failure rate with regard to solving fraud crimes.

Which has recently done some analysis of how successfully or not the police have been resolving fraud cases.  It makes for interesting reading.
https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/09/exclusive-more-than-96-of-reported-fraud-cases-go-unsolved/


However, in my case the person who took the money I put into a business account, was interviewed by the police. He even told the police that he had taken the money and put it into a bitcoin account, despite it only being in the business account in connection with the sale of a property, and even though there was loads of evidence that he had lied to me in order for me to be involved with that sale. It was the police who first told me that I had been groomed, yet they still did not try and take the matter to court or interview the person's former wife or other family members despite them being advised that the family had acknowledged that I was not the man's first victim.     Now he has resurfaced.  So what will the Police do if another victim comes forward or if the family will help validate the information that I have given them? 

That man put this video up three months ago, but what is not clear from that is that I saw this video some years ago.At the time Mr Banjo said the talk had been recorded whilst he was in Nigeria at a conference. However, I could find no record of that talk in the hotel records for the day he was supposed to be there.   I paid for that flight on the basis that I thought him attending the conference was vital to the business and on the basis that I would get the money back. I never did. I have no idea whether the police even checked if he had entered and exited Britain that day or who if anyone did use that flight.  Nor did I get the money back that I put into our joint business account for the purchase of the property or get paid for the work I did for him on a project to work with Nigerian Cassava Growers. They have never confirmed that he was working legitimately for them ever.  He told me he was in the process of buying two houses in Cambridgeshire, but it turned out that he was living in rented accommodation for example. 

I have let the police know about the information he has put online, but do not expect that they will take any further action on my case despite my best efforts to get them to take him to court. I think they are waiting till I have forgotten all the details and presumably as Mr. Banjo is confident enough to put all this up he too thinks I have forgotten but there are some things that one never forgets and being groomed is one of them.

And I do all this with money from stupid women like Ms Austen who believe me!

 I can provide consultancy services on Blockchain and Smart contracts. I have written a book on the Trade Blockchains Revolution.

I have written several papers on Blockchains Business Strategies and Countertrade. I studied for a degree in finance at the University of East London. I was a Commodity Trader and a Sovereign Debt Instruments trader in the City of London. I have also been involved with innovative trade financing and parallel trading programmes.

I was also trained in the use of Database and network systems, and subsequently, the commercial use of the Internet.I subsequently went on to acquire extensive experience in Internet Business strategies. In the mid Nineteen Nineties, I allied this training and experience, with my own background in Finance, to advise many organizations on their Internet strategies and produce Internet Strategy Reports For them. I have worked with many organizations to help them in their utilization of the Internet for enhancing their supply chains

The emergence into the public consciousness of the use of Trade Blockchains as a decentralized resource in 2016 has thrown up many opportunities for Smart Contracts as a Game Changer. I also believe very strongly that Decentralized Technology can help to improve things for poor farmers in developing countries by using Trade Blockchains to facilitate the disintermediation of intermediaries who don't add value in the supply chain, thereby generating more revenue for the farmers.

Animals and plants in Delhi

Ever since getting here I have been tempted to ask the traffic police why they sit in their huts and ignore the motor scooters on pavements and people going the wrong way (where there is a crossing here it might be observed especially in posher areas, unlike Rishikesh where they were totally ignored) but I felt perhaps aggravating the police was not such a good idea, but then to my delight today just after a scooter ran through the red light whilst I was trying to cross it was nabbed! And yesterday a kindly police officer negotiated a rickshaw for me and at a much cheaper price than I would manage when I got lost trying to walk to the Red Fort from what turned out to be a less than ideal underground.  Rickshaws aside it seems bargaining is a thing of the past and foreigners pay more for entry into places, but that seems okay as while the price is a lot higher it is not too expensive so today whilst heading for one Mughal Tomb instead I landed up at another one which cost 300 rupees to go to.  It was lovely and quiet and peaceful till a school of young girls arrived, half of whom said hello and shook my hand.  They were quite fun.  Only a short distance away was the delightful Lodhi gardens,which are free,  if it had had a cafe, I would have stayed all day, but only a few hawkers appeared and the many Indians had their own picnics with them.  I had no energy to do anything other than sit rather than doing in depth clambering over mausoleums and stayed so long I began to get peckish So going onto the zoo rather than another tomb seemed the quickest way to find somewhere to eat and stay outside.  Hygienically I am not sure about the canteen, but the price for coffee and something chat was very good value.  I debated the zoo,  I used to love taking Nathan to London zoo, but it is very expensive there and of course zoos are mired in controversy too these days, but what if they are the only way to see animals.  Having spotted four elephants, and several types of deer at the National Park at some distance, I needed little excuse to head  inside to see how their wildlife is presented to Indians. I was amazed how many people were pouring in and as per usual we were all searched and scanned. Inside the area is very green and some animals have a lot of space and some breeding has been helping endangered species like the White Tiger, but others like

the hippo seemed almost too close for comfort packed in like huge bellowing Walls sausages,  I am sure the sight of this one white face intrigued this hippo.  I sometimes feel I am a bit like someone in a zoo here, as I am starred at and commented upon both nicely and dismissively but given that I am taking photos of those commenting on me it seems fair enough though I do not really enjoy it.   However, having compared the Indian and the African elephant, and been riveting by the tigers and the gibbon, I rewarded myself with a return trip to have some excellent Indian tea to end my trip back at the Craft Museum.    Compared to 10 years ago India seems to have done a lot to improve transport eg with the metro, there are lots of signs up to support women's safety and green living,   Everywhere there is water provided and lots of free toilets, some of which are very well looked after and none of which have been unbearable.   I have been able to explore large areas on foot, whilst tuk tuk's have been ever ready to swoop me up when too tired to go further .  Delhi is much nicer than I had imagined, whilst one can still suddenly be somewhere smelly and unsettling,  however, there are also swathes of lovely open parks in which to just relax on the grass and watch the world go buy. And while they mainly cater for rich Indians and westerners there are one or two places for really good tea and coffee, and where ever I have been the food cheap or more costly has been brilliant.     There has been so much to focus on it has really taken me out of myself to be here.  Most days people have chatted to me so one never feels alone, though it has been great to meet up in the evenings with Om.   And it has been lovely to be in the warmth.  I could have spent a fortune on clothes looking at the lovely range of outfits the women wear,  but here in Delhi so far have not found the kind of shops that were available in Rishikesh but which were shut when I wanted to go back and buy something, but I have some shoes bought from the local market and a book from the second hand book stall, called White Tiger to entertain me on the flight home. 

Delhi metro takes me around town.

I was dreading Delhi by the time I left Rishikesh as I was ill and tired and worried about the pollution and my arrival at Paharganj was not helped by the delay to the flight and the fact that the promised onsite cafe had been closed by Government decree and the only place remotely okay in which to grab a tea was Mc Donalds.  My hotel seemed dark and depressing and dangerous, but attempts to find out from Booking.com as to what my rights were as a result of their misleading description resulted in me almost being asked to leave.  Booking.com did not answer my question, instead they went against my request and just asked the hotel to cancel my booking. Furious with their incompetence.  Luckily some of the safety issues were resolved and once Om was found, it became clear that opposite him was a good cafe and that he was only minutes down the road, the area became doable, but at first the dying rats and the more aggressive wild dogs worried me. However, a nice meal with Om and his girl sorted me out, but unfortunately she was ill after that.   Meanwhile I have discovered how much I like going round Delhi on my own. The extended metro meant that yesterday I could get up to the parliament area and have a look around aspects of the building even if I could not get inside. It was green, the day warm but with a nice breeze and overall it was a brilliant day for example lunch at the

Craft Museum excellent and the actual museum itself amazing.  There were craft workers there and I felt sorry that I did not feel I could just buy and buy but inside the museum too it was a delight from huge terracotta horses to huge skinny statues that looked like beings from Dr Who programmes to elephants in all shapes and sizes and from serious to comical.   There were also lots of styles of wall art.  I did not get back to my hotel till 6.   Om had a late tea with me and it was just nice to be in his presence.   Then today back onto the metro, with a long and restful stop at Connaught Place were I began to go red under the sun and was subject to a pleasant and extended series of questions from two young men who wanted to know how to progress their careers - as if that was something I had the knowledge to help them with. Then it was up to the Red Fort just to sit and admire it followed by an extended walk through the local market area, which proved very disappointing in terms of sales items, but interesting to just walk through, but the highlight was the lunch stop at a place called Haldiram's which was very lively, cool and busy and where I got a lovely like lunch of aloo tikka.  Much better than the McD one of the day before!  I sat in the small Mahatma Gandhi park after where every patch was a cricket game, but did not stay long as I was shattered.  Back through the metro,  everyone has to go through security at each station, and it is wonderful that the women's queue is always shorter than the men's ones. There is even a woman's carriage and a ladies seat in each carriage, which is nice sometimes to use.   At RAvik Chowk there are lots of cafes too so one can get refreshments on route.  And it is clean. 

Safari time

Have just said my farewells to Om,  it has been lovely being able to dip into his world whilst in India with his guru, to be able to have time with him and his colleagues and yet also be able to do my own thing too. 

On the Wednesday in Rishikesh he was working so we did not get to catch up but I had a gentle day partly revising some of the things we had done on the Monday but I also dipped into the Rishikesh Film Festival, and then had to run back to the hotel to see if my Thursday trip to the National Park had been sorted.  It had not been but eventually it was sorted, so in the morning I said goodbye to Hari Om with one of his lovely porridge breakfasts and veg sandwich, then walked down tot he Ganga where I chatted to a female Indian birdwatcher, who birdlike herself described the 35 species she had seen whilst in Rishikesh, then I picked up my nice top made by the local tailor.

In the afternoon I was out of the noise of Riskikesh on a well made road running along a sort of canal of the Ganges that feeds a water power plant, and then at the entrance to the National Park, where I swopped my taxi for a jeep.  I cannot claim to have seen many animals in the 2.5 hours that followed, but we went through a whole range of terrains, and weathers and by the end were racing through the rain to get home. At times we could have been in Richmond Park seeing the deer and parakeets, but seeing peacocks running around in the long grass was great fun and despite many breakdowns and some helpful observations like tree, burnt tree, my driver (did not pay for a guide) proved adept at spotting the one or two elephants that were on our route. They were quite a way away, and my old camera so useless, you cannot even see that that is what I am taking a picture of but I definitely saw elephants on my trip to India.  And there was even a small bonus as my jeep carried stuff up to a building inside the nature reserve that turned out to be the elephant orphanage,  I only got a brief glimpse when I stood up just to work out what the buildings might be but I was rewarded with the most gorgeous site of a couple of youngsters trotting alongside the keeper.

I felt very bad, that despite being back in time, I did not do puja which the flowers bought for the purpose the day before whilst on the beach, but I was cold tired and just did not have the energy to battle with the traffic and people to return to the Ganga.  I hope mother ganga will forgive me that instead I had a lovely meal of paneer pasanda and biriyani rice and that I left my offering at the elephant good kept in the hotel when I creeped out at 6 to get my taxi to the airport. 

Getting out and about in Rishikesh.

It has been all about food, drink and pottering in wider Rishikesh.  After vegetable cheese toast at Om Hari's where I am called Auntie,  it was a short walk to the Ganges.  When we got to Rhamjhula footbridge we stopped for fruit lassi and porridge and once over the ganges (I managed the footbridge with assistance! and some laughter from my son as I edged my way across) and then it was time for a hit of healthy Himalayas juice of banana spirulina and added apricots.  I was hoping to arrange an ayuvedic appointment a tuk tuk ride away, but he was shut, but the organic tea cafe with brownies and wonderful view made for a nice alternative.    This evening I have returned to the Triveni Ghat and the fire ceremony and am now full of rice and saag paneer from the hotel restaurant.      A good day's pottering with Om and T.

Water

Watching something like the equivalent of The Voice in my hotel room on Anjan channel.  I like my hotel room despite its poor outlook - not the mountain view promised - and somewhat shabby furnishings but it is nice and big and warm and feels safe up away from the traffic of Rishikesh. Eyes sting from the dust but at least know my way from the hotel to the ashram, despite a few odd twists and turns. And this morning sitting drinking chai and eating porridge with loved ones, suddenly India seemed doable.

It started relatively well. The delays to the flight meant that I actually got to Delhi at a more sensible time and had less time to hang around.  The flight was basically good,   sleep possible, but aslo disturbed by turbulence, food, etc, but I definitely dozed for a bit and just about managed to watch the movie Dunkirk by the time we arrived. The flight took an extra hour as we could not fly over Pakistani airspace which created a moment's tension but luckily we were blissfully unaware of any issue till the flight arrived.  Delhi airport is huge and I was heading for the transfers, but could not access any information on departures.  A man with a big gun, both of which were tucked by a sign saying not to come near, suddenly asked if he could help, but he could make sense of where I was trying to get to. I then headed outside the airport for some fresher air and to try and find some money, but failed was all the ATM would tell me.  It took a while to work out how to get back into the airport, but eventually succeeded.   Luckily having got some rupees at Heathrow airport I was able to buy a delicious plate of samosas and good coffee, before queuing up go through the stringent security checks to await my short flight to Dunradun.   I even found a quiet spot and a lounger to relax on.  Nationwide kindly told me that suspicious activity had been spotted on my card and to await further instrutions. Just as I was about to board the next flight, and too late to sort out any more money, I got word my card had been unblocked.    Luckily I had enough money with me for the 45 minute pre arranged taxi and travelling through the dark got to Nature Care Village was able to have yet another meal, whilst sitting outside in the chill air, trying to assimilate where I was.  My affable but slightly aloof host, told this dishevelled older women, in effect to chill, but throughout my stay I never quite got the hang of things, and each night I was very cold, but that aside, I thought the location and guest house lovely and the other guests made for a sort of Agatha Christie type cast of characters all sequestered in an out of the way location where they are all held together to answer questions from Poirot.

I am pleased to say however, that there was no murder, just dogs, good and scary, loud music from the wedding next door to dance to,  rivers to fall into, elephants heard but not seen,  children and water buffalo, soft light, and wonderful food.   and that great cast of characters with whom to pass the brief days spent in an Indian village just outside Rishikesh.


I was attracted to the place because I wanted a quiet place to recover from the overnight flight and I was interested in the promise of Ayuvedic plants organic homegrown food and the beach and

river.  In some ways some of this was delivered - e.g. a talk on the various plants, which was very interesting, and a walk to the river at sunrise which was fun and enabled me to see a bit more of the area.  Having a wedding next door was also fun, though it meant the place was not quiet, but I enjoyed going to see the groom arrive and was invited in but resisted.  I also loved walking down to the river and seeing the animals and child- herders and just sitting and hoping an elephant would appear. I found it hard to sleep as it was cold and there were so many intriguing sounds e.g. the birds were stunning. (For example saw a kingfisher, egrets, parrakeets)    And everyone who stayed had amazing qualities from people with huge knowledge of cooking, a man from America on his first trip abroad, who turned out to be part First Nation,  an Indian looking woman, who actually came from NZ but lived in Switzerland and a single mum on her first trip by herself, drawn by Mooji to India, but who preferred the quiet of our spot, to staying in town to hear more satsangs.  It felt like a real treat. and the home grown organic food was lovely.   I think some of the claims for the place are a bit exaggerated at present, e.g. wellness centre, beach, but in time the place could be amazing, (though probably more expensive) and at present it just has a great unspoilt charm and lovely feel to it. No wonder Rishikesh was such an assault on the senses when I first arrived and today I have almost been mown down several times but I am surviving and enjoying aspects of it, not least seeing Nathan.   And it is also good to have been able to attend satsangs and hear music and be part of the visit of the Sangha to here. That is pretty special.   

My camera got damaged from falling in the river (which stopped me filming the ayuvedic tour) and in the satsang we cannot take pictures which is also a shame as the atmosphere ranged from electric to really funny to obnoxious, but suddenly tonight down by the Ganges my camera started to work again enabling me to capture scenes from Triveni Ghat arati or evening worship.