Sunday, March 1, 2009
London

I awoke again at 5 am. I am now convinced it has something to do with the temperature in my bedroom–perhaps it is too warm! While in Oslo, I slept effortlessly until almost 7 am each day. Yet, here I was, unable to get back to sleep and, left with little choice at that unearthly hour, I turned to my PC to hammer out my Norway Travelogue. I was all done by 7. 30 am–it did take me two and a half straight hours, but when it was done, it was time to say a quick Hello to my parents in Bombay and tell them that I would call them later for a longer chat as I needed to shower and get ready for Mass.

Stephanie and I had both decided that we would stay put at home this Sunday as she was feeling under the weather and I had a pile of things to do. When I was done showering, I made myself a cup of coffee and gulping it down quickly, I set off for St. Etheldreda’s Church to which I was returning after several Sundays as my weekly sojourns with Steph have taken me to services all over the Home Counties! It felt like home and quite suddenly I was gripped by the strange feeling that I have attended Mass in this church all my life–it helped, I suppose, that Fr. Sebu, a priest from Kerala was the chief celebrant this morning!

Indeed, as I walked home, London felt like home. There is a certain ease now with which I find my way around unfamiliar places, with which I use the internet to find bus routes, with which I find the cheapest ways to purchase air tickets or theater tickets or opera tickets. Though I still feel as if I am on a year-long vacation, I no longer feel unsure of myself in this city. And this is a blessedly calming feeling indeed.

I ate a big bowl of cereal with yogurt and honey as I was starving, but I did not linger over it as I had a great deal of items on my To-Do List. One after the other, I ticked them off, the most crucial being the finalizing of a draft for an application for a grant that I need for the summer. I brought my blog up to date, drafted my February newsletter, downloaded my Norway photographs from my camera, unpacked my backpack and put things away while re-packing for the trip to Cornwall that I shall be doing on Wednesday. I did have a long chat with my Mum in Bombay and then with Llew who told me all about a 50th birthday party he had attended last night for our friend Kim Walton in Connecticut.

A mid-afternoon telephone call brought me the very spontaneous invitation to supper from my friend Bishop Michael Colclough. I was looking forward to seeing him and his wife Cynthia again as I hadn’t seen them for a while as both they and I have been traveling so much. By 7. 15 pm, I was at their lovely and very gracious home at Amen Corner near St. Paul’s Cathedral were we sat down for a long chat. Their boys Aidan and Edward were home and we all sat down to a cozy family dinner of Cottage Pie and Corn and Coleslaw with fresh pineapple and butterscotch ice-cream for dessert. It was simple home-cooked fare brimming with flavor that was served in a mood of generous hospitality. Best of all, I managed to catch up with my friends and learn all about their recent trip to Tenerife and about the boys’ upcoming exams as they grapple with their Law studies.

Then, I was on the bus again returning home after a long day that had me practically chained to my PC. I have caught up with almost all my pending chores and have decided to carry my PC with me to Cornwall as I do wish to use the evenings to transcribe a couple of interviews, edit and caption photographs on my hard drive and just organize the material that I have been gleaning and collating through my research.

Another week begins tomorrow and with it comes the promise of more exciting travel and the joys of the English seaside. I can’t wait…