Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Why I love India- ??



It might be becoming apparent that I am not universally positive or enthusiastic about all things Indian. Recent things that have got my goat have included a waiter trying repeatedly to persuade us to have lobster, the complete supply chain failure regarding Weetabix availability, the difficulty in peeling mangoes, Banaglore belly striking again, and the complete inability of people to admit when they don’t know the answer.
So in the spirit of acting myself into a new way of thinking – here goes with 10 things I really love about India:

1. Fillet steak is only £1-50 a lb when you can find it
2. Sitting out on the Verandah of an evening
3. Our garden is full of fruit and flower surprises on a daily basis
4. The gym is so exclusive that I have it too myself virtually every day
5. The price of books (if not the quality of printing)
6. The thunderstorms which are both striking and cleansing
7. The price and availability of all pharmecuticals
8. The time for reading and painting – even if I don’t put it to good use
9. Coaching the kids at Rugby especially the Dream a Dream group
But mostly
10. Mrs Reiver lives in the same place

In my attempts at painting various demons seem to be released by the artistic process here, so there are potentially some Indian spirits on the loose including the Tree Dragon pictured. Maybe I am starting to get in touch with my spiritual side or more likely I am assembling a virtual army to take on life in India. None-the-less I am doing my pre-reading for my son’s visit with Sharpe’s Tiger on the bedside table – and the rooms beside Tippoo Sultans palace on the Cauvery river booked – whether I am caught up by the spirit of Wellington during the visit we will have to see…..

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Art for Arts Sake?



No for once this is not me reverting back to classic songs of the 1970s for a theme - this time its the Movies! Ars gratia artis beams out the slogan at the start of MGM films accompanied by a roaring lion. As far as I can find out MGM never made a Frankenstein movie – that franchise being started off by Universal Studios – but it was the sort of weather which inspired Mary Shelly – voll Donner und Blitzen – which finally got us going being creative in India last weekend.

An additional factor may have also been being reliably informed (via the News Quiz on R4) that you have to be under 50 to enter the Turner prize – so my time is limited. I could of course fall back on my creative history suggesting that the discount shopping habits at Tesco in Chester-le-Street which produced such eclectic delicacies as pear and haggis risotto were a form of performance art representing a searing indictment of modern consumerist society and the pressures to conform. Unfortunately I understand that the Turner committee has had an ‘Emperors Clothes’ moment and actually wants paintings and drawings – so I will have to stick to conventional media- although I was quite pleased with the complex and reflective pools of sweat I generated whilst recovering on the tiled verandah after running on hot afternoons.

The visual artistic force does not flow particularly strongly with the border reiver clan – artistic efforts seem to focus mostly on heroic songs about other borderers which they have beaten in battle – an ancient precursor to the rugby song perhaps?. The force is however strong on Mrs Reivers side of the family, who generously try not to laugh whenever I attempt anything and can make a ‘you are really improving’ go a long way. What did you produce with the elements providing a Shakepearean backcloth to your artistic efforts and the complex sights, sounds and smells of India putting your senses into overload I hear you ask. Well you know Boy- Northumberland – Northumberland Boy. Mrs Reiver painted the boats at Alnmouth and I painted the family cat Emma (illustrated). She may not quite be a Percy Lion, and is more of purrer than a roarer, but her ability to rule and protect her domain of the rug, bedspread and garden is worthy of any Reiver.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Bloggers Block



A boy from Northumberland coming to terms with life in India – so says the Blog title – well I seem to be at the point where I don’t have much to say about it. This doesn’t mean I have come to terms with it, and in a country with a billion people and an ancient history I clearly can’t have exhausted the experience. I guess the original shock and awe has worn off and become commonplace – not normal but regular. In this inspirational vacuum I can only report on a few things that have caught my attention or made me smile over the last week or so:

- Saw my first sheep running free on the streets – made me feel strangely at home
- Sign for a local educational establishment advertising itself as a Pre-University Collage – surely a much more sensible selection process than A* A levels – prepare a collage that exemplifies your approach to University and learning – much more taxing than a UCAS form!
- Security guards that protect our home and person in slippers
- Got taken out at rugby practice by a 25 kg 7 yr old dutch boy
- Made surprisingly good mango mousse – courtesy of my sisters advice
- Listening to Fighting Talk podcast in the gym
- The Indian elections – interminable and incomprehensible
- A plastic orange rampant stallion ‘sculpture’ that we were presented with by Indian guests
- I love the smell of burning coconuts in the morning
- We had tomatoes growing wild in our garden – quite yummy
- My sister wearing 5 layers whatever the weather
- Dr Ingrams sense of humour

We have chose to holiday in the UK forsaking the golden tropical beaches for Alnmouth – you can take the boy out of Northumberland but ……. Now where is my Percy Lion never mind all this Tippoos tiger stuff