Judging by the accumulated number of plastic take-away containers, it was more of a Tupperware party, but who am I to quibble - in fact, who am I? At my age, anything even merely resembling a party is a party. It's all over bar the driving to the bus stop at the nearby Steampacket Hotel and picking her up.
I've straightened out the bed, put the toilet seat down again, and did one final sweep through the living room (more with my eyes than a broom), and after five wonderful weeks of total bliss and solitude, of staying up late and sleeping in, 'the time has come', as the walrus said.
just before check-in at Jakarta airport, with her sister Rina and Rina's son Tim
Not another duty-free BALI t-shirt for me, Padma?
Perhaps five weeks were just right, and now is the time to remember what Roger Deakin so touchingly and tellingly described in his book "Notes from Walnut Tree Farm", "I need someone to fold the sheet; someone to take the other end of the sheet and walk towards me and fold once, then step back, fold and walk towards me again. We all need someone to fold the sheet. Someone to hitch on the coat at the neck. Someone to put on the kettle. Someone to dry up while I wash."
I've just checked the weather forecast and it doesn't look too "hot", so Padma may be in for a bit for a shock after five weeks in the tropics. Anyway, I've two cups set up on the kitchen table, and the kettle filled and ready to be switched on as soon as we get back from the bus stop.
