Here I am in the second most affluent area in Delhi, but would you believe there is rubble and trouble all over the street.
The troops were waiting at the gate to be paid as it is the end of the month. Waiting since 10 I suppose. Counting of the cash working out who is who.
The recycling brigades lined the streets nearby. All rubbish is money. Having read about it made it interesting.
The weather is cold. Apparently all the papers spoke of Delhi freezing at 2 degrees. Coldest day for 20 years. Luckily I did bring some jumpers. 1945 Boxing Day was the coldest day ever in Delhi 1 degree.
The troops were waiting at the gate to be paid as it is the end of the month. Waiting since 10 I suppose. Counting of the cash working out who is who.
The recycling brigades lined the streets nearby. All rubbish is money. Having read about it made it interesting.
The weather is cold. Apparently all the papers spoke of Delhi freezing at 2 degrees. Coldest day for 20 years. Luckily I did bring some jumpers. 1945 Boxing Day was the coldest day ever in Delhi 1 degree.
Good evening,
ReplyDelete1 Ah, the familiar distinction between private affluence and public squalor. Just like the Close, really. (Well, no doubt you would say that there is a wide, wide difference in degree.)
2 Thus said, David and I wondered why the soldiers were there, besides waiting for pay, and whose side they were on. On the expatriates;, I hope,. Long ago,well before the troubles in NIreland, soldiers were deployed in England to ensure civic good order. Then, as now, the question arose: what are the rifles to be used for?
3 And the scavengers? Waste so that others may not want. Or perhaps waste so that others, in want, may not want. I can imagine that the gap between those in want and those in comfort is wider than it is in our own dear East Grinstead. (I have posted my cheque to Sarah.) The sense of the world outside the gate, the sense of the world within - the two worlds can be expected, in the general run of cases, to have little contact with each other.
4 And the impact on the well-travelled expatriate? The default role for a visitor is that of observer, although observer can shade into participant-observer if only for brief periods and for particular purposes. Remember, God must indeed love the poor, he made so many.
5 Here, so I read in my newspaper and hear on the radio, there are Bulgarians and Rumanians who are about to come to the UK, some in order to work, some in order to secure the rewards of work without incurring the inconvenience. We'll see. A radio 4 reporter spoke about the result of his enquiries to airline offices in Sofia and to bus companies. A nice example of 'first, collect the data'. We may remain unaffected in EG and, for that matter, in Ashurstwood and Forest Row.
6 David was in good shape (as he always is). His Christmas en famille had been an enjoyable one. So too, in lower key, had been the train journey from Darflington - up North - to London Victoria. It was there that the journey slowed. However, being assured that there would be a bus from Dorking to Horsham, he travelled non-controversially to Dorking and to a seat on a bus. Ah, more serious difficulties. The bus driver asked for directions not just to Horsham but to the intermediate stations, little ones in the country. David and one or two others gave directions and held on tight as the bus travelled fast along the country lanes. Too fast. An unsettling journey to Horsham. Safety. .
7 Send further news of the locality and what goes on. Will there be an opportunity to take a bus-ride or to walk to a Costa coffee-shop.
Lots of love
Stayathome