Wahey Cornwall! Actually I went body boarding last week and although the waves weren’t that vicious they were adequate – it was the deadly rip tide that was vicious. Causing “far too many deaths” according to Lonely Planet. I did find it hard to keep my feet still in the water even when I could touch the ground as I was being pushed so hard but I figured i had a body board and a surfer from California (my friend Jesse- no not that one) to save me if required.

Climbed a mountain today and saw a six foot snake. Most exciting- however it slithered away and was a scrawny little thing not a cobra or constrictor of any type.

I finally worked out the good ponts of Pondicherry. Firstly the streets are slightly cleaner (although the sewage smell was very bad in places), secondly there are no cows in the streets (maybe the only town in India but I like the cows anyway) and thirdly I can appreciate that after an extended period in India the weary traveller would probably kill for some decent food. Not only are the Indian restaurants good (Jesse was right about the butter fish – it does actually taste buttery – yum) but there are genuinely French restaurants (genuine as in the food – I know that they are still in India). We had a pretty swanky time in a proper frog place and ate food that seemed that a French chef had made – a  decent one too! We managed to spend 10 pounds between the three of us - our India record!

Yesterday we left Jesse to go to Karakai and came here to Tiruvanamalai – a pretty tireing journey on a local Indian bus for four hours. I saw lots of fields on the way in which I was told were growing both rice and “ground nuts” – peanuts.

The ashram is a very smart place for India where they do lots of devotional chanting - both to Ramana Maharshi and also to his mother (!?). MOnkeys and especially peacocks are everywhere in the grounds – and the peacocks only make up for their infernal screaching by looking just lovely. Just behind the ashram is Mount Arunachala which is the mountain Ramana came all this way escpecially to be with. It’s supposed to be made of some of the oldest rocks on the planet and although  it isn’t that high it had huge boulders scattered all across. Much of the landscape around here is boulders and hills with boulders on. AT dinner time you sit on the marble floor cross legged with banana leaf in front of you and ashram cooks splosh rice, dahl, milk, a bit of salad onto your plate. Most Indians do a bit where they mix the rice with the liquids and into a goey ball and then scoop in into their gobs. I don’t. I just spill rice on my trousers.

The mossies are numerous and vicious here and Sasha and I have made a little tent (like you do when you’re four years old) out of our mosquitoe net. Very cosy.

Right -it’s 12:30pm now and I’m off to bed now as we got up at 6.20am – 0:50am your time to watch the offering of milk to Ramana Maharshi’s shrine.

Good night

Tom

Also I have spotted another 6th rate celebrity – or rather he spotted me in Tesco. Yes John Ansel – lead singer of popera group G4 acosted me in the aformentioned supermarket in Bognor and we were quite friendly to each other. We used to be the two who did the solo’s in the West Sussex Boys Choir -obviously a swarm enemy then. Kill…

For the benefit of Decoy and Pliskin I would like to be be known that we played 7even again this morning – the team that hadn’t conceded all season and had won every match until we played them and won 5-3. Anyway we beat them again 6-4. Penalty from Fat Scott, one each for Me (another left foot) and Chris and a hat-trick for psycho Don. The last 8 games or so we’ve been amazing.
Weather here is wet and cold and football pitches here have been mud.

Hope you don’t break anything on the slopes 🙂

Wow! Mark Williams, not THE Mark William – the snooker player but another even more obscure one. Sure we’d recognise the face and “his work” but nobody would know him from the name.
Anyone else spot a crap celebrity.
My personal favourite encounters include Raj Persaud (cocky psychologist from daytime TV), Patrick Moore (worked with him as a singer), Richard Branstons (Maker of Virgin Pickle) in Chi and best of all Des Lynam in a petrol station. And Liv and I saw Boycott at the cricket once. Oh and Cwiss Eubank on the beach. Also saw Michael Jackson on a bus, no really!