One Month on my Wagon

I can never remember if being on the booze is on or off the wagon.  Or what the wagon has to do with it.  Or whether it's wagon with one g or waggon with two g's.  Suffice to say today is a landmark in my life - a whole month off the pop!  Obviously, it was slightly enforced due to, oh, emergency surgery BUT it was January 31st when I had my last drink - a very fine Australian red we had brought back from Oz last year and saved for a special occasion. The occasion was that our friend Gordon was in town - who knew that the real occasion would be the last drink for a month.  My husband claims it's the longest I've gone without a drink since I was 18.  I would probably argue that it's the longest I've gone without a drink since I was 15!  While nit-pickers may dispute the legitimacy of a month that is the shortest in the year, given it's a leap year, it's the longest February we'll have for another four years, so it should count for something.  I am a little torn though.  Someone (more religious than me) reminded me that it was Lent and that maybe I should stay off the pop 'til Easter.  That seems a little excessive to me, especially as I have some English friends arriving tonight.  It would clearly be rude NOT to have a little tipple or two with them.  And definitely amiss not to take advantage of the excessive Sunday brunch we will be attending tomorrow.  So, for the moment, I am content with my month/29 day abstinence and looking forward to whetting my palate with a little fizz very soon!

Lock Down Part Two

So, we are now in the first full day of the Bangalore lock-down! Since the death yesterday of actor Dr. Rajkumar, the city has been in turmoil. News reports say that five people have died in conflicts, cars have been burned, buildings stoned, people attacked, and the police have resorted to 'lathi charge' (basically, thrashing people with a big bamboo stick!)

Tom arrived home around midnight last night and admitted that their building had indeed been stoned (although security gates were locked). Word on the street was that if you were seen driving a vehicle that did not display either pictures of Dr. Rajkumar, a Karnataka flag, or if you didn't speak Kannada, you would be taken out of the vehicle and beaten up!!! Ever diligent, Tom and our driver, Veeru, taped pictures of the demised to both the front and back of our lovely shiny new Hyundai Getz! And even the taxis taking home other workers from Tom's company did the same. Very scary - glad I didn't know this last night!!!

Today has been a quiet day with most TV stations blacked out, apart from local channels showing loops of the actor's movies, and some news channels reporting on the Bangalore situation. Stores are closed, along with cinemas and most businesses. It is such a sad state of affairs that this first official day of mourning is over-shadowed by violence and loss of life. Yes, I said 'first' as I believe that tomorrow may also be a day of mourning.... we are waiting for a call from Veeru to tell us whether it is safe to hit the streets and go back to work. Ironically, tomorrow (Good Friday) is a holiday for many companies here, but given lost work over the last day or so, most people will end up having to work it, or over the weekend, to catch up. Let's hope we can reach Easter Sunday peacefully and have the city back to some semblance of normality.