well Harry leaves later today to be absolutely truthful and correct!
Once you are over half way it seems like the end is nigh. But I do have just over six weeks left and really shouldn’t complain! And my journey will continue in the hot south but I plan to leave Goa at the end of Jan. I have had lovely and nourishing stays at both Casa Susegad (https://casasusegad.com/) being looked after by the wonderful staff and then onto Vivenda Dos Palhacos (http://www.vivendagoa.com/) with an equally attentive and kind team. They are pretty near each other and close to the lovely Majorda beaches in South Goa.
Purple Shell Mobile
I went with Betsy to the Anjuna weekly flea market. We did pretty well, holding back from any major buys and got a rickshaw back. We bought a few necklaces and other bits. I was persuaded to get a rather horrid shell necklace that I only as much as glanced at for 10 seconds as it was purple and it was thrown in for a song with our other purchases (some cheap fabrics). Betsy also had a necklace made from bright green and pink acrylic with beads spelling her name using macramé. We failed to agree on a price before it was made and were totally fleeced on this! And I still needed to make it into a choker on a comfortable piece of purple ribbon for it ever to see the light of day again. I suspect it will eventually become a trusty key-ring!
But back to the shells. I thought as I still had some copper wire and other beads I could make yet another one of my spiral (prime number) mobiles but to be honest I lost count of the shells and just used them all up (apart from a few that feature in Kali mobiles – see my next blog!). Twisting the wire round and making anything in this heat and humidity is much more intense than in Gujarat or Rajasthan. But there was a very nice setting for the final photos. And I am on the coast and the shells were purple so I shall not be too hard on myself or be negative. I hope it makes its way back to the UK in my third shipping box from Goa at the end of Jan without too many mishaps. Or little creepy-crawlies!
Eating and Drinking Purple
This is another play on an earlier blog post about purple food.
This time I have had either more of it, photographed it differently or had new purple foods.
When I bought the packet of sweets – Betsy ribbed me about it.
Similarly, the purple crisps – in fact they were all time disgusting and despite being hungry I couldn’t finish the packet. I, however, did an extraordinary number of photos with them using the bowls made from coconut I had bought at the very touristy tropical spice plantation.
I think part of it is the obsession I now have with purple and the dearth of food and drinks that colour so when I see them, I am drawn to them in a compulsive manner.
With the crisps I was so disappointed in the taste I filled the bowl with water to see if I could colour the water as I believed the crisps had been artificially dyed. I mean have you ever seen purple sweet potato? Me neither but truly no colour came out in my water wash experiment. Hey ho. You live and learn!
Haberdashery
On my quest for all purple decorations I am often drawn here in India to craft and stationary shops. They sell tapes and stickers and I have lots of other bits and pieces. Getting heavy card helps me with sticking using a pretty wet glue. I think even the word haberdashery holds so much charm for me. I could never ever resist a ‘pop in’ when visiting Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
This has been my go-to place – Brent X – for decades. Fenwicks is just such a messy store and I know where everything is at John Lewis. I used to go so frequently when Harry was little, he once asked me when I was tucking him up for bed if I was going out that evening with John Lewis! I first went to Brent X with my aunt Rosalyn when it opened in 1976 when I was 11. I used to cycle there often but as my purchasing power increased, I usually went there in a car. Betsy liked it almost as much as me. She is more of a charity shop shopper to be honest now!
Back to haberdashery here! Well actually I need to mention that I had brought quite a bit of stuff with me from Slanchogled in Camden Town, London. I will often divert my cycle trip back from central London via this lovely craft haven which is a bit out of my way. I have just looked them up and whilst I have been here in India, they have closed down. Oh dear. Now I am sad. No more diversionary excuses on my cycle trips!
So, equipped with both bits and bobs from here and there, painted or sprayed some version of purple I have a few projects to display. I have used wooden and felted flowers, beaded wire and feathers.
And finally, one project which really is just the detritus from some other projects (see Om in the next blog) and bits of jewellery as well as tape. Enjoy!
String
Despite bringing an entire bag of yarn from Handweavers’ Studio in Finsbury Park with me I was drawn to a fancy lilac string with silver flecks and a good hardy rough jute type twine in deep purple. I feel sorry for string. A bit like odd numbers and other lesser items.
But string is good and I had an idea of a project for them. I have also used them to tie things up. Like the soap I had left over from my lavender soap shaving project.
Bernice from New York suggested I buy these great and very thin pins which are red on one side and peach on the other. I used them to interweave a purple grass I liked. Spot the odd one out!
I am reminded how lots of string is used in Rajasthan and elsewhere in India to tie up liquids such as chai and yogurt and milk in bags. Shame about the plastic though. I was heartened here in South Goa to visit Carpe Diem a gallery with a fabulous exhibition of a Goan artist Mohan Naik – l love his wonderful naïve work (https://www.carpediemgoa.com/photo-gallery/dev-borem-korum) – and visited the café where they a total moratorium on using straws at all. I had a delicious brownie milkshake for 120 rupees – very good value for Goa and drank it from the cup lip. Who really needs straws?
Back to string. It was too rough to crochet or knit. Weaving would work but I didn’t bring a loom or have easy access to one. So, I decided to sew it onto heavy white card. I then had the best fun embellishing it with pins and a purple racing car for the photo shoot!
So today the last of my three kids is leaving. Of course that gives me some freedom to not creep around the room at 0600 gathering my bits to work on whilst they sleep. But I won’t see them till March. And then it is back to reality and the NHS and UCL. FaceTime works reasonably well to keep in touch with most people luckily when I am feeling lonely. But to be honest it is difficult to really feel lonely in India. So many lovely kind and friendly people.
