Settling in

Well, the first couple of days have been quite gentle. We took Ama-la and Tsering to the gallery the day after they arrived so they could see the exhibition. I think they were very impressed. Especially with the drawing that we'd had framed which depicted Ama-la being tortured- she remembered the class where the teenager had made that picture- it made quite an impression on her! They also sat and watched Sergei's video of the Nangpa Pass shooting which he had made for us- it was very moving! He is a great cameraman and film maker and if you ever get a chance to see his work, do so.


See how many Ama Adhe's you can spot in this photo!









We also went for lunch with Gonkar in Bethnal Green, to a wonferful archetypal English cafe which sold meat, meat and more meat! Oh and mashed potatoes, and lots of gravy! Not much good for a veggie like me, but surprisingly they did an all-day veggie breakfast! And there were some very intersting characters there...it was like mingling with the cast of Eastenders!

On Friday, after meeting up with Hitendra (who was organising the venue for the Sunday talk) and the delightful Joe (the building manager of said venue), we took Ama-la and Tsering out for a meal...a great Southern Indian restaurant. We were very concerned that Ama-la was comfy so brought with us the entire stock of blankets that Hitendra had in his car/people carrier- she was well padded!

It was good to meet Joe earlier- he has a permanent twinkle in his eyes, and who made you feel that he would do anything you asked, with a smile and a skip in his step, and his enticing soft Irish brogue! He's gorgeous! Hitendra is a poppet too, and is very fond of Ama-la, having interviewed her a few years ago for a book he's writing. In fact, I first met him in Dharamsala while he was waiting to meet with her, and was observing the Art Refuge class. He was very touched by the artwork the kids were producing and we got talking and kept in touch afterwards. When he heard Ama-la was coming over to the UK, he was delighted, and offered to help...and may regret that offer by the end of the 2 weeks!