From Barber to Manicurist in a single leap!!

My barbering skills have left their impression on some of the guys and they still come back for more. This I can't understand, but since none of them will be going out for a while then it is no big deal. This morning Shanta brought nail varnishes for the ladies in the hospice and started to give them the tlc that may not feature too much in their lives. The joy on their faces was worth a fortune in gold. She really has a nack for making people happy in an otherwise bleak situation, such was the demand on her services I went into give her a hand so to speak.

The combination of my shaky hands and the inalienable fact that I've never put on any nail varnish means that I'll pass on that occupation on my return to Steenhive! One of the older women too had a shake in her hands (Parkinsons I think), if only she and I could have got our shakes co-ordinated she'd have got a belter of a job done. In any event the ladies weren't too bothered that my efforts weren't a patch on Shanta's, the attention was more important than the quality of the finished article.

The pompous one has taken on the mantle of spokesperson (I don't think, at least not for me!) and is exacerbating the already fraught situation within the group, she's obviously suffering from that well known Hawaiian disease "Lakkanooky" and would do well just to shut her "north and south" and keep it that way!

As a sad aside, the dreaded flyover has now claimed another life, that makes 7 fatalities in 6 days all in the same area of the road. Such a tragic turn of events in the UK would undoubtedly see the road closed and a thorough examination of the facts over design etc undertaken, but there are rumblings of that here but no action thus far!

The temperature is inexorably creeping up and it is 35c today, and means I'm wilting a bit under it as it means that what little energy I have has dissipated by lunch. Shanta though is a glutton for punishment and is out on another assignment this afternoon, teaching at one of the mobile creches which are run so that the mother can get back to the labouring job she'll have on a building site. From the temperature perspective it is as well that I came here when I did as in their summer it reaches 50c!

Namaste from the oven!