In Mumbai

It's always good to sleep enough on the plane so that upon waking, I'm surprised that we're nearly there! So it was this morning, when the Captain switched on the cabin lights and alerted us to the fact that in just over an hour, we'd be there.

India is such an amazing place, chaotic, spirited and colourful. So disorganised and yet there's a kind of order somewhere in here. And we had forgotten the curious little phrases painted on the vehicles which are somehow held together - but who knows how?

The journey from the airport to our hotel was time to refresh one or two memories and to lead us gently into the short blast of sensory overdose we'll get in the next 24 hours.

Yes, we felt excited to be back even if the 32km journey took us almost two hours!

You might describe the traffic as "heavy".

So, it was a kind of relief when our room wasn't ready and we could go into the coffee shop and order something on the house, to refresh and revive us. This Rose Falooda was absolutely delicious - cool and refreshing with the added surprise of a kind of turkish delight at the bottom. Not only that, but the pink matched the label on the bottle of Himalayan Water perfectly!

  Going up to our room at last, we discovered that we haven't got much of a view... (This is the Gateway to India, btw)

We've investigated the 12 restaurants: European, Mediterranean, Chinese, Grills, Pool Bar, Snacks, International Haute Cuisine, etc etc - and have booked a table in the Indian restaurant. Now that's inventive, isn't it?!

A little knowledge

Isn't it interesting how a little knowledge and limited resources makes us more creative than a whole studio full of stuff? I wonder if I sometimes can't see the wood for the trees and intend to simplify my approach now I've got the time to develop some ideas.

Take last week for example. Though I had done a bit of spiral rope beading before, an hour's "Make and Take" workshop in Glasgow refreshed my memory of how to do it and I quickly finished a little bracelet to go into my bag of judging samples.

Evenings around the table at the cottage whilst at Birmingham provoked us all to do something - and since I'd been knitting at times throughout the day, I can't say the needles called. Anyway, we were all infected by Lisa's new enthusiasm for beading, inspired by our friends from Alice in Tokyo on the stand opposite.

Then, in the box of beading stuff I'd taken for Lisa, I found a couple of pots of beads which I thought I'd try mixing together for another bit of spiral rope.

This is the result. More beading than I've done in ages. Possibly a more adventurous combination than I'd have gone for had I been able to access the huge drawer of beads I have stashed away here "for that particular project". No book meant that I simply had to get on and do it and never mind the consequences.

A lesson learned.

Quite a week

It's been quite a week, with not much time to think but certainly one to remember. Much of it is recorded elsewhere, so rather than repeat myelf I'll simply add links. At times, during the last few weeks, I felt my life was something like the picture above!

Coming home from Birmingham was great. Not that the exhibitions haven't been great fun and so hugely rewarding, but there's no place like home. In particular, there is nowhere to sleep quite as comfortably as in my own bed!

Monday and Tuesday were days to sort out, to catch up and most importantly, to make sure everything was in place for Wednesday. That was the day of the big meeting, the sell out event with a full Town Hall and eminent speakers. My Swansong.

It would be wrong to say I was nervous. Having got two of these events under my belt, I know that it's a bit like leaving on holiday. Get the thing started and anything that's been forgotten or omitted is simply hard luck. I knew that I had Liz there for me, secretary and veteran of many such occasions and I was confident that she had thought of everything. I had written and tweaked my speech, gone through the timed agenda over and over again to make sure nothing was forgotten and taken out a couple of phrases which I knew would prove too emotional to speak out loud. I had checked everything I could think of. But having said that, I was conscious that having been away from home for a couple of weeks, I hadn't quite got all my ducks in a row as I'd normally have. Most important, I had no shoes to wear!

So, on Monday I went shoe shopping.

On Tuesday I had my hair done and bumped into so many friends in Cirencester, all of whom were looking forward to the meeting and who said how sad they were that I was coming to the end of my three years. I guess that was the first hint of what lie in store for me the following day. Edward came home on Tuesday evening and his presence was a great distraction from the big day ahead.

I felt calm on Wednesday morning and confident that everything would go smoothly. A call from BBC Radio Gloucestershire at 7.15am set my nerves a-twitching - just what was the best collective noun for a large number of WI members? As soon as "my slot" was over, the phone rang and a neighbour who'd been listening said how she'd enjoyed it. By this time, I was feeling pretty shaky!

My colleagues were pulling out all the stops and putting together a fantastic show by the time I got to the Town Hall and it felt good to be part of such a terrific team. I had little to do myself, which was probably as well, since I could walk no more than a couple of steps - not because of my shoes (!) but because everyone wanted to stop and chat and to say thank you and sorry to see me go and so on. Quite amazing.

Just before we were opening the doors, the phone rang again - Radio Gloucestershire wanting a final decision on that collective noun. We settled for "A Flirtation"

The meeting itself was wonderful. Baroness Fritchie of Gloucester, local girl and a familiar face to many was so very inspiring. Understated and quietly spoken but so powerful in what she had to say. I think she left a huge impression on everyone in the audience. Anne Widdecombe was - Anne Widdecombe! Great speaker, very amusing and so eloquent without a note in sight - her performance was an entertaining start to the afternoon. she was rushing back to Westminster for a three-line-whip, so the Chief Constable spoke last. He too had thought provoking things to say - did any of us realise before then how very close we'd come to absolute disaster last year after the flood? Maybe just as well we didn't.

I was delighted to present a cheque for proceeds from our book, to the Gloucestershire Flood Relief Fund knowing there's yet more money to come!

Which brought us to the end of the meeting and the traditional thank you. I had been quite ok throughout the day, in spite of occasional thoughts which threatened to bring a tear to my eye. I was, however, totally unprepared for the response to my friend and colleague's formal "thank you" which brought everyone in the hall to their feet and that tear (and several more) to mop up.

The rosy glow of that moment has continued and I have so much appreciated cards and calls from friends with so many kind words and good wishes that I treasure. My successor has been elected and I am happy that she will do a grand job. Relieved of the day-to-day responsibility, I will have time to do more tutoring, spend time with friends and best of all, have time at home to do whatever takes my fancy! Not only that, but all those friends will still be there as well.

So, Thursday was relatively quiet, except that in the evening I'd been invited to celebrate an 85th birthday in the company of a local celebrity. That was fun!

And on Friday, I was amused to hear the party referred to on BBC Radio 4! We sat listening as snow/hail pelted down leaving the garden room roof white over for a (very) sort time.

Who would have thought that Good Friday would be colder and more wintry than Christmas Day?

How very much I'm looking forward to my holiday next week! I won't miss the pots and pans and assorted paraphernalia which made up that amazing display in Habitat in Cheltenham this morning. Quite reminiscent of an Anthropologie display, I thought. (Oh dear, in getting that link I note they're now shipping to the UK...that's pretty dangerous)

To think some do this for a living

Setting up this exhibition so soon after the last was hard going. Above all, it made us realise what a rotten life it would be to do this all of the time, going from show to show, packing and unpacking time after time.

So any opportunity for the added diversion of people watching was a bonus.

Fortunately, with practice, everything goes more smoothly and before long, we were more or less done.

In the evenings, a little crafty activity was shared around the dining table, accompanied by a glass or two of a clear liquid which could have been sparkling water but wasn't.

And those who had succumbed to a purchase or two during the day shared the fun of opening up the boxes.

If they could get the polystyrene packaging off, of course.

It's been a long haul since last July, when all of this began, but along with the hard work and time away from home, it's been fun to be with good friends and share the pride of being associated with such a great project.

(Missing Lisa, who shared the fun of the Wales v France rugby match with us by phone yesterday!)

Off again

A short time at home and a morning spent eyeing the clock, wondering if I've got time to do whatever-it-is, fritters away faster than imaginable. Yet, all the washing is done, dried and repacked, I've made a crystal bracelet following an idea gleaned in Glasgow and which would disappear into the ether unless I got on and did it immediately and I've sorted out one or two things along the way. Returned a couple of calls, done email, read a couple of blogs and here I am, sitting thinking "there's no point in getting there too early".

Last night, we went to see Alison Neil perform her "Shakespeare Ladies Club". Brilliant. OK, so I would have rather stayed home by the fire and blobbed out in front of the TV, but I'm really pleased we went for she put on a terrific performance.

So, on with the show and off to Birmingham NEC. See you on Thursday, Maggie - and half of Gloucestershire on Saturday!