Erica and Giga have come over for a week or so. On the day before my birthday we went off to a local restaurant and had dinner.

Giga, Erica, me and Gill

On my birthday, I went to school and the children sang happy birthday for me! After lessons, the teachers had a supra in the staff-room to celebrate my birthday. They supplied the food, and I the booze!


On the day following, Valeri and Marina had a big supra in a new restaurant just outside Borjomi to celebrate my birthday. There were about thirty friends there and the food and drink were really great. As is the norm in such supras, everyone toasted me, wishing me long life and happiness!

Tako and Dmitri gave given me a present.

Giga toasting

Mako toasting

Nino toasting

Teko toasting

Dmitri toasting

Marina toasting

Nino and Keti toasting

Teko rests on Dmitri's shoulder

Mako, Valeri and Erica.

April 4, 2009

Lisa and Mark have come over for a week to see their host-family in Zugdidi and have a brief reunion with the remnants of G7 and the Peace Corps staff. Lisa brought over a whole load of knitting materials for the knitting co-operative Gill hopes to start. We all trotted off to Mark's favorite restaurant in Tbilisi and had a great meal. Both Brians, James, Oliko, Mauricio, Johanna, Danial, Gill and I were there.

Lisa and Mark

Gill and Mark

3/10/2009
We received messages from Peter and Colin saying that Mum had had a stroke. We left for Gosport again as soon as we could.

3/12/2009
We arrived in London and went straight to Gosport. Mum died just a couple of hours before we arrived. Peter had come over from the US arriving before we did and in time to see mum alive, but apparently she was unconscious and did not recognize him.

The next week was taken up with funeral arrangements. The funeral was on the 20th and Peter and I took part in the service - he reading from Corinthians and me describing Mum's life.

3/26/2009
Back in Tbilisi

My last picture of Mum taken three months earlier.

February 16

The children's clothes and books arrived from Genette in London and we have asked Peace Corps to retrieve them from customs for us. Thus turned out to be quite an undertaking and "cost" a lot more than we expected. the customs fees seem to be arbitrary and unpredictable. Finally they were collected and stored at Peace Corps on February 19.


February 27

We met for lunch with four guys from the European Union Monitoring Mission who were interested in the IDP situation in Borjomi. We agreed to take them to Gill's school and the IDP housing in Likani sometime in the near future.

Gill has been sick for two weeks now with some "magari kartuli virusi". She has not been to school, but Marina has been looking after her with some of her many nostrums. Today, it involves painting a grid with iodine on Gill's back and chest. I too have been sick, but not sick enough to warrant that treatment!


March 3

We have had 10 cm of snow, but we are none-the-less, off to Tbilisi today to collect the clothes and books from Peace Corps.


3/9/2009
We met the four guys from the European Union Monitoring Mission again today and, as promised, we took them to Gill's school and the IDP housing in Likani. They were shocked at the conditions in both places and undertook to include these places in their report. We'll see!

After spending Christmas with Mum, we went to Norwich to stay with Sheila and Mike. I had not realized how "nice" a city Norwich is. It has much that is old and charming without being cloying.

Norwich Street

Norwich Cathedral

We had a good time and were about to return on December 31 when we had a call telling us that mum had fallen and broken her hip, so we came back to Gosport. Mum had an operation and seemed to recover well. The doctors are "pleased with her." We delayed our return so that we could be with her for a couple of weeks and things looked good.

We were about to return when Diana fell and (as it transpired) broke her ankle. So we delayed out flight again so that we could help her! While we were in London, it snowed. I cannot remember when I last saw snow in London!

We built a snow-woman.

We finally arrived in Tbilisi (after a third flight rescheduling) on February 12 and got to Borjomi and February 15. We then learned that Aunt M had fallen and broken her wrist. Who's next?

Christmas at Bob's mothers residence. Here we are wearing the usual silly English Christmas hats!

Mum looks a lot older. Still, she is 94.

Today we leave for the UK to spend Christmas with (mostly) Bob's mother and Diana. We expect to be back in time for Orthodox Christmas in early January.