Earlier in the week when I went to my GP to top-up my medicines, we got talking about the holidays. I mentioned about one of our holidays to Penang and that conversation led to some nostalgia for that holiday we had.
So here are some throwback photos of our 2015 Penang holiday.
Silent on the Moor – Deanna Raybourn
In Grimsgrave Hall, enigmatic Nicholas Brisbane has inherited a ruined estate, replete with uncanny tenants and one unwanted houseguest: Lady Julia Grey. Despite his admonitions to stay away, Lady Julia arrives in Yorkshire to find Brisbane as remote and maddeningly attractive as ever. Cloistered together, they share the mouldering house with the proud but impoverished remnants of an ancient family: the sort that keeps their bloodline pure and their secrets close. Lady Allenby and her daughters, dependent upon Brisbane and devastated by their fall in society, seem adrift on the moor winds, powerless to change their fortunes. But poison does not discriminate between classes…. A mystery unfolds from the rotten heart of Grimsgrave, one Lady Julia may have to solve alone, as Brisbane appears inextricably tangled in its heinous twists and turns. But blood will out, and before spring touches the craggy northern landscape, Lady Julia will have uncovered a Gypsy witch, a dark rider, and a long-buried legacy of malevolence and evil. Deanna Raybourn spins a gripping tale of loyalty and lust, set against the wild beauty of the Yorkshire moors.
When August rolls by, it’s the start of the festival season in the Hindu calendar. Hardly a couple of weeks go by without another festival.
Festival Season
When the month of August comes around
That’s the time when festivals start to abound
It starts with the beautiful bonding between a brother and sister
That’s the festival of Raksha Bandhan, the bond strong and secure each year
The same day is the one day exclusively for the menfolk
Avani Avittam is what’s its called, not for the womenfolk
Then we celebrate the birth of the baby Krishna
Keep awake the whole night, just to welcome him, the one who is still an enigma
Then in a few weeks time it’s time to burst out the dhol and rain a cracker blaze
Because it’s time to welcome Lord Ganesh in our homes for the next eleven days
After that, its nine days of fun and frolic, getting together with your clique
When we pray to the various Goddesses in what’s called Navratri
The tenth day is when good triumphs over evil
That’s why it’s called Vijaya Dashami, the day where a fresh start is given a stamp of approval
Then starts the countdown to the biggest festival of the year
The festival of lights, the one that’s very dear
It’s the festival of lights aka Diwali which you await the whole year
New clothes checked, sweets and savouries start to appear
India is a land of festivals, the more the merrier
Because these festivals bring the family together,
It’s also a chance to get closer to your roots,
Because to know what you are helps to get to the future.
The Graphologist’s Apprentice – Whiti Hereaka
When January’s obsession with a married man begins to jeopardise her emotional stability, she decides to risk it all and respond to a mysterious card with the words Tell me a secret? Not content with her home life or workplace, January takes comfort in reading romance novels but is suddenly brought back to reality when she meets the secret keeper, Mae, a graphologist. The Graphologists Apprentice is a story about friendship and love and how both can be found in unexpected places.
We’re in the last week of August and I am now settling in the new freelance project I have taken up. I am only doing one client now and will wait till the end of the year to learn the ropes before I start looking for new clients. I will also use this time to see if I do manage to secure a better paying position.
Other than that, we had a mid-week holiday on the occasion of Hari Raya Haji (or Eid Al-Adha as it’s also called). Mid-week public holidays are great for a reset and when Thursday rolled on, we all thought it was Monday all over again!
This week proves to be quite a busy one for me what with some duties relating to my freelance work and then also a school commitment in BB’s school for the upcoming Teachers Day, I will probably have more to update next week.
Till then, have a fantastic week…
Memories and Such 