Wednesday 30 December

This morning I am meeting Sr. Mercy at her convent - St Roch's. She and her fellow sisters are hosting the famous meeting with the mediators and the "other side". She has asked me to go through the various issues with them once more and to review with them some of their arguments so they can take notes and have the ideas fresh in their minds. I am happy to oblige.

Sr. Mercy then informs me that I am to teach a Spoken English class to the Teacher Training students while I am there. I am little taken aback as I have not prepared a thing and am not sure quite what their teacher will think of all this. I am ushered in and find myself facing my Malayalam "teacher" of a week ago - Sherine - and her close friends as well as 20 others.

The next thing I know, I am thinking on my feet, recalling my days of TEFL teaching with the British Council in Hong Kong. I decide we'll do "Introductions" and get them to do some pairwork - so that everyone is talking. This goes down a treat and soon our time is up.

The adrenalin is pumping and I am on a performance high. The teacher who has watched me teach from the back of the room is thanking me and taking me out to meet the principal of the school and various other people. The

manager of all three convent schools, Sr Roseanne, waxes lyrical and raises the issue of creating a website for the school. She wants something special for the anniversary this year... She wants a lot and yet when I ask her for a meeting to look at material she says she is too busy and it appears as we chat further she doesn't know what a website is, and what is required, she just knows it would be a good idea to have one. Sheesh!

Within a few moments of this intense conversation I am informed that I will be teaching a psychology class - good grief! I ask myself when did I misinform someone that I was qualified to do such a thing. The psychology teacher says the students want to ask me some questions after my earlier intervention. I am slightly reassured.....

In the event, we fetch up talking about how we learn, and how we keep a love of learning always in our lives, about how important small things are like sounds and smells to remind us of good things in class. I ask them what they are doing to improve their Spoken English and what can they do. It transpires nobody listens to radio and most of the music they hear is in Malayalam. We talk about films and stories, fiction and non-fiction.

I also mention drama and next thing I know I am telling them the story of Cinderella and explaining the concept of pantomime and cross dressing.... They are all ears... They laugh and smile and fill in most of the blanks when I ask them to. I am into my stride acting out the various parts putting on funny voices and being larger than life - in short, my usual form! They are loving it and I am indulging myself. When it is all over I ask them which part they thought I played. One brave girl at the back said: The Wicked Stepmother! I am afraid I had to disillusion her with Prince Charming - fishnets and all! Psychology class was it?

Well, that was fun!

Now must turn my attention to Sr. Mercy and Co. It is lunch time and I join the sisters in their cafeteria. I sit well away from Sr. Mercy as I don't want the opposition to think I am involved with her. I chat to the older nuns and watch from a distance. I am introduced to the two fathers and say a few words. They don't question my presence. A little later I discreetly catch Sr. Mercy in the hallway and she says the meeting isn't over yet. She seems hopeful that progress will be made. There is nothing further I can do so I set off home.

As I am leaving the convent at 2.15, I walk past this building funded by post tsunami donations and on through the primary school yard. It's playtime and I get a most enthusiastic greeting and cheerful questions, "What is your name?" "Where do you come from?" "How are you?" They run after me, leaving their games and climbing frames as I keep walking towards the gate and before I know it there is a wave of about 50 small children all holding my hand or shrieking in delight after me. I feel like the Pied Piper of Hamelin and am laughing and smiling all over my face. They melt away as the guard at the gate gets up from his chair and waves them off. They have certainly made my day!

After this impressive send off I am literally flying on air. I can't just go home.... so as I walk to the rickshaw stand I think to myself "How can I use this free time and see more of the city?" That's easy - I am longing to explore the Old Fort and get a closer look at the huge temple inside. I also have some rather mundane shopping to do and need to check out some of the larger shops.

The next three hours disappear in a fascinating shopping spree of a very different sort. I can't find obvious things like a table lamp, some elastic and plastic hooks, yet find some other things I wasn't really looking for but can't resist. I am getting my bearings in this part of town and feel quite safe wandering around with hardly a pale face to be seen. I stumble upon the Khadi shop I have been looking for but its stock is rather disappointing.

Right across the road is a fabulous view of the Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple across the tank - a large rectangular pool of greenish water. The temple is built in the Dravidian style of Tamil Nadu with a tall seven-tiered gateway. Amazingly it is still controlled by the Travancore royal family and dates back to the 18th century.

The sun is a ball of red descending behind it and I get a few pictures. The timing of my visit is perfect. I walk around the tank and get a closer look at the Puttan Malika Palace (see below) along the South side of the avenue leading to the temple. Stalls selling all manner of religious knick knacks line the road, as Hindu pilgrims, women dressed in yellow and men in bathing sarongs make their way to prayers. It's all quite exotic and fascinating.

But I am tired and need to get home. When I reach there, I discover Shoba has decided to move to the hotel where Sam is staying. Babu cannot tell me more. Strange!