The plan is that I should NOT be at work this morning when the Treasurer comes to sign the cheques. Babu has advised that I must keep my presence as secret as possible so the opposition do not use me as ammunition against the cause.
So at a very leisurely hour, I catch a ride with Babu and Tom G. (journalism posting) into town. We are dropping Tom off at the Press Club, but while we are there, we all go in and shake a few hands. I meet a few old Asian news hands and talk about Hong Kong. Reminiscing is good. The visit is short and sweet.
Next on my agenda is to pick up my new specs from Rose Optical. Babu is happy to drive me there and wait then drop me off at work. We always have plenty to talk about. I collect my "GUESS" frames and part with Rs 7,200 (roughly 90 pounds) - just under what I would pay in the UK. It is not the great Indian deal I imagined, but I have resigned myself to paying that to make sure I have a spare pair.
We buzz off to Cheru Resmi and I am very curious to know how the meeting went this morning. Out of the 9 cheques we wanted her to sign (max limit on any one is Rs. 50,000), the Treasurer has signed only 2 cheques. I suppose this is better than nothing. I urge Sr. Mercy to go to the bank straight away to cash them and start the repaying process, but somehow she is resistant to the idea and doesn't. Oh well! I really feel passionate about paying these people but she is afraid of getting it wrong or having so much money in cash about the place....not sure. There are things I am not party to.
I resign myself to writing two reports of our meetings with two helpful lawyers.
Next I get stuck into the De Facto Members List, but find the records in Mercy's files are incomplete. She says the official minute book is with the lawyer so I ask her to arrange for us to collect it so we can do this job properly. And also to chase up Hari for the certification. After a quick call, it transpires that Hari is waiting for our "advice" about what to do to correct the date (good grief!) and, more bad news, her lawyer has given the minute book to the court as evidence. This is a "bridge too far" for me and I snap. I hadn't realised how stretched I was with all this frustration.
I need to get home and clear the air. Poor Mercy looks distraught that I have got over stressed.
Get home and Babu wants to know everything, I get tense just telling him about everything and then he asks me to show him my new specs. I make the mistake of telling him how much I spent and then he goes ballistic. He is furious at the owner of the optical shop and calls him up haranguing him for ripping off his volunteers by showing them only the expensive range of frames. After several phone calls and much bad temper he has brokered a deal whereby I can return the specs and they will remount the lenses in cheaper frames. That's fine - but when will I have the time! Closure seems so far out of reach on so many things.
Babu is beside himself - so am I. Need to be alone somewhere and calm down a little. I could bite someone's head off right now.
The sewing machine I was trying to use this morning is now working - dear Babu, our cook, went off to find a new straight needle to replace the "bent" needle and fixed it all up during the day. He's a treasure. Should have asked him to get me some white thread too! Oh well. I'll make do with grey! Spend some quiet time repairing and ironing my trousers. That calms me down.
To placate Babu, I draft a letter he really wants to write to the Indian Express to create more job opportunities for the journalism volunteers.
I really don't fancy talking to anyone so have a very early night - asleep by 10 pm!
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