Gus our true mad dog CAN come to India!! I have found a solution to his quarantine issue on re-entry into the U.K. This is a huge weight off my mind.
All I can reveal is, that Gus will NOT be spending 6 months in solitary confinement with no exercise. We have an alternative route back and let's just say it's better than I could ever have expected.
On other news Mr Maddog is now in India working in his new posting. He seems O.K. apart from his driver not turning up to collect him from the Hotel for an important meeting at work, making him late. He did not speak any English either. I understand you go through a few drivers before you find the right one for you!
Our house is about to hit the market for sale - our Company are buying the house off us, yay! I just hope it sells quickly as the housing market in the U.K. is falling and our buyers will absorb up to 20% off the selling price. It's getting very scary here with people in the City talking about a 30 -40% fall in house prices and many job losses to come in the next year.
When I asked someone who works in the City where should we put our assets after the sale, they replied that we should buy gold and dig a hole in the garden! This is all reminiscent of the early-mid 70's.
On another note, the baby Maddogs have their last jab this week, another yay! I have been so impressed how they have handled jabs every week for over 9 weeks. True professionals now, no tears and hardly any flinching.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Quarantine for Gus
The Mad dogs have hit a road block in terms of their dog Gus.
We knew that we would have to be subjected to various rules and conditions to take the boy to India. We knew he would have to do 6 months quarantine on his return to Britain. But what we did not anticipate was that this 6 month period would be in solitary confinement with NO EXERCISE whatsoever.
Our dog is only a year old and I have spent the past year training and putting up with my all my plants in my garden either dug up or eaten, my kitchen chairs chewed to pieces and many, many toys destroyed. All of which are subsiding or ceased. I can see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of dog he will become.
It is common for dogs to pine away to their deaths in quarantine in Britain. They are allowed only 2 hours a day visits from their families. I'm really worried that the dog who enters quarantine will not be the same dog that leaves.
The British laws for rabies quarantine are nothing short of draconian and are completely out of date. Modern vaccines now can prevent rabies and other diseases. One of the criteria for entering India with a dog stipulates that they are completely vaccinated in the first place! The pet passport scheme allows dogs travel to associated countries of course India is not on the list.
Our relocation company suggested that Gus did his time in France where although they still subject the same 6 month rule, only that exercise the dogs every day.
We are giving up a lot to go and live in India. Our house, schools, friends, family, clean civilised environment, our cat and now possibly our dog whom we are deeply attached to. It just goes against everything I believe in to put him through such an ordeal. We have had a couple of offers for him, where I'm sure he would have the time of his life and live very happily. But leaving the dog behind may prove to be one step too far for the baby mad dogs in terms of settling into India.
We don't know what to do.
We knew that we would have to be subjected to various rules and conditions to take the boy to India. We knew he would have to do 6 months quarantine on his return to Britain. But what we did not anticipate was that this 6 month period would be in solitary confinement with NO EXERCISE whatsoever.
Our dog is only a year old and I have spent the past year training and putting up with my all my plants in my garden either dug up or eaten, my kitchen chairs chewed to pieces and many, many toys destroyed. All of which are subsiding or ceased. I can see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of dog he will become.
It is common for dogs to pine away to their deaths in quarantine in Britain. They are allowed only 2 hours a day visits from their families. I'm really worried that the dog who enters quarantine will not be the same dog that leaves.
The British laws for rabies quarantine are nothing short of draconian and are completely out of date. Modern vaccines now can prevent rabies and other diseases. One of the criteria for entering India with a dog stipulates that they are completely vaccinated in the first place! The pet passport scheme allows dogs travel to associated countries of course India is not on the list.
Our relocation company suggested that Gus did his time in France where although they still subject the same 6 month rule, only that exercise the dogs every day.
We are giving up a lot to go and live in India. Our house, schools, friends, family, clean civilised environment, our cat and now possibly our dog whom we are deeply attached to. It just goes against everything I believe in to put him through such an ordeal. We have had a couple of offers for him, where I'm sure he would have the time of his life and live very happily. But leaving the dog behind may prove to be one step too far for the baby mad dogs in terms of settling into India.
We don't know what to do.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
3 year old's don't normally say................
The youngest baby mad dog was having her medical today. The doctor asked me to help my little one remove her cardigan and sleeve of her shirt for her examination. Whilst doing this she pulled away from me and said "don't want a rabies shot today mummy". Doctor remarked "that's something you don't normally hear your average 3 year old coming out with!" Too right. Next she will be checking her airmiles balance.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside..........
OK, so after many deliberations with various friends and family, the baby Mad Dogs are being pulled out of school at May half term. We intend to set off to explore Cornwall and the West Country for a couple of weeks with two old school friends and their children staying in a gorgeous cottage by the sea.
We plan lots of surfing, picnics, visits to Padstow and Rick Steins to consume as much seafood as possible. There is much of Britain that we would still like the girls to see, so we shall take the opportunity to do so. Sans crowds, queuing the entire length of the M5 and all those naughty boys and girls from the Public schools who descend on Cornwall for their 'kiss me quick' version of a holiday. In the meantime I'm giving those girls a proper summer break.
Oh I do think Blighty looks her best in June! Strawberries, Pimms, mid-summer night, sailing and Wimbledon (I feel an early morning queue coming on for tickets). Poor Mr Mad Dog will be sitting with sweat dripping off his nose in India while his family swan around the country looking in rock-pools. However, I, have to pack the house, tie all the legal stuff up here and look after 3 children plus Gus the mad dog single handed. In addition, it could lash with rain, hail or worse for the whole month and an awful lot of monopoly get played. So I think we will be pegging rather level.
Mr Mad dog will return in June and we shall say our so-longs, farewells, auf wiedersehen's and goodbyes prior to a final jaunt in Europe en famille. We then plan to fly out to Chennai/Madras in early-mid July for the shock and awe process of initiation ready in time for School term beginning 4th August. So we have a plan. Well, we do today, 5th March 2008. Tomorrow? Who knows.
There seems to be no right time to go. But at least the girls would have had a summer break and get a chance to visit all their relatives in Scotland before departure.
I have also found a new home for my moggie Josie who, is simply too old to go globetrotting so will move in with my old school chum and her young family sometime soon in Windsor. A big weight off my mind. We will miss our mog terribly but my friends are real animal lovers and we know she will live out the rest of her days quite purrrfectly....
We plan lots of surfing, picnics, visits to Padstow and Rick Steins to consume as much seafood as possible. There is much of Britain that we would still like the girls to see, so we shall take the opportunity to do so. Sans crowds, queuing the entire length of the M5 and all those naughty boys and girls from the Public schools who descend on Cornwall for their 'kiss me quick' version of a holiday. In the meantime I'm giving those girls a proper summer break.
Oh I do think Blighty looks her best in June! Strawberries, Pimms, mid-summer night, sailing and Wimbledon (I feel an early morning queue coming on for tickets). Poor Mr Mad Dog will be sitting with sweat dripping off his nose in India while his family swan around the country looking in rock-pools. However, I, have to pack the house, tie all the legal stuff up here and look after 3 children plus Gus the mad dog single handed. In addition, it could lash with rain, hail or worse for the whole month and an awful lot of monopoly get played. So I think we will be pegging rather level.
Mr Mad dog will return in June and we shall say our so-longs, farewells, auf wiedersehen's and goodbyes prior to a final jaunt in Europe en famille. We then plan to fly out to Chennai/Madras in early-mid July for the shock and awe process of initiation ready in time for School term beginning 4th August. So we have a plan. Well, we do today, 5th March 2008. Tomorrow? Who knows.
There seems to be no right time to go. But at least the girls would have had a summer break and get a chance to visit all their relatives in Scotland before departure.
I have also found a new home for my moggie Josie who, is simply too old to go globetrotting so will move in with my old school chum and her young family sometime soon in Windsor. A big weight off my mind. We will miss our mog terribly but my friends are real animal lovers and we know she will live out the rest of her days quite purrrfectly....
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Caught between a rock and a hard place
Trying to decide the most appropriate time to make the move to Chennai is proving difficult. We will not have school places (due to being oversubscribed) until 4th August when the new term begins. The baby mad dogs school term breaks for the summer holidays on the 23rd July.
So, take them out a couple of weeks early?
Not so easy, in the case of the eldest mad dog. She is in year 6 primary which is the final year before moving onto (English) secondary school. In the final couple of months of the term, after finishing the SATS, they produce a musical and have lots of departure/goodbye events (they have all been together since they were 4). The final being their leaving party scheduled for the 25th July.
If we flew out on the 26th, this would give the girls the grand total of 8 days summer holidays, and usually my girls are burnt out and in desperate need of a few weeks of rest, beaches and sailing. (Mum is too).
But the other option of going in May when Mr Mad dog is up and running in India is equally galling. Trying to keep 3 mad dogs entertained in the hottest month of the year (40+ almost daily) with no school and most expats with kids departing on the next available plane after school breaks on the 6th June for 2 months is not an attractive proposition either.
Eldest mad dog will not want to leave once the rehearsals start for the 'show' so she has to be pulled out early enough that the impact will not hit too hard either. But in a nutshell, we feel caught between a rock and a hard place.
The process of moving to India is taking an age. We just want to get on with it. But I suppose this is what living in India will be like, waiting and keeping hold of my patience.
So, take them out a couple of weeks early?
Not so easy, in the case of the eldest mad dog. She is in year 6 primary which is the final year before moving onto (English) secondary school. In the final couple of months of the term, after finishing the SATS, they produce a musical and have lots of departure/goodbye events (they have all been together since they were 4). The final being their leaving party scheduled for the 25th July.
If we flew out on the 26th, this would give the girls the grand total of 8 days summer holidays, and usually my girls are burnt out and in desperate need of a few weeks of rest, beaches and sailing. (Mum is too).
But the other option of going in May when Mr Mad dog is up and running in India is equally galling. Trying to keep 3 mad dogs entertained in the hottest month of the year (40+ almost daily) with no school and most expats with kids departing on the next available plane after school breaks on the 6th June for 2 months is not an attractive proposition either.
Eldest mad dog will not want to leave once the rehearsals start for the 'show' so she has to be pulled out early enough that the impact will not hit too hard either. But in a nutshell, we feel caught between a rock and a hard place.
The process of moving to India is taking an age. We just want to get on with it. But I suppose this is what living in India will be like, waiting and keeping hold of my patience.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
So we went, we saw and because we're mad we are going back for more....
Chennai traffic at 8.00 a.m., this is usual traffic load accompanied by a strong whiff of smog, nice.
Fresh fruit and flower stands on many street corners of neighbourhoods, not Mc'D's :)
Family travel - Indian style, this picture is rather like those instructions you get on airplanes to put your oxygen mask on first before sorting your child out...
So why do people do pre-assignment trips? Is it to shock the living daylights out of you of what you could be bringing your family to, spend hours looking at inadequate housing that is over-inflated by a booming rental market? To feel like you are banging your head against a wall for simply asking why you can't have a hot water tap in the kitchen when you’re told "madam they are not standard in India".
Marvel at the cows jumping over central reservations on a dual carriage way and narrowly missing your car, or the herd feeding on the rubbish outside the baby mad dogs prospective school? (This image makes my pup's existing school look like something from an Agatha Christie - Miss Marple movie, all clipped hedges and nice clean vistas). Or, the numerous wild dogs we saw roaming around looking for a scrap or two?
We were warned by most of our friends and family who have visited India that it would be an assault on the senses upon arrival and this was true in our case. There was so much to take in. The traffic (maddest I have seen anywhere in the world, although I hear Bangkok can give it a run for its money), the unrelenting sun and its accompanying heat which defines its seasons by being hot, hotter and unbearable by April/May. We were visiting in hot. The poverty and the rubbish, the sheer number of crowds we encountered. The lack of apparent infrastructure in the city. We found it difficult to sleep and eat. The silver lining was that I did lose 6lb's so hence shifting some post Christmas overindulgences :)
If it was not for those lovely ladies (you know who you are) who took us under their wing and fed us Banana cake and tea, met for coffee and showed us housing I think we would have been in a more difficult place mentally. Thank you ladies!
But all in all I like the vibe of India, it's colour, it's optimism for the future, the way they drive in a passive way (although still mad) honking their horns (mind out I'm here behind you, not get out of the way). I did not feel threatened once as opposed to other countries I have visited. I love their Indian/British woven language, i.e., did you know that the word Bungalow comes from India. The Brit's took that word and well, they covered their tiny Island in them. Up and down the land in almost every cul-de-sac.
I liked that almost every house we looked at has a bedroom downstairs ready for the elderly relatives to pass their autumn years out, looked after by the respectful family. Not the endless elderly care homes that so many families in Britain resort to. But to be fair we have a welfare state.
India did not feel as different as I was expecting. Probably to do with our influence of the old Empire and the generations of Indian culture which have woven their thread into the national psyche of what is Britain today. I have only seen Chennai and that does not make up India, far from it.
But as introductions go, this was O.K., we will see some more please ............Next!?
We were warned by most of our friends and family who have visited India that it would be an assault on the senses upon arrival and this was true in our case. There was so much to take in. The traffic (maddest I have seen anywhere in the world, although I hear Bangkok can give it a run for its money), the unrelenting sun and its accompanying heat which defines its seasons by being hot, hotter and unbearable by April/May. We were visiting in hot. The poverty and the rubbish, the sheer number of crowds we encountered. The lack of apparent infrastructure in the city. We found it difficult to sleep and eat. The silver lining was that I did lose 6lb's so hence shifting some post Christmas overindulgences :)
If it was not for those lovely ladies (you know who you are) who took us under their wing and fed us Banana cake and tea, met for coffee and showed us housing I think we would have been in a more difficult place mentally. Thank you ladies!
But all in all I like the vibe of India, it's colour, it's optimism for the future, the way they drive in a passive way (although still mad) honking their horns (mind out I'm here behind you, not get out of the way). I did not feel threatened once as opposed to other countries I have visited. I love their Indian/British woven language, i.e., did you know that the word Bungalow comes from India. The Brit's took that word and well, they covered their tiny Island in them. Up and down the land in almost every cul-de-sac.
I liked that almost every house we looked at has a bedroom downstairs ready for the elderly relatives to pass their autumn years out, looked after by the respectful family. Not the endless elderly care homes that so many families in Britain resort to. But to be fair we have a welfare state.
India did not feel as different as I was expecting. Probably to do with our influence of the old Empire and the generations of Indian culture which have woven their thread into the national psyche of what is Britain today. I have only seen Chennai and that does not make up India, far from it.
But as introductions go, this was O.K., we will see some more please ............Next!?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
How long can you make a list?
Lists, lists, lists, suddenly I'm snowed under by them. The whole planning and implementation of moving our family of five plus a dog to India is taking on the appearance of a military exercise.
Jabs, visas, paperwork, passport photo's, vets, sorting the house while we are away, re-homing the cat (boo-hoo), blaa, blaa, blaa, the list is endless.
We have an imminent trip planned to visit Chennai to find accommodation, open bank accounts, sort out cars and driver, find a doctor/health clinic, find a Roman Catholic church and priest that speaks English, also try and bag some school places (there are none, so smile sweetly and hope for the best), plus meet Mr Maddogs associates and his new boss. Phew!
Interestingly day one of our schedule sent by Mr Maddogs relocating dept in Chennai allows us 15 mins for lunch on the first day! Is this the start of things to come with the usual 50 hour Indian working week (one of the highest in the world)?!? No pressure then, and there was me thinking of seeking out a little beach side cafe/restaurant for a lazy lunch escaping the lousy British winter (4-7 deg C, grey, grey and more grey). No chance. I think it's going to be a tough week, but hopefully we will get to dip our toes in the sea at some point. As for an hour by the pool? Forget it.
This morning whilst driving the baby maddogs to school DD1 asked me if she could also take a trip out to see if she would like living in India. "Er...., sorry darling, no not possible" came the answer. "Why not?" came the reply. Within seconds the "I don't want to go" mantra surfaced again. Her information and opinion on India is really made up with what she has seen in the British media and not all of it is favourable. Whilst I have done all the usual things of buying guide books, travel writing, pointing her to blogs and websites she shows no real interest in finding out for herself what it will be like. So back to the bookshop today and bought the India Chic guide. "Ooooh, look at those gorgeous hotels and beaches, mountains, forts, palaces........." she said. "Ah, but you don't want to go" I said. "Well, I might, if I can go and see all this" she started to enthuse. Reverse psychology, works every time on her..... well, until the next time. I feel a project coming on for her......research India.
I must say, it does all look rather lovely, and I can't wait to start discovering my first choice honeymoon destination, (Mr Maddog was not interested in visiting back in those days, he took me to New York and Florida instead) and my long overdue post student travelling which I never ended up doing (a certain husband and 3 kids got in the way). But I'm looking forward to discovering all these places that friends and relatives have just shown their snapshots to me, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai (DD2 wants dance lessons from Shilpa Shetty, the famous Bollywood Star, yeah right) Bangalore, Jaipur, no, make that all of Rajasthan, the foothills of the Himalayas (had always planned to take the girls and my 2 God-daughters trekking, going to happen a bit sooner than I had originally thought, fantastic), Darjeeling..... the list could go on forever. I just hope we get to see enough of the India that still is and once was before it becomes taken over by the Tescos, Walmarts and Ikeas of this world that will most definitely come setting up shop in this beautiful country and change it forever. I can't wait.
Just need to get on with those lists.......
Jabs, visas, paperwork, passport photo's, vets, sorting the house while we are away, re-homing the cat (boo-hoo), blaa, blaa, blaa, the list is endless.
We have an imminent trip planned to visit Chennai to find accommodation, open bank accounts, sort out cars and driver, find a doctor/health clinic, find a Roman Catholic church and priest that speaks English, also try and bag some school places (there are none, so smile sweetly and hope for the best), plus meet Mr Maddogs associates and his new boss. Phew!
Interestingly day one of our schedule sent by Mr Maddogs relocating dept in Chennai allows us 15 mins for lunch on the first day! Is this the start of things to come with the usual 50 hour Indian working week (one of the highest in the world)?!? No pressure then, and there was me thinking of seeking out a little beach side cafe/restaurant for a lazy lunch escaping the lousy British winter (4-7 deg C, grey, grey and more grey). No chance. I think it's going to be a tough week, but hopefully we will get to dip our toes in the sea at some point. As for an hour by the pool? Forget it.
This morning whilst driving the baby maddogs to school DD1 asked me if she could also take a trip out to see if she would like living in India. "Er...., sorry darling, no not possible" came the answer. "Why not?" came the reply. Within seconds the "I don't want to go" mantra surfaced again. Her information and opinion on India is really made up with what she has seen in the British media and not all of it is favourable. Whilst I have done all the usual things of buying guide books, travel writing, pointing her to blogs and websites she shows no real interest in finding out for herself what it will be like. So back to the bookshop today and bought the India Chic guide. "Ooooh, look at those gorgeous hotels and beaches, mountains, forts, palaces........." she said. "Ah, but you don't want to go" I said. "Well, I might, if I can go and see all this" she started to enthuse. Reverse psychology, works every time on her..... well, until the next time. I feel a project coming on for her......research India.
I must say, it does all look rather lovely, and I can't wait to start discovering my first choice honeymoon destination, (Mr Maddog was not interested in visiting back in those days, he took me to New York and Florida instead) and my long overdue post student travelling which I never ended up doing (a certain husband and 3 kids got in the way). But I'm looking forward to discovering all these places that friends and relatives have just shown their snapshots to me, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai (DD2 wants dance lessons from Shilpa Shetty, the famous Bollywood Star, yeah right) Bangalore, Jaipur, no, make that all of Rajasthan, the foothills of the Himalayas (had always planned to take the girls and my 2 God-daughters trekking, going to happen a bit sooner than I had originally thought, fantastic), Darjeeling..... the list could go on forever. I just hope we get to see enough of the India that still is and once was before it becomes taken over by the Tescos, Walmarts and Ikeas of this world that will most definitely come setting up shop in this beautiful country and change it forever. I can't wait.
Just need to get on with those lists.......
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