We visited London on a few occasions . On one of these trips Anthony Bull hosted Anjean and myself. Our daughter Larissa was single and staying with the Bulls ōver the past two years.

Anthony ānd Julie have a loving family  . They are active in Community life . Their interests are varied . Anthony is a senior  professor in Imperial College. He is a sportsman at heart and  very fond of rugby. His keenness to keep fit results  in him riding to the college on his bycycle.

Julie is an engineering scholar. Students of maths have benefited from her proficiency in teaching this subject.  She  has a passion for pottery and  I was  impressed to see some of the crockery in use, which was her handiwork. They have 3 very accomplished children.

 Our stay was short and sweet. But some interesting memories still  linger.

On one of the days the assorted cookie jar was kept for evening tea . I think those cookies were one of the best I’ve had, of different flavours and most enrobed  with chocolate .

Now when the home members had left for work, next morning I began to feel the pangs of hunger by mid-morning. Visions of the delicious cookies came to mind. I searched for the jar and then helped myself to a few.

Later that evening , when all returned from work, Anthony  enquired  “ Lets have some of the cookies”

Wonder of wonders ….the level of the cookies in the jar had reduced considerably .

You can imagine how surprised we all were.

Where did the cōokies disappear… I looked āt Anthony, and saw a faint smile appear …..

“Can you guess who ate the cookies?”

Anthony shared some interesting aspects of his life. His interest in sports led him to work on the study of the cricket bat dimensions . His research on this, led to the standardisation of the bat, based on his inputs.   His efforts on standardisation of the tennis racket however did not progress as  those in authority  did not accept  his inputs. The result of this shows today , as  tennis players use rackets of  various dimensions and materials, which may not heip in keeping  a level playing field.

I was very impressed to hear Anthony’s story of how he met Roger Bannister the famous athlete who was the first to break the sub 4 minute barrier for the mile.

 Lastly I remember their pet cat , Tiger. He adopted them rather than the other way around. Tiger had occupied the premises before Anthony and family had moved in and begun the renovations . Tiger too became a friend and even posed for pictures.

We were grateful to Anthony and Julie for hosting us, but importantly that Larissa had a home to stay during  these few years.

It was lockdown time since April in London due to the Covid 19. Here again Anthony and Julie were a big support to Larissa on her wedding day 21st March 2020 .Larissa wedded Lloyd in a quiet ceremony with only a dozen  guests present in the church. We had already returned to India in November 2019. The plans for an India wedding did not materialize due to the corona virus pandemic.

Anthony has been very active in raising awareness of Mental Health and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Through challenges on Facebook, with the pushups , it certainly gives hope at these times of the lockdown and social distancing. Thank you Anthony for this initiative with your brother Andrew, and getting so many involved.

We know that even though Larissa and Lloyd are now settled in their rental apartment, they do have a family who will always reach out to them.

Who  knows , on our next visit we may see some more cookie jars.