What snack would you eat right now?
Right now I would like a Dahi Wada . Currently the temperature is 20*C, which is winter in Dubai where I’m now in, but hot as I’ve just come from Glasgow where the temperature is -3*C.
Dahi Wada is an Indian snack.
This is a fried lentil dumpling fritter floating in sweet yogurt . It is very cooling and also makes a good option for a snack or at the end of an Indian meal.
Why don’t you try it ?
Have you noticed people walking past you on the street, looking at their mobiles.
I’ve had the experience of nearly hitting against a pole on the pavement while following the google map.
Even when one is in conversation with friends, the moment there is a tinkle on the phone, the person will actually attend to it.
Young people experience cyber bullying.
This is a new type of addiction which is very difficult to control.
Less time is devoted to things that really matter. But we will not go into the benefits of the use of mobiles here. I only recommend keeping the mobile away for a day in the week.
You’ll be surprised as to the change happening. There is better communication between family members. Discussions happen without being interrupted by the ring of a mobile.
Just try it !
What would you change about modern society?
Jermaine Shand
Jermaine hails from Jamaica.
He was an athlete until university.
His forte was sprints and he excelled in100m and 200m
In due time he was spotted by his coach who saw a potential talent of coaching in him
So he introduced him to learn coaching.
Then Jermaine moved into coaching a school team and then joined the national coaching team in Jamaica.
A few young athletes from India travelled to Jamaica to improve their style of running their specific event. There they met Jermaine and invited him to continue training them in India.
Subsequently he travelled to India and is now coaching budding athletes.
One of his pupils, Aryana Kadam, is a national gold medalist of India in the 200m
I was watching Aryana Kadam during the training of his athletes
They had multiple excercises for building up their bodies for athletics besides actual running
He says “it’s not only running , but also looking after and development of the bodies . In a week I give them two days only for the excercises, and remaining days for running .”
His athletes have a good style for running . They specialise in the sprints .
I asked him “why do only a few Indian athletes win at the International level ?”
“It’s because they train only to win medals initially without an overall development as I recommend . As a result they fade away when it really matters . It’s not only training to win against other international athletes but to strive to do even better every time, against stronger and faster athletes .
He has been training Aryana from the age of 12 years . He has now grown up to be a strong athletes. He has competed at an international meet in France .
He recommends “ as youngsters being trained for athletics, they need to be nurtured until they grow up and continue to develop.”
Sponsorship for such athletes goes a long way .
Let’s hope there are more coaches like Jermaine to take our young athletes to the next level.
The Postbox
The good old postbox .
When was the last letter you posted ?
I remember we had to note the time for clearance so we could ensure that the letter posted would be cleared in time.
There would also be a different postbox for faster delivery of any mail. ( Green in colour).
When one posts a letter you had to ensure a correct value of stamp was stuck onto the envelope .
The postman cleared the postbox at the designated time and then mail was sorted to be sent to the respective destinations.
Most often the local letters were posted in the postbox .
Foreign mail would be weighed at the counter and appropriate stamp stuck and handed over to the clerk .
These were sent by airmail.
To save on the cost of foreign mail , one could send letters by sea .
This is a big difference to the current way of communication. We would send Christmas cards at least over a month before the 25th December. However post by sea mail could take even two months and it’s not surprising that greeting cards would reach even after Christmas.
During the early years , there were inland letters and foreign letters (aerogramme) which had already been stamped for use. Even earlier were the self stamped cards.
Now most people prefer sending greetings by WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram or on the email. This communication is instantaneous. No paper is involved .
Do you prefer the card or a greeting on the internet ? Which is more personalised?
Technology has improved in leaps and bounds
So where is our postbox now ?
It has become an antique, and beautifully coloured in red; a treasure for our memories.
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”
William Shakespeare
My name Vincent sounds good as it means Victorious . I am not writing under a ‘nom de plume’ .
The Roman name Vincentius is derived from the Latin word vincere which means ‘conquered’ .
This name was used in the Middle Ages and became popular later .
I like to think of two famous people bearing this name : St Vincent de Paul and Norman Vincent Peale
St Vincent always reached out to the poor and needy. His motto was
‘The poor, when viewed with eyes of faith, take the place of Christ and so give us the opportunity to love and serve Jesus. Charity is greater than any rule or pious exercise.’
Thus the Society of Vincent de Paul commenced . It reaches out to the poor in various ways .
Norman Vincent Peale was a Pastor who wrote several books , of which one was ‘The power of Positive Thinking’
He offers a step-by-step, scientifically sound system for turning self-doubt into self-esteem, obstacles into opportunities, and thought into action.
He quotes many verses from the Bible .
I have read a few books written by him and they have helped me a lot. These are self help books which are enlightening.
My name came from my grandfather’s name which was Joaquim Vincent Placidus Mascarenhas. . He was the Physician to the Maharaja of Porbandar . During the epidemic of Influenza at the time of World War II he visited Italy . Unfortunately he and the Maharajah both contracted the illness and passed away . He was buried in Florence .
I never saw him . May his soul rest in peace .
The suddenness of knowing
time is limited
yes doctors have their say
to share the reality of it all
How am I able to accept it ?
Is it something that only I see;
and you, do you know
you have a timeline
In preparing for the final outcome
Will I despair or be despondent
Or will I begin to trust my Lord
and live one day at a time
To live in the present
and do the things that need to be done
Not forgetting to include those things
that bring me joy
Therefore , I cherish the good
and the loved ones with me,
as I strive towards
the high calling of Jesus Christ
to see my Lord face to face.
My love for tennis, goes back to more than 25 years ago. I remember playing the game with my eldest brother Allwyn at the Catholic Gymkhana. We enjoyed a good set and developed reasonable skills to play in the member’s tournaments and even represent the Gymkhana at a local tournament.
However as the years went by, and our tennis too ended. Among many reasons was the closure of the courts at the Gymkhana
I remember purchasing a book on learning the nuances of tennis and had passed on some of these tips in coaching my son Ralph when he was 8years old. Many things were discarded during my house repairs some time ago. This book however remained with me purely out of a dream of playing tennis again.
The year 2019 was very eventful when I was diagnosed with cancer. I recovered with treatment and in August departed on a 3 month holiday with Anjean. This holiday was a gift from our 4 children and covered Dubai, London, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
My dream of playing tennis again began in Dubai, with the Saldanha brothers . Ian my son in law was very considerate in arranging tennis sessions with his brother Colin and his father in law Alex.
Our first session was at Alex’s courts and the next at Colin’s courts. Ian and I played some good tennis , but with Colin on the other side and his fast serves ….we lost closely.
The second session was even better . I was quite adept at placements ; we still lost…with a tough fight. Ian and I shared a ‘never give up attitude’ .We ended with some cold beers and relaxed time with Colin’s piano accompaniment to our spontaneous songs
My next visit to a tennis court was at Glasgow. This just happened when I casually mentioned to a friend John Jackson over coffee, about my interest in tennis. He later spoke to John Coyle a lover of tennis himself, who arranged for us to play some good tennis ‘doubles’ with regular members. I played fairly well, losing the first set , and then winning the next two sets, rotating our partners.
The second session was the following week and happened to be a tournament. This proved a challenge for me. The tournament was played on a round robin basis of doubles . About 20 members many regular and established tennis players teamed randomly and points were awarded according to the games a person won. Thankfully I was given a handicap with whoever teamed with me. My game improved a bit and I was surprised that I could get some good volleys, cross court shots, and deft placements. To top it all, I got some good serves down the T . There was a winner and runnersup, but for me , the best souvenir was the group picture at the end of the mini tournament.
My final encounter with tennis courts was at tḥe Bombay Gymkhana. Courtesy Kirk D’Cruz a good friend , with whom I reconnected. He was gracious to host me for a couple of sessions at the Gym. We got into the rythm quite fast and were soon stroking the ball well. I was surprised that we could actually play singles and enjoy it, The second time we went for a session, I struck the ball so hard that the strings of my aging racket snapped . This was adequately compensated when Ian , my son-in-law gifted me an excellent Wilson racket on his visit to Mumbai.
Ralph joined us at the most recent session of tennis at the Bombay Gym on his visit from UK. He too had not played the game since the age of 8 years . When he got on court , I was stunned to see him hit the ball so well with tḥe correct style . He enjoyed the session a lot . From the sidelines I just admired his game, as he practised with Kirk and both had some power packed ground strokes.
We never got a repeat of these sessions , as Ralph soon returned to UK.
My fascination with tennis began in school, when I had not yet learnt to hold a racket. But I read every tennis article in the sports page from start to finish. One of my brothers even enquired , how and why I did that. Famous names of those days were Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Margaret Smith, and later,Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker.. and some more like Cliff Drysdale, Mats Wilander , Steffi Graff. We cannot forget Nadal and Djokovic !
As I end this note on tennis, I must also mention some books I’ve read on tennis players. Rod Laver’s ‘An Autobiography’…I always admired him the way he carried himself, with a quiet dignity and confidence, but a rocket on court, Andre Agassi’s , ’OPEN: An Autography ‘ he was very candid about his love and hate for tennis, Roger Federer’s ‘Biography’ by Chris Bowers, ( wonder when he will write his autobiography) , and finally Arthur Ashe’s ‘Days of Grace’ . the last was the most inspiring for the way he handled his unfortunate Aids infection through blood transfusion at the time of his heart surgery .
I liked his famous quote …..If I were to say,” God, why me? About the bad things,” then I should have said ,”God, why me?” about the good things that happened in my life. …
This helps me to reflect on the numerous blessings God has blessed me with, since all these years, despite my recent challenges.
Thank you Lord , for all these , even, for the dreams of tennis, being fulfilled.
The trip to Wales by train introduced us to the peace, quiet and natural beauty. It entailed a train to Euston and thence to Birmingham, and Barmouth . The transit at Birmingham was just 10 minutes, but we made it. Then onwards to Barmouth via Shrewsbury, Machynlleth (where one coach of the train was detached) to proceed to LLwyngwril and onwards to Barmouth. The other coach went to Aberystwyth. The names were tongue twisters , besides keeping us alert to our rail route to our destination.
The journey by the seaside is breathtaking. On one side you see hills with sheep, quaint houses, and the sea view as the train chugged along.
Our little train was suddenly engulfed with school children . They brought liveliness into the compartment until they disembarked at their little quaint town, LLwyngwril.
We were received by Fr Alex at Barmouth. The station was very quiet. He arranged a taxi to transport us to St Tudwal’s , our home for the next 3 days.
When Fr Alex mentioned that he welcomed us to a sparse 1 star lodge , I was surprised to be given a comfortable room, with a view …St Matthew’s …normally the room for a visiting bishop. The remaining rooms were Mark, Luke and John. We had a view of the seaside, play grounds, township and the sunset.
We sat to tea and Scottish shortbread .
But ,dinner proved special as Fr Alex actually took the trouble to keep a menu card ready … for a special meal he prepared himself.
Salmon curry, Fresh Steamed Garden Peas, Veg fingers, and Toasted Pitta Bread.
It was meticulously planned with the table laid out . We enjoyed the dinner , specially with apple cider …which I grew to like a lot . the meal ended with tiramisu…
We thence decided to reciprocate with a meal prepared by Anjean and I . Fish Baffat , veg fingers, onion rings.
Breakfast was DIY , with a trolley kept ready very thoughtfully; all ingredients for a good breakfast were at hand to prepare.
Time at St Tudwal’s was memorable for the conversations with Fr Alex . He is a prolific writer and a contemplative at heart.
His favourite quotes…Spirituality …spending time with Jesus. … hospitality ….welcoming Jesus in our midst.
‘Pray your petition, listen to what God is saying and act on it’
. ‘In joy God whispers into our lives ’ ; ‘In times of difficulty , God shouts into our lives.’
On Saturday morning we were welcomed by Fr Alex to the main church. He was preparing for the Sunday service . He combines many roles in one. Pastor, Sacristan, and Mentor….along with help from the few parishioners who make up a congregation of about 12 people.
He has looked after all aspects of the church and explained the relevance of the paintings and carvings on the altar which begins with the Nativity of Jesus and ends with the Ascension spanning his entry into and exit from this world. The Last Supper takes pride of place at the Altar front.
On Sunday we attended the Eucharist. His homily left me reflecting on the few loaves and fish , and how God takes what little we have and multiplies it .
A parishioner from the neighbouring parish , also visited Fr Alex with the gift of a salmon that was caught and smoked specially for him.
I noticed several remarkable things at Wales. They have a language of their own , quite distinct from English. Most young people had moved to cities , so were noticeably absent .
People are very honest. Anjean had absentmindedly left her shopping bag one evening on a public bench . It remained there , until we returned, without anything missing.
On the third day we walked to the beach and enjoyed the windy walk. We saw a few people walking their pet dogs . Later we spent time at the pier . I met another visitor who recounted his time in India as a child when his father served as an officer in the British Army.
The sea gulls and the distant rail bridge made good pictures for my collection.
I left with one souvenir of Fr Alex…. his portrait picture , he requested me to photograph himself, for the new book to be published in January 2020. ‘Face to Face’ . I know and am confident that this book will be among the best of his, since its all about encountering the Lord Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament.
Our time came to an end when we left by train for the trip onwards to Glasgow, via Wolverhampton.
Thank you Fr Alex for gīving us a taste of Wales! We hope to see you in India soon.
Have you observed crows ?
This morning I was quietly observing them .They were busy either searching for food or just cawing to each other.
Does anything disturb them .
Whether governments change or men act aggressively towards each other,crows will be crows
They still find food and still continue with life ..
A great lesson for me.
Who cares for them ?
How is that world events do not disturb them.
The answer I think
They are in sync with the Master
Our Creator
That is a secret worth thinking about
He provides them daily food .
Do they store in barns ?
Do they worry about the future ?
Do they envy others ?
Yet the crow flies wherever he needs to go
No need of any nationality or proof of citizenship .
He is welcome wherever he flies
His story gives me hope
Can I learn to live at peace with another and trust my Creator for my daily needs?
viewvin 