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02/03/07 - I have finally returned to the UK after a seven week absense, but it hasn't been the greatest of returns. I've already picked up a cold (or 'man flu', as it's so called), but I haven't picked up two of the three MP4 players I was supposed to bring home (I left them in Malaysia). So it's a bad start to what's not going to be the most enjoyable few months in the UK. I need a cuddle, but my children are now thousands of miles away, all waiting for the 'third coming' of their English Uncle.

Hopefully another brief return is scheduled for June or July, as Wendy and Victoria want to go to India to see Elisha, but I need to see what sponsorship I can pick up first before we meet. I really want to commit myself to the churches out there, it's just a case of having the paitence to do the work I need to in England, but it's also trying to make England a bearable place to be.

I'm already missing everyone out there, especially my new Thanggachi (little sister), Ranjita. I really enjoyed the time I spent with the kids out there, as they were all so happy to see me again, it's just a shame so few kids came to the Sunday School. Of the ten lessons I did, there were only sixteen different kids that attended, seven of which were new. All of the lessons I did turned out quite well though, none of the chaos there was last time. I just hope the church is able to find a good replacement teacher for whilst I'm away, which I hope won't be too long...

09/03/07 - This year seems to be going quite well so far. I started off with a great two months away in India and Malaysia, and now, just one week after returning to the UK, I've already got a job. After getting 100% in 8 minutes on a 20 minute data input test (they were very impressed), I now have a job with SBE, testing and repairing mobile phones. The only bad thing about it is that I have to do night shifts, though it does carry a higher wage. It's good to get a job so quickly (much quicker than the disaster I had last year) and to get it in something that I have such good skill in. So if I can work there for six months, I should have more than enough to spend some more time in Asia...

I've noticed that things in the UK have become more expensive over the couple of months that I was away. I was made to get a haircut again within days of returning, but I would have been much better off getting one in Malaysia... I should be seeing Charlotte and Isaac again next week, before Isaac goes back to Ghana at the end of the month, as Wendy gave me Charlotte's baptism certificate. Also this month, my Tamil friend Elizabeth should be taking me to a Tamil church in North London. It'll be great getting to know some more Tamil's in this country, and it'll make me feel closer to (my second) home. I need something to keep me happy in the six month wait, so hopefully I'll meet some Tamil kids there that are as lovely and crazy as the one's in Malaysia...

16/03/07 - I've only been working at this phone factory one week, yet already I've been moved from my night shifts to evenings. After only two night shifts, some French manager deemed that they weren't suitable for me, despite having such a short time to adapt to them, despite my third night shift going perfectly well. I guess I can't complain at getting better hours, night shifts give you that jet lag feeling where you sleep during the day, though it doesn't feel right to be doing so...

I met with Charlotte and Isaac again this week, this time in Ashford (though the only thing I could show them was my church). Isaac will return to Ghana at the end of the month, and Charlotte hopes to join him again over the summer (which unfortunately means higher ticket prices for her). And meanwhile, Jonny has met up with Sanju again in Nepal (Jonny's Travel Blog). But as for me, I've got a long time to wait before I'm travelling again. I called Jyothi this week, though Ranjita wasn't there at the time, I hope she's being looked after well. But I'll be going to a Tamil church in London next Sunday, so hopefully that'll ease the burden of me missing Taman Wahyu...

23/03/07 - My third week back in the UK, and I've started to get into the flow of things in my new job. Hopefully I can keep a constant flow of cash coming in to save up for another trip to Asia later this year. I looked over how much I spent in the seven weeks I was in Asia this year, and the bill looked like it came to around £1300, which includes flights and insurance, so not a bad total. But I think I could have saved a lot more if I didn't stay in expensive hotels and going to tourist spots in my time in India. I would rather have spent the ten days in between the orphanage and Rajkumar's village, then I probably would have survived on about £20, but I'm sure things will workout better next time.

I saw a live performance of Scooby Doo this past week, but as I was sitting behind the sound equipment, I was more interested in that than the actual show. I now have to wait an extra week before I can go to the Tamil church in London (Palmers Green), as it's Elizabeth's twin sons' birthdays next week. And Isaac is going back to Ghana for the first time in four years on Monday. One thing he said he wasn't fond of in Britain was brick houses, as he thought they were ugly. I can think of much uglier things in Britain, but I hope you enjoyed your cultural experience here, and all the best for your future with Charlotte...

30/03/07 - A month has passed already in my time back in England. It seems the weeks ahead are going to get a bit repetitive, working on my website (I've done lots of work on the Photography Section) in the morning, then working all afternoon and evening. But my job is OK (it's better than not having one at all), I get along well with all the staff on my department, despite being the only one that's English. I get along with the Indian staff the best (of course), most of them are from Kerala (west of Tamil Nadu) and speak Malayalam (similar to Tamil).

This weekend should be a highlight though, as I should be visiting the Tamil church in London this Sunday. It'll be interesting to see the differences between British, Malaysian and Indian Tamils. But people either fall into the category of modern or traditional; I expect most people there will be of the 'modern' category, though there might still be some 'traditional' families. Almost all Indian Tamil's are traditional, but there's a mix with them in Malaysia, depending on wealth. Sunday will also mark the second anniversary of my blog, hopefully it can go another year, without causing too many problems...