Yesterday away at 8.30am to go to Jaipur. On way called at Fatehpur Sikri to see the Mogul Palace. this was very interesting with a good guide but spoilt by persistant sellers of jewellery and crafts. On the journey we passed a varied farmland, from wheat farmers and single cow farms to brick works and stone cutters. The sandstone carvings of all sizes lined up alongside the road were a marvel. As we entered Jaipur I have never seen such depravation with people living in absolute squalour and poverty. It makes the heart blead. Today we had a guide again, who took us to see the Limb Centre in the City Hospital. This was a very interesting trip to see a very skilled workforce, many with prosthetic limbs themsleves, making artificiail limbs from rubber and plastic. ... read more

We are now starting our tourist part of the trip and we had a tour guide, who took us to see the Red Fort, which is just up river Yamuna from the Taj Mahal, where the early mogul emperors lived in the 16th century. The afternoon was spent watching the ancient art of carving and the inlaying of white marble with gemstones, as seen at the Taj Mahal. this is now only done by three families descended from the original artisans, who came from Iran. Of course we bought some samples of this craft and other typical Indian crafts. Later in the afternoon we went across the river from the Taj to see the sunset over it and get the amazing reflection in the river.... read more

Sunday 28th April 2008 I woke up feeling extremely queasy but managed to go out with the group to begin the immunisation programme. When we arrived at our medical station it was mahem. There were, what seemed to be, hundreds of children, all swarming around like locusts waiting for their gifts. It was quite a job to control them all. The children receiving the polio drops were mainly babes in arms and toddlers, apparently the strain of polio in this area only affects very young children. The older children aged 5 to 10 years, had come along as observers and to collect any gifts they could. They were very grateful for all the things we gave them. The tent was pitched on sandy soil and next to the tent, where we were immunising the babies, there ... read more

Friday 25th April The temperature today-41 deg C. We spent the morning walking around the town near our hotel, watching people cooking at the side of the road, repairing tuck-tucks and participating in all kinds of roadside businesses, all perfect photo opportunities! We met a man from the Hindustani Times, a local newspaper. He took us into the centre of town to Connaught Place. We visited the tourist Information Centre. Yesterday Geoff and I ordered a blue, cotton made to measure shirt each for £18 each, today we collected them and very nice they are too. At 3.30pm we flew out of Delhi airport for the 2 and a half hour journey to Lucknow. We arrived at 6.00pm to be greeted by lots of buzzing mosquitoes, all desperate to drink our blood! Fortunately, we were well ... read more

We have now been back almost a week and we have heard that Bob is making progress and now has limited mobility of his right arm and has been walking a little with some assistance. He has a male nurse in attendance at all times so we hope he is getting good care.... read more