Xmas is just around the corner and the festive season is already here. Apparently - according to some figures from Visit London - London is a “Christmassy” city - and “evokes” xmas ” here to the extent that ppl are rushing in from all over europe to do a bit of shopping and enjoying the xmas jollities. (Any excuse for a party eh?)

Things seem to be rushing along quicker this year - don”t know why that is? Is it the usual Sod”s Law situation - when you”re trying to cram more things in - the less time there appears to be. A trip to the exotic east - the Indian sub-continent - lies in wait for me around the corner: we will soon be off (7 days to go!) to a wedding in Bombay; and then hopefully on to Calcutta and Darjeeling after that, and winding up in Dhaka for a week in Jan. Should be exciting - what with Dhaka getting all geared up for elections ( yes I do hope the violence is of a “manageable” level when i”m in town) and New Years” Eve on a white sand beach. And the hill station should be lovely and peaceful and cold.

Thinking of the “exotic east” and India, I have recently finished reading a fantastic book called Shantaram - I urge you all to read it too - and this has just given me a whole lot of local colour to look forward to for the Bombay leg of the trip. Leopolds” - I”ll definitely be checking that place out. Hopefully there will be plenty of photos and travelogue style anecdotes to share when I get back. {Of course - I still haven”t gotten around to uploading our Turkey photos + travel journal - what a marvellous setting that was - Ancient Lycia! More on that later}

So plenty to do this week before rushing off - endless amounts of work to finish off + there”s plenty been happening I want to write about. Time is fast approaching for the “as the year draws to a close” reflections.