Three years and over, no excuses for not blogging!

I have been seriously amiss in blogging. It has been over five months since I blogged last. Now, the three-year marker has come and gone, and I am in my fourth year in the United Kingdom. A lot of things have happened that I haven't chronicled. Hence, this humble attempt to update my followers.

1. My family visited me in September 2018, and my younger daughter Hannah has stayed back in Newcastle to start a post-graduate course in Digital Marketing. She and I meet when we can, but we certainly try and talk every day. It helps that we can talk with each other with the same telephone network free of cost. 
2. I make food in a large bunch and leave it for Hannah as she does not have the time to cook food. While I went to give her the food to Newcastle in October, she came over to Blackpool in November to get the food. In this way, we managed to give quality time to each other. In December, we celebrated Christmas together. However, this meeting will likely not happen in January or in February, so it has to be March when we see each other again. This means she may have to cook her own food for the next few weeks.
3. My job at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital has now entered the fourth year, and I will be working as a full-rota registrar from March onwards - once again. The rota is quite short - in fact, there are only 5 of us instead of the usual six or seven; hence, we will all be stretched.
4. I have not had the time to go out anywhere on any excursions. I discontinued my contributions to the RSPB, the National Trust and so on, and have started others that will, I think, be better to sponsor in the coming years. My sponsorship of four Indian kids continues.
5. I entered my second year of staying at the rented premises near the hospital. It has been a great journey so far and I am getting used to the way of life in the UK. 
6. I failed my driving test in the first attempt but am hoping to clear when I next try to give the exam, hopefully not too much later.
7. I am visiting India from the 2nd of February 2019 until the 23rd of the same month. I hope to attend the annual Paediatrics conference of the IAP (Indian Academy of Pediatrics) in Mumbai, then visit Prayag (Allahabad) with Inas to see the MahaKumbh mela and to catch up with friends while in India.
8. I have been experimenting with my cooking as usual, and have tried many new recipes and food items in the last several months. Apart from the usual stuff like dals, curries etc., I have tried doing pulaos, biryani, bhajias, wada, new vegetarian combos, oven-cooked fish, and more. The more I cook, the more I feel that this can definitely be Plan B for me around retirement.
9. I have joined the trust's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion service as an ambassador. I will be working with a small team of volunteers who will ensure that the trust continues to follow the letter and spirit of the EDI values. 
10. It has been quite cold here in Blackpool. I was presented with a scarf by Hannah as a Christmas gift (I gifted her an Amazon Echo Dot, 3rd generation). This was over the three days that I spent in Newcastle in December. Amazing days, but Hannah was busy studying so we did not move around much. 

And that's it for now. Will try and blog more often. Thank you for reading.