That was the week that was!

Well, it's just after 4am on Monday morning at the beginning of the penultimate week of the walk. Yes, 4am! Had something for dinner last night that obviously disagreed with me and it's capped of what has not been the best of weeks quite nicely. What with car problems, Rosie coming and then going, stuff being left behind in Lamphun and Ros spending all the petrol money on tyres that we didn't need, you'd think it couldn't get any better, right? Wrong! Our arrival in Tak yesterday was soured by the return of the dreaded fluid on my ankles, something that has been causing me problems for some time on and off. A few days before the start of the walk, I visited a clinic in Naklua and was given an injection and less than 24 hours later and over 600 baht lighter, it had cleared up the swelling and it has not been a problem since, despite all the mileage I've done, until now. I've got some pills that the same doctor gave me so I'm hoping that they will keep things in check but it's a worry. Less than two weeks to go and I can smell the lamyai but I've got to keep moving to stay on schedule but that's easier said than done when you can't even put your trainers on!

On the home front, I got word on Saturday morning that one of the older girls had jumped ship and legged it back to join her folks in Bangkok. Permanently. This was rather surprising news as I was not aware that she had any problems at the home but what do I know, eh? I'm only the Director, right? Apparently, it was decided that it was best that I was kept out of the loop because I have "a lot of problems" and I have "a hot heart", whatever that means. The only 'problems' I have is when I'm not told what's going on, for whatever reason, and then I have to explain to other people what's going on when I don't even know myself, if you know what I mean. It's a cultural thing I know, Thais not wanting to bother the 'boss' with 'little' things that they don't 'need' to know about. Well, for the the record, I 'need' to know about everything that goes on in the Foundation. Why? Because I founded it. It's my baby and I look after it. I want to see it stay healthy and grow and become something all of us that are connected with it can be proud of. If somebody's not pulling their weight around the home, I want to know. If somebody's not performing at school, or playing up, I want to know. I want to know about everything that's happening that's relevent to the Foundation and then I can decide if I need to do do something about it. So, Nada's gone, permanently, and we're now down to 27 in Bedlam House with the younger kids finishing school this coming Friday for the mid-term break. We need to get some activities and visitors organised for next week so that Yai doesn't have to contend with them all on her own 24/7 before Ros and I get back. Any volunteers?