Feast

True to biblical prophecy, the rains have come after Sukkot ended on Sunday. It was a short burst of heavy shower but it left the ground very wet and the air very clean and cool. Now let's hope more rain will come.

St. Francis altar

We read from the news that many countries are facing floods and hailstorms. The El Niño effect is turning our lives upside down. Although a bit of flooding and hail won't hurt us. We've had a drought year and we really need rain to fill up the Sea of Galilee. We need rain!!!

Sunday was the feast of St. Francis. 800 years after this death. There were major major celebrations all around the world, especially in Assisi itself. We had our own little celebration ... 3 communities coming together for lunch. A simple fraternal moment that we all appreciated. 800 years may have passed, but the dream is still alive and the adventure continues with the next generation.

 I have not updated my blog for over a week and yesterday there were 7000 views. I'm being stalked ... or the algorithm is totally messed up. 

Quiet day

The Day of Atonement ended yesterday evening. It was as usual a very quiet day. Everything stops for 24 hours. Those who are not fasting and praying in the synagogues, do the customary thing that Israelis do .... ride bicycles on the highways. That's the only day of the year where no vehicles are on the highways and families cycle freely on all the roads. Others play at major crossroads, sit or chat where other days would be impossible for the traffic. It's that one time when citizens claim ownership of the roads and streets.

Konkani Mass was
standing space only

Because the New Year and Atonement and Tabernacles all fall on 3 consecutive weekends, we have to reschedule our weekend Masses so people could have transport to come and return home. So on Fridays and Saturday mornings, all our churches and Mass centres were packed with Masses in different languages. Literally standing places only. 

As school begins, many parents are asking for help to pay school fees, uniforms and books for their children. We've been trying to sponsor as many as we can. 

 Yesterday I had 9000+ views, today 7000+ views on my blog. Either the algorithm has gone haywire or I'm being stalked.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates

 The autumn harvest has begun. Olives and dates are ready for picking. Pomegranates signal the New Year which begins this coming Sunday. Other autumn fruit are also being sold in the markets. It would be very festive if not for the rising prices of these fruit. The drought and the halt of the desalination plants meant that water usage was greatly reduced, thus affecting the ripening fruit in the orchards. Water prices have gone up and this is passed on to the consumer.

After Sukkot in 3 weeks' time, we hope and pray for rain. We cannot bear another year of drought. Storms and flood will be inconvenient but a necessary evil. The need for water is essential.

I had a bad scare on Sunday when my hands and feet were very swollen, and I was disoriented and confused. Luckily two deacons were serving me the whole weekend and they had to guide me along the liturgies and walking to and from the mass centres. Everyone was afraid. On Sunday afternoon I realised I had forgotten to take all my medicines for 36 hours. That was the cause of my problem. They made me take every pill required in 24 hours and sent me to bed. My left hand and left foot are still swollen but not as much as Saturday. Now the seminarians are writing to me in the morning reminding me to take my medicines. The first lot of pills at 4am. After half an hour I need to eat something like a biscuit ... followed by a second lot of medicine an hour later. All that causes an acid reflux in the morning ... nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea every morning.

Vailankani feast

Shakespeare in the park

It's the High Holiday season. In 2 days the Jewish New Year begins, a week later it's Yom Kippur followed by Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) that lasts for 8 days. Public transport and businesses will be closed several times. 

For us Chinese it'll be the Mid-autumn festival which falls on the 1st day of Sukkot. The Indians are celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Vailankani this weekend. It should be September 8th but our Catholic workers have a day off only during the weekends so the feast is transferred to this Saturday. I'll attend the Mass as I owe my bypass operation tp O.L of Vailankani. Our Indian sisters brought oil from the shrine and anointed me before my surgery. It's been a year since. 

As summer ends, a long standing tradition was revived for me ... attending the Shakespeare in the Park performance. It was stopped for several years due to Covid, then to the war. This year it performed The Tempest. Very enjoyable. But with my swollen hands and feet, it made standing for one and a half hours very trying and tiring. And there was the constant fear of vomiting and diarrhoea. Anyway I survived it ... and enjoyed the show.

Ice Cream

Last ice cream
before winter

 School has started for all regions. Public places are much quieter as students stay in school for more than half a day. But after school, buses and trams are packed. So to avoid crushing crowds, it's best to time oneself for traveling in public transport.

As summer slips by and cooler autumn weather is creeping in, everyone is getting a final taste office cream before the shops stop selling it during the winter season. It's rather iconic. Summer isn't summer if you haven't had ice cream.

I stopped taking my aluminium/magnesium medication as it's not helping me stop the vomiting and diarrhea. It's back to the hospital soon to check up what's wrong. 

Autumn

Supermarket

The feel of autumn is in the air. Cooler nights, shorter daylight, heavy morning dew ... and the roses are throwing out their last blooms before we start pruning them for winter. I just hope this winter brings a lot of rain. We really need it as this year was very dry except for the one day of heavy showers. 

Climate change is affecting us ... El Niño warming of the seas has caused algae blooms along our coast; resulting in blockage of the desalination plants. Six of them have closed down and we're facing a water shortage. If everyone is more careful of using water, we'd be ok. This is the time when community effort and goodwill is needed to avert a crisis. It's something we can control. Be that as it may, prices of foodstuffs are still high. Lifestyles have changed to adapt to this economic situation. But what worries me is the price of medicines. While insurance covers most of my medications, the most expensive ones are not covered. That's a struggle we'll have to work on. 

Surprise rain

175th anniversary poster

 What a surprise we had yesterday! Woke up to rain falling ... in August! We had expected this unusual weather because a huge storm had struck Cyprus, bringing hail, rain, lower temperatures and strong winds. It did hit us ... but only after 36 hours. A rather slow-moving storm. It was a pleasant surprise as the air was cleansed and the heat wave was broken. But the humidity increased so the laundry on the rack could not dry. 

The old French hospital celebrated 175 years since its foundation. Built over the remains of the Lazarium - a hospital for lepers in the 11th century manned by the Hospitaller Knights - the modern French hospital serves as the only palliative care hospital in the city. Runned by the Sosters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, the Irish and Maltese nuns are now very old and replaced by younger Indian and Burmese nuns. On the festive posters, they have a lovely saying "We may not be able to add days to their lives, but we can add life to their days." That's the spirit of palliative care.

My blog just recorded 9740 views yesterday. The algorithm must have gone haywire ... or I'm being cyber-stalked.