Teddy's Adventures - Third Quarter - Jan to March 2015

Edward (Teddy) Harriss Extraordinary Adventures Quarter 3 summary

Quarter 3 covers from January 2015 until end of March 2015.  The years ripping in!!

All we are asking is that you help us by guessing the number of miles that Edward will travel in the year then wait and see whether you have won a prize. Guesses are a modest £1 a go and you are very welcome to have as many guesses as you like. Rotarians will no doubt be seeking as much input as possible - thanks in advance for your help and contribution. Lets do our bit to help eradicate Polio worldwide.

Early January had started with a bang and having made it back from a Scottish Hogmanay with the Sutherlands , Edward had a chance to recharge his batteries a little before his next adventure.

He set off from Soham in the early hours of Saturday 17^th January, safely stored in Rotarian Lynnes rucksack, very snug and cosy, bound for India via Heathrow.

Chennai, on the east coast of India, was very hectic and full of trips to temples, so not for the first time on these adventures, he lazed at the hotel, swam,  took tea and had a good rest.

The 20^th Jan saw him on the train to Tiruchirappalli (Trichy). He seemed very relaxing sitting on the seat table admiring the view, listening to his ipod and drinking chai. He shared a vegetable biryani and bhajias cooked on the train with his travelling companions, costing all of 40p.

In Trichy he visited temples, the Rock Fort, Santhome Cathedral, where St Thomas is buried, and had a long drive of 150 miles to the Catholic shrine of Our Lady of Good Heath at Vellankami.

Then on to Madurai by coach, visiting the amazing Shree Meenakshi Temple , dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the Gandhi Museum.

Early on Sunday the 25^th January all aboard the coach again, it began to climb into the hills. At the top he crossed the border from Tamil Nadu into the state of Kerala staying at Munnar, a Hill Station. He spent the night surrounded by Tea Plantations, forests and soaring slopes.

The next morning a spice farm and tea plantation before descending into the lowlands of Kerala and on to Alleppy for the final 3 nights at Punnamada Resort surrounded by the waterways  and Chinese fishing boats. On the final night at dinner Dawn Hurrell, whose husband Ken (aka Wilf) was a founding member of Soham Staploe Rotary Club, kindly gave Teddy a donation for Stop Polio Now.

Altogether the group donate £75 to help the campaign which was great!

Our final day started at 3am; Punnamada to Cochin by coach ;Cochin to Mumbai by air and then the long haul flight back to Heathrow and finally Soham and bed at 11.30 pm.

Now that was one very long day but what great memories of a fantastic trip.

Any chance of hibernating?

As things were quiet, Edward decided to take February off and did not do any travelling.

March the 1^st saw Teddy off again with Jacqueline and Chris

Getting a bit long in the tooth was marked by the passing of another decade for Rtn Chris.

To celebrate Edward and Jacqueline took him for a surprise trip to the beautiful Hanbury Manor Country House Hotel near Ware in Herfordshire.

The company, care, service and hospitality were excellent and it also provided the opportunity to revisit old haunts from half a lifetime ago across Hertfordshire and Essex.

The highlight, for a Rotarian and a bear that are both known to have a sweet tooth, had to be the afternoon tea on the Sunday afternoon that was served with an excessive number of delightful cakes that took considerable fortitude to consume.

But they managed!

Edward had been promised another trip back to India but unfortunately due to one of the Rotarians not being too well, he had to settle for more rural visits in the Ely area.

With over nearly three quarters of the Rotary Year gone and a lot of miles travelled, the time came for Edward to have his fitness to fly confirmed and to get his passport renewed.

So on March 11^th, he visited the nice people at Pet Doctors in Ely where head vet Ernesto Hernandez did the honours and also confirmed that Pet Doctors Ltd would donate a £100 as prize for the travel event.

With just about three months travelling left, Edward is both looking forward to his final trips and to putting his feet up on the 1^st of July.

The following day, Edward had an evening out in Cambridge on 12^th March when he visited the Careers evening at St Marys school.

He met lots of lovely young ladies that were interested in becoming a vet or a vet nurse who were keen to make a fuss of him and hear about the eradication of polio.

Unbeknownst to him, he was volunteered to be a patient and came out of the evening looking somewhat the worse for wear with various bits bandaged.

End of March must be a District Council meeting. Rtn Chris had a couple of meetings in the afternoon prior to the District Council Meeting and offered to give Edward the opportunity to experience the council meeting for himself.

Having survived twenty eight years in the District without attending a council meeting, Chris wasnt really able to prime Edward on what to expect but a senior member of District, with tongue firmly in cheek and a glint in his eye, suggested Edward might like to bring a good book and a set of ear plugs !

The reality was entirely different, after an excellent meal, the meeting ran to time, was relevant, interesting and rarely diverted. Congratulations are due to District Governor Nick for keeping it moving along as well as he did.

This is the third time that Edward has visited Diss and he has been made most welcome on each occasion.

Roll on April and the last quarter of these adventures with the Soham Club members

Hopefully the guessing of how far he has travelled will be generously supported through all the Club members and remember that for every £ they generate, the End Polio Now campaign will receive £3 thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Please give generously.