The prodigal returns

   

Subject: The prodigal returns.

The prodigal returns.
There's always a flurry of activity when someone comes to visit. The vacuum cleaner comes out as does the duster and polish, the kitchen is given the once over and the bath treated to an extra clean. It's not that I live in a pigsty only that as the sole occupant, there's always 'tomorrow'.
Andrews flight from Dharamsala to Delhi and then an overnight stay in a posh hotel was the start of shaking off the bustle of India for the tranquillity of Bishop's Stortford.
The culture shock is pretty severe. From a Himalayan town bustling with pipping traffic, crawling along between the pedestrians and sacred  cows, the Buddhists imbibed in the business of Buddhism to the teaming city of Delhi with its contrasts made even more extreme by a system of caste. In contrast to the long long haul to Australia, India can be deemed local, only eight hours away, racing the clock back as you fly east to west.
Into a very different world this bearded son of mine, looking more like the son of the Taliban was pulled to one side in Heathrow by the nervous security. Where have you come from and why. Where are you going and why. Serious stuff if you don't treat the matter seriously but after being body searched for an explosive vest, or a bomb making kit in his luggage, all it revealed were some Buddhist prayer flags and a Tibetan mug with a lid for Dad.
Timing near perfect, (the clock is always ticking at the airport if you come by car), I wonder if they won't find some way to charge you for the air you breath whilst waiting for passengers on hallowed ground.
The first sight of the ambling figure, the hug, "how was the flight" and we were in the car  leaving for home. The traffic such as it was is quiet, no irritating horn to plough your way through the crowd, only the civilising respect for driving convention, "no sir after you".
How green it looks, how high the trees have grown, gosh you can hardly see the school.
My efforts at cooking a good meatless meal was rewarded with a compliment and the homecoming was complete with a hot bath and a familiar bed.