Well I guess from the absence of messages this week that I have shocked a few of you with the photos I put on my website. Sorry if some of these are too controversial or raw for you, but I have to say that this is the reality of life in India and is exactly the reason why I am over here trying to help do something about it. I know I can't change the world in just a few months, but I really do think if everybody did a little bit then the whole world would be a nicer place. Anyway, enough lecturing ! It has taken four weeks but finally I came down really sick for the last couple of days, where I slept for 29 hours over 2 days and another 10 hours solid sleep again last night, but I am finally fighting fit and feel like a new person again. I went to the doctor in Orchha and he gave me 2 days worth of antibiotics (you would think a course normally lasts at least one week?!), everybody then told me that there are no good doctors in Orchha because none of them have even got a degree and aren't qualified ... oh well, I had the tablets lastnight and slept like a log, so there must be something that works well in them ! We had a really good night on Friday at the cultural show, with 11 tourists coming to watch the show and paying 1000 Rupees (it normally takes at least one week for the average person to earn this much money), plus they all made generous donations towards the school which is brilliant. We took them to visit the two schools on the way and I couldn't believe how much the numbers in attendance had grown. There are now 70 students in the Orchha (Poor Colony) School and 120 students in the Ganj School. It seems that everyone is finally getting the message that their children will be so much better off if they attend school, besides which they will only receive new clothes and books etc if they attend. Tomorrow is Diwali, which is the Hindu equivalent of Christmas, where there will be many lights and firecrackers and exchanging of sweets. Since everyone has already given the kids lots of sweets, I am going to set up some volleyball nets today which I bought for the kids that go to school, this is my Diwali present to them all. I thought that, since they always have to work and do chores and study, they should have some fun in their lives too ! On the day of Diwali, everybody wears brand new Saris and other clothes, it is the major spending spree for those people that can't afford to buy clothes any other time during the year. To coordinate with them all, I got myself a Sari too. The tailor measured me up and had it finished within 4 hours which was good. I took it back to my hotel and tried on the blouse (looks very skimpy / tight / sexy!) and petticoat, but I have absolutely no idea what to do with the mountain of material that makes up the actual sari, so I am going to have some of the women show me how to wear it when I go to my friend Indu's village tomorrow to celebrate Diwali with them. By the way, I only had a video made of me in one of their saris last week, not a photo, so I couldn't upload it onto this site. I will definitely make sure Indu takes a photo of me in my new sari tomorrow, then I can put it on here for all of you to see. The other main feature of Diwali is that everybody decorates their houses and paints / whitewashes them, so I am going to get the camera out this afternoon and take lots of photos of all the brightly coloured houses that can now be seen. It's nice that these people, who can't afford many pleasures in life, actually have one huge day to look forward to like this each year, much as we all like to celebrate Christmas and being together with families etc. Anyway, I'm off to enjoy my day of feeling good again and wanting to spend it with these wonderful people. Happy Diwali !!!