And the Answers to my three...

Time to come clean:

The Maharani of Jodhpur was intrigued when she saw my Mum boarding the train with a toddler, baby and dog as to why she was travelling alone (ie unescorted) and sent an invitation for Mum to come to her carriage to meet her. She did, and I proceeded to bawl my lungs out. The rest is history, as they say!

Why indeed would anyone put out in an unseaworthy boat? Because we were teenagers lured by the promise of riches (50p per bucket) by a local shellfish stall!! We rowed out across a small channel of waterl to an island in the Teign Estuary (you are right Margaret, winkles are harvested on land), noticing that the boat was letting water but hey, it was only a small channel! Unfortunately by the time we had finished it was high tide and not so small anymore and the boat started sinking, so the winkles were sacrificed and we just about made it to the shore. Tis all true!!

The fib is indeed the cricket story. I used to be involved with a village cricket team, I was friendly with the scorer. However, as Leolady so astutely observes, mixed genders is not cricket and being woman of the match just my fantasy. In reality I was saddled with doing the @#!!! teas every time it was the turn of anyone without a wife/girlfriend.

What a good game, thank you for instigating it Linda!

Monique x

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We played cricket as a summer sport at my school. In latter years I was banned from playing cricket with my boys as if I hit the ball into the nettles they had to get it out!! Since then I was

demoted to doing team teas for our village team!

Wonder what you were all doing in India

Love Suex

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We were in India because my father is Indian. He was in the Navy and came to Dartmouth in the 1950s to do Officer Training, which is how he met my Mum. He was in one of the last batches to be trained in England post Independence. We had a great life as a Navy family, though obviously Mum had to put up with long absences. A couple of years ago Dad took my sister and I to a reunion of Dartmouth "cadets" on the Britannia in Edinburgh. It was a fantastic evening, I thought then how the Navy manages to combine a very impressive formality with an ability to let their hair down!

Monique x

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Some things just never change, Monique, eg cricket.

Love

Linda

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Yes! Yes! Yes! I got it right....great news haha just a wild guess haha love x G x

[MargaretJ]

I have no ball sense and poor hand eye co-ordination so I don't watch or play ball games. I do not understand them.

As my ex is Welsh my whole family is Rugby mad! They play (kevin and his boys) or watch (my daughter and nieces) but I don't understand it. My ex of course is strictly a couch potato fan!

My 'sports' were potholing rock climbing and long distance walking, none of which I can now do! The 1 1/2 miles into town yesterday and the return journey knocked me flat yesterday!

I am so bowled over by the sporting skills you all possess!

M xxxx