There is a children's ministry based near us here to the south of Pokhara, and the family who run it have become good friends. Yesterday they held their annual Christmas programme, a day long event that has two main aims: firstly to share the Christmas message and a good meal with around 600 local kids of all ages, many of them very poor and some homeless, but it also marks a bonding and learning opportunity for the team of around 30 teenager volunteers who lead the ministry throughout the year.

They had been practicing music, dramas and dancing for weeks, but preparations for the event started in earnest around 24 hours before the event was due to start when the buffalo that had been bought specially for the event was butchered, and the mammoth task of preparing vegetables went on for most of the night. The children were very well behaved, sitting on the ground during the two hour programme, but you could feel the excitement rising as the time for food came.

The food was all cooked in massive vats on three open fires about 50 metres away from the main meeting ground. The 30 leaders were running backwards and forwards delivering food as fast as they could for around half an hour until it had all gone and plates licked clean – 150kg of rice, 150kg of buffalo plus untold tomatoes and a few handfuls of chillies.

When the last of the children had left, the leaders then got stuck in to cleaning the whole compound, taking down decorations, sweeping the floor and washing up before relighting the fires and cooking their own meal – a hugely impressive group of very dedicated young people.

This time last week we had just got back from a few days in Kathmandu, having said good bye to Ursie after a good two weeks together. She phoned from the UK on Sunday evening, about 24 hours after leaving Kathmandu. It was strange thinking of her half a world away so soon after leaving us, and made us feel a bit closer to home.

The time we had away was good and included a trip to Baktapur, a town just outside Kathmandu that has been less frantically modernised than the capital. It has some very famous temples and beautiful squares crammed with shops selling piles of tourist tat, but behind the main streets are a maze of quiet little cobbled alleys with tall brick built houses that look like they haven't changed in 200 years. The whole place has a damp, decaying feel to it (a bit like Venice) and seems to be just waiting for the next earthquake to flatten it all.

Probably the highlight of the trip was an invitation to the the British Embassy for their annual carol service, followed by drinks and mince pies at the ambasadors residence!

Another good reminder of home have been the many packages and cards that so many of you have sent – many thanks!

All well with us here in Pokhara. Elle, Evie and Ursie have had a relaxing time shopping and seeing some of the local sites. I had a couple of donors visiting and had to arrange a series of meetings with people around the organisation that they wanted to see. It was the first time that either had been to Nepal and when one of them turned up in a Hawaiian shirt and a very relaxed attitude I was worried that they had actually come for a holiday. It turned in to a very useful time however, with them asking some very good questions about INF and making renewed commitments to our work.

We went on a two day trek over the weekend to try and give Ursie a feel for the mountains, going up to Gandruk, a village with fantastic views and some lovely little hotels where we were very well looked after.

We also came across this group of kids who were delighted to play up for the camera.

As well as paying a lot of money for park entrance fees (~£12 each) we were also stopped a couple of times at Maoist checkpoints and asked for a 'voluntary' contribution to their cause.

We managed to get away without paying anything, but on arrival back in Pokhara we read about another trekker who had got into an argument with Maoists about not paying fees and had received a nasty beating for his efforts - we felt very grateful for a safe return.

There are some worrying signs in the rest of the country with the alliance of parties in government unable to agree on anything and seeming to lose interest in trying. The response from ordinary Nepalis appears to be either apathy or anger, with a growing sense that something is about to happen. Events in Pokhara reflected this mood - this week two students were killed in a motorcycle accident (rumours say that the driver of the bus they hit reversed over them to make sure he didn't have to pay hospital fees) and the town centre has been closed off for the last two days while students burn tyres and clash with the police.

Ursie (Elle's sister) arrived safely and it is just great to have her here. She flew in to Pokhara yesterday - despite not having had any bad experiences with internal flights here in Nepal, it is still a pleasant surprise when anything happens to plan and on time!

She came loaded down with presents and goodies - thanks to all those who sent things out!




We've had a little Casio point and shoot camera for that last few years, but it has been getting a bit rickety recently and finally died a couple of months ago - possibly one drop too many... We have just invested in a new little Olympus camera that claims to be water and earthquake proof (sounds incredible, but the instructions tell you to clean it by holding it under the tap...), so hopefully this will last a bit longer!! We'll let you know how we get on with it, but so far, so good - these are a couple of pictures we took this morning.