The Wedding Party

Definitely the final set of images from "the wedding". The top two speak for themselves as Sharon and Michael in more traditional British dress wait to greet guests at the evening wedding party. Held at the Kathmandu Radisson, drinks and snacks were served in the main banqueting hall before the Nepali banquet was served in the outdoor Waterfall Garden. The bottom picture shows Sharon greeting her cousin Hisila Yami who is the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation in the Maoist Government. Her husband Dr Bhattarai, the Finance Minister, was unable to attend being involved in the meetings with the prime minister regarding the sacking of the army chief.

Nepal Erupts!

For those of you following our progress in Nepal this is the quickest way to advise everyone that we are all back home in the UK!
Just prior to the wedding political tension had increased due to a row between the prime minister and the head of the armed forces. The reason was that the army chief was refusing to integrate 19,000 Maoist "troops" into the regular army saying they did NOT meet entry standards and were politically indocrinated. The Maoist PM sacked him (unconstitutionally), the President reinstated him (unconstitutionally) and the PM resigned from the government as did all the Maoist ministers. Maoist supporters then began a campaign of intimidation, strikes, road blockades with a strong possibility of an army coup. Yesterday a video was leaked to the press showing the PM discussing with his senior advisors how he had fooled the UN into paying for 35,000 Maoist troops in holding compounds when in fact there were only 7000 and planning the next campaign of intimidation and violence.
By Monday morning our family were advising us to leave as quickly as possible, so we did!
If anyone wants to follow the news from Nepal the two best websites are at www.nepalnews.com.np and www.kantipuronline.com

Trustees Wedding-Ceremony Slideshow

As reported below the wedding took place of Sharon & Michael in Kathmandu last weekend and this is a link to a short slideshow and a short writeup on the ceremony:
The ceremony took about 2.5 hours and contained 5 stages. The first was "Purification" in which the Buddhist priest and Michael spent almost 45 mins in a ceremony to purify the temple space/area prior to the wedding ceremony itself. Next, the marriage lasting about 20 mins in which the couple came together in the centre of the temple for rituals and exchange of rings etc. Next a blessing by the Guruju/priest involving the couple taking about 15 mins. Then a lengthy "receiving" of the family and "respecting" the marriage as each attendee came forward to offer a token gift of respect. Finally a ceremonial departure down the temple steps with everyone following before circling the car three times for luck and transport to the lunch reception. The link to the web slideshow click Nepal Wedding-The Ceremony

Trustees Married In Kathmandu

Three photos from the millions that were taken during a very long day in Kathmandu when two of our young Trustees were married in a Buddhist ceremony at Swayambhu Temple. The ceremony itself took about 2.5 hours and was followed by a "small reception" at the Yak & Yeti Hotel for about 50 guests. Later that evening a larger family party was held at the Kathmandu Radisson for 150 family members and friends.
More pictures and news to follow once we've recovered! Keep watching and commenting.