THE PROMPTS
JUNE 1st ORDINARY: These two are in ordinary clothes, but that haircut is a dead giveaway. They were in our original group of monks who started almost four years ago and after returning to their families several months ago, today they reappeared and look destined to become monks again. We are told there is one more who will also resume …… this class is certainly not ordinary. It keeps us on our toes. That’s for sure. Thanks also to Ian who took this photo today
JUNE 2th A CARD: After my Physio session we usually treat ourselves to lunch at a favourite café in Kampot, so here’s today’s open tempeh sandwich lunch with a card! The business card of Simple Things actually
JUNE 3rd A PIC OF ME: from an art workshop we did earlier this year: transferring a black and white photo on to balsa wood and getting a sepia finish. It now hangs in our living room along with the one Ian created of himself the same day.
Here are also two alternative images, which are over 20 years old, and Ian still carries them in his wallet to this day. I was tempted to post these but went with the art project
JUNE 4th ELECTRIC: Fan in the living room. It’s on just about 24/7 in this environment and when the electricity goes out we really comprehend the extent of the climate crisis
JUNE 5th OFF CENTRE: lotus bloom in our pot-pond
JUNE 6th SMOOTH: Low tide and a flat, smooth ocean- that is Kep bay in this season. The water is so shallow you can almost walk to distant Rabbit Island
JUNE 7th CLOSE UP: of the green lotus pod with the seeds still inside in the pot-pond. The petals were blown off in the monsoon storm last night and it’s the only one I’ve ever seen with an even number of holes! Another little miracle from nature
JUNE 8th LIGHT: Kep’s iconic crab gets a single beam of light shone on it at night and it makes both it and the water look a little eerie
JUNE 9th IN THE SHADE: My trusty old, rusty old steed in its usual spot in the shade under the mango tree. Be careful of the giant red ants that hide under the handle bars and unexpectedly appear on your hands when you are riding along
JUNE 10th GLASS: Tonight’s dessert, not quite parfait, not quite trifle but goodness in a glass. Chocolate brownie doused in Kahlua, with mango purée and spicy Bengali Kheer topped with toasted sunflower seeds, fresh coconut curls, chocolate chips and slivered almonds and passionfruit pulp!! But does it need icecream?
JUNE 11 BALANCE: This is one of the exercises I do regularly to improve my balance and strengthen my quadriceps after fracturing my kneecap!
JUNE 12th EYE SPY: A stunning piece of Bhutanese architecture through the round hole in the wooden door at the back of the Trongsa Dzong. An archive shot as we are rained in at the moment
JUNE 13th LEAF: I love this tropical plant in our garden and often pick the leaves to put in a vase indoors with flowers. Every leaf begins green and slowly develops its red and yellow markings as it matures
JUNE 14th BOOKS: Although I do most of my reading on my iPad these days, this is the small collection of books we keep in our guest room and think adds immeasurably to understanding the recent, tragic history of the Kingdom of Wonder
JUNE 15th TOYS: The little monks of Kep do not have any toys of their own and are not allowed possessions. However, we finish every class with some free play time giving them a chance to choose from frisbees, balls, skipping ropes, shuttlecocks, yo-yos, colouring or puzzles. Today in class we were trying to get them to apply their newly acquired knowledge of colours to their choices.
“Red and yellow ball please.”
“Here you are.”
“Thank you.”
Let’s just say it’s a work in progress
They enjoy this time and older monks also sometimes want to join this part of the class as you can see in this collage of the after class activity session today
JUNE 16th SOMETHING WIERD: This huge shellfish spotted in the Kampot Market today certainly seems to fit that bill. While the shell is very pretty the meat is not in the slightest bit tempting to a confirmed vegetarian like me
JUNE 17th A HANDFUL: of snacks to go with the milk at break time in the monks’ classes this morning
JUNE 18th ROUGH: The thin but rough outer shell of a single fresh lychee
JUNE 19th NUMBER: The process we have to go through every time we use the number manipulatives because there was just one number nine or was it six missing. It turned up almost a month later so now we can use them again
JUNE 20th BICYCLE: Having already posted my bicycle once this month I thought I go for an archive shot of the same bike when the little monks went through a phase of “stealing” and hiding our bikes after class. This is Dong happily returning my bike to me
JUNE 21st SOMETHING BLUE: Take your pick - the ocean or the sky: my two favourite blues
JUNE 22nd FIRE: I know these plants by their common name Lobster Claws but they have always reminded me of flames and fire. Right now, they are flowering in profusion in Kep
JUNE 23rd STRIPES: Preparing the next batch of eco-wraps with this fabulous multicoloured fabric with stripes which was donated by the talented Trunkh team
JUNE 24th ONE COLOUR: The robes of the little monks of Kep are all in one shade of one colour. In fact, different pagodas wear different shades and I have been told that it enables their communities to know in which pagoda they reside. I’m not sure if it is true but, in a country, where many people are still illiterate it could well be
JUNE 25th IN THE AIR: The last time I was up in the air I was flying on the wings of a dragon. I can’t think anything I would rather be able to do again and I just know I’m not alone in thinking that
JUNE 26th ANYTHING: just some orchids from our garden
JUNE 27th THIS SEASON: As is almost always the case in Kep, this season is swimming season
JUNE 28th SKYLINE: This is the National Museum, which is less than 200 metres from our hotel in Phnom Penh, where we arrived this morning. I planned to take this shot today but this is an archive shot from Jan this year, when we were last here, as torrential monsoon rain has turned the skies grey and the streets to rivers. Gotta love an adventure
Shot of the view from our balcony with the rain approaching as it was on arrival
JUNE 29 FLOATING: I couldn’t think where to go with this prompt and then, when we were leaving an exhibition by a local artist, we noticed this bowl of floating flowers in my favourite colour in the lobby of the venue. I really do love the way that the PAD prompts inspire you to look at the everyday differently
JUNE 30th SHARP: This colourful parrot has a sharp beak and is giving me a sharp look too. We spotted him as we were leaving the art exhibition yesterday. Thankfully he’s in a huge cage and can move freely. The hotel cleaning staff found him on the top floor and he is now being cared for and pampered by them. I hope he gets his freedom back soon
