Days 96 - 98 There have been mainly power cuts this week and therefore I have been reduced to watching pirate DVD's (they cost 15p) on the laptop in the evenings. Fern is obsessed with Harry Potter so the film-watching has been heavily dominated. I made the mistake, after a couple of glasses of wine and when he appeared on screen, of pronouncing loudly that a friend of mine had actually slept with Timothy Spall. This caused great confusion to Fern and Clover ...

Day 94 -96 We have now progressed to actually buying Pedigree Chum for Black Dog even though it is way out of our budget and inconvenient to procure. Clover feeds him in the morning and he often vomits with excitement when she appears at the door. I hope she always has this effect on men. Black Dog is now so loyal to us that he insists on accompanying us down the street in the mornings, even though he has to run the gauntlet of the savage neighbouring dogs. ...

Day 92-94 Rich American Vijay finally got back in touch about the over-priced therepeutic job he is prepared to offer Rufus to work with his eldest son. His wife is the Norwegian Ambassador and sounds extremely glamorous and cosmopolitan although we haven't met her yet; she is never at home and likely spends her evenings throwing unnecessary Viking-style events, eating pickled fish and drinking schnapps. Vijay chooses not to work and gallavants around Kathmand...

Day 90 Today I am mainly missing pavements and parks. Rufus and I tried to find Kathmandu's answer to Pollok - the city's Ratna Park. What a dump. We were greeted by a traffic jam, a dead dog and a woman vomiting on the street. The stench of sewage and death was overwhelming; not a suitable place for Pimms and a picnic really. Then I decided I wanted to go window shopping, on a nice, leafy boulevard with glass fronted shops, pavement cafes and tree lined ke...

Day 84-88 Still not feeling well. Clover is not great either, suffering from a persistent bad cough and had to miss a day of school. Back to the clinic for the second time in two weeks and into the safe hands of expat Scottish doctor, Robin, the nicest and least smug man in Kathmandu. Finally somebody I can explain my complicated medical history to without resorting to elaborate mime. He is here with his wife to do goodwill humanitarian work for the people o...