Hey! I'm Bryony, I'm Vikki. We've been really good friends since the dawn of time - okay, not quite, Bry - but since Year 8, which is a fair few years ago. We've reached the point now where if one of us walks into a room alone, we're greeted with "Hey... where's your shadow?"
So, the India craze started with me in December 09, and now I'm hooked - blame Amber! Her brother, Paul, was fast-approaching his Indian wedding ceremony to fiancee Renu, when the bride-to-be casually invited me to fly half way round the world and attend as Amber's guest (there were a few drinks involved!). In keeping with my 09 resolution to say yes more often, I jumped at the chance. I said yes. She said yes! Realising I didn't actually like Indian food put a downer on the pre-flight excitement but "Gulab Jamun" soon became an unexpected favourite, as well our catch-phrase for everything good that was to come! Within two days of arriving, I called it home; I knew I wanted to come back as soon as possible - two weeks just wasn't enough!
Meanwhile, I was home in a very snowy England (yes - she made this point to me knowing I'd have swum the 8000 miles home to see the first White Winter in years!) enjoying Christmas time but missing Bry, Ber and our tradition of opening presents early. The moment they returned I was bombarded with stories of sari's and market places, Silver Bells school and Indian cuisine. I love the idea of India, have done since childhood days of watching A Little Princess ( - a classic!), so all of this was music to my ears, but I didn't know it was about to get a lot better...
There was a BBQ at the school which Ruby (the mother of the bride) hosted during our stay in Bhavnagar. Not only was the food amazing (and a joy to eat some proper meat for the first time in two weeks), but the tour of the construction site for Silver Bells Nursery / future accommodation for the Newlyweds’ family brought on the conversation of returning to India, and Ruby’s invitation to come back and stay with her... See the world! This all sounded great, and then it became perfect as she threw into the mix “bring a friend!” And I thought it just had to be... me and my shadow!
Most people think that’s an insult – but they’re just jealous! Actually, Bry, I was just going to say that we take it on the chin, but okay... Thank God she did think of me. Back in July of last year, I was apparently the only one in a close knit group of friends that was able to take a Gap Year. Of my best girls, Lauren and Bryony were set to start at University in September, Amber was settling into a new lifestyle, and Shem too was ready to begin her studies. And out of the boys, some went to Uni, others weren’t ones for travel, and the Boyfriends (both for Bryony and me) were busy with school and saving up. So it looked like a no-go area; I thought I’d just work and carry on with the personal projects I have at home.
But fast forward to present day... Bryony puts off Uni for another blissful year of freedom and soul searching(!)... Vikki had had just about enough of working weekends... and the Boyfriends... well... weren’t the Boyfriends anymore...
So, we figured, it’s now or never...
