Off today to the temple to celebrate Songkran.

It’s amazing how evocative smell is and the smell of the incense from the burners outside the Wat brought back all the memories of my trip to Thailand. It came back even stronger when we wandered around the food stalls looking for sticky rice and chicken to eat. Martin and I had the most amazing flat cakes with some sort of spinach in them, fried and hot and tasty.

We went to pour water and flower petals over the Buddha, sit inside to do prayers, then picnic and eat while we watched the dancing and entertainment outside.

It was really warm, making it seem all the more like being back in Thailand , and good fun just to watch the beauty contests, the traditional dancing and the singers, none of whom I could understand.

What you really notice is how much there is a sense of community with in the Thai people in the UK. You see the same people at every event we have been to, greeting each other with the traditional Wai and a warm, broad smile.

We all came away happy, well fed, a little suntanned and very blessed.

Check out the pictures here.

Happy New Year !