It was another morning of creativity at Kalkaji with some very interesting interpretations of trees, tigers and monsters appearing on the walls of several rooms. I maintain that Ariel's hair is RED, not GINGER so we'll see if that can be corrected on Monday! Today was also very musical with many tuneful renditions of Bohemian Rhapsody, Valerie and Carmina Burana. A brief attempt by some of the boys to teach us a Hindi song unfortunately failed miserably - they seemed more interested in talking about Shakira! It sounds like we had lots of fun, and we did - but we worked hard as well, honestly.

Two of us took part in the women's card making session where ideas and designs for new cards were discussed and colour schemes decided on. It was really good to be able to see how the card process begins and know how the cards that arrive at school are created. It was really fun to get involved in the meeting and see how ASHA is working to create livelihoods for the people of Kalkaji, as well as helping to match fabric samples and sketch new designs.

We had a less taxing afternoon with a chilled lunch and the incomparable experience of shopping in the Cottage Emporium. It's a funny old-fashioned department store with brown paper bags and many many floors. Most left literally heavy laden for afternoon tea at the Imperial hotel. Some of the strangest and funniest things were said over mochas and pineapple juices here (as Café Coffee Day always says "A lot can happen over coffee"!), probably because everyone was exhausted by this stage and getting far too comfortable in each other's presence to monitor what we were saying. My personal favourite quote of the day was one about the hotel: "You know the way this place is pretty up-market? Do you think they call the bill the William?" Astonishingly witty, I know. Apologies in advance for all the "in-jokes" which will be made on our return.

So although I think everyone's glad we're having a bit of a more relaxing time this weekend, with the bright and shiny prospect of our Taj Mahal visit tomorrow, we're also really looking forward to getting back to serious work on Monday morning. Hopefully you guys are having a fun half-term too. Tune in tomorrow for our next update!

Sarah and Angharad