Flex Mentallo

Still, they had their moments, thank goodness... ..and I think what mattered most was the sense of liberation at last...

'We are very bored, so really wish you were here.'

Spending most of its journey winding through narrow streets. They never did see Kangchenjunga, enshrouded in mists.

And unfortunately the miniature railway proved to be the biggest disappointment.

Of course, this does not prevent the Indian Tourist Board from promoting it as a romantic getaway.

Whatever it once may have been, the town is now very dirty and overcrowded.

Sadly, it did not quite match their expectations.

Immediately following the wedding Purnabha and Lucina set off for a brief honeymoon in Darjeeling.

Edward Lear's painting of 'Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling' perfectly captures its romance.

But I had never managed to reach Darjeeling, in West Bengal.

I've been to many hill stations in India, from Ootacamund in the south to Simla and Manali in the north.

Mirage

Both are beautiful, Michael, but this one is Hi Walter! Here is The Rockford I've just sold for comparison: It's been with me for nigh on 20 years, and in all that time I hadn't seen one with better colors until now. Comparing the two, for the first time it occurs to me that color variation might be to do with the frequency with which the plates were re- inked. Maybe that's an obvious thought - just not one I've heard. Until now I'd imagined that colors weakened over the course of an entire print run. But if they printed a batch of covers without re-inking it could explain the dramatic variations we see... Thoughts anyone?

Fight #41 is a book I'd wondered about for a long time - was it meant to have a red background or not? Finally, confirmation.

Nice, Pat.

I've avoided buying for while owing to other commitments, along with a slackening of interest. About the only quest I still have going is the hunt for Fiction House books with 'true' colors. I knew that Fight #30 ought to have a red background, having seen a copy from a past Heritage auction on their web site. I'd actually sold my high grade copy not too long ago, so found this one hard to ignore. (I realize I'd rather have the deep colors than the high grade.)

Thanks Richard. Sadly, no white horses or elephants!

Thanks Jason. It's good to know.

But for now, let us celebrate Lucina... “Up then, fair phoenix bride, frustrate the sun; Thyself from thine affection Takest warmth enough, and from thine eye All lesser birds will take their jollity. Up, up, fair bride, and call Thy stars from out their several boxes, take Thy rubies, pearls, and diamonds forth, and make Thyself a constellation of them all... Be thou a new star, that to us portends Ends of much wonder; and be thou those ends.” ― John Donne

And because of this, I have another story to tell you next, which as you will see unfolds quite unexpectedly from hers; one equally rich with promise of redemption. For in the heart of darkness, there is light!

But please do not interpret this as humble bragging, just because I helped her. Because spiritually, my situation was far worse than hers. And I'm certain she would have found some means to save herself without me. (She was always the strong one.) When we met, I was probably drinking myself to death; and likely, dead is what I would by now be without her. And if I am living, it is largely her doing. “You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.” ― Oprah Winfrey

When I first met this skinny kid, about 10 years ago, she was in an impossible situation. Her family was destitute. She worked and studied day and night, her college grant had been cut off, she barely slept, dressed in the poorest cotton even in winter, and she recently told me that in those days she subsisted on a single chapatti a day.

How could I not?

A new life beckoned for her at last. And I told myself that it was time for Lucina to move on with her life. That it was time for her to let go of me, and me of her. But of course I came anyway.

I had refused because intense work commitments made any guarantee impossible.