overnment House, Darjeeling, was a very different affair to Calcutta: not particularly pretty outside but a nice comfortable house about the size of a large rectory, with 5 or 6 bedrooms. It was built on a spur in the hills and had a magnificent view of Kanchenjunga, one of the highest and most beautiful mountains in the Himalayas.

hen father joined us three weeks later, his reception in the market place - the only flat area in the district - was a wonderful sight,

with people crowded into every corner and every window and standing on rooftops.

n the spring Darjeeling was unbelievably beautiful with magnolias and rhododendrons growing wild against a background of blue mountains and beyond the dazzling whiteness of Kanchenjunga and the high snow-capped range.