Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Caveat Helix

Last weekend I found out that one of the families on our street has possession of the neighborhood snake anti-venom stash. You don't get a lot of snakes around, but we have met enough families who have had them in the garden to know that is a real threat. Apparently the secret local anti-venom stash is necessary because you only have about 30 minutes to get help (you'll recall it takes 45 mins to get anywhere in Bangalore), and you can't guarantee that the medical center you head for will have anti-venom available. I think that it is not entirely legal to have some in your home, but better safe than in compliance sometimes.

Andrew and I took the opportunity to chat with Dara over breakfast and check she knew what to do if she saw a snake. Correct answer is run away, fast, and tell a grown up. She got as far as run away... so we asked, then what?... ask a silly question... Dara: get sweaty... hmm, she got it in the end, but given her proclivity for talking to animals I suspect we'd be in trouble. As she was considering this new information she decided that it wasn't just snakes... if you met a 'mean snail' you should also run away. We still haven't got a clear picture of how you tell the difference between a nice snail and a mean snail, but perhaps when she comes racing in to tell us about one we'll take a look and let you know.


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