Keith in Sri Lanka

Thursday 5th December 2019 I have reached the point where I am writing the final entry in my Blog, having now returned to Bath. It seems strange, as it feels like I have been on such a long journey, but, at the same time, it has passed very quickly. I am mainly writing to thank you all for your support, as I know many of you supported my Fundraisers and also followed me on this Blog. In terms of the Fundraisers, I had one on Facebook, that raised £300 and, when this one ran out of time, I renewed it and it raised another £40. My main Fundraiser in the end was through the Tea Leaf Trust site, and that raised £853 so, in total, I raised £1,193, which I was pleased with. I want to send a huge thank you to everyone who helped me to raise this money for the work of Tea Leaf Vision. I also want to thank all of you who have faithfully followed my blog over the past 3 months. I am aware of how many people have checked out my Blog each day, but I have no idea who they are, so I will hav...

Wednesday 4th December 2019 I slept in until 08:00 this morning, which was lovely! I then had a great breakfast of semolina with curried gravy, hoppers and some mango, washed down by 2 large cups of delicious Sri Lankan tea. Semolina with curried gravy doesn’t sound the most appetizing of breakfasts, but it was dry semolina, a bit like very fine couscous, and it was certainly very tasty! I had to get a bit more money out, as I needed a little for my journey to Colombo, so JP kindly drove me into town. On the way I popped into the school to take a photo of the ‘Welcome’ banner I made for them, and I also got one last photo of all the staff there, including Ramesh, which was lovely, as I hadn’t been able to say goodbye to him yesterday. Reggie picked me up at 14:00, as arranged and we set off on the long drive to the Airport - only about 180 kilometres away, but the roads are terrible, so you only average around 30 kilometres an hour. We had a little break early on at Rambo...

Tuesday 3rd December 2019 I got to school for my final time quite early, so I was able to put the ‘Welcome’ banner up I made for them (but I forgot to take a photo of it). It has brightened up the school a little bit, but it has also meant that I feel like I have left a bit of me behind in the key places I have worked during my time here. The school has a very similar sort of feel this week as I remember having just before the summer breaks when I was working, apart from the fact that it seems strange to have a summer break starting in December. It also doesn’t feel at all like summer at the moment, as the rain is back, and it is also quite cold. I spent a final afternoon in Nuwara Eliya doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. I had already bought some presents during my time here, but there were still a couple of family members I had struggled to buy for, and I managed to find some lovely gifts for them. It was a strange feeling wandering round Nuwara Eliya for the last tim...

Monday 2nd December 2019 I  was in Nuwara Eliya Tea Leaf Vision School for the first time this morning in quite a long time and it was lovely to be back!  I stayed until break time and I will spend longer in school tomorrow, but today I needed to get back to the house for the final time to sort out the last of my packing. I am leaving a suitcase of stuff here, as there doesn’t seem to be much point in lugging it all back to the UK, because I won’t need some of my stuff there, but I will need it when I return for my next 3-month stint later next year or early in 2021. It is just as well I am leaving a whole suitcase of stuff here, as I still seem to have a very full rucksack and suitcase to take home! I finished tidying up the house, cleaning my room and throwing the rubbish out. I also completed my final ‘Welcome Home Josie’ banner, as I am very grateful to her for the use of her lovely apartment whilst she has been away in New Zealand. When everything was finally...

Sunday 1st December 2019 06:00 came and went and, true to form, there was no sign of Ramesh! I waited an hour again before trying to contact him, ending up talking to Donald, who said Ramesh was on his way! He turned up at 07:30 in the end, with Musthaq, who had stayed at Donald’s last night. It was another of those moments where you just think to yourself 'well, this is Sri Lanka!' Having got back to Nuwara Eliya just before 09:00, I was very pleased to have the whole day to sort washing and ironing out, clean the house, finish the last couple of banners I have been making and start my packing. I managed to get everything done and just need to complete my packing tomorrow, before locking the house for the final time and giving the keys to the AMMA ladies. I made use of my waiting time this morning to take a few photos around the place where I was staying, including this first one of a very aptly named Pre-School, a little Hindu shrine to Ganesh, which has seen bett...