Wednesday 6th July 2022

My apologies for my blogs being a bit slower, but to be honest I am quite exhausted now, and struggling to do much at all. I am deliberately taking the time in Colombo to wind down and try do as little as possible. I had a quite a long walk this morning along the right side of Galle Road as you leave the Colombo Swimming Club, and a lovely relaxing swim in the hotel pool this afternoon.

Jit very kindly picked me up at 18.00 to go to Colombo West Rotary Club's first meeting of this Rotary Year, which was held where they normally meet at Jetwing Colombo Seven Hotel. The meeting didn't start until 19:00, but they were having a board meeting prior to the main meeting, so I just chatted to a few people who weren't involved in that meeting, then took my place on the top table.

I had been asked to speak briefly (no more than 10 minutes) about the success of the Rotary International Project, so it was mainly thanking them for their support as the fundholding Rotary Club in the country where the project was taking place., then explaining how well it has gone, and how it will continue to be implemented for one more 6-month Training Programme from July to December.

The main speaker was Sunil Gidumal, a very accomplished lawyer, who had been invited to speak on the 21st amendment, which underpins the current constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka. He was outstanding in the way he explained the history leading up to this proposed amendment, how complicated it has been, and what the implications will be for Sri Lanka in the unlikely event of it getting passed.