Keith in Sri Lanka

Well it's a Happy Birthday to Miggy to start with if you are still looking in, and this is definitely my last blog entry, and the only reason I am popping one in today is because my 12-hour flight from Colombo to Heathrow has landed, and I am now at Heathrow Central Bus Station waiting for my coach to Bath. Sadly, the connections didn't work very well, so I have a 2-hour wait until my coach leaves at 23:15, and I don't get back to Bath until 01:20, which is a bit of a killer. So, what of my reflections on my past 2 months in Sri Lanka. From my point of view, it has been a brilliant trip, and I have achieved all that I set out to do (almost) - and even more. The 'almost' is that I failed to visit the Tea Leaf Centre in Udapussellawa this time, but my schedule was amazingly full-on, so it just wasn't possible to cram that in as well. I would also have loved to have spent a bit more time with Gobi and Kavi in Bogawantalawa, but it was not to be! My key reflection o...

Today is my last day in Sri Lanka, and, apart from going out for dinner with Aruni and her husband Babu this evening, it has been a rather uneventful day, so I would like to close my final entry of my blog today by saying thank you to a number of people, who have either made my fourth trip to Sri Lanka possible, or who have made a significant difference to my visit this time around. I have, as always, had the most amazing time out here. I must start by thanking my wife Val, who has, so far, not accompanied me on my four extended visits to Sri Lanka, but has made each visit possible, as she has understood my need to take part in the work of Tea Leaf Trust out here, and has been very supportive. Her mother will be 85 in April, and she has chosen to remain with her in the winter months to look after her, but I am hoping that she will come out to Sri Lanka eventually, as it is such an amazing country to visit. I would also like to thank Tim and Yad for making this all possible. As co-found...

There isn't too much to report on for this first of two full days in Colombo, so today's blog will be very different, as it will be an attempt to tell you a little bit about 'my story' and why Blackpool has a special significance for me in my life. Each one of us has our own story, and many of you reading this blog will be aware of some of mine, but for others it may come as a bit of a surprise, as I don't often share it, although it is quite a fascinating one. My story today begins with the torn photograph below: As you can probably tell, this is a very old photograph (and not the clearest, sadly) taken at the wedding of Thomas Ryan (born on 27th April 1871) to his first wife Bridget in 1901. This photograph is taken outside the family farmstead in Coolnadown, near Emly, in County Tipperary in Ireland. Thomas (the tallest guy, third from the left in the picture) is my grandfather. To the left of him is Patrick Ryan (my great grandfather) who was 79 in the 1901 cens...

It was very strange leaving Blackpool for the last time at 07:00 this morning. I felt sad saying goodbye to everyone, but also quite emotional about leaving Blackpool itself, as it has an unusual connection for me (more on that tomorrow maybe!). I have enjoyed living there very much, although it has felt very different this year without Daya. I had rather a lot of luggage, as I was leaving a large suitcase and a box of pictures with Sandra on the way in Kurunegala. The journey from Nuwara Eliya to Kurunegala is a very beautiful one, and you pass Tea Leaf Centre Pussellawa on the way, so we popped in to say hello to the staff and students, which was lovely, as the centre only opened a few weeks ago. Lunch in Kurunegala was at Sandra's lovely home, and Agatha and Tharika joined us. My experience in Kurunegala was quite a transforming one on this visit, and has led to some unexpected future opportunities. It was a relief to eventually arrive at The Swimming Club, which now feels a ver...

What a strange final day in Blackpool it has been. The morning was spent completing my packing, and I was surprised how much stuff I seemed to have accumulated over the past couple of years. I have decided to leave a large suitcase of clothes in Kurunegala, together with a box of all my pictures, that I have padded out with a few clothes to protect the pictures, as the climate is much hotter and drier there, so they shouldn't get mouldy like they do in Nuwara Eliya. I managed to complete everything by the time Chooty picked me up to take me to Sutharshan and Jesmin's home for lunch. They live in Shanthipura, which is recognised as the highest village in Sri Lanka (Nuwara Eliya is the highest town in Sri Lanka), and it is quite an isolated settlement. There is only one windy road taking you up there, but you get some stunningly beautiful views on the way, and Sutharshan and Jesmin live in a lovely location. Sutharshan and Jesmin's daughter, Adhira, will be 3 next month, and ...

I was up early this morning in order to get my last lot of washing done, as it was a beautiful sunny morning, which meant I got everything washed, dried, and ironed very quickly, whilst at the same time starting the task of clearing my room for the last time. This involved a big sort out of all my stuff, as I have accumulated quite a bit over the past couple of years. It felt very sad taking down all the things in my room that have made me feel very at home in it. I got as much done as I could before heading off into Nuwara Eliya, where there was a farewell lunch at Milano's. Sutharshan, Jesmin and their daughter Adhira were already there when I arrived, then Yas and Hadeeqa, Yad and Jana, and Miggy joined us. It's a great place to eat, as the food is always good, and I enjoyed a final chat with this lovely team of people over some Singapore fried noodles, before heading off into Nuwara Eliya for one last look around. You will not be surprised that I ended up at The Grand Hotel...

I was up very early this morning at Gobi and Kavi's in Bogawantalawa, but I ended up not being able to do very much, as there was a power cut not long after I started sorting myself out, and in the end Gobi gave me a powerful torch just so that I could pack my stuff up - not that I had taken very much anyway. We managed a quick cup of tea before Reggie arrived spot on 07:00 to take me to Nuwara Eliya, and he was in his car, not his tuk-tuk this time! I realised that Isabelle was due to come back to Nuwara Eliya today too, so I called her to see what was happening, and Nilanga was due to bring her to Nuwara Eliya in his van - leaving at around 10:00. There was clearly no point in wasting valuable funds on that, so I arranged for us to drive to Maskeliya on our way home and pick Isabelle up. We informed Jesmin, and Nilanga, and then drove the beautiful route to Maskeliya - one of my favourite journeys. We passed Daya's house on the way, so I dropped something off with his 'Au...