Sunday 25th January 2024

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 she is delightful. She kept saying hello to me when I arrived, and she played for a long time with a box of balancing shapes that I had bought for her as a present. She talks in English all the time - so much so, that her Tamil isn't as good as her English. Jesmin had made a delicious lunch, and I enjoyed chatting to them about various things, but particularly about the current situation in Sri Lanka.

Chooty picked me up at 16:00 to take me back to Blackpool - my final tuk-tuk ride with him! I have lost count how many times I have been in his tuk-tuk. I had a final dinner upstairs, and it was lovely chatting with everyone here for the last time. It doesn't quite seem real, and I think I am too exhausted to feel particularly sad. I think it will hit me more tomorrow once I have actually left Blackpool for the last time, and maybe I will explain it all a bit more tomorrow. 

Today's photographs show the view from the back of Sutharshan and Jesmin's lovely home in Shanthipura, and a few shots of them in their lounge area.







Comments

  1. CharlesFebruary 25, 2024 at 11:40 PM

    Adhira looks as if she may be quite precocious!

    ReplyDelete

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