Monday 11th November 2024
We were picked up at 08:00 by Reggie, who drove us to Tea Leaf Centre Nuwara Eliya, which is actually in Nanu Oya. It was great to see Reggie again, as I have spent many car, and tuk-tuk, journeys with him over the past 5 years. Reggie dropped us off, and we climbed the steps up to the top floor of the old Edinburgh Tea Factory, which is where this Tea Leaf Centre is now based, receiving a very warm welcome from all the staff and students there.
We sat in on the early morning staff meeting, being led this morning by Remi, and it felt like old times for me. When Mr Thanushiyananthan, the Principal of Tea Leaf Centre Nuwara Eliya, arrived, I presented him with the pack of motivational cards for staff and students that I had brought with me, plus some welcome cards and thank you cards for our volunteers (and any other visitors). We only stayed until the morning break, as we had to move on to Tea Leaf Centre Udapussellawa.
It's a beautiful journey drive to Udapussellawa, with some stunning scenery on the way, and we received another very warm welcome from staff and students at Tea Leaf Centre Udapussellawa. It was an emotional moment for me seeing Ms. Manoharan (Pramila), the Principal of Tea Leaf Centre Udapussellawa, as she has recently married and will leave Tea Leaf at the end of the year to live with her husband in India, so I may never see her again.
We spent some time during the afternoon with the students at Tea Leaf Centre Udapussellawa, which we both greatly enjoyed, but it was all too soon time to leave. Reggie drove us back to Sky Heaven, where we only had a brief rest before heading out to dinner at Themperadu. Ladushan, newly married 2 months ago to Kawya, joined us for dinner. They are a couple I have known since I first met them in 2019, when they were teachers at Tea Leaf Centre Nuwara Eliya.
Today's photos focus on the visits to Tea Leaf Centre Nuwara Eliya and Tea Leaf Centre, with a couple from our lovely evening with Ladushan and Kawya at Themperadu.
I wonder how Pramila comes to marry someone from India - presumably a Tamil?
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