Thursday 16th January 2025

I cannot believe how appalling the weather is at the moment. I have never experienced anything quite like it in my previous 5 visits to Sri Lanka. It is supposed to be the height of the tourist season, with mainly sunny skies, very high temperatures, and only the occasional shower here and there. Don't get me wrong - it's still way warmer than you guys are experiencing back in the UK, but I reckon we can beat you for rain here at the moment - it's just continuous!

I was already scheduled to have a day catching up with paperwork for my Volunteer Coordinator role, so I stayed in at Sky Heaven, and just got on with it, with the result that there were no opportunities to take photographs today, apart from one halfway through the afternoon when a rainbow appeared, although I'm not sure I got the best photograph of it I could. Fortunately, there was a lull in the rain in the evening when I met up with Isabelle to have dinner at Milano's.

With little news to tell, I will give you one more story from yesterday afternoon. Mr. James, my lovely line manager, had asked me to interview the Media Team at Tea Leaf Centre Maskeliya, in order to create a short staff profile for them, and it was a delight to do so. Stefhan, who is 29, and Thushanthini, who is 28, were in the 2014 batch of students doing Tea Leaf's Main Diploma, and having known each other for over 10 years now, they have a great relationship.

I was delighted to discover how well Stefhan and Thushanthini have been working together as a team, describing themselves as being like a brother and sister in terms of their friendship. They are doing an important job in terms of developing a wider awareness of Tea Leaf's work in the Hill Country and right across the world. I also got the opportunity to chat with Carolina, who is currently volunteering with us, and being supported by Stefhan and Thushanthini.

Today's photos show the rainbow that appeared this afternoon, plus a few of my meeting up with Stefhan, Thushanthini, and Carolina.







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