Keith in Sri Lanka

The wedding day finally arrived, and it was, quite honestly one of the best days that I have ever had in Sri Lanka. I have followed, and in so many ways supported, Daya's journey over the past 7 years and it was an honour and a privilege to not only see him get married today, but to know that I was able to make a significant contribution to his wedding. Vinothini is a lovely person and will most surely be a wonderfully supportive life partner for him from this day onwards. It was, without a doubt, one of the most amazing weddings that I have ever been to in my life, partly because of the very close relationship that I have with both Daya and his family, partly because of it being a Hindu wedding (although this one was my third), and partly because I saw this wedding through from the very start through to the end, which made it all the more special for me. In fact, the whole thing was the most wonderful emotional experience. The wedding ceremony was in one of the largest, most beaut...

It was yet another quite bonkers, but entirely loveable, final day before the wedding. One of the first things that the bridegroom's family had to do today was to go and claim Vinothini, the bride, from her family, which involves all sorts of rituals, and again must be a visit with an odd number of people. This time 13 members of Daya's family went but I wasn't one of them, which was quite a relief as it meant that I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn again today! I made my way to Daya's at a more leisurely pace today, doing some shopping in Norwood town on the way. There was an amazing crowd of people at Daya's, but I wasn't there for very long before I had to come back into town to sort a couple of things out for the wedding, including buying an ironing board, which proved to be a godsend, as there were an incredible number of pieces of clothing that needed to be ironed before the wedding tomorrow, including my own! There is not enough space here t...

It was my younger son Ben's 37th birthday today, and he is having a mini break in Cambeltown, Scotland with his mum and sister, Hannah, so I had a chat with them this afternoon. It was a very early start this morning, as I had to be at Daya's for a Hindu pre-wedding ceremony by 07:00. I woke up early, and I wasn't locked in the building today, so I started walking to Daya's, but a friend of his pulled me onto the local bus and I got to the house very early at 06:15. Everyone was already up at Daya's - and the number of family members is growing rapidly every day, so there was a hive of excited activity, as people were preparing for the 'auspicious tree' ceremony. I call it that, as I have no idea what it's really called, but it is a ritual that is performed before all Hindu weddings, and it was lovely to witness it. It is held outside the house, and it is symbolic for the neighbourhood, as everyone can see one of their neighbours is about to get married....

It was a bit of a blow this morning when the light went off in my bathroom and the hot water went cold during my shower, but it was even more of a blow when I came to leave and found that the shutter over the exit door was padlocked shut and I was trapped in the building. It was 30 minutes before someone unlocked the padlock and I was free at last, by which time I had missed my breakfast, and my tuk-tuk to take me to Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa was already there! As you can imagine, I was in a fairly angry state, and I fumed at the guys who had gathered outside whilst I was banging loudly on the shutter. 'You cannot lock people inside a guest house', I exclaimed! 'What would have happened if there had been a fire, and I was trapped inside the burning building?', I shouted angrily, to which, one of the guys standing there just looked me in the eye, and with an expressionless stare responded, 'You would be dead, Sir!' It took me a while to sort this mess out and...

It was a bit of a crazy day today, as I did a full day at Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa, before returning to Daya's to pack up all my stuff and move into Chef King for the remaining 6 nights of my time here, so that my room at Daya's can be used for the hordes of relations descending upon him in the next couple of days prior to his wedding. Although it was a bit manic, I absolutely loved it, as for various reasons I have always had a soft spot for Tea Leaf Centre Bogawantalawa. I started the day with my little group of Trainee Teachers here, which grew overnight from 4 to 5, as they had quickly replaced the person who had got another job. We looked at how to use a whiteboard in your teaching, which we revisited in the afternoon when they role-played a teaching situation where they taught back what they had learned in the morning session. They have been a lovely group of Trainee Teachers to work with alongside Miss Manoharan, their Teacher Trainer. After the morning break, I wen...