Monday 26th October 2026
I left my home in Bath just after 14:00 yesterday afternoon, and took a Flexibus coach to Heathrow Airport, with my direct flight to Colombo taking off shortly before 21:00. It was a 10-hour flight and landed just before 12:30 Sri Lankan time. It was okay as long-haul flights go, but after the evening meal, when everyone tried to go to sleep, it was weird being woken up at 04:30 UK time to have a breakfast that I really felt unable to eat so early in the morning. Arriving at 12:30 Sri Lankan time was only 07:00 UK time, so I had been on the go so-to-speak for 17 hours by then, with just short bursts of sleep on the plane. I was met by Gayashan, my driver for the trip to Norwood, and we left Colombo Airport just before 14:00, with a 5-hour journey (that included a short stop for food) ahead of us. The weather got steadily worse, so tough driving conditions for Gayashan, but we arrived at Daya's home in Norwood shortly before 19:00. 19:00 Sri Lankan time was only 14:30 in the UK, so...