John blogs ...
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| Our 3rd bungalow at Sri Lanka Military Academy |
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| Jayanranee with her gerberas |
Another night, another bungalow, another good night’s sleep. 8.00 turns to 9.00 so catch up a little on diaries, then transfer luggage before going for breakfast at Rotarians Jayaranee and Conrad Peeris. A beautiful home with a priceless pair of elephant tusks, we were treated to a hybrid Sri Lankan/English breakfast of bread and butter with fried eggs, sausages and milk rice, curries . A special cup of coffee (brought from Wales) and a delightful tour of their gerbera gardens and greenhouses ended a really enjoyable early morning. Then collecting our washing from the Bandarawela Hotel. Jenny and Emily had their washing done again. Spent a short time in Bandarawela which included me visiting yet another Buddhist temple.
On to Lipton’s Seat with the 'Bandarawela Boys', a beautiful tea plantation with stunning views. Joined by Sunil and Weere who shared good stories about the British planters who would ride their estates on horseback looking very special in their long shorts and stockings and highly polished boots. Very smart.
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| Special almsgiving lunch in memoery of Grandma |
The clouds started to roll in at the summit, drove down unmade roads to join in the family almsgiving celebrations on poya day. Lovely food, warm in the garden, we ate, and the ‘boys’ ate later. A few hours later we returned to Banarawela for a quick shop for snacks for the girls then to see what accommodation has been arranged for us – we were not disappointed! Another well-equipped, prime location, this time inside the Military Academy barracks. Very smart with servants and guards at the entrance. Were treated exceptionally well by Colonel Kumarsinghe (Kumar to his friends) who was good company for the evening. We all ate together at 10.00 – Sri Lankan breads and curries with fruit for dessert, and have managed to turn in soon after 11.00 despite many attempts to get us to eat more to extend the meal. Great hospitality and good conversation with Ragiv about possible matched funding Rotary projects.
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