A Little Pomp And Circumstance

John blogs ...

With Mark Gooding, Acting British High Commissioner

Breakfast of papaya, yoghurt and black tea without sugar. Amazing how one’s taste changes when overseas. Off to meet the Acting British High Commissioner, Mark Gooding. Plenty of security checking, no bags allowed inside, of course. Very engaging chap ( a former teacher, so what else would you expect) who was keen to hear about the GSE team. He gave an honest account of the current strains between the UK and Sri Lankan governments in the aftermath of the war. This is a topic that many of our hosts and Rotarians keep coming back to.

Took photos in the courtyard with a beautiful cool waterfall. Building completed 2 years ago – ‘commissioned before the economic downturn’ – in the style of Geoffrey Bawa (famous Sri Lankan architect) i.e use of concrete and timber.

The team visited Jenny en masse to find her still dizzy/queasy but being very well looked after. Dr Suresh examined her and prescribed medication. (A super drug, ‘cos that evening Jenny was able to join us at the evening dinner. A very swift recovery. Hooray!)

Lunch at the Colombo Swimming Club

To Colombo Swimming Club for lunch – had hot buttered cuttlefish again, thanks John for your generous hospitality.

Lunchtime presentation by Dion Schoorman, group director of World Vision, Sri Lanka, on the current devastating floods in Sri Lanka. Plenty of graphic before and after photos provided a clear sense of the devastation caused and the long-term problems which will need to be overcome for farmers who have lost everything. A photograph of a dead baby elephant jammed high in a 20 foot tree is a haunting image.

John met with Sumedha da Silva to talk through possibilities for visiting schools in the Ampara District which have been in receipt of computers refurbished by the Rotary Club of Stroud. Sadly the distance involved are too great to incorporate into our already-packed itinerary so we agreed that an updated report with photos of the current status of each school would be a good compromise. Also met with the Member of Parliament and Development Committee Chairman for the Ampara District to describe the schools’ project in more detail. Amazing how easy it can be to get to the ‘top guys’ out here. The saying there’s 6 degrees of separation needs to be refined to 3 degrees of separation when referring to Sri Lanka.

A precious hour on the internet at Colombo Swimming Club using their free wireless. I feel connected again even if only for a short time. Back to Hans for a shower and beer, then to Colombo Rowing Club courtesy of Tomas. Set in beautiful location, another beer, snacks, plenty of good stories.

Then to Colombo Golf Club for relaxing dinner with our new friends from Uptown. Set in beautiful location with mature trees and well groomed greens. Another full-on day, but very satisfying.