A Different MTV

John blogs …

Team with Ashanti and Jayantha

Breakfast, pack and leave Jayantha and Ashanti’s beautiful home for another long journey into Colombo for vocational visit and new hosts. Visited Jayantha’s and Ashanti’s Colombo home which, if anything, was larger then their residence in Wariyapola. Very nice swimming pool and wooden floors which were very beautiful. We didn’t want to leave …

Early lunch at the Cricket Club – owned by Aussies for 15 years, with a themed menu where everything is named after a cricketer e.g. Beefies Bolognaise. Great idea. Met at Lanka Hands (again!) by Methsili and Rohina from Colombo West Club. Ashanti shed a few tears as we said our goodbyes with many promises of keeping in touch.

John as news presenter at MTV studios

Briefly interviewed by reporter from the Sunday Times who wanted to do a piece about our time here in Sri Lanka. Not convinced she really understood what it was all about but we await the article with interest.

Vocational visit to MTV studios – turned out to be Maharaja Television and Radio – which is part of a huge conglomerate of various industries. Shown round by Sashi whose excellent English came from having lived in the Midlands for many years. We were shown a corporate video, given a welcome coke to drink and then given a tour of several studios. Then on to their TV studios with Asoka. This included being in a live studio whilst a broadcast was happening. The girls thought this was ‘really cool’. Then they sat in front of the News backdrop and were delighted to pretend to be presenters – their five minutes of fame.

Team outside MTV studios

MTV are obviously passionate about their resilience, independence and balanced programming and have had many struggles including being bombed in 2009. We were shown into the space where the terrorist attack took place and there was still the smell of smoke and blackened walls even after 2 years. No has yet been caught for this atrocity though there are several conspiracy theories which are still being explored. Fortunately no-one was killed but it caused major loss of equipment – customised, and very expensive. We were all very impressed with the tenacity of the company against suggested heavy opposition. Thanks Sashi and Asoka for a very informative and enjoyable tour.

Cup of tea with Jacobs crackers and cheese slices – a very pleasant change, then each of us dropped off at our new hosts. For me, I’m staying at Amal’s mother’s home (Padmini) which has a ceiling fan but no ac. A freshen up, few zzz under mozzie net – the first I’ve had - as so very tired from all the travelling. Thunder and lighting curtailed any long snooze so continued to blog and upload photos.