Blogs from Bentota, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

Today's early start was made worse by the resignation of Ollie Sale after his famous victory yesterday as captain.  Once again we faced a journey of around two hours, which was worsened by the "back row banter" from Fred Cave, who was wondering how not to be run out again. On arrival the captain lectured us on the difference between the batting tracks in Jersey and Sri Lanka. Having been put into bat, we started brightly, but another collapse and some incredible fielding resulted in the steady fall of wickets. After a slight recovery we reached 99 for 9 off our 20 overs but that was never going to be enough.  The first ball of the second innings set the tone for the remainder of the game, with Whiting conceding five wides down the leg side. ... read more

Nic Scaglioni and Josh Dickson did an excellent diary entry for today but due to technical difficulties with Mr Dickson's iPad we have not yet been able to transfer it. Hopefully it will appear tomorrow. The good news is that the boys won today successfully defending 105, bowling the opposition out for 89. It was an outstanding effort in the field by everyone and there were sone excellent catches. Josh Dickson took five wickets and Ollie Sale bowled 7 overs for 3 runs, two of which were wides! Hopefully a second victory will come tomorrow! Mr Nurton and Mr Turner are not receiving e-mails at the moment for sone reason so please do not expect to get an immediate response if you send a message.... read more

Today we transferred to Club Bentota, stopping on the way at the official Sri Lankan Cricket shop where many if us bought replica world cup items.  Heading south on our two and a half hour journey we encountered more problems with the onboard air conditioning, causing us to fear that another Tom Edwards sweat pool would appear. We had lunch upon arrival and soon after we were enjoying the luxuries of the pool and the water polo goals. The water polo however soon got over crowded and a bit too aggressive, therefore we moved to the beach for a bit of cricket, for the second encounter between the two teams we formed in Colombo. However, the Red Barrons came out on top again despite the best efforts from the likes of Stuart-Smith who was one of ... read more

Did not sleep. We were both awake from 1.30am. Our car was picking us up at 5. We got up just after 4 and our alarm call came, as promised at 4.30a.m - but the coffee and pastries we'd asked for didn't. They finally arrived at 10 to 5 and we quickly ate before heading down to reception to pay our bill and check out. I was surprised to see that we'd been charged 600 rupees for a small plate of cashews that they sell for 250- in the mini-bar! Anyway..... According to Seelan, on Sundays, it takes "two an an 'alf how-ers" to reach the airport. As we left, it was still dark and as daylight broke, we saw people starting their day. Women all in Sunday whites. Is it really a week since we ... read more

Woke at 5am with period pains. Great, just what I needed - and unexpected. Had some coffee on the balcony at 6.45am and watched the tankers out at sea. Ask anybody who knows me and they'll tell you how thorough I am at packing for my holidays. I'm using a packing list I've had for years and there is nothing essential that isn't on there. But (and you knew there was a but) this time, I did not bring any sanitary protection whatsoever. I broke the golden rule of never travelling without tampax - expecially in a developing country. Before breakfast, we went to the hotel shop. There is a small cabinet with toiletries and stuff in it, but they didn't have tampax, only pads. I bought some and asked the girl where I might get ... read more

One moonlit night... This actually happened, and I am glad it did. Without it I would have not understood the severity of the problem with poaching in Sri Lanka. Markus and me were taking a night stroll on Kosgoda's moonlit beach. Actually this was just after a fruitless visit to TCP's beach patrol in Kosgoda. As we were walking we imagine what we would do if we saw an actual turtle coming to nest on an unprotected beach. The imagination was not fully developed, as we were interupted by fate playing a trick on us. Anyhow, we walked along the beach toward our hotel, and we saw turtle tracks. One way, and then in the bush we heard the sand being thrown about. A green turtle had made her way up to the vegetation at the ... read more

And back in Bentota again. With our nice family. We helped cutting fruites for the older people in the hospital. Rudy's leg, is very good already. Perhaps we can go to India on the 14th of April. More Pictures are coming.... read more

Hello Everybody, yes, you didn't here from us for a long time. But we got hold up. Rudy's leg got an infection through a moscito bite. It started in Anuradhapura after we saw the Tooth Tempel of Lord Buddha in Kandy. With fever and a big swollen leg like an elephant. So, this is what I should not write. You all know him .....and me. We had to stay in the hospital in Colombo for 5nights. Big experince, I can tell you. I could stay with my Ruru in one room, that was the only positive thing. The people working in the hospital are all crazy. Could that we don't have to work with them. Our first Tea, we got at 5 am. Not for us, we were still in Coma. I went to the Beira ... read more

Well here I am in the south, I have visited Galle, Marissa and lots of other places whose names I cannot spell. I went to an amzing mask museum today which was very interesting. In ancient times Sri Lankans used the mask to ward off evil, some were used in exorcisms and like the ancient Greeks they also used them in plays to re-tell myths and legends. All the masks are hand carved and are very intricate. I'm having problems downloading my photos today so I will do a complete Gallery of this weekend's photos asap. I have also visited a few more Temples, think I'm a bit templed out right now, but they are beautiful and worth seeing. Well, heading back to Colombo tonight which means I can relax tomorrow, which is Sunday, Friday was ... read more