May 16th and 17th If we were asked Nicky and I would say that undoubtedly the highlight of the trip has been the boys and how proud we have been of their adaptability, development and all round lovely wonderfulness. Jake’s eating is becoming less and less fussy - today he did not even comment on a mustard sauce on a cheese sandwich where not so long ago he’d have turned his nose up at the sight of it and refused. They have settled into school happily and confidently and it has been a thrill to see them helping in lessons. At [View Full Entry]

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Friday 8th - Tuesday 12th April We rose early for a van to the Hill Country to stay with Roy, the son of Nicky’s colleague Samuel. It was coming at 7, but arrived at 06:30 just as we were breakfasting, the first early thing since we got here! The driver was considerate and safe on the road although we were slightly put off him when after we stopped for breakfast (spicy hot egg Rotis which we were impressed with E finishing) he bought betel and spat regularly for the next hour. This turned to full disgust as over lunch he kept [View Full Entry]

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We knew Sri Lanka was in the middle of a civil conflict but from the UK when you look on the map and read the news reports it seemed to happening just in one remote corner of the island. The newspapers here play down the conflict and it has been very difficult to get any real idea of what is happening. In particular they play down any human tragedy and the expulsion of the Channel 4 journalist a few days ago shows just how sensitive the government is to criticism. In the last few days the reality of the conflict has [View Full Entry]

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After another glorious weekend being pampered by Kannan and Sweta in Colombo on the train back we talked ourselves positive about where we are living, determined to focus on the good for our own enjoyment. It was wonderful to be hosted and relieved of responsibility. We arrived early on the Friday and lunched with them before spending the afternoon chilling in their flat, enjoying the shower - a full drencher with a view across the rooftops of Colombo to the Indian Ocean; catching up on various Internet essentials given a rare secure connection and editing the turtle video (or watching Kanna [View Full Entry]

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April 20th - May 5th (and on....) Some things stay the same no matter how far you travel. Joe has a cushy job which finishes at 1:30 every day so he gets to swim in the afternoon with the children. I am sitting in a hot little office until 4:30 every day and the only thing I get to swim in is the sweat running down my back! I have been in the office for 3 weeks and have been absorbed into the fabric of the place. I have my own chair and table complete with an old emirates airline blanket [View Full Entry]

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We were so proud of how the boys went into school, heads held high and smiles on their faces. They were nervous, but had the confidence in themselves to know they would be ok. Learning to overcome nervousness about the unknown and belief in their ability to cope with challenges are two of our hopes and expectations forwhat Jake and Elliot will get out of the trip. We are trying to upload a video of both of them talking about their experiences (we are so pleased with the video on the turtles - in the safari and turtles blog if you [View Full Entry]

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Journal 12 (Nearly) A week at work!.Monday 27th - Thursday 30th April Well in our 4th week out here we finally all got into work/school. The boys were the hardest to get in but in many ways got the most out once they were. We turned up on the Monday which was the boys school INSET day - spoke to some people, but the principal was away in meetings so could we come back in the morning. We duly did so with the boys fully prepared for school with packed lunches, pencil cases and litres of water. Had a productive meeting [View Full Entry]

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Journal 11 Saturday 25th April - Sunday 26th April We caught a relatively posh local bus to Kandy (90 rupees each, just over 50p), paying extra to get AC. When I had phoned to reserve a hotel the hotelier had offered to send his car to collect us from the bus station, which was a very pleasant service. The centre of Kandy is a large artificial lake, built by the last Sri Lankan ruler whose capital was Kandy. Dissenters from villages who refused to work were staked to the bottom during the construction and left there while it flooded. Jake and [View Full Entry]

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Journal 9 Wednesday 22nd April Walking home from town yesterday there were a couple of interesting points. First an overwhelming bad smell, like a really over ripe French cheese - eppoisses - only worse, and moments later I heard a guy shouting Durian - apparently the most pungent fruit in the world, well it certainly stank. Later a man walked by with a monkey on a chain - something I found utterly discomforting, and yet as I walked on the monkey did not seem in any distress and was walking happily - not on a tight leash, and it could easily [View Full Entry]

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Journal 10 Friday 24th April Kurunegala We got up early today to walk up Elephant Rock and see Big Dave Buddha as he has become known here - his little Buddha is just across the road from us. At 7:00 we set off, and found the steps carved into the rock. At the start of the ascent we met a large troop of monkeys feasting on bread. We considered whether they had been fed these like the ducks in the park at home, or whether they had raided the discarded bread from local bakeries. Seeing their personalities as we climbed the [View Full Entry]

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