BLOG 230206
Thursday 23 February
Five hours to kill in Abu Dhabi Airport, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to commence the discipline of regular blog entries; or at least the drafting of them in readiness for publication when I can get on line.
The flight out on Etihad “National Airline of the UAE” was uneventful save for the fact that it wasn’t Etihad but some Spanish line, Iberworld! Apparently the latest state of the art airbus has not arrived yet so they have to lease. Whatever, the flight was only a quarter full so I had four central seats to myself. The Times small crossword was subjected to a coat of looking at as were a number of Sudoku posers. Fifty pages of my book and forty winks later I was disembarking in Abu Dhabi. Raining, would you believe? The airport has not changed much – some extension work but about ten times busier than when I was a regular here some years ago. I can’t believe the number of people smoking – locals, Europeans, Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos etc. all seem to be puffing away. Guess we’ve changed radically in Britain.
My case is somewhat heavy; I just about managed to squeeze a few shorts and tee shirts in the top five centimetres so I was relieved to hear from Lesley just now that my guesthouse has emailed to confirm that its “taxi” will be waiting for me at the airport in preparedness for the white-knuckle ride to Unawatuna. I would have needed a forklift to get me from the airport to Colombo station and on to the train.
Saturday 25 February
Twenty-four hours after arriving and I am well established. The room is sorted, as is the local mobile phone, I’ve done a bit of shopping, there’s beer and white arrak in the fridge, I’ve had my first calamari curry (last night) and I’m meeting Mark, the Project Galle 2006 trustee, for dinner tonight.
Unawatuna has changed little since my last visit. Some buildings have been completed and the businesses opened but it is still a hotchpotch of ruins, shanties, and partially complete and completed buildings. I hear varying reports on the numbers of tourists over the recent few months. Some say it was busy, some say it was disappointingly quiet. There are certainly more tourists around now than for my last visit, but that visit ended before the season got underway. For my last it was mostly young charity workers; now it is mainly middle aged and elderly Dutch people.
Sunday 26 February
Knew I was back when I awoke in the middle of the night to find a 5cms cockroach exploring my forehead. I caught the miscreant and, needless to say, my room has experienced a heavy coating of Baygon.
Had dinner last night with Mark as planned and Tom, who I know from last time, also stumbled upon us. These two and people like them are doing such good things in such a humble fashion. I shall have to go into that when I have time.
Mark provided information on “my project”, the Galle playground. Only small but I’m very excited.
This morning I had breakfast with Tom, my first full tropical fruit platter-wonderful – and the ubiquitous fried eggs. I then accompanied him to the Temple where he, in conjunction with another and the monk (and sponsored by sundry NGOs and a monk in Colombo) run extra-curricular educational classes. Back in September there were somewhat ad hoc English and Art classes. Now everything is much better organised and there is also an IT room with eight computers of varying ages (one is currently showing Henry Potter and one playing Jamie Cullen!).
There is a very small Montessori school just recently built in the grounds plus construction of a carpentry classroom has recently commenced. Unfortunately it will not be complete in time for me to requisition a corner for a framing workshop. I shall have to seek other premises for that.
On Saturday I located, in Galle backstreets, a couple of establishments that did some basic framing. I am able to buy limited moulding and glass there – two items I was a little concerned about being able to source.
Electric storm tonight - resulted in a large monkey going crazy in the coconut tree outside my room and on the roof.
Thursday 23 February
Five hours to kill in Abu Dhabi Airport, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to commence the discipline of regular blog entries; or at least the drafting of them in readiness for publication when I can get on line.
The flight out on Etihad “National Airline of the UAE” was uneventful save for the fact that it wasn’t Etihad but some Spanish line, Iberworld! Apparently the latest state of the art airbus has not arrived yet so they have to lease. Whatever, the flight was only a quarter full so I had four central seats to myself. The Times small crossword was subjected to a coat of looking at as were a number of Sudoku posers. Fifty pages of my book and forty winks later I was disembarking in Abu Dhabi. Raining, would you believe? The airport has not changed much – some extension work but about ten times busier than when I was a regular here some years ago. I can’t believe the number of people smoking – locals, Europeans, Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos etc. all seem to be puffing away. Guess we’ve changed radically in Britain.
My case is somewhat heavy; I just about managed to squeeze a few shorts and tee shirts in the top five centimetres so I was relieved to hear from Lesley just now that my guesthouse has emailed to confirm that its “taxi” will be waiting for me at the airport in preparedness for the white-knuckle ride to Unawatuna. I would have needed a forklift to get me from the airport to Colombo station and on to the train.
Saturday 25 February
Twenty-four hours after arriving and I am well established. The room is sorted, as is the local mobile phone, I’ve done a bit of shopping, there’s beer and white arrak in the fridge, I’ve had my first calamari curry (last night) and I’m meeting Mark, the Project Galle 2006 trustee, for dinner tonight.
Unawatuna has changed little since my last visit. Some buildings have been completed and the businesses opened but it is still a hotchpotch of ruins, shanties, and partially complete and completed buildings. I hear varying reports on the numbers of tourists over the recent few months. Some say it was busy, some say it was disappointingly quiet. There are certainly more tourists around now than for my last visit, but that visit ended before the season got underway. For my last it was mostly young charity workers; now it is mainly middle aged and elderly Dutch people.
Sunday 26 February
Knew I was back when I awoke in the middle of the night to find a 5cms cockroach exploring my forehead. I caught the miscreant and, needless to say, my room has experienced a heavy coating of Baygon.
Had dinner last night with Mark as planned and Tom, who I know from last time, also stumbled upon us. These two and people like them are doing such good things in such a humble fashion. I shall have to go into that when I have time.
Mark provided information on “my project”, the Galle playground. Only small but I’m very excited.
This morning I had breakfast with Tom, my first full tropical fruit platter-wonderful – and the ubiquitous fried eggs. I then accompanied him to the Temple where he, in conjunction with another and the monk (and sponsored by sundry NGOs and a monk in Colombo) run extra-curricular educational classes. Back in September there were somewhat ad hoc English and Art classes. Now everything is much better organised and there is also an IT room with eight computers of varying ages (one is currently showing Henry Potter and one playing Jamie Cullen!).
There is a very small Montessori school just recently built in the grounds plus construction of a carpentry classroom has recently commenced. Unfortunately it will not be complete in time for me to requisition a corner for a framing workshop. I shall have to seek other premises for that.
On Saturday I located, in Galle backstreets, a couple of establishments that did some basic framing. I am able to buy limited moulding and glass there – two items I was a little concerned about being able to source.
Electric storm tonight - resulted in a large monkey going crazy in the coconut tree outside my room and on the roof.
posted by Colin HARMAN at 9:38 PM
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