First May 2011


Beautiful, still, sunny spring morning. It is very quiet. It’s Rani’s birthday. We sip coffee in bed as Rani opens her birthday cards and reads out the greetings. The telephone relays more greetings and good wishes. In the conservatory, the oleander is flowering. We have Mung bean Kiribath and black tea for breakfast and set…

My Daughter’s Wedding


My daughter Renuka married Nick Compton on Thursday 6th January 2011. The wedding with sixty invitees – mainly immediate family and close friends – was held at Villa Bentota in Sri Lanka. The overseas guests arrived at the Villa on the 5th and a simple dinner with Sri Lankan specialties was held at a restaurant…

Pause for Thought…11 November 2010


An year ends and another begins in one insignificant life. There is a sense of urgency and restlessness that unrelenting passage of time heralds. One lingers over moments that touched ones heart – birth of a grandchild, another’s first day at school, climbing a wild rocky outcrop in a faraway land that one thought would…

Summer’s Greatest Joy


Matilda, our second granddaughter, was born on Sunday 4th July. Five days later, Ramani & I drove to London to see her, tiny, pretty and adorable. We stayed with our daughter in her smart new flat in Islington and saw, held and cuddled little Matilda every day of that warm sunny weekend when Spain beat Holland…