April 14, 2014

Happy New Year!  Today is Sinhala new year.  I was greeted this morning at around 0730 by firecrackers going off all down the street and across the river.  Because I am almost in a canyon here, the echoes were deafening.  I also got a new year text from the president of Sri Lanka.  I can't imagine how much it costs to send a text message to everyone who owns a mobile phone here.  They probably strong arm the government telephone company to do it for free.

It is the practice to bring around Sri Lankan sweets and fruit to the neighbours on new year, so my lovely neighbours, Anruda and Yalani dropped some by yesterday.  The gesture is lovely, but the sweets themselves are bad, very oily and cloying.  But it is the thought that counts.  Sonali tells me that the custom is to return the plate with something on it, so I will get some fruit and return the dish to them replete with banana, papaya and pineapple.

Things have been quiet here.  Veenitha is off for a week for the new year and won't be back until Wednesday, so I have to fend for myself.

I did meet some new people through the Brits I met on Facebook and through the cheese effort.  The one couple, Claire and David have been here 19 years.  He was born here, was a tea planter here, then went to Malawi for a few years and is now back.  I talked to him about acquiring and running a small estate.  His advice is to stay away from tea.  He says that you need to be running at least 50 acres to make it profitable and that it is fraught with problems.  Typically, estates that are sold or leased have been allowed to run down.  It costs millions of rupees to bring them back.  Also, the owners usually let the EPF (pension) payments lapse and then you have to shell out more millions to bring the payments up to date.  So much for tea.  He did think that a small holding planting pepper, vanilla and some other things may work out though.

So on that note, I have spoken to Jayanthi and asked her if I can lease her place at Thalatuoya.  She is going to talk to her brothers and let me know in a couple of weeks.  Keep your fingers crossed.

My newly acquired friends participate in a book club which is really a book exchange which meets once a month at the Citadel Hotel.  I attended my first meeting.  It is quite fun.  I met some new people, one of whom I met for a drink a couple of days later.  She is a Brit also and has been here for 23 years. The setting is great, right on the river.  The hotel has good food, if a bit expensive, and a great pool. Claire usually swims after the meeting, so I will join her next time.  I have been dying to get in a pool.

My little friend Billy Balls showed up for a brief afternoon nap the other day.  I don't know where he is living now, but he is a bit thinner and one of his eyes is a bit messed up probably from being in a fight. I was sorely pressed to take him in, but Veenitha doesn't think it is a good idea.  She is probably right, so I just let him sleep and gave him a bowl of water as it is really hot and dry here at the moment.  Here he is having his nap in the back yard.

It is now also passion fruit season.  My neighbour behind me has at least one tree and they don't like them, so they give them to me.  Here they are.  There are a lot more in the fridge.  Passion fruit, lime, kittul (this is a local tree which is tapped much like a maple) treacle, and tambili (king coconut) water or regular water make a great drink.  I have so many that I am going to try making passion fruit jelly as soon as Veenitha is back.