Breakfast foam ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 284 Tropical Topics, Sunday 6 December 2015. Welcome to this week’s newsletter notes on the Maldives, as well as Sri Lanka. Pool party I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of yet another swimming pool at the Calamander Unawatuna Beach Resort last week. This is the newest addition to what is now ...
ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 283 Sunday 29 November 2015. Greetings to readers around the world to this week’s quirky newsletter. Plumpkin We first noticed the tiny plant sending out shoots behind the outside shower about two weeks ago. Kumara suggested it might be a cucumber since I have freshly prepared cucumber juice every morning and he reckoned seeds could have fallen ...
First Flush ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 282 Tropical Topics, Sunday 22 November 2015. Greetings. Here’s a mixed bag of items to intrigue you this newsletter. Veranda gossip We’ve had a lot of rain in Sri Lanka lately so instead of sitting in the garden for sun-downers we retreat to the cottage’s broad veranda, or Verandah as it seems more appropriately spelt. ...
Bondage ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 281 Tropical Topics, Sunday 15 November 2015. Welcome to this week’s topics ranging from SPECTRE to toothpaste and 20 facts. On Bondage The new British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, His Excellency James Dauris and Mrs Helen Dauris made a great impression on hundreds of guests by hosting in wonderful style a launch party for the ...
Old Money ROYSTON REPORTS Number 280 Tropical Topics, Sunday 8 November 2015. Greetings to readers around the world from my beach view cottage in glorious Sri Lanka. Souperstitious Ever on the search for new Sri Lankan products to try, I have found another one from Ma’s Tropical Food Processing (http://www.mas.kitchen). This is sold under the brand name of Happy Home. ...
Big in New Orleans ROYSTON REPORTS, NUMBER 279 Sunday 1 November 2015. Greetings from Sri Lanka as the countdown to the Holiday Season begins. Tree for Me? Roystonea regia For me to see, as I walked to my bedroom at Calamansi Cove Hotel, a tree apparently named after me – Roystonea Regia - made me wonder why the hotel had ...
Skin Tax ROYSTON REPORTS Number 278 Sunday 25 October 2015. Greetings from sunny Sri Lanka where the rains are ceasing on the West Coast and Sri Lankans are looking forward to welcoming tourists as the season begins. Wandering troubadour When a few friends gathered on my veranda last Saturday, we were lucky enough to spot this wandering musician walking along ...
Hair today… ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 277 Sunday 18 October 2015. A warm hello to readers around the world and welcome to this week’s newsletter on aspects of life in Sri Lanka. Ancient Customs There is a new museum in Colombo that few people know about which is dedicated to items seized by the customs service. Although the modern customs service ...
Knuckles trekking ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 276 Sunday 11 October 2015. Welcome to my latest report from Sri Lanka with food, wine, fashion and trekking topics. Milk Turtle Milk turtle, that’s what a villager called this tortoise crossing my lawn one evening recently. “Because it has a soft shell.” He picked it up and offered to cook it, an offer I ...
Mallung passion ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 275 Sunday 4 October 2015. Greetings to readers old and new with this week’s look at the fun side of life in Sri Lanka Mallung Passion During my visit to The Yala Adventure wilderness retreat (see last week’s newsletter) I had mallung made with passion fruit leaves. It’s a salad-style side dish of semi stir-fried ...
Camping! ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 274 Sunday 27 September 2015 Welcome to this week’s potpourri with Sri Lankan connections. Bravo ABR Last Saturday I attended the dinner and dance at the Mount Lavinia Hotel commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Association of British Residents. The association began informally in 1915, a momentous year for the British in the ...
Queen Victoria ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 273 Sunday 20 September 2015 Welcome to today’s newsletter with focus on food, yet again, and the story of Colombo’s majestic statue. Cowpeas My latest forage in the supermarket yielded an attractively labelled jar containing “Baked Cowpea Beans.” I picked it up thoughtfully and read the label: “Blackeyed Peas in Natural BBQ Tomato Sauce.” I ...
“Barf” bags ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 270 Sunday 30 August 2015. Greetings to readers around the world to this week’s glimpse of life in Sri Lanka, including a look at a curious collectable. Motor show There was a four-day motor show held in Colombo last week. I went there with web wizard, Andrew, out of curiosity and was delighted to discover ...
ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 269 Sunday 23 August 2015. Welcome to this week’s newsletter about Sri Lanka where school children – as well as tourists – are on holiday this month. Day out Since he’s on holiday from school I decided to give Sasindu, my house manager Kumara’s six-year-old son, a treat. We took him on a safari cruise on the ...
Original gin ROYSTON REPORTS Number 268 Sunday 16 August 2015 Greetings to this week’s review from Sri Lanka with notes on loopholes and a chicken problem. Loopholes I attended a fascinating property seminar in Galle recently held under the auspices of the British High Commission conducted by one of Sri Lanka’s most respected lawyers, Dr Swaminathan, the senior partner of ...
Natural Sun Cure ROYSTON’S REPORT, Number 267 Sunday, 9 August 2015. Welcome to this week’s newsletter with a report on overdoing it in Bangkok as well as natural beauty aids in Sri Lanka. Cheap Charlie’s I popped over to Bangkok last weekend for a change of scene and, apart from the shabby looking European men of a certain age trussed ...
Tea caddy quest ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 266 Sunday 2 August 2015. Greetings to this week’s newsletter at the start of Sri Lanka’s hot August: a general election and the annual Kandy Perahera (pageant) this month. The East’s newest hotel I spent my second night in Sri Lanka 36 years ago by the beach at Uppuveli, 5km north of Trincomalee, so ...
Ferry well ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 265 Sunday 26 July 2015 Welcome to this week’s news from Sri Lanka. Ferry Good Last week I drove down the east coast of the island from Trincomalee to Passikudah. There might not seem anything remarkable in that statement but it’s only recently been possible to drive on a road (the A15) for the entire ...
Changing Colombo ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 264 Sunday 19 July, 2015. Greetings to readers old and new to this week’s newsletter of Sri Lankan titbits. Seminar latest Buy with care! The property seminar for British nationals under the auspices of the British High Commission (BHC) conducted by BHC Honorary Legal Advisors, Julius & Creasy, will be held at the Jetwing Lighthouse ...
Snorkelling jumbo ROYSTON REPORTS Number 263 Sunday 12 July 2015 Welcome to this week’s roundup of information for Sri Lanka fans. Snorkelling jumbo Snorkelling elephant logo If I seem to be writing a lot about sea food in recent issues, that’s because it’s so good at this time of the year, especially when eaten fresh on the beach on the ...
