55 going on 25 with nephews to add to the chorusMy sincere thanks to all who wished me for the day. I am off tonight on a bus with 55 of the NYF to Jaffna for the May Day Rally.A busy day in the office, coupled with socializing in between with relatives and friends. It is all part of ...

This unique tradition of the “Avurudhu Uthsavaya” of which there must be 1000’s dotted all over the country in the month of April has evolved from the rabana drumming to the musical. I am really looking forward to the day, I can revive the rabana with the ladies in the cloth and jacket, and make that a must have event. ...

The children presenting flowers for the traditional offeringOn April 1st we had a packed day of events in Minneriya beginning with a daham pasala (sunday school) of 400 students studying under the trees in Nagalakanda Minneriya, with few school rooms to study in. It was a magical setting and I would recommend anyone to go there on a Sunday morning ...

On March 3st 2012 we went around Medirigiriya, first to the famous Watadage, which was deserted, and without even a watcher or guard to protect this famous and valuable site of an ancient Monastery.We then had a meeting at one of our active members homes, where we distributed Chillington Crocodile Mammoties to a Farmer organization and then after lunch there ...

I wish all my avid readers and the occasional itinerant a very blessed New Year filled with fulfillment of your personal goals and aspirations. The auspicious time of 7.20pm on Friday 13th April 2012 was when the New Year dawns. It is usually on April 14th but this year, I think due to the leap year it came a few ...

I had the privilege of hosting a party for over 300 people at my home in Ratmale in Minneriya. Actually this was the first party I had since I built this home.We had built a super bonfire which is shown here on the left and was still flaming away after the party ended around 2am.There was a crowd of young ...

We paid our respects and to obtain blessings for the hard road ahead in building a National Youth Front to empower and embolden the Youth of Sri LankaAtamasthanadipathi who is the caretaker of the sites in Anuradhapura where certain people with god complexes are trying to change the course of history, much to the chagrin of the Maha SanghaA few ...

We paid homage to the casket containing the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Dalada Maligawa on Friday evening. There were crowds gathered at the Temple that time.There were about 15 of the NYF who came with us and were allowed into the inner sanctum. The young lads and one lass were infused with the strength of this visit to carry ...

I was in Kandy, as part of the new campaign by the National Youth Front to energize and empower our youth, both male and female out of the current climate in Sri Lanka and to provide them with an alternative that takes cognizance of their individual and personal needs and the manner in which they will be able to meet ...

I was recently invited to High Tea for a family celebration, where my cousin who is currently in Switzerland was in town with her twin daughters and we had an early first birthday for them, as the real one was to be April 2nd being one with Hans Christian Anderson of fairy tale fame. So the cake shown here was ...

I attended a small function today off the 34km post of the Kandy Road, in Gampaha. It was arranged by an elderly couple Mr& Mrs Sepala Akikari, in their 80s in their small home in commemoration of the Senanayake family, and DS, Dudley, Robert and his son Ranjit in particular remembering and giving thanks to them (particularly Robert) who helped ...

Yesterday was another day of packed events, starting with a 9 am toss up of a IPL type soft ball cricket tournament in Malwana just across the Kelani River. This area is predominantly Muslim, and it was arranged by the old boys of Al Mubarak National school, one of the 1000 schools program, in aid of building a parapet ...

Whilst my blog reading friends are pestering me to give them constant updates, I tell them it is not due to lack of content, it is simply due to lack of time to update!! Only if I compromise on my sleep will I have time to blog on my busy schedule. Actually I have also not been sufficiently cognizant ...

The significance of Independence from British Rule 64 years on means little to most people as 90% of those alive today were born post Independence. So if I were to ask the crowd that gathered for a ‘Feast of Cockfighting’ today it was merely a great day to meet friends and fellow gamblers for a day where ‘game cocks’ ...

In 2004, I gave up a career in the UK where I was Country Manager for Dilmah Tea as well their rep at various trade shows in Europe selling the finest premium brand of tea of worldwide repute. The brand is Marketed in over 90 countries and in many countries the name Dilmah was better known than Sri Lanka. ...

Only when you see it with your own eyes can you sometimes get a handle on how deep rooted ‘abuse of power’ is even at the local level by the Governing Coalition We were at a polling booth right outside Bollagala Maha Vidyalaya, a 30 minute drive across the Kelani River to the Sri Lanka Parliament, at 12.45pm. A ...

I visited the above school for a function on Wednesday, 25th January 2012. Prior to visiting the place, I Googled to get information, but was only able to find scant information about the place, which is in itself a shame an indictment of the fact that the school has not really even reached the Internet WWW world!! Anyway to ...

I had the chance recently of attending a weekend workshop of young people, male and female amounting to around 60 between the ages of 15 and 25, at a Scout Camp premises in Mirigama. It lends itself for such an event, being isolated from noise being a heavily wooded area which belies the 25 acres in extent. It was ...

I was privileged to be able to attend the ceremony up to placing the casket of the sacred relics on the Temple Tusker on Sunday night. I have attended the full perahera before to watch it to the end till the early hours of the morning, but I had not seen the events leading up to the placing of ...

Panduwasnuwera as seen todayI went on a day trip today with relatives to visit places where our ancestors lived. It was the first time I had been on one and before my elderly relatives depart this world they wanted us to know where they lived and for that I am thankful to them.The tank at Hulugalle on a par with ...