This notes how English medium was started again in government schools, my most important I think initiative. It also notes another initiative, the second project I did with Jeevan for the Council for Liberal Democracy, but unfortunately the able Civil Servant he suggested conduct it turned out unreliable, and missed events which was not at all a good example for ...

This deals with more joy at the cottage, though I also decided now to build a house there for Kithsiri’s family, a most sensible decision for they looked after the place and cooked for me. And it was great to entertain visitors such a Peter Rowe, who though the Australian ambassador much enjoyed the simplicity of the place. The pictures ...

This records heartening developments with what I had at last, property. At Getamanna the English projects for youngsters of different communities were going well, and Shantha and Upali got them to do projects of sorts including the building of a lovely pond shaped like Sri Lanka. And I had the most marvellous time on my own at the cottage. The ...

This records the aftermath of Somasundara’s continuing efforts to stay in charge at Sabaragamuwa, which included the dismissal of the University Grants Commission and the subsequent death of its Chairman, the able Sirisena Thilakaratna. The pictures are of him and of John Keleher, who was back that year, I think for his last visit to Sri Lanka. The dismissal of ...

Having written about my first meeting with Kithsiri in the series on university travel to which he was peripheral, I return today to the other series in which I focus on work I did with him from then on. This 101st account of that had moved now to 2001. And here I record the departure of our first Vice Chancellor, ...

This series now begins to overlap with the one that alternates on this blog, ten at a time. But since that deals specifically with the work I did with Kithsiri, and this narration looks at much more in my life in the years it covers, life in Colombo and on other journeys, I thought to continue with this. Much that ...

A momentous post today for it deals with my first meeting with Kithsiri, helpfully provided by Mrs Codipilly when I needed a car and driver and none of their regulars was available. There will now be some overlap with the parallel series on this blog, though I shall try to confine this to travels when he was not involved, of ...

This deals with a range of travel to the different AUCs and the added value we provided, with workshops at secondary level too, including in Vavuniya. The pictures are of Mike, in a later incarnation, and of the Literature book, though I cannot find one of the Business text. Different patterns of work at the AUCs The reason for the ...

This relates the end of the process of using a car and a driver from home, following an accident and then a ridiculous allegation by my brother against my father. Finding my own transport. The next week was the same routine again, USJP and the UGC, with dinners out on both Monday and Tueday, the latter with Robert and Chanaka. ...

This deals with an interesting difference in perspectives between Oranee and me though very soon she came round to my view, and pushed it even more strongly with great insistence on error correction. But then I go on to describe how my honeymoon at USJP ended, which meant that I could not get through the many changes that had been ...

This records a request for even more work, supervision of the General English courses at all but one of the AUCs. This was in fact essential for it was much neglected by the universities that were supposed to supervise these AUCs, and the incisive Deputy Chairman of the UHC, Prof Balasuriya, who worked well with Arjuna Aluvihare and had been ...

This records work and pleasure for I had for a few days my old Oxford friend John Harrison as a travelling companion. The picture is from last year when he came up to see me while I was at Oxford and we walked down to Iffley. Travelling with John Harrison The day after that night at Maradankadawala Resthouse, where I ...

This is one of the saddest posts for it records the collapse and death of David Woolger who had been a great friend and excellent companion over the previous few years. We worked together happily and I believe very successful in our professional lives, and had a great personal rapport so that we had much enjoyed evenings in Colombo and ...

This deals with what I felt was initially displeasure on the part of Oranee Jansz at being told she would have to collaborate with me on the GELT, but since I respected her enormously I was unusually tactful and we got on very well. The work was divided up in a way that pleased both of us, and she had ...

After ten posts about travel at the turn of the century with Kithsiri, I go back to my work while at the Universitiy of Sri Jayewardenepura. This post relates how I took on one of the most interesting tasks I have engaged in, coordination of an islandwide programme conducted by the University Grants Commission for pre-university students. It arose by ...

I record here my first overnight visitor at the cottage, apart from Kithsiri, and indeed the only one except for the boy who worked with me at the Peace Secretariat many years later. As always, Ena and I could spend hours together in perfect harmony and happiness. But I go on to describe the rather sad fears of my Oxford ...

I was pleased to be given the Mt Lavinia house, but that was nothing like the pleasure I got when I finally stayed over at the little cottage I had built by the river. I saw the New Year in there, which was bliss. Moving into my cottage The local Commonwealth Literature and Language Association had its sessions at Sabaragamuwa, ...

This records my finally getting a house, when my father gifted the house he had said for years was to be mine, but which he had held on to, to provide homes for several of his relations. The picture is of Eddie and Girlie and my team at the old house in Getamanna. Transitions On Ena’s birthday, October 23rd, I ...

This is an impressionistic account of the election campaign, since details would be tedious about the vast range of ultimately useless activity we engaged in. The pictures however are of colleagues at the Military Academy, though in later life, Shameera Priyankarage as head of Security at the British Embassy, Ruwan Kulatunge as Head of National Intelligence. The Election I had ...

I describe here the process of nominations, including my own nomination for Amparai. The pictures are of the trilingual book we produced after the seminar series I mention, and then of Mr Ashraff, who sadly died shortly afterwards. Nominating for Amparai I saw my niece Hashi next morning about working for us during the election, and that evening I gave ...