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Steve

Slave Island and the Lotus Tower

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The name “Slave Island” was given during British colonisation and refers to the preceding Portuguese rule when slaves were held there, most of them from the Swahili coast and Portuguese East Africa. Today, Slave Island is an area of Colombo known for its Malay, Sinhalese and Tamil cultures.

Being driven home from the Galle Face, we timed it right to see the Lotus Tower briefly lit up in preparation for Tuesday’s Independence Day celebrations. Asking the driver to safely stop, I just had time to run back up the road and take a couple of handheld photos showing the architectural contrast before the lights were turned off.  The street light was in an inconvenient place, but better to have the images anyway than not!

Steve

Steve

The Dutch Hospital to Galle Face

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This afternoon brought a visit to the colonial Dutch Hospital – now nice eateries and a branch of the Odel store – and a walk along the shoreline to Galle Face.  On the way we went in to the Kingsbury hotel and up to the sky bar where I asked if I could show Mum and Dad the evolving Port City development and its 660 acres; a much better perspective than from ground level.  You can also see in the image above how the Colonial Galle Face Hotel is now dwarfed by high rise towers.

We made it to a suitable vantage point in time for a sunset photo, the golden hues painting the new Shangri La and One Galle Face complex, and the under-construction Sapphire Residencies.  I was drawn though to the contrast between these increasingly prevalent high end properties and those persons like the elderly gentleman who walked past as I prepared to take my photos.

Steve

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Steve

Independence Night

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Last night was absolutely priceless and an occasion where soaking up the moment was far more important than photography.  

Having dined at King of the Mambo, Rennie took Mum and the children home whilst I went on with Dad to meet up with friends at an English pub, The Manchester – serving Spitfire and Bishops Finger ale if you know to ask!

Two close Sri Lankan friends couldn\’t make it, but a Turkish Kurd, a Czech, a Nepalese and an Englishman met up with Dad and me for a few beers, a lot of natter and many laughs.  We started to meet up on the last night before my Turkish friend\’s wife and children flew home from their holiday – so his last night of independence, and the name of our WhatsApp group was born!  It was interesting to learn that in Nepalese and Turkish culture you don\’t drink with your father, even as an adult – so my friends enjoyed adopting Dad and were highly impressed that he\’d come with me!

Not as impressed as I was with what came next though; having arrived at about 8:30pm and once again been the last customers to leave just before midnight, Dad came with us to Curve bar – opposite Café Français where we\’d had lunch – rather than being dropped off at home.  More happy conversation and a few glasses of Shiraz later, and we toddled in through the front door at 1:25am – Dad still going strong!

He was up with the larks, too – and no hangover.

A very special, priceless occasion.

Steve

Steve

King of the Mambo with Mum and Dad

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A few posts back I was writing about visiting King of the Mambo in preparation for Mum and Dad’s visit – and then yesterday evening saw that occasion.  Rennie took the children directly from school – Emi still dressed for dance! – and I collected my parents from home after a very quick dash from the office.

Searing sunshine prior to sunset made us grateful for factor 50 but this gave way to a lovely balmy evening once the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon.

It still felt hard to believe that here we were, hosting my parents and introducing them to another part of the life we are so very fortunate to have – even sitting at the same table as last week!  

Steve

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Steve

Café Français for lunch

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A better place to find a light lunch than Café Français at Park Street Mews is hard to find.  A 400 metre walk from Gangaramaya temple, the tartines are proof that high quality ingredients and careful preparation can produce exquisite food.

In my case called a Sri Lankan Twist, the rustic bread baked on the premises and lightly toasted was covered with cheese, pol sambol*, crisp bacon, two absolutely perfectly poached eggs, and fresh chilli.  Absolutely bursting with three dimensional taste and texture; as amazing as each time I have ordered one from the menu!

* Pol sambol is a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine; a relish consisting of freshly grated coconut, red onions, dried whole chillies, lime juice, salt and Maldive fish.  Yummy!

Steve

 

Steve

Seema Malakaya and Gangaramaya Temples

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A hot Friday morning with little in the way of cloud cover saw Mum and Dad’s first sightseeing of their holiday; a visit by tuk tuk to Seema Malakaya, a Buddhist temple on Beira Lake that is mainly used for meditation and rest. A short walk away is Gangaramaya, one of the oldest and largest Buddhist temples in Colombo. It also contains an extensive and eclectic mix of artifacts that includes a traction engine and industrial machinery in the street outside; dusty display cabinets full of themed objects such as cameras and watches; and as seen in my photographs a couple of old Rolls Royces and one Mercedes motorcar.  In fact there are many other cars too, each of which is simply gathering dust.

Steve

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Steve

Welcome to Sri Lanka, Grandma and Grandpa!

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If welcoming Rennie and our children to live in the land that had become my adoptive home was a very special day, today was another such occasion; the surreal excitement of welcoming my parents and bringing them to our home.

To have had my brother Stu would have made it perfect, but it was still one of those occasions to treasure and bottle.

Here’s to the fun and adventures ahead!

Steve

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Steve

One for the photographers

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A nice touch at King of the Mambo is that for table photography they have a hoop of about 50cm across, peppered with a great many small LEDs powered by an a couple of AA batteries in the hoop itself. 

It is much, much brighter than the single LED flashlight on a smartphone, and if held correctly with respect to the subject, is a reasonably modelling light given so many individual sources.  I asked our waiter to hold it where I wished when I took the image of Emi – which was with my Samsung S10 smartphone in an otherwise very dimly lit setting.

With that, it is 01:28am on Monday morning and getting up is just four and a quarter hours away.  Goodnight!

Steve

Steve

We’re waiting for you, Grandma and Grandpa!

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Excitement is building with the imminent arrival of my parents on Thursday morning, so what better way to spend a 29 degree Celsius Saturday evening then to check out the seaside King of the Mambo Cuban restaurant and ensure it was still up to scratch; delicious mutton tacos and mixed seafood bar bites, a Charlie Chaplin sundowner each for me and a local friend who joined the kids and me, and then a plentiful seafood and white bean casserole with steamed rice.  Emi had a juicy burger with a Cuban sauce and Misa another round of the mutton tacos – hoovered up in no time!

Mum and Dad – I am pleased to report that with Cuban ensemble providing the music, all was just fine. 🙂

Rennie sadly couldn’t dine as she was involved in a parent-craft class that considerably overran at one of the city hospitals, but caught us briefly later on and kindly took the children home, leaving me and my friend to continue the evening at Curve Bar in Park Street Mews; a “happening” place, to use the local parlance.

My early night after a long week turned out to be anything but – though somehow falling deeply asleep when I did get home wasn’t an issue!

Steve

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