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Rennie

Emi’s birthday treat

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13th October and weekend 15th -16th October

Emilka was celebrating her 15th birthday too, so balloons and presents arranged the night before for her to wake up to was done as always – the same arrangement 15 consecutive years. She was happy to be able to open her small number of presents during the day when time permitted between her online school lessons.

After a delicious Italian dinner on her birthday on Wednesday, Emilka had chosen to have her two best friends in Colombo to come for a play date on Friday afternoon and one stayed for a sleepover. They danced, they played on PC and Xbox, they went swimming upstairs, they had chocolate cookies, they had pizza (yes, again!), they chatted, and they watched a movie – The beauty and the Beast and they were together.  Covid permitted.

The next day, I prepared an afternoon tea for 10 people and armed with all the food and a cake made the day before (we tried our best to do a Harry Potter themed cake), 2 cars full of extended family drove to Celyon Horse Riding club for Emi and her two friends to have a 30min lesson (Emi on her favourite Valentina of course) and a simple celebration to top her birthday off.  He horse riding was Rajeev, our Nepalese friend’s kind birthday treat.  It was a very hot and humid afternoon, full of flies and mosquitos, but Emi was in her element with her loving animals and two dear friends.

Rennie

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Steve

Emi’s 15th birthday dinner

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13th October, 2021

Misa’s birthday dinner yesterday was roast replete with Australian Topside, cauliflower cheese, roast tatties, vegetables and a thick gravy.  Very tasty, and with nothing left apart from two small slices of the beef.

Emi wished for an Italian meal as you have read in her post, so at about 5:15pm we set off to Dolce Italia and the most authentic Italian environment you are going to find in Colombo.  We also set off straight in to grid lock.  With the lockdown now finished the rush hour traffic is straight back to the polluting chaotic bedlam that we haven’t had since March last year.  No taxis were available so we squeezed in to a tuk tuk and breathed the horrible air for the journey to the restaurant.

It was actually quicker to travel this way than by taxi, our driver expertly threading the needle to make walking pace progress instead of being stationary – although he nearly came unstuck just a hundred metres from our destination when his exit strategy from being the wrong side of a solid white line was closed off and we ended up parked whilst oncoming traffic bumped up the kerb to get round us.

Dinner was lovely and included the children each opening their birthday cards from grandma and Grandad, with perfect timing these being given to me by the concierge on alighting from the elevator to leave for the meal!

Now for Emi to enjoy her birthday celebration with friends coming round on Friday after school and weather permitting, horse riding on Saturday; according to my photographs, lockdown means the last time was eight months ago and the birthday of Emi’s favourite horse Valentina – 14th February. 

Steve

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Steve

Thank you Granny and Grandpa

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13th October, 2021

Words cannot describe how grateful I am to receive such a wonderful and beautiful jewellery set for my 15th birthday.

I woke up and saw a small perfectly wrapped box but was instructed not to open it until my dad would give it to me later that day when the time was right rather than rushed before school from home.

When the time came to open it I carefully unwrapped it not knowing what was inside. My mouth fell to the floor when I realised what was inside and I enjoyed saying thank you to Grandpa when he called.

I even wore it out to my birthday dinner when we went to Dolce Italia as you will see in the next blog post but was paranoid that I would loose it, so I kept on touching my chest. Fortunately it got home in one piece. 

Thank you very much again Granny and Grandpa,

Love Emi xx

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Steve

Misa’s 15th birthday celebrations

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3rd and 10th October, 2021

Misa chose to celebrate his birthday on two consecutive Sundays in order to have the friends come who he wished.  Two afternoons of computer gaming, the second one commencing with a Maccy D lunch and including some time in the swimming pool on the roof, and each of them ending with candles at sunset on the balcony.  I did wonder though if the self-relighting candles on the cake were going to set the building smoke alarm off; after multiple attempts to blow them out there was rather more smoke than you see in the pictures!

Happy birthday memories, Miso!  It was lovely to be able to have in-person celebrations rather than virtual ones even if Ramzi looks rather comfortable holding my gin and tonic!

Daddy

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Steve

Not the tallest today!

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10th October, 2021

Misa is increasingly used to being the tallest when with family of friends but today he was middle of the pack!  Not only is our friend Pavel still taller than he, but his fourteen year old friend Ramzi dwarfs the pair of them!

The occasion was celebrations for Misa\’s birthday of which more will follow.

Steve

Steve

Bauddhaloka Mawatha

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I have long wondered what this very old tree on Bauddhaloka Mawatha would have to say about the city that has developed around it but Saturday was the first time I have been able to photograph it.

The tree is quite a way from home, but on this occasion Rennie, Emi and myself had two shops to visit that were about 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) apart, so we chose to walk over a tuk tuk despite the heat and humidity.

Steve

Steve

Seed Café

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9th October, 2021

The Prana Lounge is an oasis of peace devoted to health and wellbeing adjacent to busy Horton Place.  As well as a wide variety of yoga, meditation and fitness classes it hosts Seed Café; as the name implies, with seeds figuring highly in the menu. The café has big open windows and a large door which together with the high ceiling and the decor creates a calming atmosphere; almost al fresco but without the searing heat despite no air conditioning. 

Rennie took me there for Saturday breakfast, the kids resting at home after their tiring week of exams.  As well as meeting up with two of my brothers from other mothers Pavel and Rajeev, we bumped in to a wide range of friends from different walks of our lives.  It was lovely – and a real treat after so many months without such opportunity.

I chose the Seed of Life Big Breakfast, a full breakfast with toasted sourdough, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, three grilled chicken artisan sausages, avocado and onion salsa, lightly spiced sautéed tomato, mixed greens and beans, sautéed Shiitake mushroom, roasted small potatoes and a liberal sprinkling of seeds.

A m a z i n g!  So, so tasty and with the eggs cooked to absolute perfection.  Accompanied by a mango lassi* and followed with a Brazilian coffee, I was set up for the day.  Rennie chose to eat later but enjoyed a lovely Capuccino and the good chinwag that we too enjoyed.

*A lassi is a yoghurt-based drink.  To make a mango lassi add a cup of very ripe chopped mango to a cup of plain yoghurt, half a cup of milk, a dash of ground cardamom and up to four teaspoons of honey or sugar. Mine came with some seeds and mild spices sprinkled on the top.  Very healthy and refreshing.

Steve

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Steve

Same hairdresser, new salon

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2nd October, 2021

Our hairdresser Asanka has moved salons, so rather than a short walk we now have a tuk tuk ride across the city but it is worth it; a careful and skilled stylist we are lucky to have him for all four of us.

This is the first hair cut I\’ve had with Misa though where on taking a photo afterwards he\’s been taller than me!

Steve

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Rennie

Chocolate stored in the fridge eaten by weevils

Friday 8th October 2021

Two precious bars of Cadbury chocolate stored in the fridge was found to have been eaten by pantry bugs and had to be thrown away with a heavy heart. What a shame and what a waste – we all had a sad feeling when we found out today.

Due to a foreign currency crisis and limited import of goods from abroad, shops are running out of products we like (cheese, chocolate, crisps, pasta sauces, meats) or are astronomically expensive, so any products from either Czech or England we have in the house are so special and we treasure them and keep them as long as we can. Until they are eaten by weevils.

Plastic bags with sealing strip or a jar with a tightly screwed on lid does not seem to be working.  So from now on, when we get it, we will eat it and enjoy it. 

Rennie

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Rennie

Visit to school to pick up school books

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Wednesday 6th October 2021

After 6 months, kids had the privilege to visit their school today, to return last year\’s books and collect new books and notebooks. 
It was a very strange feeling and I think kids are really ego to return to physical school. Online schooling is tedious for them now, have been doing it for the last 19 months.

Rennie

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