March – June 2020

Thanks to the Internet, we were able to keep in touch with friends and family during curfew. Every Saturday afternoon, the children played a Zoom quiz with friends (and in turn their friends, unknown to us) and enjoyed it a lot. Every Sunday, Steve connects with his parents and brother Stuart via Skype and they have a one-hour conversation catching up on the week’s news. My mother and I often call via Facebook Messenger and sometimes we spend hours just talking. I also try to establish contact with friends via WhatsApp on my mobile so that I can be in the picture of what is happening.

We were honored with an invitation to participate through Zoom of the Christening of Sri Lanka’s first baby born in a water birth. I thought I would feel distant over the internet, but I was surprised how touching it was.

The kids use the internet to play games, whether it’s with one another across the table or with friends on the other side of the world. They even introduce their friends here in Colombo to friends back in the UK, and all play together.

It is great that humankind can stay sane and keep in touch like this. 30 years ago when the internet as we know it first started (it is actually much older than this in military circles), people never dreamed of such convenience!

When technology is used for the benefit of man, it is amazing.

Rennie