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Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Out and About in Colombo

Hi Marcos. Hello everyone.

My apologies for not writing sooner. I guess returning to work hit me harder than I thought it would as I had to come home early with a migraine. I guess I had spent too long in front of a computer screen. However I didn’t want to leave it any longer before I communicated with you so I thought I’d let Dad fill you in with what he has been up to since our return to Colombo.
I promise to write as soon as the weekend starts. So without further ado have a read and a look at what Dad’s been up to.

Good night,
Helen.

Good evening everybody. This is Roy, Helen’s Dad – an amateur at the controls! Fasten your seat belts.
Thank you for your kind comments on my efforts.

I am half way through my holiday in Sri Lanka, the time has really flown-I have been here sixteen days already.

On Sunday morning I had a real treat. Pankaj took me to his barber and I had a haircut, shave and head massage. It was really relaxing and I think I went to sleep in the middle of it!
Today Pankaj and I have had a really mixed day. Shopping for groceries, stuff for Isabel, vegetables etc. The sort of day we all have wherever we are living.
Shopping can be difficult in Sri Lanka. With it being an island lots of things are imported and when stocks run out it is a case of waiting for the next shipment to arrive. Quite frustrating if you don’t shop in time-when you see it, buy it.

Since our return from holiday I am trying to eat less so last night I only had Lobster Thermidor at a restaurant on the beach.
Let me tell you about lunch today. I had my favourite South Indian meal –Masala Dosa. It is a huge pancake with a filling of potato and spices and comes with several dips. Beautiful!

masala dosa

I seem to remember saying to you that the road to hell is paved with good intentions!! I don’t care- I am on holiday.

Outside the restaurant we met a Sri Lankan guy, Shamil, who was having his wedding function there .He lives in England and had come for an arranged marriage and was due to fly back to the UK in two days. His new wife would have to wait for her visa to come through.
Here we are, forgive the shorts!
shamil


Our next visit was to Independence Hall, a modern building and quite impressive. It was built to commemorate independence in 1948.
ind hall
ind hall

We then picked Helen up at her office and returned home, played with Isabel for a while and finished off the evening with a delicious meal cooked by Pankaj.

That's it folks. Thank you all for your company and patience. Good luck to you all.
Roy

Comments

Hi Helen and Roy! Helen, I hope you get well soon from your migraine. Oh, have a cup of tea and try to rest a bit ok? :-) Good night. Roy it´s a pleasure to hear form you again. all the pictures are really beautiful. Best wishes, Ana Paula.

Dear Helen, Glad to read you here again! Pass my thanks to your Dad for Sri-Lanka-report. I think shorts are ok if he is not going to be a bridegroom.

Hello Helen, I belive that you have lot's of work after holiday. I had 2 days off and today I don't know which paperwork I shuold do fisrt ( pile of papers on my desk ).Roy, nice to see you :)

Hi Helen and Roy! First of all, Helen, how are you feeling, today? Any better! I hope you will be able to shake off the nasty pain soon. Some nice herbal tea might help. Roy, to be honest with you, you look so gook and I don't understand why you are worried about losing weight. You look like a slim Jim to me and 60 years young in the short. In addition, I think you have a young heart because you have still got a great sense of humour and, wear the fancy sandals that many elderly people refuse to wear. Have great holidays and if you can, would you please, drop us some lines before you have come back to England.

Hi Helen and Roy, It's fun to read Roy's writing, a totally different style of writing. I can tell Roy wrote with caution. Perhaps, to Roy, this blog is the daughter's ground, he naturally wrote it deliberatively. Best wishes, Roy.

Hello Helen! I am sorry for your headache. Busy yourself with computer too much is not healthy. I am dealing with it by jogging twice a week – at weekend in spite of my mum’s suggestions. I agree – shopping can be very difficult. You can spend plenty of time seeking for a Thing you need in a shape, colour you imagine and no success. But one day you simply entry in a shop not for a reason and you can get more than you expected before. Some kind of luck, isn’t it? You had nice holidays. I just wonder – so many lions next to Independence Hall. I think everything will be OK while they are guarding.

Hi Helen, I am sorry to hear that you have fallen with severe migraine. Hope to recover soon. Fortunately your father rendered a helping hand to finish the blog. Please try out yoga and breathing exercises to get rid of this kind of headache. Mr. Roy, I hope you enjoyed South Indian masala dosa. For your information I am a South Indian. South Indian food are very delicious. We usually add more spices and chilies. Some of the foreigners may not like that. There are many kinds of dosais. Mushroom dosai, onion dosai, garlic dosai, egg dosai and many more. Pankaj may be right person tell you more about this. I surprise to know that you have to wait next shipment for getting some of the materials if they were out of stock in the market. What kind of materials you will wait for.

Hello! I think that you were lucky to spend your holiday in Sri Lanka! It must be a very interresting country. We have learned many things after reading your article and that made us want to go to Sri Lanka too.What we prefered was the discovery of Indian typical food. It’s sad that you couldn’t go shopping. Goodbye Roy and Helen

Hello, I read with passion all your blog. How lucky you are, Sri Lanka is defenitly an amazing a magnificent so picturesque and scenic country. Elephants are really reckless and powerful.

Poor Helen. I've never had a migrane in my life but I know it drives people crazy. I like this word, the way we pronounce it: migraine. Anyway, I hope you get better. Hello Roy. Masala Dosa looks delicious in this plate. How many persons does it serve?You must have enjoyed very much the meal.

Hi Roy, You are a nice chap and a great help to our daughter. I enjoyed your blog. Maybe you should be the naxt month's Teacher Blogger; what do dyou think? Good luck.

Hi, Roy. Its really nice hear from you again. You have so good sense of humor ! Its a pleasure having you here. About your huge pancake: it seems delicious! In my country we would say: If you are going to sin, do it rigth ! Enjoy your holiday ! Who knows when you'll have the oportunity to eat this wonder again ? And about your shorts, don't feel guilt. I leave in a tropical country and we know that its impossible to wear trousers in such a hot place. Enjoy your trip. Regards to Helen. Bye.

Hello Helen, it's good to have you back. But I know you must be very tired putting everything together after vacation. So take your time. We'll be in very good hands with your dad. Hello Mr. Roy, it's very nice to see you blogging again. It's nice to know that you're enjoying your vacations. But, no wonder, this place seems to be really beautiful. Had you been there before visiting Helen? You're right about the food. It's not the proper time to start a diet. Leave it for when you get back home. After all vacations mean time off of everything. Including diets. You can make up for it when you go back home. Is Pankaj a good cook? I bet he is. Well sir, thank you for your not at all amateurish blog. Hope to see you here more. Bye, bye.

Hi Roy, It's nice to hear from you again. I really enjoy reading your blog.

Hi Helen & Roy, I really enjoyed to read Roy's words.When i saw, Roy'z lunch"Dosa Masala".I like that food.Nepalese people also prepare that food at their home.At this time, i remember las Dosa at my home and my lovely mom. Thank you Roy,

Hello Roy, this is my first comment and i liked very much of your narrative, Colombo seems to be a very interesting city!

Dear Helen, I hope you are feeling better. Thank you Mr. Roy for writing one more blog for us. Well, you really don't sound an amateur. Seems like you are enjoying your days in Sri Lanka. Best wishes, Naheed

It is very intersting because you explain the life in this country and the habits of people who live there. The people in Sri Lanka look very nice and generous. I hope you had a good trip

It is very intersting because you explain the life in this country and the habits of people who live there. The people in Sri Lanka look very nice and generous. I hope you had a good trip

This is a very interesting article. You explain us your trip in Sri Lanka which is a country were I never want but I think that is an amazing country. In your article, Sri Lankans are very friendly. I liked the passage of the haircut and the massage of the head because you know I would really like to have a massage like that, so envy you a lot … Despite of this I liked the photos you had posted they are beautiful but my favorite his the plat in the restaurant. Xxx? Much love.

This article is very interesting because it is describing a normal day in Sri Lanka that is so different about our way of life. This article presents us a different culture and the pictures allow to imaginate the country. First, aline’s dad present a typical meal and explains to the bloggers in detals in what is consists in. Then, the pictures of monuments is perfect to discovered the archytecture of Sri lanka. So thanks so much for this travelling virtual. Mathilde L

Hi Helen and Roy! First of all, Helen, how are you feeling, today? Any better! I hope you will be able to shake off the nasty pain soon. Some nice herbal tea might help. Roy, to be honest with you, I don’t see any problem why you are worried about your weight. You are a slim Jim to me, and you look youthful – you wear a fancy pair of sandal and shorts. I like your jovial character and wit. Have great holidays and if you can, would you please, drop us some lines before you have come back to England.

Thanks for all your contributions. This blog has now closed and can no longer accept new comments.

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