February is very HOT! Internet is very SLOW! Classes are very FULL Children are very HAPPY

Harvesting the King coconuts from the garden of Siri Madura

Dear Friends
The title reads rather like a selection of my flash cards for the English Conversation Teenage group!
The teenage group takes a lot of energy and concentration but its very exciting to see them grow in confidence each week.I do have to fool around a lot to wake them up from their politeness. 
If anyone speaks Sinhala they get a yellow card. If anyone says they don't understand they get a blue card.
3 yellow cards means only 1 buiscuit and 3 blue cards means an extra biscuit. ( not that Ive ever inmposed the outcomes!) The young people are extremely quiet . The small ones insist on standing everytime they speak to me and it's hard to know if I should discourage this traditional mark of respect for the teacher or not!
I can't begin to describe the delight of the children who attend the classes at being able to succeed at all sorts of activities. If , as I believe , enjoying and achieving helps to raise self esteem and give confidence then we are certainly on the right track.


with volunteers -Scottish Eilidh and German Katrina

 Moved to tears
Recently an English couple , Denise and Martin who were staying near to the Centre began taking Zigger to their villa garden so that he could run free on the grass. They also helped to paint some of the centre walls and as they left gave me a donation. I cried at this unexpected gift and it made me realise how much I want to provide more places for the village people in the classes.
Now from your donations we can provide each week  1 Kandian dance class 1Art class 1 Music class , all with local teachers and 3 English conversation/ emotional health  classes-that's with me and a local helper and lots of Morph cartoons.
The waiting lists are long and so Ive restricted children to one class of 8 weeks only.
Oh dear ---its not good when they turn up and ask to be let in, accompanied by their parents and holding the notebook and pencil which they assume will always be needed
Morph and Secret Millionaire.
In the English conversation I'm using Morph video clips from Youtube which goes down very well unless the internet is not working. Last week I had to use a clip from an old Secret Millionaire tv programme that I had on my laptop. They were puzzled by the sight of a run down housing estate in UK.

A Cleaner !!! Mangelica is wonderful.
I have been trying to clean the whole centre myself each day and getting very tired by 9.0am. now the charity has appointed a cleaner and it makes a huge difference. This week I was able to take Zigger for a run on the beach at 7,0am and be back to open the office by 9. and not exhausted at all. Ive actually been in the sea for the first time. The water is really warm and so refreshing. I mainly just paddle and sit in it as the waves are rather much for me to attempt to swim.

Kandian Dancing begins !!
At last, after much fretting and nagging, the Kandian dance teacher begins her class on Sunday afternoon in the now completed outside space. The registration sheet is already full and the waiting list grows.

Rassica is a proud father!

Rassica the Tuk tuk driver who has been showing me the sights of the area has been absent in the last few weeks as his wife Mutu gave birth to a tiny baby girl. He is busy every day washing and cleaning and is the picture of proud Dad. The baby was 3 weeks early so he hadnt finished his plan of connecting running water to his house and has just about completed it now.. Can't say how great it was to visit Mutu and hold the so small child .

Challenges
Well I cant say that its all a bed of roses though I now do have a bed of tomatos and pineapples and pumpkin and mango and papaya trees and a grassy area where zigger runs like mad early morning before collapsing in a hot heap under the bed. He scared the living daylights out of me by getting an infection on his face and refusing to eat ! The animal doctor who is excellent gave him injections  and antibiotics and he is now fine. I did feel guilty bringing him to a place of so many dangers. We think he got the infection from rooting around in the garden where the monkeys visit at night.  I've had a few shaky moments in the last month as the internet has been difficult and so many small jobs still to be completed in the Centre and it has been very very hot. But I sing along to old choir MP3s and listen to podcasts of Desert Island discs and Friday news quiz and lately the 10 oclock news comedy show. If anyone has any DVDs of films or Cds of audio books they no longer need please send .
Over 50 people per week now attend classes at the centre and I have to find £160 per week to pay for that.
of course I can allways reduce to classes I can run myself but the music , IT and Kandian dance are beyond even my skills !
The villagers lives contrast starkly at times with the lives of the tourists and expatriates living side by side in the same lane - Wewelagoda Rd . Wooden shacks with standpipes outside next to Aicon villas with swimming pools- and of course they assume that I am rich and own Siri Madura. Several people a week ask  about their money problems and I just have to say no and put my spare cash into the project. Im not sure we are reaching the poorest children and am trying to make sure that  everyone knows what we can offer. Getting translations of information into Sinhala is complicated but we're getting the hang of it now.




trying out the slack line in front of the disused well water tower

 

The last Sukitha orphanage arts day. Care staff are in Saris.



Starting to lay the concrete for the theatre space.



The Music teacher and  2 boys trying  out scales on the keyboard while Demi watches .





Kali, who helps with translation , sits in the doorway watching her severely disabled 19 year old daughter Demi, who loves the music.

 



Zigger always turns up at juice and biscuit time. this is the childrens art group with a young tourist from France.





Waiting to begin the fortnightly film evening and for the rest of the audience to arrive. This was a Hindi Bollywood movie and very very long. We may only have Hindi films occassionally and alternate English and Sri Lankan films. Next week its the Wizard of OZ- (because Ive got the DVD with me!) Whole families come to the film evening which here was in the ~Hall but now we use the outside theatre space.



Frustrations,Progress ,and one less hairy knee..

The mask which brings good fortune to Siri Madura

Frustrations = Internet and email access
I was unable to access the site for awhile so sent an email to blog readers. In the last blog I was rejoicing that we had dial up internet access at Siri Madura and would soon be getting wifi .
Well!!!!!!!!!!all change . Im now using a dongle - the dial up is off, the wifi is set to go but the phone line is disconnected- I got a really good technician to service my lap top and note pad and now neither of them work properly !! However  Ive managed to get onto the internet this lovely sunny Saturday morning when its not too hot and the monkeys I can see outside my window are grunting away as usual and Zigger is snoring contentedly under the bed having been out for his morning  toilet and had his customary ginger biscuit in leau of dog biscuits. The local ginger biscuits are very gingery indeed but Ive become accustomed to them now.
So it looks like Im back to intermittant email contact. My small IPOD allways works well when Im in range of Wifi so its not total lack of communication.

                                                       

.This is me using a ginger biscuit to try to get Zigger to look at the web cam.  He now has a fenced area in the garden so that he can be off lead and run about and chase the ball. I hope that will reduce some of his excess weight. He gave me a terrible fright when he staggered up to me swaying from side to side , panting furiosly and clearly asking for help but I remembered something I'd read and covered him in cold wet towels and after about an hour his heart rate was back to normal. He had been running about at midday and was just too hot. I learned later that a solution for overheated animals and humans is to put and icepack under the armpits to lower body heat quickly. Im sure those of you in the UK will find that very useful in your present climate.

Tuk Tuk rides with Rassica - one hairless knee!

A depiction of female monks bringing a special plant from the Buddha, in India, to a temple near Umawatuna, Galle.

Below is Eilidh holding a turtle in the turtle sanctuary which we visitited on a fun day out . A trip in Rassica's Tuk tuk with Zigger and a hotel guest Clare to see the " Cinnaman " man who lives on one of many islands on a vast lake and farms Cinnman and demontrates, outside his cool mud walled home. how he strips the bark and uses the cinnamon. It tastes more lemony when fresh than the old dried stuff we get in UK. I don't have any pics of this trip after the turtle sanctuary as I dropped my camera there. In the evening the turtle farm owner got a tuk tuk for an hours trip to bring it to sunbeach to see if it was my camera. I hadn't noticed that I'd lost it. The turtle sanctuarty needs volunteers for a day just to help feed the turtles and when they are ready release them into the ocean. they collect the eggs and care for them until they hatch and keep any disabled turtles who would not survive - some blind. some with damaged legs. 

 The beauty of the shell patterns was amazing. And the small newly hatched turtles soooooo sweet. Each tank is signed by the UK benefactors who support the place.

We also went to a spice garden where the herbalist produced many lotions and oils for ayuvedic medecine and proceeded to magically and painlessly remove hairs from one of my knees with a special lotion. I was very impressed but the price condemned my other knee to remain hairy.  

I am planning to create a Tuk Tuk rides guide with Rassica and we planned to meet this week to discuss the booklet but then Rassica had to rush home as Mutu his wife had started to give birth - 3 weeks early- to their first child - a girl -and all is well. So the booklet plan will have to wait awhile. It would give me the excuse to go on interesting journeys and I could sell it to raise a few more Rupees for the Centre.

she loved the keyboard

The Chandrasevana Arts Centre welcomes the locals. 

This was a big event for us as we advertised a film evening to the people living nearbye so that they could satisfy their curiosity about all the work that has been going on  over the last few months and find out what we are doing here. As usual technology was a little problematic at first but projector and sound system and laptop eventually worked in harmony and  we had an audience of around 25 to watch  A Mr Bean film.  We set up a display of photographs of the  arts days and put a line of tiny oil lamps to light the way and served water or  coca cola -cold from the fridge and room temperature - an important choice for people here. Afterwards the requests for a Bollywood film and a Sri Lankan film have set the programme for the next 2 film evenings. It was very clear that people welcome the Centre and the acitivities and are keen to take part  so I am much encouraged by this evening even though rain started half an hour before we opened and stopped some people from getting here.

We have a volunteer, James, from Suffolk here for 2 weeks and he is helping and will do some work in the garden.    We are thinking of putting a notice on the gate to see if any tourists would like to come and do a couple of hours practical work, like painting and clearing the garden while they are in the area.                         

fabric painting of initials

Visa application I am progressing with my visa application for the " My Dream Home" Visa - for people over 55 who are allowed a 2 year visa if they can deposit £10,000 retunable surity and reasonable pension income. Im hoping to borrow the surity by various means as I don't have much savings but my pension is sufficient. Compulsory private health insurance is a big obstacle - extortionate charges but I am sorting it all out with the help of generous friends and all the money is returned after the 2 years with interest whichb I undersrtand is quite a bit higher than current UK rates..

Sukitha Days.

We have completed 4 of our 6 days with the disabled groups from Sukitha orphanage. On one there was a power cut all day. So candles were needed even with all shutters open. The penants show intials in English and in Singhalese. There is such joy on some of the faces-- and some residents who seem withdrawn manage to smile and take part as best they can. 

games in the garden

I won't be able to continue with these sessions when Eilidh returns to Scotland as she has brought funding for them and each day costs about £80.  

Progress!!
Today ,Sunday, the carpenters began putting up the roof of the outside area which will be a theatre space and soon the Kandian dance teaching can begin .
We have found a local music teacher who will begin a weekly class for keyboard and drums. This man is disabled and drives himself around in a converted Tuktuk .His English is very good and I will help with this class and engage participants in some art/ discussion along side the music teaching. 
Eilidh begins a weekly art and play class for 8 to 14 year olds tomorrow and is full of interesting ideas for that.
After the film night we have had several requests for English conversation classes, and this is my inroad to the emotional health/ peer support idea that brought me here. I'm planning those now.using simple paper creative art exercises, adapting some materials I used in UK ,to get conversations going.


the wiahes tree in the garden

 Many parents are keen on the English class idea but  of course my time and money is limited and this is an Arts Centre so most things will have art or craft basis. We are still searching for local people with good English to run the groups and translate for us. Many people would like to set up activities for young people in the centre but at the moment we don't have the money to pay the teachers.

So suddenly  I'm very busy and could be too busy. I find the heat slows me down and I do get very tired so have to take care to get rest time in the day and not take on too much. Tonight a mosquito or 2 got under my mosquito net and began feasting , unable to sleep, Im writing this blog - it helps to stop me from scratching ! 
Off to the big supermarket in Galle in the morning to stock up on essentials and treat myself to some real cheese - I cant bring myself to tell you how expensive that is !!
 I have to say that this project is so very worthwhile and the local people are so pleased that this facility is open to them and especially for the young people. Your support is really paying off now and Im thrilled to see the results of all the planning and preparation.. If you want any information do please email me on eddi.pipe@gmail.com  or write a comment in the space below the blog.
Hoping that there are signs of Spring in Europe and you have had the worst of the winter by now.
All bestwishes  from~Eddi and Zigger at  sunny Siri Madura, Sri Lanka.

lunch for the Sukitha girls





time to leave the creatiive arts day

Hello from the Chandrasevana Arts Centre at Siri Madura

 Pic is Eilidh Graham with participants from Sukitha orphanage at the Creative Arts Day 

Dear Friends,
This blog was begun just after Xmas  but I was sick for a short while and didn't complete it. All Ok now and I was well looked after with people bringing me food and making sure I was OK. Missed the New Year celebrations which was probably good for Zigger as the firecrackers figured loud and long.

Internet !!

Yes we now have our own Internet access and Skype - without a web cam as yet but its great. Might mean I get to bed a bit later perhaps. It has been very difficult to get online using the hotel WiFi system.This is a temporary dial up system but the Wifi will be with us "soon ". It seems the company  had run out of the hardware and is waiting for supplies. Ill then have TV as well , though not expecting to want to use it much until the rainy season .

Weather
Well this is supposed to be the dry season but we've had rain and dullness all over Xmas which is not good for the tourists.We seem to be having heavy rain every day after about 5.0pm which is not how it should be in the dry season but there's plenty to do here for the tourists.

People are off in the tuk tuks ( a 3 wheeled 2 stroke engine with a cab that takes up to 3 thin people or 2 and small dog! )to the turtle sanctuary and the gem mines and Galle street festival and the cinnamon maker on the lake and further afield to Kandy and tea plantations and National parks and Elephant reserves.

And the people are smiling as usual trying to keep the visitors happy

Paying Guests.

The first guests came to stay on the first floor and  killed a rat we've been trying to get rid of for weeks, and I learned what old houses sound like when 4 adults are stomping around above my head  throwing boots at a rat in the middle of the night! Shortbread biscuits
Well the oven wouldn't stay lit !! so my star biscuits and mince pies are still in the fridge waiting to be cooked !update - oven now repaired and biscuits cooked and eaten !
.

I find the contrast between those who live in  nice houses with electricity and a car and usually several motor bikes outside and those who only next door are living in a wooden shack with an outside standpipe and no electricity quite strange.
Many of  the older Sri Lankans seem to prefer the simpler way of living and it is what they are used to and I guess less stressful and much cheaper.
Pic- Sorry about the underwear but the thought you might like to see the shy dog who lives in the outside loo
Creative Arts Days

We've had our first Creative Arts day which was amazingly successful - 10 residents of Sukitha orphange aged between 12 and 42 years came and loved the day. They all have a handicap of some kind though difficult to tell with some who simply have no means of support and no families. 

With the theme of Myself we made name banners to hang round the hall, each person painting their Sri Lankan and their English initial and decorating the pennants. After 5 weeks of 10 participants per week the place will look much friendlier as its rather austere at present. A wishing tree sadly revealed what few hopes for the future the women have.

The day cost 50 pounds including refreshments and lunch and transport for 16 people and all expenses.

Well worth it as you can see from the pictures. --

 

Hanging the  laminated hopes on the wishing tree.

Sisera who is the night guard come all rounder who was a great help all day.

We are trying to get everyone involved in Siri Madura to make their own pennant with their Sinhalese and English initial.

 

Cahli the adult in this picture  helps us translate and brings her severely disabled daughter ( next to her) who seemed to enjoy the day.The man is the driver of the bus the participants came in. 
So Activities have actually begun and the Centre is more or less fit for purpose. Quite a lot of work still to be finished but its much more clear how we can use it now.

These days will be every Wednesday for 5 weeks till all the Sukitha residents have attended. Of course they will want more but that's the funding limit at the moment. I 'm keeping careful track of the money and making a record for the charity of all activities.

Film Evening 

Our next  venture is a film evening so that local people and the families of people who worked on the restoration can come and see the house and learn what we are about. A trio of local musicians and a Mr Bean film and some home made biscuits is the current plan for that. And I hope to be able to give you news of the Kandy dancing as soon as the outside space is finished and also about the IT training. We now have 4 reconditioned computers and once the installation of the airconditioning is complete a training room to keep them in.

Donations 

Some of you have asked if you can send things. Of course a great deal of equipment and all sorts of goods will be welcome. However we can buy everything we need here and postage from UK is very expensive so you need to balance out the cost of posting. Sea mail is cheaper but it takes several months and involves us in a trip to Colombo ,costing about  60 pounds  and a day at the customs sheds to collect it. So it needs a lot of thought before you decide to send any goods. 

 

I hope  you have enjoyed the festive season and wish you all the best for 2011.

Many thanks for your continuing support.

Love from Eddi and Zigger.
January 6th 2011.

monkeys, monitor lizards and money ! -

My last breakfast at Sunbeach Hotel.

Siri Madura .December 17th 2010

Well as I hear of freezing conditions in UK, I'm getting used to increasing temperatures here. The rain which was torrential for a few days, making me wish for Wellington boots as I struggled through the mud, seems to have ended and the dry tourist season is beginning.

I moved into Siri Madura on December 1st - 3 months after leaving my house in Brighton . Its a beautiful house , once owned by a rich family but unoccupied for 20 years. Workmen are renovating the place but my room is pretty much finished . Here is Zigger on my bed - in the lap of luxury ! And this is the entrance porch to the Centre-the Chandasevana Arts Centre at Siri Madura.                                                               

The gates are now in place in the stone wall which is down one side of the property providing some privacy for the outside dance and performance area though the other 3 sides are wire fencing.

I hope to have Internet connection before Xmas which will make communication a lot easier as I have to come to the hotel to use the Wifi.

The main Hall will be used for a range of activities and  begins with an arts day for a group of disabled residents from Suthilka Orphanage. Eilidh the other volunteer already has contact with them and it will ease us into a larger programme in the New Year

In the Garden of Siri Madura every morning we are visited by a very slow moving5 ft long monitor lizard and monkeys swing through the trees. In a disused Well we've  found a 10inch long terrapin sitting on a half submerged tree trunk and Sisera, the night guard feeds it fish

Other creatures are not so welcome and I am battling against creepy crawlies that consider the place their home after being undisturbed for so long.
money matters
The grand house and the large garden feel luxurious but just over the fence is a 75 year old lady living in poverty who used to be a servant at the house many years ago.  All around the cheery smiles for the tourists belie the issues which local people face every day. Part of my task is to make it a welcoming community resource and to provide activities which local people can enjoy and benefit from.

I'm not sure how I would feel if I was dependent on, and constantly surrounded by, multi millionaires squandering their money while I struggled to feed my family each week.
The challenge of coping with the climate and the culture change and of working out just who I am and what is right to do here is daunting at times but the support of people here and those in UK is very encouraging and I'm sure we will not loose a right perspective. 

Very good news is that Hullaballoo Quire  raised almost £200 at their gig at the Komedia this week and that means we can definitely start the Kandy dancing class as soon as the outside space is ready. This week the workmen have been making the concrete posts to support the roof of that area in the garden.

I will try to get another blog to you before December 25th but meanwhile have a truly happy festive season and thanks again for all your support.
http://www.eddigoeseast.com/
Love fromEddi and Zigger

Customs ,Cockroaches and the new Chandrasevana Arts Centre

November 29th 2010

This is SIRI MADURA meaning the Heavenly Palace.

The Chandrasevana Centre, founded by HARF charity after the Tsunami, was based in a house in the village of Dudanduwa. In monsoon storms in May this year the roof was very badly damaged ( though some tell me the monkeys nicked the lead off the roof) and a new more substantial house was offered for reasonable rent by a local business man. This beautiful old colonial style house is over 150 years old and retains many original features - including an open cooking fire in the kitchen. Much hard work has already been done to repair and renovate Siri Madura which has been unoccupied for over 15 years, AND  !!!!I move in today Wednesday 24th November!!!!

Ah well now its 29th Monday and I'm still in the hotel. For various reasons, mainly to do with the gates of the garden not being finished it looks like maybe next week ! A bit frustrating but Ill just have to make the best it . 

The  new centre will be called The Chandrasevana Arts  Centre at Siri Madura.

In meetings this week the final decisions are being taken about how the rooms will be used . HARF needs to let as many  rooms as possible to repay loans used for refurbishment costs and the really good news is that we reckon we can get it to be self financing within 2/3 years.   The house has not been inhabited for over 15 years so you can imagine numerous tasks have to be completed before its ready to be fully used. However its very near being possible to furnish some rooms and hopefully have some paying guests before mid December. In  the last few days the trustees  have been able to ensure that there will be  an air conditioned room for IT teaching , a covered outside area with a concrete floor for the teaching the traditional Kandy dancing circus skills and for workshops, art and drama activities.

So I need to redouble efforts for fundraising.
£9000 would cover the next 12 months and activities provided  for an average of 30 people each week.
Ive drawn up a present list - £5 would fund refreshments for all the participants in the Kandy dance class for a month! that's a lot of orange juice and.  bottled water. A beginners course of 10 hours for 10 people over 3 months would cost about £25 per month.
IT classes will cost app £4 per person per session. and sponsoring a young person to do 5  weeks of art sessions would cost £10
Providing Internet access for  a month £20.

I will add to the list in the next blog in case anyone wants any last minute Xmas gifts. I could always send a card from Sri Lanka allowing perhaps 2 weeks for post.
Well stormy but warm weather seems much more appealing that the snow and freezing conditions in some parts of UK.
Import and Customs Department in ColomboI collected my shipment from the dockside warehouse on Thursday- a very tedious and sometimes funny process that lasted all of 5 hours plus the 3 hour drive each way. We ( me and the taxi driver  who stayed with me every step of this process and was amazingly helpful ) had to exercise diplomacy in chunks as we were moved from one office to another and then back again several times , paying various bits of cash and having to find my own pallet of goods in a warehouse as big as at least 2 football pitches and stuffed with palettes, and then while the stern faced customs official glared at me had to try to open the well shrink wrapped and double cardboard covered  consignment with my tiny travelling nail scissors - trying to cut through sealing tape and wire bands and not daring to laugh, I remembered my Swiss army knife after about 5 minutes of this farce and it got a bit easier.
After a minimal inspection I got clearance but  still more passport inspections and more papers to sign in triplicate and more going back and forward between  the two offices.

I'm not sure if these procedures are a remnant of British Colonial rule or as was pointed out to me later a way of punishing those who, like me, didn't know that they indicate a need for some rupees to be presented with the papers at the beginning of the process.
After rescuing Zigger who had been locked up in a room as he wasn't allowed in the customs area we set off exhausted and at least the driver and I had the same opinions of the process and laughed at the same aspects of it all.  He had been hoping for a quick trip as it was his wife's birthday.  We were very hungry and I was very bitten by day time mosquitoes which although not malarial have been causing a rise in Dengue fever recently. That's a great name for a fever I think.
Though the driver wouldn't tell me what his pay is I later found out that the usual payment of a  van driver for the trip to Colombo whether it be the 6 hours driving time or with the 5 hours in the custom shed , or what ever else the passengers want to do added ,is still the equivalent of £6 - that's the days rate however long it takes-- and many days there is no work. .

Keyboard
I  unpacked the Yamaha Key board which was a donation from A Hullaballoo Quire member and it will be an amazingly useful resource with multitude of programmes and sounds . The tutorial will enable people to teach themselves. And it will certainly draw people into the Centre. There is a musician I met in February who lost his legs to a mine who I hope will assist.

So Siri Madura is looking great and I really am thrilled by the possibilities the trustees now see of becoming self sufficient within 3 years from letting the top floor, either as individual rooms or as a complete unit to tourists. It could sleep up to 8 people and is ideal for a family or a group of friends.

I'm coming to terms with the slow pace of developments and  putting efforts into fund raising - if only  to avoid doing my UK tax return which is still to be done.

I miss friends and the choir  a lot but not much of England so far. And from what I hear of the freezing weather I'm not sorry to be out of it. Getting my head round people getting ready for Xmas and wondering if the roads in the North East will be clear enough to travel this weekend seems very strange,

Here he is-- longing to get down to the beach.

I took Zigger to meet the local vet to check out the various bits of advice Ive been receiving from all and sundry - Was relieved to find that I don't have to give him tablets for a nasty disease as I was advised in UK as it doesnt exist here and Zigger will be extremely relieved to know that I shouldn't bath him every day and its best to keep his coat at average length and not cut extremely short. He is still very much the star of the show and loves the attention. 

 I've found a new use for Velcro!

 One morning I found a 2" cockroach stuck to the velcro of my sandal. Ive only seen 3 of the creatures since Ive been here and Zig managed to eat one of them! He was sick and refused to eat for 24 hours - not even treats so he must have felt really bad.

And here am I - grateful for a fresh pineapple and banana smoothy in the hotel after a 15 minute, very sweaty, walk through the muddy puddles of last night's rain to inspect the progress at Siri Madura.

  

Do keep in touch. It's great to get your emails and Skypes.

Much love and warm sunshine from Zigger and Eddi.

Miunis Birthday: Zigger scares a monster :Monsoon soaking

Today, Monday November 1st is Miuni's 9th Birthday
She is the daughter of the hotel manager and Zigger is anxiously waiting to see if he will get some chocolate birthday cake- NO way! picture at end of the blog.
Amaya, Miunis 3 year old sister has been waiting all day with the cake ready for her sister to return from school. Having got a tuk tuk into the town to get some bangles for Miuni and some packs to blow bubbles I was caught in a monsoon downpour that the staff have been promising for days. I actually enjoyed the process of getting soaking wet, despite my little umbrella, and drying out again. Zigger was not so pleased and when we returned we found the staff mopping the balcony to stop the rain flooding into my bedroom.

Zigger guards his mistress against a monster.

Last night after dinner Zigger was barking as if a gangster was in the bedrioom - and scared away a big cockroach - at least 2 inches long , well at least 1.5 inches . 

now that Skype and internet connections are sorted I really look forward to talking to friends in UK. and its great when we can see each other. What  magic it is over 6000 miles to see people in their homes and be able to show them where I am.   When Zigger recognized the  voice of a much loved friend he  charged round the room searching for her .He cant make sense of the video so he was convinced he could find her if he looked  long enough. Here he is begging to be allowed down to the sea..

Spreading the word
Ive had many interesting convesations with people in the street and in cafes who ask about the dog and what we are doing here so I'm already pubicising the new centre though I'm a bit vague about what will actually be happening there  there of course.
A few tourist were around at the weekend - townies come down to the sea for a break but there are only a few holiday makers in Hikkduwa at this time of year. All the beachfront cafes are cleaning and repairing ready for what they hope will be a prosperous season at the end of the month.
When I visited in February I talked to a tourist staying a few doors away who was walking the owner of her room 's cocker spaniel. She was concerned that the dog was not taken out.
I saw the dog yesterday -chained up in a cage set into the wall- a very sad creature indeed. left by an English couple several years ago and apparently hostile to Sri  Lankans but he seemed friendly enough to me. At least he looked healthy and well fed. I had to stop myself from wanting to offer to take him.

Talking
Talking to a young man this morning who is attracted by adverts from UK about training colleges  which say they can find well paid jobs in UK  to do while studying I felt ashamed at the misleading information. 5 pounds an hour sounds really good to someone who pays 10p for a loaf of bread here, and some of the 'colleges' sounded very dubious to me.
So how to be encouraging his ambition to further his career in the hotel and catering business and yet warn him not to trust and tell him how people can use cheap labour for their own gain. One young man lost  hard earned money to an agent for a place in a uk college only to find he couldn't get a visa or of course his money back

Singing

Hulla beenies will be interested to know that Twinkle Twinkle little star and Row Row Row the Boat are  known by every one as they are taught in primary school. Not sure if Kirsty wil be able to fit those into the repertoire. 
When I mention singing and the choir these are the songs that people begin. And that's great cos at least I know the words to them! Indeed  I now know the words to several Hullabaloo songs now as I'm regularly singing along to the old box net files on my IPOD.

TheTsunami is ever present
I'm walking around observing and seeing what a great deal of help might be appreciated here.
The  constant roar of the waves crashing and the constant tearing away at the more fragile beach front properties is a reminder of the Tsunami. People never talk about it until awhile into the conversation as they tell me about their families and recall  their lost relatives and how they cope and look after the surviving children.

Do keep sending me news about  yourselves. The best radio reception from UK is on FM 107
serving East Grinstead and surrounding areas - I was delighted and not a little amused to hear that on Saturday not only Morris dancing but Ferret racing would be a big attraction.
So what I learn and listen too and absorb is a weird miscellany of sometime mysterious and sometime magical information and I'm fascinated by it all and genuinely feel privelaged to be doing what I'm doing even though I've no clear idea of what that might be.

PS.

Now its thursday 4th nov . I'm learning how to get the pics onto the blog - im very slow at it.

This week Ive  frequented a cafe selling Italian Americano and delicious iced coffee.

Ive been to Galle in a tuk tuk with zigger on my knee. astonishment all round - hes a very unusual dog for Sri Lanka. My packet of papers to allow me to get on with my uk tax returns arrived and was promptly stuck under the bed!  I seem to be getting more energy every day and finding more ways of coping with the humidity and heat . All in all its a good learning experience and I can see how the centre  will be able to offer a good service to the community here. Looking now for regular  sponsorship in small quantities to ensure that Singalese volunteers who will help with interpreting can be given at least a lunch and travel costs. 

So thats all for now. Enjoy bonfire night in UK.Im thinking of sitting in my camper van with Zigger,on the Race hill looking over to Lewes and seeing all the fireworks and  eating fish and chips.  

We have another public holiday here on 5th nov - wonder if thats a throw back from British colonial times? - no one seems to know what the holiday is for. Everyone concentratin on getting prepared for the tourist season with repairs and painting and clearing the beach.  

I look forward every day to the emails and Skype calls so keep em comin!

love from Eddi and Zigger.;

http://www.eddigoeseast.com/http://www.eddigoeseast.com/