Newsletter aus Sri Lanka von Royston Ellis

[Premasiri]

Property Seminar

ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 2274

TROPICAL TOPICS, Sunday 26 October 2014.
Chamber music, rock n roll, an ancient temple and a little known rest house feature this week.


Dish of the Week
I’ve raved about kankun (best described as water spinach) before and it turns up in many Asian cuisines. Kankun with garlic and chillies, usually too enthusiastically doused in soya sauce, is popular in Sri Lanka. I had it this week at the re-opened Machang pub in Induruwa. This portion cost Rs150 [£ 0.71p; $ 1.15], so it’s good for the budget as well as booze-food.

Healthy & spicy
​

Rest House
When I travelled around Sri Lanka in the early 1980s it was part of the uncertain adventure to stay in government rest houses. As places for travellers to stay for the night, they were developed by the British colonial administration which extended the network of bungalows for travelling officials begun by the Dutch. They were usually located in superb locations, each within a day’s march or horse ride from one another.
Even as recently as 20 years ago these were charming, bungalow-style places with just a few rooms and a rest house keeper in charge who would take care of everything. They were often the only place in a town to eat or drink and I have had some memorable rural rice & curry lunches in rest houses
Rest houses are government owned and still exist but are now mostly leased by major operators who have turned them into boutique properties, thereby eliminating their modest local charm and eccentricity. So I was thrilled to discover the Lunugala Rest House beside the A5 between Badulla and the east coast.

An old style rest house
​

This has three rooms and, luckily, they were vacant. We seemed to have stepped back into the past as we were greeted at the entrance by the Rest House Keeper, a courteous gentleman of the old school wearing a white tunic and white sarong, matching his white hair and moustache: Mr V M Walter Harrison, age 74.

The rest house keeper
​

Mr Harrison, who proudly claimed to be of British descent, seemed to run the rest house by himself, although there was a cook in the kitchen and a man behind the bar in the adjoining building. He assured us the rest house was very old but the closing in of the veranda with patterned concrete blocks painted purple reveals no clue to its date of origin.

Age disguised by modern concrete blocks
​

Narrow corridors rambled around the main building with its porch for better class drinkers, its dining parlour, and spacious bed chambers with attached, cold water bathrooms, one with an old bathtub cemented to the floor and a warning sign.

Bathroom etiquette
​

Before leaving the next day, I had to sign the “Visitor Attendance Register” whose pages seemed to be two feet wide, so Mr Harrison could make up the detailed bill which itself was one foot long. It included corkage at Rs270 [£ 1.28; $ 2.07) for our two bottles of gin, and two rooms for four people at Rs3,500 [£ 16.66; $ 26.92]. No website, of course, but the phone number is 055 3551674 when you want to experience staying in the old, unrefined Sri Lanka.


Meat Market
The shacks and stalls of meat, fish & vegetable markets throughout the country are gradually being bulldozed away to be replaced with government-built kiosks, tiled walkways and more hygienic conditions. This is happening at Haputale in the hill country but the meat stalls are still there. Since hill country meat seems to have more flavour and be tenderer than supermarket frozen stuff, I was happy to buy 5kg of mutton (that’s goat) from this stall to take home to make buriyani, mutton curry and, my favourite stew I remember from my days in Dominca: goat water. It cost Rs1,000 [£ 4.76; $ 7.69] a kilo, while tasty, tender, well hung beef was half that price.

Goat curry begins
​

Unusual temple
Here’s an extract from the newsletter about Halgolla Plantation Home that I found fascinating.
“Dorabawila Vihara is a unique vihara (temple) situated near Hettipola about an hour’s drive from HPH.”

Stilted temple
​

“The temple has been built on stilts—slender, rough-cut stone pilings. A narrow staircase leads to the building above—a square-shaped room with a cantilevered verandah all around it, lined with wooden railings and posts. The roof is heavily sloped and edged with wooden carvings that look like leaves with drip-tips. Brass birds are perched on the ridges of the roof. The temple also harbours ancient paintings and Buddha images and, according to Seneviratna & Polk, has ‘the special characteristics of the Kandy period.’”
Stay at HPH and host Emil will tell you how to find this unusual temple.(http://www.halgollaplantationhome.com/)


Property Seminar

Buy with care
​

A reminder that the property seminar mentioned in a previous newsletter (and which attracted much attention) is being held at the British High Commission, (Bauddhaloka Mawatha entrance) on Tuesday 4 November at 10am. However, if you intend to go you need to confirm attendance by email before Thursday 30 October 2014 to: consular.enquiriescolombo@fco.gov.uk and must carry photo identity when to get into the BHC. I have been asked to emphasise that the seminar is open to British nationalsonly.


Chamber Music

Concert news
​

The Embassy of Italy in Sri Lanka is presenting a Festa della Musica Italiana at the British School Auditorium in Colombo on Saturday 8 November at 7.30pm, featuring the talented musicians of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo. Free passes are available from Titus Stores at Liberty Plaza, so if you’re in Colombo then it’s a chance for an inspiring evening as a change from cocktail parties.


Other Music

Beat Exposed
​

I’ve heard that several writers about rock n roll and the 1960s are using my book The Big Beat Sceneas source material. It’s available from http://www.amazon.co.uk from where you can also order my memoir about Cliff Richard & The Shadows, coming soon.

Cliff, the truth…
​

Beat regards
Royston

auch von mir rockige Grüsse Premasiri

 

[Premasiri]

Hospital pub crawl



ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 228


Tropical Topics, Sunday 2 November 2014


Greetings to readers of this week’s newsletter featuring food & drink (as usual) plus an extreme (for me) adventure.


A string meal
Ever the sucker to try new products when I discover them on the local supermarket shelves (that’s where I go on safari here) I bought “Instant String Hopper Biriyani.” So this week when I was alone at lunchtime as the Horizon team members (that’s what we have to call staff nowadays) were elsewhere, I tried it.

Instant lunch
​

Simple enough to prepare: I just soaked the instant string hoppers (and the dried veggies) in boiling water then tossed the strained strings in oil flavoured by the contents of the included sachet. The packet said “Chicken flavour” and the ingredients were listed as Masala Mixture of black pepper seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, clover, cardamons [sic], cinnamon, garlic and onion powder, with dehydrated carrots and leeks. The 50g packet cost Rs110 [£ 0.52p; US$ 0.84c]

The resulting string meal
​

I think I know why it is called ‘instant string.’ Something to do with the taste?


Mobile Bakery
There have been letters in the local press recently about the mobile bakeries (usually in converted vans)that ply residential areas from 5am with loud and intensely annoying chimes advertising their wares. While some may like to buy bread at their doorstep before dawn, most of us don’t. There is talk of banning the chimes.

Bread on the go
​

This mobile bakery, spotted on the Galle Road, seems a more innocuous affair with the ingenious adapting of a motorbike. And no chimes.


Galle’s new hangout

Outside the old Dutch Hospital Galle Fort,1985
​

With at least six bars in its two floors, the old Dutch Hospital in Galle Fort has been restored and converted into a hedonists hangout. The ground floor has a branch of Sugar (that’s one of my favourite lunch spots in Colombo) and, yet to open, an offshoot of the Ministry of Crab in Colombo, called Crab & Tuna. Other outlets seem to be jewellery stores. (Well, Galle has become the haunt of trendsetters with its boutique shops, art galleries and chic hotels.)




On the first floor with balcony views of the ocean, as well as tea and coffee shops, are a Thai restaurant, a stylish one with a view, called MInute By Tuk Tuk, a Sri Lankan themed bar with individual hammocks for seats, and the most magnificent of all, Lalith’s Cannon Bar & Grill. Lalith is the genial host of the world famous Lucky Tuna beach bar (although the beach has eroded) in Unawatuna, the source of best times on the beach (to say nothing of appropriate hangovers).

View from Cannon Bar gallery
​

I had a satisfying “Pan seared yellow fin tuna on roasted sweet potato with garden salad and capers vinaigrette” (Rs950 [£ 4.52; $ 7.30]), an enormous portion with apple and orange in the salad. Although it’s billed as a Grill, the menu could benefit with more grill items, like steak and lamb chops, etc., but the Lucky Tuna camaraderie is there which makes Galle Fort the place to go in the evenings. Imagine! A hospital with enough bars for a decent pub crawl…

Extreme Adventure
Last week I wrote about the rest house at Lunugala on the A5 where I stayed in the lack of luxury. The back to basics was to continue the next morning when, having heard about somewhere advertised as a “safe bathing place” we drove up the country road a sign indicated.

Bathing place sign
​

A flight of crumbling, stone steps led up into the forest from a parking place by a bridge over a stream. It was a hazardous climb to reach the boulders on the river bank where were three small rock pools with water gushing down into them from above. In the pool further up, beyond more rocks to clamber over, a group of boys were bathing and doing their laundry. It seems a popular place for picnickers but you would have to be agile to reach it. Perhaps because of the recent drought, the main rock pool seemed neither safe nor adequate for bathing.

Basanwela Bathing Place
​

We had heard of a waterfall called Peessa that is the only one in the area that flows vigorously year round, regardless of droughts, even surpassing the better known Dunhinda and Diyaluma Falls. When it rains the volume of water cascades so heavily it sprouts a sibling and the waterfall becomes two instead of one.
A sign between the 166 & 167km posts on the A5 marked the well-made road to the falls and we drove along it for the stipulated five kilometres, passing a muster shed and hundreds of rubber trees, but saw neither sign nor falls because of the heavy vegetation. After six kilometres we turned back to be rewarded with a glimpse of water plunging from the mountainside deep in the forest.
Then we saw a well-constructed flight of steps leading down the valley side. To me it seemed a trek of at least two kilometres into the wilderness to reach the base of Peessa Falls, so I contented myself with marvelling at its beauty from a landing, twenty steps down the hillside.




It was an adventure beyond my comfort zone but an experience of rural Sri Lanka that was both stimulating and rewarding. I have a couple of scars from eager leeches as souvenirs to prove to my team that I really did see a falls called Peessa.

This week’s read
With that introduction I should plug my book, Guide to Sri Lanka published by Bradt, but instead I’d like to remind you of my latest Kindle book (and soon to be a Kicks Book paperback) The Maldives Avenger. It’s a swashbuckling saga set in 16th Century Maldives, available through all the amazons.

Historical swashbuckler
​

Best regards
Royston

LG Premasiri

 

[Premasiri]

Garden of Secrets


ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 229


Tropical Topics, Sunday 9 November 2014.
Welcome to readers around the world to this week’s newsletter featuring a new restaurant and an old garden.

Fish delivery
In the last newsletter I mentioned my encounter with a mobile bakery on a motorbike; this week I was visited by a mobile fishmonger making the first call of his new business. The custom here is for customers on the opening day of a business to buy something but actually pay more than the requested price for the item, to encourage the business to prosper.

First day fish delivery
​

That’s why I bought eight kilos of tuna fish and five kilos of a fish known colloquially as “Lena-para.” The day’s price of freshly caught tuna (on the left of the photo) was Rs220 [£ 1.04; US$ 1.69].



Dishes of the week

Eatalian egg plant pie
​

This marvellous presentation is called Tortino di Melanzane su crema al curry or Eggplant pie served with celery and turnip cream. It was my choice of starter for the delectable meal I had at the newly opened Eatalian Restaurant. The main dish called Anatra con fruitti di bosco en spinaci was not available due to the lack of wild berries so I had it without a dressing: tender duck breast on freshly prepared mixed vegetables.

Eatalian duck breast
​

Obviously Eatalian serves Italian dishes but this restaurant, an offshoot of restaurants run by a Sri Lankan Italian in London, Genoa, Milan and Moscow, does not serve beef, veal, pork, lamb or chicken; only duck, seafood or vegetarian dishes. And there’s no alcohol but diners can bring their own, without corkage being charged!

Eatalian restaurant deck by the beach
​

It’s trendsetting contemporary in style with a black, white and grey colour scheme, concrete plinths, wrought iron lamps, and dining on the open-sided veranda, in the garden or on the deck cunningly positioned above the beach. The chef and his small team can be seen (and sometimes heard when something goes wrong) in the glass walled kitchen.

Eatalian lounge
​

There is a smart corner lounge with photographs of Sophia Loren representing “La Dolce Vita” and an atmosphere of being somewhere really exclusive but refreshingly relaxing. That means you wonder why other people haven’t found the place yet and the waiter doesn’t hover (in fact service could be smarter to match the top notch food).
But Eatalian had only been open a week when I lunched there, so it’s an achievement that it functions at all. Prices, for that standard of superb cuisine are remarkable: starters at Rs800 [£ 3.80; $ 6.15]; seafood pastas at Rs1,500 [ £ 7.14; $ 11.53 ]; mains at Rs2,000 [£ 9.52; $ 15.38]. Malindu Perera is the genial general manager; the address is 700b Galle Road (next to Whispering Palms Hotel); tel: 077 531 4126.

Garden of Secrets
The Henarathagoda Botanical Garden, 30km from Colombo, originated as a garden for the trial planting in secret of rubber seeds in the 19[SUP]th[/SUP] Century. The aim was to try to raise rubber trees so that a rubber industry could be developed in colonies under British influence.




Rubber seedlings had earlier been smuggled out from Para, Brazil, by the British explorer, Sir Henry Alexander Wickham, and planted at Kew Gardens in London. Ceylon was chosen as a place to try to raise rubber plants after an earlier attempt in India had failed.
Under the guise of general garden experiments, 1,919 rubber seedlings from Kew were planted and nurtured carefully. The trees blossomed in 1881 becoming the first rubber trees grown in Asia and yielding enough seeds to start rubber plantations not only throughout the island but also in Malaysia, South India and Burma. Only the roots of the first rubber tree remain in the Garden.

Canoodling couple
​

Tourists seldom visit the Garden; instead it is a popular haunt of young lovers who canoodle on benches in the shade of venerable trees. It’s a pleasant park for a stroll (although motor vehicles are allowed) to peep into the Orchid House and the Herbarium. There’s also a cute Japanese Garden where plants are miniatures and low hedges have been trimmed to resemble chairs, and even a temple lamp.




The Henarathagoda Botanical Garden is at Asgiriya, Gampaha. It is open daily from 8.30am to 5pm, admission Rs1,100 (£ 5.24; $ 8.46) for foreigners, Rs50 for locals and Rs150 for a vehicle.



Computer Bug

Bugged?
​

This thing crawled out of my laptop a couple of mornings ago. About half a centimetre long and a pretty lime green in colour, it looked as startled as I did before scuttling along the edge of the screen top and flying away. Does anyone know what it was? Or is it something that came with my new Apple?



Remembering War
It’s late notice but if you are in Colombo and seeing this in time, you may want to pop along at 4pm on Sunday 9 November to the National Film Corporation in Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, to catch parts 3, 4 & 5 of Apocalypse World War One. This film, which is in English, is being shown with the support of the French Embassy and the Alliance Francaise de Kotte.

This week’s book

A rollicking read
​

I’m plugging one of my novels this week: Sweet Ebony, a tale of love and disaster in Kenya in the 1970s as four women go on a safari holiday with a difference. It’s available as a paperback or kindle through all the amazons.

Beat regards
Royston

wünsche allen Usern eine entspannte Woche
Premasiri

 

[Claudia]

Hallo Premasiri,

vielen Dank für den wieder einmal sehr interessanten Newsletter.
Von dem Henarathagoda Botanical Garden habe ich noch nie etwas gehört und mir
vorgemerkt für meine nächste Reise auf die Insel.

 

[Premasiri]

Cliff Richard, The Truth ROYSTON REPORTS, Number 230 Sunday 16 November 2014. Welcome to this week’s report on garden carpentry, rival gardens and the lowdown on Cliff Richard. Winning writer I had the great pleasure of meeting the winner of the 2014 Templeberg Fellowship for an Australian writer at Templeberg Villa on the outskirts of Galle last week. She is Lucy Nelson whose 3,000-word sample of her writing had an enticing hint of calamity as well as a plot centred around the Sri Lankan belief in horoscopes. Judge & judged. Royston & Lucy Nelson ​ Since I was the chief judge for the Fellowship, I was thrilled to make the acquaintance of someone I knew previously only through her writing. She was every bit as impressive in person as in her prose. Lucy intends to expand her story to a novel, using the tranquillity of Templeberg (well, there’s nowhere to go from there without a tuk-tuk) as the impetus (and inspiration?) to work. I have an uneasy feeling the cast of ebullient characters assembled by Templeberg’s vivacious hostess, Karen, (which included Bandula Jayasekera, Sri Lanka’s Consul General based in Sydney, and some jolly Australian and British residents, including yours truly) may well feature in Lucy’s forthcoming book… Table topped A few week’s ago I wrote about the log of jak wood that had been given to me to make a base for a garden table. As I wrote then, Jak (the word comes from the Portuguese jaca which itself is derived from the Malayalam word for the tree: chakka) is unusual in that its very large fruits can weigh as much as 36kg and grow on stems from its trunk, not hanging from its branches. I rejected the idea of a glass top as I wanted the table to be in the garden where we sit watching the ocean with sun-downers in hand. I rummaged around in a timber warehouse beside the highway between Moratuwa and Panadura (a major furniture making area), and found a board with a pleasing grain. It’s from Anuradhapura but, alas, I can’t remember its name. Treating the new table top ​ The usual price is Rs350 a square foot for that quality of wood, but I managed to get this untreated board which is about 12 sq ft for Rs2,200 ( £10.73; US$ 16.92). We have sandpapered it, treated it with wood preservative, sandpapered it again and varnished it. It looks so smart, now I’ve got to upgrade the rest of my garden furniture… Dish of the Week Prawn & bacon Caesar Salad at CUB ​ It’s called Fresh Lagoon Prawn Caesar Salad (Rs800 [£ 3.90; $ 6.15]) and it was scrumptious when I had it for lunch at the Calamander Unawatuna Beach Resort recently. More on that resort, and the opening there of Sri Lanka’s first and Asia’s longest (25m) glass fronted lap pool next week. Asia’s longest lap pool ​ Rival Gardens A rivalry between two brothers resulted in the creation of two of Asia’s most magnificent private gardens on opposite sides of the Bentota River in Sri Lanka. For garden lovers, or if you just want a new experience in the tropics as a change from beaches, mountains and ancient ruins, the two names to remember are Brief and Lunuganga. Brief Approach ​ The two brothers were an Equerry to Ceylon’s colonial governors, Bevis Bawa, and his brother, Geoffrey, who was 10 years younger and became a trendsetting architect. Although Bevis Bawa died in 1994 and his brother, Geoffrey, died in 2003, both men represented a chivalrous age of determination and ingenuity that properly belonged to the era between the two world wars, not the late 20[SUP]th[/SUP] century. It was this respect for each other, born of another era, which resulted in a gulf between them, and their unspoken rivalry to better the other. In fact, as adults, they spoke only to each other through third parties. Evening shadows at Brief ​ Both gardens are open to the public and to visit them, which is possible on the same day, reveals a sense of the competition between them. While Brief seems to have been developed as a garden according to Bevis’s whims and gentle encouragement, Lunuganga reflects Geoffrey’s determination to control his garden so it became what he, not nature, intended. To read the full story, go to my article in Serendib, the inflight magazine of SriLankan airlines, for November 2014. You can access it by clicking on http://www.srilankan.com/en-US/serendib then clicking the FEATURES tag and selecting: Rival Gardens of the West. Cliff Richard: The Truth Coming soon ​ The blurb: “In 1959 teenage poet Royston Ellis teamed up with Cliff Richard’s group, the Drifters (later called The Shadows) and appeared with them on television and stage shows performing his unique brand of rocketry (rock n roll poetry). He became closely associated with Cliff, Jet, Tony, Hank & Bruce and wrote the first ever book about them, ‘Driftin’ with Cliff Richard’ followed by the 1961 biography ‘The Shadows.’ “These much sought-after books have been long out of print. Royston Ellis has combined and expanded the content of these two books into a new book, ‘Cliff Richard & the Shadows: A Rock & Roll Memoir.’ This book recalls insights of days and nights spent with Cliff and the Shadows between 1959 and 1961. “Largely regarded as THE spokesman for the British Rock & Roll generation, Royston Ellis now re-evaluates how Cliff and the Shadows represented the hopes, aspirations and values of British teens at the dawn of the swinging ’60s, when things would change forever. This book offers a timeless snapshot of an era that only lasted a few years, but whose importance would reverberate for decades.” It’s on sale from http://www.amazon.co.uk Beat regards Royston auch von mir die liebsten Grüsse Premasiri ​

 

[Biggi]

Hallo Premasiri,

ist das Calamander Unwatuna Beach das ehemalige UBR? Der Pool ist ja klasse! Bin schon gespannt, was R.E. nächste Woche dazu schreibt.

Prawn & bacon Caesar Salad
​

​

Da hätt ich auch gerade Appetit drauf. Lecker

Liebe Grüsse, Biggi

 

[Premasiri]

Hallo Premasiri,

ist das Calamander Unwatuna Beach das ehemalige UBR? Der Pool ist ja klasse! Bin schon gespannt, was R.E. nächste Woche dazu schreibt.

Liebe Grüsse, Biggi

Hallo Biggi,
habe keine Ahnung ob es das ehemahlige UBR ist? Kenne Unawatuna zu wenig....das war immer nur ein Tages Ausflug für uns....

LG Premasiri

 

[Pak Bahasa]

ist das Calamander Unwatuna Beach das ehemalige UBR?

Hallo Mädels,
ja, das ist das ex UBR - http://www.unawatunabeachresort.com/
LG Joerg

 

[Premasiri]

Danke Joerg,

das sieht ja suuuuper aus aber nicht so für meinen Geldbeutel....

Deluxe
Room info Child Policy

Room Type	Max Occupancy	Bed And Breakfast	Half Board	Full Board
Single		USD 157	USD 167	USD 174
Double		USD 174	USD 194	USD 208
Triple		USD 203	USD 233	USD 254

Super Deluxe
Room info Child Policy

Room Type	Max Occupancy	Bed And Breakfast	Half Board	Full Board
Single		USD 186	USD 196	USD 203
Double		USD 203	USD 223	USD 237
Triple		USD 232	USD 262	USD 283

Luxury
Room info Child Policy

Room Type	Max Occupancy	Bed And Breakfast	Half Board	Full Board
Single		USD 215	USD 225	USD 232
Double		USD 244	USD 264	USD 278
Triple		USD 284	USD 314	USD 335

LG Premasiri

 

[Premasiri]

Bottled cobra


ROYSTON REPORTS Number 231
Sunday 23 November 2014.


Lots of parties as Sri Lanka heats up for Christmas, and news of my new book for a stocking filler.


Sri Lanka’s Best Seaside Resort
Last week I featured Asia’s longest (25m), and Sri Lanka’s first, glass fronted lap pool at the cutely named Calamander Unawatuna Beach Resort. In the past we always referred to it as UBR, now it has been reborn as CUB. As UBR it was the first mainstream hotel on the gorgeous beach away from the main road and railway line at Unawatuna, ten minutes from Galle, at the southern tip of Sri Lanka.
Over the years it expanded without much planning, becoming a hotchpotch of a hotel, staffed by people who’d been there too long. Now it has been bought by a Singapore based property and investment company run by Roman Scott, whose mother is Sri Lankan and father Scottish. Roman and his sister Paloma (who now runs the hotel) have transformed it into what, for me, is Sri Lanka’s best seaside resort.


With Roman Scott at a party celebrating the opening of CUB's unique lap pool.

I choose my words wisely because it is beside the sea but the actual beach that is Unawatuna’s pride, is in a state of flux. It has shifted away from the front of the Calamander Resort. Never mind. Rocks have been bulldozed into place to retain the coastline, and a private beach on the hotel premises has been created.
The hotel has been lavishly reappointed with perfectly furnished rooms (83 of them), a restaurant open to the sea, and the funkiest bar in the country. It’s called 680BLU but a better name might be ON THE ROCKS. Built of railway sleepers, it is manned by barman of such skill and wit, they make guests feel so welcome, they’re bound to stay for another drink. Make that a double.


Cobra in a bottle
Not one of the CUB barmen’s cocktails (yet) but the result of a fright we had the other night when Madu, the houseboy, found a cobra lurking on the cottage veranda. Fortunately, Mahesh, a friend who’s a cinnamon grower and accustomed to snakes, was on hand to capture and bottle it.


Cobra in a bottle


Dish of the week
The chef didn’t have much to do with this week’s dish of the week although someone in the kitchen was tasked with opening the dozen oysters we enjoyed at the five-star Cinnamon Grand Hotel’s fabulous restaurant, The Lagoon. These are farmed local oysters and unbelievably cost only Rs1,500 [£ 7.32; US$ 11.53], not each but for a dozen.


A dozen local oysters.less than one dollar each

They tasted of the sea and were so good I’m determined to go back again soon for more. The Lagoon is run on the principle of a fish market with lobster, crab, prawns, fish roe and local fish displayed on a counter of ice.


Lagoon fish counter

Guests choose what they want, it’s weighed, and passed to a specialist chef to be cooked in one of 18 different ways. Even the 100g of crab flesh in chilli we had cost only Rs470 [£ 2.30; $ 3.61], which is cheaper than a snack in a street side boozer.


Artistic Gems
I was lucky enough to be invited to another party last week to launch an exhibition of paintings by the internationally respected Sri Lankan artist, Raja Segar. Unusually the exhibition was held in the Colombo showroom of one of Sri Lanka’s foremost international jewellers, Sifani. It was the perfect setting for the exquisite gems and artistic ewellery on display as well as Segar’s hallmark art.


Famous artist Raja Segar (left) at Sifani Jeweller's exhibition of his work

I like the humour in Segar’s paintings and the way that, after proper contemplation, they resolve themselves into a picture of great meaning. One that I thought was of a 1920s flapper wearing a bonnet was in fact a lady carrying a basket of fish on her head. Segar plans an exhibition at Barefoot in Colombo early next year of his paintings of The Beatles. I’m looking forward to that!


Double Dated
Two events for your diary if you’re in Sri Lanka on Friday 5 December. In Colombo at the Lionel Wendt Theatre at 7.30pm, the Chamber Music Society of Colombo is hosting a glorious musical evening featuring Vivaldi’s Gloria, The Toy Symphony and traditional carols with the Colombo Philharmonic Choir (conductor Manilal Weerakoo) and the Orchestra of the Chamber Music Society. Tickets from Rs500 to Rs2,000 available at the theatre from tomorrow, 24 November.


George Beven from a photograph by Dominic Sansoni

In Galle at the Closenberg Hotel at 5.30pm ‘Stories at Sunset’ features debonair Sri Lankan author Ashok Ferrey interviewing George Beven, whom he describes as ‘Sri Lanka’s greatest living figurative artist’. Beven is on his annual visit from his home in England.


Beware the spoof I received a disturbing email from a subscriber to this newsletter saying she was stranded in a hospital in Germany and had lost her iphone and could remember only my email address so could I please send some money to help her out. I scratched my head in bewilderment, wondering what to do.
Then I realised some cyber shyster had obviously hacked the lady’s email address book and was sending spoof emails as bait to see if anyone would bite. So if you receive an email purporting to come from me saying I am stranded somewhere and need help, trash it!


Book of the Moment.
Get it now!
It’s available from amazon now: my memoir of days touring with Cliff Richard and The Shadows when we were all young and innocent!
Beat regards Royston

Wünsche allen Usern eine entspannte Woche
Premasiri

 

[Premasiri]

Sunday 30 November 2014.


Greetings from Sri Lanka as the holiday season approaches, with information on gin and whales.


Information
Thanks to an unexpected invitation from Martin Straus, MD of the British Food & Beverage Training Centre of Colombo, I was privileged to sit in at a Gin Cocktail training session given by Mr Straus and Mike Sweetman, the visiting chairman of the UK Bartenders’ Guild. This was conducted for the staff of the recently opened Pandanus Beach Hotel just five minutes along the beach from my cottage.
Since one of my pet peeves about a lot of hotels is the lack of knowledge of their bartenders, I was happy to attend, and to join the GM, Anil Perera, in the presentation of certificates to participants.

Martin Straus & Mike Sweetman, shaken not stirred
​

I also learned a lot about gin. Mike is of the stirring school of Martini makers but when he uses a cocktail shaker he does so vigorously because “you have to shake it up to wake it up.” Next time I go to the bar at Pandanus, I shall ask for a Vesper and see what the barmen remember of the training session. (If this photo of Martin and Mike seems blurred, perhaps it’s the result of sampling too many cocktails!)



Watching for Whales
Whale watching has never been something that’s intrigued me. I have always maintained the best way to help conserve the natural wild is to keep out of it. So I haven’t joined the safari jeep jams disturbing wild life in the National Parks, nor motored backwards and forwards in a boat belching fumes across tranquil bays hoping to excite a whale to spout.
But in Sri Lanka whale (and dolphin) watching is a popular outing for tourists, both in Kalpitiya in the north and Mirissa. That’s a bay on the south coast that, although it has its own railway station, is tucked away, out of sight of trains and traffic. Perhaps that’s why the bay remained unnoticed for so long, and why it has recently become popular as an alternative to Unawatuna, as an independently developed seaside resort.
There are many makeshift shack-style beach cafés purveying fresh seafood and snacks, and places offering beach massages, boat trips and surfboards. At the western end of the beach, there is a neat cove with rolling waves ideal for surfing beginners.

Martin Straus & Mike Sweetman, shaken not stirred
​

I found of greater interest Mirissa’s fishing harbour. It is flourishing, clean and well organised. It costs Rs25 [£ 0.12; $ 0.19] to visit and rewards visitors with some spectacular sights of fish being landed, vivid red nets being cleaned, and rows of colourful fishing boats bobbing at the harbour side, their green, orange and blue pennants fluttering in the breeze.

Mirissa fishing harbour
​

There’s a separate boat yard for the dozens of boats especially designed for passengers, offering trips out to sea in the early morning to areas that whales frequent and dolphins leap. Prices vary according to the season and demand and, because there are so any boats available, visitors can bargain. You’ll see the freelance guides stationed at the turn off point to the boatyard, ready to offer their services.

A dull day for whale watching
​

One wall on the approach to the boat yard is painted with the rules of whale watching, the object being not to disturb the marine animals. The whale season is on now, from November until April, and the operators are so confident of giving every visitor the thrill of seeing whales that, if for some reason no whales are spotted, guests can have a free trip another day.



No strings

A cappella performance
​

A pre-Christmas concert that sounds worth going to. In this case it’s an evening of a cappella choral music by the Victoria Chorale from Singapore. The other chance to hear the choir is at Raffles, Singapore, where these enchanting singers appear every Christmas. In Colombo, the performance begins at 8pm on Wednesday 10 December at the Lionel Wendt Theatre; tickets from Rs500 [£ 2.43; $ 3.84] to Rs 2,000 from the venue and The Commons Café and Park Street Mews restaurant.

Dig? Cool!
I was amazed to learn that within the first two weeks of publication by Tomahawk Press, my new bookCliff Richard and The Shadows, a rock’n’ roll memoir jumped to Number 13 in thehttp://www.amazon.co.uk pop biography sales charts.

Back and front covers
​

It is based on two books that I wrote 55 years ago about my friendship with Cliff Richard and touring with him and his group, The Shadows. In his foreword to the book, Sir Cliff Richard, has written: “I hope you will enjoying reading and discovering (or remembering) how it all began for us 55 years ago.
The preface says: “The story of Cliff Richard and The Shadows during the early, innocent days of pre-Beatles, pre-Led Zeppelin rock and roll has one person in common, Royston Ellis. He was then a rock and roll beat poet who performed his poems as ‘rocketry’ backed by The Shadows, The Beetles (it was Royston who convinced them to spell their name with an “a”) and Jimmy Page, later to found Led Zeppelin.”
The book includes many new anecdotes and rare photographs, some from own collection. It’s of interest not just to perennial teenagers but also to all intrigued by the period at the dawn of the Swinging Sixties that reverberates even today. I hope you enjoy it!


Beat regards
Royston


The Small Print
If you don’t receive this newsletter on time on Sundays, please click on www.roystonellis.com/blog to see it on my website. If there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, enter the topic in the SEARCH box and you can see if I’ve covered it during the past four years. Also, you can enter in the SIGN UP box on the first page of my website the email address of anyone who might like to receive their own copy of this newsletter every Sunday.

Wünsche allen Usern eine schöne Adventszeit Premasiri

 

[Premasiri]

ROYSTON’S REPORT Number 233Sunday 7 December 2014


Voluptuous architecture, superb wines and an essential guide for hotel staff feature this week.


Voluptuous interior
Ever curious, rootling around the streets behind the Old Dutch Hospital complex in Colombo recently, I saw an open doorway to an old building and, not knowing what it was, walked in. That’s how I discovered the Economic History Museum of Sri Lanka, and a gloriously voluptuous interior.
I gazed up in amazement at the lavishly columned, marble staircase curving around a central atrium up three floors to a cupola roof. Surely I had stepped from Chatham Street, Colombo, into a regency mansion in Regent Street, London. Of course not, but a time warp is preserved in this restored, neglected building.

Central staircase of the Money Museum
​

Originally known as the National Mutual Building it is an elaborate faux Regency palace with touches of post Edwardian grandeur of Empire. The building of this gorgeous folly began in 1911 and it opened its doors in 1914 to become Colombo’s tallest building. It survived a chequered history (including neighbourhood bombings) and was in a decrepit condition when its ownership finally fell into the hands of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 2011. The bank began renovations using its best efforts to retain its original, opulent classical interior design.
I was so startled to discover this astonishing interior of a building in a side street that I must have passed dozens of times and never thought about, that I almost ignored its purpose. It’s now dedicated to the history of money in Sri Lanka with coins of different eras displayed in show cases. Entrance is free.

Wine tasting
Together with four high flying Sri Lankans I was lucky enough to be asked to sit on the panel reviewing wines submitted by bidders for supplying to SriLankan Airlines. The national airline is gradually upgrading its inflight service to complement the new aircraft joining the fleet, so passengers have an all round enjoyable travel experience.
There were 50 wines to taste! The label on each bottle was covered and we weren’t told the vintage or whether we were drinking Merlot or Shiraz, or whether New World or French: that was up to the oenophiles to decide. We were invited to score up to 20 marks for Appearance, up to 20 for Nose, up to 35 for palate, and up to 25 for Quality and Maturity.

Wine tasting for SriLankan Airlines
​

I am aware that what seems a pleasant glug on land might be bland at 30,000ft. So I was looking for wines that packed a punch, both in nose and palate, that would survive jet travel and be as full of character on board as in the SriLankan Airlines’ Semondu Restaurant in Colombo where the tasting took place.
We started with three champagnes, one of which didn’t take off. Then a flurry of whites, with a sip of each, followed by an onslaught of reds, which commanded more respect and shrewder judgement. One red particularly impressed me. I’ve no idea what it was and so shall have to wait until I next fly with SriLankan and can taste all the wines on board to identify it.


A Whale of a Fee
My reference last week to whale watching at Mirissa brought this comment from a reader.
“I have enjoyed your blogs for the last three years since I moved to Sri Lanka from the UK, so many thanks for keeping me entertained and informed, long may it continue.
“I now live in Mirissa and the reason for writing is to correct a small point in one of the articles in your latest blog. There is now a set fixed price for anyone wanting to go whale watching in Mirissa of Rs 6,500 for an adult (Rs6,000 in a smaller boat). All of the boat operators decided this last week and anyone caught undercutting this price will be liable to a Rs 100,000 fine!”

Instead of a tip
I have long maintained that the best doormen and concierge service in the country is to be found at Colombo’s Galadari Hotel. The lobby staff are discreet and helpful, and know everyone and everything. What is more important is that their welcome to guests is genuine.
Now I have discovered the secret behind their effectiveness. Last week, as I checked out of the hotel, I was surprised to be presented with a book called Effective Rooms Division, Training and Motivational Program [sic]. The author is none other than the hotel’s concierge, Nihal Thirmavithana.

Give this book of tips instead of a tip
​

He states he was inspired to write this guide for front office and housekeeping staff as “some of the most experienced and knowledgeable hoteliers left the country for greener pastures during the past three decades of civil disturbance and were replaced by amateurs without sufficient knowledge or experience which has led to the lack of professional hoteliers today. The slightest mistake by an employee could create a situation that would compromise the reputation of the hotel.”
Bravo, Nihal, that’s so true! I wish everyone working in a hotel in Sri Lanka would read this book. Nihal stresses the importance of hotel staff creating a good first impression on visitors, as the doormen do so effectively at the Galadari. He explains how staff, by the right attitude, give visitors confidence in the hotel.
This guide is comprehensive (it even has tips on email etiquette and the proper way to shake hands). If you have encountered hotel staff you would like to encourage (or reform!) give them this book for Christmas instead of a tip. It costs Rs750 [£ 3.69; $ 5.76] (ISBN 978 955 44930-0-1).

Stocking stuffer

A nostalgic read at Christmas
​

Someone wrote rudely that Cliff Richard has a criminal record; it’s called Mistletoe and Wine. Well, think Cliff at Christmas and stuff your friends’ and children’s stockings with my latest book (check amazon)Cliff Richard and The Shadows, a rock ‘n’ roll memoir. It’s the days of innocence and rock ‘n roll (that’s not an oxymoron) exposed. Read more on:
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/141130/plus/getting-to-know-cliff-richard-129675.html


Beat regards
Royston

eine ruhige Woche wünsche ich allen Usern
Premasiri

 

[Biggi]

Hallo Premasiri,

behind the Old Dutch Hospital complex in Colombo recently

Wir sind im September auch mal durch die Strassen hinter dem ODH geschlendert, und haben das Museum nicht entdeckt. Scheint auch recht unauffällig von aussen zu sein.

Wieder mal ein interessanter Brief und danke fürs Einstellen.

Liebe Grüsse, Biggi

 

[Premasiri]

Biggi, danke für Dein Feedback....habe manchmal das Gefühl das der Newsletter immer von den selben Usern gelesen wird...

LG Premasiri

 

[MA*R*CO]

ROYSTON’S REPORT Number 233
Sunday 7 December 2014

That’s how I discovered the Economic History Museum of Sri Lanka, and a gloriously voluptuous interior.
I gazed up in amazement at the lavishly columned, marble staircase curving around a central atrium up three floors to a cupola roof. Surely I had stepped from Chatham Street, Colombo, into a regency mansion in Regent Street, London. Of course not, but a time warp is preserved in this restored, neglected building.

Central staircase of the Money Museum​

Originally known as the National Mutual Building it is an elaborate faux Regency palace with touches of post Edwardian grandeur of Empire.

The Central Bank Currency Museum was established on 20 April 1982 at the Central Bank Head Office in Colombo Fort. At present, the Museum is housed within the premises of the Central Point Building, 54, Chatham Street, Colombo 01. The museum is open to the general public, school groups and foreign / local numismatists from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Monday to Saturday on all working days except public and bank holidays, Admission to the Museum is free.

Quelle: www.cbsl.gov.lk - Central Bank Sri Lanka

Ich überlege die ganze Zeit ob es sich um das gleiche Museum bzw. das gleiche Gebäude handelt. Das Museum wollte ich immer schon mal besuchen. Bisher war ich in Colombo nur im Postmuseum (4/2011) und im Eisenbahnmuseum (10/2009).

 

[MA*R*CO]

Postmuseum (4/2011)

Eisenbahnmuseum (10/2009)

 

[Premasiri]

The Central Bank Currency Museum was established on 20 April 1982 at the Central Bank Head Office in Colombo Fort. At present, the Museum is housed within the premises of the Central Point Building, 54, Chatham Street, Colombo 01. The museum is open to the general public, school groups and foreign / local numismatists from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Monday to Saturday on all working days except public and bank holidays, Admission to the Museum is free.

Quelle: www.cbsl.gov.lk - Central Bank Sri Lanka

Ich überlege die ganze Zeit ob es sich um das gleiche Museum bzw. das gleiche Gebäude handelt. Das Museum wollte ich immer schon mal besuchen. Bisher war ich in Colombo nur im Postmuseum (4/2011) und im Eisenbahnmuseum (10/2009).

Hallo Marco,

musst das nächste Mal hingehen dann weisst Du ob es das gleiche Museum ist....aber so wie es beschrieben ist könnte es das gleiche sein...

danke fürs einstellen der Bilder von den anderen zwei Museum.

LG Premasiri

 

[Pak Bahasa]

habe manchmal das Gefühl das der Newsletter immer von den selben Usern gelesen wird...

ich lese das jedenfalls immer sehr gerne und würde mich freuen dem Royston irgendwo mal in SL zu begegnen...

LG Joerg

 

[Premasiri]

Joerg, er lebt im Horizon ( so heisst sein Haus ) in Induruwa...ev. kann ich etwas arrangieren wenn Du im Januar in SL bist...das wir uns alle bei meiner Lokation bei Siri oder in einem Restaurant treffen...

 

[Pak Bahasa]

das wäre super, in Induruwa wollte ich auch kurz vorbei - alles weitere über PN Danke!!!