Blog Archives

Nightmarish Travels and Travails during Covid – By GEORGE BRAINE Since moving to Sapporo, Japan, in 2019, I had not been to Sri Lanka in two years. Not seen or spent time with my sister Beula; my cousin Marie and her husband who were my neighbors; their son and his family; a 95-year old aunt and her family; my friends Victor, Eileen, and a few other friends and relatives, some elderly, others ailing, some both.  I missed “Pondside”, the greenery around my small home there, the sound of the birds and the crickets, the mangoes and other fruits, delicious meals loaded with coconut curry prepared by Indra, my housekeeper. I missed sitting on my verandah and watching the world go by, the daily visits and con chats with distant relative Ignatius. I missed travels with Gamini, my part-time driver, chatting with him for hours as he drove. I missed the rain on the roof, the ...