An Emotional Day in Galle

On the way to the ground from the hotel the signs of the Tsunami were all too apparent...these graves can be found every 100m on the road side...

This tomb was erected after a train with 1200 people was washed away in the wave...

Remakably this building on an island out in the ocean was left completely untouched...it is now used as a shrine for people to visit to pray for miracles...

This was the final venue for the trip, the International Stadium in Galle in front of the famous Dutch Fort...

A wonderful day with the two squads...the opposition were from the squad set up by the Trust fund from Arjuna Ranatunga

After the toss...

Angus Malcolm took the new ball and the first wicket...

Ned once again bowled beautifully to bowl out the opposition for 144...

In front of a large partisan crowd!

Unfortunately it rained in our run chase so the match was abandonned....Arjuna did the presentations at the end of a very emotional day!

Preparation at the Heritance.

Today was a day of preparation for our last match on tour...we decided to take on the local staff team...

We later found out they were national "soft ball" cricket champions two years ago and have their semi-finals on Sunday!They ended up being winning a close game, but it did allow the boys time to finish with a little more water polo....All in all a great day in a wonderful hotel...

We All Go Back to School

Thursday was a long travelling day, 8 hours in the coach which was broken up with a wonderful visit to the school at Haldanawaru, set up by the Shelton Trust....The boys had a chance to meet the staff...and look around the school, one of the first projects was to cover up this well.

The classrooms are very basic...but functional and these children from one of the poorest areas are receiving a good education...

Before long we had a game of cricket going, showing the power of sport as a means of interacting and finding some common ground...The rest of the school looked on with interest....

Whilst some took the opportunity to play on some of their play equipment....

After the game we had the chance to distribute some supplies to the children...

and enjoy some hospitality from the very impressive head teacher....

This was a wonderful visit. It was great to see the valuable work that the Shelton Trust has done....they need to raise £8,000 to get computers put into the school, if you would like to donate further please get in touch with Alison Hodgson ali.hodgson@me.com

or send a cheque to The Shelton Trust to Hereward Hall, Barton Road, Ely, CB7 4DB...

Humbled in Dambulla...

The Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, the venue for our 3rd game...

A very impressive stadium which hosted the Sri Lanka v India match in the World Cup earlier this year...

Ramith went out to toss and lost it so we were in the field....Toby opened the bowling with....

Sam....

The boys bowled and fielded fantastically in scorching heat to bowl out the District side for 300....

Our innings started well, here's the view from the top of the stand....

Sean was the leading run scorer....

Unfortunately this was the day of the King's collapse and we were well defeated by a very talented sidefrom the Dambulla region...lovely young men who turned up to play without eating their breakfast and sharing kit...a very humbling experience...

After the game we had tea at the Kandalama hotel, an amazing hotel built into the rock and the jungle...

The sun sets on Dambulla, a wonderful place, we now go on to the last lef of the trip and look forward to all the remaining experiences of this amazing journey.

Sigiriya...2000 Years of History

Sigiryia Rock Fortress....

We start the climb to the village at the top of the rock!

The view from half way up....

The Mountains of Kandy from where we have just come...

Alex & Josh half way up...

We all make it to the top 1200 steps later...Amazing views and a fantastic experience for us all.

A Day of Enlightenment on the way to Dambulla.

Our First stop on the way from Kandy was at a Herb & Spice Garden...these are vanilla pods....

Next we saw the magic cocoa tree, the home of chocolate...

Sri Lanka have more plants than any country in Asia, these are the very important peppers...

Even a plant that makes your hair grow....a shame Mr Broothroys and I didn't discover this a few years ago!

The boys seemed very keen to get their hands on some Aloe Vera, to cleanse their skin....

Josh doesn't seem too keen on the smell of this chillie powder...

Afterwards some of us enjoyed a massage with their magical oils.

After the herb garden we arrived at the wonderful Amaya Lake and once again lit the candles of peace...

A fantastic location with its very own cricket pitch...a little time for some relaxation...before....

We moved on to the Dambulla Golden Temple, a WorldHeritage site, which had many hidden treasures...

The temple has been cut out of and into the rock...This tree is the tree of enlightenment which the Buddah meditated under, a very peaceful and beautiful place...

These Buddahs are within the rock, the King on the left was the King who arranged this magnificent temple....

Sri Lanka is proving  a wonderful experience, full of hidden treasures, here is the national flower...tomorrow more wonders as we visit the Sigiryia Rock...