TROPICAL TOPICS
13 November 2011.
Greetings from my retreat by the Indian Ocean to all readers around the world. Regulars will notice I have changed the sub-heading of this weekly newsletter as it is not always about Sri Lanka. (OK, I know it’s not a very original sub-head as a search on Google yields 279,000,000 entries for “Tropical Topics.”)
Made in Sri Lanka
Asparagus! What a wonderful surprise to see fresh, locally grown asparagus on the shelves of Colombo’s best supermarket, John Keells at Crescat. The packet says it was grown by Sun Agro Farms Ltd, which has a Colombo address. It was priced at Rs1,750.00 (£ 10; US$ 15.90) per kilo so it wasn’t cheap but it was delicious steamed and drizzled with butter for lunch in the garden.
On the packet it says: “Asparagus is one of the most nutritionally balanced vegetables in existence. It consists of a wide array of nutrients, which are essentia [sic] for a healthy diet.” That makes spending that many rupees seem worthwhile.
Auction of Maps & Prints
Collecting maps and prints of the past has been a passion of mine since as a child I discovered maps of the world showing several countries coloured pink, signifying the spread of the British Empire. However, it was not just the colouring that attracted me, I became fascinated with old maps and prints because of what they revealed of life hundreds of years ago.
To hold in one’s hand a parchment-like piece of paper with an original 18th Century copper engraving done over 250 years ago by Bellin, entitled “Carte de l’Isle de Ceylan,” is to clasp history close to one’s heart.
I shall be sorry to let that map, and the other maps and prints in my collection, slip from my grasp. However, I have resolved that, after 30 years of collecting antique maps and vintage prints of Sri Lanka, it is time to let others enjoy them.
The more practical reason is that these rare and irreplaceable pieces of engraved paper etched with memories of the past, deserve better care than I can give them. They need to be stored in a controlled, dry temperature, not the humid and corrosive ambience of my seaside cottage, itself over 100 years old.
So instead of buying intriguing items at auction as I usually do, I have entrusted my collection to the old-established auctioneers in Sri Lanka, Schokman & Samerawickreme. The auction is being held at the YMBA Auditorium, 15 Dharmarama Road, Wellawatte, on Sunday 20th November 2011. (www.sandslanka.com).
If you’re in Colombo then please come along, just to view the maps and prints, if not actually to bid. There you will see such delights as the above, my oldest print, a set of four copper engravings on one sheet featuring village settlements and churches by Phillipus Baldeus; a rarity depicting life in Sri Lanka in 1700.
The historically important visit of the Prince of Wales to Ceylon in 1875 is brought to life with a sketch of him riding on the footplate of a steam locomotive.
A print with lots of action is the exciting picture of bullock hackery racing in Colombo, apparently a popular spectator sport in 1887.
From another print, an advertisement for Lipton’s tea dated 1892, we learn that “over one million packets” were sold weekly and “the finest tea the world can produce” cost a shilling a pound. It also reveals that Thomas Lipton was then the sole proprietor of eight “celebrated tea and coffee estates in Ceylon.”
I like this print for the leisurely scene it conveys, and for its politically-incorrect subtitle “A white man on the black river.”
An astonishing print of a scene that might raise eyebrows even today is entitled “The girl he left behind him: the Ceylon contingent leaving Colombo for South Africa.” It shows a British soldier affectionately embracing a beautiful local belle, 110 years ago, in Victorian times!
If you would like a detailed list of the 36 maps and prints to be auctioned, please send me an email: royston@roystonellis.com
Champagne Breakfast
The Maldives has always had a reputation as being expensive for holidays, especially when compared with Sri Lanka. Having visited the Maldives twice last month, I have observed some distinct changes recently. While the Maldives is higher in price for accommodation than Sri Lanka, there is a noticeable difference in food and drink costs.
A cocktail in a five-star resort or city hotel in Sri Lanka will cost around US$10; the same cocktail probably more expertly made costs from $6.00 in a Maldives resort. And the food! I recently paid the equivalent of US$50 for an Australian steak at a beach resort in Sri Lanka, whereas a similar steak weighs in at around $35 at a good resort in the Maldives.
And how about champagne breakfast for wonderful value? At Kurumba, the grand hotel resort close to the airport, guests enjoy a lavish breakfast buffet in the main restaurant. However, for just US$15 per person over the normal bed & breakfast rate, guests can chose from a dozen extravagant dishes served with style in the Ocean Grill restaurant by the beach.
Also included is a buffet of cereals, and a mini-shelf of fruit, smoked salmon, ham and cheese… all sluiced down with unlimited flutes of champagne.
Perhaps that’s what made me dare to start the day with Nasi Goreng instead of something conventional like Eggs Benedict.
The Maldives Avenger
You can read about the Maldives as it was in the 16th century in my swashbuckling novel, The Maldives Avenger, finally available as an eBook for downloading from www.roystonellis.com/shop
Going, going, gone…
Royston
