Music website of Christopher Tinker

I don’t know what Beethoven would think. I have already heard versions he would not recognize of his Pastoral Symphony and his Symphony no 9 during my examining. Now I am awoken by someone else’s alarm clock playing Fur Elise (whoever she was – I must find out…maybe it is common knowledge and folk will berate me for my ignorance).

Anyway, today I am collected in a three wheeler conveyance and feel a little odd in my jacket and tie in this open and madly driven machine – we sally forth horn blaring, on the wrong side of the road, moving back across when the traffic clears. Not unlike Indonesia (except less traffic) it is every man for himself here. Their one simple rule: give way to noone, and that includes pedestrians on pelican crossings.

I am also fascinated by the railway system. I watch as trains pass my hotel, passengers standing out on the doorless carriage thresholds, swining along. When the train does stop, many will leave from the ‘wrong’ side of the train, ignoring the platform side of the carriage, and jumping down from the other side onto the line below, clambering up onto the platform opposite. Imagine anyone attempting this at Crewe or Clapham Jct…

Examining has begun again. The tea they serve is tremendous, proper leaves and a huge teapot. I hoped the tea here would be good, as I am especially fond of it and have nearly as many varieties at home as I have of wine. Thereafter a stroll on the beach. Local families are there. I notice many men here wear a long, loose skirt around their waists, not trousers. I have my first paddle in this ocean.

On Friday there is a little work pm; as yesterday, the room is humid, the air conditioning is useless, and the lighting very poor. Enough grumbles, the candidates were superb and everyone received a distinction. They all deserve medals – so does the teacher. And they were all beautifully dressed – the Sri Lankans can be extremely smart.

During the evening I am with old friends at the Colonial hotel here called the Galle Fort - superb, with dining room gardens stretching down to the rolling waves of the ocean.  Am I really being paid to be out here?  Unbelievable.