And the end of 2017 comes...

The kids have been amazing today recovering from jet lag though my daughter woke about 0130 which is about 0700 in Sri Lanka.  We drove to London after seeing if the laptop of my wife could be fixed (I broke it's screen during the holiday).  When there, we collected my mother after meeting one of my brothers and his better half.

We also met with Tony and Isobel who have kept an eye on our house while we have been away.  But we now countdown the minutes till the end of this year and the beginning of the next.  Best wishes to you all!

We are back!

We are back at home now.  And everyone else is asleep, and I am to join them soon.

The kids slept better than I did on the plane, by son initially stating that he would not be able to sleep (but he did so later), but I kept waking up due to the cough I have had in the last few days.  And because I had some sleep, I was too rested to fall asleep again.  So I watched some films instead.

The first film was In Time which had a great story, but while the film had lots of potential, it failed to meet up to it with lots of holes being present in the plot.  This may had been to edits being made due to it being on a plane, but I doubt it.  It is a shame, but if this film is ever remade, it could be so much better with some changes. Saying that, it was an enjoyable film, but I would have hated to have had to pay to watch it.

Lucy on the other hand was much better, a film full of twists and surprises, though some were predictable, this was what sci-fi should be.  Excellent acting, a plot line to match and lots of action, this was a film I would have been glad to have paid to watch.

Red Riding Hood is a film I have wanted to watch in ages, and I loved this take on a tale that has been told so often.  A who did it film set in a fantasy setting, my only annoyance was the clothing being worn in the snow.

Finally, in this film marathon, I watched Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and I loved it.  A bit corny in that this film fell into stereotypes, it was still put together well.  I would have loved to have paid to watch this on the big screen.

But today has been eventful with the loss (temporary we hope) of an item of value in the home, as well as fatigue.  We have been to the shops where my daughter made the mistake of buying Coco Pops and Crunchy Nut Cornflakes when I was around which means that I know what I will be eating for the next two mornings.  And with that, it is time for me to sleep as well.  Enjoy the music video, sung by someone who I saw on The Voice UK and felt should have gone far.

Day 17 in Sri Lanka

Just a quick and hurried post.  We checked out of that amazing hotel today to journey to Hotel Janaki where we collected our other luggage, packed, talked to friends and got ready for our flight.  However our taxi did not arrive on time or at all, which meant another taxi had to be called and our trip to the airport has not been as relaxing as we would have liked.  But we have finished shopping and are waiting for the call to board.

The kids during the day had fun as they were taken shopping by their grandmother.  She had been advised to order a car to take them about town, but did not, and found it hard to get a taxi, so they ended up taking a Tuk-Tuk, otherwise known as a mobile tin can of death, not once, but twice.  Other than my daughter being on the part with no door, they loved it.

Day 16 in Sri Lanka

Today was meant to be a day spent relaxing. But the children made me swim and swim and swim. 

The morning involved a buffet breakfast where I accidentally fed the fish below us.  We saw a crab eat bits of the best bread rolls in Sri Lanka and after swimming in the morning I may have accidentally done the same at lunch.  However, in the morning we also saw a bird try to eat the fishes who were trying to eat the bread roll.

It was swimming again with the children in the afternoon until it was time for bed, and this post. My son, still thinks that he is not that good at swimming, but he is brilliant, improving throughout the day.  And much to my annoyance, my daughter was able to swim faster than me.

Day 15 in Sri Lanka

Our tour of the island is over and we now have two nights in a beach resort.  We had an early morning trip to see if we could spot a leopard, but sadly we did not. I think the comments of a friend are right for she said that they probably hide the leopards to encourage people to return to Yala.

After this, we checked out and went to our beach stay, stopping on the journey for curd and honey.  

And we love it here.  And we got to see an elephant close up, twice!

Day 14 in Sri Lanka

We left for a safari today.  We went on the way after an early morning departure, to Ella and took in the magnificent views from there.  Then it was a drive to our hotel, and then our off road trek into the wilderness where we saw an elephant, loads of buffalo, a wild boar, amazing birds and the kids loved the 4x4 pickup going through the mud!

When there, we learned about how the Tsunami of 2004 affected people in the park looking at a bungalow that was washed away with the deaths of those within. 

Day 13 in Sri Lanka

Well that was an interesting Christmas Day.  I went out for a walk when everyone had started to wake.  I was hoping to go for a walk with others, but I felt that would not work out (I was later proved wrong).

 After a morning stroll around Nuwara Eliya, (where I saw this transformer,) I returned for breakfast and then handing out the presents.  Lunch was served afterwards and after the afternoon walk which I thought might not happen we went out about town.

We got to see a market, try the worst Espresso I have tasted and later return (for my wife and I) to the Grand Hotel.  We had stayed here for our honeymoon and the place is smarter than before.  And the Thai restaurant we went to looked amazing.  But we did not think so during all the 75 minutes that we waited for our food.  And the order was wrong.  But we did get a free meal and the hotel manager was very apologetic.

Maybe we should have remembered that it was our 13th day!

Day 12 in Sri Lanka

Today was much more relaxing compared to others in a way.  There was a lot less driving and in the morning I had gone for a walk, a nice long one to make up for all the time that I had not been able to swim as much as I would like.  It was not as long as I would have liked ideally, but this break is not just about me, but it is also about the family.

After lunch we went to look at the St Clairs Falls.  We had considered other options including the scenic railway trip, but decided on one that took us down memory lane.  Before, when we had visited Sri Lanka in the past, my wife and I had chocolate cake and tea over looking the falls.  Since then, a dam has been built upstream of them and the place that we ate, has moved.

But it is still beautiful there.  And while we did not visit the location from the past to eat and drink, we went to were it has moved to.  We were not able to watch a film about the history of tea there, but it still was a place that the kids loved.

We bit of late night shopping and pizza and now it is time for bed while the children wait for Christmas day tomorrow.

Day 11 in Sri Lanka

Today was a tiring day for the children.  After waking and packing, it was a trip to an elephant orphanage in Pinnawala which we all loved.  We had been hoping to see the elephants being fed milk but missed this.  However this means that we get to return in a few years time to watch this.  After that, it was a drive to Nuwara Eliya.  I helped to navigate, though most of this was done using Google Maps.  But it has been an exhausting trip today, but one that is worthwhile.

Day 10 in Sri Lanka

Our tour continues. 

We walked from out hotel to the Temple of the Tooth.  While hot, the weather was nothing compared to what it had been before and while uncomfortable at times, it was bearable.  After a detour for shopping, we went to the temple.  My wife and I had been here before, but my children had not and they got to learn about the Tooth, Sri Lanka and also Buddhism.  As before, it was a memorable experience, though I had forgotten that the museum is devoted to the tale to the Tooth, not to Buddha himself.

Day 9 in Sri Lanka

After a relaxing breakfast, which for me, meant a walk by the lake side as well, the kids enjoyed sometime in the pool watched by my wife while I packed.  They returned on time, but the rain may have given the children some encouragement. However it was nothing compared to the very memorable downpour that we experienced yesterday.

After lunch it was then a drive to Kandy where we booked into the Suisse Hotel which my daughter states is the best hotel we have visited so far.  I have to say that the service here has been excellent as well as our room.

Dinner was enjoyable once again, my son loving the buffet, and now they are in bed again.

Day 8 in Sri Lanka

Last night we were woken by barking dogs, and a downpour.  In the morning, after breakfast, which went on longer than we anticipated, we set off for Polonnaruwa.  My wife and I had been there in the past, back when we had some here for our honeymoon.  It has been a long time since then and some things have changed.

The day was cloudy at times and sunny at other times.  But by the time we got there, it was raining, lots.  We did get to see some of the ancient city and learn about history, but the rain prevented us from seeing as much as we wanted.  And when I say rain, I mean a downpour.  We did get to see how the ancient city was built to deal with these deluges.  Hopefully we will return in a few years to appreciate this properly then.

Day 6 & 7 in Sri Lanka

We have begun our tour of Sri Lanka.

Thanks to the favourite cousin of my wife, we have been able to travel to the Amaya Lake Hotel.  It looked amazing.  It was a long journey to the hotel, but it was worth it.  Calm, tranquil and relaxing, as we were being taken to our villa, we got to see a monkey stealing a pineapple.  However, on our arrival to our room, there was no bed for my son to sleep in and the bath in the bathroom was not as clean as any hotel guest would expect.  We rang them to be assured that this would be sorted when we got back from dinner.  Dinner there was good, but the cakes they had at the buffet were terrible, tasting stale.  Other than that, it was great to eat there.  But on arrival back at our room, my son still had no place to sleep.  We rang and were told that this would be sorted out shortly.  But shortly came and went and was replaced by an irate wife who got things sorted out after speaking to the hotel manager.  But despite making a bed for my son, we lacked pillows.  And that required more hassle to sort out.  But it ended up all right in the end.

Some the morning, we swam after a great breakfast and checked out (late, but the staff were understanding about this) before having lunch and drove to our next destination the Habarana Village by Cinnamon.  We decided to drive back though after dropping off our luggage, heading to Sigiriya (or Sinhagiri).  I have been to Sri Lanka before, but never got the chance to visit here and this year I got to see it and some of the history around it with my own eyes.  I did not get the chance to climb up it as it was getting late and wet, so this is something I will want to return to do.  After a trip for supplies, it was back to the hotel were we unpacked, rested for a few minutes and then had dinner.  The choice of food here is better than we had yesterday and while I would say it is better overall, yesterday was still good.

Anyway, time for bed as tomorrow we hope to rise early to take in more history.

Chess

Just a quick update on this.

I have been trying to keep active with chess, but I am finding this hard as I do not have as much time as I would like to contemplate my moves.

Since I last posted, the following tournaments have been completed.

37th Chess.com Quick Knockouts 1401-1600
Speed King #222 - Very Fast Players 5(1)->2 U1500
We Love Groot II

Day five in Sri Lanka

Today, we watched The Last Jedi.  The kids loved it, as did my wife and I.  My son needed a toilet break half way through the film, and we found out a minute after getting back to our seats, that cinemas in Sri Lanka have intervals!  They also have chilli popcorn.

After enjoying the film, we went to The Kingsbury to have high tea with an aunt and uncle of my wife which we enjoyed and later visited another.

Day four in Sri Lanka

We got back late last night which meant that I did not get to post my update on day four.

My parents in law had their golden wedding anniversary last night.  That with the trip to the temple was the reason that the children had to be taken out of school so early.

During the day, I helped a small amount with the organisation, not as much as others, but a little bit.  After lunch, while my wife and daughter went to have their hair done with my mother in law, my son and I relaxed in our room.  Well he had a shower, I told him a story while rubbing cream into his skin, then fell asleep and showered.  We had a few scares while getting ready with me breaking the screen of my wife's laptop which she needed to type her fathers speech and amend hers, along with realising that some of the things we had thought we had brought are still in Colchester. 

When we arrived at Galle Face Hotel, we then found that the table plan that my wife had handed over before had been lost by the staff who had made their own one.  A panicked reorganisation took place which was going well until some relatives arrived and wanted to help, initially making things a bit worse before it was all sorted out in the end.  After that was sorted out, I cannot fault the staff who were otherwise excellent and a tribute to the hotel.  The food looked amazing and was good, but not as fantastic as it appeared.

Being the only daughter, my wife made a amazing speech before my father-in-law made one as well.  During the meal, there was also a video of the marriage and anniversaries from before as well as some dancing, this being the Waltz and the Jive.

When it came to us dancing, my wife and I took to the floor after her parents had been dancing to show everyone how not to do it, as I forgot the steps.  I did recover, but later, when we tried to waltz again, I missed out on my steps.  Sadly, my son did not dance, but my daughter did and loved it, though she was a bit unnerved when men came up to dance with her.  Two of her aunts, sisters of her Grandmother, took to the dance floor with gusto and really enjoyed themselves, and inspiration I think to my daughter.

And afterwards, it was back to the hotel, and sleep.

I missed out on some politics

While I do love being on holiday in Sri Lanka, tho two down sides were that I missed the Facebook live chat that Jeremy Hunt did (I would have been one of the trolls as apparently anyone who is not a fan of him is one), and also Any Questions, a show I listen to almost every Friday night, and often tweet about, was in Colchester.

Day three in Sri Lanka

We were woken early today after our late night last night.  My wife had to go with her mother to collect somethings, but ended up waiting around for an hour and a half before she left.  She was of the accurate impression that she could have waited in bed!  But when she got back, we got to meet more of her family, many who have only seen our children in photo's and some who I have never met before.  All were welcoming and friendly and loved our two children.

Later, we had to help her parents again, not a major issue, but we went to have lunch first at The Lagoon restaurant at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.  I was a bit nervous at first as they had very fresh fish on display, and I tend not to like fish.  But, I do love fish when it is fresh, and this was very fresh.  I have to say that this might be the best fish meal I have had, and considering the quality of the fish we ate at one restaurant in Devon, this is of a very high standard.  We had tea afterwards in the lobby of the restaurant, my wife and children having macaroons which they loved.

After helping her parents out (a minor detour for us), we returned to the hotel for a trip to a temple for a blessing.  This is one of the reasons why we came here and the journey there was a long one where it started to rain a lot.  The downpour when we arrived continued only abating once we left.

Anyway, the children are in bed now having eaten at the hotel.  Good night all!

Day two in Sri Lanka

Today has been interesting.  After breakfast with the favourite cousin of my wife, while my wife, her mother and my daughter went to get things to look even more amazing, my son and I were dropped off at a shopping Mall.  It was suggested to us as it is indoor, and there was the chance of catching more Pokémon.  In the UK, when we are at large shopping Malls, there is the option to walk from one Pokéstop, or Pokégym to another and catch Pokémon.  The was not the case at Liberty Plaza, and my son did not appreciate it when his iPhone started to glitch when there was an awesome Pokémon to catch.  Needless to say, this did not put him in that good a mood, but we continued to walk around the Mall.  The escalators are intended to draw you in, and finding a way out was possible, but was not easy, which should be the design of any good mall.  I ended up trying to convince him that the place was a trap that lured people in and turned them into mannequins, but he did not believe me.

My friend, and cousin of my wife picked us up later, after he had completed what he was up to, and had kindly agreed to drive us about when my wife, daughter and mother-in-law arrived.  They had got things ready to journey to the temple, the trip planned for tomorrow and did not know that we had just been picked up when they pulled in behind us in a taxi.  We ended up squeezing into the car, and after a trip to the Galle Face Hotel, we returned to Hotel Janaki.

We picked up my father-in-law and then journeyed to the golf club in Colombo where they treated us to an amazing lunch there.  My son made a friend there who taught him the basics of golf before we journeyed back.  I accompanied my father-in-law to a few places in Colombo before returning back to the hotel where the kids had stayed.  I was knackered, I think because, I have come down with sinusitis (possibly).  But after some rest, the kids and I played a game before having dinner with my wife's cousin.

It was great seeing him, his wife and two children.  We are very lucky to know him.

All in all, today was another good day.  The only downside was that I did not get to take my son swimming in the Hotel Janaki pool like I had promised.

Day one in Sri Lanka

Our trip to Sri Lanka has been an interesting one.  My wife and I both were at work in the morning.  While we were happy to see our friend David on the weekend, it did mean that we did not get time to pack as we might otherwise. Saying that, it was a sacrifice that was worth it as it has been too long since we last saw David (and he fed us and looked after our son).  And I am not sure how much we would have been able to do as we were meant to have travelled to London on Sunday, and having time at home meant we able to do more.  

Basically, this meant that we had not had the time to pack as we would prefer. So we packed after I had collected the children from school.  I went to collect my daughter first who took ages to be collected and then we went to get my son. In hindsight, I should have done it the other way round.  So after packing, we went by taxi to the airport. I have to admit to feeling nervous when we hit traffic but our journey was in essence, uneventful other than a game of I spy where my daughter was, as usual, a very good player.

When at the airport, after a bit of shopping, we had food and drink. We let the children have what they wanted, and although my daughter wanted to have a coke, after I explained that it would ruin her food, she opted for juice, trying tomato juice (she did not like this) while my son was glad that Pikachu got to have a drink.

When on the plane, the kids have loved it. My son has enjoyed playing the games available and has been watching Captain Underpants.  I have taken the opportunity to watch Alien Covenant, Dunkirk and The 300.  

Alien Covenant was a disappointment. Not the worst of the Alien films, but no match for the first two.  For those who love the Alien films no matter what, this has all the core essentials, a strong female role model, lots of death and also an android.  The Red Shirt's though were not as memorable as in the first two films where most deaths were important.  With this being a prequel, the issue of the face huggers and the implanted embryo needing less time to gestate than in the original film bugs me.

Dunkirk was brilliant.  It conveyed the despair of leaving and sacrifice well.  I only watched parts of the BBC series and I am not sure that it compares well to my memories of that, but it was the best of the three films that I watched on the flight.  I loved how it explained the main problems and challenges being faced in that evacuation in a way that most can understand. And of course, it was a war film, so that sold me as well.

The 300 was a film I have wanted to watch for a long time. Like many who have heard about it, it fascinated me I have mixed feelings about it.  As a film about war in the times of ancient Greece, it does not match up to Troy (even with the many flaws it had at the end of the film).  I guess, I would have enjoyed it more when I was a teenager, but I do not appreciate the analogy of war being beautiful now I am older.  Probably more because almost everything else was ugly.

Anyway we have now arrived at Hotel Janaki where we are staying for about a week.  And we have had a great lunch and are to rest and recuperate. 

Mewtwo

While I am annoyed at how Arsenal defended against Southampton, my son is ecstatic, though not due to the Arsenal result. A few days ago, he got a raid pass for Pokémon Go. A special one that is only issued to a few people. There have been a few of these passes issued in Colchester and he has been hoping that he would get one.  And when he did, he was over the moon.  Until I pointed out that the raid was on a school day, during the time he was meant to be at school.  He was heartbroken but we were lucky. There is a lovely community of Pokémon Go players in Colchester and one kindly helped out and offered to attend the raid for him.

So last night he went to bed, hoping but not daring to hope too much.  And this morning he went to school with the same thoughts.  As soon as he got home, he checked up on his account and he has been in a good mood since.

In summary, Pokémon Go involves finding Pokémon, some are rarer than others.  Not only has he found one that is very rare, but this is a powerful one as well.  And one that neither his sister or I (I play it most days, she only plays it occasionally) have.

Snow!

The kids loved the snow today.  As you can see, from the picture that my daughter took when it started, it did not appear to be too bad, but it quickly got worse.

We were to travel to London to see my mother, but the roads quickly became treacherous and after explaining the risks of travelling so far to my mother, we went to the shops.  The journey was 'interesting' and one of our neighbours who went out soon after us had to leave their car and walk home.  We were lucky and on the way back, with the traffic and more snow, I took a route back that was as flat as I could find.  One of our friends, David was here and looked after my son when this went on.

Once at home, my daughter and I had a snowball fight before I took the shopping in, something both her and my son did after our late breakfast as cooked by David.  He was glad to get help from others to take her on, her being the tallest in the snowball fight, and despite not being the oldest, this meant that she was the main target!  I am not sure if she was a bit annoyed that the older girl in the street was not the target of this.  I presume that the other girl joined in with the concentrated snowball assault on my daughter.

Anyway, they are asleep, and David has left, reaching his destination safe and sound. Driving tomorrow morning will be fun!

Dear Jeremy Hunt, these are the facts about your interview on The Andrew Marr Show

Dear Jeremy Hunt, I see that you have managed to find an excuse not to talk to Ralf Little because you feel that he has not proven that you misled the public in your interview on The Andrew Marr show on the 29th of October 2017.  For the record, you did mislead the public.  But as you want proof, let us go through your statements in that interview.

You start by answering the question posed about if mental health provision has got better or worse by saying it has got better.  You discuss the number of contacts where patients have had contact with the mental health services using that to claim that the services have improved.  But you ignore how the police are having to deal mental health issues in increasing numbers.  Officers point to an increase of more than 50% in a decade in the use of powers to detain people under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

1:00 - When asked about how long a child with a mental health issue should wait for treatment, you cite targets which have been put in place for eating disorders.  However, the Children's Commissioner has raised many concerns about child mental health which proves that your aspirations, while admirable, are not helping children as much as needed at the moment.

1:40 - you mention child psychiatrist numbers, but you forget to mention that numbers have fallen.  An article last year stated that numbers are the lowest in seven years.

3:00 - You claim that the numbers of nurses in mental health have not met what the nation needs, as effort has been put into place to increase nursing numbers after Mid Staffs.  But you ignore the huge issues with the nursing shortage that have existed under your watch, and as this graph shows, how this has got worse during your watch.

3:35 - You state that hospitals were unsafe in the past.  But you forget those patients who died in hospital corridors during the last winter bed crisis!  Of course, your view was crisis, what crisis which is a view not shared by those who worked through it to help those patients treated by the NHS during this time.

3:55 - You rightly cited that the number of training places for nurses have increased, but official figures actually show that there are less student nurses compared to before now.

4:25 - You state that the numbers of those working in mental health have increased, but by saying so, you ignore how the number of unfilled consultant psychiatric posts have doubled in the last four years.

5:25 - You state that the number of mental health beds have been increased during the last year.  In September, a judge described the lack of secure mental health beds as scandalous.  If you have sorted this issue out, why did the judge say this?

6:25 - You refer to increasing the numbers of those being trained to treat mental health.  This graph shows that there are large numbers of posts to train psychiatrists that are unfilled.

11:55 - When you comment on the nurse in A&E seeing patients, you forget to mention those who attend Accident and Emergency inappropriately, instead blaming the ageing population.  Probably because you refused to use the NHS properly when it came to seeking medical advice out of hours.

15:05 - You state that harm in the NHS is nothing (or not principally) to do with resources.  However, your own comments on the 1st of December about how outcomes and finances are linked appears to say otherwise.

15:39 - You cite the Commonwealth fund report which rated the NHS as number one, but you ignore that it came second worst with health outcomes.

In summary, what you said was factually correct, but as shown in this blog post, you have misled the public as you have only told part of the truth on these matters.  Your refusal to discuss the matters that you glossed over either indicates intent or incompetence.  And while many who work in the NHS think that you are incompetent, I feel that your statements on the NHS to Andrew Marr were deliberate.

 Last of all, there are a few more graphs showing how the NHS has fared under your care.  But again, despite allegations that you are incompetent, you know about these figures already.

Pokémon Go and my son

One week ago, my son was heartbroken.  After collecting him from Cubs, I took him to a Pokégym not realising that there was a raid occurring there.  For those with a life, who do not know about this, Pokémon Go is a game where you encounter Pokémon which are virtual creatures which can be caught using an app.  My son got into it when his friends at school had taken up the craze.  Most have given this up, but he is going strong.

My daughter took this up later, but her enthusiasm died after attending a raid where she saw some of those who play Pokémon and decided to stop playing it as much.  Well, we have only been able to go to a few raids and have never caught one of the Legendary Pokémon.  So last week, we got there to find lots of people about to take part in one. We joined up and the 'Raid Boss' was defeated. But then it came to capturing it.  The sad thing is that I got it and he did not. Understandably he was distraught and when the same happened on the weekend with another one, where I caught one and he did not, he took it better.

So on Monday, I had the chance to get one for him.  And this time I got it for him.  The screams when he realised brought a big smile to my face.  Sadly I was not able to do the same for my daughter, but maybe next time...

Film review of Paddington 2 by my son (three hours work)

 Paddington 2 is a wonderful film but I thought it would be a boring film. I found a combination of emotion here`s what I felt, at the beginning, as always, love for Paddington of course when he tries to buy a pop-up book about London for his aunt because Lucy`s 100^th birthday [I thought this was lovely] but a celebrity that is played by Hugh Grant is interested. Next thrill, when Paddington chases the unidentified robber [ I thought that they would catch him and throw him into jail]. Then I felt sorrow for Paddington when he is behind bars in prison, soon after I laugh because Paddington EVEN made prison a lot more fun ( I think Paddington is amazing). I felt despair for him when the Brown`s missed visiting time and then I started to weep because I thought the Brown`s forgot about him. Then I felt fantastic because Paddington broke out of prison. After he captured the criminal (that was the celebrity) he was reunited with the Browns, but then the vehicle fell in the river. Luckily Mrs Brown had practise for swimming across the channel, so she saved Paddington. The pop-up book got lost in the river, so they thought why does she see it in a pop-up book so Aunt Lucy came to London .I feel sorry for my father because he missed the film and he would love it and I would`ve loved if he came (with the exception of him saying ``He`s going to die’’).