I resolve

First of all, I have lost some weight compared to last year, and now am 92kg.  My resolutions this year include
1 - Getting into work before 0700 more often than not
2 - Being more tidy at home 
3 - Ending the year lighter than last year

The kids have been back at school, my daughter for two days, my son for four.  My mother had come up for New Years which was great, especially as we did not get a chance to see her before we left for Sri Lanka due to the snow that fell on the weekend before we travelled.

I do feel faster at work and we have organised things to deal with the winter rush.  Being back just for four days, I have not had to deal with much of the crisis that is affecting the NHS at the moment.  While the Conservative government appears to be denying the crisis that has been created by them not funding the NHS properly, I have had to warn a few patients that they may not get the treatments that they are hoping for this month due to the crisis.

Today, we have been to collect the laptop of my wife which was repaired after I broke it.  During this time, the kids were exemplary in their behaviour.  We ate in Chelmsford after taking a break on our journey back, and while the seating was a bit chilly, the food was fantastic.  

Anyway, now it is time for The Voice UK which we all love.  

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.