Jill and I drove back from Kandy through the beautiful Hewahetta route. There had been a lot of recent rain and the mountain torrents were full of water and I was able to take some spectacular photos of her with a backdrop of waterfalls and boulders smothered in a misty sprays. Everywhere she was enchanted with the iridescent blue-green dragonflies, the huge blue, yellow and scarlet butterflies that were all around the luxuriant jungle vegetation. The road takes one past the old Sinhalese hill palace where the old kings would journey to avoid the stifling heat in April /May when the sun was directly overhead at midday and the SouthWest monsoon had not yet arrived to cool the countryside down. The road is extremely twisty but very pretty winding its way through hills and valleys carpeted with tiny paddy fields clinging to the steep hillsides with a network of canals and anicuts supplying each little field with water to irrigate their tiny stepped plots.
Finally after about a couple of hours of driving through them at an elevation of about 1,500 or 2,000 ft we took the amazing shortcut which climbs suddenly with 38 hairpin bends in the space of 5 miles through Marigold Estate up to 6,500 ft to reach High Forest, a beautiful property wonderfully managed and organised by Alan Cameron, one of a number of superb planters whose brilliant organisation and devotion left such a mark on the country. The contrast of the pretty but untidy and chaotic Sinhalese villages, with the European orderliness upcountry could not be more sharply focussed in such a brief distance. About a week later it was our Wedding at Ragalla Church. The little chapel was tiny and the altar and sides were smothered in flowers, pink anthuriums, agapanthus, and orchids everywhere. The ladies of the Udapussellawa district had really excelled themselves and the sight was breathtaking as were all the flowers in Ragalla Bungalow for the Reception. The weather was cool and misty with North East clouds scurrying over, but fortunately the weather held off and there was no rain. As poor Jill had none of her family present, she was given away by my great friend Ronny Williams with whom I had spent the first 4 months of “creeping”. Michael Sparkes who had looked after me on on the “Warwickshire” a year earlier was my best man. There were about 30 or so guests, mostly of my Fathers generation but quite a few young planting friends of mine. Weddings are a pleasantly misty blur which pass only too quickly, and all one can really think of is the thrill of having a lovely pretty bride by ones side for the future, making a witty speech, and everyone wishing us both well. That is until some chap said to me amongst all the chatter “Don’t worry Mike, first 15 years are the worst after that it is all plain sailing”. I suddenly thought 15years; I was only 8 years old before, and that I found quite sobering at the time, and yet now we have been together for almost 60! How time passes! Champagne flowed freely and when finally it was time to leave at about 5 o’clock it was just starting to rain as we got into the car to climb up to Nuwara Eliya and the Grand Hotel for our first wedded night. In our room I stood fully clothed in the bath trying to confine all the confetti that had been shoved down my neck when there was a knock on the door with a message saying that five friends were waiting for us in the billiard room bar and the champagne had been opened so hurry up. So as not to offend the Uva chaps we came down and there was a party which went on till late at night, until finally exhausted we retired at last to our room to the incessant din of rain on the corrugated iron roof of the Edwardian Hotel. It was however a wonderful send off and a fitting finale to our last day of unmarried life.
Next morning after a big breakfast in the cold atmosphere of Nuwara Eliya, we set off in the still thumping rain which had not let up at all for the past 12 hours, and steadily dropped down into the warmth of Kandy and thence on through the final 100 mile stretch of jungle on the road to Trincomalee and our private seaside house at Plantain Point. It never ceased raining for a second and as we drove on the jungle roads that are a single tarmac track with grass edging raised above the surrounding countryside, the whole area bordering was completely flooded. I kept on reminding Jill that this was the “dry zone” jungle, and her retort was : “God, if this is the dry zone, what on earth is the wet zone like?” Suddenly as we were driving there was an immense flash and explosion and a jungle tree a hundred yards or so on our right was struck by lightening and split in two. It was really frightening, and especially so for my poor Jill, far from home in a strange tropical country to travel under such awful weather conditions. But eventually after an 8 hour journey we arrived in Trinco in now bright sunshine to the quiet ease of our bungalow there on a hill overlooking one of the worlds greatest natural harbours . Koothan our Tamil house boy brought us a welcome cup of tea to refresh us after the long journey and to make the new bride comfortable.
Whilst we were having tea quietly, I heard a rustle on the verandah and there was old Hubert Paterson standing in his underpants and vest. Hubert was about 87 years old at the time had retired two doors down from our house in a very sumptous but untidy home.
“ I heard that you had arrived with your new bride, Mike and I just thought that I would pop round and pay my respects”.
I could sense in an instant that his appearance, in his long underpants was a real cultural shock for Jill who had obviously never previously had such an experience. However I asked him if he would like a cup of tea which he readily accepted and gradually she was quite amused by him. A little while later Jill went off to the bedroom and whilst we were alone Hubert leant forward quietly and said,
“ Mike you couldn’t do me a favour could you. I am dressed like this because I have got an enormous boil or carbuncle on my bottom which has me in excruciating pain. I was wondering if your Jill would be so kind as to dress it for me as it is hard to do it alone”. Even I who knew the eccentric and odd types of planter in the island, was flabbergasted!
“Look Hubert”, I said, “ This is the first day of our marriage and much as I like you , I am damned if I will allow my new young wife to dress your wound when there are any number of doctors and a hospital in Trinco!” He could see that I was not amused at all, and in fact I was quite shocked and he hastily bade us farewell and left us alone at last.
Next day the weather brightened up with bright morning sunshine and I was able to take my new gorgeous wife on a long lazy drive over the Mahaveli delta with innumerable slow ferries crossing the many mouths of the river as it flowed into Trincomalee harbour. I still could hardly believe my good fortune to have at my side such an outstandingly pretty wife as my companion to share my quite isolated home. In looks she had quite a close resemblance to our young and beautiful Queen Elizabeth who was only about 10 years older . Every moment for me was a treasure and I never stopped thanking God for my good fortune.
