. “ It would be a very big mistake and very dangerous on your part to go, my advice is stay away”.
“Why I should I do that when I helped build it? It would be rude of me to not grace the ceremony   and be there”.
“You are right it would be rude, but it would also be understandable. You see when a new Kovil is consecrated    there is an Evil Spirit that has  to depart from that area, and he does not like leaving it, and so will attack a member of one of the principals who have helped in some way in its construction.”
“ You are I am sure with the greatest of respect talking rubbish, and if  what  you are talking about is correct , what examples can you quote where this has ever happened?” I retorted.
Very quietly and without taking any umbrage he then reeled off all the accidents and mishaps that had happened to all the surrounding temples that had been built around on nearby estates:
“ Look at Downside Kovil. The man who sculpted and moulded all the figurines of the gods on its tower was dead within a week. At Waldemar the Head Kangany who raised the money and who was the driving force  of getting the building built had his wife die in an accident the very next day.” and so he went on giving about half a dozen examples at least and then added:
“ You can do just what you like, but my advice would be to make an excuse and take a holiday with your family to be on the safe side, but of course the decision is up to you”.
I thanked him for his concern, and thought on the one hand how damn silly, and that I am not a superstitious type, and yet there was a doubt as I had learnt all sorts of funny things that have happened for which there was no rational explanation. I played safe and told Jill that I thought it a good idea that we go off to Trinco for a short break!  So we went down camping this time at Marble Bay at Trincomalee with David & Penny Perkins and we were joined there also by his brother Ian with a  GP 14 sailing dingy. A couple of mornings after we had arrived I took the twins out in the little red car top dingy with the ‘Seagull’ outboard motor for an early morning fish. The sea was like a millpond with a gentle dry South  West breeze blowing from the shore onto the glistening flat mirror-like sea. As we cruised not far off  shore I suddenly noticed some way off a sharks fin skimming through the water. I cruised on and a few moments later saw another fin, but it was not too long before to my amazement that I saw that both fins were from one and the same enormous fish, a whale shark which must have been about 35 ft long. As we approached he was just breaking the surface going round an round slowly with his enormous head about 5ft wide a dull green colour. Suddenly I wondered just what would happen to our tiny craft with two 6 year old children and I turned around and motored back to our camp. When the boat was safely ashore I climbed a nearby concrete gun emplacement  from the war, and watched him circle around the small bay for about half an hour. A truly wonderful sight to behold and really something to marvel at.
In March 1963 we sailed on the  P&O  liner “Himalaya”  an elderly ship  of about 17,000 tons. There were 16 families that  were close friends and the voyage home was  certainly the happiest journey of our life, it was like a two week holiday cruise with all your friends around. The weather was superb and the ship stopped not only at Suez but also at Naples, Barcelona and Gibraltar where we were able to once again enjoy the  wine and food of the continent, see all the wisterias in bloom on the houses  and the flower stalls selling tulips and other spring flowers that we had almost forgotten about. We arrived in England and rented a pleasant flat in Brede in Kent near Hastings in an old rectory the grounds of which were a glorious carpet of daffodils, a sight so refreshing and clean and pure, a great contrast to the brash gaudiness of the tropical flowers. Little did I know then that this was to be  the first step  home and our departure from Ceylon, and Jill was never to return until 15 years  later when Paul was 18.

5/5 Next Chapter.

Taking over Luckland January 1960