I've previously written about my visits with Sir Arthur C. Clarke on this blog, a highlight in my travel life. Arthur had a beach villa in Hikkaduwa near the southwestern corner of Sri Lanka, just north of Galle. It was an older home built in the late 19th century, but spacious and in a very lovely setting; Arthur loved diving and the sea and he named this vacation home, "Scuba Villa". My fondest memories of visiting Arthur are our time here at Scuba Villa because he completely relaxed and "decompressed" while staying here. Usually it was just the two of us (and his staff), and we could talk for hours. It's hard to explain how thrilling it was for me to have the opportunity to visit like this with my favorite author.
Arthur employed a family that lived in the villa and cared for it full-time. A shy but pleasant couple, and their young daughter whom you see in this photo. A pretty but quiet child, she couldn't speak a word of English and I knew no Sinhalese, but she was about the age of my own children at the time so we connected as "friends" in the way of adults and young children. I was sure to have a small gift for her when I came to Scuba Villa, and she kept me company around the property and on some of my beach walks.
The family moved away after the great Tsunami (which fortunately they survived, but many others did not) and I completely lost touch with them. I imagine that she's married, maybe even with a family of her own now.
For a list of DrFumblefingers blog posts on Sri Lanka, please click on this link.
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