Sleepless in the Mid-East

I am sleepy! It's 4.37 a.m. and the Mediterranean Sea laps the shore line outside my bedroom window.

It is hot! The sun is beating down at 32° C in the day. We seek shade in the hotel lobby, lounge or pool side. Travelling's been kept to a minimum because we are both sick. Great! But sickness has it's reward: Reading! Yes, superb, uninterrupted reading.

My friend Jennifer lent me Woolf in Ceylon, the tale of Leonard Woolf, husband of famous Virgina, who was a Ceylon Civil Servant. The book is by Ondaatje--not of English Patient fame--but his brother.

In WiC, Ondaatje accomplishes a three fold task. He presents a summary of Lankan history; writes about his own experiences in Lanka and interweaves these around the story of Woolf & his days in British 'Ceylon'. Ondaatje also has some great old photos of Lanka.

I love these tales. It makes me want to read Woolf's own words in his autobiography, Growing. It's great to read Ondaatje, but why not get the tales from the horses mouth, as it were?

The Hon. Wilhelm Woutersz, Foreign Secretary (Ret) & very civil servant, loved his outstation assignments in Ceylon. Unfortunately, my dear cousin died before he could complete 'the telling'. One can only hope he, too, left diaries and journals which may one day become Woutersz Abroad.

Hmm. I like that title. Sounds like a job for me to pitch into!
Good news. Sleep descends. LankaBlue²