A Christmas coriander cure

I am not feeling great today. I have a @%&*&$ (insert expletive of your choice here) cold and am feeling a little sorry for myself. It could of course be worse and I do realise I'm being a tiny bit melodramatic. It's just a cold after all. But I had hoped that the sore throat and stuffy head developed a few days back were on their way out when I took a turn for the better yesterday. Instead, I woke this morning with the nose of that most popular of reindeers, the chesty rattle of a 20-a-day smoker, and the morning-after head of a work Christmas party goer (The closest I've come to attending such an event was a lunchtime earlier this week spent in good company stuffing my face with curry and cake and sipping on some water). So, it seems that being in the tropics does not protect you from the dreaded Christmas germs!

The thing is, tomorrow is a big day; my friends arrive from home for a long planned festive break. I've been looking forward to this for 11 months now and, you know how it is, who doesn't want to be at their best for the holidays? To say I'm disappointed is putting it mildly. Well, actually, it's spot on. I am disappointed.

However, I'm aware that I will not be alone in my snuffly nose, gravelly chest and bad head. I'm sure many of you reading will be suffering too; perhaps you're bingeing on mince pies whilst shivering miserably under a blanket by the fire, or stoically carrying on with your duties; bravely stuffing the turkey, scrubbing the potatoes and crossing those sprouts between explosive sneezes. And so in the name of solidarity and positivity, I have decided to get a grip, stop the moaning and take some assertive action. As well dosing up on some drugs, and taking care to follow that wise old adage by stuffing my germ-filled face, I have boiled myself up a traditional cold cure.

The Sri Lankans love their herbal medicine and, whilst working my way through my 3rd breakfast course this morning, it struck me that the cookbook I'd been given by VSO on my arrival had some traditional remedies at the back. On digging out the book, this is what I found:

Coriander cure!! (for flu, cold, cough, body aches)

Ingredients 
1 cup coriander seeds
3 cups water
1 inch piece of cinnamon
3-4 slices of green ginger (1 inch in length approx)

Optional 
1 clove of garlic
3-5 cloves
2-3 cardamoms
1 teaspoon of pepper corns

Method
1. Add all ingredients with water to a pan
2. Boil together until water has reduced to about one cup
3. Take off fire
4. Strain and add sugar to taste

So, here I am supping on my coriander concoction (with all the optional extras, why do things by halves?). I can assure you it smells as poky as it sounds, and tastes, at best, like someone had a little too much sherry and mixed up the mulled wine recipe with the sage and onion stuffing preparations. At worst I imagine it tastes like something you might use to tackle a particularly stubborn case of lime scale build up in your kettle. However, whilst I'm sure I will stink to high heaven for many days to come, I have great hopes this might actually work. Try it if you dare! But a word of advice, you might want to hold your nose whilst swallowing.

So, to my much loved "idiots" (you know who you are), germs or no germs, I am coming to get you. I'll be eagerly awaiting your arrival at the airport. If you can't see me, just follow your noses.

To the rest of you "idiots", and to my other wonderful friends and family, wishing you a healthy and happy Christmas and an amazing new year.

What madam wants

By way of an early Christmas gift, I've decided you deserve a break from my ramblings. Instead, this week, I'm very happy to introduce you to my very first guest blogger. Over to you ma...

There are many fantastic memories of my Sri Lankan holiday with Beth in September 2012. But one moment is especially precious; it was a struggle simply to get there.

Before I left England, Udawalawa National Park, with the chance to see elephants in their natural habitat, was one location I definitely hoped to visit. It was close to our planned tour route. No problem, or so I thought.

Negotiating with hotel owners, taxi and trishaw drivers required a lot of determination all of the time. My experiences led me to wonder if, like each of our drivers, Sri Lankan men always have a ‘better’ plan, a ‘superior’ route or a tourist attraction that ‘you must not miss’. The longest battle, by far, was caused by our desire to visit Udawalawa.

Our plan was to visit the park on the all day drive from the Viharagala Tea Estate bungalow to Mirissa on the south coast. But every time we brought the subject up, the price followed suit…up…and up …and up. Negotiating again with a different driver was no easier; we began to think that we really were asking the impossible. Of course there was a ‘better’ plan (Yala Safari Park), a ‘superior’ route (staying on the main road) and an attraction we ‘could not miss’( a four hour safari, with a greater variety of wild life and we really should include an overnight stay).

We nearly gave up. The night before our journey to the coast Beth was feeling fragile. Four hours in a jeep at the Yala safari Park was definitely out. We were ready to abandon our plan to see the elephants. But then one of the lovely gentlemen waiting on us at Viharagala told us that it was possible to see elephants, on the way to Udawalawa, from the road.

Next morning with renewed determination we boarded the hire car and finally wrestled an agreement that…yes, it was possible to go that way if that is what ‘madam’ really wanted. Yes… ‘madam’ and ‘miss’ definitely did.

En route, we saw elephants beside the road and, despite the impossibility, we arrived in one piece at Udawalawa National Park, a victory for all ‘madams’ everywhere.

Beth declared herself well enough to travel in a jeep so we hired one, bought our tickets and were just about to climb aboard when an angry German tourist rushed across to advise us that it was all a scam and ‘There are no elephants’ in the park. She told us that she had been driven around for two hours and had not seen a single elephant. Clearly our trip was a waste of time. Impossible!

Really?

We looked at one another, then with cheerful determination, shrugged and climbed inelegantly into the jeep. Five minutes later, having just begun to cope with the rocking and juddering of the truck, we were entranced by the sight of our first elephant family no more than three metres away. Not a ‘single’ elephant but three adults, two juveniles and most delightful of all a tiny two month old baby who after a short time came out from under his mother’s legs to find a comfortable place to suckle.

We saw many elephants that day including a herd of nineteen and two males facing off for a fight. But that moment and the time we spent so close to that tiny baby and his family is unrivalled.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, let's go...

It's a funny old time to be in Sri Lanka just now. First of all, there's the fact that my internal thermostat is confused. Despite all evidence to the contrary, my body has been gearing up for the "inevitable" for a while now. I wake up each morning bracing myself for that icy wind to begin whistling and those nights to start drawing in. But, of course, it's not happening. And I can't deny that it feels weird to be in the tropics as Christmas approaches. Only this morning I found myself distractedly humming along to sleigh ride in my local supermarket as I sweated my way through the checkout.

Needless to say, there are no sleigh bells jingling or ring ting tingling here. There is a distinct lack of any snow falling outside and no friends calling "yoo hoo" either (not yet anyway!). However, there is no getting away from it, December has arrived (DECEMBER?!) and, at least for me, time appears to be gathering pace. If life is a sleigh ride, then Mr Claus has clearly been on the arrack and he's bellowing at those trusty reindeer to giddy up and get moving whilst pulling hard on the reins.

But it's a funny old time not just on account of the incongruous Christmas medleys, plastic pines and glitzy baubles in the shops. The mental health programme I'm working in will come to a close in just under 4 months. A few volunteers have recently finished up their placements and left the country. This week, another 4 jet off leaving an ever dwindling number of us here. Not only will they be much missed, but their departure is a reminder that the sleigh ride continues apace, and it wont be long before this particular leg of the journey comes to an end for me too.

Nevertheless, I must admit these past few days I have found myself wishing the ride would go a bit faster. I have been counting the days (18 now!) until a welcome slice of home arrives courtesy of a festive visit from some very good friends. It suddenly feels like it's been far too long, and I am beginning to get a little impatient. Are we nearly there yet?!

And yet, I've also found myself looking back with fondness at those first few months, when everything was new and novel; when there seemed to be plenty of time to make some serious progress, and when the bumps along the way did not feel so jarring.

But there's no turning back, and those reindeer can only go so fast. So, what to do? Perhaps I can somehow apply the brakes. There are certainly many things I'll miss when I finally leave Sri Lanka, and in the meantime, so much more I need to do, so much to see, and far too many Bollywood dance moves for a girl to grasp in just a few months. Perfecting the Bollywood "gallop" alone could keep me fully occupied for the remainder of my stay (more on this in a future blog post, no doubt). I clearly need more time! So, hold your reindeer Santa, you're going too fast! Any chance you can could slow down?

Nope, not sure that will work either. There's nothing else for it. I'll just have to sit back, hold on and enjoy the ride....bumps, baubles, and all. And if I'm really not feeling it, I guess I can always hop off and start galloping Bollywood style. Yoo hoo! Anyone care to join me? Giddy up, let's go...