Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka
Monday, April 20, 1970
We arrived off
Colombo full of expectations! A run ashore would have been nice after being so long on passage! It wasn't to be as the pilot steered us into this very bust port and we briefly tied up to a mooring buoy. After which a large dhow type barge arrived alongside and the crew, who had been busy "packing" for days, gradually piled all their bundles on this boat. Suitcases, having seen very many better days, bicycles tied about with old blankets and so to try to stop any damage, canvas bags, the bandharis pots and pans, Singer sewing machines bought in the flea markets of London, Hull or wherever. It was all piled in a heap ready to be transferred to shore. Then the crew were allowed off on the same vessel, piling aboard looking very spick and span with freshly oiled hair and beards, dressed in the smart suits they had bought from the same markets as the sewing machines and bicycles. Big waves of goodbye from those very happy faces. Going back to the paddyfields of what is these days called Bengladesh. I hope their brother-in-laws had done their duty well and that when they arrived home they found their villages and their families safe from the torments of that typhoon ravaged part of what was once "British India" !!!
Soon a new "crew" arrived alongside on a similar vessel, complete with smaller bundles and slightly newer suitcases, ready to help us cross the Indian Ocean, sail up the Red Sea and head for Liverpool and our own homes!
