I am having real problems with internet connection unfortunately.  I am making efforts to address the problems and hopefully normal service will be resumed as soon as possible as they say.  I have already taken several stuning photographs and I am really grappling with the problems of posting the images, its amazing how much we  take the internet for granted. You only miss it when you havent got it. Here is the blog post that I wrote about our journey over which I have managed to retrieve from my iPad.

"So here I am on the plane to Sri Lanka, we are 3 hours in to the  flight and so far……fabulous.   As is usually the case in these situations I have  turned to music for comfort and solace, Beethoven if you want to know…….not that I need it because its been a  lovely trip so far. We left Exeter at 11 this morning for our journey up to Heathrow, I can't remember how long it took because it went by in a flash with my personable, interesting and frankly, charming travel companion Terry. We swapped life stories and tales, all enhanced by Terry's sense of humour and twinkly eyes. We have a great deal in common, a love of life, a quest for experiences and a need to tell each other our tales.Even our unreasonably long wait at the airport turned in to a social event.We laughed like drains……do they laugh?……when as soon as we arrived at Exeter Coach station a  blind lady  insisted on helping Terry carry his luggage as though he couldn't cope.   Then when we got to our seats on the plane I was greeted  by a slightly weird lady who wished me a good evening, a good flight and a good life. . When I asked her what?  She answered, "Well you seem like a very spiritual person",  after my experiences on the beach in September with my angel, well that was a curved ball to say the least.  So now, with a glass of red in my hand,  Beethoven's Emperor Piano Concerto in full flow and the promise of two weeks in the sun, photographing birds, well does life get any better?  I wish Jenny was  here, but that apart,  it's pretty good so far.  As this is mainly a bird  Blog  then I ought to tell you that the highlight of the coach trip was the Red Kite sighting on the edge of Reading.  It hung in the air right next to the Motorway  giving glorious views and as this is nota bird that I see that often, I really enjoyed it.  Later on in the 10 plus direct flight, a nearby  child vomited which lowered the tone somewhat so with the stench of sweet sick in the nostrils, the almost constant stream of food wasn't always as welcome as it might be, and now the slightly weird religious lady keeps smiling at me…….time to sleep I think"

So we got here and I now talk aboy my problems with the internet.

Now I have managed to post a picture by various round about methods, success at last.  This bird was one of a pair that I saw this morning , hope you like it.

So now further to the entry from this morning, I have now resorted to buying a dongle and Sri Lankan Sim card and , hallelujah…… I am on line thanks to the intelligence and initiative of an amazingly clever young man who was able to connect me with very little fuss after all other efforts had failed miserably. This now gives me the chance to tell you a bit about my journey and first day here. I had written reams about all that before and it sits idly on my iPad which I can't connect to the net, so here's a précis.

Food is good at Ravi's, tonight we had butterfly prawns in batter with rice. I have seen loads of birds, mostly the same as on my previous visit but my experience of that trip has meant that I have been able to get some better images already. I will post more tomorrow now that I am able.
This is a Purple Rumped Sunbird a common bird here but not easy to photograph but with the better beamer flash…..thanks Dave Land…… I managed a shot this morning……sure there will be better to come. There are lots of butterflies this year, heres a nice photo of a Swallow tail, hopefully I will be able to name it soon.
There will be another post tomorrow, please check back. All the best Charlie….