Charley had me up at 5:30 on the 14th of April to attend the festival at Kalutara – the one we’d seen on TV the day before. The first event of the day was a marathon and some fifty local runners were lining up to register for the race. Before they could be given approval to participate, each runner underwent a blood pressure and stethoscope test conducted by a local doctor using equipment provided by Projects Abroad.
I took some photos of the professionals at work, then wandered around the area checking out the greasy pole and balancing pole games I had seen on TV yesterday. My excitement was less than it would have been with competitors, but I could admire the skill of anyone who managed to complete either task.
As soon as the marathon was underway, the doctors shared their breakfast of string hoppers and dhal with us and began preparation for the main work of the day – providing a free diabetes clinic for the public. About 20% of Sri Lankans have diabetes and anyone found with the condition was passed to a nurse who explained the problem and how to deal with it. The nurse regularly pointed to a large selection of fruit on the table as an example of a healthy diet.
I asked Charley if he’d been tested. ‘No, no,’ he said with a belly laugh. ‘I don’t want to know.’ Charley does have a decent girth, but he eats as well as I do, mostly partaking of fresh fruit and vegetables grown in his own garden, so I can’t imagine he’d have a problem.
While distracted with the medical camp, I missed the finish of the marathon and the entire bike race. The Pillow Fight game was still running so I went over to watch boys try to knock each other from where they sat astride a smooth log. In each case the winner lost his seat only seconds after his opponent so I am still unsure how much skill is involved. Nearby, children learnt about tooth decay by throwing darts at germs on a giant tooth.
I spied a young man dressed in an amazing silvery outfit coming out of a tent beside the medical checks. I asked if I could take a photo and he ran back inside, then brought a fellow dancer outside to practise where I could take pictures of them. Later, they joined their female counterparts and put on a show. I’m sure I missed much more, but the heat of the sun forced me back to the shade of the medical camp to rest.