Tales from my island

For almost ten years I have been writing a regular column My Island in the Sun for Sri Lanka?s national newspaper The Sunday Island. Having written nearly five hundred such essays, reflections, stories and commentaries, I felt that the time had come to select the best of these and publish them in book form to reach a wider audience outside Sri Lanka. In making this selection I have edited the articles to make them relevant to those who may not be familiar with my little island. Except for those of my close friends (who will forgive me) and my friends who have passed on (who would have, I believe, if they were here), the names of other characters have been changed where appropriate. Recounting those 'good old days' when most of us were not so good and not so old, Tales from my Island will make readers smile, chuckle and even laugh out loud. Schooldays provide reminiscences of much-loved and respected teachers and the not-so-Lilliputian "Gulliver" - while other stories make a telling point about 'Anton's Pencil' and 'Nimalsiri's Archives'. Even veteran Sri Lankan journalist Tarzie Vittachi, of international repute, is not forgotten in a tale entitled 'Amnesia'. These tales present a warm-hearted look at human relationships and the many facets of friendship