SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS: Mount Lavinia Hotel, Sri Lanka

Eurasian Dancer Lovina at the Mount by the Bay Beach, Colombo, Ceylon
Sri Lanka Holidays takes you back to year 1806.

Old All Ceylon was suffering under the merciless Jack boots of Colonial British. Sir Thomas Maitland was leaving the shores of a country he had called home for over six years. He was also leaving behind the woman he loved. Social convention and duty to his King was taking him away from her.

Blood or thunder, you never leave the women you love: light of your life, fire of your loins.

Little had Maitland heard of Prince Saliya who forfeited the right to crown so that he could marry his low cast lover, Asokamala of Lanka. Prince Saliya was the one & only son of no other than the hero of the nation King Duttha Gamini who rescued the Island, Nation & Faith from the marauding Dravidian invaders following the Epic Battle of Sri Lanka.

Ruwanweli Dagaba at Anuradhapura is one of the numerous monuments build byKing Duttha Gamini of Sri Lanka.

Neither had Maitland known that his deserted lover Lovina would be immortalized at the rock by the sea: Mount Lavinia Hotel.

The Mount Lavinia Hotel is built up around the original residence of Sir Thomas Maitland who was the Governor General of Ceylon from 1805-1811. It was at a welcoming party held in his honour on his arrival in the island that he set his eyes upon Lovina whose father was the Headman of the troupe.

Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
Ill be watching you

Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
Ill be watching you

Oh, cant you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake

As it was highly unconventional for an unmarried British Officer to be seen associating with a local dancing girl Sir Thomas and his lover met in secret. She was smuggled into his mansion through a secret tunnel that led into a wine cellar in the house.

"Every Breath You Take" is a song written by Sting and originally performed by The Police. It was released on their 1983 album "Synchronicity". The single was one of the biggest of 1983, topping the UK charts for four weeks and the Billboard Music Charts (North America) for eight weeks. Sting won Song of the year and The Police won Best Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards of 1984 for "Every Breath You Take". The song ranks No. 84 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Ill be watching you Since you've gone I been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face I look around but its you I cant replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace I keep crying baby, baby, please...
Oh, cant you see You belong to me How my poor heart aches With every breath you take Every move you make Every vow you break Every smile you fake Every claim you stake Ill be watching you Every move you make Every step you take Ill be watching you

Originally thought to be about either angels, the government, parents or kind people who are looking out for your best interests, the track was in fact written during the collapse of Sting's marriage to Frances Tomelty; the lyrics are the words of a sinister, controlling character, who is watching "every breath you take / every move you make".

“

I woke up in the middle of the night with that line in my head, sat down at the piano and had written it in half an hour. The tune itself is generic, an aggregate of hundreds of others, but the words are interesting. It sounds like a comforting love song. I didn't realise at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother , surveillance and control.

”