Features

Terra cotta army in Xian and working in Vietnam

Published

3 years ago

2023/09/24

(Excerpted from Memories that Linger: My journey through the world of disability by Padmani Mendis)

I first heard of Xian when the famous Terra Cotta Army was discovered here in 1974. I was at Guys Hospital in London at the time, studying to be a teacher of physiotherapy. This was world news. Little did I think that I would one day actually see this spectacle. And here I was, taken on a tour of the site by an official from the Provincial Department of Civil Administration. He was born in this city. The people of Xian were proud of their cultural heritage. Our guide took his time explaining to Susan (my co-worker) and me the story of the discovery.

He said we were standing near the Mausoleum of the first Emperor of China by the name of Qin Shi Huang. The Emperor’s tomb has never been excavated. One day in 1974 while some farmers were digging a well near here, they found lots of pieces of pottery, including what appeared to be pieces of terracotta statues of soldiers and of horses and so on. The government took note of this and had Chinese archaeologists explore the site.

We were seeing what they found. Figures of a whole army that had been buried apparently surrounding the Emperor’s tomb as if to protect it. We gazed at the statues amazed. They were life-size, but heights varied. Each face was different with different features and expressions. They were dressed in different uniforms and had different hairstyles and head gear; this he said indicated their rank. Some were standing, others were kneeling with bows and arrows poised. And still others with bows and arrows by their side.

Only three of the pits on the site had been excavated. In the first pit there were more than 6,000 figures, and he said this was the main army. We paid more attention to the second pit. This had soldiers both as cavalry units with horses by their side and others as foot soldiers. We even saw chariots like those they would have gone to war with. And to think that these dated back to more than 200 years BC.

This was spectacular. But we found Xian itself a rather drab uninteresting city. Free market reforms had hardly touched it as yet. Tourism was yet to invade. Our hotel had seen better days. My husband visited here ten years later, and what he described to me was an amazingly different city.

Xian had been the capital of successive dynasties after its first Emperor Qin, and this was now showcased. Some of their mausoleums, tombs, old city walls and towers, ancient pagodas and other sites had been restored. It was now a “must visit” on any tourists’ itinerary or youngsters bucket list.

After Xian I stayed another three days in Beijing so I could experience some of its wonders. I chose not to join organised tours and went solo so I had time to drink it all in. It was relaxing spending time strolling along the Great Wall thinking of the many emperors who had a hand in the building of it from the time BC and the numerous wars it would been the focus of, the enemies it would have kept out and those that it did not.

Time was also spent at the Forbidden City, much more recent in comparison, built in the 15th century by the Ming Emperors. It remained as the residence of subsequent emperors and as the political centre of China until as recently as 1912. I had thought that the Forbidden City dated much further back. Two other sites I did not want to miss were the Ming Tombs and the Summer Palace. To visit both on one day I took an organised tour.

The Ming Tombs, although not as ancient as I had thought they were, was important not to miss out on simply for the fact that so many of the great emperors had been buried there. Only one of the 13 tombs had been excavated. We did not enter it. Instead, we walked around the parks and on part of what is called the Sacred Way. There were huge sculptures and lots of carved arches. Altogether very pleasant and relaxing. And it was good to know that we were at this historical place.

Our visit to the Summer Palace in a way was similar. We walked around a lot seeing the lakes and gardens landscaped in beautiful surroundings. The names of the three gardens in the complex were interesting – translated, they meant ‘perfect brightness’, ‘elegant spring’ and ‘eternal spring’. The Chinese have very meaningful names for everything.

I visited Beijing twice more to participate in meetings. On each occasion I spent time at the Great Wall and the Forbidden Palace. I did not go back to the Ming Tombs and the Summer Palace again.

Memories of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) that I have recalled until now I realise quite suddenly, come mostly from work which I have carried out for WHO. But there are other great CBR growers that I had the privilege of assisting in their goal of reaching disabled children and adults in the southern hemisphere. The first of these was Sweden. I have in Geneva recalled the Swedish International Development Agency, SIDA. Among others are Radda Barnen or RB later also known as Swedish Save the Children.

Then of course, in academia, that which had the earliest and greatest impact was ICH or the International Child Health Unit of Uppsala University. There was also the Norwegian Association of the Disabled more popularly called just NAD. Yes, the Scandinavians were into CBR in a big way. Then came the Japanese. This was through JICA or the Japan International Cooperation Agency. They were conscious of the situation of disabled people in our part of the world. And they were keen on playing a part in changing that situation.

Radda Barnen or RB, Sweden in Vietnam

Soon after Vietnam won their war against the USA, the country was in a desperate state with the loss of lives and physical destruction the Americans had left behind. Yet unknown were the long-term effects the Vietnamese would face from the chemical warfare used by the mighty enemy. I am sure the immediate effect of what the chemical warfare did was familiar all around the world.

Many images of a forlorn people on their barren land were featured in the World Press and on television. Images of massive environmental destruction are still vivid in my mind. Perhaps in yours too. And six decades later we still hear of infants being born with severe disease and disabilities. Because those chemicals still persist in Vietnam and continue on their seemingly unending path of destruction.

But one thing the Americans could not destroy was the Vietnamese spirit. Fighting a war using purely indigenous strategies and tools with no generous donors fattening their own arms industries by supplying weapons for mass-scale slaughter. Supplying these in their own interest. The war they were forced into brought the Vietnamese people together to fight together. And even when the Americans were long gone, the Vietnamese people stayed together to rebuild their lives, their communities, their country.

It was at this time that Radda Barnen, or RB, asked me whether I would go to Vietnam, VN for short, to help them start CBR. The incredible Olaf Palme, Sweden’s Prime Minister, had stepped in to help VN at a time when the rest of the world treated her as an outcast for her victory over the Americans.

The two countries had a bilateral agreement, with the former assisting in the development of VN’s Timber Industry and Health System, two of Sweden’s strengths. It was in this context that RB was in Hanoi with a programme directed at improving child health through Primary Health Care or PHC. VN had no other development partners at that time. The Dutch came in later, in a small way at first.

My Introduction to Vietnam

Radda Barnen, RB, had offered to include children with disabilities in their cooperation package. The health authorities wished to have an institution built for disabled children. RB talked to the authorities about the possibilities that CBR would offer. Their response was negative; the health people preferred the known, an institution.

Discussions went on for over a year before VN’s Health Ministry was persuaded that CBR may be a better option. Suited both to Primary Health Care and to their culture. In the context of the task that needed to be done of working closely with local people to introduce CBR to them, RB felt that it may be more prudent to send a fellow Asian to do the job with them rather than a Swede.

Having carried out a joint feasibility study, Dr. Anders Norman, who had spent many years for RB in VN, stopped over in Colombo on his way home to Stockholm from Hanoi to brief me about the task. When I greeted him at the Colombo airport, the look of surprise on his face was obvious.

Later, after we got to know each other I asked him about it. He said, “You know, in VN they believe that wisdom comes with age. And you looked so young. I wondered how they would respond to you. Now I know you, I have no concerns on that score.” I was in the fifth decade of my life.

And so it was that over the next 10 years and more I had the great good fortune to get to know these fascinating people, the Vietnamese, and their indomitable spirit. Together with that spirit and the war they fought, the Vietnamese had acquired exceptional organisational skills. They had systems in place to reach their people from the centre to the periphery. And this is what was surprising in a communist system, that at the same time they had systems from the periphery to the centre. I was of course most familiar with their health and their social welfare systems which grew from needs of their people at the grass roots.

Vietnam was a discard also because it had a communist government. Whatever ideology one may attach to the word “communism”, the system I found in VN was not the usual one that is associated with communist political systems. There was indeed a rigid hierarchical structure from the Central People’s Committee of the Communist Party in Hanoi, through those in the province and district to the Commune People’s Committees in every town and village.

These formed the government at each level and must conform to party principles and toe the party line. Deviation from this was not possible. But within the practice of those principles, I found that each People’s Committee was remarkably autonomous and could do their own thing for their members, VN’s citizens.

The beginning of CBR in Vietnam

Thus it was that CBR blended in smoothly within VN’s political administration and through that, its development. Within the People’s Committee at each level, one member was responsible for health and social welfare including employment. In the city of My Tho, Ba (meaning Mrs.) Nguyen was that member. She was my hostess in Tien Giang province and soon became my friend. She was the link between the Provincial People’s Committee and all the district committees with the Central Committee in Hanoi. She facilitated logistic support from Hanoi.

Each district made their own plans for CBR implementation, and within those plans so could reach peripheral People’s Committees. Health and Social Welfare Departments implemented those plans with the resources they commanded. And what is more, the Vietnamese people made this system work. They knew it was to their own benefit. This was obviously a remnant from having fought the war. It was by working together and for each other that they had overcome adversities.

In every community, many had been injured and left with impairment. Wherever possible, people had overcome the consequences of these and were active, contributing members of their communities. Take for example, the loss of limbs and other physical injuries, extremely common in VN because the war was fought on the ground, often face to face.

It was quite amazing for me to find so many amputees among the colleagues I worked with in government and among participants on my courses. So also, people who had parts of their bodies paralysed by poliomyelitis. More often than not these disabilities were not ever seen or noticed. They were not an issue. Some had improvised appliances, others had learned to adapt to living without them and get on with whatever it was they had to do.

Vietnam had also a consciousness and sensitivity about disability. It started within the family and extended into their community. Every member had to contribute whatever they could, and so also members who had disability. This was important for their sense of self-worth on the one hand and for the growth and development of their family on the other. Now when CBR brought them access to technology which enabled those members with disabilities to function and participate more effectively, it was welcome.

The WHO Manual in Vietnamese was an essential tool which they could use themselves. They had but few rehabilitation professionals in the country. When disability was extreme, community members supported the family to provide the care that was called for. In the villages, disabled people were encouraged to come together to share common problems and discuss possible issues. The seeds of what would grow into Disabled People’s Organisations were planted.

And so, the Vietnamese authorities requested RB for increasing support year by year to reach more parts of their country with CBR. First in the south in Tieng Giang, located in the Mekong delta and not far from Ho Chi Minh City. Here they made Cai Lay district a model for learning and teaching.

Then to the central region, to the ancient city of Hue and to Da Nang which had been occupied by American forces for a short while. The authorities then said to Radda Barnen, “Can you help us with the North? We have nothing there.”

So that was how it came to pass that I was with them walking the villages of Hai Hung and in Vinh Phu, where often I was the first foreigner even older children had seen. Radda Barnen support for disabled people was holistic, so there was interaction with the health referral system and physiotherapy and the employment and education sectors as well in Hanoi and in the provinces. And always, always linking with Peoples Committees for socialisation and inclusion.

Mr. Binh

With my memories of Vietnam come always to mind one individual – Mr. Binh. The community workers wanted me to meet Mr. Binh on one of my follow-up visits to their village. Mr. Binh had had a stroke. Since then, he had been confined to bed all day and all night for nine long years. This is how the community workers found him some months before, inside his tiny, dark, single-roomed home.

His wife left by his bedside all that he would need for the day while she went out to work. She left at dawn and returned after dark. After they found him, the community workers brought a few of his neighbours to Mr. Binh. They talked about his situation and how together they could help Mr. Binh. The neighbours were willing to do what they could.

Together, the workers and the neighbours first put up two bars by Mr. Binh’s bed. They helped him to stand up for some time each day. Then to take a few steps. Gradually Mr. Binh very cautiously learned to walk. As he did so, the neighbours and the workers extended the length of the bars to the door and then beyond. The day Mr. Binh walked out that door was the first time in nine years that he had seen the sun shine. But when I spoke with him, Mr. Binh told me that the greatest benefit CBR had brought him was the friendship and interest of his neighbours. They would now pop in ever so often for a chat and to help when needed.

My experience in Vietnam brought home to me the wise words of the great Ho Chi Minh, philosopher, visionary, and poet, a strength and inspiration to the Vietnamese people and to many of us in the developing world:

“By its very nature a stone will not budge by itself.

But when many people join hands,

a stone, however big and heavy can be moved aside.”

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Features

Combining local resources,traditional knowledge and science to build a food-secure Sri Lanka

Published

10 hours ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

World Food Day 2026: Innovating today for a better food future

by Dr. Kaushalya Wijayasekara

What will be on the Sri Lankan dinner table ten years from now? Will our children be able to get nutritious food at a price their families can afford? Will farmers be able to grow enough despite changing weather and rising costs? And how much of the food we produce will actually reach the consumer, instead of being lost or wasted along the way?

These questions can’t wait. A farmer faces unpredictable weather. A family faces rising food costs. Fruit goes unsold after a good harvest. Some children do not get enough nutrition. The future of food is tied to the future of Sri Lanka itself.

World Food Day 2026 is a chance to look beyond the immediate problems and ask whether we can build a food system that feeds our people well, gives farmers better opportunities, protects the environment and makes better use of what we already have. The answer can be yes, but we will have to think differently.

We are not starting from zero. Sri Lanka has diverse crops, fisheries, traditional food knowledge, indigenous varieties, research institutions, universities and a young generation able to create new solutions. What we need is to bring these together and act. Producing more will not secure our food future on its own. It will depend on how intelligently we produce, process, preserve, distribute and consume food.

Making more of what we already have

Innovation does not always mean inventing something new. Often it means finding better uses for the resources we have.

Sri Lanka grows traditional rice varieties, kurakkan, green gram, cowpea, jackfruit, breadfruit, cassava, sweet potato, coconut and palmyrah. All of them have great potential for modern, nutritious, value-added foods. Jackfruit and breadfruit can be made into flour and other convenient products. Traditional rice varieties can go into new foods that suit changing consumer needs. Palmyrah, with its strong cultural heritage, can create new income through better processing, packaging, quality assurance and market development.

The aim is to connect our traditional food knowledge with modern consumer needs and technology, while keeping our food heritage.

Stop wasting the food we produce

Reducing food loss and waste should be a major priority. Seasonal fruits such as mango, banana, papaya and pineapple can be lost in large quantities when production exceeds demand or when storage, transport and processing facilities are inadequate. With suitable technology, these fruits can become dried products, pulps, powders, beverages and other shelf-stable foods.

Agricultural and fisheries by-products are resources too. They could be turned into food ingredients, animal feed, bio-based products and other useful materials, which would move us toward a more circular food economy.

Technology alone is not enough. We need stronger local processing facilities, cold storage, efficient transport, collection centres and market information systems, especially close to where food is produced. Cutting food loss raises the value of what our farmers and fishers already produce.

Nutrition and food safety come first

Food security means more than having enough food. People also need food that is safe and nutritious.

Sri Lanka can develop affordable, nutritious foods from local pulses, grains, vegetables, fruits and fish. Children and other vulnerable groups should get particular attention. Schoolchildren in particular deserve a focus: safe, nutritious, locally sourced products for school feeding programs would support child nutrition, local farmers and domestic food industries at the same time.

Food safety must stay at the centre of food innovation. Good hygiene, quality control, laboratory testing, traceability and appropriate food safety systems are what make new products safe as well as attractive and nutritious.

A food system that can cope with climate change

Climate change is already affecting agricultural production, water availability, crop yields and food prices. We need food systems that can handle changing conditions. That means climate-resilient crops, efficient water use, soil and water conservation, better storage and resource-efficient food processing.

Traditional knowledge matters here. Generations of Sri Lankan farmers have developed practices suited to local climates and ecosystems. Combining that experience with modern science can give us solutions that fit local conditions and are sustainable. Technology alone will not build the future of food. Science, experience and local knowledge together can.

Give young people a bigger role

Sri Lanka’s universities have an important part to play in shaping our food future. Young people should be encouraged to identify real problems in the food system and work on practical solutions in areas such as food waste, sustainable packaging, nutrition, food safety, modernising traditional foods and digital technologies.

A good research project should not always end as a research paper. Where appropriate, research should be supported to move on to products, technologies, enterprises and community solutions. That needs stronger partnerships between universities and industry, along with mentoring, research funding, business support and market connections. If young researchers and entrepreneurs can turn their ideas into viable food innovations, both consumers and producers will benefit.

A pathway designed for Sri Lanka

We do not need to copy food-system models from other countries. We can build a pathway that suits our own resources, culture and needs. It would bring together local resources, traditional knowledge, scientific research, appropriate technology and entrepreneurship, with farmers, fishers, universities, research institutions, food industries, entrepreneurs and policymakers working side by side.

The goal goes beyond selling raw materials. We need to create more value, reduce waste, improve nutrition, generate jobs and strengthen rural livelihoods. This matters especially for small and medium-scale food enterprises, which can drive local economic development when they get the right technical, financial and market support.

The choices we make today

The food future will not create itself. It will be shaped by what we grow, what we research, what we process, what we consume and what we choose not to waste.

So, the question for World Food Day 2026 is this: what can we do today so that every Sri Lankan has safe, nutritious, affordable and sustainable food tomorrow?

The answers are already around us, in our farms, fisheries, food businesses, universities, laboratories and communities. We have the resources, the traditional knowledge, the scientific expertise and talented young people. What we need now is to connect them and act.

A better food future begins with the choices we make today.

Dr. Kaushalya Wijayasekara

Senior Lecturer, Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Ruhuna

Features

20th Anniversary of Digampathana blast – the day Sri Lanka Navy cried

Published

10 hours ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

Aftermath of the terror attack

By Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne
WV, RWP and Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, NI (M) (Pakistan), ndc, psn, Bsc
(Hons) (War Studies) (Karachi) MPhil (Madras)
Former Navy Commander and Former Chief of Defence Staff
Former Chairman, Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd
Former Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation
Former High Commissioner to Pakistan

The Digampathana suicide truck attack on 16th October 2006 remains the deadliest single strike in Sri Lanka Navy history, leaving scars that time cannot erase.

It was a seemingly ordinary Monday morning on 16 October 2006, but the calm of that day would soon be shattered in a way none of us could have imagined. As the Commandant of the Naval and Maritime Academy and Flag Officer Commanding Naval Fleet at Trincomalee, I was aware that a number of my cadets were travelling that morning, part of a convoy of fifteen buses carrying naval personnel from Trincomalee, Colombo, and other bases, heading toward Dambulla to rendezvous with another group. The convoy also included trucks and escort vehicles, a routine movement planned and coordinated with the army to ensure the roads were clear. The morning started quietly. Some personnel greeted friends, handed over their weapons, or strolled to a nearby tea shop. It all seemed so ordinary—too ordinary for what would come next.

Sri Lanka Navy sunk LTTE Ships carrying arms, ammunition and warlike materials thousand miles away from Sri Lanka in Indian Ocean in September and October 2007.

By late morning, both convoys had reached the small ground at Digampathana, near the Sigiriya junction, and personnel mingled briefly, unaware that a carefully orchestrated act of terror was waiting. Then, suddenly, an empty half-truck veered directly into the convoy. It exploded with a ferocity I can still recall as if it were yesterday. Nuts, bolts, and high explosives tore through the air. Pandemonium erupted instantly. I later learned that 107 of our naval personnel were killed on the spot and another 153 critically injured. The scene was indescribable—bodies scattered, vehicles mangled, personal effects strewn across the ground. I remember later hearing that the head of the suicide bomber was recovered more than 100 meters away from the blast, a grim testament to the sheer force of the explosion.

I was in my office at the Naval and Maritime Academy when my mobile phone rang. A young midshipman from the 21st intake called, his voice trembling: “Sir, there was a huge explosion at the convoy point! Many are dead … my batch mate Wijesundara is among them.” I immediately jumped into my jeep with my escort Chief Petty Officer and driver and rushed to Digampathana, relying on every ounce of my driving skill to reach the scene. The journey, which usually took little more than an hour, felt endless that day, each passing mile weighed down by dread.

When I arrived, I was confronted with a sight that no training can prepare you for. The injured were being rushed to Dambulla Hospital, where doctors and nurses worked tirelessly, improvising in ways that saved lives despite the overwhelming chaos. I went back to the site after visiting the hospital. The remains of our naval personnel were scattered across the ground, and someone had begun collecting weapons and protective gear. I immediately contacted Surgeon Rear Admiral Nico Jayasekara and received his instructions: collect all body parts in separate bags and transport them to the Trincomalee Naval Hospital mortuary. This gruesome work had to be done with care and dignity, and it filled the icebox in my vehicle. Through DNA testing initiated by Rear Admiral Nico, we were able to identify every naval personnel lost that day, bringing some closure to grieving families.

The Navy Commander at the time, Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, was devastated. I had worked closely with him and knew how deeply he cared for his men. He ensured that the fallen were honoured with full ceremonial naval funerals at Welisara Naval Base, attended by families and comrades. Sixty-seven funerals were conducted in a single day—a number that still haunts me.

The Digampathana attack remains the largest single loss of naval life in our history. It was a day of sorrow, but also a day that reinforced our resolve. The tragedy galvanized the Navy to target the LTTE Sea Tiger wing with renewed determination and reshaped our maritime operations forever. Every time I think of that day, I remember not just the lives lost, but the courage, professionalism, and dedication of those who survived, those who treated the injured, and those who ensured the fallen were honored properly. May the souls of our naval hero’s rest in peace, their sacrifice guiding us and inspiring generations of naval personnel to come.

Features

‘Murder at Whitby Abbey’

Published

10 hours ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

Tales of Mystery and Suspense – 24

I was intrigued by the title of a book I found in a book drop at the condominium of a friend, Murder at Whitby Abbey, and I brought it home with me though I will not be able to return it in the near future. It was described on the cover page as ‘a standout in the crowded medieval mystery field’, though I fear I do not know of other books in this field, apart from the Cadfael series, which I have dealt with earlier.

The book, by Cassandra Clark, is set during the reign of Richard II and has as a backdrop his precarious position, which led to his being replaced, and murdered, by his cousin Henry, who reigned as Henry IV. It is a gloomy book, the action taking place in the twelve days of Christmas leading up to the Epiphany. And the gloom is pervasive, even though this is supposed to be a time of festivity, with mummers performing, and many of those in the guest house where the heroine stays going to town to enjoy themselves, with much drinking and much music, which also fills the guesthouse.

The heroine Hildegarde is a nun, sent to try to acquire a relic being sold by Whitby Abbey, though this was also a penance set by the Abbot of the monastery that governed her abbess because she had had sex with a man. Soon after she and her companions reach the Abbey set high on a cliff, she finds that there are other bidders, and soon suspects that the hierarchy, not perhaps the Abbot who seems a weakling, but his rapacious bursar, is determined to make money, and not above creating false relics to sell to several aspirants.

After Hildegarde and her Cistercian companions – Whitby is a Benedictine Foundation – two monks, Gregory and Egbert, and a young priest Mark, reach the abbey, they find that Aelwyn, a monk they had met on their way to the guesthouse had died. This was in the apple store, and they realize, when they find the surplices of novices stuffed into the air vents, that he had been left to suffocate in the overwhelming scent of apples.

Clark

The Cistercians are asked to look into the death, perhaps because they are likely to get no cooperation from the Abbey folk, but perhaps because those in charge are keen to know what happened. And the infirmarer, an old monk, suggests Hildegarde talk to a man called Edred who worked for the bursar, and had been a friend of Aelwyn’s. But Edred too is killed, before he can keep an appointment he had made with Hildegarde, drowned in a pool near the farmhouse of the Abbey.

Meanwhile tensions arise between the fisherfolk and the abbey for the bursar wants to charge them for using the beach that technically belongs to the abbey to dry their fish and their nets. This leads to physical battles, when the guards used by the abbey, under the command it seems of the bursar whose determination to make money is not resisted by the abbot and the prior, try to storm the area where the fishermen live.

Hildegard finds out more about what had happened through two youngsters, one of whom Torold is the son of Aelwyn by a woman who worked as a prostitute for a cartel, and with whom Mark fell in love. The other works on the farm and had seen Edred meet someone near the pool, after which that someone left the place by himself. And the boy had also found in the pool a sort of dagger with the seal of the abbey.

He and his dog, and Torold who follows her, rescue Hildegarde from a man at arms who has waylaid her and tries to rape her earlier. Escaping into the abbey she was nearly been raped then by the bursar, but she managed to escape, in the process setting fire to him and the muniments room, which led, when he was rescued, to the discovery of a box with the money he said had been stolen, blame being cast on both Aelwyn and Edred.

Matters come to a head when the fisherfolk try to storm the abbey, being resisted by the men at arms stationed on the towers. But then Hildegarde realizes that behind the murders was the bursar’s clerk, whom she pursued to the cathedral. There is great drama then as she escapes from him when he tries to kill her, and then from the man at arms who had tried to both rape and kill her, but they both fall from the scaffolding she had climbed, the latter coming from a tower where he had been stationed.

Both of them think they run the rapacity of the abbey, the latter claiming to work for the nobles opposed to Richard, who is presented throughout the book as devoted to his subjects, not to power or money. But though the villains die, the bursar continues, having got over the hysteria the fire had caused and his acknowledgment then of guilt – and though the abbot and the prior seem less vicious, whether they will be able to assert themselves is questionable.

Before the climax, when the others in the guesthouse were leaving, Hildegarde found that two of them were in possession of the relic, for which they seem to have paid well. Hildegarde herself had made a derisory offer, but before she leaves the abbot gives her the relic, perhaps in gratitude for what she and her fellow Cistercians had discovered, the abbey having made as much money as it needed and more from the gullible other buyers.

Mark’s inamorata is saved from the stews because she moves in with Edred’s widow whom the bursar had thrown out of the rooms he occupied when her husband was found dead. Hildegarde had paid for lodgings, in a house run by the man who ran the brothels, but he had a kindly side and was going to finance them to make nets for the fishermen.

So, the Cistercians set off for their home as swiftly as they can to get there on the day of the Epiphany, having stopped en route to pray for King Richard whose birthday it was.