A colleague at work suggested that I accompany her to Sri Lanka to help in her purchase of a holiday home in February 2003. I fell in love with Malgedara immediately. At first sight, I thought the house looked quaint – but when I got closer I realised it was just derelict! But I had to have the house, so negotiations began. Before the end of the day, my US$50,000 (£24,970) had bought me a one-acre plot of land, house and guest house. I was ecstatic!

Despite a lot of paperwork, the buying process was very straightforward due to the incredibly helpful and efficient professionals who seemed to bypass the normal queues and systems in their efforts to help me achieve my aim. I often felt embarrassed at the special treatment I received, being a Brit in one of ‘our’ ex-colonies. To this day, I remain delighted at the positive sentiments of Sri Lankans to the British.

Basic amenities like garbage disposal trucks do not exist in the rural parts of Sri Lanka. People grow up as ‘natural recyclers’ with a creative eye for disposing of almost anything, by burying it the ground or sending it up in smoke. Unfortunately, this means there are lots of bottles, cans and – the worst pollutant of all in this environment – plastic bags, which are not biodegradable and remain as a stinking mass under the soil for years.

The interior decor was influenced by local furniture portraying Buddhist designs. I asked a carpenter from Morratuwa, a local enclave of craftsmen, to make me a four-poster hardwood bed for each of the four bedrooms. He did such a magnificent job that I followed up the order with a request for a dining table and eight chairs.

My one stipulation was to keep the original 130-year-old teak wooden doors and window frames. Inside walls were knocked through to expand the tiny dark rooms, and en-suite bathrooms were added, along with a huge galley-style kitchen and three more rooms at the back of the house. The most stunning feature of the house has to be the 15-foot black, polished stone veranda which stands magnificently overlooking the garden.

The pool is due to be completed in the next few months and Roshan, my gardener, assures me it will be beautiful. He has thrown in a free waterfall feature along one side of the wall to make the view from the garden as stunning as that from the house. I mean, where else in the world would you get a free waterfall?

I shall be visiting Malgedara soon to check on the progress. No doubt there will be a tale to tell – but, for now, the old girl has a new lease of life. She is currently valued in the region of US$250000-300,000 (£124,850-£149,820), but I wouldn’t sell her for the world. Anyone who is planning to embark on a similar venture is advised to retain a sense of humour, never to lose patience, and always to smile. This goes a long way in Sri Lanka.

For more information on Sue Fitzgerald’s properties, visit www.watura.com