The way of the British - email from jksw

The British Way...... ATaliban, desperate for water, was plodding through the Afghan desert when he saw something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he hurried toward the oasis only to find a British soldier selling regimental ties. The Taliban asked, "Do you have water?" The soldier replied, "There is no water here, the well is dry. Would you like to buy a tie instead? They are only £5." The Taliban shouted, " I do not need an over-priced tie. I need water! " "OK," said the soldier, If you continue over that hill to the east for about two miles, you will find our Sergeant's Mess. It has lots of nice ice cold water, all you need." Cursing him, the Taliban staggered away over the hill. Several hours later he comes staggering and crawling back, collapsing with dehydration & and he rasped: "They won't let me in without a f***ing tie!"

 

Yala National Park, Sri Lanka - email from jksw.

Thieving elephant who targets tourist’s lunches

• Gemunu the elephant's thieving ways are making him notorious in Yala National Park
• He was caught in the act when he ambushed a car containing wildlife photographer Aditya Singh

By Damien Gayle
PUBLISHED: 09:16 GMT, 30 April 2013 | UPDATED: 11:31 GMT, 30 April 2013
Would you argue if a five-ton bully wanted to make off with your lunch?
Gemunu the elephant is fast becoming notorious at his home in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, for ambushing wide-eyed tourists and running of with their food.
A recent spate of thefts where he has used his trunk to search cars as they drive through the park have left visitors alarmed by his unruly behaviour.

Hey! Gemunu pushes over the driver of a car as he scours the interior of the vehicle for any snacks its passengers might be hiding

Gemunu makes use of his trunk: Visitors have been left alarmed by a recent spate of thefts by Gemunu who has targeted their vehicles as they drive through the park

Caught in the act: These pictures were taken by wildlife photographer Aditya Singh who was at the park earlier this month when Gemunu targeted his car

'Regular habit': Mr Singh said it's over the past year that Gemunu has started raiding occupied vehicles, after learning that those inside often travelled with tasty snacks

Wildlife photographer Aditya Singh, from Rajasthan, India, was at the park earlier this month when Gemunu targeted the car he was travelling in.
The 46-year-old said: 'I'm told that even as a baby, while Gemunu's mother was very wary of vehicles and visitors, he was always extremely intrigued by them.

'As soon as he left the herd he started spending most of his time at the edge of the park near the Sithulpawuwa temple.
'While he was there he was fed by the monks and soon realised that the cars parked there usually had some food inside.
'Apparently he used to just pick at the food until about a year ago when he actually started raiding cars. Now it has become a regular habit.'

Notorious: Mr Singh was just learning about Gemunu's thieving ways from his friend, Mevan Piyasena, when then the 22-year-old elephant ambushed their car

Ambush! Mr Singh said all he could do during the attack was stay calm, keep away from Gemunu's tusks, and keep the camera steady - then away as fast as they could

Mr Singh was just learning about Gemunu's thieving ways from his friend, Mevan Piyasena, when then the 22-year-old elephant ambushed their car.
'First Gemunu pushed our driver, Janaka, off his seat and then he poked his head inside the car looking for food,' he said
'He checked each one of us with his trunk and then poked his trunk all around our Landcruiser looking for food but we didn't have any.
'All that I could think of was to stay calm, keep away from his big tusks and keep the camera steady.
'After what seemed like hours, though it was just a few minutes, he moved on to the next car. We just got out of there as fast as we could.'

Obituary - Dr.M.H.De Zoysa, Surgeon, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dear all,

It is with regret and sadness this announcement comes to you, to inform the passing away of Dr. M H De Zoysa.
His body lies at the residence - 14, Bodiraja Mawatha, Jayanthipura, Battaramulla . The funeral will take place at 5pm today (23rd May, 2013) at the General Cemetery Borella.

Your's sincerely,

Dr. Chandika Liyanage,
Hony. Secretary

-- 

The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka

My encounters with Dr. M.H.De Zoysa

1. I was a final year medical student in 1964 doing the Prof of Surgery appointment with Prof.Milroy Paul. Dr.Zoysa was his Registrar at that time. He was always on his toes and satisfying every whim and fancy of his Professor. On at least one occasion he drove the Professor to Kandy to lecture at the Peradeniya Medical Faculty when the Professor's car let him down. In the process he collected a lot of amusing stories of the late Professor.

2. In 1973 Dr.Zoysa was Resident Surgeon in Kandy after his overseas training. He, Dr.Purvey Lawrence and Prof Jayaweera (Obs & Gyn) stayed together in Kandy. I had finished my Primary FRCS and completed the required Surgical appointments to sit for the FRCS in UK. I was appointed additional Resident Surgeon at the GH Kandy. It was a hectic time during the 1971 JVP uprising. I was transferred to Batticaloa from Kandy after the rebellion was settled.

3. I succeeded Dr.Zoysa as Consultant Surgeon, General Hospital, Rathnapura in the year 1982 when Dr.Zoysa went as Consultant Surgeon to the GH Colombo.

4. I succeeded Dr.Zoysa as Consultant Surgeon, GH Colombo in 1991 when Dr.Zoysa retired.

5. Dr Zoysa joined the Sri Lankan Army after retirement and worked there till 2012 when he fell ill. His rank was Brigadier in 2012. He served the sick and wounded with courage and dedication till the end. In the dark days when life at Palaly had risks to life and limb Dr.Zoysa would joke with his anxious wife that he would gain a rank as General, posthumously if he died in battle there.

6. Dr.Zoysa was warded in the Intensive Care Unit of the Army Hospital and received the best of care there. His nutrition was good and he did not develop any pressure sores, the bane of prolonged bed-rest, in spite of being bed-ridden for almost one year. This shows the high standard of care he received there. The staff in this unit deserve the highest praise for their work.

A Gentleman in every sense of the word he played life's game following its rules. Dedication to work and teaching competency in the art of surgery to his juniors was his pride. He guided me in my first splenectomy at the GH Kandy. It was a pleasure to talk to him as he related many an interesting tale in his career.

He leaves behind his wife who retired as Head of the Blood Transfusion Services. His son Ishan is Professor of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine, Kynsey Road, Colombo and is a Gastro-enterology Surgeon. His Daughter-in-law graduated from the Peradeniya Medical Faculty.

May he advance rapidly on the road to Nibbana.

May all the Kusala Kamma which he did accompany him in the road of Sansara.

All of us who benefited by his services bestow merit on him.

Mother Lanka will remember his services.

Philip G Veerasingam.

I was deeply saddened to hear of Dr de Zoysa's passing. I first met him during the 1983 riots, when I used to work at the Division of Biomedical Engineering Services. He and Mrs de Zoysa went on to become two of our closest friends, sticking by us through thick and thin. Together with Dr Michael Abeyaratne we designed a mobile operating theatre in which Dr MH did hundreds of surgeries in remote hospitals in many parts of the country in 1984-86. He and his house officers used to go to places such as Akuressa and Beliatta on weekends and do this work, entirely voluntarily (my job was to provide the logistics). It was also during that time that he became involved in the army, regularly travelling to Jaffna and other places (an OT was even specially built at Vavuniya) to provide casualty care during operations, together with Dr Narendra Wijemanne and Dr Michael Abeyaratne and later, many other surgeons and medical officers. I have never met anyone who loved Sri Lanka more than MHZ, or on Obituary - Dr.M.H.De Zoysa, Surgeon, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

'Hai hoi Babiachchige' - email from Sunil Liyanage.

Wally Bastian's Hai Hooi Babiachige

Inbox

x

Sunil Liyanage	03:52 (2 hours ago)
to Sunil

Brings back good ole memories of the 60s when we were teenagers. You can listen to old favourites on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/7ioWILuytV4
Wellington Mervyn Bastian aka Wally Bastiansz is the god father of Sinhala Baila, who brought Kaffrigna to the fore. By profession he was a police officer who played in the police band during the 1940s. It is said that he had been given special permission to attend musical events by then prime minister Sir John Kotelawala. Wally also played Banjo, Violin and the Spanish Guitar. His music style was later followed by many other successful Baila singers such as Anton Jones, M. S. Fernando, Desmond De Silva, Saman De Silva. His other popular songs include, Mathakai Amme,  Nurse Nona, Irene Josephine, Le Kiri Karala and Ratak Watinawa.

Haai Hooi Babi Archchi is a song about an eccentric old woman who lived in Moratuwa in the 1940s, one of top hits of Wally. Whilst as Police Officer attached to the Police Band, for Wally during the 1930s and 40s it was quite common to play tunes of Western Marches, and other tunes with 6/8 rythm. Therefore, quite naturally Wally re-arranged some of these tunes to suit his own lyrics to create great Baila songs and rythms. Babi Archchi was one of such creations that paved the way for many other Baila artists such as Maxwell Mendis, A.E. Manoharan, Anton Jones etc. Babi Archchi was based on the Repasz Band March written by Charles C. Sweeley and Harry J. Lincoln, copyrighted in 1901.

The original Repasz Band, a non-military brass band, was founded in Williamsport in Pensylvania in 1831, and is still continuing in the United States, being the oldest non-military band. The Repasz Band March is their signature tune. 

Some more:-
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7elY1kmh7PY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX05fHaXV9I

Google Maps helps reunion.

Reunited after 20 years using Google Maps:-

http://www.androidpit.com/google-maps-helps-abducted-man-find-his-way-home-after-23-years?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=NL_220513

Recycling - email from Kamalini Kanapathippillai.

Recycling At Its Best!
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Government Hospitals, Sri Lanka - email from Piyusha Atapattu.

For all docs who work hard without much reward

and for non docs to have faith in medical care in SL

sent by a non doc friend of mine

May all our hospitals be like the excellent Dambulla Base Hospital

I am 71 years and, until recently, I had never been an in-patient at any medical institution in my entire life. But last month, during a trip to Trincomalee organised by my church, I was forced to go to a hospital. To my pleasant surprise, my brief stay there turned out be a heart-warming experience, apart from my illness.

On the way to Trinco, our holiday party stopped at Sigiriya. I was suddenly taken ill at the foot of the Sigiriya Rock. I experienced severe nasal bleeding.

A three-wheel driver rushed me to the nearest rural hospital, at Kibissa, I believe. The hospital staff were most courteous and helpful. Unfortunately, they were not equipped to deal with my case, so they transferred me to the Dambulla Base Hospital.

I used to have a low opinion of government medical institutions, but my experience at the Sigiriya rural hospital and the Dambulla Base Hospital changed my opinion completely.

The doctor in charge at the Dambulla hospital wasted no time attending to me. My blood pressure was very high. I was kept under examination for well over two hours, during which time medical officers visited me every five minutes to check on my progress.

It was nice to be surrounded by young, pleasant-looking medical personnel, including the V.P., Dr. Zarook Sahabdeen. I was greatly impressed by their dedication to duty. The wards were clean and not congested. I had a comfortable bed with a mosquito net.

I hope that every government hospital in the country will emulate the standards of service and hygiene found at the Dambulla Base Hospital.

Thanks to the excellent medical attention I received, my blood pressure was back to normal the next day, and I was able to rejoin the rest of the party at Trincomalee.

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the medical staff at both the Kibissa hospital and Dambulla Base Hospital.

David Williams, Kotagala

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/091220/Plus/plus_04.html