Thursday, January 20, 2011

Jungle Tavern - email sent by Nihal Gooneratne.

READ BEFORE WATCHING ......

This is a video from a French documentary about Africa. You may not understand the narrative, but the video is a hoot and self explanatory.
There are Marula trees which grow in Africa. This is the fruit that is used in the production Amarula Liqueur.
Once a year, the tree produces a very juicy fruit, which contains a large percentage of alcohol. Because of the shortage of water at this time of year, as soon as the fruits are ripe, animals come there to help themselves to protect from the heat and get nourishment. You can easily tell who overindulged
...
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f9f9290c98&view=att&th=12da76680947565d&attid=0.1&disp=attd&realattid=6d906fb14035ee31_0.1&zw


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Appreciation - Isabella Liyanage nee Nallamanicam by Lakshman Karalliedde

'The Island' - 16th January 2011.

ISABELLA LIYANAGE-Nee NALLAMANICAM -AN INSPIRING LIFE

My first exposure to the Liyanage family was in the early 1950’s during the (then) annual boxing fixture between Royal and Trinity. In three weight divisions, a Liyanage was at the Royal corner and they all fisted the respective Trinity opponents into total submission. In 1960, the middle one-Sunil and Isabella started their medical studies at the Colombo Medical Faculty with me. My friendship with Sunil developed with great rapidity and their home at Gregory’s Avenue was my second home in Colombo. Isabella most aptly described in the Eulogy was immaculate, statuesque, confident and intelligent and uncomfortable but tolerant of the ‘K’s in the batch whose behavior was far from the accepted norms. Sunil, in contrast to his aggressive style in the boxing ring- he battered his opponent at the inter-university championship, was quiet except at block concerts, impish, extremely quick witted with an uncanny poker faced sense of humour. I also knew Isabella’s mother, who first showed me how to care for an infant when Niran, Sunil’s and Isabella’s eldest son was born and Sunil’s mother –Auntie Valerie who at 95 years of age is an avid reader and a computer wizard. Sunil’s late father was known to all of us –affectionately referred to as Patron.
Sunil and Bella left for the UK, shortly after their house jobs in 1967. Both reached commendable heights professionally, with Isabella winning the Gold Medal at the final Radiology Examination, switching to radiology after her membership examination in Medicine. Sunil became a consultant rheumatologist working with a distinguished consultant colleague. They were one of the very few medical couples appointed as Consultants to the same hospital trust which was in one of the most affluent regions in the UK-Windsor-not known only for the castle, as the hospitals served the top rung of society in Windsor, Ascot and Virginia Waters (popularly known as the stock broker belt). Both Bella and Sunil were made honorary members of the Windsor and District Medical Association with the likes of Barbara Ansell.
Isabella, as the sole Consultant Radiologist initially was responsible for developing the specialty in the region to the highest standards in the UK.
When I arrived in the UK for my post-graduate studies in 1970, they hosted me at Reading and introduced the ‘country cousin’ to the British culture which included visits to the pub, lessons on the football league and horse racing. Their home at Virginia Waters was always open to me when I visited England between 1976 and 1989. They were wonderful hosts, generous and genuine.
Both Sunil and Bella treated with empathy and compassion several patients who were near and dear to Kanthi and self. They also looked after our health. On one occasion, to relieve our extreme anxiety, Bella requested a radiology unit to be opened on a Sunday morning at a private Hospital in Windsor, after telephoning her on Saturday evening, to conduct radiological examinations and her expert opinion was about one of the most reassuring and anxiety relieving moments in our lives. In addition, her expert opinion silenced a department of radiology at a London Teaching Hospital.
They provided the best educational opportunities for their two sons, educating them at Eton and later at Oxford, with Yohan obtaining a doctorate from Cambridge. A noble quality which I admired in both Sunil and Bella was that they never provided unsolicited advice but was always available to facilitate and/or provide assistance when requested.
During the past two decades Sunil and I continued with our passion for horse racing with frequent e-mails and text messages which amused our spouses as our selections often fell at the first fence or hurdle or never ended up amongst the first three in flat racing. Nevertheless, we persisted and survived.
Bella’s determination, discipline and dedication to provide nothing but the best for Sunil, Niran, Yohan , the specialty and colleagues and the community she served and friends was in the least admirable. She displayed her inner strengths and courage coping for a long period with an illness for which she was aware that there was no known cure, continuing with her work and helping the family and the community she served. She never wavered, whimpered or worried about her health.
An inspiring life.
A chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped asunder in every parting, and Time's busy fingers are not practiced in re splicing broken ties. Meet again you may; will it be in the same way? with the same sympathies? with the same sentiments? Will the souls, hurrying on in diverse paths, unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely, rarely.
- Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

Bella-You have left treasured memories of a precious friendship.
Lakshman Karalliedde

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Sri Lanka through the eyes of a Surgeon.

Please click on the following to see a review of the book 'Cry of the devil-bird'.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/01/09/sri-lanka-through-the-eyes-of-a-surgeon/

email from Sunil Liyanage

Dear friends,

I write to convey thanks from our sons Niran and Yohan, Bella’s brother Indran, and from myself to all friends who got in touch with us, whether by email, phone call, card or with flowers. We were touched by your comments and by your expression of sympathy. There were over 300 people in Church; and we reckon half of them came home afterwards.

The eulogies were given by friend and colleague Philip Reginald who spoke about Bella’s work, and by our older son Niran who spoke about Bella from a personal and family perspective.

These are attached to this email.

If you have difficulty in opening the attachments, and would still wish to read them, please get in touch we me directly, sunilpl@btconnect.com and I will send an open Word document.

With our thanks and love

Sunil

2 attachmentsDownload all attachments
Eulogy Bella - PWR 2003Doc.docEulogy Bella - PWR 2003Doc.doc
30K View Download
Eulogy to Isabella Liyanage -Niran 2003Doc.docEulogy to Isabella Liyanage -Niran 2003Doc.doc
41K View Download

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Book co-authored by 'Karals'

BOOK REVIEW

Handbook Of Adverse Drug Interactions – Comprehensive And User-Friendly By Seneka Abeyratne Adverse Drug Interactions – A Handbook For Prescribers by Lakshman Karalliedde, Simon F.J. Clarke, Ursula Collignon, and Janaka Karalliedde (Hodder Arnold/UK/2010) is a quality piece of work produced by a team of top-flight professionals. It has been highly recommended by Doody’s Review Service [...]

Friday, December 31, 2010

The toy dentures


My elder Grand-son had a toy windup set of plastic teeth, bought while in the UK. He had lost it. He wanted a replacement. We searched high and low in the toy shops in Sri Lanka to no avail. My wife had a coronary by-pass. When she was recovering, my grand-son who knew that she was wearing dentures, told her that if she passed away, that he wanted her dentures. Eventually came Christmas and he wrote a letter to Santa Claus where he mentioned the dentures. Ultimately his 'Baappa' and 'Punchi' got this for him for Christmas. You can see him proudly holding the dentures in his hands last Christmas day.

Greetings to the Batch of 1960

We are entering another New Year.
The Joys and sorrows, the laughter and tears and the lives lost and gained in the year gone by will bring varied emotions in us. Here is Wishing you all the best for the New-Year 2011.
Click on the web-link below to get my wishes to all of you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD9KLA4qz3A