Happy New Year!
We wish all viewers of this blog, a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year - 2021.
Lucky and Mahendra (Joint Blog Administrators)
Our regular contributor Zita
starts off the year with a typical poem.
What’s New? By
Zita Perera Subasinghe
Time for
Change
In the past year, life’s
surely changed gear
No talk, just text,
with Smiley next
No meeting, just ‘zoom’
To banish the gloom?
Don’t feel bitter
About Instagram and Twitter
No Christmas visit
‘What’s App’ does it
Turkey crown if lucky
Go for a walk if plucky
Don’t take the trouble
Unless in same ‘bubble’
No presents, my duckie
One or two if lucky
Covid new strain
Goes against the grain
To put others in danger
(Even when Babe’s in the manger)
Name of the game
‘Every day is the same’
Variety’s life’s spice
Words sound very nice
There’s TV of course!
Nothing to beat ‘Mr Morse’
And there’s always ‘The News’
Which got a million views!
Gift’s come, but ‘Don’t touch’!
Three -hour wait, not much
To Sale shopping, don’t go!
Online order too slow?
Let’s just rejoice and sing
Not wait for door- bell to ring
Even in the
lowest gear, have a really Happy New Year!
Zita, thank you for sharing your thoughts in rhyme so skillfully, as you always do. Most of the adaptations I had to make (Zoom instead of person to person chats, WhatsApp messaging instead of airline flights to visit family etc, etc.) went against the grain, but I adapted anyway. My car was not being driven much, and developed problems from sitting around, such as 'frozen' brake calipers and a battery that had to be replaced. But I am managing to avoid my muscles and joints suffering from disuse atrophy!
ReplyDeleteHere's to a return to normalcy in 2021, even if it is a modified state of normalcy! Stay safe and healthy everybody!
Srianee, thanks for your kind comment, and I know I have taken many days to do this. As I said earlier we've been dogged by a Covid scare in the family and this evening the negative result arrived! So I can take pleasure in looking at the Blog and reading comments. You have added some truly relevant problems of the Lockdown and things which we took for granted and did in our stride are now suddenly 'forbidden'! It is so frustrating but we have to get used to 2021 being the Black Sheep of the last hundred years!Let us moan about it to one another and get some relief! Zita
DeleteZita, as I always say, your poetic talents are worthy of praise. Your hall mark is the quatrain variety, usually with aa,bb. We look forward to many more from you. Very best wishes to you, Joe, Nisha and Rohan.
ReplyDeleteAlso very best to all my lovely colleagues and their families. Please do keep in touch by email or via the blog or WhatsApp.
I hope Lucky will feel well enough to resume duties but until such time, it is my pleasure to act for him.
Thanks Mahendra, for printing my usual bits of nonsense on this Blog of great repute. I think the past 11 months or so have made us look at things with a bit of slant and twist and in doing so help us to accept this enigma that has enveloped the world, changed our thinking, our vocabulary, our behaviour patterns and we can't seem to get away from the subject from our lives and vocabulary.
DeleteOh it's this scatterbrain, Zita, back to say 'Thank you' for your beautiful illustration above. You specialities and attributes are the legion!I interpret it as 'your words fighting against the virus formations and pushing them into the periphery. Thanks, that's the correct idea! Zita
DeleteZita, I am pleased that the post is Ok as I was worried bout missing the emoji symbols you used in your original document to me.
DeletePlease do!
ReplyDeleteExcellent start to what I feel is a Covid free year.
Thank you my dearest erstwhile body partner.. Zita dear you are truly talented you mix up humor so skillfully with honesty and hard hitting truths.... How well I remember " when Suri was a tiny tot ... crying in a little cot."... And again "Not much luck with the diathermy aney... When the assistant burnt poor Gane ! "
ReplyDeleteKeep them coming Zeets. lots of love to You Joe ,Nish, Rohan and his dear wife and a ( virtual) cuddle for the bublet Suri
Zita, an excellent start for the New Year with your very appropriate verse, as always!
ReplyDelete10 Points to Ponder as 2020 draws to a close ...������
ReplyDelete1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.
2. 2019: Stay away from negative people. 2020: Stay away from positive people.
3. The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house & their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors!
4. This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her. I came to my house & told my dog.... We had a good laugh.
5. Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well in the kingdom.
6. Does anyone know if we can take showers yet or should we just keep washing our hands?
7. I never thought the comment, “I wouldn’t touch him/her with a 6-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are!
8. I need to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.
9. I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip to the Backyard. I’m getting tired of the Living Room.
10. Never in a million years could I have imagined I would go up to a bank teller with a mask on and ask for money.
Zita
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely poem. We need more of your poetry as we proceed to the light at the end of the tunnel, hopefully before this year comes to an end. Meanwhile take care and stay safe
I was pleasantly surprised to hear from our Batch mate UVA De Silva this morning. He is Ananda De Silva.
ReplyDeleteI have sent him the link to our Blog
Let us nudge our friends to visit and join in our blog.
Write a comment and light a candle for our friendship.
Nice to hear about a good old pal,Ananda.I have not forgotten his young face.Come on man,be brave and comment your experiences during the last 54 years.Surely you can not forget Sumathi.
DeleteI hope Ananda joins in the fun here. I think he is pretty savvy with technology, because I occasionally get requests from him on 'Doximity' which I have not joined, but I get requests anyway.
DeleteSURI SENDS THIS BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE. (we can't post pictures as comments in blogs and I am posting the text only)
ReplyDelete"may tomorrow be the start of a
beautiful new beginning blessed with
love, happiness, hope & faith
May we all find our true paths that lead
us all to be better, kinder, caring &
courageous people.
May we all learn to count our blessings
&hold on to all those who matter to us.
happy new year"
Thanks,Suri, for that beautiful wish which is so appropriate at this time. My family and I,too, wish you and yours find paths that lead to healthy, happy, fruitful days, weeks and months! Zita
DeleteNihal, I would like to contact UVA. At one time he was living with Bertram Nana, down Pirivena Road, Mt Lavinia. Could you please send his email address to me via email?
ReplyDeleteDone
DeleteSuri, thank you for your thoughtful words here. Last night I did something interesting, that some of you may consider doing in some adapted form. Our Church had an outdoor New Years' Eve Service at about 5:00 pm (Yes, it was cold but we bundled up!) It was dark already, so there were hundreds of luminaria lined up on the lawn and a fire pit in the center of our gathering area. It looked breathtakingly beautiful. It was a rather informal service, but at the beginning of the service we were given pieces of paper and a pencil and asked to write something about 2020 that we want to put behind us. (Many wrote 'Covid' and 'Trump' I think!). During the service we walked up to the fire pit and threw these pieces of paper into the fire pit. It felt strangely liberating! Try throwing away and burning everything negative about 2020 in a fireplace or bonfire, depending on where you live! It will feel good! Here's to 2021!
ReplyDeleteThe reason we met outside is because indoor gatherings in enclosed spaces is considered dangerous because of the aerosol spread of Covid.
DeleteHi,Srianne,was it the eternal fire 🔥 that you threw your papers into?
DeleteNo Sumathi, it was not the biblical 'eternal fire!' It was one of those metal things that people keep in their backyards when the temperatures start dipping down. We had to keep it going with firewood. It kept us warm and also created a nice atmosphere.
DeleteThanks, Srianne,I always learn something new.Wish you a happy new year and a mild winter.Stay safe until you have the "jab".
DeleteThanks Sumathi. In Connecticut, where I live, they are giving the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech to health care workers, police, firefighters, nursing home residents and staff etc. I should be in the next group, but we have no idea when that will begin. I'm trying to be very patient!
DeleteSrianne,be patient, your time will come.I know that you are always kindly, patient and considerate.
DeleteI like the symbolism Srianee. Like most things in life, it will appeal to a lot and not so to others. All religious teachers used this kind of symbolism as well as the use of parables. There is something about these which has a powerful influence in us. In fact in some "Thovil" ceremonies this is done with a lot of ritual chanting and the object to which the demon responsible for the client's illness is coaxed into a metallic object which is then disposed off. The secret is the faith or strong belief the subject has in it. There is a feeling of finality in getting rid of something which is affecting you- you literally "see" the problem being got rid of. Faith is one of the strongest human emotions, or so I believe.
ReplyDeleteSpeedy,I always thought belief and Truth are entirely two different things.We used to obey and follow the saying that do as your elders do now and what they did in the past.I get irritated with dogmas,some individuals talk about.
DeleteOf course Sumthi. A belief is something usually very personal but could be a shared view in a group of people. It does not need verification, just an acceptance. Truth on the other hand in philosophical terms can be questioned in many ways. First of all is there a "universal truth" independent of knowledge which operates throughout the Universe which could be "known" or "realised" or is the view that there is a "truth" also contestable. The truth might be that there is no truth! If you are physicalist, the only truth are natural laws that exist such as gravitation etc. For a physicalist, there is nothing spiritual and everything can be explained or could be explained if it has not been explained so far on the basis of science. A belief could arise after examining the evidence but there is no agreement on what evidence is admissible.
DeleteMahen, most of the people who participated in this symbolic ritual of throwing negative things in the fire pit liked it. It was done somewhat lightheartedly, but it certainly made me feel better. Like everything in life it felt good to be part of a community of friends, just like on the Blog!
DeleteBunter I have participated in services that asked us to write down what we want to get rid of in our lives and throw it into a fire but not on a New Years Eve. as Speedy has remarked the symbolism us powerful and has a somewhat cathartic effect . But of course it's not magic but it does help us to identify the "baggage" we carry around with us... Much like the Albatross I the Ancient Mariner !
DeleteHi Zita
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the beautiful poem,reflects the restrictive bubble we live in Tier 4.Hopefully the vaccine jab will burst the bubble and release us.Stay safe.
Thanks,Harischandra! (I prefer to address you thus) I really appreciate your kind words. You are a very talented writer! We spent all those years in medical school but we didn't have the chance to enjoy your writings. I hope you have a lot more waiting to be placed on this lovely platform of our Blog where we in our old age can enjoy the literary talents of our batchmates.
DeleteTo all my learned friends
ReplyDeleteOne of the great advantages of the Blog is the ability turn back the pages and read older postings. This is also a great privilege. Our time in that great institution by the Koch Clock Tower in Kynsey road was almost 60 years ago. Much has changed since in its appearance, ethos and importantly medical education and curriculum. I would like to draw your attention to a brilliant article written with characteristic accuracy and usual flair by Sanath Lama in 2014 about some of the changes. Here is a link to copy and paste and enjoy: https://colombomedgrads1962.blogspot.com/search?q=Medical+Education+%E2%80%93+Then+and+Now
Thanks Nihal, for reminding us that we can access earlier posts. (I don't usually do that.) Are they saved indefinitely?
DeleteAll things published in the Blog are there unless deleted. it is a huge repository of information
DeleteThat's a brilliant idea, Nihal! And you are quite right, that there must be past articles on the Blog which either we missed or are worth re reading. I shall certainly access that article by Prof Lama. Thanks for giving us the link!
ReplyDeleteHi Zita
ReplyDeleteThanks for those kind encouraging words.To be honest as a medical student my writing was pretty mediocre,maybe Kumar G's talents would have rubbed on to me.A first cousin of mine,Romesh Gunasekera has written several books.
Mahendra, I could not access the article written by me in 2014, which Nihal has referred to. Would you please consider posting it again?
ReplyDeleteSure but first try copying this and pasting on your browser
Deletehttps://colombomedgrads1962.blogspot.com/search?q=Medical+Education+%E2%80%93+Then+and+Now
Just highlight the whole text below by pressing the Left button of your mouse till the text is highlighted in blue. Keep the arrow of the mouse within the blue highlighted area and now press the Roght mouse button. A dialogue box will appear and click on "Go to https:// etc etc". This will open a new window on your browser showing the ColomboMedgrads site with the chosen post.
ReplyDeleteThe text you need to highlight is shown below:-
https://colombomedgrads1962.blogspot.com/search?q=Medical+Education+%E2%80%93+Then+and+Now
Zita
ReplyDeleteI just read your poem. You are a talented Poetess.Lovely Poem, Well Done, Keep it up! You are also a talented Musician and an Artist.
We should be thankful to Lucky and Mahendra for keeping the Blog alive exposing the talents of our batch mates. Chira
Chira, I am late as usual and I explained above, what happened. It is really kind of you to appreciate my 'bit of nonsense', yes that's what I call it. I am so glad to see you on our Blog and we truly appreciate your input and look forward to seeing more of your talents in print. I cannot imagine that I knew you for so long but some of your talents I am seeing for the first time. Thanks again! Zita
DeleteZita
DeleteThanks for your comment.
Even I was not aware I could Cross stitching and Painting. After retirement and when I stopped doing surgery I was at a loss. It was my daughter Anjali who introduced me to Cross stitching first and later Painting. I enjoy doing them. Chira
I found this great article about Dr OLiver Medonza. Here is the link
ReplyDeletehttps://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/mavathage-oliver-robert-medonza
Drag your mouse arrow over the entire link text while pressing the Left button of your mouse and keeping the arrow on the blue area thus outlined, click the Right mouse button and choose the "Go to ....."
THIS IS KUMAR - posted on his behalf as he had problems posting
ReplyDelete“Dear Sanath and all,
I was an eye witness of this incident. Our group was in the midst of our second medical appointment
Robert G and his wife visited a patient around 10 am.They did not disturb or interfere with anyone.OM sent a curt message asking them to clear out.That’s when the altercation began.OM called the Medical Super (?Jayasekare) who tried to defuse the situation.There was no physical threat but I recall RG shouting ‘you bloody Medonza’.
His wife a real lady managed to get him to leave.I felt,even then that R should have been dealt with more decorum.
The root of the hostility, may have been political. OM’s f-I-l Sir A.E. De Silva was a staunch UNPer and may have been a founder member of the GOP. His rubber estate, Salawa was the biggest and best in Ceylon and in Avissawella Philip’s constituency.
The Boralugoda Gunawardanes were no relations of ours,but I did admire them as honest politicians.
I have the profoundest respect for Dr OM. He was a good clinical teacher with a colourful terminology.( these Herring-Breuer chaps).All the teaching was in the mornings; in the afternoons we kept our distance as it was said that his pal DJ Attygalle and he spent many a midday break at the SSC.
My first interaction with him was when he visited my father at home for a consultation. He was brought, by a cousin of ours Dr Lakshman Lecamwasam, who was the youngest physician in Ceylon ,then.
OM was very good to the students. At the end of the term ,we were invited home to a splendid dinner preceded by lavish helpings of Johnny Walker.His wife a tall elegant lady, came down for a short while, but his daughter Niloufer was with us all the time.A memorable evening.
Hi nephew Ana Medonza and I were cricket mates at STC.I was not aware that OM was a cricketer.
Kumar
OM’s nephew Ajith de Silva was with us in the Main Quarters He was working in the NSU and was an expert at carotid angiograms
ReplyDeleteI have played billiards with OR at the SSC
ReplyDeleteSorry It should be OM and not OR
ReplyDelete