THE ANNUAL LONDON BATCH REUNION: 2025. Organised by Pram.
Dr Nihal D Amerasekera
The annual reunion of the batch of 1962 was held on the 4th
of July at the iconic Royal Society of Medicine in London. Pram couldn’t have
chosen a better venue than the RSM founded in 1907 and moved to the present
site in 1910. With Its pristine location, elegant façade and the luxury and
grandeur of the glorious interior, the RSM is fit for Royalty.
Pramila was in her elegant
best, busy as the mistress of ceremonies. As always, she has been the
catalyst to bring us all together. With her charm and gentle arm twist, who
could refuse to attend? Pram brought with her some warm sunshine making our
journeys easier and the ambience happy and lively.
Some arrived earlier than others to be seated in the dining
area where the chat began. As everyone trickled in we moved to our exclusive dining
room which was most elegantly decorated for this our special occasion. We
chatted away amidst the grace and sophistication of this beautiful room. We
looked beyond the grey hairs, the lines and furrows in our faces and the extra
pounds to embrace our friends from way back. After the warm greetings and
handshakes, we sat down for lunch.
There was never a dull moment. The chatter started straight
away, and the conversation flowed freely as we shared our favourite anecdotes
and recollections of our faculty experiences. Susheila and Harshi were in good
form relating hilarious stories about their time as interns at the GHC. We were
so happy to have Indrani Subramaniam’s daughter Rosemarie and granddaughter
Maria to attend the function. Harshi and Harsha Boralessa have been regulars at
our meetings and, as always, wonderful company. I took the opportunity to catch
up with Harsha. Rupa and Susil Attale decided to grace us with their presence
all the way from Farnborough. Sirima and Sunil too are regulars at our meetings
in London. Ranjith and Hemantha Kariyawasam are welcome newbies to our London
Reunion. We hope they will return. Shanthi Nalliah has been a regular at these
meetings. She always has her own brand of amusing stories, and it was so lovely
to see her. Sunil and Sirima too contributed generously to the fun of the
occasion. We thank David and Malkanthi Anthonisz for attending the event. They
are such a friendly couple. We do sincerely hope they will continue to grace
the London Reunion.
Mahendra
ReplyDeleteThanks for publishing my recollections and the later additions. It was a jolly good gathering and most enjoyable. We did miss you but do understand the situation. I hope we can meet up when visit London next.
Hi everybody,
ReplyDeletelovely to see you guys enjoying yourselves at a UK reunion .Thank you Speedy for publishing the event in the blog , Pram for organising it and Nihal for his comments.
Though I could easily spot Harshi and Bora, Shanthi , Susheela, Atale, Srima and Sunil and of course Nihal, and Pram I was sorry I couldn't see Malkanthie. We have so many shared memories... Hailing from the same school, Methodist College, both residing in Dehiwela as well as being study partners. Last time I saw her was at Swyrie's residence many years ago when I met her husband and her cute daughter Megan .
Suri
Hello everyone. Yes, as Suri said, it is lovely to see you all enjoying each other's company. Nihal, thank you for your elegant narrative. Perhaps sometime in the not so distant future I may be able to join one of these reunions. A visit to London is long overdue.
ReplyDeleteSuri, I think you are thinking of Malkanthi Wijesuriya. Malkanthi Anthonisz is a different person. (I don't think I know her.) This is why I am grateful for my nickname sometimes, because I don't get mistaken for other Srianis, Sriyanis and Shriyanis!!!
Hi Bunter,
DeleteYes I realised that they are referring to a different Malkanthie ( there was only one in our batch . She is Mc Cormick now)I
I am also unable to place the person referred to in ND's post
That was me Suri
DeleteSorry to have missed this one but I am very pleased that Pram had a good attendance. She takes so much trouble over these. She times her London visits to attend Wimbledon and I hope she enjoys what is served. Yes, we are all getting old (apart from those who have died!)
ReplyDeleteHello Mahen, Suri and Bunter,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on our annual gathering. "A picture is worth a thousand words" is an old adage which rings true even today. Despite the lines and furrows on my face the lean and hungry look hasn't changed since those faculty years. The idiom "a photo does not lie" however is not strictly true with the digital manipulations and air-brushing available today. But the fact remains we all look grand in those photos without any digital meddling.
Every name from our faculty is associated with an image which we all keep securely in the archives of our mind. For me those images remain mostly from what I have retained from those years in the 1960's. When I see those friends now it takes me awhile to get the names in place.
It is so lovely to meet up with friends from those faculty years. For several days after the event a video plays in my mind of the happy time we had together.
There was Sir Edward Jenner (1749 – 1823) was looking on at us as we were waiting at the RSM dining hall. He popularised vaccination and found the vaccine for Small Pox saving millions of lives in the process. It is interesting that during his lifetime Ceylon became a British colony. In 1796 the maritime provinces were captured from the Dutch and with the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom the whole country came under British rule in 1815.
ReplyDeleteThe RSM remains an amazing place to delve into the history of medicine.
Bora, I would like to know whether David and Malkanthi Anthonisz still live at 91, Vicar's Moor Lane, Winchmore Hill, North London, as I have very fond memories of that splendid house. From 1972 to 1974, I was a frequent visitor to that house as my late aunt Sita Wickramasuriya lived in that hose with David's father. I used to visit them on Sundays, mow the lawn and attend to the garden. After a couple of drinks , I used to enjoy Aunty Sita's Buth Curry meal.
ReplyDeleteOne evening when I was driving back to my apartment in my Ford Anglia, a policeman stopped me for a routine check. After scanning my documents, he asked for my name; when I mentioned it, he told me "If you can pronounce that name of yours ,you should be OK, please carry on Sir"!
Aunty Sita's sister Aunty Malini was married to Justice T S Fernando, Judge of the Supreme Court. He is the person who taught me to play cards, at about five years of age. Once after returning from London, he presented me with a pack of cards; the four suites had the photographs of the national football players of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, which I treasured very much. Currently, I play gin rummy during most evenings, with a group of friends.
Obviously you all had a great time at the reunion. I was in London but was not aware of the reunion and left UK on 2nd July. My congratulations to Pram for the organising the event. Good to hear from my school mate N.D. I will be in Sri Lanka at Christmas and will be very happy to catch up with any batch mates in SL at that time. My best wishes to all.
ReplyDeleteLakshman Jayasinghe
Hi Lakshman, After such a long time. The last time I spoke with you was when you were in Los Angeles and it was 3am. Do read and comment on our blog and become a regular. It is great to hear from you. Wish we were able to meet up in London on your visit to the UK. Best wishes
DeleteHow nice to see you on the blog Lakshman! We just missed you at the Reunion. Do keep in touch and follow the blog. The more batchmates take part, the richer it becomes.
DeleteLakshman, it is great to have you joining in on the chit chat on the blog. It is too bad that you missed your London friends at this event. I hope to see you in Sri Lanka later this year. You may be aware that we have a "Forever 62" group that gets together regularly in Colombo. Pram is the organizer (no surprise there!). Please get in touch with her when you know the dates of your stay and your availability.
DeleteBTW, when I think of you, I am reminded of our dubious distinction of being the only (?) group that was kicked by the usually unflappable Dr. Ernie Peiris during our preclinical rotation!
He forgave us and took us back. What a lovely man he was!
Nihal
ReplyDeleteI am sure all of you had a great day at this reunion in London.Your narration as usual is great.
When I see these photos it bring back fond memories of the reunion I had with you, Bora, Harshi, Kariyawasam, Hemanthi, Shanthini, David and Malkanthi Anthonosz, Sunil and Srima in September 2024.I am sure you missed Speedy who was present that day.
Pram is really great to organise these reunions.
She did one at the Nelun Kuluna Rotating Restaurant last month where we had Hi fun.
Wishing you all the best.
Chira
Great to hear from you Chira and thanks for the comment. I too remembered the happy reunion in Gant's Hill when you came with your daughter and the good time we had. Pram is a gem to organise these gatherings and bring us together.
DeleteSanath
ReplyDeleteDavid and Malkanthi live at Vicars Moor Lane.They maintain a beautiful garden which has been selected as the best garden in the area on a few occasions and made open for public viewing.
Nihal thanks very much for your detailed description of the reunion presented so stylishly.Pram ; we had a great time, very grateful to you for organising it, enjoyed the meal.
Hello Harsha
DeleteGood to see you on the blog. Thanks for commenting on our enjoyable reunion. I am reminded of that old advert on our Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon " Time passes , quality remains - Favre Leuba watches". I think they were sold by U.N Wijetunge and Co. The quality of the reunion and the enjoyment of the occasion remains good.
I was looking through the photos of our final year trip available in our Blog. They are wonderful images of happier times. Sadly many are no more. I was reminded of that wonderful quip by Lubber Wijeyekoon made in the Masonic Hall in Kurunegala when he was asked "Who are you" by one of our hosts. Lubber said " I am Argyll Robertson's pupil". There was a roar of laughter for several minutes. This must have entered the folklore of our great institution. I just wonder if Final Year trips and the Law-medical cricket matches are still done in our Colombo Faculty. Ah!! those were the days!!
ReplyDeleteHi Guys and gals, I always wish I could be at our reunion especially London one of my favourite cities which I used to frequent after my stay there, but as the years role by this becomes more a dream. A pint at those pubs , fish and chips with the vinegar to down the lager. When I read the names of the attendees, i recall them the way they were in Medical school days, except a few that I have met since, would be nice if you identify them in the photo. Thanks ND for this upto date.
ReplyDeleteRajan ( Patas )
Nihal, my memories of the episode at the Masonic Lodge ,Kurunegala during our Final Year trip is a little different. It was a duet between Asoka and me. I acted as Dr Argyll Robertson and Asoka was my pupil.
ReplyDeleteHello Sanath
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you. Let us make yours the official version.
Mystery solved. I knew that Mary, Indrani Antonypillai's lovely daughter attended the London reunion but I couldn't spot her in any of the photos-why?? Because she was the photographer!
ReplyDeleteDouglas Mulgirigama
ReplyDeleteRead the comments and Photos with delight. Thank you.
I was planning to come but couldn't due to physical disability to travel. I missed a great occasion, the comments and the photos gave me an opportunity to come close to the atmosphere of mutual shareing and friendship. It is a great strength.
Thank you again
with best wishes
Douglas
Nice to see your comment on the Blog. I knew you had to withdraw as you had some health issues. I too missed it for many reasons including some health issues. I am sure they all missed you Douglas. I hope your health problems are getting better. Very best wishes
DeleteThat last cmment about Douglas was from me, Mahendra, aka Speedy
ReplyDeleteThat last anonymous comment about Douglas was from me, Mahendra, aka Speedy. I would love to meet this guy Anonymous who jas posted so many comments!
ReplyDelete