Sporting career of Buddy Reid

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Carrying our flag overseas.

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Extract from ''Remembered Vignettes'

 

'Bible Rock', as seen from the road to Kandy, near Kadugannawa.
Photo by Dr. Philip G Veerasingam

Preface

            Life in Sri Lanka in the late 1950's was a very different experience to what it is today – looking back, it is hardly recognizable as the same country. The hustle and bustle of life for students was not evident. To cite just one glaring example, tuition outside the classroom for school children was not the norm in those days, even for those studying for the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations, the equivalent of the advanced level examinations of today. Some extra classes were held on Saturdays by enthusiastic teachers, who would have been offended if payment had been offered. People were not mercenary to the degree one sees now. Very few students continued their studies after completing the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSC). Most had found employment by this time. Children often played a game where, they counted the number of letters of the alphabet in a name and predicted what the child would grow up to be, in adult life. The rhyme went as ‘DOCTOR< PROCTOR< COOLEY< CLERK’ repeated. Thus, PHILIP would be - P: doctor, H: proctor, I: coolie, L: clerk, I: doctor, and P: proctor. Thus, the child named PHILIP would be a proctor in adult life. It was as simple as that. There were no disciplines like hotel management, catering, computing, business management and a host of others as at present.

            Marrying for love was the exception, rather than the rule. Much more mundane things like race, cast, dowry and religion carried more weight, with looks thrown in as an added bonus. Happily, looking back, quite a number of these marriages thrived into old age. Break-ups of marriages were the exception. One of my batch mates had continuous problems with his doctor wife, with whom he had fallen in love and married. One day, his sympathetic father-in-law, took him aside and advised him in all seriousness, to take a mistress and keep the marriage going. Such was the sacrosanct nature of marriage.

            We had very few material possessions. A radio and a car fulfilled life's ambitions for most of us. Televisions, fans, washing machines, microwaves and floor polishers were not heard of. The clothes were washed by a 'dhobi' who arrived at the home, at regular weekly intervals. We went to the barber for a haircut and the tailor stitched our clothes. It was as simple as that. There were no supermarkets to speak of and the large department stores were operated by British business houses and they sold items which were beyond the reach of most ordinary Ceylonese.  The common leisure pursuits were, watching films or a play, the latter being reserved for those more sophisticated than the average student.  When money was tight (which was usually the case), one had to settle for a sunset or dinner outdoors on a moonlit night. Trips to distant places, with song and dance and guitar or accordion accompaniments, were special treats.

            Studies were not taken too seriously. Though we always lived with the prospect of an examination, we usually began working in earnest three months before the day of the examination was due to start. There was little competition among the majority to secure leadership positions. A pass at an examination was enough and very often, a lost love caused more heartache, than a failed examination.

Fifty years on, looking back life seemed very rosy, in the nineteen fifties and sixties. Out of that experience, the following tales emerge. They are based mostly on fact and any element of fiction which may have crept in is simply the consequence of re-telling the tale. They reflect the happy times and (almost) care-free days. They bring to mind the rollicking laughter and fun of medical student days, when schoolboys just out of their teens, began the tasks of simultaneously growing into adults and training to become doctors. These tales are told with amusement and laughter with the sole purpose, of warming the hearts of my batch mates who entered the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo in the year 1960.   I am indebted to my batch-mates who sent me contributions to this book and their names are listed in the acknowledgements, as far as possible. I regret any missed acknowledgements

            The photograph on the cover taken by me, shows "Bible Rock" seen from Kadugannawa, Sri-Lanka. The name ‘Bible Rock’ was to see the similarity of an open book, a bible, lying on a table. The Dutch thought that it resembled a coffin and named it as ‘Coffin rock’. It depicts for me, the 'resurrection' of wonderful tales from the 'book learning' experience at the Medical Faculty of the early part of 1960.

 

 

Philip G Veerasingam

Referances

1. https://magnificentsrilanka.com/guide-to-hike-bible-rock-in-sri-lanka/

Statistics of human life on earth

 

The population of Earth is around 7.8 Billion.

For most people, it is a significant figure. However, if you condensed 7.8 billion into 100 persons, and then into various percentage statistics, the resulting analysis is relatively much easier to comprehend. 

 

Out of 100 :

11 are in Europe.

5 are in North America

9 are in South America

15 are in Africa.

60 are in Asia.

 

49 live in the countryside

51 live in cities

 

75 have mobile phones.

25 do not

 

30 have internet access.

70 do not have the availability to go online.

 

83 can read.

17 are illiterate.

 

33 are Christians.

22 are Muslims.

14 are Hindus.

7 are Buddhists.

12 are other religions.

12 have no religious beliefs.

 

26 live less than 14 years  Wow!

66 died between 15 - 64 years of age.

8 are over 65 years old.

 

If you have your own home,

Eat full meals & drink clean water,

Have a mobile phone,

Can surf the internet, and

have gone to college,

You are in the minuscule privileged lot.

(in the less than 7% category)

 

Amongst 100 persons in the world, only eight live or exceed the age of 65!

 

If you are over 65 years old, be content & grateful. Cherish life. Grasp the moment.

If you did not leave this world before the age of 64, like the 92 persons who have gone before you, you are already blessed amongst humankind.

Take good care of your health. Cherish every remaining moment.

AND NOW: 

Pay attention to all you thinkers! This is an area that is staring me in the face daily.

If you think you are suffering memory loss, read on.

 

Anosognosia, very interesting:

 

In the following analysis, the French Professor Bruno Dubois, Director of the Institute of Memory and Alzheimer's Disease (IMMA) at La Pitié-Salpêtrière - Paris Hospital addresses the subject in a rather reassuring way:

 

"If anyone is aware of their memory problems, they do not have Alzheimer's."

 

1. forget the names of families.

2. do not remember where I put some things.

 

It often happens in people 60 years and older that they complain that they lack memory.

"The information is always in the brain, it is the "processor" that is lacking."

 

This is "Anosognosia" or temporary forgetfulness.

 

Half of people 60 and older have some symptoms that are due to age rather than disease. The most common cases are:

- forgetting the name of a person,

- going to a room in the house and not remembering why we were going there,

- a blank memory for a movie title or actor, an actress,

- a waste of time searching where we left our glasses or keys.

 

After 60 years most people have such a difficulty, which indicates that it is not a disease but rather a characteristic due to the passage of years.

 

Many people are concerned about these oversights hence the importance of the following statements:

 

1."Those who are conscious of being forgetful have no serious problem of memory."

2. "Those who suffer from a memory illness or Alzheimer's, are not aware of what is happening."

 

Professor Bruno Dubois, Director of IMMA, reassures the majority of people concerned about their oversights:

 

"The more we complain about memory loss, the less likely we are to suffer from memory sickness."

 

We are truly blessed, So, share this with your over 55 friends, it can reassure them.

 

In any case, if you are over 65 and complaining about a few aches and pains, think again .......

 

....... 92% of people didn't even get that opportunity.😉