This book, with its pot pourri of cricketing items and photographs, was published in 1998 by the Walla Walla Press in Sydney. It was enabled by (A) the cooperation of two authors who never met each other: one Michael Roberts …. a Sri Lankan Australian in Adelaide and one Alfred James, an Aussie in Sydney who had a unique collection of cricketing statistics on Australian tours abroad which provided the pertinent data on their whistle-stop matches in Colombo on the trips to Britain and back – rare data that.
Rohan Pethiyagoda to speak on “Serendipity: The Discovery of Sri Lanka’s Biodiversity Heritage” … in The Roland Silva Memorial Lecture for the National Trust of Sri Lanka, 26 January 2023, ... 6.00 pm … on Zoomhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/81249396683
Sri Lanka’s natural wealth—its species, landscapes and ecosystems—are justly celebrated in it being recognized as part of a Global Biodiversity Hotspot. Yet, we rarely stop to wonder how this incredible heritage came to be discovered. This lecture tells the tale of this voyage of discovery: the doctors and the housewives who became botanical explorers; a village lad who rose to number among Asia’s most famous illustrators; a tea planter who went on to become president of the Royal Entomological Society... In the course of his career, the speaker has delved into archives in both Sri Lanka and Europe to piece together the life stories of these remarkable men and women. In this lecture he celebrates their achievements and their all too human foibles: their rivalries, jealousies, eccentricities and not least, their genius. Richly illustrated with portraits, works of art and anecdotes, the lecture will relate the story of the explorations that led to the discoveries that in turn gave rise to the literature upon which knowledge of our living island is based upon. In short, the speaker explains how deserving it is that the phenomenon of serendipity takes its name from the classical moniker for Sri Lanka.
Looking back in retrospect, my respect for the resilence and strength of character shown by Muttiah Muralitharan has expanded by ‘metres’ these last few days. The story –involving numerous episodes — has been set out in my old essay “Saving Murali: Action On-Field and Off-Field, 1995-2005″ which has been presented as Chapter 5 in the book Incursions & Excursions in and Aound Sri Lankan Cricket, printed by Vijitha Yapa Publications in 2011 (ISBN 978-955-53198-0-5).
Dr Barclay Reid, “Buddy Reid” in most minds, has this week related his role in medically examining Muralitharan’s peculiar physiognomy and clarifying the process of mystification that led some Australian umpires to no-ball him in late 1995 as part of a process — as they thought — of cleansing the cricket field of “throwers” (seehttps://thuppahis.com/2022/12/21/muralitharan-the-arm-that-did-not-chuck/).
Jacqueline Alderson of UWA’s Technology team preparing Murali for a test as part of Foster’s team …
Dr. Laleen Jayamanne:** in The Island, 19 October 2022, where the title reads thus: “An Insider’s Guide to Pandemics and Biosecurity”
“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun” …. The Life of Galileo, Bertolt Brecht, 1939
“June Twenty Second Sixteen Thirty-three
A momentous day for you and me
Of all the days that was the one
An age of Reason could have begun”
Risidra Mendisin Ceylon Today, 4 June 2022, where the title runs thus: “The Popham legacy lives on”
Rows of large and valuable trees, lush greenery in abundance, a cool atmosphere, and plenty of interesting things to see are what the iconic Francis Home Popham, (better known as Sam Popham) – the creator of the world-renowned Popham Method in Forest Regeneration, and founder of the Popham Arboretum in Dambulla – left behind when he passed away on 28 May 2022 at an Assisted-Living facility in England.
The Indian Ocean around Sri Lanka contains vast, precious minerals which have so far not been explored or exploited by Sri Lanka. A review of recent scientific literature indicates that powerful States and Corporate sectors are active within the area. The support of the United Nations [UN] is sought to legally delineate the national Extended Economic Zone [EEZ] in keeping with the UN Convention on Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]. Sri Lanka must urgently guard its ocean resources before they are exploited to exhaustion by others. Sri Lanka must ensure forex earnings through a new policy on sustainable exploitation of ou ocean resources.
If anything good has come out of this week’s energy crisis it is the realisation that our electricity market is no longer fit for purpose – that after years of inaction we have finally been found out. The question is: what, exactly, can be done?
Australia heavily relies on gas and coal but is shifting towards renewables.CREDIT:GETTY
A Professorial Collective in The Island, 3 March 2022, …… deploying this title “Role of solar energy in overcoming Sri Lanka’s energy crisis”
We are writing this article after watching the Derana TV “Aluth Parlimenthuwa” – “Viduliya Mahajana Peminilla” on 26th January 2022, and after reading a newspaper item where the State Minister of Solar Power, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development, Duminda Dissanayake has stated in Parliament that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has not provided the connections for 40MW roof top solar panel systems for almost two years after they were installed on the roofs of homes. It is strange that the Minister has no power to take action against individuals in his own Ministry who block the entry of solar energy to the national grid and provide us with a way to overcome the current power crisis.
Michael Roberts
