Category Archives: Empire loyalism

September 22, 2022 · 9:50 pm

Thoughts on Planter Lifeways in Ceylon evoked by the Braine Biography

Joe Paiva[1]

Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrubs or small trees in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree. Wikipedia. If allowed to grow freely can reach up to 6 ft or more. For commercial agronomic purposes they are maintained as a compact shrub at approximately 4 ft, to increase productivity. And to suit the stature of female tea pickers.

Tea plants grow at the tea plantation in Trabzon, Turkey on June 27, 2022. (Photo by Resul Kaboglu/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ratnapura, Sri Lanka – April 23: R. Chitrakumari (left) and K. A. Punchimeneke pick tea leaves in a tea garden on April 23, 2022 in Eheliyagoda, Sri Lanka. 2022

BOP = Broken Orange Pekoe, the very best grade of marketed tea. Flavour. Aroma, Colour. A very refreshing brew.

 

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September 22, 2022 · 3:06 pm

Queen Elizabeth and the Sri Lankan Cricketers, June 1975

Mevan Pieris

I thought it would be interesting for people to see a photograph taken at Buckingham Palace just before the Prudential World Cup matches began in June 1975. Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, hosted for tea all eight teams which participated. This photograph, which is only the right section of the full photograph (selected as all the Sri Lankans are in it), was taken on the flight of steps of the rear of the palace, overlooking a garden.

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September 20, 2022 · 8:38 pm

Queen Elizabeth: A Bradman Among the Royals

Greg Sheridan, in The Australian, 20 September 2022, where the title runs thus “Queen was the Bradman among the Royals

I once stood up Prince Charles, as he then was, for a social occasion. I may be the only Australian ever guilty of such a solecism. Forty-odd years ago I was working for the now defunct Bulletin magazine. A friend in the state government sent me an invitation to a morning tea with the visiting prince. I was a republican, but not remotely hostile to the prince. Nor did I have any interest in him. He seemed a bit lame and daffy – listening to his plants and all that – but really he just had no claim on my mind.

I didn’t boycott the event, I just forgot to attend.

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September 20, 2022 · 2:16 am

The Measured Funeral March: Poignant Power

Michael Roberts

At 9.00 pm this day of 18th September 2022 I ventured back from my study to our living room to have dinner.  The TV was on and my Scottish wife was watching the serried ranks of the British military and royalty accompanying the hearse bearing the body Queen Elizabeth on its last earthly journey towards Windsor Castle.

I stood and watched. The seepage of “Empire loyalism” in my upbringing [1] must have kicked in: I was saddened and a tear or two emeged. I remained standing.

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September 17, 2022 · 3:13 pm

“Ceylonese” Fighting for Britain during the Two World Wars

Michael Roberts

Following the recent publication of the book Volunteers from Ceylon who served in the British and Commonwealth Forces during World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945) …. I asked the assiduous compilers of this work to provide a convenient statistical summary of the number of personnel from Ceylon who decided to serve the British Empire in its hour of need (with all the political and cultural implications of these decisions in my ‘compass’).

So, Thuppahi can now present the statistics courtesy of Kumar Kirinde (ex-Trinity College and SL Air Force).

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September 13, 2022 · 1:43 am

Exposing Sachi Sri Kantha: A Tangential Tamil Sniper

Michael Roberts

In presenting an article on Duncan White’s achievement at the World Olympic Games held in London in August 1948, I limited my focus to the 1940s. Sachi Sri Kantha in Japan has often entered comments on Thuppahi items and on this occasion ventured a point-scoring set of remarks on this item. At times these comments have proceeded tangentially to topics straddling the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

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September 10, 2022 · 12:48 am

Queen Elizabeth in Ceylon in 1954 in Pictures

The Queen and Prince Philip visited the island of Ceylon in 1954 and participated in striking ceremonies in Colombo, Kandy and Peradeniya University. The Senate Building at Peradeniya University was formally ‘consecrated’; and the Queen also visited the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. The Queen also visited the famous Trinity College with the Mayor of Kandy (EL Senanayake) as Aide of Honour. Here she honoured and was honoured by the Trinity cadet corps …. a set of actions that reminds us of the “Empire loyalism” that had prompted a number of Westernised Sri Lankans to enlist in the British armed forces during World War I as well as World War II (a topic recently documented** in the new illustrated book edited by Kumar Kirinde et al — entitled Volunteers from Ceylon ………………………………………….. (https://thuppahis.com/2022/09/02/fighting-dying-for-britain-during-the-two-world-wars/) and also referred to earlier in a book where I was the chief hand, namely, People Inbetween (Ratmalana, Sarvodaya Publishers, 1989, pp. 114-119 & 121ff ) ………….  MICHAEL ROBERTS

The Mayor of Kandy, Mr. E.L. Senanayake escorting the Queen through the College premises (College car park at present)

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