Item circulated by Ranjith Sirimanne, a Royalist
If the pipers were playing “Green Hills of Tyrol”, then a group of Sri Lankans would be playing a tune about a Swiss gentleman fighting against the Austrians, composed by an Italian and played on an instrument proliferated from Scotland but left behind by the Romans as a joke…… using Bagpipes possibly made in Pakistan.
Can’t get much more International than that?
Lam Seneviratne, whose preferred title is “100 Years of Royal College at Reid Avenue”
A centenary in the life of an Institution is a very long period and calls for much celebration. However, for Royal College, now 188 years old, a grand celebration to mark 100 years at Reid Avenue may not be appropriate.
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“My Recollections of Cricket at Royal From 1923 to 1929” by DWL Lieversz** …… presented on 1 November 2007 …. with highlighting in this version being the hand of The Editor, Thuppahi
It is generally believed that the older you get, the clearer in your mind become the days of youth and childhood.
When I sat down to write my recollections of the years I played cricket for Royal, I found that the days were clear indeed. The comradeship and team spirit, the excitement of the games, and best of all, the feeling of kinship which Royal has a special way of rousing, all came into my mind.
Sukumar Shan, within a site that says “Ceylon — Sri Lanka / Then & Now! …. “Sri Lanka cricketing star Daya Sahabandu dies”
Daya Sahabandu, became the first Sri Lankan and only the third Asian in cricket’s history to surpass the four-figure mark (1000) wickets in Sara Trophy Cricket. The other two are India’s Bishen Singh Bedi and Pakistan’s Intikab Alam. You must not forget the fact, that both of them played in English county, cricket whereas, tall, lanky, unassuming, soft-spoken, Daya Sahabandu, did not get the opportunity to play county cricket in England.
Somachandra Skandakumar’s Address at the Launch of Mevan Pieris’s THE COMMUNITY,21 March 2023 … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Chief Guest Professor G.L Pieris, Guest of Honour, the Reverend Warden Marc Billimoria, distinguished Guests, Ayubowan ,Vanakkam, Assalam Aleykum, Good evening,
It was three years ago that an equally eminent Thomian Anura Tennekoon invited me to speak at the launch of his book. Today I am privileged again by one of similar standing and must thank Mevan for the opportunity. Such moments merely reinforce the values of our two great Institutions, where the fierceness of competition on the playing fields have led to the strongest of bonds off it .
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Uthpala Wijesuriya, in The Island, 17 March 2023,where the title presented is “The Earth’s Greatest Rivalry” … while the highlighting in this presentation has been imposed by a Thuppahiyaaaaaaaaa.
The Royal-Thomian or the Battle of the Blues, the world’s second oldest uninterrupted cricket battle, will unveil for the 144th consecutive year this week. The encounter pits the boys bearing the crests of the Elephant and Palm Tree against those bearing the Cross and Dove.
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Gamini Seneviratne, in The Island, 4 October 2022, where the title is simple: “Anthony Anghie”
When our lot entered Royal College over 70 years ago, Tony was yet there at a distant remove as Head Prefect and, at closer quarters, muddied, on the rugger field. He was also visible commanding the cadet battalions. His brothers, Trevor the place-kicker and Maurice the wizard scorer over the line eclipsed him at rugger but in and around the school he was instantly placed as its leader. Trevor took to medicine and migrated to Oz via Diyatalawa; I last met Maurice in Perth, Oz: he was on the water wagon. Their father was an iconic character too, making the Hostel a place that provided such comfort as schoolboys had a right to expect. 
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Hugh Karunanayake, presenting an old article from 2012 once again, with this title “Farewell to a Legend of Our Times” … with “Times” standing for the past inhabited by us octogenerians … & ….. the highlighting here being the intervention of Thuppahi
A gathering of family, friends, former schoolmates, and members of the Australian cricketing fraternity, assembled at the South Chapel of the Rookwood Cemetery on Friday 12 August 2011 to bid farewell to the legendary Gamini Goonesena one of the greatest achievers Sri Lankan cricket has ever known.
Hugh Karunanayake
“Oft in the stilly night
Ere slumber’s chains has bound me
Fond memory brings the light
Of other days around me
The smiles, the tears,
Of boyhood years”
The Royal Thomian match of 1951 will for long be remembered for its nail-biting finish, and for the manner in which the Royal College team led by skipper T. Vairavanathan extracted a victory from the jaws of defeat. It will certainly occupy a top position in the history of the series, the second oldest school cricket encounter in the world, (the first game being played in 1880).
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Eardley Lieversz
I spoke to Michael Wille over the phone on 7th July of this year. I was visiting a former neighbour and she got Michael on the line.
I confessed to him that he was my first cricketing hero and that the 1957 Royal-Thomian was the first one I remember watching. I repeated what my dad told me about him sleeping on his late father’s bed before the game.
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thuppahi
