Category Archives: S. Thomas College

The Invincible Thomian Cricket XI of 1965

Somasundaram Skandakumar

That Thomian team in 1965 was like Bradman’s Invincibles. They fielded a superbly balanced side that smashed all records as Barney Reid led their bowling with uncanny control and very late and sharp inswing, while Sarath Seneviratne their skipper and Anura Tennakoon spearheaded the batting.
At Tea on the second day following on with two hours to go we were eight down and the Thomians were celebrating. Wadugodapitiya was joined by our dear Lakshman Thalayasingham and they defended stoutly as the minutes ticked by until a few minutes before close Thalay was out stumped playing on his back foot🤗😂He never lived that down🤗
The last pair held firm and we escaped with an honourable draw.

Continue reading

4 Comments

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, cricket for amity, cricket selections, cultural transmission, heritage, intricate artefacts, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, Royal College, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people

Richard Simon’s THOMIA …. On The Launching Pod Now

THOMIA …. with the world and the moon in its sights and landing sites

RICHARD’s NOTE, 20 February 2024

Two important Thomia-related things happened yesterday. First, I had a call from Softwave to confirm that the first completed copies of the book would be delivered today, 20 February, as promised. Second, I made a call of my own, to confirm with the proprietors of the Barefoot Gallery Cafe that I shall be holding the official launch of Thomia there on the fourth of March.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, S. Thomas College, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes

THOMIA now on Sale: A History of S. Thomas’ College in Colombo

Richard Simon to Michael Roberts, Editor, Thuppahi

Thomia, as you know, is a comprehensive history of S. Thomas’ College presented in the wider context of Lankan history and focusing on the influences between the two. In this sense it resembles my previous history of the Ceylon tea industry, which you were kind enough to praise when it was published in 2017. It is very different from a typical school history and its appeal is certainly not confined to Old Thomians.

 Now on sale: Thomia is available for advance purchase from today, 25 November 2024. I hope to finance printing of the book partly through advance sales; I am happy to say I have already received a number of pledges.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, chauvinism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes

Vale: Chris Rodrigo … A Scholar, Marxist & Friend

Kumar David in The Island, 26 May 2024  ….. whre the title reads thus: G.C. Rodrigo: Friend, Colleague and Comrade”

The phrase “When alone think clearly and when with others speak carefully” is attributed to Gautama Sidhartha. Though that may be apocryphal it certainly does depict his grace. Secondly, you will find that I sometimes refer to GCR as Gerard and sometimes as Chris depending on whether S. Thomas College or our later political comradeship is uppermost in the context.

R009947810_55342200

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

The Magpies Cricket Club in British Ceylon: An Exclusive & Peculiar Enclave

Michael Roberts

MAGPIES_FLG_CRICKET_1923

I came across this unusual photograph in loose-leaf form amidst my files and lata pata in my study.  David Sansoni in Sydney has rendered it more presentable, while Mevan Pieris has provided me with critical information on this unusual club and pointed me to pertinent data in that classic work by SS Perera reproduced as The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket (Colombo 1999).

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cricket for amity, economic processes, education, Empire loyalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people

The Royal-Thomian: Yesterday & Today

Uditha Devapriya & Uthpala Wijesuriya, in https://scroll.in/where the title reads thus: Cricket, class and baila: The many layers of Sri Lanka’s celebrated Royal Thomian sports encounter”

With an unbroken 145-year streak, the face-off between two of the island-nation’s oldest schools has become a cultural rite of passage for the nation’s elite.

Prefects leading a cheer at the 144th Royal Thomian, 2023. |

Uthpala & Uditha … in match fervour

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, education, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, propaganda, Royal College, S. Thomas College, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, tolerance

Rupert Ferdinands: A Stellar Career …. & A Thomian Tall

Ravi Rudra, whose chosen title for this illustrated essay was “Rupert Ferdinands: A Blazing Tennis Star and Much More”  … while the plethora of photographs rendered this item a difficult piece to insert — so that some illustrations will be missing; a or will be inserted over time. The Editor has also inserted highlighting emphasis along the way.

Rupert W. Ferdinands, born April 1936, was an outstanding product of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia. He is also a former Head Prefect of the School, a B.Sc. (Hons) graduate, Sri Lanka Davis Cup player and Australian qualified tennis coach (Level 3). Rupert excelled in Tennis for his College and Country, having made his national debut as a young schoolboy.

Teen Rupert in Ceylon Tennis Team at the Hague in 1953 ….L-R:  Percy Ernst, Douglas Fonseka, Lionel Fonseka (Manager), Douglas Scharenguivel and 17-year-old Rupert Ferdinands (extreme right).

Trophies Galore! ….  36-year old Rupert Ferdinands with around 150 trophies at his Colombo Residence, just prior to migrating to Australia.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, performance, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes

Michael Tissera: A Lifetime of Grounded Achievement

Krishantha Prasad Cooray, in The Island,  7 April 2024, where the title runs thus:Michael Tissera at 85: Gentlemen’s gentleman” ….. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Tissera with his children and grandchildren

When people who have the same first name meet up, there’s name-related humour. The more, the merrier, obviously, especially if they are good friends and enjoy friendly banter. Today I am thinking of three people who share the name Michael: Michael Tissera, Michael Sproule and Michael De Zoysa, all three who played cricket for St Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia. The first of course is the bigger name associated with the gentleman’s game.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, cricket for amity, cricket selections, cultural transmission, education, heritage, life stories, patriotism, performance, S. Thomas College, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people

Michael Tissera’s Multi-Faceted Cricketing Career

Ravi Rudra, presenting a Q and A with Michael Tissera in mid-December 2023, entitled  The Michael Tissera Interview – with Ravi Rudra

*Tissera Brothers – Michael with older brother Vernon at the Thomian (Over 65) Fellowship at SSC on 17 Dec 2023. Vernon played 1st XI back in 1949 as an opening bat scoring a solid 30 in the 70th Battle of the Blues. Vernon is currently the third oldest Thomian cricketer after Chandra Schaffter & Bradman Weerakoon.

Q 1: What was the major turning point in your cricketing career?

“At school [S. Thomas College], I hardly scored runs consistently. Those days the school matches were played over two half-days and you looked to push the game along to get results. I got one only hundred while playing for College. The lack of big scores  was more mental than technique.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, cricket for amity, cricket selections, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, life stories, patriotism, performance, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes

When St. Peters of Adelaide toured Ceylon in January 1928

Michael Roberts 

St. Peters College in Adelaide is an elite boys public school that has produced several Prime Ministers of South Australia and schooled many prominent figures in Australian life.  The school’s cricket team chose to tour Ceylon in the month of January 1928 and played matches against Royal College, S. Thomas’ College and Trinity; and also against a team of planters at the grounds in Darrawella in the hill country.

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under cricket for amity, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, performance, Royal College, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, travelogue