September 16, 2025 · 11:55 am

Hong Kong Give Sri Lanka A Scare in Asia Cup

ITEM in The Island, 16 Septmber  2025 with this title “Nissanke helps Sri Lanka edge sloppy Hong Kong in a thriller”

A Pathum Nissanka fifty at the top of the innings, and a Wanidu Hasaranga cameo at the end saw Sri Lanka survive a scare from the group’s lowest-ranked team, Hong Kong. .

In two disciplines, Hong Kong were valiant. Anshy Rath batted with determination to score 48, and Nizakat Khan with verve to make 52 not out off 38, the pair driving Hong Kong to a total of 149 for 4.

Pathum Nissanka anchored Sri Lanka’s innings [Cricinfo]   ... PIX rejects copying

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September 15, 2025 · 9:29 pm

Pursuing World-Class Creative Writing in Sri Lanka

Dr Sasanka Perera, in The Island, 15 September 2025, with this title “Writing with passion and conviction” 

My intention [here] is to reflect on writing with passion at a time Sri Lanka is producing writing, at least in the Sinhala language, that is worthy of being introduced to the world. When I say this, I am thinking of creative writing. There is no such promise by and large when it comes to academic writing. And it does not seem to me that the idea of promoting our writing, ways of writing, and reaching to the world, are issues seriously addressed by our universities, despite their focus in training young people in language and literatures. Unfortunately, however, the idea of writing, though central to all disciplines in social sciences and humanities, has been under-emphasised to the extent of being made almost invisible in academic, professional and popular discourses today in our country.

 A Set  of Pix of  Martin wickremasinghe,  Sarachchandra, Tambiah, Obeyesekera. Sir-Gurusinghe THAT was not amenable to easy  reproduction]

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September 15, 2025 · 12:40 pm

Advanced Lighting Systems for Two Cricket Stadiums in Lanka

News Item in The Island, 15 September 2025… with this  title “DIMO Installs Sri Lanka’s first ICC-compliant LED floodlights for stadiums”

Advanced features include zoned lighting control for partial stadium use … [with activation  here  in  TPS  made possible  by  KK de  Silva,  of  St Aloysius College  cricket  in the mid-late  1950s  and the SL Admin-Service]

Reinforcing its leadership in sports infrastructure development, DIMO has successfully completed the installation of Sri Lanka’s first and second LED floodlighting systems at two of the country’s most iconic cricket stadiums. The first installation was completed at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS) in 2023, followed by the second at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS) in Colombo in 2025.

This milestone builds on DIMO’s historic achievement in the 1980s, when it made global headlines by installing Sri Lanka’s first and the world’s second floodlighting system at RPICS, cementing its legacy as a pioneer in sports lighting technology.

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September 15, 2025 · 2:53 am

The Vocabulary Girding & Gilding Israel’s Programme of Genocide in Palestine

Gamini Seneviratne, in The Island, 12 September 2025, where the title is “Human Animals”

The words in the heading do not refer to those who are slaughtering the human beings resident in Gaza and the West Bank. They are the ones used by the Zionist invaders to refer to the people of Palestine.

Indeed, the term “human” is used by them and their fellow criminals in the western world in this context only as an adjunct to ‘shields” employed by Hamas. Incidentally, and there are many such features ‘incidental’ to the completely false Zionist-Euro-American narratives, no evidence has been forthcoming of Hamas shielding itself behind anyone, least of all the people they represent and protect.

WASHINGTON, USA – FEBRUARY 21 : John Mearsheimer speaks during a panel organised by Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) Foundation in Washington, United States on February 21, 2019.
(Photo by Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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September 14, 2025 · 9:10 pm

DOWNTON ABBEY calls it a Night !!

Michael Roberts

This epic and fascinating TV series serial has brought its curtains down and called it a night  [to alter the idiom]. My first  intimation of this event was in reading Ed Potten’s account in The Australian 13-14  September 2025 ….but  I cannot  access this news item because the !@#!$!!! paper demands money for web-access ….even  though  I receive the print-paper daily.

&&&&&&&&&

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all About It … in  Wikipedia = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downton_Abbey

Downton Abbey is  … {was] ….. a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on PBS, which supported its production as part of its Masterpiece Classic anthology, on 9 January 2011. The show ran for fifty-two episodes across six series, including five Christmas specials.

‘Downton Abbey’ Duo Talk Success And Controversy, But Some Questions Are Off Limits

Tom Branson and Lady Mary return  for the final Downton Abbey movie(Image: Rory Mulvey/Focus Features)

 

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September 14, 2025 · 11:50 am

Tony Peries: First Lankan Director of George Steuarts

Being  CHAPTER ELEVEN of The George Steuart Story  1835-1985 ++

THE FIRST SRI LANKAN CHAIRMAN

When a young Sri Lankan walked into the office of George Steuart on February 1, 1953, no one is likely to have imagined that he would become not only the first Sri Lankan Chairman of what was then essentially a British firm, but also the youngest man to hold that important office.

The young man, whose name was John Francis Anthony Paul Peries, and was generally known as Tony Peries, had been edu cated at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, and had applied for a post as a trainee Tea Taster. His father, ·W. Peries, a Director of Mackwoods, was held in the highest esteem in agency circles.

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September 14, 2025 · 11:29 am

Karthik’s Appraisal of the Bangladesh-Lanka T20 Match

Karthik Krishnaswamy in ESPNcriciinfo, 13 September 2025

Sri Lanka 140 for 4 (Nissanka 50, Mishara 46*, Mahedi 2-29) beat Bangladesh 139 for 5 (Shamim 42*, Jaker 41*, Hasaranga 2-25) by six wickets
They were locked 8-8 in T20Is in the decade leading up to this match, and all signs pointed to the first close contest of this Asia Cup after it kicked off with four mismatches. It was a bit of an anticlimax in the end, however, with Sri Lanka brushing Bangladesh aside by six wickets, with 32 balls remaining.
 Given the high stakes of this group-of-death contest, Sri Lanka got everything they wanted from it: two points and a massive net-run-rate boost. Bangladesh, who had already copped criticism for taking 17.4 overs to chase down 144 against Hong Kong, now face an uphill task to qualify for the Super Four.

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September 13, 2025 · 9:46 pm

Cartesian Commonalities: New Amsterdam & Galle Fort, II

Bunchy Rahuman, whose preferred title is “Galle Fort, New York City and the Cartesian Legacy” ** … with  the highlights being impositions by the Editor, who also had the privilege of being a resident within the Fort for twenty or so years from 1938-1960

ESSAY TWO

 Do I exceed myself? Cartesian? The Big Apple? – surely not! But I insist, I am here, not to tweak the truth. In Essay One, I said, the street I lived [most of] my Galle, Fort life in was Lighthouse Street. Discerning readers [for a moment I thought to add if any – but my life insurance policy has lapsed!] would note that I said Lighthouse Street formed a ‘Y’ axis line for the [Galle] Fort. Now even math allergic types, have heard of X axis and Y axis as [perpendicular] lines that cross at right angles and sit in the middle of paper sheets populated by tiny squares arranged 10 x 10, within larger squares, all sitting above, below and at each other’s sides in sheets known as graph paper.

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September 13, 2025 · 8:46 pm

Crazy Run-Rate From Crazy Opening Batsmen

Vithushan Ehantharajah, in ESPNcricinfo, 13 September 2025, where the title is

With Duckett and Smith rested, Buttler and Salt’s dominant stand revived a proven pairing heading into the World Cup

Phil Salt and Jos Buttler took England to 100 in the Powerplay, England vs South Africa, 2nd Men's T20I, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, September 12, 2025

Phil Salt and Jos Buttler took England to 100 in the powerplay  •  Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images

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September 13, 2025 · 1:46 am

Peter Mayer: Straddling USA-India-Australia via Academia

Michael Roberts

 The world of university lecturers is quite varied and cannot be easily distilled. My experience is mostly based on my years teaching at Peradeniya University n Sri Lanka (1960-62 & 1966-76) and Adelaide University from 1978-2004—besides exposures to the environments in Oxford, Chicago, Heidelberg & Bielefeldt.

I have decided to introduce my TPS readership to some personnel from this highly-variegated field. My first choice has been an easy one: PETER MAYER is an easy man – personable, talented, multi-skilled and well-travelled. As vitally, he is an American who has married an equally personable lady named “Latha” who is from India.

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