Buddy and his song

 

Buddy’s song at Pearls Birthday Zoom get-together Zoom

And here is Buddy's wonderful song with brilliant lyrics!

Please click on the link below :-

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j09OqTSVUxsnxvt-5ofUrUSmFovcntA0/view?usp=sharing

Buddy's Birthday bash

daya & nalini rodrigo AttachmentsThu, Nov 19, 8:44 AM (21 hours ago) to me OUR PHONE WHATSAPP IS. 0713266320 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ayesha Ratnayake Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2020 at 15:56 Subject: Re: Batch Buddies To: Siobhan , Perera Travis , Ramani ..... , , , , , Rajakariar Osmund , Arumugam Thavarasah , M Sadiq , , , Sujiva Ratnaike , Aru Wijay , Asoka Sujaee Tinto , G U De Silva , kamalini arul , luckyhb14 , Soma Herath , lawrence Ratnam , Piyaseeli Wedisinghe , Piyaseeli Wedisinghe , Udula Pathirana , Arjuna Ponnambalam , , , Cc: Buddy Reid , daya & nalini rodrigo Dear all, Thank you for attending "Buddy's Block Buddies Birthday Bash"! Terribly sorry about the timing mixup for those in the UK - will triple check the timings before the next birthday bash. Here are some photos from the occasion, and a recording of a witty and wonderful composition by the brilliant birthday boy about his "Lovely Bunch of Doctor Friends"! PLEASE WATCH IN "FULL SCREEN'

Buddy's Birthday Bash 1

Buddy's Birthday Bash 2

Buddy's Birthday Bash 3.png

As the birthday boy mentioned, please let us know when each of your birthdays are so we can arrange more celebrations like this one. Warmly, Ayesha

Old emails from Buddy and Nana

Devon falls

St. Claires falls

Hello Phillip,
I am no photographer, but I too started with a box camera belonging to someone else on a trip to Nuwara Eliya in 1955. I nearly lost my life as a result. I wanted to take a picture of the water falling downwards from the top of Devon Falls. I went close to the edge and slipped on the wet rock. I was sliding downwards almost at the egde when I saw a clump of grass about one foot in diameter.  I managed to grab it with my left hand and fortunately for me it did not break off at the roots.
 The box camera flew out of my right hand, across my body to the left and landed near a pool in the rock. I carefully went on all fours and retrieved it as it was worth more than my life, by which I really mean that my life would not have been worth living if I had lost my friend's expensive camera.
Buddy

Hello Phillip,
Thanks for the photograph of Devon Falls which adds drama to the story. You can see the road at the back, curving to the right end of the picture. I got off the car at the right end of your picture and walked down the pathway that you see, running at about a 20 degree angle from the road to the top of the falls. I slipped on the very limited area of rock between the end of the path and the top of the falls ( the left side of the falls which is the right side of the photograph as you face the photograph). As you can see, it is a sheer drop. We did silly things when we were young. I wonder whether any of our batchmates have done things which beat this for lunacy or had near death experiences. Please don't let my grandchildren know about this. I don't even let them climb up the side of their bunk bed.
Buddy

Hi Buddy
I am glad to hear that I am not the only lunatic in the batch.
When  I came over to UK in 1976, I thought I knew how to drive around in my car. My wife and I took few of our Sri Lanka friends to witness a cricket match played between the Sri Lanka cricket team against Somerset. We travelled from Sheffield( that was where I was working as an SHO in Paediatrics at the time) to reach the cricket grounds.

We did not have sat nav facilities then, but only the printed road maps. As we were not very good at getting the road directions, I had entered a motorway(which I should never have got into) in the wrong way round and only realised my folly when we found few cars coming in the opposite direction. It was not funny and all the inmates were shouting at me in real filth. (May be some one at the time was helping me as I was not destined to die that young)

 I managed to take a U turn and get onto the right way round within a few breathless moments. Fortunately that motorway was new at the time and there were not many cars at the time.

We did witnessed the match and we cheered the Sri Lanka team as they did well against Somerset ( Ian Botham and Viv Richards were in the team).

 We did return home safely very late in the time.

 Not surprisingly the the 2 friend who were with us refused to gett into my car afterwards.( Incidentally both those friends have died few years ago).

 I am still alive to tell the tale.

You may share this with your grand children to show that even the medical students can be stupid, ignorant and foolhardy.


Best wishes.

 Nana

Old Emails from Buddy & Nana dated 28.11.2019

Inbox

x

CHARITH NANAYAKKARA

2:51 PM (3 hours ago)

to me, Buddy

Hi Philip

I keep reading your blog updates with relish.

I read your latest addition about what we had corresponded many years ago.( emails from Buddy & Nana)

I just could not help laughing  my guts out to reflect on these life endangering flash backs much more now in our twilight years.

Delighted to note that we are still alive hale and hearty.

I love to add few comments to show my appreciation but I cannot add any comments at the end unlike in the past.

 I have a google account and I had no difficulty adding comments in the past.

Please check your blog  format and advice.

Best wishes

Nana

Charith Sena  Nanayakkara

Dr.Ponnambalam Surgeon

Dr.Ponnambalam, Surgeon, Jaffna, was one of my good friends. I made his acquaintance when I was doing my internship at the then GH Colombo. He was SHO to the Orthopedic Surgeon Dr.Rasanayagam. I was allocated rooms at the ‘Violet Cottage’ in Regent Street, the MO quarters. My room-mate was Dr.AS Thavarasa. ‘Ponna’ had already completed more than 8 years in the Health Department. He had been in charge of hospitals and also was trained as a Medical Officer of Health. He was full of medical lore and had a very humorous approach to any problem. After a days work we used to lay on the easy chairs, arranged in the veranda of the quarters and listen to stories related to, life in the Health Department.

He subsequently passed his Primary FRCS, trained in Surgery, went to the UK, got his FRCS and came back to Ceylon. He was posted as Surgeon, Kurunegala and subsequently Surgeon, Jaffna. He got married pretty late in life. He started learning the Indian flute.

When I was working as Surgeon at the NHSL Colombo, he had been admitted to the Merchants ward, with a history of Dysphagia. They found a tumor in the lower esophagus, which was subsequently resected. The histology report came as ‘argentaffinoma’. I used to visit him in the ward during the post-operative period. He told me the following story, during one of these visits.

It was the time that the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), captured Jaffna town from the ‘Tigers’. The staff in the Jaffna Hospital knew the approach of the Indian soldiers. They heard all the firing and shelling. Quite a few of them ran off to their homes. The Matron, some sisters, nursing staff and a few doctors including Dr.Ponnambalam, thought that they would stay inside the hospital, so that they could render any service to the injured. They stayed in a room in the hospital. In due course the Indian Army arrived. They marched into the hospital. They came into the room where the medical staff was staying. They asked them to put up their hands. One of them went up a flight of stairs near the room. When he came down, he came firing with his automatic at the people in the room. All fell down. ‘Ponna’ was not injured but fell down with the others. The man who fired called out ‘Dr.Ponnambalam, stand up.’ ‘Ponna’ preferred to ‘play dead’. The soldier who fired came and kicked their bodies with his boots to make sure that they were dead. Satisfied that they all were dead, he went his way. ‘Ponna’ pretended to be dead for a long time, lying in the blood on the floor. Later when he was sure that there was no one, he got up and disappeared from the scene.

‘Ponna’ subsequently served with dedication in Jaffna Hospital; in it’s time of trouble. He gave yeoman service to the hospital, till he got progressive dysphagia and was transferred to the NHSL Colombo. They resected the tumor in the esophagus but apparently there were secondaries. ‘Ponna’ died a few months after the surgery. at the NHSL for dysphagia, presumably from the secondaries from the ‘argentaffinoma’. That was the end of another gentle surgeon.

            Subsequent to this incident, I never believed, that civilian casualties were totally unintentional, in any armed conflict, anywhere in the world. That fantasy disappeared from my world.

Till we meet again - Hymn

https://youtu.be/KUcy1SUDfvE

Thanks Phillip

I came to know Ponna when he was at Kurunegala. What a gentleman he was. Sad to hear of his departure. Kind Regards

Lawrence

God Bless Ponna, a true and honourable Son of Sri Lanka, but as you say he did not know what you know!  

Derrwik

HelloPhillip,
I got to know Ponna when I was in Violet Cottage in 1965/66. He was a very
gentle gentleman. I am so sad to hear of his death.
Buddy

I knew Dr. Ponnambalam when I was at Violet Cottage. Sorry to hear about his death. He really was a gentle soul.

Harischandra Piyasena