Karapitiya beginnings

I want- Music composed/sung by Mahendra. Lyrics;Magdalena Podobinska

My little angel is born

Sanasen Nalawenna sudo- V2

This interesting article was written by Ronald Perera who is the brother of my close friend Zita Subasinghe Perera.

“LITTLE KNOWN STORIES ABOUT WELL KNOWN POLITICOS”

By Ronald Perera

Politicos are always in the news, particularly in this part of the world.  I recall during 1960s when the Leader of Vietnam, … Nhu was deposed, the headline went ‘No Nhus is Good News’ and this was voted the best headline of the year.  Let me give you some little known stories about some well known politicos with particular reference to Ceylon / Sri Lanka.  I have gathered snippets from here and there and used to relate some of the anecdotes to my relatives and friends at parties in a banter over a drink.  I wish to emphasize that these are ‘stories’ relating to characters most of whom are no longer living and no offence is meant to anyone and offence should be taken.

The first politician that comes to my mind is undoubtedly, the illustrious Sir John Kothalawala, in my view the most colourful personality of the country during the 20^th century.  Some of his stories cannot be put into print and I will confine myself to less offensive ones.  Sir John, as you all know was a man of immense strength, wit and wealth.  His father, John Kothalawala (Senior) nick named ‘Kele John’ of ‘nainage suduwa fame’ was a Police Inspector in the Royal Ceylon Police (that is the highest a Sri Lankan could aspire to those days) and married to the wealthy Attygala family.  Sir John was well known for his fondness for women or rather women’s fondness for him!  He was a frequent visitor to France those days and when someone asked him “Sir John, you are so good in French, where did you learn your French?”, “Under the blankets of Paris” was his witty reply.  One day, I think it was in the 1930s, he was walking on a road in Paris with a beautiful European woman (and such couples was a rarity those days) and a well built American happened to pass by and cast a remark with racial undertones.  Sir John, who heard it, walked back and with one hammering sent the American reeling, while telling him simultaneously, “Take this from a black man”!

During his colourful career, Sir John had a spell in the Royal Ceylon Army Volunteer Force and rose up to be Lt. Colonel, again the highest a Sri Lankan could aim at, at that time. I also had the good fortune to serve a short spell in the Ceylon Army Volunteer Force and during banters in the Officers’ Mess, my Senior Officers used to keep the evenings going with vibrant stories about Sir John. I liked the one about the English Major. According to Army tradition (of course inherited from the British Royal Army), when an Army man meets with an Officer in the rank of Major and above, he has to salute him whenever he meets with him or passes him. Of course saluting can be done only if you are wearing the full uniform which includes the cap. If one does not wear the cap, he needs to only come into attention without saluting. At Diyathalawa Army Camp, Lt. Colonel Kothalawala was seated somewhere when an English Army Major happened to pass him by. As the white Officer did not like to salute his Superior Officer, he removed his cap and came into attention while passing Lt. Colonel Kothalawala.  Sir John took offence at the apparent insult and called the Army Major (by his choice language which can’t be printed) and ordered the Major to put on his cap and walk from point A to B, twenty five (25) times and while passing Sir John salute him saying, “Good Morning Sir”!

During D.S. Senanayake’s Government, soon after independence, Sir John was the Minister of Transport, when he had to attend the Annual Army Camp at Diyathalawa (he was the second in Command of his Unit at the time) he travelled by a special carriage in the train while his commanding Officer used the first class compartment that he was entitled to. On an occasion when the commanding Officer of my Unit, Lt. Colonel Dharmapala was in the Mess, (seated next to Sir John) and was struggling to light a cigarette (or cigar) with a borrowed lighter and Sir John who noticed it, grabbed the lighter from Dharmapala’s hand and in one swish of his arm lighted it and gave it back to Dharmapala saying, “Haven’t seen civilization”!

Around 1953/54, Sir John became the Prime Minister of Ceylon. Elizabeth Regina, the Queen of Britain a couple of years after her coronation favoured Ceylon with a visit in 1954. The Prime Minister was also the ‘Minister in attendance’ and was always around the Queen. The Queen happened to visit Sigiriya. It was a windy day and a gust of wind sent up the Royal Frock. Sir John snapped at the photographers, “Gunnin bang photo ekkak, mevage chance ekkak ombalata aapahu lebenne nehe” (take a photo man, you will never get another chance like this). He was a character indeed. In 1954, Sir John attended the Bandung Conference and was acclaimed as ‘Bandung Weeraya’ (Hero of Bandung). Sir John delivered a pro-western speech which pleased the western powers and astonished Asian leaders. At the evening cocktail, Jawaharlal Nehru (later knighted), Prime Minister of India, who had built up an image as one of Asia’s top leaders, walked up to Sir John and questioned, “Sir John, why didn’t you show me your speech before you delivered it?” “Why should I?” rapped Sir John, “Did you show me yours?” Nehru went back a fallen Hero. Chou En Lai, the powerful Prime Minister of China reprimanded Sir John by saying, “Are you trying to divide Asia?” “What nonsense?” quipped backed Sir John, “You are the man trying to divide Asia!”  On another occasion he called out to Nehru (in typical Ceylonese style), “I say Nehru, what’s this I hear that the Indians are trying to come over to Ceylon in big numbers?” Nehru tried to down play it. Sir John remarked, “As long as you and I are there, we can control this, but it can lead to a big issue later on.” In fact, it didn’t take long for the issue to be blown up. Sir John may not have been diplomatic in the normal sense of the word but arguably he was a ‘Statesman’ of high calibre rarely seen nowadays in the country.

The story of Themis and Sir John is common knowledge. In 1956 M.S. Themis, an Ex-Postal Peon became the third MP for Colombo Central along with Bandaranaike’s Landslide, rather Tsunami.  On his first visit to the Parliament, he saw Sir John and hailed him, ‘Hallo John!’. Sir John gave him a kick which sent him reeling down the steps of the old Parliament Building. Themis complained to S.W.R.D., the PM, who reprimanded him for addressing Sir John, as John and said, “How dare you call him John, even I have to call him Sir John”. When S.W.R.D. was shot, Sir John was one of the first to visit him in hospital before he passed away within hours. In 1961,  when Chandrika who was in my same London A/Level class at Aquinas (she used to come 10 to 15 minutes late for one hour lecture), went (on a sojourn) to Sorbonne University in France, I hear that Sir John funded her expenses.

When Sir John left active politics and went over to UK, S.W.R.D. had allowed the Central Bank to relax the Exchange Control Regulations to permit Sir John to transfer money. He is said to have owned a farm in Kent and was a much loved and admired figure at exclusive Pubs patronized by the English Elite.  I’m told that, he really kept the Englishman going!

Sir Francis Molamure was a dashing personality who became the first Speaker of Parliament in independent Ceylon (before that he was the Speaker of the State Council).  It is said that he captivated many a damsel’s and dame’s heart through his delightfully witty conversation.  Sir Francis was reported to have inquired from the British Governor’s wife, thus “May I light my cigarette with the light in the eye of my Lady?”  The Governor, His Excellency, Sir Reginald Stubbs was not amused and banned Molamure from all Governors’ functions thereafter.

This story I heard from N.U. Jayawardena himself, with whom I worked closely for four (04) years.  N.U. is considered one of the best brains that Ceylon/Sri Lanka produced in the 20^th century, if not the best. When N.U. was Governor of the Central Bank (the first Sri Lankan Governor) he had a encounter with Sir John, who was the Prime Minister at the time. Sir John used some un-parliamentary language (to put it politely) on N.U. and the latter not be outdone responded by saying, “Sir, you should use such language only on the son of a murderer”.  Of course, he was referring to the fact that, John Kothalawala (Senior) was convicted of committing the murder of his brother-in-law (this murder story is so interesting that it deserves a separate article).  According to N.U., Sir John had his revenge by getting N.U. to resign from the post of Governor, Central Bank, on a charge of a ‘conflict of interest’ on a Bank loan that he raised personally from a Bank.

I regret that, I did not hear many stories about D.S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of Ceylon and the father of the Nation, although my father worked as his Secretary around 1940. The following anecdotes I gathered from outsiders. One day D.S. was seated in ‘Botale Wallauwa’ when the watcher of the Botale Estate brought a young boy and complained to D.S. “Hamu, I caught this fellow stealing coconuts and when I reprimanded him, he had the audacity to say, ‘we also have a right to this’”. D.S. very casually told the watcher, “Okawa athaarapang bang, u ape ekkek wenna athi!” (Let him go man, he must be one of our fellows). The other one relates to how D.S. worked his way to obtain independence from the British to Ceylon. When other British Colonies in Asia were fighting for independence in a hostile way even with violence, D.S. used his ‘mind’ to steer the campaign for independence in a bloodless manner more like what one may call nowadays, ‘a Blue Ocean strategy’. Commissioner, Lord Soulsbury was assigned the task of reporting back to Britain on Sri Lanka’s credentials for independence. D.S. personally handled this visit. He took Lord Soulsbury towards Kandy and around Kegalle, he stopped the car near a paddy field and called up a farmer who was wearing an amude (span cloth) and using a mammaty.  When the farmer came up to the car, D.S. asked some questions in English, to which the farmer replied in impeccable English.  D.S. told Lord Soulsbury, “see, even our farmers are well educated”! (The thrust of his campaign was that Ceylonese are educated enough to be independent.) Lord Soulsbury did not know that the encounter with the farmer was pre-arranged by D.S. The farmer’s name was Edwin who was Oxford educated and later became Sir Edwin Thillekeratna.  Of course, on receiving independence, Lord Soulsbury became the first Governor General of Ceylon.

An eminent Sri Lankan Lawyer / Politician who had a good wit and an excellent command of the English language, was Dr. Colvin R. De Silva. In fact, when I read his book ‘Ceylon under British Rule’ (which was his theses for his Doctorate) as an youngster, I was proud to be a Ceylonese when I saw his brilliant writing and great command of the English language. Soon after independence, there was an MP called Singleton Salmon, who was nominated to Parliament to represent British Interests.  Referring to him, in one of his speeches Colvin remarked “I have heard about shoals of salmon, but I have never heard of a Singleton – Salmon” much to the amusement of Mr. Salmon. On another occasion, Colvin was on his feet debating about some taxes (may be textiles) when another MP heckled him “Do you know how to dress a woman in saree?” Pat came his reply, “I must admit that, I may not know how to dress a woman in saree, but I certainly know how to undress a woman in saree”.

This one is about J.R. Jeyawardena and his wife, elegant Elena who was considered to be the most unassuming, lady-like, non-interfering First Lady. Wijeya Kumaranatunge, the son-in-law of the former Prime Minister, Sirimavo was put in jail by J.R. on the charge of leading a so called ‘Naxalite Movement’. One day Chandrika and Sunethra went to their mother and inquired from her, as how best to get Wijeya released. Sirimavo told them the best person who could do this was Ananda Tissa De Alwis, the right hand man of J.R. Chandrika and Sunethra met Ananda and pleaded with him to get Wijeya released purely on humanitarian grounds because of Chandrika’s two kids. Ananda agreed and met J.R. over a dinner and gently put in the appeal. J.R. had asked him, “Do you know why Wijeya is in jail?” and added “Elena wanted it, as Sirimavo (or rather during her time) had put our son Ravi in jail on the pretext of involvement in the JVP insurrection in 1971”. J.R. heeded Ananda’s appeal and released Wijeya on the next day (Presidential pardon). This story was told to me by a person, a very close relative of Dr. Ananda Tissa.  Talking of Ananda Tissa, if J.R. was the father of the modern Tourism Industry in Ceylon, Ananda could be considered the mother, the first Minister of Tourism.  Ananda Tissa participated in an International Tourism Conference Overseas.  The day before Ananda was scheduled to speak, Journalists approached his team members (he did not have many) and requested for an advance copy of his speech, as is the usual practice.  When they asked the Minister, he told them to inform the Journalists that he would make the speech but has not prepared one.  When they were informed accordingly, the Journalists asked in astonishment “Your Minister doesn’t have a prepared speech, how is he going to deliver it tomorrow?”  The speech was delivered the next day, the Audience was mesmerized and the media was agog, hailing the speech as the best one at the Conference.

To be continued.

(The Writer is a Retired Professional in Banking & Finance. He may be contacted via Email: ron.perera43@gmail.com)

Let me try V2

Sea of words

Zita poem submitted

I lost a ring

As a Safari it was good

First time in Africa West

As by the sunlit beach I stood

‘Midst strangers, a lonely guest

Only yesterday I was crying

As while walking I had lost

A golden ring and I was trying

To find it at any cost

I gave up and sat on a rock

While a tramp, stood in the gale

Looking as if to take stock

So I told him my sad tale

It was my father’s precious ring

Which his own dad had given him

As in bed he lay dying

Of an illness painful, grim

The tramp took me by the hand

Combing every corner and nook

Turning every inch of sand

However long, the time it took

I was ready to take defeat

But no, not this strange ally

Who I had the chance to meet

As he was just standing by

Finally he stood up in glee

‘There it is behind the reed!’

And shining there, I could see

My father’s precious ring indeed!

He firmly refused my reward

Not even a drink in the bar

‘Your got your ring, Thank God!

It’s the best reward by far!’

So on my trip to Africa

Not only did I find my ring

But that ‘humanity exists afar’

That was the more precious thing.

Udarata Kandukaraye - Cover by my friend Suraj

Is it good bye forever

Yesterday Today and Tomorrow

Olu Pipeela

Dushmantha aho

This is a song originally sung by Rukmani Devi who by far is one of the best female vocalists produced by Sri Lanka. I sing this to accompanying music on a Yamaha Tyros played by another Medico, Suraj Ranasinghe.

Nalavee Sanasenne Mage Sudu Olu Male

Sung originally by Sunil Santha at much slower tempo. I love this song and hope you do too. I sing it while playing on my Yamaha Tyros 4.

Ten years after the Tsunami in Sri Lanka- Zita Subasinghe Perera

We all know that Sri Lanka was hit by a tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra on December 26, 2004. The tsunami was one of the worst disasters ever recorded in Sri Lankan history. The tsunami left tens of thousands dead, many more homeless and caused widespread chaos throughout the island. In addition to the human impacts, the tsunami had widespread effects on Sri Lanka's environment and ecosystems.

Civilian casualties in Sri Lanka were second only to those in Indonesia. Reports vary on the number of deaths but estimates range from 40,000 to 60,000. At leats 800,000 or more people living on the coasts of Sri Lanka have been directly affected. The eastern shores of Sri Lanka faced the hardest impact since they were facing the epicentre of the earthquake. The south-western shores were hit later, but the death toll was just as severe. The south-western shores are a hotspot for tourists as well as the fishing economy. Tourism and fishing industries created high population densities along the coast.

The International response was amazing and thanks to so many people and organisations, much has been achieved to repair the immense damage.

This is an article I published in 2005 in the local press, and in the hospital newsletter and I wanted to share it with my colleagues as we look back after 10 years. I am aware that some of you were more directly affected and I have no intention of rekindling those awful memories, but it would be good to know what my colleagues did in the way of helping Tsunami victims because I know that you did.

Zita

Zita new poem " I saw a painting"

Zita Subasinghe Perera

Zita's humorous snippet - Please click below on Zita's snippet to see it.

Zita's snippet

Excellent site for cooking and baking geeks

This is my niece Dinithi's Blog site and if you like eating, preparing, admiring, tasting, or just love anything to do with good food and how you can get the best from food, visit Giramuk!
http://www.giramukskitchen.com/

Good website for PG Woodhouse free downloads

Hello friends. Check out this site! It's very good for free ebooks

Click for CMJ article by Manel

Prof Staney Dissanaike Obituary

Seasonal Fare A tribute to Anselm Stanley Dissanaike AS Dissanaike (Stanley to his friends) was born in Colombo on 29 October 1925. He had an uninterrupted education from the kindergarten to Form 5 at Richmond College, Galle. He describes the time spent at Richmond as glorious years, having participated in sports, drama, the school choir, extra-curricular activities such as scouting, and winning many prizes and scholarships on offer at that time. He obtained the highest honours at all public examinations with First Division at the Junior and Senior School Certificate, London, Matriculation and the Higher School Certificate. The latter was achieved when he shifted to St. Peter’s College, Colombo, in pursuit of university education. At St. Peter’s, he was introduced to the world of parasites by the late Professor Hilary Crusz, then an Assistant Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Ceylon, who being an alumni of the college took classes for the college students free of charge. Under his influence Stanley developed a fascination for parasitology and obtained an exhibition to follow a course in zoology. He followed a BSc Special Zoology degree with parasitology as the special subject, and obtained first class honours. He has the honour of being the very first student in Sri Lanka to gain this distinction. As Stanley’s father was always keen on his becoming a doctor, Stanley resumed his career in medicine after clearing the First MB examination while still doing his zoology course. Thereafter, he passed the 2nd and 3rd MB with first class honours with several distinctions and won many scholarships and medals. He completed his medical degree obtaining second class honours at the Final MBBS with a distinction in Medicine. His colleague in the medical school, Dr. Victor Benjamin, describes him as the most academically outstanding student of their batch, earning the respect of all teachers. Following a short stint as a House Officer in the State Health Services in Colombo and in his hometown Galle, he joined the academic circle as a Lecturer in Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine in 1952 and later, on return from London with the PhD in 1954, as a lecturer in the newly created Department of Parasitology in 1955. In 1964 he was appointed to the Chair in Parasitology. He has the distinction of being the youngest, just 39 years old, to hold a professorship in the university system in Sri Lanka. He served as Dean at the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo from 1967 to 1970, but resigned from the University to accept the Chair in Parasitology at the University of Malaya, in Kuala Lumpur. On resigning from this post in 1978, Stanley joined WHO in Geneva where he served in the Special Programme in research and training in tropical diseases. He was a member of the WHO Expert Committee in General Parasitology from 1964 until a few years ago. He is a highly competent and respected scientist in the field of filariasis and other parasitic diseases and regarded as a scientist of exceptional merit by his colleagues in Geneva. To this day he is very active, alert, keenly interested in research and visits the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo regularly. His scientific curiosity and encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject is unparalleled. He is a source of inspiration to all Sri Lankan scientists. He is a mentor to all of us in the field of Parasitology, always approachable and willing to offer advice and assistance. He has over 150 publications to his credit and though retired, continues to contribute to the literature on parasitology. His research has identified several parasites of zoonotic importance to humans and elucidated many of the life-cycles of parasites both in Sri Lanka and in Malaysia where he spent his later academic life. Zoonoses is his special interest, and he emphasised the importance of parasitic organisms crossing species barriers when opportune, a biological feature relating to major human infectious disease issues at present. Stanley has the distinction of having two parasites named after him. One a trematode (a fluke) Bilorchis dissanaikei, and the other a malarial parasite of parakeets, Plasmodium dissanaikei, discovered by his former student in London. He has been principally responsible for broadening the knowledge of the Sri Lankan fauna of medically important parasites. Globally he is a recognised authority whose knowledge and expertise is still sought in many expert committees and scientific meetings. The University of London in 1966 awarded him the DSc in recognition of his outstanding contributions to parasitology. He remains to this day one of the few Sri Lankan scientists honoured to receive this prestigious degree. In 1977 he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK). In 1995 he was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus of the University of Colombo. As an individual he is soft spoken, calm, unassuming, and most importantly, a person of great integrity. Nevertheless he is a very sociable person, judged by his excellent organisation of the 50th Anniversary celebrations of his batch of 1952 held in Colombo in July 2002, which I was privileged to attend on invitation, as my late husband Dr. Chandra de S Wijesundera was also a student of this batch. The numerous anecdotes by Professor Dissanaike in the souvenir relating to eminent teachers and some of his more noted batchmates is witty and interesting, and reflects the lighter side of his personality. I am privileged to give here some information obtained at a brief interview recently, which gives insight into his remarkable personality and also very importantly his views relating to the subject of parasitology, his chosen field of study. Vol. 49, No. 4, December 2004 Seasonal Fare What made you choose an academic life when you had excelled in the clinical subjects, having obtained a distinction in Medicine? During my work as a House Officer I was disillusioned with the unscientific method of many Consultants in applying knowledge to solve clinical problems. This prompted me to decide on an academic career. You are known to excel in copper tooling and flower pressing. I learned to do copper tooling in Malaysia and made it a hobby. My work included several parasites in addition to more classical work. Flower pressing is still my favourite hobby and I do flower pressed greeting cards in my spare time. Research is a heavy demand on time; how did your family view your long years of commitment to research? My family, specially my wife Ellerine, gave me all the help and support during my research. Could you identify the major contributions made by the WHO Special Programme for filariasis? The major advances are: Identification of the value of ivermectin in the control of onchocerciasis, and more recently, for lymphatic filariasis. Use of albendazole and diethylcarbamazine alone or in combination for mass control programmes. Recognising the value of cleansing elephantiasis skins. Use of impregnated bednets for control of lymphatic filariasis. How do you view the subject of medical parasitology as taught at present in the undergraduate medical curriculum in Sri Lanka? I think medical parasitology is taught quite well, although different Faculties have their own methods of doing so. What are your views on medical parasitology as a postgraduate programme separate from that of medical microbiology at the PGIM? I feel quite strongly that medical parasitology should be a different entity. Is there a need for other postgraduate courses in parasitology and related fields, e.g. medical entomology? I feel they are adequate at present. Could you give the major contributions of your research to the knowledge of parasitology in Sri Lanka? I have been mostly interested and involved in parasitic zoonoses, and several of these infections have now been demonstrated and proved as predicted by me. In your view, what are the challenges in medical parasitology in Sri Lanka, current and in the foreseeable future? That’s a difficult question. Many medical graduates prefer a career in clinical medicine and only a small number are devoted to laboratory research. Hence here is a need to attract better quality graduates, not only to work on the biochemistry and molecular biology of parasites but also to study basic parasite biology. Manel K de Wijesundera, Professor in Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. Correspondence: M K de W, e-mail: .

Oh how I miss you tonight

My latest poem recalling my teen years!

Teen Love

Every morning around eight
I would peep at the mirror straight
Was my hair combed nice?
Did I look handsome and wise?
Just a little touch here and there
Now I looked just fine I declare

I stood at the window to be seen certain
I knew she was looking through the curtain
And there she was, I gasped astounded
My tummy felt empty and my heart pounded
Oh those delicious lips!
I would so love to kiss

She bends to pick up something 
‘course she knew I was looking
Oh my, Oh my, those beauties!
I held them now, imagined that is
She is now teasing me I know
Swings her head subtle and slow

I am all sweat and consternation
In my vitals a strange sensation
How I longed to hold her close
Draws the curtains there she goes
Only a glimpse, wallowing in sorrow
Left to my dreams till tomorrow

My Prayer for Sri Lanka

Hungry birds of all shapes and sizes flock together when attracted by a morsel, which looks highly attractive, but when they are finished with it, they look at each other and see only differences and start fighting amongst each other. Let us hope and pray that this does not happen in Sri Lanka, for the sake of our kith and kin, our Motherland and for the sake of Generations yet to come, for we owe it to them as we approach our dusk, and their dawn

P.G.Wodehouse

As a lot of you know, I am a great Wodehouse fan. He is affectionately referred to as Plum. I noticed a Facebook Group called "The Drones Club" and I joined in a few days back. I posted a few of my observations which I reproduce here. I said "I am delighted to be admitted to this August Club although it is still January. I know what you are saying, "what took you so long!". I am an enthusiastic disciple of Plum and would without any hint of reservation recommend to anybody who feels a bit down hearted because of worrying events unfolding in the world at this time, to recline in a comfortable chair with a glass of the elixir in ice (the hot amber stuff balanced with ice cubes) and read any PGW Book. If this does not lift your spirits, nothing will and I would strongly recommend that you look without delay at an on-line catalogue and choose a suitable coffin. I look forward to regularly updating myself with snippets and epithets on Plum. Pip pip toodle oo!"

I also posted one of my favourites PGW quotes and I publish here a synthesis based on feedback from other members of the Drones Club.

There are many PGW quotes I like but this is one of my favourites.
"He looked as if he has been poured into his clothes and had forgotten to say 'when'". This came  from "Jeeves and the impending doom" where the description is as follows - "The Right Hon. was a tubby little chap who looked like he had been poured into his clothes and had forgotten to say “When.” P. G. Wodehouse, Bertie Wooster describing The Right Hon. A. B. Filmer, appearing in Very Good, Jeeves! (1930).

The other similar one is from Jeeves collections "The World of Jeeves" and "My man Jeeves" but the original story is called "Jeeves and the unbidden guest" and refers to Lady Malvern- quote "Lady Malvern was a hearty, happy, healthy overpowering sort of dashed female, not so very tall but making up for it by measuring about six feet from the O.P to the Prompt Side. She fitted into my biggest armchair as if it had been built round her by someone who knew they were wearing armchairs tight about the hips that season". Incidentally he also says that ".. when she spoke, she showed about 57 front teeth - altogether by no means the sort of thing a chappie would wish to find in his sitting-room before breakfast"

Wonderful humour.

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Nanu Oya Train Journey