John Walter Bulner, born 4 February 1883, Ceylon, died 27 May 1967, Melbourne, Australia, married in Christ Church Bangkok, Siam, on 19 December 1912, Daisy Maud Jacobs, daughter of Henry Jacobs and Emima Christobel Conderlag (They returned to Ceylon, leaving Bangkok, Siam, aboard the SS Heim, on 13 September 1919. YOUR  MOTHER  BORN  IN  SIAM,  YOU’RE  KIDDING!! Can anyone throw more light on the Burghers who went to Siam in the early nineteenth century. The majority of them returned to Ceylon, whilst a handful stayed back. About 1906-08, the King of Siam (remember ‘Anna & The king of Siam – well he’s the one), advertised in the Colonies for staff to work on the Royal Siamese Railways and manage the many Saw Mills around the country. Siam, was a British Protectorate and never a colony. A number of adventurous Ceylonese (most of them Burghers, from the information I have), ventured ...

The World’s Tallest Statues Statues are built as celebrations of gods, historical events and important personalities. The tallest reach the sky and make you take notice of what they are commemorating. They are also works of art, and some have taken years to build. Here are some of the grandest ones ever built. Statue of Liberty, USA The Statue of Liberty is the shortest statue on this list, at just 151 feet tall. However she gains height due to her 154 foot pedestal. The statue depicts the Roman goddess of freedom Libertas, and was a gift to the United States from France in 1886. Ten Directions Pu Xian Buddha, China This dramatic gold colored 157 foot statue of the Buddha Samantabhadra can be found on Sichuan province’s Mount Emei. Sodoshima Dai-Kannon, Japan This impressive landmark in Kagawa Prefecture, houses several prayer halls, an elevator, and an observation deck. This 164-foot ...

Former Sri Lanka bowler Chaminda Vaas is to help Ireland prepare for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in India as a consultant bowling coach, Cricket Ireland announced on Thursday. The 41-year-old will link up with Ireland next month and remain with the squad until the end of the tournament, which runs from March 8 to April 3. “I’m very excited to be joining the backroom staff of the Ireland team,” Vaas said in a Cricket Ireland press release. “There’s a lot of talent and experience in the squad which I’m confident I can add to.” Left-armer Vaas took a total of 755 wickets in his 111 Tests and 322 one-day internationals and boasts the best figures by any bowler in limited-overs internationals — 8-19 against Zimbabwe in December 2001. Since retiring he has worked as a bowling consultant for New Zealand and Sri Lanka, as well as coaching in the ...

Bridges for Vacation Would YOU dare to walk along these? The most TERRIFYING bridges on earth revealed If you are afraid of heights you may wish to steer clear of Aiguille Du Midi in the Alps with its 9,200 ft drop If you wish to experience the breathtaking panoramas of the mountainous Ai-Petri region on the southeastern coast of Crimea, you must first brave the wooden bridges that tower over vast ravines Stomach-jolting: You have to have nerves of steel to risk death or serious injury when you take on one of the world’s most dangerous trails – Mount Hua in China. It features stomach-churning drops, vertical ascents, steep staircases and narrow walkways, with only a small chain to cling onto. One way of getting across the Hunza River in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan is by the rickety Hussaini bridge, which consists of various pieces of wood strapped horizontally ...

State: Australian Capital Territory National Finalist Young Australian of the Year 2016 Nipuni Wijewickrema Social entrepreneur A young woman trying to change the world “one flower at a time”, Nipuni Wijewickrema runs a floristry business designed to create employment opportunities for people with special needs. Nip, as she is affectionately known, first established GG’s Florist with her family to ensure her 16 year old younger sister Gayana would have fulfilling work after graduating from high school. Gayana, who has was born with Down syndrome, is now famous around Canberra for her floral deliveries that always come with a big hug. From a backyard garden shed, Nip has shown other local organisations how to create safe working environments for people with disabilities. As well as working full-time and managing the family floristry business, Nip is a volunteer counsellor with Lifeline and contributes regularly to community initiatives, assisting many young people through ...

Dear Peterites, We wish to share with you the Volume 3 of the 2015 Old Peterite Newsletter which includes activities carried out by St. Peter’s College Old Boys’ Union, it’s Batch Groups, Foundations and Overseas Branches during the period of August-December ‘2015. Also includes a special message from President Romeish De Mel inviting you to register for the Peterite Business Directory for which the form is attached along with the application for the OBU membership (for those who have not yet become members of the SPC OBU).   Since there were so many events and activities held in Sri Lanka and overseas, it was quite a task to compile this. Hence there was a delay and apologies for it. Yet this augurs well for the St. Peter’s College & for the OBU. Not the delay but the amount of content as this shows how active, united and passionate we Peterites ...

So a LEGO robot might be able to monster a Rubik’s cube in a little over three seconds, page but put together a dedicated machine from a more flexible part list and well, the popular multi-coloured puzzle getsdominated. Try 1.019 seconds on for size. A pair of guys on YouTube by the names of Jay Flatland and Paul Rose built there own mechanical solver using an array of webcams, 3D printed frames and stepper motors. There’s nothing inherently complex about the setup — in fact, it looks like more work went into the software: As you can see in the image, the program takes the image input from the cameras and converts it into a “unrolled” version for human consumption, as well as something the solver can understand. The robot is wired to function only when all cameras are working, so priming is done by simply putting paper in front ...

Dilemma of Cholesterol & Saturated Fat Written by Dr Harold Gunatillake FRCS, FICS, FIACS, AM(Sing), MB,BS- Health writer to magazines, newsletters, newspapers and other organs  “Cholesterol has been on the “naughty” list of nutrients for nearly 40 years, with health officials warning us to stay away from high-cholesterol foods since the 1970s to avoid heart disease and clogged arteries. But US officials have finally given the green light for a U-turn on previous warnings, which means eggs, butter, full-fat dairy products, nuts, coconut oil and meat have now been classified as “safe” and have been officially removed from the “nutrients of concern” list.” This article has become breaking News today and viral, many readers may be cautious to accept this new concept as Gospel truth or as hype. They will want further clarification, explanations and confidence and time would enlighten them. We said it over a decade ago repeatedly in ...

Irangani Sirimanne – The Beauty Queen by Agnes Thambynayagam “Bitten by the pageant bug, Irangani Gunatillake was thrust into being a goodwill ambassador of her country during the dawn of post independent island nation of Ceylon” ( January 23, 2016, Texas, Sri Lanka Guardian) A few days ago I had the opportunity to read an article written by Mr. S Skandakumar, currently High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia for ‘The Island’ and ‘The Sunday Times’ entitled “The way we were….”, a reflection of the true nature, character and the sprit of the Sri Lankan people. The article inspired me to narrate this little story about an inspiring Sri Lankan woman–a story that must be told: Dr. N.M. Perera, the Finance Minister of Ceylon hugs the Royal Queen Irangani in 1956 Irangani was born on 27 September 1937 in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to a Ceylonese diplomat Felix Sirimanne and Beatrice ...

The Lost Culavamsa on 20th February SriLanka Association of NSW Ajith Karunaratne President email: president@slansw.org.au Niranjan De Alwis Vice President email: vicepresident1@slansw.org.au Lakshman Senanayake Vice President email: vicepresident2@slansw.org.au Sunil Amaratunga Treasurer email: treasurer@slansw.org.au Rafi Mubarak Secretary / Public Officer Email: publicofficer@slansw.org.au   Sharmila Jayasinghe Niriella Editor email: editor@slansw.org.au   Kishani Ariyasinghe Secretary secretary@slansw.org.au Committee Members Pubudu De Alwis Chaminda Hindurangala Lasitha Delungahawatta   Bala Indrajit   Jinani Nissanka Sheran De Zoysa   Sam Masachchi   Gnani Thenabadu   ...