Bernard VanCuylenburg

From Little Things Big Things Grow – Antonians Who Excelled Beyond Excellence – By Bernard VanCuylenburg and SisiraWeragoda Prologue As an introduction to the subject of this article I had to choose a title which nails it all in just one line. It is the story of an academic miracle which emanated from a simple school in its infancy, St. Anthony’s College Katugastota, by a group of students who raised the bar of achievement and excellence in the prestigious London Matriculation Examination in 1934, with a 100% pass rate THUS OBTAINING THE BEST RESULTS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. It was a path breaking year for the College and a validation of the school’s excellence. Twelve students sat the examination that year of whom six obtained first division passes, and six obtained second division passes. Their names which should be emblazoned in letters of gold in the field of education will ...

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AN ODYSSEY  –  THE SEARCH FOR HERITAGE  (Part 2) – by Bernard VanCuylenburg PROLOGUE. Saying “Goodbye” is never easy. The “Goodbyes” I bid to the Staff at Nilaveli Beach Hotel after a relaxed idyllic holiday following the first leg of my tour was hard. This was where I cut my teeth on life’s road and the ties that bind me to this Hotel were, and remain very strong. But there was a long road ahead, a road I never travelled before. Travice Ondaatjie, whose late Dad Mr.George Ondaatjie was my Boss when I worked for Nilaveli Beach Hotels Limited drove up to Nilaveli on Friday the 24th and told me that on Sunday the 26th March we would leave for Passekudah, Arugam Bay and travel down the Eastern seaboard right down to the Lahuggala National Park in Amparai to visit the archaeological sites there, and then head for Wellawaya and ...

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               AN ODYSSEY  –  AND A SEARCH FOR HERITAGE. (PART 1) – by Bernard VanCuylenburg. PROLOGUE. Travel is an apt metaphor for life. There is a mystical side to any journey, specially to lesser known archaeological sites which one has never visited before. While travelling we realize that life cannot be wholly planned and controlled however much we prepare in advance for our own futures. Having visited the more famous historical treasures of ancient Ceylon some more than others, many of which are today World Heritage Sites, I surmised long ago from what I had seen, the limited research that I undertook, and the books I read, that Sri Lanka virtually groans under the weight of its cultural cachet, and there is much more to be revealed by the archaeologist’s spade which promises to be a cultural cornucopia. Illustrating this point, let me quote from the book “Essaying into Serendipity” ...

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   FROM LITTLE THINGS BIG THINGS GROW – THE ANTHONIANS WHO EXCELLED BEYOND EXCELLENCE – by Bernard VanCuylenburg PROLOGUE. As an introduction to the subject of this article I had to choose a title which nails it all in just one line. It is the story of an academic miracle which emanated from a simple school in its infancy, St.Anthony’s College Katugastota, by a group of students who raised the bar of achievement and excellence in the prestigious London Matriculation Examination in 1934, with a 100% pass rate THUS OBTAINING THE BEST RESULTS IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE. It was a path breaking year for the College and a validation of the school’s excellence. Twelve students sat the examination that year of whom six obtained first division passes, and six obtained second division passes. Their names which should be emblazoned in letters of gold in the field of education, will be mentioned in this article. Paraphrasing ...

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AN ENDURING LEGACY  – THE LIFE OF JUSTICE RANJIT AMERASINGHE – by Bernard VanCuylenburg   PROLOGUE. “A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you”. This quotation by Shannon Alder the inspirational and oft quoted Author, goes a long way in describing Justice Ranjit Amerasinghe who had a passion for the Law, and in the words of Alder, carved his name not on tombstones but on hearts. A Supreme Court Justice in the USA the late Ruth Ginsburg, once told law students that they should use their degree – quote – “to make things better for other people. Lawyers committed to representing and helping their clients will find meaning and success in their professional life”. Ranjit went more than the extra mile in achieving, even surpassing this lofty ideal. A historical note is necessary to set the scene for the genesis of Ranjit’s academic career ...

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LIAM DODDRELL – ONWARDS AND UPWARDS – IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS FAMOUS GRAND DAD – LIAM DODDRELL MESMERIZES WITH BAT AND BALL – by Bernard VanCuylenburg EPILOGUE. The Grand Son of Anthonian Cricket great Charlie Joseph continues to weave a web of magic with bat and ball cutting a swathe of glory on the green turf ever since he began his cricket career as a junior, playing for his local club the St.Clair Hawks. Having advanced to grade cricket with the Penrith Cricket Club, Liam Doddrell has added another feather to his cap by winning the prestigious Basil Sellers Scholarship which will give him the opportunity to further his cricket career, not to mention the boost to his confidence ! I received an email from Liam’s Mum giving me the good news, together with an article in the local suburban journal which delighted cricket lovers everywhere. It is sure ...

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THE GOOD THE BAD THE BITTER AND THE SWEET – by Bernard VanCuylenburg Life in the Boarding taught us from an early age to take the good and the bad, taste the bitter and the sweet, and face life squarely and stand our ground. When we left College, we were well rounded human beings (hopefully !) equipped to give life our best shot, no matter where the road of life took us. Sadly, that road took us in different directions and on leaving College, little did we realize that we would never see some of our childhood friends again. True to the script, destiny took us to lands far away, and most may have lost touch with our fellow boarders and schoolmates as the years passed. This email I’m afraid is not all peaches and cream, because I have detailed below a list of Antonians, I knew who have departed this life. ...

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NIGHT OF TERROR DAWN OF HOPE. – By Bernard VanCuylenburg PROLOGUE Please note that the names of the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent in this story are pseudonymns used for reasons of journalistic propriety. The officer in Charge of the Maskeliya Police Station at the time Mr.Ivan Boteju, a star athlete and an old boy of St.Anthony’s College Kandy, passed away about fifteen years ago. The name of the plantation too has been substituted by a pseudonym. The shades of night began to fall when the sun said ‘goodbye’ to the mountains. Then the mists began rolling in, embracing the landscape of green tea in its mantle, and another busy day on this large tea plantation was ensconced in the bosom of the nights stygian darkness. In his large estate bungalow a young Assistant Superintendent Tony Richards then a bachelor, settled down to his usual routine. Pouring himself a stiff ...

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GLORY DAYS  : THE LEGEND THAT WAS TOM DEEN.- By Bernard VanCuylenburg The legend that was Tom Deen had its genesis on the playing fields of St. Anthony’s College Kandy, when he first attended cricket practice for the Under 12 team. Thus began a fairy tale when in no time this promising youngster graduated to the Under 14 team before one could say “How’s that?” in cricketing parlance ! Following this meteoric rise, he was called for practice for the Under 16 side. You guessed correctly……he had hardly taken his middle at the batting crease in the Under 16 team, when he received the call to attend practices for the first eleven side. And there the tremendous potential of this legend came to life when the powers that be soon realized they had a fast bowler the likes of which had not been seen at St.Anthony’s for a long time. At ...

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    A MEMORY OF MURDER By Bernard vanCuylenburg From serial killers to celebrity victims, sensational murder cases tend to grab one’s collective imagination and just wont let go. In the past I wrote some articles about famous murder cases of English planters on the tea estates. The first was about the murder of Mr.John Frank Whitehouse, the Superintendent on Madampe Group Ratnapura in 1949 in the article titled “Tales from the Thotum”. The second, was the article “Murder at Midnight” which was about the murder of Mr.George Pope the Superintendent on Stellenberg Estate Pupuressa in 1941, and the third, “Murder around the Bend” was regarding  the murder of a young  Superintendent on Talgaswella Estate, Galle, Mr.Roger Blumer in 1939. In the first story titled TALES FROM THE THOTUM, I also briefly dealt with the murder of Mr.Geoffreys, the Superintendent on Kenilworth Estate Ginigathena by his chief clerk I believe in the late ...

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