DESMOND KELLY

‘THE ELVIS FINALE’ – By Des Kelly Sent out, via Charles Schokman, this is the sad but true final chapter of the story of Elvis Presley, undoubtedly one of the finest Entertainers to have graced this Planet. Elvis had everything He had the looks, the charisma, voice, moves, & talent, rarely seen on Earth, yet was taken away far too soon, in the opinion of millions of his fans.  ...

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“Vale’ Paul Fernando-Prince of Baila” – By Des Kelly The sad news just to hand, came from Priya Peiris of Moratuwa, about the passing away of Paul Fernando, a good friend of his, in fact, one who he (Priya) had mentored and encouraged all along, on the very difficult road in Show-biz in Sri Lanka, just as it is everywhere else.            I did not have the privilege of knowing Paul, personally, but knew about him, via his recordings as a young lad, after I came out to Melbourne. Even as a teenager, this guy was “personality plus”, good looking, vibrant, and, from what I was given to understand, a pleasure to be with, & listen to, as he sang his heart out, to anyone who would listen,           Paul Fernando, WAS the Prince of Baila, as far as I was concerned, ...

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Sail Along Silvery Moon – By Des Kelly    This touching note was forwarded to me by Maxwell, in reply to my request for a few details on the beautiful video he sent me previously. I too, absolutely love the “Vaughn” Sax’s in harmony, music, & strangely enough, Sail Along Silvery Moon was also one of my favourites. Thank you, Maxwell Gerlach, and now, everyone connected to eLanka, please watch some good music, played as it should be played, for your total enjoyment.              Desmond Kelly. (Editor-in-Chief) eLanka. ...

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“KOLOMBA-PAARA” – By Des Kelly   As my title for this little introduction shows, Colombo itself has now got itself a new name (in Sinhalese) & Roads are now Paara. In 1936, I was born in Marandan, which is now Maradana, the Suburb of Colpetty is now better known as Kollupitiya, etcetera. English-sounding names have now lost their place to rather lengthy Sinhala-sounding ones, and this has got to be expected of course, in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, where 70-75% of it’s people are Sinhalese. I do not wish to bore you with too many name-changes, as the author of this most interesting piece will give you plenty to think about, in addition to precious memories of perhaps names that you were once more familiar with. Desmond Kelly. (Editor-in-Chief) eLanka. Renaming Colombo Roads – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly-by J. Godwin Perera Source:Island Renaming roads is quite a ...

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Positivity is the Key – By Des Kelly & Pfizer & BioNTech Say Early Tests Show Coronavirus Vaccine More Than 90% Effective P  FIZER F  OR I  N Z  OOM E ASY R  EST No prizes offered, for guessing the best PFIZER’s the one, it passes each test !!. Kindly note that the above PFIZER Slogan is copyrighted to eLanka – reproduction requires permission (info@eLanka.com.au) PFIZER MAY HAVE IT LET’S GET IN, ON THE SCENE, 90% EFFECTIVE, PROVEN COVID VACCINE, THE FIRST “GOOD NEWS” POST BIDEN ELECTION   AMEN !   The news came out very early this morning, Tuesday 10th. November, 2020, proving that even in another Annus Horribilus, as experienced by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the 2nd, there is always the hope of at least a skerrick of good news to look forward to. As I always say, Positivity is the Key and to me, Negativity comes in, a bad ...

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“STORMS NEVER LAST” – By Des Kelly  Once in a way, a song grabs my attention to the extent that I feel I just have to share it with all of our eLanka  members, around the World. Many will have already heard this beautiful Country song, written by an equally beautiful songstress, songwriter, and pianist, Jessie Colter, dedicated to her famous Country Icon husband Waylon Jennings, God rest his soul.            I consider myself a Country Music fanatic, and have seen this great couple Jessie & Waylon sing this song on stage, together, with this Country “Outlaw” Waylon publicly showing his love for his beautiful wife, even as they sang.  I loved their version of the song           Then, out of the blue, so to speak, I suddenly watched another version of Storms Never Last, this time, by an Irish Father/Daughter combination, ...

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“LENTIL AS ANYTHING” – Introduction by Des Kelly I have to say that I did hear of this “cafe/restaurant” many years ago, where people could go for a meal and pay for it with a “donation” they could afford. I could not believe it, but never did have the time to check it out, but, like all kind gestures carried out by  compassionate people, it seems that this Cafe carried on with it’s good work, providing good, yet simple meals for hundreds of the less affluent people of Melbourne, and now, it’s generous owner Shanaka Fernando has written and published a book, aptly titled “Everybody needs a place at the table”, a book, that I feel, should take it’s place on as many bookshelves as possible, helping Shanaka to carry on his superb service to people who need it, in this day and age. Now that Covid 19 restrictions have been ...

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“THE CHINA SYNDROME” – By Des Kelly Charles Schokman sent in this amazing video. I feel that it will be most interesting to all members of  eLanka, young & old, and I do recommend that everyone does indeed watch it. When everything is said and done, Sri Lanka is now partly run, by China. There is no doubt about it, so eLankans & others, just think about it. What was once part of My Lovely Island Home, is now part & parcel of The China Syndrome.            Desmond Kelly.          (Editor-in-Chief)  eLanka. ...

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“ANIMAL ANTICS” – by Des Kelly   As a confirmed animal-lover, and proud of it, I felt that this rather unusual story, sent in by a friend, well deserved the publicity that eLanka could offer to thousands of other like-minded people.           Normally, when we think of animals exhibiting human emotions, dogs come immediately to mind. They are truly amazing animals. Cats are equally favoured as pets, but, on the whole, are much more aloof and stand-offish unless their owners are physically petting them. Then, they will look at you with their beautiful eyes and purr loudly, as though asking for more of the same treatment, but talking about strange bed-fellows, thank you Elliston, for this most unusual story, and the pictures that go with it. ...

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“THE BIRDS & THE BEES” – By Des Kelly   The song was composed by Clarence Wijewardena, who also was the Music Director when  Annesley Malawana recorded it.            This version was performed by a pretty ordinary bloke & a pretty extraordinary girl, when you get to the bottom of it.  ...

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