Savitri de Alwis Archives

Memories of a school girl in Ceylon, 1960 125th year celebrations of SACRED HEART CONVENT, Galle (1896 – 2020) Source:Dailymirror The echo of frenzied cheering ebbing and flowing like a wave from the open pavilion of the Galle Esplanade fill my ears as if it were only yesterday. I can hear Rev. Sister Rosina, Mistress of Queens Own House spurring me on fitfully on the loudspeaker in the open event cycle race. My spindly legs peddle furiously and perfectly navigate the tracks and breeze through the touch line to victory on an old rackety Men’s Raleigh bicycle, borrowed on the spot for the race from the school Watcher! Indeed, not many girls cycled then nearly fifty years ago, with the exception of tomboys and the posh girls from Colombo who were sent to our Boarding School; which functioned under firm but kind Irish and Belgian nuns. Yet oddly we were ...

Memories of a schoolgirl in Ceylon, 1960-by Savitri de Alwis Source:Island (Vice Captain, Queen’s Own, 1970) The echo of frenzied cheering ebbing and flowing like a wave from the open pavilion of the Galle esplanade fill my ears as if it were only yesterday. I can hear Rev. Sister Rosina, Mistress of Queens Own House. spurring me on fitfully on the loudspeaker in the open event cycle race. My spindly legs pedal furiously, perfectly navigate the tracks and breeze through the touch line to victory on an old rackety Men’s Raleigh bicycle, borrowed on the spot for the race from the school watcher! As I cross the winning line I look back at my competitors, way behind me like specks on the track doing a balancing act with their bikes! Indeed, not many girls cycled then nearly 50 years ago, with the exception of tomboys and the posh girls from ...