Archive | October, 2015

happy thanksgiving II

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Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Posted on 12 October 2015 by admin

Happy ThanksgivingCanadian Thanksgiving 2015 Overview

Like the United States, Canada gives thanks for its good fortune once a year and eats itself silly with turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Whereas American Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, in Canada the second Monday of October is a statutory, or public, holiday.

This year, Canadian Thanksgiving falls on Monday, Oct 12, 2015.

The Canadian Thanksgiving holiday is officially observed on the second Monday of October, however people generally get together for their Thanksgiving meal on any one of the three days of this three-day holiday weekend.

Although Canadians do tend to get together on Thanksgiving weekend, the holiday is not as big a celebration in Canada as it is in the U.S., where Thanksgiving is the year's biggest holiday occasion.

 

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JPAA Dance: Use Contact Us form on website to order tickets + reserve your table

Posted on 12 October 2015 by admin

Message from JPAA Canada

Our popular website www.jpaacanada.com has a "Contact Us" form embedded on the site.

1st option – Look to your left on Main Page in red is marked an image named Contact Us.

2nd option – click on Contact Us from top menu. This page also has a Contact Us form.

Please use this interactive form to order and reserve your dance tickets. Please be very specific as to number of tickets needed, your name and telephone and/or e-mail address. On receipt, we will contact you within 48 hours.

This is yet another convenience we have come up with in ordering tickets, specially for the out of country and out of towners.

Any questions or concerns or special requests, please feel free to call Upali Obeyesekere @ 416-445-5390 or e-mail jpaacanada@rogers.com 

Thanks and see you at the dance on Sat. November 28th at Markham Convention Centre (Markham Rd & Mc Nicoll). 

JPAA ANNUAL DINNER DANCE 2015

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Alston Koch special presenter at Family Film Awards

Posted on 11 October 2015 by admin

Sri Lankan born Alston Koch was a special presenter amongst the glitterati and paparazzi in Hollywood for the announcement of the nominations for the Family Film Awards held at the Hilton Hotel at Universal City recently.

The legendary award winning Asian and Australian singer-songwriter, actor and now an executive film producer, carried the good wishes of the Asian and Australian community to the event and mentioned that the world, at a time of problems andFullSizeRenderdespair, needs more films dedicated to the family which carry a message of unity, love and peace.

During the event, Alston Koch suddenly broke into song without any accompaniment to thunderous applause with the lyrics of the famous ground breaking song that won both Grammy and Academy awards for Bette Midler titled ‘The wind beneath my wings’.

 

The spectacular awards which will include the first ever ‘Olmpia Awards’ and organised by the World Film Institute will be held in Hollywood California.

It will feature awards for all sectors of the Arts. The Family Film Awards was originally presented by the late Dick Clark almost 20 years ago.

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Obituary – Desmond Dharmarajah, former Peterite cricketer and ruggerite

Posted on 07 October 2015 by admin

SPC LOGONews has reached us of the passing of a Peterite cricketer and ruggerite who represented his alma mater for a few years in the 50s. The Old Peterites in Toronto join me in expressing our deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of DESMOND DHARMARAJAH.
 
 
 
 
DHARMARAJAH – DESMOND. Beloved husband of Violet, loving father of Darrell, Dalrene and Russell, father-in-law of Anita, Thirukumar and Dilshani, brother of late Frank and Penny, much loved grandfather of Dion, Katrina, Andrew, Aden, Andrea, Rachel & Serah. Remains lie at A.F. Raymond’s Funeral Parlour. Cortege leaves the Parlour on Thursday 08th October at 3.30 p.m. for burial at the General Cemetery Borella (Anglican Section).     154605.
 
 


Desmond Dharmarajah represented St. Peter's College in Cricket and Rugby. He was a second-row forward and played alongside Lakshman Serasinghe, Jayantha Fernando, Adiel Anghie, Clifford Bartlett, Fritz Ohlmus, Linus Jayawardena and others. Serasinghe and Dharmarajah played hard and won the ball for the Peterites in the line outs most of the time. Both were taller than their opponents and this helped the two in both rugby and cricket.

 

Going through the archives of the Joe-Pete Cricket encounters, it is seen that Desmond Dharmarajah represented St. Peter’s College in 1958 and 1959. He opened bowling with  the late Anton Perera both years. It was a pace/swing combination. Anton was considered the fastest schoolboy bowler at the time. Desmond was more a medium-pacer who picked up wickets with his on-the-spot bowling. He did not have much success in the two big matches he played but was a useful bowler of 10-15 overs in every game he played under Russel Duckworth’s captaincy in 1958 and Brian Seneviratne’s captaincy in 1959. Others who played alongside Desmond in the two years were David Muthumani, Nihal Wijesena, Darrel de Silva, Jayantha Fernando, Brian Seneviratne, Russel Duckworth, Lakshman Serasinghe, Premasiri Athukorala, Christie Marthalingam, Anton Perera, Richard Alles, Mark de Silva, Randy Layman, Richard Heyn, Tyrone Le Mercier, Adiel Anghie, and Elmo Gunasekara.
 
To the best of my knowledge he joins others like David Muthumani, Darrel de Silva, Jayantha Fernando, Brian Seneviratne, Premasiri Athukorala, Anton Perera, Richard Alles, Adiel Anghie and Elmo Gunasekara who have all left us in the last few decades. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord!
 
May his soul Rest in Peace!
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Upali Obeyesekere
 
President, JPAA Canada
October 7, 2015
 

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Dr. Sivakumaran

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Dr. Sivakumar Vedavanam was great company and a wonderful friend

Posted on 06 October 2015 by admin

Dr. Sivakumar Vedavanam

He was great company and a wonderful friend

I write this with great sadness over the unimaginable loss of a close friend. After his early education at Jaffna Hindu College, Veda joined the Faculty of Medicine from St Peter’s College Bambalapitiya.Dr. Sivakumaran

We met during the ‘carnage’ called the rag in 1967. He wasn’t pleased with the indignities but complied. Throughout the arduous course he worked diligently and enjoyed the camaraderie and the friendships like the rest of us.

All through those years of hard study and fun his effervescent character remained his hallmark. Veda was widely and genuinely loved for it. Although he was swept along by the humour and the buffoonery at Medical College there was the serious side to him where he drew the line.

As we left the Faculty and went our separate ways in 1967 I thought I would not see him again. But the forces of destiny worked in our favour. We started work at the Central Blood Bank in Colombo in 1970, almost on the same day.

In the Blood Bank we became closer. I recall the many evenings we drifted towards the Health Department Sports Club to put the world to right and enjoy the amber nectar that flowed so freely.

That was a time when the Medical Officer in the Blood Bank had to go to all parts of our island to collect blood. On many occasions when he went on these journeys he asked me to join in for company.

We did have a jolly good time. During those trips he showed tremendous kindness to the PHI’s, attendants and labourers who were part of the team. They loved him for his classless friendship and lavish hospitality.

Those were indeed memorable years. He will be fondly remembered for the work he did for the National Blood Transfusion Service of Sri Lanka 1970-75.

He was the proud owner of a VW Beetle, a car which was in great demand in those days. Veda was a bachelor then and was ever ready for a dinner and a drink on an evening.

During my years of personal hardships he was there to comfort me and keep me focused on life and the future. I will always remain grateful to Veda for his friendship during those turbulent times.

All I could do then was to help him to pass the Sinhala examination to get to his next grade in the Health Service. I can still hear him speak Sinhala with that strong northern accent which amused us no end.

I left Sri Lanka for the bright lights of London in 1974 but Veda remained for a further year in the Blood Bank. He soon became disillusioned with the lack of progress for doctors in that institution and made plans to emigrate.

He came to the UK and qualified in Psychiatry and worked for many years as a Forensic Psychiatrist in Durham before moving to Bedford. Neither he nor I remained in haematology.

Hence our career paths diverged and sadly I never met him again. When I phoned him ten years ago he gave me the impression he was now a recluse and was not keen to keep in touch with anyone. I agreed to respect his wish with a heavy heart.

Veda married a Solicitor and had two children, a girl and a boy, both of whom are doctors in England. He had his share of ill health and had a stroke in 2001 and surgery for prostate cancer in 2007.

From both these events he recovered fully.He passed away in June 2015 of a sudden heart attack.

Veda was one of the youngest in our batch and was 71 this year. His cheeky grin and casual manner are memories for us all. He accepted life with good grace and was great company and a wonderful friend. I will always remember him as an honest and dignified person. May he find Eternal Peace.

– Dr Nihal D Amerasekera

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ALSTON KOCH to headline JPAA Dinner Dance in Toronto on November 28th

Posted on 05 October 2015 by admin

 

JPAA ANNUAL DINNER DANCE 2015

JPAA Canada will be presenting its annual dinner dance on Saturday, November 28, 2015. With a tagline of "An Evening of Nostalgia", the dance will attract a cross section of the Sri Lankan expatriate community as the Guest Artiste for the evening is none other than – ALSTON KOCH! An international award winning performer, born in Sri Lanka but living in Australia, Alston has gone from strength to strength in his musical career. He is also into acting and plays the lead role in a popular movie with 2006 Miss. Sri Lanka Jacqueline Fernandez.

DJ-Pradeep Thomas considered to be the most popular DJ in town will be providing the music. Tickets are priced at $50 per person and will be available for purchase starting October 10, 2015. Please visit our website www.jpaacanada.com or e-mail jpaacanada@rogers.com or phone 416-445-5390 for more details.

 

 

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