By Cassandra Van Heer Having entered the Sri Lankan cinema over five decades ago and revolutionising the action film industry, Robin Fernando, 78, needs no introduction. His personality and charm linger on as we enter his house and are immediately made to feel at home. Hailing from Kotahena, Robin was …

By Sujith Silva Frank Hubert. Frankly, he was a household name among sports enthusiasts in the 1970s and ‘80s. He was in town briefly last June, and I and one of Frankie’s rugby products, Nigel Forbes, met up with him for a stroll down Memory Lane. We spent some wonderful …

By Lawrence Heyn If anyone was to cast a mould of the perfect sportsman then Kenneth Brian de Joodt would have been the ideal prototype. The mercurial Trinity Lion, rugby genius and prolific writer passed away last August at the age of 76, and three months on the Quadrangle pays tribute …

Would you be surprised to hear of a Sri Lankan who taught a thing or two to the MCC and the ICC? Well don’t be, we have a cricket enthusiast, historian, recorder, player and a prolific writer (on cricket of course), a veritable encyclopedia on cricket, in Mahinda Wijesinghe who …

By Milinda Hettiarachchi  The College of St Thomas the Apostle was founded at Mutwal by Dr James Chapman, the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, who had been educated at Eton College and King’s College, Cambridge. The foundation stone was laid on St Thomas’ Day, December 21, 1849, and declared open …

  By David Heyn Spectators at the 1962 Josephian-Pe terite Big Match were taken on a bumpy roller-coaster ride as the teams experienced highs and lows over the two days. Only 444 runs were scored and 38 wickets fell but there were some outstanding performances with bat and ball, and supporters were kept on the edge of …

BY NEIL WIJERATNE It was the early 1960s. I was a primary school student at St Joseph’s College, and my father accompanied me daily to school. During that period, classes began at 9am and ended at 3.30pm. Since my father was a government servant working at the Census and Statistics Department, I …

  It was a big celebration, a golden milestone in the blue ribbon schools cricket match in Sri Lanka. The Royal-Thomian, known as the Battle of the Blues, was celebrating its centenary encounter. Since its inception, this big match has been played with so much pride and passion, and with a tradition of its own – much to …

Another epic battle, unearthed thanks to veteran writer and our Quadrangle columnist Neil Wijeratne. As we were looking for “Great Escapes” he mentioned having watched this match and making short notes of the game, especially the bowling brilliance of multi-talented Benedictine Ravi Irugalbandara. He was one of my childhood heroes. He was equally good or better in hockey and football. …

It was in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, an era I recall, that as a schoolboy, eagerly looking forward to Fridays. Not so much because a weekend was in sight but simply to watch another First XI cricket encounter. The first stop on a Friday morning would be a quick glance at the blackboard on the left …