Old Georgian Association

Date: 2014-08-08 00:00:00

Location: Elkridge, MD, USA

Subject: Thank you for a fantastic Centenary Reunion

Content:
Thank you to you, and to ALL who collaborated on making our Centenary Celebrations so memorable & outstanding!! The Rain was merely showering in agreement!
Ken & I came prepared with windbreakers & umbrellas; plus he had forewarning that it would be Monsoon Season everywhere we went (Tamil Nadu & Karnataka); so it was "all good" as the saying goes.

From the time we boarded the Toy Train at Mettupalayam to the time we were taking the Mysore Road from Ooty, we were completely ensconced in Magic!! My School & it's environs were exactly as I left them in my memory 38 years ago!! And what I discovered was, that everyone I met, remembered me as I was 38 years ago, as I did them!! :) It was as if none of us had been touched by the passage of Time...

Although we all have been, & clearly many things on Campus have been as well...
I loved how I was able to wander the Campus with Ken, & point out what was, & now what is, & remark, & muse... For his part, Ken has known about our beloved School, & been hearing stories about it for all of our married life. So when we were finally there, People & Places & oft repeated Anecdotes started making sense.
Along the way we would encounter one of my Seniors or Juniors, & the wandering would pause, & acquaintance would be renewed, & memories would be recounted, & new ones made in the moment... For the entire 4 days we had this joyful experience.
I was also able to speak to many of the Present; girls & boys; from the youngest ones to the juniors to the seniors. As you may remember from some of my emails, this was the one thing I very much wanted to do: connect with the Present.
I found them ALL to be poised, self-assured, at ease, & articulate; whilst still acting their age. I was so glad to note that such foundational concepts are still being fostered, for these are the very ones that permeated every single Georgian I met at the Reunion, whether by chance, or by intention. What a School!!
I LOVE how so much has remained the same, in the midst of ongoing change...
Ken has taken some lovely 30 second videos. There's one of Sherry Royle & me singing the Preston House Anthem with the original composer herself!! There's one of us singing Tie a Yellow Ribbon... under the oak tree across from Blackburn House. And there's one of us singing Pop Mac I Wanna Go Home at Ketti Railway Station. I'd like to share these for a smile all around... And like everyone gathered, we took many, many photos!!

It was such joy to connect, however briefly, with my Classmates: Sheila Chacko; Ashok Joseph; Nallaswamy; Sivakolandu; Subramani; & Ravi Timothy. It was lovely to learn of the directions their lives have taken.
In talking with Siva, I learned that I am exactly the sort of nurse he needs for his practice!! (Just kidding, Siva!) When he told me that he marks his patients for potential fecal or urinary diversion creation, & that he teaches them about pouching options, I exclaimed that that is one of my duties as a Wound, Ostomy, & Continence Nurse here in the USA. That's what I do for our Colo-Rectal Surgeons: mark their patients for Ostomy surgery ; teach their patients about pouching options; see their patients Post-op once they've been discharged home (I used to do this when I worked in the Hospital Setting; now I work in the Home Setting). I LOVE what I do! It has been among the very best, & COMPLETELY TRANSFORMING experiences of my Life!!
And somewhere in the construction, there's a foundation stone from The Laidlaw Memorial High School of St. George's Homes, Ketti (as she used to be known).

Buying the Coffee Table Book & a pair of Centenary Mugs is an investment that's bringing renewed joy! I peruse it's pages while sipping my morning tea. I was happy to contribute to the Walkway. Looking forward to seeing my name in tile :)

I always told Ken that our School was very like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry described in the Harry Potter storybooks, minus the willow wood wands. We didn't need magic; we were surrounded by it. From his brief experience, Ken agrees, & has been describing our School as, "Hogwarts, Indian style!"
This was his very first trip to my native land. He told me during our travels: "You prepared me for the crowds, the noise, the dust, the dirt, the traffic, the cows, the goats, the smells, the food. What you didn't prepare me for was the utter beauty of the place." We embraced this experience from beginning to end, & I believe it has left a lasting impression... Thank you, India! So very much...

I'm sorry this is so long, Sailendra! I would not mind if you were to post this under 'Communications from OGs'. I would like those who couldn't attend to relive a memory or two among the lines...

Once again, thank you ALL for EVERYTHING!! Ken & I are so appreciative.

Sincerely,
Bernadette and Kenneth Rock
aka "Betty" Brooks

Date: 2008-12-15 00:00:00

Location: Singapore

Subject: What a year it has been!!

Content:
Dear Tusky
Thought I had better write before the New Year! What a year 2008 has been .... just unbelievable. If 2008 was a bottle of wine I would definitely call it vintage! Just to re-cap the year for me:
1. 6th Jan - surfing the net looking for a client on St George St and happen to notice the OGA site. Instead of carrying on with my report I "time travelled" to the last 35 years some of which was fortunately caught on film and rest from memories. A short text to you brought a laugh with a response like "how can we forget a beak" but also reminded me of the "top spins" that were dished out to juniors ...... if not appreciated it did wake us up in the cold climate.
2. 20th Jan (or so) - text received from Ivan Jacob about trip to S'pore - got to have lunch with Ivan - it was great meeting Ivan - first OGA I had the pleasure of meeting after "a few years". Since that first encounter we had many more.
3. Joining the OGA site and finally getting the nerve to contribute. Met the soon to be my "guide" to the girls cottages during the July reunion - Sharon!
4. 22nd Apr - got a great bday present - met Ivan, Tusky, Doc and the ever photo shy Sheila. It was great meeting all. Especially Tusky for the first time at the airport. Note sure if my neighbours appreciated Tusky's visit once he had gone to sleep. Just kidding. Ivan, Tusky & I spent quite a few hours catching up with old times with Heineken keeping us company!
5. July - The reunion - or should I say the pre-reunion at the club in Chennai - the yellow roses etc - it was a great start to a lovely week. Met so many in the first night - Sharon, Sudha, Satar, Jen ..... and the list would go on. And then the trek to the reunion and the close-out on Sunday - brought back a lot of good memories. Even got to speak to my ex-girlfriend at school! It was a total shock to my system as I wanted to do a lot more but did not have the time to do so. Given the chance I would have taken more time to speak to the juniors .... including the kids presently at school. And of course there was the trip down the banks with Sharon ........ to look at some flowers of course. Not forgetting a tour of the dorms .... girls ie! Finally, meeting 2 from my class Ashokan and Suryaprakash. And then the icing on the cake - a lift on the very sunday to Calicut from people I had met for a couple of days. Sanil, Viji & Aparna. On the way dropping in to see all at M'gudi. It was a great journey back to Calicut and I did not feel the trip at all as the company was great! My regret being having turned down a biriyani dinner (when I visited the Prez & family .. including parents) the next day. On my return to S'pore catching up with the Chennai crowd again and this time seeing PC, JC and daughter (who shared her chocolates with me)!
6. Sep - Met Imran for lunch.
7. Oct - Met Pat & family in S'pore - Ivan joined us. It was great meeting the kids ... I mean Pat's.
8. Oct - Met Count Monty of London - a pint and some great south indian food.
9. Nov - Met Jayakumar - on a quick visit to S'pore.
10. Nov - not related to OGA but met my ex-colleagues in Auckland after 18 years.

On a general note it wasn't just meeting the OGAs but it was been a pleasure meeting their spouses and kids as well. Sudha, Doc, Mary, Viji to name a few. I have had a great year and must thank you and everyone else I have met this year at the re-union. Just disappointed that I could not make Mysore - looked like great time was had by all.

All booked for "sunny" Chicago and looking forward to meeting Benny & family. Short note to all:

Sudha - Sorry again about your Dad. I lost my Dad in 1982 and I still miss him so much. Just remember the great times you had and the memories will see you though this difficult period. I still laugh & cry at the same time when I think of my dad sometimes. Take care!

Sanil,Viji & Aparna - It was great meeting you and thanks again for the lift to Calicut and the great company along the way. My regards to your parents and hope you have a great break - the photos were great.

Sheila & Doc - Hey S - am still waiting for Thamil to post the video clip on the OG site. And Doc still waiting to see you again to share a wee dram(s) of the malt - and no rushing it this time.

Sharonski - yes I have decided to change your name - it was a great pleasure meeting you in Chennai and thanks for the tour of the "banks" and the girls cottages. And to think I did not get expelled. Probably see you either in Sydney or July 09.

Count Monty - The British economy seems "f##ked" but I am sure you with your "goldfinger" will make that change. Hope to see you in this part of the world sometime .... on your way to Sydney to visit Sharonski.

Sattar, Jen & Imran - Sattar - tried to hook up on Fbook but could not find you. Please send me your FBook name. Had a great time in Ooty and then back in Chennai. Especially the Ooty chocolates! Hope to see you guys when you visit Perth!

Indiana - It was great meeting you in S'pore and my regards to Susan & the kids. Message to Raoul - Liverpool still rocking it! (just about).

Wishing you all a very happy christmas and a new year - keep safe!

Regards & Best Wishes
Chandran (aka Rama, Ram, Beak, Polly Wolly, etc etc etc)

Date: 2007-12-03 00:00:00

Location: Chennai, India

Subject: Malabar Magic 2007 - Offsite Reunion of the OGA, at Calicut - 1st & 2nd Dec 2007

Content:
Folks,

Its been three days and two nights of absolute Reunion heaven for all of us who made it to Calicut for Malabar Magic 2007. Before giving you all the low down let me hasten to thank Sanil and Viji for some awesome organisation - they had it all covered all the way to the very end!! A million thanx will not do for all the effort these two put in - I hope they get themselves a nice sleep now that we are out of their hair and back in our respective abodes!! And Viji, I hope the chikanguniya keeps away after all the exertion that you were put through!

For us in Chennai Malabar Magic 2007 started on the 29th of December when we all gathered at Chennai Central Station at 2000hrs to catch that train for Calicut - there were 16 of us noisy folks on the train and there was lots of the vodka being dished out as Sprite to all who cared to imbibe it! The ladies had organised for some awesome grub to go with it - there was a dryish Chicken curry that Sheila brought, there was some amazing Veg cutlets that Jenny carried, Mary made her patented Beef fry and Anita Fredrick sent out some amazing sandwiches with Ravichandran (from Penang,Malaysia)!! The newbie in the group was Guru Anand (Collin's classmate in Ketti) - he hardly uttered a word all the way to Calicut and watched all the fun - you should have seen him on his way back from Calicut - he was a changed man and was last heard enquiring when the next reunion was!!! The guffawing and fun times on the train went on till well past midnight, well after some of us had retired to our berths!

At Calicut Station we were received by the ever smiling Viji and Sanil! They were a bit worried because the unusual wet weather but that wasnt going to bother us folks from Chennai! We were ferried to three different hotels because rooms were difficult to come by in Calicut. By about mid day we all headed out to the Beach Hotel where Colin and his family were put up - from there Viji, Sanil, Sudha and I headed off to the Kadavu Resort to finalise some last minute stuff while the rest of the gang went around Calicut and its neighborhood! Sanil took us all to Paragon for lunch after we had done our little preparatory run at Kadavu. Those photos you saw of me tucking into a Malabari meal were taken at the Paragon restaurant - the food was to die for, little wonder Paragon is jam packed with people at all times, but one call from Sanil's mobile and we had a place reserved for us while folks waited outside to get in!

Monty, I'm sorry but I just had to get Viji to take that photo of me tucking into all that awesome grub because I was sure it would make you salivate so much that the Thames may have flooded!! Having fed my six pack - we headed back to our hotel rooms so we could change and get ready for the evening bash that Sanil and Viji had arranged at the Beach Hotel (its a Heritage property that dates back to 1890!). Before the evening had become night the number of Georgians had swelled from 16 to 30! The Coimbatore folks, JP, Raja, Kalayappan were there as were Baba Pujara, Maria & Nirmal, Ivan had come in from Kochi and some of the others from nearby like Kunjali, Ashraf and later Anil from Mumbai and my son joined the gang!! It was a lovely evening and the food that was on offer was typically Malabari stuff - Tapioca and fish curry and Chicken Roast was what I tucked into! Yep, my six pack was getting to look like a twelve pack!

Late that night Mr Gardner and Mr Wood with their respective wives were coming in at about midnight - Sanil, Viji, Ashraf and I were there to receive them and ferry them to the Kadavu Resort - I went in the 8-seater Chevrolet Tavera with the Gardners and the Woods while Sanil and Viji followed in their car and Ashraf in his! As luck would have it the Tavera had a flat tire and it didnt look like it would be fixed in a hurry because nobody knew how to disengage the spare tire from below the Tavera!! So the Gardners and Woods were packed off in Sanil's and Ashraf's cars to Kadavu Resort while I stuck around with the Tavera driver trying to figure out how to fix the tire, which we finally did by about 0200hrs that night so I headed back to my hotel and tried to catch a few winks of sleep before the early morning pick up of Ma Lovacah, Suzanne and Rupa Paul who were coming in from Chennai. By about 10 am on 1st Dec we had ferried about 30 Georgians from all over to Kadavu where the registration team (all dressed in the gold bordered traditional Mallu Set) of Viji, Sudha, Mary and Sheila were collecting money and giving them their rooms. By around noon the rush at the registration counter was getting substantial! We clocked 102 registrations with 82 of them staying at Kadavu while 20 were to stay with relatives in Calicut.

Post registration and prior to lunch there was plenty of action by the poolside - it was full with Georgians making merry - throwing unsuspecting Georgians into the deep end! There’s plenty of video footage about all this tamasha! Then we all gathered under the shade of some coconut palms to sing the School song to inaugurate the offsite reunion! It was followed by an awesome buffet lunch at the Uru Restaurant which overlooks the beautiful Chaliyar river - it really is a sight for sore eyes. After lunch the swimming pool fun continued - somebody approached Sattar and asked him if he had his cell phone on him and he innocently said, no, it was in his room, they then asked him if he had a camera on his person and he said no again! So then it was ok to throw him into the pool and that is what they did! Thamil was the next victim - thankfully I wasnt anywhere around or else they may have had to refill that pool!!

Many Georgians opted to take their kids and families for the boat cruises on the beautiful Chaliyar river! Come 1730 hours some 43 Georgians gathered at the Chaliyar Hall in Kadavu for the Executive Committee Meeting of the OGA where, inter alia, we felicitated Mr Gardner on his receiving the DeRozio Award for Education and Human Achievement, we also felicitated Mrs Lovacah who spoke very emotionally about her experience of being in contact with her old students.

By 1900hrs the action had all shifted to the open air amphitheater at the Kadavu resort where there was a beautiful Mohiniattam dance recital followed by an exhilarating display of the Kerala martial art form called Kalaripayattu by the CVN Kalari which is considered the most accomplished Kalaripayattu training center in the world. This followed by the live band getting into action! The band was led by Pramod Reynolds who had spent three years teaching music in St Georges back in the early 90s! There was also a presentation of a bottle of champagne to Mr G for his DeRozio award - ofcourse it was popped and dutifully by yours truly and sprayed all over Mr Gardner before he himself sprayed the rest of the Georgians with the bubbly! Santa Claus in the form of Anil Mani came by to give away lots of gifts to the kids of Georgians! Then the inevitable had to happen - Sudha and I, Viji and Sanil and Mr & Mrs G were asked to get on the dance floor and get the ball rolling! For someone like me with two left legs when it comes to dance the song seemed to go on for an hour!!

The 1st of every month in Kerala is a dry day - no liquor is sold or served on the 1st anywhere in Kerala! Malabar Magic was scheduled for the 1st too but Sanil had prevailed upon the owners of Kadavu to make an exception for us OGs!! They were taking a huge risk allowing us to drink publicly but they did it for Sanil! Sattar got into his MC act and got the whole gang of OGs onto the floor of the amphitheatre and what followed was one and a half hours of great dancing! This was followed by dinner under the palm trees and by the poolside - I am happy to say OGs behaved themselves impeccably and didnt throw any more folks into the pool at night. After dinner folks hung around talking Ketti till way past mid night while others retired to their rooms.

Sunday 2nd Dec morning saw us awake late and drag ourselves to breakfast at the Ootupura Restaurant where reluctantly we had to start our bye byes! Another great Reunion had come to a close and it was time to go home! The Taveras were at hand to drop off folks headed to the bus or train stations. Sanil and I went about the job of closing accounts with the Kadavu Resort - we were short by about nineteen thousand Rupees and as we were trying to figure out how we were going to make up the shortfall we had OGs from all over coming forth offering to close the cash gap! Thanx to contributions from Anand Naidu, Sanjay Gulvady and Colin we could close accounts right there and then! That was a huge load off my chest and I'm sure Sanil and Viji must have been relieved too! All was well that ended well!

For the Chennai folks our train was only later that evening so we were ferried to Sayilen's in-laws huge house in Calicut where a massive lunch awaited us! There was fish, beef, mussels (in three forms), chicken and Pathiri along with a whole lot of other stuff to eat! Neetu's dessert had lots of folks asking for second and third helpings! It was nearing four in the evening by the time we were through with lunch that’s when we were bundled into the waiting vehicles and taken to Sanil's house where a veritable tea party was laid out for us! By now many of us were holding our stomachs and wondering where all the food was to go!!

While at Sayilen's in-law's place we learnt that JP and the Coimbatore gang had had an accident with a bike in Perinthalmanna on their way back to Coimby - they had been taken to the cop station for investigation and that was bad news because every one of them in the car had had a bit to drink! A few calls from Sanil to some cop friends had it all sorted out and the Coimby gang were on their way back home! The things that Sanil had to do!!!

Sanil had organised for us to retire to three rooms at the Alakapuri Hotel so we could relax for the rest of the evening before we boarded the train for our journey back to Chennai. I got myself a much needed nap while a bunch of the Chennai OGs piled into Anil's room and continued to down their pegs! Some time into the evening Guru Anand revealed that he had gotten himself a massage by not one but two female masseurs at Kadavu which had a lot of guys groaning at the thought of what they had missed out on by not getting themselves a massage! They prodded Guru to tell them whether his massage had a happy ending and Guru wasnt about to reveal anything further!! So Guru has got himself the epithet Happy Ending Guru!!

Sanil and Viji saw us all off at the Calicut station with dinner they had packed for us - this is why I say these two had thought of everything!!

Happy ending indeed it was for all of us who made it to Kadavu! For those who didnt make it, all I can say is you missed out big time!!

Thank you again Sanil and Viji for giving us all so many lovely memories.

Warmest regards


Tusky

Date: 2007-07-28 00:00:00

Location: Sydney, Australia

Subject: Thank you all!

Content:
Hi Everyone,

Joe and I arrived Sydney safe and sound on Tuesday morning to a sqeaky clean and noiseless city and the cold, brisk, morning air woke us up in no time! Son Andy picked us up and took us over to his place for breakfast and coffee before driving us home later in the morning. My first impulse was to cuddle and smooch my baby grandson who spent all morning 'smiling' at me! He has grown so much in 2 weeks and was so alert! Once we had unpacked and showered, it was time to hit the sheets and I did not surface till 6pm that evening! Joe held up better than me...a few Scotch's on the plane made him sleep like a baby. He kept going till bedtime.

From start to finish our trip was just great! The whole weekend was a great success. Congratulations to All of You who put in months of planning and organising to make it all come together so wonderfully.

Mr and Mrs Gardner and The Staff, deserve a Big Thank You for allowing us all to stampede all over the school and into Smith House classrooms with our cameras clicking and filming as we went. Many of us started from Smith House and it was an emotional experience standing in what was then Std 1 and 2 interacting with the children. Gloria brought her Aussie teaching skills to the fore when she took class and had the kids and all of us singing along with her. It was goosebumps and choked voices for many of us! All that I had planned to do, did not eventuate due to lack of time...so a dash to Palada and a ramble down the banks is planned for next time!

Now comes the most important task - to thank a lot of very special people.

Tusky, Sudha, Sattar, JC, Paul, Cherie, Mary, Sheila & All The Chennai Team - THANK YOU from Joe and Me for all you did for us to make our trip so special. From meeting us at the airport, the first dinner party at the Madras Racing Club, The Get Together at Cubbies and organising our stays in various clubs, and making sure we were on that train all the way to Ooty was just overwhelming and fantastic. The train trip was one of the many high lights and it sure was fun being part of a great high spirited group. If we could, we would do it all over again.

Coimbatore OG's - thank you for the great welcome at Metty! Several of us thought a wedding party were onboard, until we realised it was for us. It was surreal! So nice to see so many familiar faces at Metty station and the garlands were beautiful. Thank you also for your thoughtfulness in providing breakfast for all of us. It was very much appreciated and went down well on the way to Ooty.

Thamil, Puji, NRK - thank you for organising our accommodation at Lawley and the transport to and from school. The weekend was too short...and it all came to an end too quickly. In spite of the Lawley not being prepared for our visit, just being together with everyone was great fun. Breakfasts in particular, as we walked into the dining hall every morning to be greeted by a sea of smiling faces. The food (especially the chilli omelettes) was delish. I miss the coffee!

Jenny, Alice and Chris - thank you for organising our transport and accommodation at The Jungles. Our driver Padhu did a wonderful job and we've booked him for the next time also! So glad that you were all able to make it to The Jungle Retreat...again...time was too short and it was sad to say goodbye. Thanks so much for the great parcels you organised for each of us. I am currently sharing my cummries with the family and they like them also!

Rohan (OG) of Jungle Retreat - thank you for your great hospitality. You sure do have a wonderful resort and we really enjoyed the comfort and great food. The poor wild animals must have wondered what was happening to their peace and quiet when the Aussie OG's descended in full force on your resort! We'll be back for sure for more of that hospitality and the yummy food.

Mathew Varkey - thank you so much for using your membership to get us accommodation at the Catholic Club in Bangalore. We were very impressed with everything and got to meet another CC Member who happened to be the cousin of a very good friend of ours. We even got to attend their Saturday social night and Joe made it his business to meet the musicians and had a drink with them later that night. Bangalore's shopping was great. On the last day there we hired a car and the driver took us to a great Andhra restaurant for dinner where we enjoyed a delicious thalli and Andhra biriyani. That kept my belly full till breakfast in KL the next morning!

Sayilen and Your Wonderful Family - thanks for a great evening at your place and the delicious food your lovely wife cooked us. You sure are an awesome painter and you should show your pieces in an Art Gallery. I can't believe you have no formal art training...you are a very, very talented man and I admire your gift. Hope the Merc recovered from the 'near drowning'! That was some flash flood and Joe and I really appreciate the huge effort you made to get us back to our abode safe and dry! Unfortunately, I did not have yours or Sharon's phone numbers to thank you the next day. We are still talking about Mischa's (ex sp) crab mornay! Hope Shaz is enjoying her great Kerala adventure and the rains lifted when the Begum arrived! It was nice to meet your parents and your brother Milan.

Lindy - thanks for taking us to see Mrs Fowler. That nasty migraine which hit me suddenly lasted all night. I made it back to the club just in time, before the gut decided that the Panadols I had taken earlier was not agreeing with what I had eaten! So sorry we could not get to see you again before we left, what with sudden downpours and flash floods that put a stop to a few social plans. Bangalore is indeed a shoppers paradise and I came home with quite a few goodies including some sandalwood souvenirs which got through the Australian Customs. I had declared it, and was fortunate to have an Indian lady who was our customs officer...she let us go through with no probs. Will be seeing Briony next week.

While I write, there are still some Aussie OG's enjoying their adventures in different cities. I envy them! As much as we love coming back to our 'Home' in Australia and to our families and friends, we miss the 'Colours of India' and it's vibrancy including the noise, dust and smells! The Niligiris are very special to me and certain places have secured a place in my heart. I was fortunate to have been able to catch up with really old and dear friends in Gudalur and Coimbatore, and also spoke with my cousin and his wife who are Coffee Planters in Coorg. Have already started planning our next trip!

On our way back, we spent 6 hours in KL airport and booked into the Transit Hotel attached to the International airport. By the time we were ready to leave, we had visited all the Duty Free shops, had a good rest and hot showers, and enjoyed the beautiful KL airport. Having The Taylors as traveling companions made the trip more fun.

It's back to the grind of our daily lives. This weekend we are back into 'gigging'. Both jobs are close to home. I've been out of practice for what seems like ages...Joe is cracking the whip and given me homework!

Sudha and Anil...my apologies for not responding to your Chats...had Tristan and family over for dinner and of course he spent most of the time in Grandy's arms! Showed them some of the videos...but had to stop as D-I-L Jo got motion sickness!! I think it was my camera work that did it! Will talk to you in greater length next time...that's if Joe hasn't got the whip out! He reckons I am obsessed with this site...which is not true! The man's a hard task master when it comes to music.

Bye for now...mega thanks again for a Wonderful Time in India.

With our Love and Sincere Appreciation.

Joe and Juene

Date: 2007-07-28 00:00:00

Location: Sydney, Australia

Subject: Sincerest Thanks to Tusky, Sudha, Sattar, Jenny, PC, Thamil, Debbie and so many others

Content:
G'day everyone,

On behalf of Bruce, Robbie and myself - THANK YOU to all of you for making our trip back to India and esp school such a memorable, warm and fun time.
The memories are priceless - Robert has captured every minute of it - He took well over 500 snaps .

Got back into Sydney yesterday to much warmer weather than they have had for the past two weeks.. Robert is the only one back at work today - Bruce & myself start on Monday . At the moment we cannot stop talking about our trip and all the lovely memories. He cannot believe I am actually missing all the noise and hustle and bustle that India fills you with.

While in Bangalore, Debs, Satish and the girls gave us such a fantastic time, manged to catch up with Mathew Cooke who I must say is looking much better than I thought he would. Will post the snaps as soon as I can.

Love to everyone and will catch up with each one soon. Warm hug to all of you.

Thanks for the memories.

Love
Bruce, Debbie & Robbie Taylor

Date: 2007-05-19 00:00:00

Location: Chennai, India

Subject: Photos of Old Georgian get together in Sydney - 2006

Content:
Click on the link below to see photos posted by Georgian Juene Walmsley. If the link is not highlighted or clickable, please copy it and paste it in the address field of your web browser. Enjoy the photos.

http://picasaweb.google.com/juene.walmsley/TuskySVisitsSydneyDownUnder

Date: 2006-07-28 00:00:00

Location: Mumbai

Subject: Reunion 2006 - Ketti, 14th July to 16th July

Content:
REUNION 2006 –Part One

11th July 2006

It was an anxious moment when I had to leave my little home here in Mumbai on the 11th of July. It meant leaving my sixteen year old son Nikhil alone at home for a week.

Even though I have trained him in basic cooking, and the Fridge and kitchen were well stocked. I had even organized signing facilities in the local store and a couple of restaurants here in the neighborhood in case he didn’t get time to cook. I had also put my close
friends and relatives on high alert and to call in and check on him. Sixteen year old kids are like cats on a wall. You never know which side of the wall they may jump. I guess you never stop being a parent, even
when your kids grow up to be hulks.

A quick auto ride to the airport, and I was on board Air Deccan which offered me the best rates. After
touch down and baggage clearance I headed for the Exit. There behind the steel railings was Abbas, (Tusky’s Driver) with a placard with a huge
OGA Logo, and my name printed in small print above it. It really stood out among the numerous other placards.

Then it was an hour ride to Jacob David’s (Cubbies’) Guest house with Abbas keeping me fascinated
with the stories about his adventures in the North East..

Boy…. this Guest House was a swank outfit. The bedroom, dressing room, bathroom and dining and sitting area was bigger than my small apartment. I met Lily and the boys (Andrew and Jonathan) and then, the next stop was Tusky’s office. After exchanging bear hugs and pleasantries we were greeted with
the shocking news of the bomb blasts in Mumbai. It was really disturbing. Managed to get through to Nix before the lines were jammed. I heaved a sigh of relief to know he was safe. I also felt sorry for
those who lost their loved ones in this needless waste of human life.

While in his office, I noticed that Tusky wasn’t kidding about that rear view mirror he has attached to his monitor. This is to see if anyone is coming from behind. It comes in handy when he does his morning
Pooja to the beauties that Pepsi so thoughtfully sends. You can see the blue mirror attached to his PC monitor in the attached picture.

My phone kept buzzing with calls from well wishers to inquire about our safety. Finally Tusky broke free from his desk, and it was off to his house where after a few quick drinks were knocked down, we were off to a
cool Chettynaad joint for a real southern style non veg dinner. Tusky dropped me back at the Guest house, and I was soon snoring away in deluxe luxury.

12th July 2006.

The next day the 12th,was hectic.
It was dashing around meeting friends and relatives. In the evening my nephew (who was my ward in Mumbai), dropped me at the boat Club for the Chennai OG get together.

It was wonderful seeing all those familiar faces and being in their midst. It was great seeing the debonair Sattar in spite of his grey hair along with his drop dead good looking kids. Ivan and his son, JC, Maria, Collin, Cherie, Pepsi, Ashok (from Chicago), Tusky, and some new faces too.

To all those of you who despite the next day being a working day, took the trouble to make it there and make me feel so special. Chennai OG hospitality is by now famous. However, I was a little surprised that Chennai clubs pack up earlier than their Mumbai counterparts. Here…. parties only get going only by 10pm, and go on till the wee hours.

It was a lovely evening, and when it was all over, Collin very kindly, dropped me back to the guest house.

I was tired, but happy and relaxed because it was good
to be away from work and Mumbai and in the company of friends, even though the clients kept calling. I slept like a baby in the sheer luxury of the guest house with its 24 hour room service.


13th July 2006.

The thirteenth was again a hectic day of running around. But every day it started with Lily’s home made south Indian breakfasts which I miss here in Mumbai. I still remember those soft Iddlies and the hot Dosas. This also included the eggs laid by their Hybrid Chickens. They even had the choice of exotic stuff like quail eggs on the menu if I so desired. I received Arun’s SMS that any one who does not report in time at the station would have to foot the booze bill en-route. With all those super tankers on board, I wasn’t going to take any chances and was the first on board our compartment, stocked with a reasonable amount of booze too. Thank you Chennai OGs, you guys are something else. I felt like a VIP all the way.

One by one the Chennai batch turned up inside the compartment. Thin ones,…. Fat ones,….; and even medium sized ones. But what was important was we were all OGs and we were going back to school. What a wonderful feeling!!

Date: 2006-01-10 00:00:00

Location: Sydney, Australia

Subject: Happy 2006

Content:
Hello Friends,

A belated Happy 2006 to all. Hope it's a wonderful one in every way for each one of you and your families. I am so happy to have my PC back in working order again, I can hardly contain myself!

I opened my mail box and had to wait for 1029 emails to download. While that was happening I took the liberty of signing into the Yahoo Group site and was able to catch up with all the OG happenings weeks before and after Christmas! Seems to have been a lot of excitement happening while I have been offline!

Hope you all had a blessed and happy Christmas and holiday season. Lets hope this year will be better than the last! I am still getting over at how quickly the past year went! Our lives instead of slowing down has stepped up a few notches and already a week into the New Year has gone by without us realising it.

Well, I must have been a good girl last year as I scored well with Santa on Christmas Day! We started the day early by having a delicious buffet breakfast at the Novotel Hotel in Olympic Park with the family and in-laws. Came home with nice round tummies and opened our pressies we found under the tree. A few hours later, we had family and friends join us for lunch in our home. It was particularly nice to have some Old Georgians join us, Mark and Michael Gardiner and Hethal Patel! Mark came up from Adelaide to visit his brother over the holiday period. I invited them to spend the day with us as they were both new to Sydney and so was Hethal. It was lovely to catch up with Old Georgians and Joe's Dad, Old Lawrencian George was in his element talking 'Nilgiri' talk with them. It was a hot day and the the swimming pool got a work out. We had to be careful with the food going off in the heat but justice was done to my coconut rice and chicken curry which was my contribution to the table. There was heaps of food as most people who came, contributed to the dining table which was set up outside. We had around 25 people or so on the day. A few days later, I cooked up a storm again, this time in honour of Old Joe's birthday and my Sis Joan and BIL Geoff and their families, together with OG's and cousins, Bruce & Deb Taylor and Coral South from Perth. It was great having everyone together and the atmosphere was comfortable and fun.

A few weeks prior to Christmas, Derek South was passing through Sydney on his way back to Perth. He spent a few days with Joe and myself and we had a great time with him. Will post photos soon.

This Sunday, I have organised a 'get together over lunch in the mountains' for Coral. I hope we can get some OG's to attend. Word was passed around via Max French so I hope we can meet again. We love having lunch in Sydney's Blue Mountains as the venue overlooks spectacular scenery and it's nice to unwind over a good meal with good mates. Who better than Old Georgians! I hope Mark and Michael will be able to make it. This time I was able to 'book' my sis and bil in advance so they will be there as well.

We brought in the NY at a private party with good friends. It was a mad night and we were still laughing and wide awake at 6am in the morning. Drove home with the sun shining and with one very happy and 'over the limit' hub fast asleep in the passenger seat. That day turned out to the hottest on record for Sydney in 67 years. The temp soared to 44deg in our area, and I literally melted! When the cool change arrived later that evening, it blew in as wild gale and we had to close the windows as the curtains were flying everywhere! We are back to having pleasant days of 26deg. On the other hand, Perth across from Sydney experienced cold and wet days. Global warming is to blame and more crazy weather is expected.

I am enjoying my last few days of working a 3 day week. From the 16th Jan I take on another role in the Bank. I applied for and got the job as Corporate Receptionist in our Head Office and take on a different role compared to my current one. I am looking forward to dealing with 'big wigs' and 'high flyers' in the job. It's quite a responsible position and the views from Level 32 is quite good! It will be sad to leave my current position and friends as I have been with the organisation for the last 5 years. I'm quite chuffed at getting the new job. Just goes to prove that 'us old biddies' still have it!!

With 2006 still brand new, what resolutions have you all made? Hope we can all stick to them! Mine is to lose some weight! Started nicely with a bananna and skim milk diet and eating the right foods. Need to do more exercise and spending less time in front of the PC reading my 1029 emails!! Will endeavour to catch up with all the postings, but if I don't respond, you know that I am on my exercise regime!

Also planning on visiting Ketti again in 2007 with a swag of Aussie OG's for the Mother of All Re-Unions. I reckon that should be the only OGA Re-Union held annually. All the other 'Get Togethers' organised by the various pockets of OG's in Indian cities and overseas, should be run independent of the Ketti OGA with the main purpose of getting together to have fun and promote fellowship amongst OG's. We strive to do that in Sydney and I am glad that Perth OG's are keen to do the same. Hopefully, we can all meet as one body in Adelaide (as previously suggested by Perth OG's) over the Easter break with no formalities to adhere to. We've done that in the past with the Sydney/Melbourne group and it was succesfull.

Take care everyone, be positive, have fun, stay safe and healthy and have a truly wonderful 2006. These wishes are from Joe, my family and self.

Cheers for now...

Juene

Date: 2005-05-12 00:00:00

Location:

Subject: OGA - Recent communication between OGs across the globe

Content:
Hi Nimmi,

Glad you are enjoying yourself. If you have time and plan a trip to Kent please let me know. There is a bed but you have to make your own breakfast !! Only joking,I can make a good toast or porridge but not tried my iddli thatte yet.

Like you I think the Lion King is very enjoyable. I saw a bit of it when I was in Disney world and always wanted to see it in the theatre. I have some leave in June and have put that on my agenda. Remind us of that lovely phrase which means "do not worry".

I am interested to know your professional views about Omega fish oils and children's brain development. You would have noticed it is a big thing here especially since they did a study, small, in a school in Durham. It is supposed to improve children's attention and co-ordination and learning ability. It is still expensive and there is pressure to prescribe it.

Fond Regards to Valsa - whereabout is she?

Tusky, when you are in Germany I hope you will do a channel hop or even catch the train and I will pick you up at Ashford station, just 20 miles from me. I will send you back to your batchelor days mate... visit Soho like Babu.....

Have a great day

Balan C aka Dr. Elias Cheriyan

Date: 2005-05-08 00:00:00

Location:

Subject: OGA - Recent communication between OGs across the globe

Content:
Hi Everyone,

Happy Mother's Day to all the OG Mums and Mr Mums around the world. Hope you all got spoilt and enjoyed the Day with the hub and kids. I just had to post this note before I hit the sack! Joe's gone ahead to warm the bed up again! I am still excited after last night's chat and today's events. These Saturday Nights are turning into enjoyable sessions. I entered the Chat Room rather late around 1am, after farewelling friends who came back to our place for coffee after dinner at the restaurant. What a surprise and delight to see a few names on the screen, and just as I came on Howard joined in but then it was only 2 of us 'chatting' wondering what we did to scare the rest off as no one was joining in. Howard blamed me and I blamed him, and being the gentleman that he is, he convinced himself that he was the culprit! Few minutes later Alf joined, then Tusky, Tinker, Glen, Arun, Philip, Babu, Doc's Balan and Surey - wow, What a Night! Nice to talk to Shanti and Sudha. I dragged Joe downstairs just as Howard was saying goodbye and he was able to say Hi and Bye to Howie. I had to explain how the chat worked. We both had a good laugh. Doc Balan, I hope you will join us again. Even one finger typists get the hang of it! Howard kept calling Babu - Baby! Easily done! No wonder why Babu's wife blew her fuse! Hopefully, we will all join in on MSN this Saturday. Tusky, I have your email address in my MSN. Please explain how it works.

Thank you Romesh for including us in your booking at the YWCA. Thank you also to Trevor for updating us on the accommodation status. Sattar, The Lake View also sounds nice. Is that where you will be staying? Where is everyone staying when they come up? Tusky you mentioned the Lawley Inst also. Are we all going to be staying in different lodges? Tent City or Ooty? I will contact Jenny Grubb and Chris Hawkes again to find out what is suitable for all of us. It would be nice to stay together.

Thank you also to the Docs - Ninan, Balan, Romesh in convincing us to take our Needles. D-Day is Friday and I am not looking forward to it! We very nearly changed our minds, but you guys convinced us to do it. Joe admitted he was not looking forward to getting poked and so did Noel! Personally, I'd rather go through childbirth again than have a needle stuck in my arm. Wonder what the Men prefer! But I will be brave and go in first! What a shame about the ice cream? I was so looking forward to eating Kulfi in Pal's restaurant in Chennai. Is it still there? Used to love it and still do. I have a recipe using tinned milk, but it's not the same. Ajit, I will just have to do what an English Doctor did when he had to come to India for a spell. He swallowed tape worm eggs! (This is TRUE, I read it in the Readers' Digest many years ago)! He ate and drank everything and did not get Delhi Belly. When he returned to England he took a worm treatment and passed out a python!! Believe It or Not!

Elias - what a sweet and thoughtful man you are! I bet Pop Mac would have been touched by your thoughtfulness. We will be looking out for that snap of him wearing the McKenzie tartan. I am so looking forward to seeing him again, and I am glad we are returning via Bangalore, even though we will be there for 2 nights only. Tinks missed you and Howard. She was wondering where her Old Smoothies were! She's one naughty Siren!

I hope the Bangalore get together this weekend is a success. Ajit and Lindy seem to have it under control. Ajit, I met Jan French (nee McKenzie), her brother Kevin is interested in attending.

I had a lovely Mother's Day, Flowers, Gift vouchers, Electric Foot Massager (can't replace Joe's hands), colourful winter PJ's, and a kitchen set from our surrogate grand-daughter (she bought it out of her own pocket money at the Mother's Day Stall in primary school). She's a cutie! Also attended a Mother Day's picnic hosted by the Australian Rangers Anglo Indian Club. Noel and wife Jan are Committee Members. Fantastic day, each took a Pot of Food (BAPot), drinks, chairs, etc and we had a feast. The variety - masala chops, lemon rice, pork/beef/chicken curries, 2 different biranyis, chutneys, spiced ribs, tandoori chicken etc etc. I cheated! I bought Singapore Noodles freshly made and took it as my contribution. Went down well and people complimented me on my fine cooking! I lapped up the praise, but had to tell them the truth at the end of the day. Mums and Kids took part in a tug of war, and all suffered rope burns. My team won one bout and lost 2. The Dads and Kids and some Mums played soccer. Joe and Noel were instructed to prime up for the Ketti competion! I will be part of the Cheer Leading squad. Joe came off huffing and puffing and Noel ended up with a bruised knee! Today was a very nice start to the week.

Better get to bed, work tomorrow. Enjoy the week everyone, take care and best regards to the family. Keep the Smiles coming.

Cheers!

Juene