The Senior Station

Saying it in pictures

Published on October 15, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

Honing in our visual spatial skills is important for good mental health. This is why The Senior Station introduced Pictionary to its program this week. It was a bit of a struggle to begin with, but soon members got the hang of associating words with images. Of course their competitive spirit also came to the fore and we had a battle of words and pictures that had everyone gripped. The focus this time was on mental activities and everyone had quite a workout with the many other puzzles and quizzes prepared for them.

Finger Licking Good

Published on October 5, 2018October 5, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

The Senior Station Masterchef competition, this week, was a grand success. Members chose from a range of ingredients to put together a light meal. What they created was incredible – the dishes were scrumptious and the presentation outstanding. But truly wonderful was the enthusiasm with which every member participated. That was what made the session so special. The birthday girl of the month was Grace and the delicious ribbon cake was from The Cake Factory. We all sang to her and wished her well, and she was moved by the love and attention showered on her.
For more details about The Senior Station email us on theseniorstation@gmail.com or call us on 0778445332

Staying Healthy with Sigrid de Silva

Published on September 27, 2018October 5, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

“It’s not just about what you eat,’’ said Sigrid de Silva, the renowned nutritionist and well being consultant who visited The Senior Station this week. She shared with us 5 pillars of a healthy and fulfilling life – A good night’s sleep she puts right at the top, because while we sleep our body repairs itself. An erratic sleep cycle is a problem many seniors face. To counter this she recommends keeping as consistent a sleep schedule as possible, as well as staying active and avoiding long naps during the day. The second pillar to a healthy life is a balanced diet with all the nutrients included. She recommends only one protein per meal – For example, she suggests that if you are have a healthy portion of Dhaal in a meal then avoid eating meat. She recommends a filling breakfast not later than 3 hours after you awake in the morning, a not too heavy lunch and a light dinner. Next on her wellness plan is to avoid building up stress, which is the root of many diseases. And finally she recommends adequate exercise and mental activity, and social engagement. After all, loneliness drives many to despair. Sigrid made her session interactive and engaging and was happy answer everyone’s questions. We learnt so much and would really like her to visit The Senior Station again. This week we also learn a new skill – interesting table decor with napkins. Nisrin and Banin demonstrated seven different styles of napkin folds such as roses, candles, baskets and more. This is definitely something we could try out at our next dinner party. We’d also like to thank Shami and Saku who visited The Senior Station and shared in everyone’s joy. Saku brought along her guitar and conducted a short sing-along which after all is everyone’s favourite activity.
For more details about The Senior Station email us on theseniorstation@gmail.com or call us on 0778445332

Fly Me To The Moon

Published on September 19, 2018September 27, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

What is your craziest wish? – that’s what The Senior Station members were asked as we played a memory game with a ball. Members had to call out their craziest wish and throw the ball to each other. The challenge was to recall what each member had wished for. Pauline dreams of swimming across the English Channel, Sriani would like to climb a coconut tree, Gwen wants to travel around the world, and Nihal W fancies flying off in to the sky. Nihal – aka Bunny gave his wife a cheeky smile and said he’s like to spend a day looking at lots of pretty girls. It was super fun as we shared our wildest fantasies and lots of hoots as we tried to recall them. Apart from our breathing exercises and puzzles we also had a bit of jazz today – Rapti visited The Senior Station for a sing – along. It started with a musical challenge as she played a few tunes on her keyboard and asked members to guess the song. That was a fun game – but we soon broke in to a proper ‘bajao’ session with loud singing, clapping, and of course dancing! For more details about The Senior Station email us on theseniorstation@gmail.com or call us on 0778445332.

Getting back together

Published on September 12, 2018September 27, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

This was the first session of The Senior Station after three weeks. Our day trip to Negombo last week was fun and invigorating, yet it was nice to be back in our familiar settings at Ladies College. Sajeda got a really warm welcome. She gently stepped up her routine and treated everyone to a proper sweat out. “It’s so good to be back,” she chuckled. It was time to work out our cerebral muscles as well with quizzes and puzzles that had some fun obstacles hidden in them. A little bit of hand eye coordination was also on the cards, as members were challenged to pick up peanuts using straws. It not quite as easy as it seemed, and birthday boy Claude groaned as the peanuts kept slipping away. We were very impressed because the members did not give up until they had completed the challenge, and Farook really came out tops. This month it’s Claude’s birthday, so we all sang to him and wished him well as he cut the birthday cake from Ambrosia. We then wrapped up our session with a visual presentation of our trip. It was great way for those who could not join us to share in the revelry. For more details about The Senior Station email us on theseniorstation@gmail.com or call us on 0778445332.

Ride with The Senior Station

Published on September 6, 2018September 6, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

It was a bright Tuesday morning and the air was rife with excitement as The Senior Station members eagerly clambered into the coach that took us to Negambo for our much awaited trip. Dolly and Priyanthi did a quick head count and then with a loud hip hip hooray we set off! Out came the guitar and tambourines, and soon everyone was clapping their hands and swaying to our favourite tunes. A picnic must always begin with something sweet. So first we tucked into delicious milk toffee, then came Priyanthi’s signature brownies, followed by biscuits, sweets, mixtures, chocolates and so much more. You can imagine that we were in really high spirits when we arrived at Camelot Beach Resort. A quick visit to our rooms to refresh ourselves after which, we gathered on the lawns under the shade of a coconut grove for our morning session of fun and games – A lucky draw with grand prizes, a Wrapping The Mummy competition, a Water Relay and the Balloon Dancing Game. It must have been a combination of the cool sea breeze and all the fun activities, because when lunch was announced, we were all starved. And what a spread we were treated to! It was a leisurely lunch with the only concern being what we should choose from the vast buffet counter. We would have loved to linger on a little longer but Claude, who had his eye on the time, had everything arranged for the next round of activities. Soon we all took our seats in the pavilion by the pool, and began chatting and joking when Sheila clutched her stomach and begun moaning uncomfortably. The Senior Station team jumped to their feet. Did we have a crisis on our hands?! ‘’Ooh’’ Sheila squealed, “It’s been such a hard year long pregnancy. I think I am at the end of my last quarter!” That was the prelude to the most hilarious skit scripted and enacted by Sheila along with Claude, Farook and Raja who played the 3 doctors that delivered the ‘bonnie little donkey’. The next item on the agenda was the masquerade competition in which members chose from a range of props and paraded around the pavilion. The winner, hands down, was Chandrika who did a little cameo of a village drunk. Chandrika is always so quiet, and it was wonderful to see her in such great form. There were more games, more pranks, more laughter – but alas all good things must come to an end. So at about 4.00 p.m. tea was served and we prepared to leave. It was 42 happy hearts that boarded the coach back to Colombo. ‘’This has been our best trip ever. We want more!”was the rallying cry. We at The Senior Station couldn’t agree more.

Something to think about at TSS

Published on August 16, 2018September 6, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

Niro, a radio DJ and quizzer, added a bit of zing to The Senior Station by conducting a super fun version of the quiz show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’. She renamed her version ‘Who Wants to be a fifty-aire’ – because that was what the grand prize was. The quiz came with all the suspense and drama of the TV game show, along with loads of laughs and hoots as contestants attempted to double their prize money from Rs 10 to Rs 50.
This week we were treated to a lovely surprise from Janaki who is a poet in her own right. She read out a beautiful poem which she had written and dedicated to The Senior Station
We also had something to ponder about as we reconstructed the story of the rescue of the ‘Thai Cave Boys’ with the help of a visual slide show. We talked about the many heroes of the story and discussed how the episode touched millions of hearts and brought together the global community. Indeed, it gave all of us at The Senior Station something inspiring to take home.
The Senior Station will be closed for the next two weeks. On the 4th of September is our Annual Trip for those who have signed up for it. Normal sessions will recommence next on the 11th of September.
For more details on The Senior Station email us on theseniorstation@gmail.com or call us on 0778445332

‘Tripping out’ with The Senior Station

Published on August 9, 2018September 6, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

‘Trip Fever’, is hitting a high at The Senior Station. On September 4th we will be going to Camelot Beach Resort for a day long excursion, and the excitement is quite palpable. While The Senior Station has put together all requirements for the trip, it’s the members who are taking the lead in making it a grand event. Kudos to Miriam who has been meticulous about registering the participants. Dolly and Priyanthi are all geared up to ensure that everyone gets on the bus that will take us to Negambo and back. And for the main event, our ’entertainment committee’ promises to make it a super memorable day. Claude, Farook, Raja, Nilhan, Swini, Priyanthi, Chaya, Sriani, and Sheila had an animated discussion this week on all the activities they are planning for the day. We heard some mischievous chuckles from that corner and are rather curious to know what’s cooking. We would like to thank our patron, who wishes to remain anonymous, whose very generous contribution has brought such joy to our members. This is indeed such a big treat for them!
This week we celebrated the birthdays of Chaya and Nihal W., and we wish them all the very best for the year ahead. We’d like to say a big thank you to Sajeda for the revved up exercise session. She has been gradually increasing the intensity of her routine and is impressed by how the members have been keeping up. Nomal Wijeryaratne of Quantum Fitness also visited The Senior Station this week to demonstrate a vibrating exercise machine that is designed largely for seniors, and which improves balance and muscle tone. He explained that both aspects are vital for lasting physical and mental fitness.

“Walking Down Memory Lane at The Senior Station”

Published on August 2, 2018September 6, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

This week at The Senior Station we celebrated all the memories and experiences that have made our lives so special. The program this week was conducted by Hasini Haputhanthri, a Museologist, and Malathi de Alwis, an Anthropologist. They, along with Munira Mutaher, a member of the Memory Culture Team at GIZ, are compiling a book entitled The Archive of Memory which will portray a people’s history of the past seven decades post-Independence. The book will be a collection of memories that are connected to personal objects, and which relate to significant events in Sri Lanka.
Hasini, Malathi and Munira kicked off the program by playing old popular hit songs and asking the members to recall the names of the songs, singers and year in which they were released. The three of them were quite bowled over because not only did the members know most of the answers, they even belted out the lyrics. After that foot tapping session came a visual quiz that took members back in time to significant events from Sri Lanka’s history, popular old haunts like Fountain Cafe and brands that were an intrinsic part of life such as Two Elephants Safety Matches.
The members then listened to dramatised readings of stories that are already a part of The Archive of Memory, before they were invited to share their own personal experiences. We’d like to thank Nihal, Sriani, Claude, Priyanthi, Deepthi, Swini, Chandrika and Farook who shared with us such touching tales from their past. It almost felt like they were making us a part of their lives!

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Cup games

Published on July 28, 2018 by The Senior StationLeave a comment

We did our usual exercise and now our members are more flexible and can do much more than when we started. Then we did an interesting ‘who am I’ quiz and a find the odd one out quiz. The fun event we all ended up enjoying was when we did various cup games. Stacking and tumbling cups were a challenge but not as much as getting a cup to fall in when a paper was pulled from under. ‘Morning chaos’ was was the topic for our skit competition. Our members acted out some hilarious acts that we couldn’t stop laughing. We ended the session with a mini sing along.