Category: General

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.

Suba Aluth Avurudak wewa was the chant on everyone’s lips as we started our special celebration for the Sri Lankan New Year. Two little girls Anasha and Zainab paid tribute to all the elders by greeting them with a bulath leaf. Then Nihal , Shiela , Hatim, and Indrani who have attended almost every session of The Senior Station lit the traditional oil lamp on behalf of all the other members.
Now it was time for the session to begin. Our usual exercise session took an upbeat note with some baila music. Sheila cannot be held back when there is music. She soon took to the floor with her incredible dance steps and had other members shaking a leg too.
We had special Avurudu games lined up for today – A jumble word quiz with a twist, because the answers were names of traditional Avurudu foods. Teams then had to send in their representatives for the bun eating competition and pin the tail to the donkey quest. There were hoots and cheers in the air as the teams battled it out.
There was a challenge from the members for The Senior Station organisers to also play the pin the donkey game. Shahnaz was blind-folded and put to the task. Little did she know that the cheeky members turned the donkey upside down and she ended up pinning the tail to the donkey’s hoof.
The last challenge for the day was a garland making competition; and while the creative hands were at work, Farook, Claude, Raja, Nilhan, Indrani and Shiela made the tables their drums and regaled us with lovely folk songs. In the midst of laughter and song our Avurudu Kumarayas and Kumari paraded the beautifully crafted garlands for all to see.
After all that fun and frolic everyone indulged in kiribath, hakuru, kokis, konda kavum and many other delicious Avurudu treats which were all beautifully laid out. The Senior Station will close till May 8th 2018. But what lovely memories to take with us through the holidays.