THE SECOND ROYAL - THOMIAN IN THE DESERT

MARCH 2001

Back to school.....30 March 2001 UAE Dubai Exiles ground

We knew about it for over a month. It finally came & ended but the memories will remain.

It began in most unusual fashion for me. I had the pleasure of accompanying to the match a Royalist newly settled in Dubai, his wife , son ( a very small Royalist of course ) and his Thomian father in law.. Well I have known for a while that Thomians prefer Royalists for their daughters for reasons best known to Thomians themselves..

I was surprised to spot the Iron Mans sweetheart ( the Iron woman) in the middle of the most unusual of all color combinations - blue black & blue. Thanks to the satellite connections I was able to remind her where her priorities should lie and at the end of the conversation , she made her way to the golden stand and as she sat down beside us, the sparkle in her eyes suggested what she was missing..

So I settled down in the company of the Iron woman , my friend and his foreign wife and the rest is history...

My batch & class mate who was in charge of the Rugby match was uncontactable until minutes before the end of the cricket match . No clarifications were given as to why his mobile phone was switched off

A cocktail of stimulating beverages and two packets of cigarettes later , It realized that we had lost the Cricket match , lost the Rugby match & won the veterans cricket match.. Despite the high intake of alcohol my purse was still heavy because when you said hello to someone you were offered a drink and as you know it is deemed inappropriate to turn down such kind offers . I think I bought only 2 drinks for me and must have bought 10 drinks for the others and the others did the same thing and so as time went by the mid pitch activities became irrelevant.

" You buggers have been practicing since last year " I told a Thomian who thinks that Horses are mans best friend and spends his time living with them . The grin on his face said it all - it was a well planned all out Thomain attack on the indomitable Royalists. As he galloped towards the black tent some one was heard saying " every dog has its day".

As Thomians were struggling to cross the 70 run mark , reacting to the comments made by the very able commentator ( a Royalist of course) some one from the crowd said that at 100 runs would be possible by next year.

While the lusty throats of the Royalists cheered in chorus - RRRRR -- OOOOH - YYYYY - AAAA - LLLH , the Thomians were heard murmuring the alphabet..

No one could explain much about the 7 feet Thomian who many believed was imported from CBO only for the rugby match..

As usual there were more female supporters for the Thomians, an area all Royalists must work hard at improving I thought.. It could also be that the members of the opposite sex feels "safe" to be with the lads from Mount Lavinia..

" It was more like we allowed them to win so that they can also taste the sweetness of victory which is something we the Royalists are accustomed to - a noble deed indeed , very similar to a Royalist offering a needy Bridgatien a lift at high noon " I explained to a lady friend of mine the day after..

There are matches , events , festivals so on and there is also the Royal / Thomian - over 100 years of tradition is thicker than water..

Hats off for Thomians for a job fantastically done .

Yes I was there & I will be in the years to come..

Regards -

Viraj Hewage (Royal College 88 group).