Reunion (Part 3 of 3) : St.Aidan's Old Boys & Girls Reunion

The 70's gang(except Jeeva,who was born in the late 60's):left to right: Jeeva, Me, Nicole , Sheela, Shoba, Shirley , Seema, Kamalesh & Karu

The headmistress briefing everyone, about the current state of the school

Mr.Anbu welcoming everyone

Sister Usha keeping the crowd entertained with her warm and jovial speech

Three of the first batch students from St.Aidan (1958)

Everyone penning down their personal details according to the year they joined St.Aidan

Pretty maidens in a row...and they dont need saving!

Some of my mum's school mates

The current headmistress, Ng Tai Tai (in red) enjoying some finger-food

"Look at you,how you've grown"..when teacher meets student (Rodney-Nicole's brother)

The committee team being called out

So..the day finally arrived. We were half an hour late, no thanks to the extended 30 minutes we put up on the field (see article below). The crowd had trickled in slowly .It started off with about 40 people,and would eventually swell to about 65. The current headmistress was already half way through her speech.

The girls had arrived too.Nicole, Seema,Shoba,Sheela and Shirley.All from the same batch.I looked around for any other familiar faces,hoping anyone from my batch would be there,but to no avail.There were people from all ages,race,shapes and size. My mum had sent me on a mission to unearth anyone from her batch, and by the end of the 2 hour event, I had met three of her school mates.

The event was well managed by Mr.Anbu and Usha Appadorai, and the highlight of the evening was the selection of the preliminary committee for the 50th year anniversary event.The committee was split into two sections,one for the KL team and the other for the Bahau team.The KL team would be spearheaded by Usha, and Mr.Anbu would help out with the Bahau troops. There was also a mention about another gathering in KL for the KL old boys and girls to catch up.It has now been scheduled for the 12th of May. A list of all the committee members will be made available to all attendees.

There was a short networking session after the gathering, and our hosts were kind enough to have sponsored some good finger food and drinks. I took as many photos as I could before speeding off for the Liverpool-Arsenal match.

I leave you with a quote about old friends by the Dalai Lama.It serves as a timely reminder to keep in touch with our friends through our busy lives.
“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day”

Reunion (Part 2 of 3):Everybody loves Mr.Slide

Seema vs Nicole.Two childhood buddies.....Readyyy....set......

..........go!!!Nicole wins by a mile!

We did it!!!

Karu and Kamalesh have a go...

Vicky and Vimal proving size doesnt matter!

View from the top... and the bald patch steals the limelight!

Viji finding the child in him....

I have stood in the hallways of my adulthood peering at doors,windows and and furniture and wondered how in the world they have gotten to be so small.Its funny how something that looked so large when you were a kid, looks kinda miniature when we're all grown up.I guess, being an adult robs our vision of the best things in life.

But sometimes, the flow of life creeps right back into us,and yanks us out of our artificial shell transforming us back into our original selves...the child again.For some, it involves toys,a park, a favourite holiday spot, a song....

In St.Aidan that honor goes to a rather unusual slide. One that runs along with steps in the middle, perhaps symbolically representing adulthood and childhood.If we took the steps and carefully made our way down in a safe and structured manner, it seems very adult like.However, if we decided to get there in the most fun,unpredictable, and precarious manner, then we would go down the slide, representing the essence of being child like.

The pictures above speak for themselves.Enjoy life, coz there are no re-runs.Unless...you become a kid again!

St.Aidan Reunion(Part 1 of 3):It started with football and ended with football!!

"Aiyo!the heat,the heat.."Kamalesh in the background,slumped on his knees and wishing he was in Tioman or something.

Vicky saying "enough is enough"..on his way to a solo effort.

Hips dont lie,folks.30 minutes in,and the hands on the hips dance continues...

Fuyoh....the samba begins

Crouch on a hat-trick, and Liverpool demolished Arsenal 4-1 on March 31st

"Siva,there's going to be a football match organized before the reunion.Involving some Bahau guys". That was all that was needed to send my pulse reeling.Jeeva had opened a can of worms inside my head.Images of me writhing in agony,swollen shins,bruised ego,broken bones.They all came flooding back.I mean I must go down in history as the only guy who dislocated his shoulder on a badminton court (actually more like my whole arm came off from its socket).Let's see now...I've had five fractures,4 broken bones including my nose,torn all the ligaments and tendons in my thigh,ankles and knee. Not a bad record...but not an accomplishment that I'd want to add to,no thank you.

But, old habits die hard.There we were, 4pm in the blazing sun,on of all places, St.Aidan's school field.Each one warming up,and trying hard to put up a macho act in front of each other, waiting for our 6-a-side match to take place.I knew most of the guys..Jeeva,Kamalesh,Vicki,Vimal and our very own version of Jamie Carragher,Viji.5 minutes of a kick-about and I was already panting,with my tongue almost seeking medical aid on the grass.Mannnn...was I so out of shape???Yup...my brain answered...in fact it was a unanimous decision between all ten toes and fingers. 20 minutes later, we had a whole bunch of old boys joining us, and after splitting the team, we got into full gear.

Let's put it this way..the car only went into third gear,before reversing and dying down to a slow painful death . But...this wasnt a Spartan field.Heck,it was footie..and before long, we had out-done the opposition by 4-1.There were no swords exchanged, but more like stumbling bodies, wobbly legs and some super cool samba jiggy by the guys that would have made Ronaldinho proud..or puke!!!Viki was like a German tank, Vimal was the "ice-cool" ladies man, Jeeva was roughing it up like an army general, Kamalesh was like the Steven Gerard of Sentul , and Cikgu Prakash packed in more energy than all of us combined on tongkat ali.Viji was crowned Man of the Match since the opposition proclaimed that all he did was sit in front of the goal and put his body in front of the ball.The tactic worked for us, and he huffed and puffed to a well deserved "non-existing" award. I must say we all stretched every muscle in our body and even ones we never knew existed.It didnt feel that bad trooping off the field. But the sun had left its mark on us...we were like fried turkeys re-fried,but we didnt care.It was so damn humid,and all we wanted was our 100 Plus,and a cool shower.

We had a choice between stripping off and using the old school taps to wash-off.But that would have been cruel to the rats,cats and dogs of Bahau.They didnt deserve to die horrible deaths watching us in our birthday glory.Instead,we hopped over to a small hotel beside the school.It was only RM 30 for an air-cond room, and that would do for a shower at least.Our eyes popped and jaws dropped to the floor when we saw the state of the hotel room.Pulau Jerjak prisoners would have had much better lodging and the bathroom was like from another "Alam Flora meets Indah Water" planet.We tried to shut our brains to stop ourselves from conjuring up sleazy images of past residents of the room...but it just wouldnt go away.But..let's not go into that.I promised Vimal I'd spare everyone, graphic shots from the room.

Anyway...fast forward to after the reunion.Kamalesh,Viji and myself were franticallly looking at our watches.7.50...good lord..10 minutes of the Liverpool-Arsenal game was already playing.Either we sped back to our respective hometowns to catch at least the last 15 minutes of the game, or find a restaurant with a TV showing the match.Cikgu was our saviour. He got us fast to a nice Cafe (I think it was called Nine after Night) where the match was projected onto a white screen, which was,unfortunately upside down.All that mattered as we cringed our heads sideways, was that "Liverpool 1, Arsenal 0". Yes!!!

The guys got their beers, and we all tucked in hungrily over our nice chicken chop dinners, which I must say,was pretty decent. But the pace of the game on the screen distracted our munching mouths to engage our arms in victorious punches as Crouch notched up another two goals with Agger bagging the other for a memorable victory (no..wait..wait..more like bazooka-ing the hell out of Arsenal's fortress). Pity there werent any Arsenal fans among us, and even the Man U supporters were happy enough to see a Liverpool victory.It was a great way to end such an eventful day. After the game, We shook hands,bade goodbye and went along our own ways.Each promising we'd keep in touch, and with the hope that we could organize another game during the 50th year anniversary event in October.

As I drove past the old school field, the night air filled me images of the times I used to run around the field when I was a kid.I remember the late evenings when i used to practice kicking the ball into the open goal.I'd imagine myself as Ian Rush, and try to score from 40-50 metres out, to the thunderous roar and applause of phantom audiences. I remember all the sports meets,and the sprint events I took part in.I remember once when I was 7, I challenged my mum around the 200m bend, and she beat me flat.I remember trying to fly a kite in the glorious wind, and failing miserably.I remember the whole field was once flooded,and yet, we stubbornly tried to play football in it. And even the girls joined in too, (mind you, this was way before movies like "Gol and Gincu and Bend it Like Beckham")

Where have all those fun days gone to?

It only took me 30 seonds to drive past my beloved old school field, but it brought me back 30 years in time to a place where so much happened.To me it wasnt just a field, it was more like an ocean of memories...and I'm thankful that I got to at least swim again through its everlasting tide.

p/s the following day, it was noted that many of the battered soccer warriors became very religious people.Legend had it that many of them were found sprawled on their beds, clutching their sides groaning "Oh, god!Oh!god!"