Speaker Evening

Sri Lanka was the subject at the Rotary Club of South Queensferry on Thursday 15th September. Rotarian Grainger Falconer gave an interesting and well-illustrated presentation of his time as an advisor and trainer to several government organisations at Negombo on the west coast of the country. Sri Lanka, known as Ceylon before independence in 1964, is almost the size of Ireland but has a population of twenty-two million split between the native Sinhalese people and the Tamils who, though settled in Sri Lanka for hundreds of years, originate in southern India. English is a bridge language between the two peoples who, until relatively recently, were engaged in a long and vicious civil war which still influences attitudes and behaviour. Despite this background, the Sinhalese are a friendly people who enjoy parties and have a holiday every full moon. Traces of the former Portuguese and Dutch colonial powers still linger in things like architecture and some family names while, according to Grainger, a significant legacy of the British colonial rule which started in 1804 can be seen in the antiquated hierarchies and administrative structures across all aspects of government. Grainger and his colleagues initiated a programme designed to bring such practices up to date. Over the years they met with considerable success, while making inevitable allowances for social and cultural differences. The assignment brought Grainger great satisfaction and was one of the most significant and satisfying achievements of his career.

Grainger Falconer was introduced by Drew Graham. The vote of thanks was proposed by Neil Mckinlay and President Graham Leith chaired the meeting.