Photos from the Blue Black & Blue Ball - 30th May 2009

Thomians in NSW celebrate 158 years of History

(The Blue Black and Blue Ball 2009)  

Thomians, their partners, friends and worthy foes, gathered at the PARRA VILLA Grand Ballroom in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday May 30 th 2009, for the annual STC OBA NSW ball. The weather was not the best and the traffic in Sydney made one wonder what had become of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). But this did not deter 400 hundred guests; from all walks of life, of varying faiths and community backgrounds; from flocking to the Grand Ball room of the PARRA VILLA to meet, greet, reminisce and dance the night away. Among the guests were Thomians from interstate and overseas. The OBA in Melbourne was represented by Mr Varney (Jr) and ex President Mr Nalin Dassenaike; the latter carried the House Flags (on loan from Melbourne to Sydney) that adorned the hall.

The ‘Emcee' Mr Duke Ramachandran opened proceedings for the night and invited the President Mr Richie De Silva to greet the guests. Richie spoke warmly of Thomian history with particular focus on the 2009 Royal-Thomian cricket match, where 11 teenagers had given themselves and the world a unique lesson in management. Then it was the turn of DJ Neil and Sri Lanka's best dance band MISTY, to transform the guests – all in ‘formal dress' - into a gyrating mass of rhythmic movement! This they did with professionalism. MISTY tested the audience, judged their mood to perfection and then set about the task of ‘delivering' with a sensitivity not often witnessed on the dance scene. They brought out the “party animal” in all, with a rich blend of jazzed up old-time favourites, local and international hits, all the while improvising, to suit their audience. And when most bands would stop for a break, MISTY acceded to the audience's ‘demand' for more and kept on going! The audience never had to stop dancing for lack of ‘musical motivation'! They stopped because to keep dancing may well have resulted in major knee surgery on Sunday morning!

The STC OBA committee worked tirelessly, ably assisted by their spouses and supporters. The audience did not disappoint. They came out decked in all their finery to have a great night. Thanks to clever marketing and community goodwill we had 18 prize winners on the night. It was a delight to see the young and the not so young blend with the beat, improvising on the run, to give visual expression to the words of a song. It was a good night of fellowship, song and dance for one and all.

Photographs covering the occasion was taken by Doug Jones.

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