Bronze Rat and Big story..

A Sri lankan tourist walks into a curio shop in San Francisco.

Looking around at the exotica, he notices a very lifelike,

Life-sized bronze statue of a rat. It has no price tag,

But is so striking he decides he must have it.

He takes it to the owner: "How much for the bronze rat?"

"Twelve dollars for the rat, one hundred dollars for the Story,"says the owner.

The tourist gives the man twelve dollars.

"I'll just take the rat, you can keep the story."

As he walks down the street carrying his bronze rat,

He notices that a few real rats crawl out of the alleys

And sewers and begin following him down the street.

This is disconcerting; he begins walking faster.

But within a couple blocks, the herd of rats behind

Him grows to hundreds, and they begin squealing.



He begins to trot toward the Bay, looking around to see

That the rats now numbered in the MILLIONS, and are still

Squealing and coming toward him faster and faster.



Concerned, even scared, he runs to the edge of the Bay

And throws the bronze rat as far out into the Bay as he

Can. Amazingly, the millions of rats all jump into the Bay

After it, and are all drowned.



The man walks back to the curio shop.


"Ah ha," says the owner, "You have come back for the Story?"

"No," says the man, "I came back to see if you have a statue of an Sri lankan politician in bronze!!

Obama & the Canadian PM

Obama & the Canadian PM

President Obama and the Canadian PM are shown a time machine which can see 50 years into the future. They both decide to test it by asking a question each.

President Obama goes first: "What will the USA be like in 50 years’ time?"

The machine whirls and beeps and goes into action and gives him a printout, he reads it out: "The country is in good hands under the new president, José Fernandez.... crime is non-existent, there is no conflict, the economy is healthy. Vice President Jin Tao has declared Chinese language mandatory in all USA schools there are no worries."

The Canadian PM thinks, "It's not bad, this time machine, I'll have a bit of that" so he asks: "What will Canada be like in 50 years’ time?"

The machine whirls and beeps and goes into action, and he gets a printout. But he just stares at it.

"Come on, Stephen " says Obama, "Tell us what it says."

"I can't!

It's all in Tamil!"

2011 Sri Lankan T20 Premier League News and Logos

The 2011 Sri Lankan T20 Premier League (SLPL) will be the first edition of the new official Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Sri Lanka.

Previously the tournament was known as the Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Tournament, but now Somerert Entertainment have restructured  the cricket leagues in the country.


The 2011 Sri Lankan T20 Premier League will include seven teams in total representing the provinces of Sri Lanka, with two new teams Nagenahira cricket team and Uthura cricket team participating in the competition.

The teams are as follows:
1. Basnahira
2. Kandurata
3. Nagenahira
4. Ruhuna
5. Uthuru
6. Uva
7. Wayamba


Team Logos (yet to be confirmed by SLC)

Limousine Display @ Sri Lanka, Ratnapura

Central Bank issues new currency notes

Press Release from Central Bank

Issue of a New Series of Currency Notes by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

            The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) will issue, for circulation, a new series of currency notes on the theme "Development, Prosperity and Sri Lanka Dancers" on 4th February 2011. This is the 11^th series of currency notes of the Central Bank to be issued since its establishment in 1950. The existing note series which was the 10^th series of circulation notes, was introduced by the CBSL in 1991, over 20 years ago.  The new series consists of six denominations i.e. Rs. 5,000, Rs. 1,000, Rs. 500, Rs. 100, Rs. 50 and Rs. 20. The high value Rs. 5000 note is being introduced to facilitate expansion in transactions that has taken place with the growth of the economy.

The main difference between the existing series and the new series is the size of the notes. The width of all notes in the new series is the same for all denominations, while the length increases by 5 mm from the lowest denomination to the highest.

The main features of the notes are as follows:

Denomination	Size	Predominant colour
Rs.    20	128 x 67 mm	Maroon
Rs.    50	133 x 67 mm	Blue
Rs.  100	138 x 67 mm	Orange
Rs.  500	143 x 67 mm	Purple
Rs. 1000	148 x 67 mm	Green
Rs. 5000	153 x 67 mm	Gold

The notes carry the signatures in facsimile of the Hon. Minister of Finance, His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal. The date on the notes is 01.01.2010.

Rs 20 note

            The front of the note depicts an artist's impression of a recent view of the Port of Colombo and an early view of the Port is in the background. The bird Sri Lanka Serendib Scops Owl appears to the right side of the note and on the lower left side of the note the butterfly,  the Baronet appears.

            When viewed vertically, on the back of the note at the centre, a Ves dancer and a Geta Bera drummer are depicted.  A guard stone with a Punkalasa (pot of plenty) which is a symbol of prosperity is on the right of the note. A stylized floral motif, Liya Vela appears along the right side of the note.

Rs 50 note

            The front of the note depicts an artist's impression of the newly constructed bridge at Manampitiya alongside the old bridge common to both road vehicles and trains. An ancient railway arch bridge in Sri Lanka appears in the background. To the right side of the note depicts the bird, Sri Lanka Dull Blue Flycatcher and the butterfly, the Blue Oakleaf   appears on the lower left side of the note.

            When viewed vertically, on the back of the note at the centre, a Vadiga Patuna dancer and a Yak Bera drummer appear. To the top right of the note appears  a Punkalasa Guard Stone and a Liya Vela appears along the right side of the note.

Rs 100 note

            The front of the note depicts an artist's impression of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant Project and the Laxapana waterfall with power cables surrounding it in the background. The bird, Sri Lanka Orange Billed Babbler appears on the right side and the butterfly, the Autumn Leaf appears on the  lower left side.

            When viewed vertically, on the back of the note, a Bharatanatyam dancer and a Mridangam drummer are depicted at the centre. A Naga Guard Stone appears to the top right of the note and a double floral design called a Dvithva Liya Vela appears along the right side of the note.

Rs 500 note

The front of the note depicts an artist's impression of the World Trade Centre and Bank of Ceylon Headquarters in the city of Colombo and the ancient Buddhist temple Lankathilaka Viharaya at Kandy in the background. The bird Sri Lanka Emerald Collared Parakeet (Layard's Parakeet) depicts on the right side of the note and on the lower left side appears the butterfly, the Ceylon Indigo Royal.  

            When viewed vertically, on the back of the note, a Thelme dancer and a Yak Bera drummer are depicted. On the top right of the note appears a Padmanidhi guard stone and a Dvithva Liya Vela appears along the right side of the note.

Rs 1000 note

                 On the front of the note, depicts an artist's impression of the newly constructed Ramboda Tunnel with the rock wall at the same location before construction, in the background. The bird Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is depicted to the right side of the note and the butterfly, the White Four Ring appears to the lower left side.

                 When viewed vertically, on the back of the note, a Malpadaya dancer and a Dawul Bera drummer are depicted. On the top right a guard stone with guardian deities appears and a Dvithva Liya Vela appears along the right side of the note.

Rs 5000 note

            On the front of the note depicts an artist's impression of the Weheragala Dam. The Canyon Dam appears in the background. The bird,  Sri Lanka Yellow Eared Bulbul is depicted on the right side of the note and the butterfly, the Lemon Migrant appears on the left side of the note.

            When viewed vertically, on the back of the note, a Nagaraksha dancer and a Guruluraksha dancer appear. The Rathnaprasadaya guard stone appears to the top right of the note and the Kalpavrksha floral design appears along the right side of the note.

     

The notes contain several current and new advanced security features as follows:

Watermark

Each currency note depicts a different bird as the watermark, which is the same bird portrayed on the note.  In addition, the value in numerals appears vertically as a highlighted watermark.

Security thread

The security thread in Rs. 20, Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 is a thin polyester thread embedded in to the note with the letters CBSL and the denomination, while a Starchrome ® security thread which changes colour from red to green is included in Rs.5000, Rs.1000 and Rs.500  with the width of  3mm, 2.5 mm and 2 mm, respectively.

Cornerstone ®

Cornerstone® watermark appears in the form of diagonal bars at each corner of every currency note.

See through

When the note is held up to the light, the numeral value of each note on the front (near the butterfly) comes together in perfect register with the reverse, on the back of the note.

Extra small text

When viewed closely below the butterfly, an area of text reading "CBSL" and the numeral value can be seen in all the notes.

Blind recognition feature

A vertical order of heavily printed dots (with one dot for Rs. 20 note) progressing according to denomination appears on the left side of the note to help the visually impaired to recognize the denomination.

Raised print area

A raised printed area with greater tactility is noticed in several places on the notes. e.g. On the front of the note – the Bank title, the central images, the value at  the bottom edge of the note and on the back of the note - the value at the bottom in numerals.

The first set of currency notes under the new series will be ceremonially issued to H E the President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Deyata Kirula Exhibition in Buttala on 4^th February 2011 by the Governor of the Central Bank Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal and to the public from 4^th to 10^th  February 2011 at the exhibition site. The new notes will be issued to the public through commercial banks from Monday, 7^th February 2011.

The following collector items will also be sold to the public at the Central Bank  Head Office Cash Counter, Money Museum at Rajagiriya  from 7^th February 2011 and CBSL Provincial Offices from 14^th February, 2011.

The selling prices are as follows:

                        Description                                                       Selling Price

Folder containing all six denominations                            Rs. 7,500.00

Folder containing Rs.5000 note                                       Rs. 5,500.00

Folder containing Rs.1000 note                                       Rs. 1,250.00

Folder containing Rs.  500 note                                       Rs.    750.00

Folder containing Rs.  100 note                                       Rs.    250.00

Folder containing Rs.    50 note                                      Rs.    200.00

Folder containing Rs.    20 note                                      Rs.    150.00

Uncut currency sheet of Rs 100 with 40 notes                 Rs. 7,000.00

            CD containing features of new notes                              Rs.    400.00

These new notes will be legal tender in Sri Lanka for the payment of any amount and will be a liability of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka whilst in circulation. The currency notes that already have been issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and are in circulation will continue to be legal tender for the payment of any amount within Sri Lanka.

A History of Tea Timeline

The Tea Story:

2737 B.C.
• The second emperor of China, Shen Nung, discovers tea when tea leaves blow into his cup of hot water or so the story goes.
350 A.D.
• A Chinese dictionary cites tea for the first time as Erh Ya.
400-600
• Demand for tea as a medicinal beverage rises in China and cultivation processes are developed. Many tea drinkers add onion, ginger, spices, or orange to their teas.
400
• Now called Kuang Ya in the Chinese dictionary, tea and its detailed infusion and preparation steps are defined.
479
• Turkish traders bargain for tea on the border of Mongolia.
593
• Buddhism and tea journey from China to Japan. Japanese priests studying in China carried tea seeds and leaves back.
618-907 T'ang Dynasty
• Tea becomes a popular drink in China for both its flavor and medicinalqualities.
648-749 
• Japanese monk Gyoki plants the first tea bushes in 49 Buddhist temple gardens.
• Tea in Japan is rare and expensive, enjoyed mostly by high priests and the aristocracy.
725
• The Chinese give tea give its own character ch’a.
729
• The Japanese emperor serves powdered tea (named hiki-cha from the Chinese character) to Buddhist priests.
780
• First tea tax imposed in China.
• Chinese poet-scholar Lu Yu writes the first book of tea titled Ch’a Ching (The Classic of Tea) in timely alignment with the Taoist beliefs. The book covers detailed ancient Chinese tea cultivation and preparation techniques.
805
• Buddhism and tea devotion spreads further.
• The Japanese Buddhist saint and priest Saicho and monk Kobo Daishi bring tea seeds and cultivation and manufacturing tips back from Chinaand plant gardens in the Japanese temples.
960-1280 Sung Dynasty
• Chinese tea drinking is on the rise, as are elegant teahouses and teacups carefully crafted from porcelain and pottery.
• Drinking powdered and frothed tea or tea scented with flowers is widespread in China while earlier flavorings fall by the wayside.
• Zen Buddhism catches on in Japan via China and along come tea-drinking temple rituals.
1101-1125
• Chinese Emperor Hui Tsung becomes tea obsessed and writes about the best tea-whisking methods and holds tea-tasting tournaments in the court. While “tea minded,” so the story goes, he doesn’t notice the Mongol take over of his empire.
• Teahouses in garden settings pop up around China.
1191
• Japanese Buddhist abbot Eisai, who introduced Zen Buddhism to Japan, brings tea seeds from China and plants them around his Kyoto temple.
1206-1368 Yuan Dynasty
• During the Mongol take over of China, tea becomes a commonplace beverage buy never regains its high social status.
1211
• Japanese Buddhist abbot Eisai writes the first Japanese tea book Kitcha-Yojoki (Book of Tea Sanitation).
1280
• Mongolia takes over of China and since the Emperor of Mongol isn’t a “tea guy,” tea drinking dies down in the courts and among the aristocracy. The masses continue to indulge.
1368-1644 Ming Dynasty
• At the fall of the Mongol take over, all teas — green, black, and oolong — is easily found in China.
• The process of steeping whole tea leaves in cups or teapots becomes popular.
1422-1502
• The Japanese tea ceremony emerges onto the scene. First created by a Zen priest named Murata Shuko, the ceremony is called Cha-no-yu, literally meaning "hot water tea" and celebrates the mundane aspects of everyday life.
• Tea’s status elevates to an art form and almost a religion.
1484
• Japan's shogun Yoshimasa encourages tea ceremonies, painting, and drama.

1589
• Europeans learn about tea when a Venetian author credits the lengthy lives of Asians to their tea drinking.

1597
• Tea is mentioned for the first time in an English translation of Dutch navigator Jan Hugo van Linschooten's travels, in which he refers to tea as chaa.
End of 1500s 
• Japanese tea master Sen-no Rikyu opens the first independent teahouse and evolves the tea ceremony into its current simple and aesthetic ritual. During this ceremony, one takes a garden path into a portico, enters upon hearing the host’s gong, washes in a special room, and then enters a small tearoom that holds a painting or flower arrangement to gaze upon. The tea master uses special utensils to whisk the intense powdered tea. Tea drinkers enjoy the art or flowers and then smell and slurp from a shared teabowl.
• Europeans hear about tea again when Portuguese priests spreading Roman Catholicism through China taste tea and write about itsmedicinal and taste benefits.
1610
• The Dutch bring back green tea from Japan (although some argue it was from China).
• Dutch East India Company market tea as an exotic medicinal drink, but it’s so expensive only the aristocracy can afford the tea and its serving pieces.
1618
• Chinese ambassadors present the Russian Czar Alexis with many chests of tea, which are refused as useless.
1635
• Tea catches on in the Dutch court.
• A German physician touts a warning about the dangers of tea drinking.
1637
• Wealthy Dutch merchants’ wives serve tea at parties.
1650-1700
• Tea parties become quite trendy among women across the social classes. Husbands cry family ruin, and religious reformers call for a ban.
1650
• The Dutch introduce several teas and tea traditions to New Amsterdam, which later becomes New York.
1657
• The first tea is sold as a health beverage in London, England at Garway's Coffee House.
1661
• The debate over tea’s health benefits versus detriments heightens when a Dutch doctor praises its curative side while French and German doctors call out its harmful side.
1662
• When Charles II takes a tea-drinking bride (Catherine Braganza of Portugal), tea becomes so chic that alcohol consumption declines.
1664
• English East India Company brings the gift of tea to the British king and queen.
• The British take over New Amsterdam, name it New York, and a British tea tradition ensues.
1666
• Holland tea prices drop to $80-$100 per pound.
1669
• English East India Company monopolizes British tea imports after convincing British government to ban Dutch imports of tea.
1670
• The Massachusetts colony is known to drink black tea.
1680s
• Tea with milk is mentioned in Madam de Sévigné’s letters.
• The Duchess of York introduces tea to Scotland.
1690
• The first tea is sold publicly in Massachusetts.
1697
• The first known Taiwanese cultivation and export of domestic tea takes place.
Late 1600s 
• Russia and China sign a treaty that brings the tea trade across Mongolia and Siberia.


18th Century
• The controversy over tea continues in England and Scotland where opponents claim it’s overpriced, harmful to one’s health, and may even lead to moral decay.
1702-14 
• During Queen Anne’s reign, tea drinking thrives in British coffeehouses.
1705
• Annual tea importation to England tops 800,000 pounds.
1706 
• Thomas Twining serves up tea at Tom’s Coffee House in London.
1717
• Tom’s Coffee House evolves into the first teashop called the Golden Lyon. Both men and women patronize the shop.
1723
• British Prime Minister Robert Walpole reduces British import taxes on tea.
1735
• The Russian Empress extends tea as a regulated trade.
• In order to fill Russia’s tea demand, traders and three hundred camels travel 11,000 miles to and from China, which takes sixteen months.
• Russian tea-drinking customs emerge, which entail using tea concentrate, adding hot water, topping it with a lemon, and drinking it through a lump of sugar held between the teeth.
1765
• Tea easily ranks as the most popular beverage in the Americancolonies.
1767
• The Townshend Revenue Act passes British Parliament, imposing duty on tea and other goods imported into the British American colonies.
• A town meeting is held in Boston to protest the Townshend Revenue Act, which leads to an American boycott of British imports and a smuggling in of Dutch teas.
1770
• Parliament rescinds the Townshend Revenue Act, eliminating all import taxes except those on teas.
1773
• In protest of British tea taxes and in what becomes known as the Boston Tea Party, colonists disguised as Native Americans board East India Company ships and unload hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor.
• Such “tea parties” are repeated in Philadelphia, New York, Maine, North Carolina, and Maryland through 1774.
1774
• A furious British Parliament passes the Coercive Acts in response to the American “tea party” rebellions.
• King George III agrees to the Boston Port Bill, which closes the Boston Harbor until the East India Company is reimbursed for its tea.
1775
• After several British attempts to end the taxation protests, the American Revolution begins.
1778
• Before the indigenous Assam tea plants is identified, British naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, hired by the East India Company, suggests that India grow plant and cultivate imported Chinese tea. For 50 years, India is unsuccessful.

1784
• Parliament further reduces the British import taxes on tea in an effort to end the smuggling that accounts for the majority of the nation's tea imports.
1785
• 11 million pounds of tea are brought into England.

1797
• English tea drinking hits a rate of 2 pounds per capita annually, a rate that increases by five times over the next 10 years.
1815-1831
• Samples of indigenous Indian tea plants are sent to an East India Company botanist who is slowly convinced that they are bona fide tea plants.

1826
• English Quaker John Horniman introduces the first retail tea in sealed, lead-lined packages.
1830
• Congress reduces U.S. duties on coffee and tea and other imports.
1833
• By an act of the British Prime Minister Charles Grey (the second Earl Grey and the namesake of the famous tea), the East India Company loses its monopoly in the trade with China, mostly in tea.
1835
• The East India Company starts the first tea plantations in Assam, India.
1837
• The first American consul at Canton, Major Samuel Shaw, trades cargo for tea and silk, earning investors a great return on their capital and encouraging more Americans to trade with China.
1838
• The first tea from Indian soil and imported Chinese tea plants is sold. A small amount is sent to England and quickly purchased due to its uniqueness.
1840s
• American clipper ships speed up tea transports to America and Europe.

1840s and 50s
• The first tea plants, imports from China and India, are cultivated on a trial basis in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
1840
• Anna the Duchess of Bedford introduces afternoon tea, which becomes a lasting English ritual.
1849
• Parliament ends the Britain's Navigation Acts, and U.S. clipper ships are allowed to transport China tea to British ports.
• Tea wholesaler Henry Charles Harrod takes over a London grocery store and grows it into one of the world's largest department stores.
1850
• Londoners get their first peak at a U.S. clipper ship when one arrives from Hong Kong full of China tea.
• U.S. clipper ships soon desert China trade for the more profitable work of taking gold seekers to California.
1856
• Tea is planted in and about Darjeeling, India.
1859
• Local New York merchant George Huntington Hartford and his employer George P. Gilman give the A&P retail chain its start as the Great American Tea Company store. Hartford and Gilman buy whole clipper shipments from the New York harbor and sell the tea 1/3 cheaper than other merchants.
1866
• Over 90 percent of Britain's tea is still imported from China.
1869
• The Suez Canal opens, shortening the trip to China and making steamships more economical.
• In a marketing effort to capitalize on the transcontinental rail link fervor, the Great American Tea Company is renamed the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.
• A plant fungus ruins the coffee crop in Ceylon and spreads throughout the Orient and Pacific, giving a hefty boost to tea drinking.
1870
• Twinings of England begins to blend tea for uniformity.

1872
• The Adulteration of Food, Drink, and Drugs Act deems the sale of adulterated drugs or other unlabeled mixtures with foreign additives that increase weight as punishable offenses.
1875
• A new British Sale of Food and Drugs Law calls adulteration hazardous to personal health and increases its legal consequences to a heavy fine or imprisonment.
1876
• Thomas Johnstone Lipton opens his first shop in Glasgow, using American merchandising methods he learned working in the grocery section of a New York department store.

1890
• Thomas Lipton buys tea estates in Ceylon, in order to sell tea at a reasonable price at his growing chain of 300 grocery stores.
Late 1800s 
• Assam tea plants take over imported Chinese plants in India and its tea market booms.
• Ceylon’s successful coffee market turns into a successful tea market.
1904
• Englishman Richard Blechynden creates iced tea during a heat wave at the St Louis World Fair.
1904
• Green tea and Formosan (Taiwanese) tea outsells black tea by five times in the U.S.
1908
• New York tea importer Thomas Sullivan inadvertently invents tea bags when he sends tea to clients in small silk bags, and they mistakenly steep the bags whole.
1909
• Thomas Lipton begins blending and packaging his tea in New York.
1910
• Sumatra, Indonesia becomes a cultivator and exporter of tea followed by Kenya and parts of Africa.

Sources:
www.inpursuitoftea.com
www.246.dk/teachronology.html (web link no longer valid)
McCoy, Elin and John Frederick Walker, Coffee and Tea, G.S. Haley Company, Inc., 1998.