Odds and Ends

Ugly scene outside beauty salon

A simmering dispute between two neighbours came to an unpleasant boil recently. The parties concerned are a SriLankan Airlines pilot and a former government official. Apparently, relations between the pilot and the ex-official had been strained for some time.

The pilot’s wife runs a beauty salon, and the steady stream of clients visiting the salon has been a source of annoyance to some of the neighbours living down the lane.

Things came to a head recently when an argument broke out between both men as the ex-official was trying to reverse his car up the lane.

The ex-official claims the pilot assaulted him and that he had to go to hospital for treatment. He consequently lodged a complaint with the police, but the pilot failed to turn up at the police station to answer charges. A court hearing is pending.

Dressing down from displeased parents

Students at a leading girls’ school in Kandy were taken aback when told they would have to attend the school’s annual walk last week dressed in denims and T-shirts with the school logo.

The directive came from the teacher in charge of the event. When some of the parents heard about the dress code, they were not happy. In fact, they had a lot to say about it. The girls come from a social background where skirt-and-blouse and sari are the preferred mode of female dress, whatever the occasion – indoors or outdoors, social or recreational.