The Archer

The Hooded Man

I’ve always had a thing for archery since I was little which shouldn’t be surprising with the classic Robin Hood going on TV. But I remember my uncle giving me a makeshift bow made from only a stick and string and I loved it. Played with it till it obviously like all new toys… it broke!

Other characters who used the bow include Rambo, The Green Arrow, Turok Dinosaur Hunter, and Nicholas Cage in ‘The Weatherman’ among others that I can’t remember.

Rambo hunting fish

So I thought about going for archery classes and Googled it. Pretty soon I came across the Colombo School of Archery which has classes that have already begun. No biggie since I’m not in a hurry to do it really.

But just a few days after this, I’m at the BMICH and I see a man and woman practicing in one of the grassy areas with their bows. I quickly run to them and ask to hold the bow. It was surprisingly heavier than I thought it would be and the string was pretty hard to pull back. You’d need to be strong to wield the bow properly. I watched them doing that long shot… you know the one like artillery where you shoot upwards to have it land further than a straight shot. Cool stuff.

I knew the bow itself would cost a fortune. I thought like 6,000 or maybe 20,000 rupees. So I ask the dude and he’s like…. “200,000!” and I’m like “Oh…shit! Aren’t there cheaper bows?” “No…” he says. But fortunately if you go to the academy they provide you with one for training. So if you’re good then you can buy one. Anyway the two practicing were professionals who represented Sri Lanka as Archers. Pretty coincidental bumping in to them like that.

Bang...You're dead!

Lastly a random tale my barber in the UK told me about archers. He was explaining a hand sign apparently used by archers.

According to him archers on the castle walls made a gesture that was like the ‘hand-gun’ when enemy soldiers approached the castle  (in old England I believe). The reason he said was that when archers were captured by enemy forces the index and middle finger were cut off before they were released. Why? Because without those two fingers you can’t pull the strings on your bow.

So it was a gesture that pretty much said “I’ve got my fingers bitch… you’re dead!”

Huka Falls

What a sensational destination! Wish I could go there… this waterfall in New Zealand has one of the best names ever conceivable.

But even better yet; it got really famous after a cricket umpire named Peter Plumley-Walker washed up dead downstream from the falls with his arms and legs bound. With the police digging around Huka, they began to uncover a sinister bondage scene in New Zealand. Renee Chignall, a local dominatrix was then tried for his murder. After three trials she was acquitted.

Also when you’re down there don’t forget to visit Huka Park…