‘It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday and the regular crowd has shuffled in’

It is not normal that The Bowman uses this column to pay tribute but in this case, in a year of special abnormality, we would like to continue in that vain by indeed paying tribute.

There was a tear or two in the eyes of more than one tough man on Friday evening when a wake was held – not for the death of a man or a friend but for the death of a way of life.

You see, The Curry Parlour, tucked away there in the old Mews, where the bread used to be baked (the guy who sells newspapers from his old bicycle can fill in those details with surprising meticulously repeated accuracy) had a kind of strange mystique about it that brought people together in a way that no politician or any ‘social cohesion’ programme could ever do.

Started perhaps 15 years ago by the late Ram (funnily enough across the road behind those bars where the Courier once hosted a Jail for Bail for the SPCA), Ram took over the old Edwards Restaurant and from there, the place sort of transmogrified into its own world.
It was the only venue of its kind that truly appealed to folk of all cultures.

Many a crazy character wandered through those doors, sat themselves down and told more than a tall story or two.
But that did not matter.
It was a place where souls met and reached out to come up with the Toy for Joys project which was started by Ram and made sure that, unlike East Coast Radio, the toys are given to those in need right here – where the money was raised. Ram’s son, Dev, continued in that vein for over 10 years in his quiet, simple way that brought more and more together to solve many problems – from delicate surgery, even more delicate court cases and solved the problems of many a sports team simply by chatting.

These Knights of Parliament even dabbled in bowls and action cricket not to mention the odd flutter on the horses.
They were a crazy, lovable kind of hodgepodge which even the guy who wrote the sitcom, Cheers so many years ago could never replicate.

The chatter has died down for now and, while we are sure whatever happens next in that hallowed place will be surely respectable, for now we just pay tribute to that regular (irregular) crowd that shuffled in on Saturdays and on any other day of the week you may like to choose.