Papa Panov

This year I had my second only ever northern hemisphere Christmas. The first one was in Japan (long time ago now), and was a pretty special day for me as I woke up to a 'winter wonderland'... the first snow fall of the year. It was soft and deep and incredibly beautiful and rather than being home sick I was in a small village at the foot of a mountain feeling quite awestruck. Being in Hong Kong for Christmas has been special for a different reason. People! As the snow reflected the beauty and wonder of the One who sent it... so the people here have reflected Him to me this year and especially this Christmas.

Last Saturday evening we were treated to a premier performance of the apparently well-known Christmas musical, "Papa Panov" by Leo Tolstoy, with an international cast of children from our very own school, our director Mal as Papa Panov and his wife Sal as narrator as well as an international band of musicians!



It was a stunning performance, thoroughly enjoyed by all. If you don't know the Papa Panov story, (as I didn't), you can read it here. For the complete album of photos, click here.

Papa Panov was followed by dinner a la delicious with ham and baked veges and many a dessert from the hands of our own talented team members. After dinner Helen Mottee and her good friend Shelley did a performance of sorts. Helen played and sang while Shelley drew... kind of Rolph Harris style, where an image slowly emerges from seeming blobs of nothing.







It was even more amazing when an ultra-violet light was shone on the finished product to reveal parts of the picture that were hidden in normal light.



And then we had the pressie frenzie to beat all pressie frenzies... Not even an extended Hopkins family get together pressie frenzie could compare to this. We were each requested to buy a HK$5 gift (approx 75c AUD) for every other person on team that would be present on the night which was 63 people. (Crossroads covered the cost so that no-one would miss out or feel that they couldn't afford to participate). Some teamed up with others and pooled their money to buy more 'expensive' gifts, but in the end there were a LOT of gifts exchanged. Each of us was given a sack with our names on it to collect up the bounty and then it was a good 45 minutes of shouting each others names in order to give each present to the right person. I was so caught up in the moment I forgot to take pictures but it was truly an experience and the intention to make each person feel special and 'showered' with gifts while away from home was well achieved. It was great fun! Here's a post-pressie-frenzie pic...



On Christmas day we had a birthday party for the One who makes Christmas Christmas with a time of sharing what we each would like to give to Him this year... and then naturally... FOOD!! Most of us have this week off up until the 2nd, so it's a time of rest and hanging out with friends... catching up on emails and blogging... and a bit of pottering around the house. How that floor shines!

May the new year bring many good things your way as you say goodbye to 2007! (Remember you can see a larger version of any of the above photos by clicking on them).

Do you?

At the beginning of 2007, the number of people of concern to UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) was a record 32.9 million. They included:
• 9.9 million refugees ...30%
• 12.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs) ...39%
• 5.8 million stateless people ...17%
• 2.6 million returned refugees and IDPs ...8%
• 740,000 asylum seekers ....2%
• 1,000,000 ‘others of concern’ to UNHCR.

Do you know what it’s like to be on the run?
Do you know?
What it is to leave it all behind
At the point of a gun
Do you know?

Do you know how it feels to lose your family?
Do you know?
What it is to have been free
But now to be
A refugee

Do you know what it is to have no rights?
Do you know?
What it is to keep on hiding
Through an endless night
Do you know?

Do you know how it feels to hear a mine explode?
Do you know?
What it is to see your child blown apart
On this going nowhere road.
Do you know?

I’m a refugee
I have no choice
I have no voice
I’m a refugee
I have no place
I have no face
Would someone look at me?

These are the words of a song written by Helen Mottee, a singer song-writer and friend who works with me in the Comms department at Crossroads. The UNHCR was quite taken with 'Do You' and are considering adopting it as their official theme song. The song was recorded and produced by Warren Barnett ("Australia's leading independent mastering technician") along with musicians and the Green Valley Youth Choir all giving their time and efforts for no cost. We recently finished producing a music video to go with the song, with many hours of hard work put in by our video guru Lin. I had the opportunity to work on the still graphics. Here it is...



Yesterday I sent out my December newsletter by email. If you didn't happen to get it and would like to, you can now download my newsletters from the links under "newsletters" to your left. (As I happened to forget to embed the decorative font that I used in this latest newsletter, you may like to download it again to see it looking it's best). To see the photos from mum and Vicki's recent visit to Hong Kong click here. For the full story of our adventures see the newsletter :)

Doggies Do

A refreshing breeze swung through Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago heralding the arrival of Autumn. It's as if Autumn took a deep breath and very gently blew away the heat and the humidity of Summer and continues even now to be a lovely cooling presence as if to personally ensure that Summer won't return. Even the pollution has eased off a little. In relation to Summer it is hard to put into words just how very wonderful it feels to be cool. Maybe we could rename the seasons of Summer and Autumn and call them Hot-&-Bothered and Blessed-Relief respectively. The only thing about Blessed-Relief is that it seems to have brought the Commoncole with it and some of us have been gallantly fighting off this lurgy including me. I think I'm on the mend now. I really have to be because...

Mum and Vicki are arriving in Hong Kong late tomorrow!

I'm so excited. I have an Old-Knees-Friendly itinerary planned which leans more towards your Night Harbour Cruise With Buffet Dinner and High-Teas style of activities and less of your Trekking Up and Down Mountains type of thing. I'm having the week off work and will be staying with mum and Vicki in a holiday flat in Kennedy Town which is about 15 minutes on the tram from the CBD on Hong Kong Island. Nicely central. I've charged up all my camera batteries so you can look forward to plenty of pics being uploaded of our traipsing around Hong Kong. Woot woo!

I mentioned our resident dogs in my latest newsletter (if you didn't get it and would like to be on the mailing list click here to drop me an email and let me know). Here's a little clip of Merry and Pippin waiting outside my door in the morning in anticipation of a W-A-L-K... They were a little put off by the camera, so the greeting was more subdued than usual, (not as much jumping up and bowling me over) but you get the idea...



For more pics of Merry and Pippin (including a walk we went on this afternoon) click here. And for a fuller collection of DJ and Liz's wedding photos, click here.

And while you're looking at pics, if you'd like to have a look at some of the photos the girls in my photography class have been taking, they have each started a web album of their favourite 3 images from each lesson. Go to 'Links' to your left and find Georgie's Pics and Hilary's Pics. They are learning little things to improve their photography even though they only have point and shoot digital cameras. I think they are doing really well at it.

Weddings, Parties and other things....

Last Monday, we had the biggest Crossroads social event ever in the form of the much anticipated wedding of DJ and Liz (affectionately known as Deeje and Whiz). Aside from the fact that they had it on the first of October which happens to be my birthday, it was a truly memorable day and I think worthy of a detailed report. As it is our newsletter writing day this coming Friday, I thought I might save the story and for that. I was asked to take photos on the day along with 2 other girls and am currently working my way through some 5 gigs worth (that’s a lot for those who aren’t so technically minded) - compiling, culling, cropping and colour correcting. I have managed to get the collection down to a mere 500 photos and am not quite half way through making sure each one is up to standard! When the photos are ready I’ll upload some to my web album. If you want to see DJ & Whiz’s website that I helped to work on have a look here. You’ll find some of the photos that Carine took there too. Here's one I took of the beautiful bride...



Of course anyone who is anyone was there, including Miss Dally who came donning a gorgeous Indian number belonging to the wife of Kamal (Australian singer)...



Pre wedding of course there was a bucks night (for the guys, obviously) and a hen’s night (for the chickies of course) and several other celebratory events such as a dessert night and a henna night. The henna night was for the girls and we painted each others hands and feet with intricate patterns using henna dye which lasts for about 2 weeks – (hence it was exactly 2 weeks before the wedding). Riba and I shared the privilege of painting the bride’s hands back and front… here is the result:



The hen’s night was great time of getting to know Whiz better and encouraging her in her bride-to-be-ness. One of the things we did was split into groups to create a ‘wedding dress’ from newspaper for various appointed 'brides'. There were some stunning designs as you can see…!



On to a more personal event that has been pre-occupying me the past few weeks and that is moving into a single flat on my own. I began to feel that at my age and stage and after many many years of share flatting, it might just be time to spread my wings and move out on my own. It so happened that when I voiced this desire to Maria who oversees who lives where, that there was in fact a single flat being renovated and as yet no one in line to live in it. I was SO her man! It had been suffering from The Damp and needed a roof repair as well as ceilings and walls scraped, sealed and painted. I watched over the weeks as each stage was completed by a variety of volunteer teams including some from the US Navy, the British Consulate and the Doulos mission ship all headed up by Kenny who was here at Crossroads for 5 weeks and who I know from my time living in Berowra.



When everything was pretty much in place, Riba, Jes, Pablo and Helen came over (on a random public holiday we had in the middle of the week) and helped to scrape the old contact off the windows (Riba, Jes & Helen) and drill holes in the walls (Pablo) for shelves and hooks and things like that. What a difference we made in one afternoon! Now the place is looking fab and just needs some pictures on the walls to decorate it a little. The Harrisons joined us for a little house-warming cheese cake that Pablo made to celebrate. Sharing flats can be great and I’ve made some of my best friends from my share-living experiences, but there’s something about having a little plot of space that is my own that is really sitting very well with me!



For a weather update, the pollution has reached ‘health hazard’ levels which isn’t surprising since there’s a visibility of pretty much zero out to sea. I’ve bunked down at home with air-con and air-purifier in the hopes of sparing my lungs from the filth as much as possible. Hopefully it will pass soon, It’s already been 3 days and apart from anything else is not a pretty sight!

We have had a lot of visitors and people coming and going from Crossroads lately, what with The Wedding and all, so I decided to bite the bullet and join the People Movers team – those who have been here less than a year (so can drive legally on their home license) or have a Hong Kong drivers license and are thus able, and hopefully willing, to do airport runs for pickings up and droppings off. After doing 2 runs with the help and guidance of other people, I dropped a lady off this morning under my own sense of direction and on a wing and a prayer made it there and back. It’s actually a fairly straight forward drive and takes less than half an hour, but I know that one wrong ‘veer to the left’ could mean ending up on the freeway to Kowloon and I’m not emotionally prepared for that just yet, so my concentration levels have been quite intense!

For my birthday, my department gave me a gift voucher to Ikea (very thoughtful!) which I happily went off to ‘spend’ yesterday. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Ikea, but I’m pretty sure this one is a particularly large version of the store. It’s more of an EXPERIENCE than a shop. For one, it’s nearly endless. The top floor (which is huge) is all displays so you can see how all the lovely things work together and dream on (and on)… and then downstairs, which has the same floor space as upstairs, are all the items (and more), only packaged and ready to go. By the time I got to the checkout, I felt like a different person. My eyes had been opened to the world of (serious and deliberate) home making. And I had a trolley of exciting little additions to my new home, so I was pleased-as-punch even though I was thoroughly ready to go home and put my feet up on one of the cool poofs (pouffes?) I got from our Furniture Department. He he!

I've put up some more photos of the girls henna and hen's nights as well as my new flat here.

Bisy Backson

First things first and this is old news but still newsworthy... I'm an aunty again! Bonnie was born to Tina and Jason on 25th of July much to Tina's immense relief as the pregnancy was no fun at all but thankfully it was all worth it... isn't she lovely? (Jessie and Dax certainly look pleased!)



So hopefully by now you've read my latest newsletter and you know all about the Bisy Backson that I've been. It's over a month since my last post, but now that you've read the newsletter, there's only my day trip to Tai O left to report.



Kathryn, Nic, Laura, Amanda and I headed off to Tai O one very smoggy Sunday (yes, the winds have changed and the days of clear skies are pretty much over until next year I am told - sigh). The visibility of zero was a little disappointing, but there was no mistaking our arrival at Tai O, a fishing village on the west side of Lantau Island, for it's distinctly dried-seafood smell. I would be surprised if there was anything seafood that you couldn't get in Tai O. The village is mostly made up of houses on stilts and small stalls selling all manner of sea creatures, wet and dried. We arrived hungry, as you do, so headed straight for 'The Good View' restaurant which was completely lacking in windows let alone a good view - rather a point of curiosity. But the lack of a view hardly interferes with serious eating so we concentrated on the food, which filled the empty tummies but nothing worth writing home about - except perhaps for the ugliest prawns you ever did see which Nic insists are called Pissing Prawns. They are mostly shell and guts from what I could tell. I'm usually willing to give a food item at least one go and came to conclude that these little critters weren't worth the effort for the tiny morsel of meat you end up with after all the other bits are removed. The other girls were of the same mind so it was left to Nic to dispose of the entire plate of prawns. It wasn't a lot of food, just extremely time consuming. But we all thought he persevered well and got his money's worth and we finally moved on to see the sights and smell the oceanic odors that Tai O had to offer.



After exploring the market and some of the village, we hopped on a little boat which for the grand total of $3 (AUD) took us out to sea to look for dolphins and then back through a canal lined with stilted houses. There weren't any dolphins which was hardly surprising as the outboard motor on the boat would have driven away anything with any sensitivity (and I believe dolphins are rather sensitive - at least they have enough sense to keep away from these loud boats and gawking tourists), but the ride was fab... especially going through the canal and seeing how people live on the water's edge. I've included a short video clip for you to see:



I have also posted some photos which you can view by going to the link under 'my pics' called 'Tai O - Sep 07. I've got more pics of other things I've been doing... will try to upload them soon. Lotsalove xxx

Junk Cruise

A lady from church invited our 30's social group to join her and her visiting friends on a Junk Cruise yesterday. We sailed from Central to a small island to the south of Hong Kong Island called Po Toi. When I was told it was a Junk Cruise, I had visions in my mind of a wooden boat with bright red sails, but it turns out the modern day 'junk' isn't quite so romantic. None the less it was a fabulous day especially as the air is still so clean (that is to say, the winds are still blowing in our favour and there's barely any pollution). We were caught briefly in heavy rain as we were sailing, but most of the time it was just fine and very cloudy.

We got off at Po Toi just in time for the second heavy deluge of water from the heavens, perfectly timed for the 5 minute walk to the seafood restaurant at which we all arrived looking like a collective something the cat dragged in. But it's not like it was your typical posh Sydney seafood dining experience... This little in-the-middle-of-nowhere joint had us entering through a storage room off the kitchen... there were people packed in like sardines and a dog eating scraps under the tables. That is all to say, bedraggled as we were, we fit in perfectly well, and were soon hoeing in to some fabulous fare. I'm not much of a seafood fan, but even I liked everything on offer, including clams which I decided I may as well just try, very much expecting to not like them but they were fantastic. The Chinese have a way with sauces! We ate fit to bursting, then waddled back along the path to the jetty where our 'junk' picked us up and tootled around to a little bay of the same island for a swim off the back of the boat and rather a lot of talking and various amounts of drinking (including a "boutique beer" from New Zealand that Melanie brought along with the thickest, creamiest froth you ever saw)...



When the sun was just about finished with the day, our captain started up the motor and took us back via the other side of Hong Kong Island to our starting point at Central. It was a balmy evening and we enjoyed the cool wind and spectacular view from the front of the boat, the light of the sun slowly fading as urban lights popped to life on the islands around us. By the time we came in to the harbour we were treated to an amazing festival of lights from all the apartment buildings and perfectly timed to watch the nightly laser show which is beamed off the commercial high rise buildings on both sides of the harbour. All in all, a superb day! Check out the full photographic evidence under My Pics - Po Toi Cruise.



While you're at My Pics, have a look at the photos from my time in Sydney last week - the link is called Sydney July 07.

Lamma Island

Yesterday was a spectacularly clear and hot day and a group of us from my church headed off to Lamma Island (one of Hong Kong's many outlying islands). The plan was to stop for lunch upon arrival at one end of the island and walk to the other end (a good hour's walk) with a refreshing swim along the way. We had the lunch. Some of us had the swim, but the hour's walk was happily forfeited (by me at least) with the view of tackling it at a later and rather much cooler date. Lamma Island has no roads because there aren't any cars (or is it the other way around) and it has a wonderful holiday, bohemian feel to it. There are bars and restaurants and shops selling all manner of things from clothes and knick-knacks to seafood, fruit & veg, snacks and plastic things to play with at the beach. It's great! In fact I started day-dreaming about living there until I thought through the logistics of carrying shopping home from Hong Kong island (there's no supermarket on Lamma), or purchasing something large like say, a fridge... and I decided it may be more fun for day trips or holidays.

The beach was a 15 minute walk from where we had lunch, by which time we were wet with sweat from the stroll in the heat. One of the girls taught me how to say "my clothes are wet" in Cantonese which I think might be a useful expression as an answer to "how are you?" eg. "How are you?", "my clothese are wet". It pretty much sums up the situation... basically saying, "well, hot and bothered actually, thanks for asking". I was really looking forward to having a swim and was BITTERLY disappointed to find that the water was FILTHY. I mean, we had plastic bags in every stage of disintegration and all manner of other waste. It quickly became apparent that none of the foreigners on the beach were going in. Apart from that it was warm and the whole effect was like a tepid soup going off in the sun. It's not always like that we were assured by an expat resident. It was coming from the River Delta in China. China has a lot to answer for!!

After not swimming at the beach we had a cup of cold elderberry tea at a little tea farm and then 3 of our gang went on to explore the windmills and the rest of us turned around and headed back to the ferry. Which we missed by 30 seconds. Note to self: now THAT would be annoying if you were heading to work in the morning if you lived here. So we went back to the nearest bar to take the edge off the disappointment and general 'hot and botheredness'. The drink did wonders and before we knew it the next ferry was due and we headed home. Can't wait to go back. Check out the pics - the link is under 'my pics' called "Lamma Island July 07".

It's June!

Not the month, the woman herself! June Dally-Watkins is staying with us here for the week, as she does a number of times each year (her being an ambassador for us and we being her charity of choice). It's been an experience for me to meet her now after doing one of her 'finishing' courses SO many years ago. Not sure that I came out very 'finished' but I've been re-inspired just now after she gave us a short workshop on Being The Best You Can Be. The image that will stay with me for some time yet is the startling effect of posture on one's being. June just carries herself well and it's part of who she is but I had no idea that that is one of the very great reasons that she looks so GREAT for having just become an octogenarian. She performed a number of serious slouches for us and she sudden looked all her years. Just like magic, as she re-poised herself, voila... an incredibly fine example of ageless womanhood! So, she had us all 'sitting up like jacki' (as me mudda would say) and speaking proper-like (still gotta werk on that one) and thinking about good health and nails and smiling with teeth showing and not bearing belly buttons with chandeliers hanging off them (as is the latest fashion), and in fact, not to go for latest fashions at all but to go for STYLE darlings! (I'm fine with abandoning fashion but acquiring style will be a challenge). I have to say though that I'm posturally inspired. I've got a new appreciation for and determination to be Properly Upright. My chiropractor will be pleased.

I sat with June at lunch one day this week and it was such a pleasure! I just have to know more about her so I've gone and bought her book on ebay and she's promised to sign it for me when she returns in September! (I feel like an excited kid.) I had to tell her the story of nana winning a radio competition (quite some years ago) because she guessed the mystery voice to be June Dally-Watkins. I'm sure that has endeared her to me greatly!

A case of wind

Hong Kong has wind and it's coming from the South. So? Well, in winter the wind come from the north, bringing along with it what seems to be ALL of China's pollution. It's not a pretty sight and quite spoils what is otherwise a beautiful harbour city. Not to mention the effect it has on one's respiratory system. But something rather wonderful has happened of late... the wind has done a little 180 and is now coming from the south, across the clean oceans, bringing fresh, clean air. At the moment the air is SO clean and the distant mountains SO visible that there are a few conspiracy theories cropping up. One I heard at lunch today being that the Chinese government has temporarily reduced factory output in order to clean up the air for the 10th anniversary celebration of Hong Kong's handover to China which happens to be next weekend. Sounds like it has some merit but the general consensus was that in the end it's just a descent case of wind.

Here's a pic I took of Tuen Mun from the Gold Coast when I first got here this year:



Here's the same mountain taken a couple of days ago - (the mountains are often catching clouds like this)...



Crossroads site is between this mountain and the pink blocks of flats. The Gold Coast hotel is the building to the left of the flats...

Sailing the High Teas...

It's curious and somewhat spooky, but my computer seems to know that I'm in Hong Kong. Of late it has taken the liberty of presuming that being in HK I must speak Chinese and would therefore appreciate some of my websites in the said Chinese. Clever as it is, I don't appreciate my websites in Chinese actually. For no apparent reason, my whole blog editing interface is now Chinese and since I can't read it I have no idea how to make it sensible again. So it could be a little bit trial and error but let's see how we go...

This posting is dedicated to Cousin Kate who has been waiting all week to see photographic evidence of my High Tea At The Ritz Carlton experience, since I casually dropped it into the conversation to her in an email. Being the High Tea Queen and the one who introduced me to whole beloved concept (with her very own home-made High Tea At The Ritz Manly) SHE will at least appreciate the following joyous vision:



Oh lovely sweet morsels!!!

To my privilege and delight I was invited to join Katrina and her 2 friends Yuki and Christina for high tea last weekend, thanks to Yuki winning a prize draw at work... high tea for 4 at the Ritz Carlton. It was an English portal in downtown Hong Kong, complete with chandeliers, old-fashioned high-backed chairs with round dark wood tables, live piano music and well-to-do society... a delight for all the senses, as per this little clip of video:



For more pics, check out the High Tea link under my pics to your left.

Ligers and Tigons…

A couple of weeks ago I got the exciting news that my working visa had finally been issued by the Hong Kong Immigration department (5 months after applying). I was quite beside myself as it means I’m no longer on a holiday visa which needs renewing every 3 months. Another guy here called Ben was issued his visa as well and as we needed to leave the country in order to have them validated, we decided to go to Shenzhen in China for the day.

We arrived at about lunch time so naturally the first port of call was to find food. Shenzhen is where Hong Kongers go for Serious Shopping as there is a huge complex selling all manner of bargains (if you haggle well) right at the boarder where you come out of customs. That seemed the best place to start… We entered the building to be immediately accosted by a crowd of enthusiastic shop-owners (mostly women) all shouting “you buy missy missy you buy pelicure maniclure deebeedee copy watch missy missy you buy??” Our first taste of Chinese pushiness. We managed to stay focused and followed some big signs that promised food, up lots of escalators and round and round until we realised we might need some help and shouted into the chaos: “dim sum!??” Suddenly a lady manifested from nowhere wearing a restaurant uniform, armed with menu. She gently but firmly steered us through a rabbit-warren of aisles, past a plethora of interesting shops and enthusiastic sellers desperate for our esteemed patronage, to a wonderful looking dim sum restaurant at the edge of the complex looking out on China (actually it was mainly overlooking the bus terminal, but in the excitement of the moment it was the whole of China waiting to be discovered).



The dim sum did the trick, we paid in Hong Kong dollars as the guide book promised we could do and after looking at our options decided we would visit the Shenzhen Safari Park located “in the north.” It was a bit of a surprise therefore to find the bus conductor refusing to take our Hong Kong dollars to pay for the ride. During the ensuing comical game of charades which finally ended in a kindly man on the bus exchanging our dollars from his own wallet, the realisation slowly dawned that outside of the “you-buy-missy-missy” shopping centre on the boarder, we were in China and we were on our own. There were no foreigners to be seen. There appeared to be no-speak-a-da-ingrish and there was definitely no accepting of foreign monies!

Shenzhen is a SEZ (Special Economic Zone) - which means it has its own economic laws designed for economic growth. One can get a 3 day visa to visit Shenzhen so long as one doesn’t wish to venture further afield into greater China. Whatever it means in theory, in practice the SEZ status appears to have made Shenzhen rather wealthy. I was expecting it to be crowded, crammed with ugly high rises, polluted and lacking for greenery. A more intense version of Hong Kong. In fact it was the opposite. So much green! The landscaped streets we passed through on the hour-and-a half (when will we be there) bus ride were incredible. It’s like a cleaner, newer, more spacious and greener version of Hong Kong with less hills (it’s rather flat). I don't have a good photo of the streets so uploaded this video so you can see...



We finally arrived at the Safari Park to find that our Hong Kong dollars were shunned here too, but a nearby shopkeeper came to our rescue and we exchanged enough money to see us through the rest of the day. By this time the heat and humidity of the day was intense and after being in the lovely air conditioned bus so long I felt like a slice of refrigerated bread suddenly finding itself in the toaster. In a hot, sweating and slightly wilting manner, we enjoyed many hours looking at animals and trying to avoid paying for photographs with all manner of other attractions along the way - our subsequent encounter with Chinese pushiness. I've posted another video clip to give you an idea. (This lady with cockatoo had been following us along trying to convince us to have a photo for some time before I thought to take the video)...



She plonks the bird on Ben despite our protests, so I take advantage of the photo opportunity which thereafter sees the lady following us for some way demanding payment...



The undeniable highlight was the Enclosure for Dangerous Animals where creatures such as bears and lions and tigers are roaming free (in separate sections from each other). We were taken through on a mini bus and got up close and personal, (but not as personal as when we were invited to feed some tigers in cages afterwards). For $10RMB each (less than $2AUD) we were given some chicken on a stick and led to a narrow pathway between 2 rows of cages housing all manner of felines including Ligers and Tigons - which sounds incredibly unnatural if you ask me.



As we passed the first cage I suggested to Ben that he kneel down in front of the nice tigers for a photograph. So he did, quite close to the cage, quite close to 3 quite large tigers. Just as I was about to take the nice photo one of the nice tigers decided it wanted to eat Ben. It let out a mortal roar and leapt spread-eagle onto the chicken wire cage that separated it from lunch. There was a frozen moment in time when Ben’s eyes went wide as saucers before my own self-preservational instincts kicked in and the rest went something like: scream flee heart attack laugh oh my gosh I thought I was lunch for a minute there might need to change my undies… As Ben noted later, I wouldn’t be very good journalist on the front line. I’m still kicking myself for not catching it on video let alone completely missing the photo. Ah well, we laughed about it all the way home… think it helped rid the body of all that adrenalin.

Here’s a video after we had fed the nice tigers and completely calmed down. Don’t be deceived, they look disinterested but they’re quietly plotting how to go about eating you.



For more zoo pics, go to the Shenzen June 07 link under 'My Pics' to your left somewhere.

Crossing to the dark side...

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post? So what's been happening you want to know?! Well... it's been raining a lot, I've had a very sore back and I've gone and bought myself a pc lap-top (gasp#** and horror!).

So I was a bit tired of being only half in on the whole network compatibility thing... trecking solo as the only mac through a pc jungle. It was time and I could no longer resist CROSSING TO THE DARK SIDE!!!! Actually, I thought it might make me a bit melancholic, turning my back on my beloved mac, but I hate to admit it (mainly to the die-hard mac-lovers out there), I haven't looked back! I'm loving it in fact! Oh compatibility plus! Oh to copy and paste file paths in IM's and be able to print directly from my own computer and be able to use a webcam with skype etc. etc. etc...

So, what with moving computers and seemingly endless visits to the chiro (for a bulging disc, ouch), it's been a hectic couple of weeks. I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Hong Kong's wetlands which is situated on the Chinese boarder and has mercifully been preserved and turned into a park and educational facility. It is truly beautiful, but one can't help imagine it would have been so much more so before the surrounding high rises had risen so high (and abundantly). Check out the pics by hitting the link 'HK Wetland Park' under 'My Pics' to your left somewhere.

One of my jobs here is to document container loadings pictorially as they are happening. Thought you might like to see a few pics of the latest loading of a shipment currently bound for Cameroon. It's hard to believe all this stuff will fit into a 40 foot container...



A very nice person offered to take a picture of the photographer (me) which doesn't happen very often... so here I am with the hard working guys who loaded the container in 30 degree heat and 100% humidity!



Packing a container is quite an art. It's like doing a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that don't have a picture on them, but they make a beautiful picture in the end none-the-less!! The wonderful sight of a container packed with priceless goods ready to make a difference to many lives!

Joy to the world!

There are many things to be joyous about right now. One of them is the addition of Ruby Charlotte to our family - born on 17th April to the joy of Karen, Anthony and Annabelle... Isn't she beautiful?! Annabelle's got a baby too...



I have been meaning to post this pic of Charlie (slightly older cousin of Ruby) for ages, so here it is...



Another cause for joy is that I'm better from my flu - hallelujah... and to top it off, today is one of Hong Kong's many public holidays. So I spent the day pottering and also went through all the photos I've taken in the past 2 months since coming to HK. I have uploaded a miscellaneous selection with captions to a folder called 'March & April 07'. The link is to your left (up the top) under 'My Pics'. Enjoy...

Commoncole

I woke Liz up on Wednesday morning this week thinking that the world was coming to an end - my own personal world, not the world generally - I was SICK!!! Fever, runny nose sore throat, nausea... and the headache to end headaches. She graciously didn't kill me on the spot for waking her so early (must have been how patheticly sorry for myself I looked) and herded me into the bathroom for a cold shower. Then put me back to bed with pain killers and arranged for a doctors appointment. At 9am we walked over the road to my first encounter with Chinese Way of Medicine. The clinic was tiny and as it had only just opened, was also empty of patients, (much to my relief as I was drenched in sweat and had no great desire to sit in a room full of other sick people waiting forever to see a doctor as you do in medical clinics in Sydney).

There was a friendly Chinese lady, behind the counter of a booth full of medicines, who smiled cheerfully as Liz told her I was working at Crossroads, and that I was unwell. Shortly after giving her my particulars, I was called in by the doctor. His room looked like any western doctors' room (except for being half the size), so I sat down and told him my woes. He looked at me through his spectacles and I was relieved to hear him ask his first question in English, even if it was heavily veiled by a Chinese accent and struggled to make it's way through the protective breathing mask he was wearing. After copious notes and a thorough examination he was ready to declare his diagnosis. "Yoo ha commoncole". Feeling rather common I supposed his conclusion must be right enough and watched with interest as he made a copious list and spoke in rapid, mask-muffled Chinglish about the medicine he would prescribe me.

At this point I thought I was either completely off his topic of conversation or had mis-translated his diagnosis, as the list of pharmeceuticals he handed to the friendly booth-lady through another door gave one the distinct feeling that one must be gravely ill indeed. I was told I could wait in the waiting room. Liz lifted her eyebrows and I announced I had 'commoncole'. Finally, the friendly booth-lady beckoned me to her and she handed me enough drugs to start my own drug store. I was wide-eyed with wonder as she expertly went through (in hasty Chinglish) what each one was and how often to take... I kept looking at Liz and she just smiled and nodded knowingly. So, we had cough syrup - for cough, obviously - an anti-inflammatory for inflammation, ponstan for pain, something else for 'sleepy', something for bloating, antibiotics, paracetamol for pain and fever and finally something incase the stomache bleeds (from all those pills presumably) "ba no happen offen". Wowsers, a doctor's visit and all that medicine for the grand total of only AUD$23! I have to admit that although it felt like extremely good value, I decided to just take the paracetemol and antibiotics and leave the rest to the One Who Heals. Especially with the image of bleeding stomache still fresh in my mind!

Needless to say, as I'm at my computer and blogging, I am mostly better now. Yay!! The world hasn't ended and hopefully I'll be well enough to be back at work tomorrow. Unfortunately the timing of my being sick meant I largely missed out on enjoying Craig and Paige visiting Crossroads from Australia this past week. I met them at Vicki's church on the Central Coast and they brought me a great number of the ear plugs I like that don't seem to be available here. Thanks again guys! I don't even have one picture of them... : ( but here is the panarama I took in Macau that I mentioned in my last posting... (Click on it to see it bigger).

Mo May Jing! (and other things)

I'm a bit behind in my postings and now so much has come to pass that I'm not sure where to start... so I'll start with thanking everyone who has sent their well wishes and prayers for me here in Hong Kong and for the extended Hopkins clan during this week of sadness at losing the much loved patriarch of our family (father, Pa and great-grandfather) and also in our celebration of the man he was and the life he lived. Certainly having skype and emails makes the world seem a little bit smaller and all of you to seem a little bit closer so thank you once again!

The panarama above consists of about 7 photographs I took in sequence of the view from Hong Hum ferry pier - very close to where I went to church last Sunday - looking over to Hong Kong Island. If you click on the image hopefully you will find that a bigger version of it appears on your screen.

To some exciting news... the Ranger's Apprentice website that John and I have been working on for some months now is officially UP!! So please go and visit and learn more about our Araluen friends and enemies and other Ranger's Apprentice 'stuff' that you might not have known... eg: what John looks like on his scooter and more! There's a link under "links" to your left or just click here.

Now to "mo may jing!" which means "no MSG!"... Yes, so being a bit 'delicate of stomache' as it is, I was rather effected by a particular meal of which I partook last week in which there was rather a lot of 'may jing'. As the Chinese find no great need to add vegetables to most of their dishes, Kathryn and I decided a plate of broccoli was in order and as it wasn't on the menu we went to great charading lengths to acquire such a thing... It came as requested and it was very green and VERY tasty. I should have read the signs there and then. But no... 2 days of feeling ill and not sleeping later, I had a conversation with DJ in which he retold a story relevant to my case. He went somewhere remote in Hong Kong with 2 people visiting the country and where-ever it was that they were, they stopped at a little eatery and ate some food. Shortly there-after he was calling emergency to come and get his 2 sick friends who apparently had MSG-poisoning and couldn't walk. The ambulance boat had to come and get them from that remote place and take them to hospital. DJ's theory is that since broccoli on it's own is a boring dish, they felt the need to make it brightly coloured and extra flavoursome so probably went all out with the may jing and hence my suffering. So, since that time I've learned the appropriate Cantonese and will be using it when required and eating with a certain caution. Thankfully that quantity of MSG seems to be the exception rather than the rule and in future it may benefit me to stick to the menu and have my vegetables at home.

I have been part of a project the past 2 weeks which has involved turning 7 of our team into a Russian family participating in different family activities for one of the AIDs Life Xperience sets here at Crossroads. You can read more about the AIDs Life Xperience here. There are about 10 photos all up but here are 2 to give you an idea of how they turned out...





Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend the day in Macau which is just an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong. It was quite strange to have to take my passport for a day's outing as that's not something we do living on the big island of Oz. There were 7 of us and as Kathryn had been to Macau before, she was wisened to the fact that we'd be best off hiring a mini-bus and tour guide to show us around and to make the most of our 5 hours there. So we found Mario!! Turns out he was the most obliging and servant-hearted guide a group could want, showing us the sights, telling us the history and providing us with umbrella's for shelter and banana's for afternoon tea. Check out the "Macau" album under 'My Pics' to see some of what we did and saw... I have a Macau panarama in the making... will try to have it done for my next posting...

A Tribute to Pa – 93 and 3/4 years old...

This is my favourite photo of Pa... Following is the tribute I wrote for his funeral today...

As I reflect on my time living with Pa last year, I realise what a privilege it was to have the chance to get to know him, really for the first time. It was a full and rich year with many challenges, but also so many wonderful moments that I will treasure in my heart with much thankfulness.

What I discovered about Pa - the man he was beyond the aches and pains and moments of confusion or forgetfulness that go with being 93 - was that he was a real gentleman. The "ladies-first, door-opening" kind that is a rare breed now-a-days. He was a kind-hearted and generous man with a wonderful sense of humour. Despite each day being a great effort for him just to rise and deal with a wearing out body and mind, his humour would constantly surprise me and make me laugh.

He had a great collection of sayings. After breakfast each morning he would get up, dust the crumbs off his shirt and announce with satisfaction that "the prisoner ate a hearty meal". Every now and then he would test me and instead of the announcement, it would be a question... "and what did the prisoner do??"

Pa loved to be out and about. Sitting at home all day was only for the worst of weathers. Each morning after a cheery "GOOOOD morning!!" and a hearty breakfast, he would enquire as to what was on the program for the day. As long as it wasn't a boring blood test or doctor's appointment I would receive an approving "good." I think we saw around 60 movies together last year. Pa loved a movie. If I chose a good one, that was a bonus, but if not he saw it as the perfect opportunity for quick nap. As we always went during the day time, we would often have the entire cinema to ourselves, at which point Pa would lean over and whisper in my ear: "glad we booked".

We had a collection of favourite eateries... number one being the Harbord Diggers where they serve the best salmon steak lunch around. Pa would usually polish off the lot, despite declaring half way through that there was way too much and he couldn't possibly eat it all. After which he would wipe the tartare sauce from his lips and say: "take me out and kill me but don't bend me"... which I think just means he was very full.

Shortly after moving to Manly with Pa, I asked him if he missed living at Woy Woy to which he quickly replied, "not even one woy". This had nothing to do with Sandy & Ian because he often spoke fondly of his time there and how well they cared for him, but more because Manly had become part of who he was. Having lived there since 1964 he was deeply attached to his home and to Manly itself. As they say, you could take the Pa out of Manly but you couldn't take the Manly out of Pa.

He loved going on the ferry and would always insist on leading me up the steep flight of stairs to the upper deck and sitting on the hard wooden seats at the back outside, in order to give me the wonderful open view of Manly fading in the distance as we headed to the city. And that was even if I forgot the boney-you-know-what-cushion!

One of my fondest memories of my time with Pa is sitting on the swing with him at home and listening to stories of old... about South Africa, and his parents and siblings, about growing up poor in Eastwood, about being a young man and going dancing at the Trochadero, about being there at the opening of the Harbour Bridge when de Groot rode up and cut the ribbon before it had to be re-tied and officially re-cut, about working as a cutter and later starting his own business... about his love of fishing and his hole-in-one that wasn't recorded... and about a brother-in-law with no nous.

After explaining to me what 'nous' meant, I realised that if anyone had nous, it was Pa. One thing that really struck me over the year with Pa is the way our whole family love and care for him so much, especially his four girls - Sandy, Leonie and Judy-Vicki-whoever-you-are. They made every effort to keep him at home for as long as possible and to make sure he was happy and had all that he needed.I realised one day that that was a real reflection of the person he was. A solid rock in their lives - a real man of nous - steady and constant, a good father and provider who loved them dearly.

I feel so blessed to have an album full of photos of the "things I did with Pa" and that even though he has been taken from us for now, those memories are something I will always treasure.

Lay Ho!

Lay ho means hello in Cantonese. I'm trying my best to learn some of the local lingo as there are times when no-one speaka-de-engrish so good. I can now say: Do you speak English?, Where is the toilet?, How do you say ________ in Chinese? and various other sundry greetings. I tried out the Do you speak English? one at the department store my first weekend here and it worked! Well, at least the lady understood what I said and then said "no" (in Cantonese). So apart from the fact that she was no help what-so-ever, I walked away feeling elated. The local shopping centre in Tuen Mun is 10 minutes away on the bus and is HUGE... encompassing what seems like blocks of shops - vaster than any Westfield I've been to. Thus it's easy to come out at some random exit and be completely and utterly and entirely and possibly hopelessly LOST. I spent the first 1/2 hour of my time trying to find the department store and going around in embarrassingly hopeless circles, past the same bemused guard, getting hot flushes of frustration and very nearly giving up, when I discovered another block of shops connected by walkway to the one that had become my no-exit labrynth and lo! department store! Then I was off, got all the things I needed and felt entirely trimphant at having conquered Tuen Mun Town Plaza...



Last Sunday after church I went to Sham Shui Po (same place as the exhibition last week) to find myself a mobile phone as mine wouldn't work with the new sim card I got... Sham Shui Po is the place for cheap electricals and I got a good deal on a phone for $800HK instead of $950 I saw it for in Tuen Mun. The streets of SSP are lined with stalls selling everything from pots and pans, electic tools, mobile phone accessories, electicals of all descriptions and etc. It's also a very poor area as far as living conditions go. Great for photography...



Yesterday I went for a good long walk with Kathryn (who's a good deal fitter than me) up a very steep hill which mercifully became flat and quiet and beautiful. The first pic at the top of this post is the view a one point looking back down... And here is me:



Today I started working on the menu and posters for the recently opened Silk Road Cafe here at Crossroads. Next I'll be doing banners and other signage and then applying the logo design to cups and other paraphernalia. I also had the privilege of visiting the kids at our little school here to photograph them all with their teacher Miss Helen who is (sadly) leaving at the end of the week. Here they are, a beautiful and multicultural bunch (who REALLY need a replacement teacher - long term - if anyone is inclined to come to Hong Kong to teach voluntarily... anyone??)



Finally, I worked out how to include video on my blog page, so here is the promised clip of Jessie doing the hoola... enjoy! Feel free to leave comments people... the comment facility should work just fine now... looking forward to hearing from you!