香港奧運火炬手名單

你的名字是否在這名單上出現呢? 如果有, 我就恭喜你成為萬眾矚目的主角之一.

如果你沒有, 都不要失望, 可以觀看電視直播, 睇真正的火炬手怎樣跑, 也可以去火炬傳遞路線其中一處支持我們香港的火炬手. 只要大家心繫香港, 心繫中國, 心中有火炬就可以了!

迷你M&M朱古力豆

最近M&M出產了一種迷你朱古力豆. 以面積計, 七粒這種豆剛好鋪滿一枚香港一元輔幣. 如果我把其中一粒豆放入口裏, 簡直感覺不到它的存在!

一個月前, 在報紙上見到大快活快餐店有幾張五元晚餐優惠劵, 於是把它們剪下來. 在一個星期日晚上去買了兩個35元的中式晚餐, 用了兩張優惠劵, 即每個餐要化30元.

細聽這兩個餐是甚麼呢?

(1) 雞球煲 + 一碗白飯 + 一小煲豆腐湯

雞球只有五件, 其大小只有五元硬幣模樣., 伴著這幾件迷你雞球是一大堆薑蔥. 心想原來這個煲的主角是薑蔥, 雞球只是點綴一下而已.

白飯無什麼特別, 豆腐湯只有六件2吋乘1吋乘1吋的豆腐. 豆腐上的所謂魚肉可以說微小得可憐.

(2) 荷葉飯 + 先前提過的豆腐湯

荷葉飯全無驚喜, 包著的約有一碗左右有味道的飯而已.

這餐飯愈食愈覺得不值, 有被欺騙, 剝削的感覺. 其實二三十元大可以在凍肉店買到兩塊雞扒了!

相信以後在大快活都找不到我的蹤影了

Miss J. Chan’s Potted plants

陳老師不愧為盆栽專家, 在她的寫字桌和窗台上的植物雖然盆盆都細小, 但它們都很有生命力, 難得的是它們在滿佈書籍, 紙張, 筆記及雜物的二號教員室中都有生存空間.

看它們油潤茂盛的葉, 挺直的莖, 漂亮的花朵, 就可見陳老師對培育小盆栽的功力有幾深厚!

以下是陳老師給我一些她種的四盆盆栽的資料:

(1) 白掌 – 忌陽光, 適宜種室內, 葉綠有光澤.

(2) 紫羅蘭 – 可用一塊葉水浸或葉種, 長期開花, 葉有絨毛, 宜置室內, 有冷氣的地方更佳!

(3) 粉掌 – 水種, 用泥盆, 需要多接觸陽光.

(4) 玉蓮 – 仙人掌科植物, 葉厚多汁, 所需要水分不多.

第一幅相是陳老師和她心愛的白掌(左)和紫羅蘭(右)合照

第二幅相是粉掌(右後)和玉蓮(左前).

你們認為這幾棵植物是否很獨特呢?

The Great Ocean Road

To see coastal features, the Great Ocean Road in Australia is one of the good choices.

This March, my eldest brother and sister-in-law joined a bus-tour running on the Great Ocean Road along the coast of Victoria, Australia. They started early at eight in the morning and spent thirteen hours on watching the interesting rocks at the coastline. The famous of them all were the 12 Apostles. Obviously these rocks were the work of sea and wind erosion.

What was Abby holding this time?

Abby was holding a yellow object with both hands on the sofa after she woke up after her two-hour sleep in our bed-room.

What is it?

(1) a bowling ball

(2) a yellow balloon

(3) a huge lemon

(4) a pomelo

(5) a helmet

Walkie-talkie

On March 27^th, Philip arrived at our home where Abby had been staying for several hours.

At one time, Philip’s cell-phone rang. It was Connie calling. Of course Connie would like to know what Abby was doing. The phone was handed to Abby. It was interesting enough she spoke into the phone as if she were using a walkie-talkie. She spoke in her own language which we were still puzzling what she wanted to say. Her face showed that she enjoyed uttering these sounds. Well that was a good try! Perhaps one day these sounds suddenly become meaningful!

Queenstown

The first photo was taken on September 9^th, 2007. It shows a narrow valley surrounded on three sides by mountains at Queenstown, a southern town of New Zealand on South Island. This geographical feature is not comparable with the magnificence of the Grand Canyon in America.

The second photo shows the gliding activities over Lake Wakatipu. This photo was well-taken. I like it very much.

The third photo shows the low houses at Queenstown with a wall of tall trees growing endlessly high up the mountain. It seems very quiet here!

The Five Rings of the Olympics

The attraction of this advertisement comes from the five coloured rings - blue, yellow, black green and red.

They represent the five continents of our World. These rings are supposed to be those found in compartments of our local trains for passengers to hold on when standing.

The bigger hands, I guess, come from gentlemen, slimmer ones from a young lady and an elderly woman and finally the smallest one from a boy or a girl. These hands only show people of different ages and sex supporting the Olympic Games.

I do suggest the hands holding onto the rings here be replaced by the hands of people from the countries of the respective continents.

This advertisement from RTHK tells people that the Olympic stories from 19 athletes will be broadcast on one of our TV channels in Hong Kong at 12:50 every Sunday starting from March 30^th.

Sunrise and Sunset at Texas

Thanks to Daisy Mak who sent me two photos showing two skies at different times of a day in Texas, United States of America.

The first photo shows the eastern sky when the sun rises on this vast flat land of Texas. A new sunny day is going to start early in the morning. The silhouette of the trees appears to be the lace of a table-cloth laid on the ground.

The second photo shows the western sky at sunset. It is a completely different view because the trees in that direction are bare. The sky at that moment is grey with clouds and begins to dim. The night curtain is likely to fall at any moment, but he drivers on the road here have not turned on their headlights because they think they can still see their road ahead.

Happy Faces at CCSC Office

Throughout these three weeks, sometimes three days in a week, I returned to CCSC as a supply teacher. My main job was to look after the students, keeping them under discipline, giving them assignments or work sheets to do if requested by the subject teachers. Teaching in the classroom was not necessary simply because I could not teach the subjects I was not familiar with.

Funny enough, there were two lessons in which I had to give the students dictation. In one of the lessons, the students asked my permission to let them hold a class-club meeting discussing their outdoor-activities on May 1^st or 2^nd (holidays for them). In another lesson, one class would like to have rehearsals for their History Role Play.

Today, I took my camera along with me aiming at taking photos of the plants nicely cultivated by Miss J. Chan. Joanna had been my colleague for quite a number of years. As if by magic, she could keep her potted plants grow beautifully and healthily.

The photo showed our attractive Joanna and her lovely potted plants at the Office counter. I also invited our ladies at the Office (Nancy, Mrs. Leung, Connie) to take the photo too. Thank them for their willingness to come behind the counter. All the ladies showed to me their warmest smiles. I guessed the plants were happy too.

Time-tunnels

The photo shows that credit cards make travels easy. It also gives me the idea that in future time-tunnels may shorten the time we spend on travels.

The idea is that we can first select our destination and then travel by time-tunnels which switch us from one place to another by “windows” like those we use in our computers.

From my experience,

I was most tired of sitting 11 hours to San Francisco and 13 hours back.

I was a little tired when flying those 8 hours to Australia and 8 hours home.

It is better still when I travelled 4 hours to Singapore and another 4 hours back.

M & M 的新攻勢

最近M & M朱古力和曲奇餅做了好朋友, 混在一起, 變成另類七彩”趙趙”曲奇餅.

這種配搭正好給四種人士去吃:

(1) 喜歡 M & M 朱古力豆的人

(2) 喜歡吃曲奇的人

(3) 平時發”牙痕”的人

(4) 喜歡”趙”東西的人

這種曲奇餅的優點是既可果腹, 又可吃上朱古力, 不失為雙重享受!

“Our first Chiq Qua!”

Sydney Gardeners, Yin Ping and Ho Keung, sent us this message and photos of their harvest in their backyard.

They were a proud and happy couple exclaiming to us, “Our first Chiq Qua!”.

Let’s see what they told us in their message, dated April 10^th .

"Sending you another 4 photos which show our first Chiq Qua harvest from our backyard.

It is organic, and really fresh, and also big!

Amazing! We don't have to do anything at all, just planted it in the soil, that's it, no fertilizer, nothing else. Water is from rain.

How can you not thank our dear Heavenly Father who looks after everything!"

Congratulations. We are equally happy to see such a big Chiq Qua. We hope that one day we can share the other generations of the Chiq Qua in your backyard!

24小時網上電視

這廣告是在馬鐵其中一個車站出現的. 它的吸引我之處是那些彩蝶洶湧地飛出來的感覺.

估不到這報業集團也要靠港鐵宣傳其另類服務: - 網上電視

網址是: http://tv.on.cc

我曾經上過網看過其新聞片段, 尚算不俗. 大家不妨試看一下!

A Sweet Face

This is a recent advertisement.

What is the pretty girl looking at through her glasses?

1. nails (眼中釘)

2. diamonds (眼中鑽)

3. buildings (眼中樓)

4. stars (眼中星)

5. lip-sticks (眼中唇膏)

Hints: “Modern Convenience Modern Lifestyle” as the advertisement says

First Day in New Zealand

These four photos were taken on the first day (August 31^st, 2007) Yin Ping and Ho Keung arrived at Christchurch. To refresh your memory, read my article on November 14^th , 2007. Just click November Archive 2007.

Yin Ping and Ho Keung went to see Christ’s College when they freshly descended from their plane from Australia.

In the first photo, they sat on the lawn inside the school premises, The College itself had different buildings. Some old ones were built of stones with beautiful arches, spires and chimneys and some modern ones were built of wood. They all had tall ceilings and triangular roofs and bore different utilities.

Trams were usual here in Christchurch (see the second photo). The one here was from Christchurch Tramway. The passengers on board it could take a city tour. It was just turning the corner from Worcester Street into Rolleston Avenue. At the junction a beautiful classic church stood. The church itself was a piece of fine architecture.

It is surprising to see that the cars running on the roads of Christchurch here were modern.

In front of a series of nice-looking old houses was a Botanic Garden (see the third and fourth photos). This was only part of Hagley Park.

The lovely fountain with big fishes and big birds in the middle was fenced round so that people would not be drowned.

At time of the end of August, some of the trees here were still bald, but the flowers grew well.

Private or Public?

On March 18th when I passed Lancashire Road, Kowloon Tong, I saw some familiar flowers hanging down from the fence of a high wall of a low house. I don’t know if these flowers are called 炮仗花 in Chinese or not. Let me invite Felix Ching, my dear colleague, to identify them for me!

Since these flowers were in mid-air (out of the fence) high above me, I could not touch them. What I could do was to raise my camera and took a shot at them so that I could bring home a memory of the old days when I first met them some forty to fifty years ago.

Were these flowers private property since they received water and nutrients through the stems, stalks and roots from the soil behind the wall? Were they public when they were hanging out from the wall to the pavement I was walking on?

霧中樹

這仙境是三月十八日約正午時分拍攝的. 當時我們的旅遊車正在大嶼山石壁水塘對上羗山道爬行著. 路旁的大樹在霧中變得迷迷濛濛, 若隱若現, 確實很特別!

Will Abby be a future Flutist or Drummer?

On March 2^nd, Abby acted in playing a flute when her grand-uncle handed it to her. Of course she did not know how to blow it nor she had the breath to do so, but her ways of holding and blowing it were like those of a professional flutist.

Today, April 14^th, she beat her hands on one of the floor lamps near her home. This time she beat it with rhythms similar to those of a drummer.

Well, it is too early to predict her interests on musical instruments. Maybe next time she will turn her eyes to a piano!

Ma Wan Park (6) – Ferns and Cactuses

Next to the name plate of Ma Wan Park was the entrance (no admission fee to be paid) to various sections of the Park on a small hill. After passing the entrance gates with counters, visitors might visit the following places by means of wooden staircases and passageways:

(1) Hilltop Lookout (鳥望台) – Should it be better called (望鳥台)?

(2) Australian Garden (澳洲園)

(3) Riverside Garden (山澗園)

(4) Windmill Station (再生能源基地)

(5) Adventure Journey (歷奇園地)

Ferns could be seen here. Their existence guaranteed that the air condition on Ma Wan Island was good. There was a detailed description of this kind of plants, which was quite educational to the public.

I wondered why cactuses were found growing beside some of the staircases. We were NOT in a desert.

馬鞍山杜鵑花節迎奧運

估不到今年沙田民政事務處及有關團體以杜鵑花節迎奧運, 其特色有三:

一. 第三屆馬鞍山杜鵑花節開幕典禮暨種植日已於三月二日在西沙路(頌安段)舉行.

二. 大會印製一套十款明信片, 展現馬鞍山杜鵑花的美態, 通過明信片寫上心意寄給摯愛親朋.

三. 將於四月二十日在馬鞍山廣場舉行杜鵑花節閉幕禮暨親親雪特蘭小馬一起迎接08北京奧運

究竟Abby在看甚麼呢?

我們在四月七日飲完中午茶後, 到馬鞍山其中一個商場逛逛. 當Abby途經東亞銀行前駐足向上望. 究竟她想看的東西是什麼呢?

是銀行的1. 電視廣告 2. 利率表 3. 櫃員機 4. 貌美女職員 5. 可愛贈品

West coast of South Island of NZ

Driving along the west coast of South Island, New Zealand, was a little reminder to Yin Ping and Ho Keung of the mighty Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. They could not forget the famous Twelve Apostles Rocks there.

Along the coast here were many surf beaches pounded by the vigorous waves of the Tasman Sea. Some strong and large boulders of rocks remained standing in solitude off the shore.

Matching Game (2) – Snoopy dolls

Here are 7 Snoopy dolls which represent different countries in North America or South America.

Let us number the dolls from the left to right in the top row as [1], [2], [3], [4] and again from left to right in the bottom row as [5], [6], [7].

Please match the following 7 counties with the above dolls:

U.S.A., Peru, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela.

ASW

I use “ASW” here to stand for Australian Spider Web. Recently there is one such web at the front yard of Yin Ping and Ho Keung’s house. Being knitted by a very large spider, the web hangs vertically downwards in such a way that any insects flying near it cannot escape from being caught.

The spider really helps in reducing the annoying house-flies that often visit the homes of human around this area. I hope this “Black knight” can wipe out all the disgusting flies before we visit Yin Ping and Ho Keung’s grand house for the second time

Bird’s eye views

I like looking at things around me from high levels. From the top floor of Philip’s school, I can see long distant views.

The first photo shows the low houses that spread across Kowloon Tong. The orange-brown building is an American school. Before it is Waterloo Road (窩打老道) going north and upwards until it vanishes into the Lion Rock Tunnel. Some of our rich people live in these low houses. There are some new secondary schools built close to Kowloon Tong MTR Station (those white ones – a little to the right of the centre of the photo).

The second photo shows the low houses in the neighbourhood of Philip’s school. It shows Cambridge Road (劍橋道) and Lancashire Road (蘭開夏道). Cambridge and Lancashire are the names of places in England.

The small hill in the second and third photo used to be an important landmark with orange and white squares painted to guide planes to land on Kai Tak Airport. Whenever pilots see the patch of attractive squares, they will turn the planes towards the right and the latter will go on the right tracks.

The fourth photo shows the view towards the west of Philip’s school. The fore ground shows the Kowloon Tong Club. To be a member of this club, one has to pay a lot of money. There are tennis courts, restaurants and a number of function rooms inside. The East Rail trains are running one or two streets behind the club towards Kowloon Tong. Further away are Kowloon Tsai (九龍仔), Tai Hang Tung (大坑東) and Tai Hang Sai (大坑西). Then further seawards is Tai Kok Tsui (大角咀) where high-rise blocks such as Olympian City (奧海城), Island Harbour View (維港灣), Central Park (帝柏海灣), Park Avenue (柏景灣) are built forming almost like a “wall” fringing the west coast of Kowloon.

A Mini-rainbow

It was April 7^th, a sunny day.

I found an automatic water-sprinkler working at one of the grass lawns in Ma On Shan Park. It swept from left to right and back, spraying water upwards at a certain angle. This kind of movement can help shooting water evenly at the grass lawn at its front and at the same time create a mini-rainbow going across the lawn.

My wife says that the top photo gives her the perception of an oil painting of tall buildings against the sky as the background and the realistic view of a photo as the foreground.

What a moment of joy of seeing a rainbow before me though it was small and incomplete!

If you want to see a rainbow yourself, please use a sprinkler at your own grass lawn on a sunny day.

Building of New Prince of Wales Hospital (6) - The Crane

As construction becomes active and widespread at the building site of the new hospital, a tall crane has been erected recently to carry various kinds of building materials to the respective spots.

This yellow crane is built up piece by piece like “Lego”. Its arm can swing through a large angle. It is so long that it can reach every part of the building site. I can say it is now the “soul” of the construction work.

Heavy trucks are no longer able to move about the site because the roads have been shoveled and cut off. Now they can only reach a certain area to upload wastes or unload materials.

Partitions such as walls and ceilings are made. Certainly, different rooms, big or small, are seen constructed according to the floor plans, but I do not know what each room is for.

One interesting question comes to my head. Are there any “secret” paths specially designed and built so that famous people can go or leave the hospital without being noticed?

The top photo shows the newly- erected crane earlier and the bottom shows the most recent scene of the crane and the rapid progress of construction.

升級版 Abby (5)

Abby loves to press buttons of all kinds, from those on telephones to those on calculators, on remote-controls, computer key-boards, and those on-off buttons of the electric lamps at home and most of the time, those on the panels of a lift. She does not even miss those up-and-down buttons at the sidewall next to the lifts and those for opening doors into a building. I guess she will be fit to work in a control room with thousands of buttons in future.

In the photo, she finds a “toy” she likes. She is able to "switch" from an electric torch to a florescent lamp and vice versa. She has learned the skill of “pushing” a handle-like button from left to right or the other way instead of “pressing”. Although her fingers are slim, but they are strong enough to push the button just right! Bravo, Abby!

Dairy Farms in New Zealand

Yin Ping and Ho Keung came across these dairy farms on their way to the west coast of South Island. The cows were grazing on the fields of green grass fenced up with iron network wires. Their job was to eat, do exercises by walking about to find new grass and lie down to rest on the soft carpets of grass when they were tired.

The clear blue sky and the green green grass proves that there was little or no pollution here, so New Zealand dairy products should be safer.

Yin Ping and Ho Keung considered the second photo here as one of their dream photos – cattle or sheep grazing on green pasture in front of a backdrop of magnificent mountains.

升級版 Abby (4)

Abby最近駕駛新式跑車, 威盡沙田.

她的駕駛姿勢十足似賽車手. 相信她一踏油門, 這部車已經拋離對手很遠了!