Elevador de Santa Justa

The Santa Justa Lift (Elevador de Santa Justa) also called Carmo Lift (Elevador do Carmo) is a elevator/lift in civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historical city of Lisbon, situated at the end of Rua de Santa Justa. It connects the lower streets of the Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square). Since its construction, the Lift has become a tourist attraction for Lisbon as, among the urban lifts in the city, Santa Justa is the only remaining vertical one.

The panormaic views at the top of the tower allow glimpses of the Castle of São Jorge, the Tagus River, the lower part of the Pombaline Baixa, the National Theatre D. Maria II, while the upper entrance permits a view of the ruins of the Monastery of Nossa Senhora do Vencimento do Monte do Carmo.

The Elevator is a vertical structure consisting of a metallic tower, observation platform, walkway and base. Its base includes four vertical columns, each composed of two pillars.The largest part of the structure runs parallel to the Rua de Santa Justa. With a height of 45 metres, covering seven storeys, the tower includes two elevator cabins, decorated in wood, mirrors and windows, and an initial capacity for 24 passengers in each, but now to 29. The structure includes a dozen transverse beams, forming a double lattice, supported at the top by foundations at the Escadinhas de Santa Justa. On the sides of the elevator, the walkway is articulated by means of bearings, as well as on the pillars, which is articulated at the base.

On the top floor is a kiosk and lookout, with panoramic views of the city, while connections to the floors below are made by two spiral staircases, with different patterns on each storey. The main machinery was installed at the base of the Elevator, while at the exit to the Largo do Carmo there is a veranda to allow circulation. The corridor that passes above the structure, was transformed into a terrace, and exits to Largo do Carmo through an iron gate. The space destined the electrical equipment was located under the Escadinhas, in a space set aside for this purpose, under a vaulted ceiling.

The Lift is decorated in a Neo-Gothic style in iron. Since this was a new material at the time of its construction, it is symbolic of the technical and memorial construction from this period, representing the culture of the 1900s, when the structure and elevators were considered a magical innovation and portent of a modern age.

Ships in Trios

It is rare to see ships in trios that sail along Tolo Harbour, but today I saw them.

A marine-police patrol ship took the lead. From the white foam at its rear, I noticed that it travelled fast. The slow-going yellow tug boat went next. It was pulling a long heavy barge of sand or mud, 20 feet away from it.

This photo is rich in colour because of a clear blue sky and adequate sunlight. I love it.

A Two-year-old Headstand

Two-year-old Elly performed her “headstand” at the sofa at home yesterday.

Elly put herself upside down with her hands and head supporting her body weight. She closed her eyes perhaps she felt the blood pressure at her head. On the right photo, she even smiled a little showing her great success. I think her theory of gymnastics is “Enjoyment comes first and Skill next”.

Star of the Month

Australian oranges become our first priority of fruit this month. Their virtues are very juicy, fleshy and fibrous. It is difficult to keep the flesh “uninjured” when the skin is peeled since the latter sticks close to the former. The South African Sunkist oranges are much inferior because they are navel-less as well as too tough to bite and swallow.

The stickers on the Australian oranges are interesting and funny. In one of the brands (Australian Citrus), the sticker shows a “cartoon” man in front of boxes of oranges. Another set of stickers (Australian grown) shows several red strokes, simply enough to be recognized as a kangaroo.

The colour of these oranges is in an inviting rich orange. I always consider this rule correct: “The more orange is to the oranges, the sweeter the oranges are.” The texture of the skin is as rough as that on the moon because there are small depressions all round.

In these photos, some of the oranges appear as pumpkin-like, some with a “volcano” top, but they all look common by their distinctive navels.

A Delightful scene of sea birds

This series of photos were taken on a BC ferry (see the big chimney) at time of crossing the Strait of Georgia that separates City of Vancouver from Vancouver Island.

The arrival of these unexpected visitors on top of our heads startled me with joy. I supposed they were sea gulls. Their flying skill was superb. They flied at the same speed as that of the ferry. For some time, say, twenty minutes or so, they followed close to us. Some of them were stable in the air. I wondered if they would finally land on our ferry.

It was the best moment to take a few pictures of these friendly birds of the twenty-first century. Since they did not succeed in getting any food from our ferry, somehow they disappeared behind us. No wonder their leader led them away to hunt for fish elsewhere in the sea.

Please click the above collage photo to enlarge it.

Graca Trams in Lisbon

Gracia trams (奎卡電車) are main means of transport shuttling up and down the narrow and hilly streets of Lisbon(里斯本), the city itself surrounded by hills on three sides.

The old trams are single-decked with wooden decorations. Our old Hong Kong trams looked almost the same, but double-decked, running on flat lands along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. Those in San Francisco are quite different from Graca because they are open on both sides with seats arranged on two sides along the central line. Passengers can step on or off any time they want if they are quick enough.

The Graca trams are small and always crowded with people. In two of the photos here, you can see how narrow the streets and pavements are. Driving through these streets need skill and care! Graca trams usually run very slowly. One may take a lot of patience in sitting inside before he/she reaches his/her destination.

Photos at Breakfast time

These photos were taken when Abby and Elly were eating a breakfast of cereals in milk. Since the cereals had soaked in milk, they became soft and easier to be eaten. The two girls ate, drank and soon finished the breakfast.

When I took a few snapshots at Elly, she gave me back “automatic” smiles. She knows that she should smile when someone aims a camera at her. On the other hand, Abby used her arms, hands and fingers to show different postures.

White Followers

There were some twelve to fifteen white seagulls flying behind a marine police patrol boat yesterday when it sailed along the Tolo Harbour. I wondered why because there was nothing to eat on such a boat. Did the birds consider this boat as a big whale which might know where to find for fish?

We experienced such an interesting scene when we were at sea on a BC ferry heading for Victoria, Vancouver Island. A flock of sea-gulls chased after the ferry for a certain distance away from Tsawwassen Ferry Pier. They flied alongside the ferry at almost the same speed. For some time, they followed the ferry and soon they left. My only thought at that time was that the birds were saying good-bye to the ferry or perhaps, us because it was sailing away to Vancouver Island.

Full of Satisfaction

On the night of October 18, 2011, we dined with daughter’s family at our usual restaurant. The bun, soup and the dish of roasted chicken, fish and spaghetti suited my appetite.

Philip bought desserts of fabulous cakes (each sold at $13) after dinner. The cakes were in flavours of Green Tea, Mango and Strawberry. I love Mango best. Abby loves Green Tea and Elly loves Strawberry. We are in three Colour Parties – Green for Abby, Yellow for me and Red for Elly.

The 25 de Abril Bridge

How amazed I was this Monday afternoon when I saw a bridge in Portugal which looks like the Golden Gate Bridge in television!

The 25 de Abril Bridge (Ponte 25 de Abril) "25th of April Bridge" is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the south bank of the Tejo river. It was inaugurated on August 6, 1966 and a train platform was added in 1999.

Because of its similar coloring, it is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. In fact, it was built by the same company (American Bridge Company) that constructed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and not the Golden Gate, also explaining its similarity in design.

With a total length of 2,277 m, it is the 21st largest suspension bridge in the world. The upper platform carries six car lanes, and the lower platform carries two train tracks. The bridge was named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar), in honour of the Prime Minister until 1974.

Soon after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge, the day the revolution had occurred. A symbol of those times was captured on film, with citizens removing the big "Salazar" brass sign from one of the main pillars of the bridge and painting a provisional "25 de Abril" in its place.

The First flight of Boeing 787 to Hong Kong

For the first time, All Nippon Airways (ANA) flied a Boeing 787 carrying about 200 passengers, including aviation reporters from Toyko to Hong Kong the day before yesterday, October 26, 2011. It arrived at Hong Kong after a four-hour and eight minute flight.

The aircraft is more fuel efficient than other planes because carbon fibre is used instead of aluminium for its construction. The special charter flight came after years of delay as Boeing engineers dealt with glitches.

On Japan, the only major aviation market where Boeing clearly dominates its European rival Airbus. ANA expects to have added 55 Dreamliners (as people call Boeing 787s) to its fleet by March 2018. That was welcoming news to Boeing after China Eastern.

The 100 seats available to paying passengers were sold out soon after they went on sale, with more than 25000 people scrambling for scarce tickets. It is known that a pair of tickets that ANA offered on an auction site for charity sold for more than $90000.

Look at the pilot at the cockpit and how our Hong Kong Airport welcomed this "new visitor". Was he a Japanese? In my opinion, he was.

爬滑梯

世上有爬格子動物(從事寫作的人)，也有爬山專家，阿比和艾莉卻是爬滑梯能手。

兩星期前，我們帶阿比和艾莉到屋苑小小的遊樂場去玩，可以給她們多些手腳運動。大家都知道滑梯應該是從上而下滑下去的。兩個小妮子取難不取易，要違反地心吸力定律，盡用四肢向上爬。首先她們彎著身體，手握著扶手用力向上拉，將腳板微微曲起成勾狀，盡量抓緊滑梯面，同時奮力向前衝。

初時，阿比的鞋太滑，她索性把鞋脫下來，妹妹見狀也跟隨拋棄了。結果她們三番四次爬上滑下，腳踏在深藍色軟墊上好十次左右，換來的是兩雙「藍精靈」的小腳板，這也許是軟墊上的膠粒在日曬雨淋之下脫落變成粉末的關係。太太與我都不約而同的叫孫女們看看自己的腳。艾莉和阿比都沒有多大反應，只是傻笑一下。看著兩孫女樂在其中，弄髒腳板的趣怪表情，心都笑到出來了。

若想看清楚照片，請你將滑鼠移到相的位置按兩下去放大。

A Classic Rolls Royce

On October 1, I found this luxurious Rolls Royce in the colour of "Pink Lady (cocktail)"at City One.

From its decoration on the outside, it was obvious a classic car for a wedding. I could not see the bride and the bridegroom in the car yet. It might be too early and was parked outside a school.

The dolls at the front were bears of opposite sex, a male and a female. The male bear was in a black suit and hat while the female a white wedding gown. They were so placed that their faces touched each other. Behind them were some beautiful roses, real or just plastic ones I never knew.

The car registration number, “GB 183”, when twisted a little, is good . It may mean “Groom and Bride 一 (生) 發”.

破浪前進

吐露港彷如一個湖泊，來往的船不多。偶爾間可看見大大小小的船隻把恬靜的海水破開前進。相中的小輪勾起了我一絲絲的回憶。

上中學時期，因家住灣仔，每天都要從灣仔碼頭乘渡輪過海，然後坐巴士返校。當時行走灣仔和油麻地的渡輪首尾廂座是開放式，每每海風吹來，熱氣盡消；要是下雨天或遇著惡劣天氣時，坐在這裛一定會衣衫盡濕，唯有悶坐在緊閉窗户的中間船艙；遇上大霧的早上，當船離開碼頭的時候，心情開始緊張起來，因為四周一片白濛濛，渡輪當然要慢吞吞的前進，自身要不時響號，通知前面的船隻要躲避；那時我總會有些恐懼，每刻都東張西望，看看是否有龐然大物撞向渡輪；平時只要用二十分鐘的船程，在盲目前進之下，船會用上雙倍時間以上，當我離遠見到淡黃色的(油麻地)碼頭霧燈時，心情才平復過來。

幾年前，有一次和女兒、女婿、親家奶奶及太太遊船河，正是乘坐類似相中的小輪從馬料水公眾碼頭出發，經吐露港，繞過船灣的黃竹角咀，進入印洲塘海洋公園，登上鴨洲看風化石，然後船駛吉澳島全團用膳。吃過飯，船繼續向東駛，事關船又細，大浪令船搖晃得像大家「騎馬仔」一樣，不過船仍然努力破浪前進至老遠的東坪洲。上東坪洲主要是看地質及岩石被侵蝕的痕跡，大家不難上了一課地理堂。當日坐了差不多五至六小時的船程，上岸的時光只有兩小時左右，回到馬料水公眾碼頭時，太陽已經開始下山了。

Small berries

A big surprise came to me today as I was studying some small plants with light green leaves and thin branches in a park. Suddenly I noticed some berries of different colours had grown out from these plants– green, white, pink and red. I think they may attract small birds to eat them.

Does anyone of you know the name of this kind of plant? Please tell me if you do.

Elly and Abby melted into cartoons

It so happened that Elly and Abby walked near the TV set as they were watching cartoons yesterday morning. I took several snapshots at such precious moments.

Inside television, there was a Mexican visiting a restaurant with the chef making food for him.
They looked as if they were inside the cartoon show.

Sea cucumbers

Today, let us look at some sea cucumbers at the ocean floor if the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Most of us know that Sea cucumbers (海參) are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single branched gonad. They are found worldwide on the sea floors. There are a number of holothurian species and genera, many of which are targeted for human consumption.

It is interesting indeed that sea cucumbers communicate with each other by sending hormone signals through the water.

A remarkable feature of these animals is the catch collagen that forms their body wall. This can be loosened and tightened at will. If the animal wants to squeeze through a small gap, it simply liquefies its body and pours into the space. To keep itself safe in these crevices and cracks, the sea cucumber hooks up all its collagen fibres to make its body firm again.

Some species of coral-reef sea cucumbers can defend themselves by expelling their sticky cuvierian tubules to entangle potential predators. When startled, these cucumbers may expel some of them through a tear in the wall of the cloaca in an autotomic process known as evisceration. Replacement tubules grow back in one-and-a-half to five weeks, depending on the species. The release of these tubules can also be accompanied by the discharge of a toxic chemical known as holothurin, which has similar properties to soap. This chemical can kill any animal in the vicinity and is one more way in which these sedentary animals can defend themselves.

Like sea urchins, most sea cucumbers have five strip-like ambulacral areas running along the length of the body from the mouth to the anus. The three on the lower surface have numerous tube feet, often with suckers that allow the animal to crawl along. The two on the upper surface have under-developed or vestigial tube feet, and, in some species, lack tube feet altogether.

In those sea cucumbers that lack regular tube feet, those immediately around the mouth are always present. These are highly modified into retractile tentacles, much larger than the regular tube feet. Sea cucumbers have between ten and thirty such tentacles, depending on the species.

Fishing at Fort William

There are two beats on this short river, River Arkaig (10 miles north east of Fort William, Scotland) between Loch Arkaig and Loch Lochy, the lower beat has deep rocky pools. Occasional salmon and sea trout are caught in high water.

The River Nevis is less than one-half mile from Fort William town centre. Fishing on the river is controlled by the Fort William Angling Club. Fly and worm fishing are both permitted and the river provides both Salmon and Sea Trout when in spate. Spinning and float fishing are not permitted. Fishing for Brown Trout is allowed above the lower falls at Polldubh and no permit is required above that point. Permits are issued on the day of fishing at 9am and are available from The Rod and Gun Shop in Fort William.

The baits used are colourful and feathery. They look very much like toys.

Here is some other information about salmon and trout fishing in Scotland:

Wild Atlantic salmon fishing in Lochaber always put the well-being of the salmon first. The number of rods permitted to fish any one stretch (beat) of a private river is regulated. In most instances, a private beat would be for three or four rods, and is reserved in advance Monday through Saturday. Permits for Single or two rods fishing one or two odd days can be difficult to place at times but is possible with pre-enquiry at association or club rivers and streams and the local fishing school. The vast majority of Wild Atlantic Salmon fishing is fly fishing only with catch and release close to universal. Bait, prawn, worming and spin fishing is mostly prohibited. There is no Wild Atlantic Salmon fishing anywhere in Scotland on Sundays.

There are more than three thousand lochs in Scotland of over 10 acres There are no fishing licences in Scotland. One pays only for the wild brown trout fishing. In most instances, a permit is required. Day permits are from £10.00 and are dependent on the management program of the particular water and quality of fishing. Permits are purchased locally from Tourist Information Centres, tackle shops, Estate Offices, game keepers and the local Fishing School. The wild brown trout open fishing season in Scotland is from March 15th through October 6th. The fisher is generally permitted to keep two or three wild brown trout daily however people are encouraged to return the trout to their natural habitat if they are not going to be eaten. All brown trout over half a kilo (one pound) should be returned as they are the most valuable of the brood stock. Fly fishing is generally the order of the day and certainly so on the best quality waters. Spin fishing is permitted on some of larger lochs. Bait fishing is not permitted in fresh water lochs and rivers.

Blue Icebergs

Take a look at these blue icebergs. They appear as if there were diamonds.

A blue iceberg is, in fact, visible after the ice from above the water melts, causing the smooth portion of ice from below the water to overturn. The rare blue ice is formed from the compression of pure snow, which then develops into glacial ice.

Icebergs may also appear blue due to light refraction and age. Older icebergs reveal vivid hues of green and blue, resulting from a high concentration of color, microorganisms, and compacted ice. One of the better known blue icebergs rests in the waters off Sermilik fjord near Greenland. It is described as an electric blue iceberg and is known to locals as "blue diamond".

Cartoon fans

Abby and Elly are cartoon fans, especially the latter who is totally absorbed in cartoons. She even stops drinking milk from her cup, watches and smiles at the cartoons she is watching.

This time she sees some big-eyed children skating at a playground in television. Though she does not know how to play the game, she loves to see these big boys and girls in TV playing and shares their fun.

She likes Elmo and Abby Cadabby in Sesame Street best because she often asks us to play their videos from Youtube.

Recent programmes she watches are BabyTV and 我們這一家(主角─花師奶,花老爺,花帶柑,花帶桔).

Traffic in Tolo Harbour

Tolo Harbour is never busy. The water is calm on most of the days of a week. The slow-going barges, some with cranes, pulled by tug-boats do not stir up the sea as they go.

Speedboats or fast marine police patrol boats are different. They speed across the harbour cutting up the sea water and leaving behind long lines of white foam and waves.

I like this kind of quiet sea traffic in Tolo Harbour.

Recent Breakfast at Fairwood

Fairwood at City One is always crowded with people. To get a seat there, we must go as early as possible on Saturdays or Sundays.

Last Sunday, we were able to reach it at seven fifteen and found two single luxurious “sofa” seats with a small table in between. There are three such sets of seats by the window in the whole restaurant and we were so lucky to find empty seats for the very first time.

Prices of food rise rapidly in these years and so as those of breakfasts.
Here was our example of twenty-five dollar set: chicken fillet (shrunk in size already), harsh-brown with salted beef, macaroni with shredded ham and a cup of hot drink (we chose Horlicks).

The container of the macaroni shapes like our Hong Kong Coliseum which narrows down. This means that as soon as one finishes the top layer of food, he/she will see the bottom of the bowl.

自由創作二人組

昨天早上，阿比和艾莉在睡房中好有默契地分別拿著玩具搖鼓和口琴，各自搖和吹起未經編排的樂章。

吹著口琴的艾莉自然無法哼出心愛電視劇「潛行狙擊」的主題曲；阿比則邊搖邊唱，很陶醉地瞇著眼唱出無字的歌。這時刻令我感受到兩姊妹正分享「合奏」的樂趣，而欣賞她們的表演的正是擁著有限音樂細胞的公公！

Landing at the Old Kai Tak Airport

No one disagrees that our old Kai Tak Airport is one of the dangerous airports to land.

Usually aeroplanes had to turn 90 degrees before the “Signal” Hill (with a chess-board on the vertical surface of a small hill at Kowloon Chai), lowered their altitudes, passed hundreds of low buildings at Kowloon City and aimed at the single short runway at the edge of buildings. Sometimes planes could not fly straight at the runway because of strong winds. Quick steering and immediate correction of route were necessary.

The location of the airport was so close to residential buildings made the pilots very excited every time they land, but such awareness for a safe landing raised the skill of the pilots to a high level.

Appreciation of Bromeliads

Without photo contributions from my classmate as well as friend, Stephen Wong, I cannot show you these varieties of bromeliads.

The top two rows of photos and the largest one on the right are Neoregelia.

The second bottom photos show, from left to right, Neo Corriea Araujoi, Alcan Imperialis Rubra, Neo Gee Whiz and Neoregelia.

The bottom photos are, from left to right, Vr. Fosteriana, Vr. Hieroglyphica, Neo Rose Morn and Neo Lambert's Pride.

A Garden of Bromeliads

To study Bromeliads, the best place is Stephen Wong’s garden.

Stephen is mad at growing various kinds of plants of the family of Bromeliads. I am sure Stephen can tell anyone about the characters of each of his plants, their growth and special behaviours.

A Grand House in Australia

This is the grand house of my classmate, Stephen. I have been there before. From my impression, his house resembles a modern palace.

The largest photo shows the view of his house from his backyard. The top left photo shows the front of his house and next to it is the view from his house to the road with wide steps descending to his main door.

Stephen grows a lot of plants, mostly bromeliads (鳳梨科植物), at his front as well as back yard. He tells me that, in the family of bromeliads, he grows Guzmania, Neoregelia and Vriesia.

Red Plums and Pears

The day before yesterday, I found red plums and pears that came from U.S.A. in a “P” supermarket.

The supermarket named the red plums as “恐龍蛋布冧”, On the labels were printed Prune Rouge. Well the plums looked beautiful and attractive. They cost $19.2 for 5. On another side, there was a dearer kind of yellow plums (around $30 for 5) also called as “恐龍蛋布冧”. I bought the cheaper kind and found out that they were not sweet at all. Here I presume the dearer plums are sweeter and that extra ten dollars will be responsible for the sweetness.

The pears are called Scully Bartlett. The weakness of these pears comes from their over-mucous texture.

Japanese Wisteria

Japanese wisteria (日本紫籐) bears the longest flower racemes of any wisteria; they can reach nearly half a meter in length. These racemes burst into great trails of clustered white, violet, or blue flowers in early- to mid-spring. The flowers carry a distinctive fragrance similar to that of grapes.
Japanese wisteria can grow over 30m long over many supports via powerful clockwise-twining stems. From a distance, it looks like a waterfall.

The foliage consists of shiny, dark-green, pinnately compound leaves 10–30 cm in length. The leaves bear 9-13 oblong leaflets that are each 2–6 cm long. It also bears numerous poisonous, brown, velvety, bean-like seed pods, 5–10 cm long that mature in summer and persist until winter. Japanese wisteria prefers moist soils and full sun. It is amazing that the plant often lives over fifty years.

A Flying Chinese National Flag

Today is October 1, the Chinese National Day. I need not go to neither Golden Bauhinia Square nor Tiananmen Square to watch the flag raising ceremony because below me a National flag is flying peacefully and quietly at the roof of a school.

There is no procession, no national song nor ceremony of any kind because all schools over Hong Kong are closed today.

It is very windy, so the flag flies high and flaps all the time. It is definitely different from the “hard” flag the first U.S. astronaut was holding when he landed on the moon.

雨中等過馬路

我拍這兩張照片時，相隔只是幾秒，但觀感不同。

今天下午時晴時雨，無聊得向窗外望，找拍攝靈感。就在這時刻，眼前的景像很特別─有打著傘的行人正等著過馬路。

看著他們很有耐性地等候行人過路燈轉綠的情景令我佩服不已。

右面那一張照片構圖及色彩很美，原因是行人拿著傘的分佈很平均，有不同顏色的雨傘出現，大家不約而同的望向前方等給自己開步走的訊號是有趣的，你是否同意呢？

數學題:右面那幅相比起左面那幅多了幾人？

觀察題:有幾多位行人是原封不動，無移動過一步呢？

What animal is it?

Hints:
[1] It has the ability to run at maximum speeds of about 97.5 kilometres per hour (60.6 mph).

[2] It lays the largest egg of any living bird.

[3] It usually weighs from 63 to 130 kilograms (140–290 lb).

[4] Its eyes are said to be the largest of any land vertebrate – 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in diameter.

[5] It has three stomachs.

Run, Run, Run

Our two grand-children, Abby and Elly, ran round and round a children’s park the day before yesterday. It was safe to run on that soft-to-bouncing ground. Abby started the run and little Elly followed her sister from behind. Though Abby, light-weighted and tall, won several metres before Elly, the latter did not give up the run. She strove on with her own short legs.

Before this, the two sisters went to the top of a slide. They found the slide too hot for sliding because they could feel the heat of the sun when sitting at its top. We told them to play at a lower and shorter slide near by. They both welcomed the idea. Their climbing, swinging, steering at a wheel and tip-toeing over the bars (with my close supervision) occupied almost an hour at the playground. All through the time, their spirits were high. I wondered if they would have nightmares that night.

Buondolce

Finding new things each day is rewarding.

Today from a rack in a “P” Supermarket, I discovered small sponge cakes in packets of ten. Each packet cost about twelve ninety Hong Kong dollars. There ought to be four flavours, which I found only three, namely, chocolate & honey, strawberry and milk. I thought the missing one was orange.

The attractions of these cakes come from low prices, beautiful outlook, “milk & yogurt” and their special flavours. To me, they are a little sweet, but they satisfy me.

The moment I picked them up and studied its "country of origin", I was astonished to see the language used was Japanese. Later I learned from the web-address that the product was from Italy.

Buondolce is just the brand name of cakes while Freddi was the company’s name. This is similar to Camry as to Toyota.

This company produces other products, say, Swiss roll, Omamma, PicNic, Dolcetto and Moretta. Their outlooks are more or less the same, rectangular, except those Swiss rolls.

It is very nice to see Italian food become popular in Hong Kong markets. I do support Italy’s food products.

一個不用上班的日子

今天八月廿九日早上颱風納沙 (Typhoon Nesat) 帶給大部分的香港市民一個不用上班的日子。昨晚我臨睡的時候，天文台仍舊發出三號風球信號；睡醒了，天文台已發出八號東南烈風信號。學生們、老師們不用上課固然開心，上班一族，除了服務性行業的員工，亦不用返工，享有額外半天甚至一整天假期。太太及我今天都無需照顧孫兒，自然放假一天，確要爭取多些時間休息。

今天的快餐店、餐室、酒樓、超級市場、街市、報紙檔、麵包店都照常營業。上述的正正是市民在打風的日子要去的地方。

早上附近的麥當當坐著幾枱青灰間隔制服的九巴司機們 (這裏其中一幅照片中，可見在巴士站過夜的一批巴士還未開走)，因為天文台已經在早上四時四十分宣佈八號烈風信號，全港的巴士停駛了。港島的電車、過海渡輪也不例外。除小巴、的士及港鐵(有限度服務)之外，公共交通工具的停駛帶給在風暴下還要返工的市民不便。

今次納沙只是在香港南面三百公里外掠過，所帶來的災害不大──只是一些大樹及一個巨型棚架倒塌壓著一部的士(的士司機無恙，乘客受傷)。也許清晨一艘浮塢斷纜漂浮向杏花邨岸邊撞擊，威脅民居的事件算是比較嚴重一些而已。

Glue and Oil paint

Abby made two mischievous acts, one on this Wednesday and the other Thursday.

First act: She took out a bottle of glue from her dad’s desk in the reading room, returned to her tiny blue desk in the sitting room and began to squeeze glue onto a page of a single-lined book. Next she used coloured pencils to dip into the glue and draw. Certainly the colour could not go through the sticky glue onto the paper. I warned her not to do this, but she did not listen to me or stop right away. A second thought came to me that in that instant, I should not stop her “creativity”. I let her do it, but warned her that she would dirty the table. Abby went on adding glue onto the page and spilt some onto the table. I was a little agitated.

At first, Elly, sitting next to her sister, was doing something quietly. Soon she joined her sister and wiped her hands onto the thick spread of glue on the page. I was filled with fury at this point because Abby had started the mischievous act which caused her little sister’s hands and fingers all dirty with glue. I seized the bottle of glue and the book, and threw them into the dustbin and carried Elly quickly to the toilet to have her hands washed clean. I feared that Elly would swallow the glue, a chemical which might be toxic to her. I shouted to Abby, too, to clean her hands. I looked like a "mad" man at that time. Obviously, Elly would not like my idea of forcing her to wash her hands. Afterwards, I let grandma to calm and settle her down. I thought that I had to show to my grandchildren that they were wrong and that I was angry at their naughty acts.

Second act: Abby, this time, took out another book and picked an oil-based marker pen to draw on it. I warned her that if she drew out of the pages of the book, she would dirty the table and make the table difficult to be cleaned. The consequence came out that she did dirty the table with a spot of yellow when she flipped the wet page of paint onto it. I was sure that yellow spot would stay there forever. If we use an oil solvent to do the cleaning work, the solvent may as well solve the blue paint of the table. That was an unforgettable “scar” Abby made on her lovely blue table.

Opal

Two young men travelled from Adelaide to Darwin. They stopped at Coober Pedy (in South Australia) which people called it the opal capital of the world. They met several workers at the mine drilling and insert small explosives into holes and blast the red soil up. What they aim at is the opal (蛋白石).

Opal is the national gemstone of Australia, which produces 97% of the world's supply. It is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl and basalt.

Opal's internal structure makes it diffract light; depending on the conditions in which it formed it can take on many colors. Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the reds against black are the most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common. It varies in optical density from opaque to semi-transparent. For gemstone use, its natural color is often enhanced by placing thin layers of opal on a darker underlying stone, like basalt.

Besides the gemstone varieties that show a play of color, there are other kinds of common opal such as the milk opal, milky bluish to greenish (which can sometimes be of gemstone quality); resin opal, which is honey-yellow with a resinous luster; wood opal, which is caused by the replacement of the organic material in wood with opal; menilite, which is brown or grey; hyalite, a colorless glass-clear opal sometimes called Muller's Glass; geyserite, also called siliceous sinter, deposited around hot springs or geysers; and diatomite or diatomaceous earth, the accumulations of diatom shells or tests.

功夫新星

繼魔法擂台之後，無線推出新節目功夫新星，前者帶出娛樂給觀眾之外，同時吸引喜歡玩魔術的人才出來表演，霎時間使香港產生玩魔術熱潮，是一個不可多得的節目，而後者亦發掘了好些習武的年青人大顯身手(表現拳腳功夫、 舞動不同的兵器)，切磋武藝之餘， 亦訓練其膽量，不斷接受新挑戰。評判團都非常有份量，當中有武術前輩，大師和武打明星，所給予參賽者的批評非常中肯。

參賽者共有十二人， 經過幾輪比賽之後，只留下六位比較出色的賽員角逐最後兩名香港區武術代表資格與另外六位從外國回來的選手比賽。

在決賽中，香港區有一男一女做代表 (穿黑色服裝那兩位)， 其餘六位來自英國、馬來西亞、美國等等不同的國家(穿白色服裝那六位)。最後由香港女代表何佩珉得到評判一致的讚賞奪得功夫新星的榮銜.

評判認為何佩珉耍的棍比很多的演員打得狠，亦很出色。最後何佩珉從武打女星及最佳影后惠英紅小姐手中接過冠軍腰帶成為功夫新星.

Playing Balloons

Elly and Abby play balloons in two ways:

[1] They strike them to me from the top berth of their twin beds and I hit back to them.

[2] They ask me to pump a balloon to a suitable size first and release it with the air escaping from the mouth. The ball will then thrust forward and fly freely before them. No matter where the balloon will fly to, they cheer.

What’s on TV?

Yesterday when I took this photo, Elly was watching TV.

What’s on TV at that time?

She was imitating an action. There are 4 options below.



[1] Someone was licking ice-cream.
[2] Someone was drinking coca-cola.
[3] A dog was licking his master.
[4] A dog was panting in the heat.

過中秋節

今年中秋節很特別，我們在馬鞍山與Connie一家人渡過。

菲臘煮了幾碟精彩的餸菜給大家分享，包括魚手指、釀蟹柳菇、蔥花白切蒸雞、豆豉蒸排骨，清蒸石蚌魚、白灼白菜仔和脆(菲臘形容給艾莉聽)菜芯。

這次又是大廚出馬，有兩菜四肉(豬肉、雞肉、鮮魚和雪魚)，尤其豐富，我們只是在等食而已。

大家的胃口都非常好，除雞骨豬骨之外，全部飯餸都食清光。

飯後每人吃八分一個雙黃月餅，應一下節，又經濟，又保健。

我們一行七人(包括兩位孫女)試闖馬鞍山公園去賞月。未入公園之前，已見人群從四方八面走往公園。大大小小都拿著最近興起的液體塑膠彩環，也有傳統的燈籠，不過用蠟燭燃著的為數不多，現時大多數的燈籠都用乾電芯。

艾莉拿著的是小小的楊桃形燈籠，心情是靚絕的。阿比的則是白兔燈籠，難得有四個比五元大些的小輪子可以給阿比拖著走，不過在凹凸不平的行人路是非常難控制的。

進入公園大門，已經發覺這個馬鞍山「維園」充滿著人，其大部分都是大小家庭成員盤坐在草坪上，各自各精彩，有玩弄手上的彩環，輕談說笑，四處竄跑，也有吃月餅、楊桃等應節食物。菲臘不忘教兩個女兒去賞月。

回想兩年前在加拿大過中秋，當晚菲臘興致勃勃地駕車載我們到溫哥華烈治文近機場的河濱賞月。到了河泮，燈光微弱，空無一人，我們還以為找錯了地方。兜了一個圈子，最後都是在路邊停下來，原因是我們是帶來月餅，多少都要找個地方吃掉它(們)。

踏上堤岸(稍高於馬路)，才發覺這堤壩很窄，我們約走廿步已達水邊。在這裏遠望對岸正是溫哥華國際機場。在頭的右方是高掛的月亮，它令我即時想起兒子正在地球的背面放著假(因香港是在中秋節翌日才是公眾假期)。

當時那裏有點寒意，大家怱怱吃過月餅，想著快些鑽進車子回航，忽然遠處駛來一輛汽車，在我們的車附近停下來，走出車外的人彷彿見到這裏已經有人家在賞月一定是沒有找錯地方，來趁一趁「熱鬧」(其實熱極都是大大小小六個人)。不消一兩分鐘我們已經將車開走了，留下了另外一個家庭去賞一個冷清清的中秋月。

10-year pain on 911 attacks

I remember the breaking news on television at around 9 p.m. Hong Kong Time on September 11, 2001. The camera lens stayed for long on a burning skyscraper, later two, from a long distance. Smoke was coming out of the building. Later on I learned that the twin towers of World Trade Centre in New York City were attacked by two hijacked passenger planes.

These are the facts of the attacks (from Wikipedia) on that single day:

Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers took control of four commercial airliners en route to San Francisco or Los Angeles after takeoffs from Boston, Newark, and Washington, D.C. Planes with long flights were intentionally selected for hijacking because they would be heavily fueled.

The four flights involved were:
[1]American Airlines Flight 11 (from Boston to Los Angeles)
[2]American Airlines Flight 77 (from Washington to Los Angeles)
[3]United Airlines Flight 93 (from Newark to San Francisco)
[4]United Airlines Flight 175 (from Boston to Los Angeles)

At 8:46 a.m., 5 hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center's North Tower (1 WTC), and at 9:03 a.m., another 5 hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower (2 WTC).

5 hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.

A fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, under the control of 4 hijackers, eventually crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh at 10:03 a.m. after the passengers fought the hijackers. Flight 93's ultimate target is believed to have been either the Capitol or the White House. Flight 93's cockpit voice recorder revealed crew and passengers attempted to seize control of the plane from the hijackers after learning through phone calls that similarly hijacked planes had been crashed into buildings that morning. Once it became evident to the hijackers that the passengers might regain control of the plane, one hijacker ordered another to roll the plane and intentionally crash it. Soon afterward, Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville.

Three buildings in the World Trade Center Complex collapsed due to structural failure. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. after burning for 56 minutes in a fire caused by the impact of United Airlines Flight 175. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. after burning for 102 minutes. When the North Tower collapsed, debris fell on the nearby 7 World Trade Center building (7 WTC), damaging it and starting fires. These fires burned for hours, compromising the building's structural integrity, and 7 WTC collapsed at 5:21 p.m. The Pentagon also sustained major damage.

I can feel the pain in the hearts of families of the victims and those who sacrificed themselves to save people from the burning twin towers and at the burning section of the Pentagon. Tribute should be paid to those heroes that fought against the terrorists on Flight 93 plane, thus avoiding it from attacking the White House.

Shogun Burgers

I like Shogun Burgers (將軍漢堡) because of the taste of its sauce. The burgers landed in Hong Kong several times before, but appeared for a week and two and then disappeared. I did not understand why. Maybe it was one of the tactics used by Mc Donald.

Tonight, we went to dine at the Mc Donald at City One. We ordered 2 shogun burgers with chips and cola, a cheese double burger and a Mc Chicken. The shogun burger in my hand was so familiar and the taste had never been forgotten. The success of this burger is the sauce. I hope these burgers will not disappear once more.

Looking up from the square outside Mc Donald, I could see two fast food restaurants, Café de Coral and KFC. Today at 5 p.m., Café de Coral was closed down because it was going to be renovated. From the mouth of one of the service ladies, I learned that Café de Coral would re-open in December. The next-door KFC had a different fate. It would be closed down by 9 p.m. three days later. Probably it would not be found in this area any more.

Recently, I find new information on Mc Donald’s food packages. This time, on the paper container for chips, I see the description of the potatoes used. Earlier, in 2009, I found information on Mc Donald's food in terms of words and cartoons on their packages in Canada. I agree that the information gives effective promotion of the food sold in the restaurant. That is the customers know what they are eating, where they come from and what ingredients there are in the restaurant.

Good news to me this morning (September 13, 2011): KFC will re-open at City One after 2 months' time. This is what the staff tell the customers.

Angry birds

Angry birds is a game I like to play in an i-pad. In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds using suitable projectiles (拋物線) at pigs stationed on or within various structures, made of wood, ice or stone, with the target of hitting the pigs directly or damaging the structures, which would cause them to collapse and kill all the pigs on the playfield. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player.

There are several different types of birds used in the game. In the earliest levels, the basic red bird, the weakest power it possesses, is the only one available. A blue bird can separate into three birds; a yellow bird which can speed up while in the air; a black bird explodes and a white bird can drop explosive eggs. The pigs themselves also appear in different sizes. While small pigs are relatively weak and are easily destroyed either by direct hits or by debris from the damaged structures, larger pigs are able to sustain more damage. Also, some pigs wear helmets as armor, making them more resistant to damage, while pigs with crowns can take the most damage.

It is an interesting game to play, but successes base on the projectiles one choose. Tactics must be taken to break the wooden structures, not the stony ones.

Valencia oranges

Here is a good-looking Valencia orange grown in South Africa.

Let us read about the history and specialities of these oranges from Wikipedia:

The Valencia Orange is a sweet orange first hybridized by California pioneer agronomist and land developer William Wolfskill, on his farm in Santa Ana, United States.

Its name comes from the city of Valencia, Spain, known through history for its sweet orange trees, originally from India. The patented orange hybrid was later sold by William Wolfskill to the Irvine Ranch owners, who would plant nearly half of their lands to its cultivation. The success of this crop in Southern California led to the naming of Orange County, California. The Irvine Company's Valencia operation later split from the company and became Sunkist. Cultivation of the Valencia in Orange County had all but ceased by the mid-1990s due to rising property costs from urban sprawl, which drove most of what remained of the Southern California juice orange industry into Florida and Brazil.

Primarily grown for processing and orange juice production, Valencia oranges have seeds, varying in number from zero to six per fruit. However, its excellent taste and internal color make it desirable for the fresh markets, too. The fruit has an average diameter of 2.7 to 3 inches (70 – 76 mm). After bloom, it usually carries two crops on the tree, the old and the new. The commercial harvest season in Florida runs from March to June. Worldwide, Valencia oranges are prized as the only variety of orange in season during summer.

The following are my opinions towards the oranges:

The colour of the outer skin of these oranges is a “rich” orange and the shapes are good. It is a disappointing thing to find that these oranges are without navels. I agree that these oranges are fit for orange juice because they are sweet, but the skin of each slice of orange is too tough to bite open.

What has happened to this bun?

Look at this piece of bun with a circular hole at its centre. It is the hard work of Elly who makes the hole.

Elly loves sausages. Whenever she is given a sausage bun, she eyes on the sausage alone. Eating only a small bit of bread, she presses her face against her target (sausage) and bites. Her drilling skill for the meat is best when the bread is soft. She is a carnivore, isn’t she? To save food, I am always the person who deals the left-over, which means she eats the meat and I eat the bread.

Summer in Greenland

It is warm in summer Greenland since it has long hours of daytime. The photos here reveal a harbour view in the southwest.

Greenland (part of the Kingdom of Denmark) has an area 10 times as big as that of England. Eighty percent of its land is covered in ice. Its capital is Nuuk (formerly called Godthab). The chief means of transport is by boat or ships.

Its total population is around 56000, eighty-eight percent of which are Greenlanders and the rest Danish and others. The people speak Greenlandic, Danish and English. Their houses are in strikingly bright colours. The National Day is on July 21, which is the longest day of each year.

吃鳳爪

昨天是八月底最後的一天，阿比和艾莉在酒樓首次食豉椒鳳爪。艾莉用手吃雞肶和雞翼已經熟練到不得了，何況是區區半隻雞腳(原因是送上枱前已被切開了)。阿比見妹妹開始吃鳳爪，馬上嚷著要吃另外一隻。

雖然艾莉今次吃的並不是雞肉，而是雞皮，但她吃得津津有味，這是可以從她滿面笑容的食相見得到。阿比見我和妹妹映相，也要我映她吃鳳爪的樣子，那是我求之不得的。鳳爪的吸引力是來自醬汁的味道，我相信兩位孫女是喜歡的。

A Mini-van

Today when I stepped out of a “W” supermarket, I was shocked to see a lovely small black-n-white van at the side of the road. From its classic design and look, I could figure it out to be a Volkswagen.

“When was it first made?” suddenly came to my mind. It seemed to me a toy car rather than a van.

I wonder how the driver drives it on the road without a number plate. Some words (Japanese and English) and numbers were written on its windscreen. Awkward enough, there was a paper strip at the metallic part just below the windscreen. Was it rusty there?

After all it is a clean interesting car. I love it. The words written on the windscreen reflect to me that this car may have been bought back by someone from a deposed car “graveyard” and have its second life.