Passion Fruit

Yesterday afternoon when visited a friend of mine, I marvelled for some time at the lovely passion fruits that were hanging down the wooden vine support. The fruits appeared to be very round with smooth dotted skins.

Passion flowers are native to Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina provinces. Its common names include passion fruit (UK and US), and passionfruit (Australia and New Zealand), and purple granadilla (South Africa). Please note that the flower of the passion fruit is the national flower of Paraguay.

It is cultivated commercially in warmer, frost-free areas for its fruit and is widely grown in India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, California, Florida, Haiti, Hawaii, Argentina, Australia, East Africa, Mexico, Israel, Costa Rica, Venezuela, South Africa and Portugal.

The passion fruit is round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced; passion fruit juice is often added to other fruit juices to enhance the aroma. (See the drink my friend served us at the bottom right of the top photo. It is passion fruit flesh plus cream soda)

The two types of passion fruit have clearly differing exterior appearances. The bright yellow variety of passion fruit, which is also known as the Golden Passion Fruit, can grow up to the size of a grapefruit. It has a smooth, glossy, light and airy rind, and has been used as a rootstock for the Purple Passion Fruit in Australia. The dark purple passion fruit is smaller than a lemon, though it is less acidic than the yellow passion fruit, and has richer aroma and flavour.

Some people wonder at the parts of the passion flower and the tendrils. They say:
(1)The three stigmas reflect the three nails in Jesus's hands and feet.
(2) The threads of the passion flower resemble the Crown of Thorns.
(3) The vine's tendrils are likened to the whips.
(4) The ten petals and sepals regarded to resemble the Apostles (excluding Judas and Peter).
(5) The purple petals representing the purple robe used to mock Jesus' claim to kingship (Mt. 27:28)

Abbreviations on a KMB bus

Today at Choi Hung, on the walls of a pink bus I found abbreviations of a Question Mark and a Colon and nothing else. Soon I understood what it meant.

What does it mean to you?

Seckel pears

Recently I bought several pears which appeared green with a blush of red across it. "W" supermarket calls them as 紅胭脂啤梨. After surfing the Internet, I find their name as Seckel pears.

According to a source of information, good-quality Seckel pears will be small or even bite-sized with no bruises and only a few minor scuff marks. The coloring will be green with dark-red blush or nearly all red. Pears are ripe when they take on a yellow hue and yield to gentle pressure at the stem end.

From my experience, when the pears has turned from red-green to red-yellow, they have ripen already. The pear which I cut open was a bit over-ripe. The texture at the time I eat it has become that of a potato. There are a few root-like things inside. I wonder if the pear has entered the stage of rottening. To find out if those unripe Seckel pears appear in the same condition, I cut and taste them. Well, their qualities equalize with those ripe Anjou pears I ate before.

I learn a lesson that I do not have to wait for such Seckel pears to ripe (red-yellow). Just eat them as I wish. Never let them rotten!

Since Seckel pears are available August through January, there will be a lot of time for my exploring their taste when the supply is still abundant

The virtues of Seckel pears are Low-fat, Sodium-free, Source of fiber, a source of vitamin C and Cholesterol-free.

It is interesting to know that pears can be kept to ripe at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag with a couple of ripe bananas. When the pears are ripe, they can be refrigerated until one is ready to eat them.

Another fact is that pears are cousins of apples. The American varieties come from Europe, where they migrated from central Asia. Early colonists brought the first trees to America where they thrived until blights became severe. Most pears are now grown west of the Rockies where diseases are less of a problem

Happy Dancing

Recently Edward Li sent me a video-link https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pwe-pA6TaZk?rel=0 which goes to a video showing happy people, young and old, dancing in various places of the world. May this video bring love to mankind to do away with hatred, conflicts and wars.

I saw an advertisement (see the photos) showing people dancing and singing in similar manners, but it is a commercial one.

Men’s BMX race London Olympics

The start list of athletes in Men’s BMX race London Olympics
by countries was:
1.    USA
2.    The Netherlands
3.    Latvia
4.    Columbia
5.    Australia
6.    Great Britain
7.    Columbia
8.    The Netherlands
Guess which countries win the gold, silver and bronze medals in this race?

Women's BMX race (Final) London Olympics

The start list (final) of the Women BMX race in London Olympics was:
1 Great Britain Shanaze READE
2 France Laetitia le CORGUILLE
3 Australia Caroline BUCHANAN
4 Columbia Mariana PAJON
5 France Magalie POTTIER
6 New Zealand Sarah WALKER
7 USA Brooke CRAIN
8 The Netherlands Laura SMULDERS

By judging the colours of the track suits, you can easily trace the order of the athletes during the race. Well in this race, M. Pajon took the lead all the way and became the champion. S. Walker came second and L. Smulders third.

The winners of Gold, Silver and Bronze by countries were Columbia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. I find these lady medalists particularly very young and beautiful and am greatly impressed by their courage, strength and skill in the race.

BMX race course, London Olympics

BMX races are expected to be thrilling, dangerous and full of excitement at London Olympics. The race course starts with a sharp slope, at the top of which the athletes begin to descend and accelerate and it extends with wavy, up-and-down dunes on which the athletes jump up, land and accelerate. In addition, sharp bends like woks and a tunnel have added much interest to the race course.

Accidents may occur at moments when the athletes cannot balance themselves well when landing on those wavy curves or at the bends. The bottom photo shows the dangers of athletes falling down or colliding along the course.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a very nice kind of vegetables. Let us look at it from Wikipedia:

蘆筍(即露筍)的嫩莖可作蔬菜食用。

西方人一般將其削皮蒸熟或煮熟後，再佐以融化的黃油或奶酪食用。
東方人也喜歡用蘆筍配肉類炒菜。綠蘆筍維生素A含量豐富，滋味青脆爽口；白蘆筍則含有 大量的水分，具有甜嫩多汁的口感。好的綠蘆筍，全株形狀正直，筍尖鱗片應為緊密，不長腋芽，沒有水傷、腐臭味，光澤油亮，細嫩粗大者為佳；而白蘆筍，最好挑選20公分以內的長度，筍尖緊密，色澤白，未長腋芽、水傷或病蟲害者為佳，若發現白蘆筍有由乳白轉紅的現象，表示品質已惡化，選購時應特別注意。

蘆筍在購買後最好能新鮮立即食用，但不宜生吃，也不宜過度烹煮，過度烹煮營養素易流失，其做法除包括清燙後淋上醬汁即食的簡單吃法外、舉凡蒸、煮、炒及焗等樣樣皆可。汆燙處理後的蘆筍，最好淋上沙律醬或少許的植物油，其油脂的成分，能有利維生素A的吸收。如果真的不能馬上食用，可用紙巾或報紙 將其包住，置於冰箱儲存，但也不宜擱置超過3、4天。

每年的三月到六月是蘆筍的最佳產季，其營養非常豐富，不僅不含膽固醇，更是蛋白質、葉酸、維生素C和B、膳食纖維及鉀、硒、磷、鋅等微量元素的豐富來源，是很好的抗氧化、防癌的食品，同時具有降血壓、利尿、治水腫、消除疲勞的功效。

蘆筍的熱量不高，但是保護性的營養素含量豐富。每100公克只有20大卡左右，主要的熱量營養素是碳水化合物，與市面上流行的番茄汁相似。生鮮的蘆 筍含鉀豐富，每100公克可以提供200毫克以上，而且鈉的含量極少，天然生鮮的蔬果一般都有這種特質。經過加工的產品通常鈉的含量會大幅增加，綠蘆筍罐 頭的鈉含量超過鉀，番茄汁的鈉含量也比生鮮番茄為高，因此蔬果類食物不宜完全以加工產品取代生鮮食物。除了鉀之外，綠蘆筍還有適量的鈣與鎂，這三種礦物質有益於心血管健康和預防癌症。

蘆筍有良好的抗氧化能力，在一系列常用的蔬菜之中排名第十，比多種知名的保健蔬菜如洋蔥、青蒜、綠花菜、番茄、大蒜等都高，只有甜椒、紅高麗菜、芽 甘藍與菠菜比蘆筍高。因為綠蘆筍有豐富的β胡蘿蔔素，如果代謝生成維生素A，每100公克可以提供318 微克﹔豐富的葉酸，每100公克可以提供85-120微克﹔還有維生素C的含量也很豐富，約為大白菜的1.5倍左右。

香港之奧運新星

在場地單車女子凱琳(Keirin)賽，香港的單車選手李慧詩(Sarah LEE Wai Sze)是決賽六名參賽者之一，她的對手來自中國 、英國、法國、澳洲及加拿大，要摘取一面獎牌的機會只是二分之一。

開賽前，大家排列在同一起步綫，由內至外分別是法國、香港、中國、加拿大、澳洲和英國。一開始，郭爽(中國)領先，李慧詩隨後，英國和法國選手分別在第三、四位。比賽全程是繞八個圈，一眾選手踏著單車排成一條長蛇陣緊隨領航電單車加速至最後三個圈才展開衝刺。

緊湊的時候隨即開始，後面的車手要把握時機突圍而上，那麼就是加速從外圍(鑊形車道較高位置)追趕。當時澳洲車手首先發力突圍而上領先。其間，英國車手老實不客氣也衝上來。

鏡頭一轉，澳洲選手不知去向，相信是否突然墮後，反而英國的選手後上領先，隨後是郭爽及李慧詩。最後，英國名將彭妮頓以短距離過終點勝出奪金。中國郭爽屈居亞軍得銀牌，而我們的李慧詩得銅牌，為香港奪取奧運史上第三面獎牌。
`
今次摘銅，李慧詩遇上不少波折。Sarah於初賽僅第四位衝線，要參戰復活賽。她吸取首場教訓，復活賽開賽不久便搶入第三名位置，最後首名衝線躋身複賽。她在複賽搶佔領頭車位置，但後來被夾擊下一度跌落第四位，眼看出局之際發力狂衝刺，終以第三位衝線殺入決賽，最後一舉贏得銅牌。

李慧詩在牛頭角長大，小學讀柏德學校，中學是梁式芝書院，後者體育科主任高麗珊形容慧詩是一名活潑開朗及拼勁十足的女孩。李慧詩就讀中三時，學校推薦她參加體育學院的「明日之星」計劃，完成體能測試後，獲單車總會挑選參與運動員訓練，直至中五會考後，便決定做全職運動員。

李慧詩自幼患有貧血症，一般而言會因體內紅血球數目不足，降低運動能力或增加身體疲勞及肌肉疼痛感覺。不過，個性硬朗的她卻甘願向難度挑戰，投身以運動量極高而聞名的香港單車隊，更隨隊長年於昆明作高原訓練，以增強體內的帶氧能力。

獎牌路上波折重重，李慧詩於零六年在內地進行公路訓練期間，為閃避狗隻而「炒車」造成左手骨折，一年內先後進行三次手術，教練沈金康見狀亦覺心痛，曾幾次勸喻愛徒退役。

手部力量對單車運動員攸關重要，李慧詩卻能力抗傷患為港爭光。港隊隊醫郭志堅坦言：很少運動員進行過三次手術後，仍能重返運動場，認為若非有很大決心，絕對難以登上奧運這世界級舞台。

A Short Comedy at the Opening Ceremony of London Olympics

Mr. Bean (acted by Rowan Atkinson) appeared as one of the musicians at the performance of the philharmonic orchestra during the London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony. His loose ways of playing the musical instrument, such as using a mobile phone, sneezing, taking something from a chair behind him, had created some elements of a comedy.

It followed that Mr. Bean fell asleep and dreamed that he was one of the runners in the 1981 British film called “Chariots of Fire”, which tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics. Mr. Bean was at first among the team of runners and soon he fell far behind because he ran too slowly. The next shot showed that he mounted on a beach jeep and a few moments later he was heading the team and finally dashed across the finishing line.

Mr. Bean woke up, finished his playing the piece of music and stood up to receive the applause from the audience.

Olympic 48 kg class Weight-lifting (Women)

In the 48 kg (body-weight) class (Women) weight-lifting, WANG Ming Juan lifted a weight of 91 kg in Snatch and that of 114 kg in Clean & Jerk with a total score of 205. She won the first Gold medal in weight-lifting for China. MIYAKE of Japan and RYANG of Peoples’ Republic of Korea came second and third respectively. All the finalists in this event come from Asia, namely China, Japan, Peoples’ Republic of Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Japan and India (in order of merit).

The First Gold medal to China

YI Si Ling (易思玲), being young and sweet, won the first Gold medal to China in Women’s 10 m Air rifle with 502.9 points on July 27. She joined the athletic team in 2008, won in the world champion competition in 2010. Her team mate, YU Dan (喻丹) came third after Sylwia BOGACKA of Poland.

Shooting needs steady hands, a calm mind, slow breathing rhythms, good eye-sight and skill. It is very difficult indeed to shoot at the designated small target within 10 metres. Any shaking hands or disturbances in the mind would have ruined a shot.

Congratulations to these two young girls of China. Hope that they will also get very  good results in the next Olympics.

An Interesting film-clip, cast by James Bond and the Queen

Before the Opening Ceremony of Summer Olympics started, a short film called Happy and Glorious was broadcast, featuring James Bond (played by current Bond actor Daniel Craig) entering Buckingham Palace. Bond escorted Queen Elizabeth II (who played herself) out of the building and into a waiting helicopter, which flew across London to the stadium. At the end of the film, Bond and Her Majesty jump from the helicopter and this was interspersed with live footage of actors playing the pair who parachuted out of a helicopter over the stadium (using Union Jack parachutes).

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh (as well as Count Rogge, President of the IOC) were then introduced in the stadium. The Union Flag was then raised by members of the British Armed Forces, with the national anthem performed a cappella by the Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children

Flying over River Thames

Flying over River Thames towards Olympic Stadium on a helicopter, the cameraman brought me a feeling of flying over this famous river in Great Britain.

The journey well began from London Eye (the large wheel on the right-hand side of the first photo near Jubilee Gardens. There are quite a number of bridges here such as Golden Jubilee, Charing Cross, Westminster, Waterloo and BlackFriars (railway) Bridges.

The dome-shaped building is St. Paul’s Cathedral and the most attractive bridge of all is the Tower Bridge on which Olympic Rings are hung at the moment.

River Thames meanders and many ships, big and small are at anchor and recently warships even station along it to give protection to this vibrant city of the world.

The helicopter suddenly flied across a bend, turned left and dashed its way towards the Olympic Stadium, dressed in white, at London Olympic Park.

Penguins full of love

The penguins in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SkY03n0_sD8&vq=medium are sunbathing. The adults, full of love, are taking good care of their young ones, feeding, teaching them to walk, brushing their furs and guiding them for a hike. 

螞蟻可變色

通常人們頭腦中螞蟻的形象是黑色身體，不過最近一位英國科學家拍出一組彩色螞蟻的照片，其中的秘密源自螞蟻所吃的食物顏色。 這組照片是由53歲的科學家穆罕默德‧巴布博士拍攝的。他的靈感來自妻子哈梅埃姆，她發現螞蟻的肚子在喝了牛奶後變成了白色，並把這一發現告訴了巴布。

巴布博士由此大受啟發。他將糖和紅、綠、藍、黃等顏色的食用色素混合在一起，做成膠狀的彩色糖槳，放在花園裡吸引螞蟻。螞蟻吃了顏色各異的糖後，半透明的胃的顏色就變成了他們所吃的糖的顏色。這正應驗了英語中那句老話 “食如其人You are what you eat.”。正如這些照片顯示，螞蟻腹部的顏色會根據所吃糖水的顏色而變化。有一些螞蟻還能從一個顏色變成另一個顏色。

這組照片看起來新奇有趣，可是拍攝的過程並不容易。巴布說：“儘管在短短幾分鐘就可以吸引到很多螞蟻，但還是需要重拍很多次才能達到我想要的效果。拍一張照片也是很辛苦的，因為在短短幾分鐘之內，前來的螞蟻就已經非常多，這時我就要右手操作我的照相機，左手忙於趕走多餘的螞蟻。

Mc Flurry and Typhoon Vicente

Yesterday inside a Mc Donald’s, Elly and Abby enjoyed eating McFlurry (麥旋風). Elly chose Oreo (曲奇麥旋風) and Abby Smarties McFlurry (聰明豆麥旋風). Grandma suggested them to share the two different ice-cream flavours between them.

The Smartied and Oreo in the Mcflurries had been crushed to small pieces and mixed with soft ice-cream. What clever is to create such “duets” in ice-cream!

Outside the McDonald's, strong winds were blowing. At that moment, typhoon signal number 3 had been hoisted and Typhoon “Vicente” was taking a northward course towards Hong Kong. It was expected that typhoon signal number 8 would be hoisted at around 6 o’ clock in the evening. Soon our two grand-daughters experienced strong winds and rain drops beating on their faces on their way to the nearby MTR Station. Their parents were coming to take them home.

Fortunately they could still walk with ease on their way though their hair had been flying with the winds all the time.

It was dramatic enough to find typhoon signals changing so rapidly through the night, number 8 being hoisted at 5:40 p.m., 9 at 11:20 p.m., 10 at 00:45 a.m. and 8 again at 03:35 a.m. Strong winds were blowing and heavy rain falling continuously, but it was a "fast" show.

歐國盃決賽最溫馨的時刻

歐洲國家盃決賽最溫馨的時刻落在西班牙球隊勝出後, 球員返回場邊從觀眾席把自己的子女抱在懷裡時開始. 這些小孩天真可愛,見到慈祥父親的笑臉,尤其開心.

最特別的地方是那些父親球員為子女穿上和自己用一號數的球衣,也不忘把他們的名字印在其上. 喜見其中有些小朋友還跑出球場,甚至在龍門口玩耍一番.

今次西班牙球員在決賽上除了球技出類拔萃之外,也顯現出濃烈的父愛情懷.

Children watches

This afternoon at a Mc Donald’s, our grandchildren showed us their new watches given by Auntie Pal. To our surprise, they displayed them in ways similar to those of models.

At a close look, each watch has an hour-hand and a minute-hand with numbers round the face. Elly’s watch has a red to purple face while Abby’s a white one. It seemed to me that Abby was able to read the time from her watch, but Elly could not. Anyway, it was a good practice for the children to know about time and be punctual in the future.

Coffee hurts

This is a joke which my student, Edward, sent me. See if you can guess the reason why "coffee hurts".

In the week leading up to Canada Day, I was eating lunch with a friend and her 6-year-old granddaughter. She was pretty animated as she talked about school and friends and teachers.

As I sipped my coffee, I asked her, "What special day is coming soon on July 1st?"

She said "Canada Day". She's a smart kid. So, I asked....

"What does Canada Day mean?"

Waiting for her reply with something about the flag, confederation etc. She Replied......."Canada Day is when the Prime Minister steps out of the Parliament Building , and if he sees his own shadow we'll have one more year of high unemployment."........

You know, - it hurts when hot coffee spurts out your nose.

黃蝶採蜜記

今早熱浪逼人，吃過早餐，去過超級市場，歸家巳是九時左右。路過彎曲的花槽，忽見一隻色彩不甚繽紛的淺黃色蝴蝶在花叢間飛舞。我以最快的速度掏出隨身相機，像影迷追「星」的姿態去追著這隻小小蝴蝶。它忽左忽右飄渺的飛行路線，弄我至汗流浹背。可幸它每每用上幾秒鐘停留在鮮紅的龍船花上，慢條斯理去採花蜜─那麼樣，我才有足夠時間去捕捉這隻忙碌而不怕人的蝴蝶採蜜這組鏡頭呢。

A Bed of beautiful flowers at Hong Kong Park

For a few minutes near the entrance of Hong Kong Park last Saturday, I gazed at these beautiful flowers in a flower bed. The flowers were mixed so well that they were worth looking at for a whole afternoon.

How can different flowering plants be “blended” in such a good combination? The gardener must have spent a lot of time in designing in his/her head how to imbed the flowering plants into the soil so that they can grow harmoniously together.

The Statue of Liberty at Mid-levels

Last Saturday, July 14, Elly was given a red flower with a green stalk twisted from narrow balloons at her cousin’s birthday party in a restaurant at Mid-levels, Central. An idea blinked at my head. I made a gesture to her to raise her flower as she was kneeling on a chair close to me.

She followed my instruction and raised her flower high for a photo taken. At that moment, I imagine her to be the "Statue of Liberty" at New York. Her smile, full of sunlight, was completely different from the stern look of the cold Statue in the United States. Elly was holding her “torch of fire” by her left hand, instead of the right hand by the Statue. Another obvious difference is that Elly did not hold a book in her other hand.

At that moment, Elly suddenly reflected the image of the famous Statue in New York to me, which was indeed a very interesting flash across my mind.

Parrot Flowers

It is rare to see this kind of flowers that grows in Thailand. The flowers look like parrots and they belong to a protected species. Is there any relationship between the flowers with real parrots? I don’t know.

Euro2012歐洲國家盃決賽

Euro2012歐洲國家盃決賽終於在昨晚(七月一日)來臨。西班牙國家足球隊擁著2008年歐洲國家盃冠軍及2010年世界盃冠軍榮譽而來跟意大利隊硬拼。

開賽初期雙方互有攻勢，西班牙眾球員的精準短傳真了不起，進攻時有很大作用。西班牙的守門員卡斯拿斯亦很出色，為己方救出兩三個險球。

在14分鐘，21號球員大衛施華走位迅速刁鑽，在中路得到10號球員法比加斯在底線回傳，一腳把足球踢進龍門裏面成一比零。

在41分鐘，18希號球員艾巴接應從後傳球單刀直入把球送入網內。賽果變成二比零。


下半場，意大利3號球員基亞連尼扭傷了腿而退出陣線，意大利隊要十人應戰(因為球員已換盡)，全隊即時雪上加霜。

被換入的9號費蘭度托利斯在84分鐘為西班牙射入第三球。這時意大利隊大勢已去，冠軍希望幻滅了。

西班牙的13號球員馬達得很到費蘭度托利斯傳中擊球入網。賽果頓成四比零。

最後西班牙國家隊以無敵姿態取勝及蟬聯歐洲國家盃冠軍！

Euro2012歐洲國家盃決賽前之列隊儀式

Euro2012歐洲國家盃決賽前，千人操之後， 西班牙和意大利球員牽著一班小朋友的手魚貫進場. 兩隊在國旗旁邊列隊，意大利的國歌隨即奏出。

鏡頭開始捕捉每一位意大利球員唱國歌的表情。這裡唱得最投入的是隊長(即守門員)保方。鏡頭一轉，忽見球隊後方近中場位置有一班歌手正在伴唱意大利國歌，當然他們唱起歌來比球員們的更悅耳更動聽啦。

隨後奏出的是西班牙的國歌。令我覺得奇怪的是所有球員都合攏了嘴巴，好像人人不識唱自己國歌一樣。原來從電視台評述員口中得悉西班牙國歌是沒有歌詞的！

兩隊的守門員保方及卡斯尼拿斯(同是隊長)互相交換錦旗，又和球証一一握手。主球証以擲毫方式由勝方決定選場。

Euro2012歐洲國家盃決賽前奏

Euro2012歐洲國家盃(即歐洲足球錦標賽)決賽於七月一日在基輔可容納60000人的奧林匹克球場舉行。

球賽前奏是千人操。分別穿上奪目的橙和綠色彩衣的表演者砌出穿著足球鞋的「大腳」不斷踢球，也見「人頭」在頂頭鎚。從一鏡頭，我捕捉到巨球入了直正龍門裏面。其間有一位美女歌手在巨型銀色國家盃前面跳舞唱歌。最後表演人員砌出一個人人皆有的一個美麗的心來結束表演。

一個黑暗的日子

二零一二年六月二十八日是德國國家足球隊一個黑暗的日子。這隊雄心勃勃的球隊在上半場開賽20分鐘被意大利9號球員巴洛迪利接應隊友轉中的球在近龍門用頭鎚頂入第一球。

在36分鐘，巴洛迪利又接到隊友一個長傳足球單刀直入，在禁區頂附近勁射足球入網，賽果成二比零。令我最感動的一刻是其中一位女觀眾流下眼淚來。這可見她內心悲痛不已，我當時的心情也很沉重。

可惜的是德國隊在下半場像洩了氣的氣球，始終把握不到機會反平 。雖然在臨完場前獲得一球12碼，但一切都太遲了。完場笛聲一響之下，球隊原本想進入決賽的希望立即幻滅了!

A harvest of plums

These plums are most inviting to look and taste. They grow in the backyard of my dear colleague, Felix.

Felix told me this: “We had planted this tree (the one with white flowers bears fruits) for 2 or 3 years. In the previous year we did have just a few fruits, so strictly speaking this is the first year we have this "harvest". That's why we feel it exciting about this "first time".

The taste is good. The flesh is sweet and soft and very juicy -- it is the kind that once you don't have to bite through the hard flesh (maybe we pick them when they are fully ripened), and instead you can break up the flesh even with your tongue and enjoy the sweet juice in it. The skin is just a little sour and blends well with the sweet flesh inside. We like them very much.

The plum tree flowers somewhere in Feb/March, and it takes 2-3 months for the fruits (at first green and small) to mature to this size.  We picked the fruits on 2012/6/28.”

Which soccer team will win in Euro 2012?

Maybe the clues come from this advertisement which appears occasionally throughout this month in TV. By looking at the make-ups of national flags on the faces of the two gentlemen, either Germany or Spain will become the champion. Do you believe this?

In my opinion, the German team will win in the Final match this time because it is strong, all-round and swift in its attacks. Germany’s opponent, Spain is still strong this year because it is full of football “stars”. The Final on Sunday, June 30th, must be a tough match!

Germany vs Greece Euro 2012

It was a quarter-final match between Germany and Greece on Friday, June 22, 2012.

At 39 minutes, Philipp LAHN (16) of Germany team struck a long distance ball at the goal of Greece. The ball went straight into the net. This brought the first goal to Germany (1:0).

Not long, at 55 minutes, a swift attack by two fast-running Greek footballers had brought back hope to the Greece’s side. Long-haired number 7, Giorgos SAMARAS dashed forward and stretched his legs to hit the ball into the net. It was the work of his team-mate by a short, but effective pass. That goal had raised the atmosphere of the stadium to a climax. Nobody knew what would happen next. The score was an equalizer 1:1.

At 61 minutes, the midfield footballer, Sami KHEDIRA, near the penalty-goal mark struck his ball into the net. Germany regained their confidence and the team was once more on the upper-hand (2:1).

Seven minutes later, at 68 minutes, striker Miroslav KLOSE hit the ball which flew in from the right corner into the net with his forehead. He kissed his right fist to celebrate for his effort. The score became 3:1.

A fourth goal was scored by forward 21 Marco REUS, at 71 minutes. It seemed that Germany had overwhelmed Greece with 4:1.

Miraculously, Greece got a penalty goal at 89 minutes. It was because Greece 15 accidentally struck the ball at Germany 20’s right hand. Greece 14, Dimitris SALPINGIDIS, scored the goal easily since the Germany goalkeeper hopped in the opposite direction. It was just a consolation score because it was too late for Greece’s rebound for a victory over Germany. It was 4:2.

Greece finally lost the game when the whistle was blown by the chief referee. Germany could go into the semi-final. It is going to play the match against Portugal in a semi-final.

The Deck of cards

A Deck of cards can be cartoonized like the one in the photo above, but it could be meaningful to a soldier who had a very different point of view on cards.

Tex Ritter made the story of "The Deck Of Cards" popular in the 1940's.This may be a newer video added to version, but still worthy of viewing (Click the words in blue).

捱眼瞓的日子

這兩星期都過著捱眼瞓的日子，原因歐洲國家盃足球賽(波蘭及烏克蘭合辦)正一浪接一浪的在香港深夜時分舉行，可是免費台總共只播放四場比賽，如果又想免費看其餘的實事，就要自己想辦法了。

   
這裡介紹的是烏克蘭當地六月十五日(星期五) 晚上九時正英格蘭對瑞典的比賽.

英格蘭國家隊由謝拉特(Stephen Gerrard)率領，對方瑞典隊由伊巴謙摩域(Zlatan Ibrahimovic)帶軍。開賽前，場中央有大約一百人砌出麥穗和維京人在航行中船隻上的圖案 。眾球員列隊牽著可愛的小童入場，站在國旗旁邊。兩國的國歌隨即奏起，然後球員互相握手。雙方隊長互換錦旗和握手，面上都是木無表情，神色俱見凝重，繼而與執法的五位球証一一握手；循例由兩隊長抽籤，主球証以擲毫方式決定,而勝方可選擇場地。

最初兩隊成拉鋸戰。在上半場二十三分鐘，英格蘭9號球員卡路爾(Carroll)得到隊長長傳足球,第一時間跳高用頭鎚將足球頂入對方龍門成一比零.

下半場開賽四分鐘瑞典隊3號美爾保(Mellberg)得到隊友在禁區外傳球輕易送球入網，賽果成一比一。

十分鐘後(即第五十九鐘), 瑞典3號美爾保又接到長傳足球,今次他用頭鎚攻入今仗個人第二球。當時全球英格蘭球迷好像跌入了深淵一樣。

到六十四分鐘時，幸福之神再次降臨在英格蘭球隊身上。入替的7號球員禾確特(阿仙奴的Walcott)短時間內在禁區外不遠的正中位置大力勁射足球入網。對方的球員眼白白的目送足球入自己的龍門，入球紀錄被改寫成二比二。

七十八分鐘，效力曼聯的英格蘭22號球員韋碧克(Welbeck)在瑞典龍門面前背向用後腳巧妙地鈎入致勝的一球.

這場三比二的球賽高潮迭起， 讓球迷看得如癡如醉，大家心情像坐過山車一樣，又起又跌，結果是英格蘭球隊大有機會入準決賽。 看這場免費球賽真是賞心樂事，大清早才上牀是值得的。

Photos of recent Solar Eclipse by specialists

In this particular year 2012, many people are deeply interested in viewing the eclipses of the sun whether it is annular or partial or not. Here are some photos taken by specialists in photography or astronomy on May 20. I just marvel at these photos, but not knowing how they can be taken by cameras of the specialists.

The top left photo shows the Eclipse over the Golden Gate Bridge:

Although San Francisco was just below the path of the eclipse to see a proper ring of fire, it has been quite amazing to see the tiny crescent of the sun right above the South tower of the GGB. Great day over the Bay!

This photo was taken in Marina District, San Francisco, CA, US, using a Canon EOS 5D.
Image Credit : Marco Pelo

Both the top-right and bottom-right photos are montages.

The bottom left photo shows The Lord Of The Ring (Annular Solar Eclipse) on.May 20, 2012
Sundown, TX.by Chris Lynch.using a Nikon D7000.

The bottom centre photo was photographed by Randall Benton, Sacramento Bee/AP. 

蝴蝶蘭與日本葵共舞

最近我發現屋苑的園藝師巧妙地把泥土像牛油塗上麵包似的填在這棵日本葵嶙峋的樹幹上，再植上黃色小花的蝴蝶蘭。在微風下，小花像蝴蝶們在日本葵樹下徘徊飛舞，猶有動人及有趣的詩意！

Very Interesting Photos

 
 
Usually we freeze movements of moving objects in a photo, but a lady photographer in New York City. Jamie Beck, on the other hand, makes something move inside her photos. I like these photos.

The 2012 transit of Venus

The 2012 transit of Venus (金星凌日) occurred on 5 June when the planet Venus appeared as a small, dark disk moving across the face of the Sun. It began at 22:09 UTC, and finished at 04:49 UTC on 6 June. Depending on the position of the observer, the exact times varied by up to ±7 minutes. Here it is a photo Peter Ng gave me yesterday. To me, Venus in the photo looks like a dirty particle on the lens of a telescopic camera.

Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable celestial phenomena and occur in pairs eight years apart which are themselves separated by more than a century: the previous transit was in June 2004, and the next pair of transits will occur in December, 2117 and December, 2125 which means they are none of our business.

The entire transit was visible from the western Pacific Ocean, north-westernmost North America (Peter Ng and Felix Ching can see it), northeastern Asia, Japan, the Philippines, eastern Australia (Ho Keung’s family can observe it), New Zealand, and high Arctic locations including northernmost Scandinavia, and Greenland. In North America, the Caribbean, and northwestern South America, the beginning of the transit was visible on 5 June until sunset. From sunrise on 6 June, the end of the transit was visible from South Asia (people of Hong Kong can see it), the Middle East, east Africa, and most of Europe. The phenomenon was not visible from most of South America nor from western Africa.

Three wheels vs Four wheels

It was a happy day yesterday to both of my grand-daughters because Philip and Connie bought Abby a bicycle with two auxiliary wheels at the rear and Elly a small tricycle.

I heard that they rode from the toy-shop at New Town Plaza to Shatin MTR (Railway) Station. Most probably they used lifts instead of escalators. How interesting it was to see two little girls riding a long way through the thick crowds of people at the Plaza!

Abby’s bicycle is dearer than her little sister’s tricycle. It has a bell and a braking system which seems quite high-graded. Elly has a doll of “Doraemon” at the control handle and a small rack at the rear wheels for carrying her private luggage.

The colours of the toy bicycle and tricycle surprise my wife and me at the first sight. The reason is : Abby loves blue colour, but she preferred this pink bicycle. On the other hand, Elly loves pink, but she leans on to this blue tricycle. Maybe there was no choice of colours of toys that favoured the two children.

The grand-children had a cycling practice today at the public park below. There was no problem for Abby because she is already six and can master the skills easily. She rode swiftly and much much faster than Elly. Deep in my heart, I hope that Abby can strengthen her thin legs through cycling. To my surprise, Elly was able to steer her tricycle well and alone at the circular track of the park although she needed more strength at each start of drive. For some time, she kept calling us when we were out of her sight.

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik (杜布羅夫尼克) is an old city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Croatia(克羅地亞). It is one of the most outstanding tourist resorts of the Mediterranean, a seaport and the centre of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Its population is about 43,000 in 2011. Dubrovnik is nicknamed "Pearl of the Adriatic" and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

The city of Dubrovnik was built on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages it became the only city-state in the Adriatic to rival Venice. The city achieved a remarkable level of development during the 15th and 16th centuries. Furthermore, Dubrovnik was one of the centres of the development of the Croatian language and literature, home to many notable poets, playwrights, painters, mathematicians, physicists and other scholars.

Today Dubrovnik is an elite destination and one of the most beautiful towns in the Mediterranean. Dubrovnik used to be an independent republic, surviving mostly on trade. It managed to survive many centuries, with constant threats to its territory, particularly from the mighty Ottoman Empire and Venice.

Dubrovnik is attractive in stunning architecture and sculptural details, and boasts of its spectacular churches, monasteries, museums, and fountains (Onofrio is an example). Note that Rector’s Palace is an important museum to study the development of the city.

Some sleeping poses of cats

Cats like sleeping. Here you can see some of them sleep comfortably in different poses – some hanging, curling or straightening-out like human, piling up and drooping because of tiredness. They all sleep well and enjoy every moment of their relaxation. Of course some possess skills of their own.