復古色彩巴士

今午眼前一亮，我幾乎不相信自己的眼睛。從行人天橋上向下望，竟然給我一大驚喜─一部以復古顏色的奶白色頂和紅色車身的九龍巴士在總站停泊著。

最令我懷念是出現在下層車身中央那個古老的九龍巴士(一九三三)標誌。

其實這部巴士不是較新型號，而是稍為舊款的巴士，這正好配合復古的味道。這樣獨特的仿古巴士在我們的街道走，一定帶回大家舊日一絲絲的回憶！

Six Furlong

Brother Anthony and sister-in-law invited my wife and me to have lunch at Six Furlong Restaurant at Happy Valley. They said that it would be a pre-birthday lunch with me because my wife and I would be busy again in January in babysitting businesses.

Through two tunnels, facing a little congestion at Cross Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hum and up a narrow uphill road, we reached Shan Kwong Road JC Clubhouse.

This Six Furlong Restaurant has high ceiling, but not as comfortable as that of Ladies’ Purse at Shatin. [Note : 6 furlongs (an old British unit for distance) = 1320 yards]

The prices of food in the red menu had risen. I did not know if the prices are special for Christmas, but anyway eating out should be more expensive than at home.

There was cream soup or Chinese soup or duck’s meat as appetizer. The main course were beef steak or lamb chop or others. For desserts, we ordered Black forest cake, Chocolate Musse cake, cream on jelly and orange-flavoured cake.

Wow! Such set lunch priced at one hundred and forty-five dollars each. Probably it is the most expensive lunch I have ever had. Thanks to my brother’s hospitality.

A Spinning chair

Elly, Abby, Hayley found a shell-like plastic chair which can be spun round and round. Uncle HL Wat worked as the spinner. Every time when one of the girls sat inside, the orange curtain/blind was lowered and Uncle spun them as if they were on a Merry-go-round.

Hayley was the first to spin. We laughed several times when she walked out from the capsule chair on the lawn with unsteady steps. Probably she was a little dizzy after such spinning motions.

Doctor Sung suggested a method to reduce or minimize the dizzy effect. When one spins the chair in one direction, say clockwise, he should spin it in the the opposite direction, that is anti-clockwise, before he stops.

Abby was the next to try, then followed by Elly. At one time when Abby was sitting inside, Hayley and Elly attempted to spin the chair, but it was really difficult for them to do so.

Once Elly sat inside the chair and I acted as the spinner. What did she say to me inside when I was spinning the chair? Guess what she shouted to me. Below are the options.

A. Slower, slower!
B. Be Gentle!
C. Raise me up!
D. Faster, faster!
E. Stop, stop!

Christmas Eve 2011

Four cousins (in rosy pink, white, light pink overcoats and a red jumper) sat together at the dining table to witness the cutting of a birthday cake by their granduncle/grandfather.

Blowing of candles and singing birthday songs went over and over again because all the six girls at the party liked this game. Abby was the chief blower of the candles.

Finally the birthday cake was cut and shared among the diners. Elly and Abby eyed on the chocolate chips at the top of the cake and no doubt, they were given what they wanted. They ate them with fingers instead of spoons. As if a make-up, the chocolate melted at their fingers and round their mouths casting up two funny, but dirty faces.

The Green Lantern

Fresh News from Australia about a new roller-coaster

The Gold Coast theme park hopes that the Green Lantern, regarded as “the steepest inverted drop on a rollercoaster in Australia", will appeal to those visitors who enjoy gut wrenching, heart pounding, blood curdling action. Plummeting face-first down an “120-degree inverted drop" while travelling up to 66km/h is enough to turn some white with fear.

The ride on a 488-metre electric green track pulled “3.5Gs on hairpin bends". Oh, I am sure it is not a game for me, but to astronauts or pilots.

A Touch of Christmas

Here are some photos of Christmas Decorations on the window curtains of a few tall buildings in Wanchai and Christmas trees at different plazas.

May I wish, on this day of December 24, 2011, my readers especially, Felix, David, Sc, Ho Keung, Yin Ping, Connie, my students, classmates, relatives and colleagues a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and thank you all for your endless support to my small corner of writings. Hopefully I can write further on.

Elly turned into a baby Reindeer

Mother Connie put these pink antlers (hair clips) to Elly’s hair before dinner on the night of December 5, 2011. In a matter of a few seconds, Elly was turned into a baby Reindeer. Elly did not pull them off, but accepted them as funny ornaments on her hair for a while.

A Golden-coloured Christmas tree

A huge golden-coloured commercial Christmas tree is erected and placed in front of i-SQUARE, Tsimshatsui. It is not a real tree, but looks like a cone built up by golden balls of a famous brand of chocolate.

I believe there is no chocolate content inside these round balls because the heat of the sun would have melted the chocolate and turned it into a mess if there were really any.

This Ferrero Rocher chocolate (金莎朱古力) has deep-rooted in the hearts of my family because we eat quite a lot of them at Chinese New Year.

Volkswagens as taxis

It is amazing to find Volkswagen beetles as taxis in Mexico. The models of these beetles are not the latest versions like those I saw in Vancouver, but the versions much much earlier with flat windscreens. The reason for so many such green beetles running in the city was that they were very cheap at time of sale.

Deep Bay at night

Yesterday I was invited by Mrs. D. Chan, my good friend and old colleague, to attend her daughter’s wedding banquet at Deep Bay Yacht Club (深灣遊艇會) .

After chatting with Mrs. D. Chan, eating snacks, drinking cocktail and some photo-taking, my other colleagues and I walked out to a third-floor verandah where we marvelled at the beautiful night view of the club and Aberdeen Harbour.

Below were swimming pools decorated with light bulbs over trees and pavilions. Further out in the harbour were two floating restaurants, Jumbo (珍寶海鮮舫) and Tai Pai (太白海鮮舫). Both restaurants sparkled with bright light. On the shore, on my right, were two piers where shuttle boats were carrying tourists to and from the restaurants.

Without such a chance of visiting the Yacht Club, I would not have taken such night-view photos.

Mrs. Garfield (Flower)

我發夢都估不到原來花也有嘉菲太太之稱。

這裏照片中高貴優雅帶有粉紅色花朵的朱頂蘭正是嘉菲太太。四朵同高度的花長得很奧妙，剛剛向著東南西北四個方向, 擁有指南針般的功能。

朱頂蘭的花莖通芯，花朵較大（13-20厘米）； 荷蘭培育品種先出花後出葉；南非培育品種先出葉後出花，其他品種多數花葉並出。 不同品種在不同季節開花，春夏秋冬都有，通常一年一次，少數一年兩次，有常綠及休眠兩種。

朱頂蘭較早在南美洲被發現並帶返歐洲培育；十八世紀開始，由荷蘭人大量地培育用作商業買賣，所以一路以來園藝培育的品種愈來愈多。

不同的朱頂蘭原生環境差別可以很大。Hippeastrum elegans 來自溫暖濕潤，陽光充沛的草原，Hippeastrum aulicum 卻附生在樹枒之上，樹蔭之中；有些品種的朱頂蘭長在懸崖峭壁，另外一些又會長在沼澤或河邊。

東南亞地區例如廣東，福建，台灣，馬來西亞等，水土和氣候都很適合朱頂蘭生長，並且能夠露地越冬。很多品種的朱頂蘭在這些地區都只會半休眠，甚至不用休眠。

3-D spectacles

Little sister Elly wore a pair of 3-D spectacles after taking her nap in the afternoon of November 29. I did not know how and where it came from. The paper spectacles were of the very primitive kind with one lens red and the other blue. Elly asked me to help her put them on because the thin blades did not fit well on her ears. The spectacles were supposed to be tightened by a rubber band round the head at the back.

Elly considered it big fun to add something new to her eyes. Since Elly did not watch any book, film or TV which is designed for three dimensions, I guessed she would soon become dizzy with things that were mixed with red and blue colours at her eyes. Luckily she did not wear the spectacles for long, otherwise the latter would make her eyes confused for a short time.

After school, big Abby picked up the same spectacles and put them on at her forehead for different poses. She just spent little time in wearing it too.

I remember that when I was watching 4-D “Shrek” inside a theatre at Universal Studios, LA, the spectacles were made of plastics and they were definitely more comfortable and enjoyable than those paper ones Elly and Abby wore.

Latest news: The ends of the blades of the paper spectacles attaching to the rubber band were gone because either Elly or Abby had torn them with force.

The Lacerda Elevator

The Lacerda Elevator is one of the most interesting spots in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Since Salvador was so populous a city for most of its history, city planners tried to figure out ways to help transport people to and from work over the rough landscape. The Lacerda Elevator was devised as a solution for moving workers from the harbour to the city proper. It is situated in the Cayru Plaza in the neighborhood of Comércio next to the Modelo Market, and connects the Cidade Baixa (Lower City) with the Cidade Alta (Upper City).

It first appeared in 1873 and became electric in 1907. By 1930, the elevator was renovated and expanded. Still working and transporting people over 130 years, the Lacerda Elevator is a must on any trip to Salvador. Built by Augusto Frederico de Lacerda with steel imported from Europe, the elevator was actually the most important method of transport in those times. Today it is estimated to carry approximately 30,000 passengers per day. It costs 5 centavos to ride the elevator and the entire trip lasts about 30 seconds.

At the top of the elevator, tourists can see a beautiful view of the harbour with luxurious yachts and boats anchored inside a shallow-watered typhoon shelter. The sea water beyond is in darker blue.

Elly’s first interest on birds

It was the first time, on November 18, that Elly saw a sparrow walking on the floor of a wide footbridge at an estate. Never had she seen such a small creature so closely with her eyes. She was holding her grandma’s right hand, so she was never afraid. She watched every move of the sparrow with interest. Her smile showed that she would like to accompany the bird and be her friend.

I was busy taking photos of her at that moment, not knowing if she spoke to the bird or not. The little fat sparrow, on the other hand, was not scared by the approaching couple. It did not fly away immediately, but remained calm as if it knew that there was no threat. It hopped a little towards the open and at last jumped to the railings and flew away to join its family.

Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock 艾爾斯岩 (Uluru 烏魯魯) is a large sandstone rock in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km south west of Alice Springs; 450 km by road. Uluru and Kata Tjuta (卡達族達) are the two major features of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (烏魯魯卡達族達國家公園). Uluru is sacred to the Anangu (阿倫特人), the Aboriginal people of the area, and listed as a World Heritage Site (世界自然遺產).

Uluru is one of Australia's natural landmarks, 3 km long and 2 km wide. The sandstone rock stands 348 m high with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total circumference of 9.4 km. Uluru is an "island mountain" left after the slow erosion of an original mountain range.[Uluru appears to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably glowing red at dawn and sunset.

To look at the rock, instead of walking, riding a camel and a helicopter are more comfortable choices. Ayers Rock Resort and Ayers Rock Airport provide respectively nice lodging and fast access for tourists around the world.

棘海棠

最近在屋苑公眾花園的「展覽舞台」喜見兒時日日見的棘海棠(鐵海棠)。那一刻的它立即勾起我往日觀花的閒情逸緻，原來小小別緻的紅花及佈滿尖刺的莖，巳經足足陪伴了我十幾個年頭。

根據資料，這樣的常綠灌木，全株可達2公尺；莖幹粗肥有溝，密生黑色棘刺長2至2.5厘米。當年，我每每步步為營地將長出的新莖穿插在舊有的之間。一不小心的話，那些刺的確可刺破手指.

葉子少數生於嫩枝頂端，倒卵形至長橢圓形，長2.5至4.5厘米，兩面光滑，革質，葉柄短。花序有長花軸，長在枝梢葉腋，總苞2片對生卵形鮮紅、粉紅或黃色，花期5至9月。花苞顏色有紅、黃、橘、粉紅、白色等，而我見到的始終都是紅色的。 我希望日後可以見到其他顏色就好了。

有時，花中心湧出蜜汁；雄蕊有花粉，雌蕊有花柱。總苞片與花序之間有黃色蜜杯4至5個，吸引昆蟲來吸食花蜜及傳播花粉。果實又綠又圓，但我還未親眼見過。若果莖有任何破損或折斷的話，立即流出白膠槳似的汁，像受了傷流血一樣。不過我估計這些汁液十居其九是有毒的。

Marine Police patrol boats

A small grey motor boat sped in opposite direction close to a large Marine Police patrol boat last Thursday. The latter had slowed down before the former circulated round its stern.

From my observation, the small boat must have an officer who would like to get back onto the patrol boat and I expected the tiny boat will be lifted back to the deck of the mother boat by a crane.

A Portrait artist in Italy

The portraits of famous stars in a square in Italy attract people’s attention. This lady has asked the artist to draw a portrait of her for the price of 10 euros.

The portraits of the stars, for example, has been exaggerated to a certain extent, such as thick lips, swollen chins, twisted faces, small eyes, but the appearance, manner and facial expressions of the stars are retained. All these show that the artist is highly professional in grasping the important features and the outline of the faces. What do you think?

Lokum

Basically, Lokum is a kind of sweets made in rectangular or round strips and they are cut into smaller pieces for sale. There are many variations in flavours such as rose, lemon, mint,…. covered on the outside with coconut powder, chocolate or nuts.

Lokum appeared in 1776, invented by a confectioner at Istanbul called Bekir Effendi. Lokum is the short form of Rahat lokhoum meaning "give the throat comfort ".

Safranbolu (番紅花城), a town in the Black Sea region of Turkey, is famous for gold quality lokum in relatively cheap prices. There are a great many choices of lokum there too.

The lokum sold at the Old Bazaar duty free shop at Istanbul Airport are terribly sweet, expensive and marked in Euros.

It is interesting that lokum appears in the film, Narnia, in which the white witch gave the small child a red piece of lokum to eat.

Pinocchio

In these few days, Elly and Abby watch the cartoon film, Pinocchio (木偶奇遇記) with interest.. This film, made by Disney in 1940, fascinated the two girls a lot.

This afternoon, after Abby had gone to school, we took Elly to Ma On Shan Plaza for a walk. On the way, Elly discovered the banners high above her showing a Display of puppets at the plaza during Christmas.

I noticed this earlier and knew that the display of several big and small puppets had already been set up, but I did not tell Elly about it. The reason was simple enough. I wanted to give my grand-daughter a big surprise.

As we were approaching the site of display of puppets, Elly saw the lovely big puppets. Her smiles came with her great delight. We took a few photos of her and the puppets.

We hope that Elly's parents will take Elly and Abby to look at the puppets again in a few days ahead.