First Athletic team emerges

This was how the first athletic team in the 2014 Winter Olympics entered the Fisht Stadium at Sochi. A circle first appeared on the floor of the field. When it was magnified, it was our globe. The globe spun round. We first saw India, next Saudi Arabia, then Turkey and soon it stopped over Greece in the Mediterranean.

A white oval ring and a stripe were shown. From the end of the sloping stripe, a line of athletes in blue suits were marching out . By looking at the flag, one was clear that it was the team of Greece. They waved their hands when walking in, each carrying a big smile. By tradition, Greece was the first team to enter because it was where Olympic Games first started, 

As the Russian National Flag raised ....

When spotlight shone at a stage in front of the main spectator stand, people at Fisht Olympic Stadium understood that it was the moment of hoisting the national flag of Russia. The huge flag of the country had been handed to the men-in-charge. A men's choir was ready to sing the national song of Russia.

In the centre of the field, lines of performers wearing coats that were lit with lights in colours of white, blue and red, those on a Russian national flag. It was wonderful indeed to see the "flag" waved in movement as the performers changed their positions accordingly. Everyone in the stadium including the guests of honour stood solemnly to watch the hoisting of the national flag of the hosting country of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

2014 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics took place at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia, on 7 February 2014. It began at 20:14 when the first fireworks were emitted. The ceremony touched upon various aspects of the Russian history, and included tributes to famous Russians.

The Games were officially opened by President Vladimir Putin. An audience of 40,000 attended at the stadium with an estimated 2,000 performers.

The ceremony, titled "Dreams of Russia", opened with an on-screen video showing 11-year-old Liza Temnikova playing a character named Lyubov (Russian for 'love') reciting the Russian alphabet. Each letter is associated with images of a famous Russian person or landmark. Lyubov then flew into the air as she dreamed of grabbing the tail of a kite and being lifted far off the stage. Nine different gigantic floats (hanging in mid-air), carrying Russian landscapes, passed beneath her as she slept.

Five large snowflakes descended into the stadium which expanded and joined to form the Olympic rings. The fifth ring did not expand owing to a technical error (the red one considered until 1951 to represent continent America).

2014 Winter Olympics Torch Relay

The 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay is being run from October 7, 2013, 123 days prior to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, until February 7, 2014, the day of the opening ceremony at Sochi. In Russia the relay travelled from Moscow to Sochi through 2,900 towns and villages across all 83 regions of Russia by foot, car, train, plane, and "troika" for over 65,000 km of journey. The event have become the longest relay in Winter Olympics history.

The lighting ceremony was held on September 29, 2013 at Olympia, Greece with Greek alpine skier Ioannis Antoniou as the first torchbearer. The first Russian torchbearer was NHL star Alex Ovechkin, who received the torch from Antoniou in Olympia.

The 2014 Olympic Torches were unveiled on January 14, 2013 in Moscow. The torch is stylish chrome with red detail, a traditional colour of Russian sports. It weighs nearly 1.8 kg.

It is memorable that on October 20, 2013, the torches reached the North Pole for first time via a nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy. On November 6, 2013, the torch was flown into space by Soyuz rocket and brought back on November 11. The torches reached Europe's highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, and the depths of Siberia's Lake Baikal.

Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Black Sea coast near the border between Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia. The Greater Sochi area sprawls for 145 kilometres along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains. The area of the city proper is 176.77 square kilometres. According to the 2010 Census, the city had a permanent population of 343,334, making it Russia's largest resort city. It is one of the very few places in Russia with a subtropical climate, with warm to hot summers and mild winters.

馬年觀馬

今年馬年年初四我們一家有機會去上水雙魚河鄉村俱樂部食自助餐及觀賞馬匹。從沙田駕車走高速公路去上水只消半句鐘左右，但在尾段車要轉入彎曲的小路才可到達，的確有些走進鄉村的感覺。

在俱樂部二樓Arena Room享受了一頓豐富的自助餐之後，要幫助消化剛才吃進肚子的食物，最好是往四處走動一下。

這裏有大、小朋友的遊樂場，也有很大片草地給會員散步、玩耍和踏單車。遠望小山丘上有幾座兩層高白色的馬房。我們走上小路近距離見到馬伕牽引著馬匹走路。

所見到的馬有栗色、白色和灰色。牠們都非常馴服，沒有半點脾氣，很有紀律，又神色自若的隨著馬伕。

當我們走近馬房時，發現間中有馬糞留在地上，大家都要步步為營，以免踏上地雷。我們再向最近的馬房走。很開心見到一匹英俊的馬從窗口伸出牠的頭，好像和我們來一個見面禮。

我估計這裏的馬大部分巳退役，不再競跑，而轉作騎術方面。這次偶遇幾匹駿馬，我特別覺得開心，寄望著馬年行好運，事事如意！

Elly and Abby at The Arch

Today, February 2, 2014. Elly and Abby met their cousins at The Arch, a very tall building in Kowloon East because they were going to have lunch together on the third day of the Year of the Horse. They had a wonderful time. Besides eating, they ran about and played Hide-and-seek. For the first time, they sat together to have group photos taken. In one of the photos, Jasmine made herself look like a flower while Hayley, as usual, showed her signature smile.

Elly was attracted by two colourful lion-heads and big fans on a table when she got out of the lift at the restaurant on the 60th floor. I asked her to take up the cover of a golden nugget (actually made of plastic) and let me take a photo of her with the nugget and the lion heads. She smiled and made a pose for me. It was a very successful one. Where had her sister, Abby, gone? Well, she had run for long into the restaurant with her cousins.

One o’clock was not a good time to take photos of Hong Kong Island from the 62nd floor of The Arch because the screen on my camera told me that the glare of sunlight would spoil the qualities of my photos at such an hour. Instead, I preferred a cloudy day for photo-taking.

Happy meals

Abby and Elly enjoy eating “Happy meals” recently because they often become hungry after school. Perhaps they have used quite a lot of energy during school activities or lessons.

On the second day of January, at a Mc Donald’s, I was surprised to find them finish eating their own burger (whole), chips for Abby and corn ears for Elly, and a “Ribena” drink. In the past, they could only finish half the burger and passed the other half to me.

It is a good sign that they eat more. At their dining table at home, Abby and Elly show their great desire for food. Certainly sometimes they refuse to eat certain kinds of food, but their father urges them to eat just a little as a trial.

On the whole, they are quite healthy and have never become fat. In my opinion, being slim is much better than being fat.

Bolo Rei

Bolo rei (King Cake) is a traditional Portuguese cake that is usually eaten around Christmas, from December 25 until the Dia de Reis (Day of Kings, a reference to the three kings) on January 6. It is a staple dessert in any Portuguese home during the holidays.

Bolo rei recipe is from France which finds its way to Portugal during the 19th century when Confeitaria Nacional opened as Portuguese monarchy’s official bakery in 1829. The Confeitaria was the first to introduce this recipe to the country.

The cake itself is round with a large hole in the centre, resembling a crown covered with crystallized and dried fruit.

The bolo rei is baked from a soft, white dough, with raisins, various nuts, and crystallized fruit. Also included is the characteristic "fava", and tradition dictates that whoever finds the fava has to pay for the bolo rei next year. A small prize (usually a small metal toy) was also included within the cake. The inclusion of the prize has been discontinued since mid-90s.

New Bay Bridge

On September 2, 2013, the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic. It is an entirely ​different look and design.  One of the photos show​s​ the old bridge in ​the ​background.

Now that traffic has been safely rerouted on to the new East Span, the original East Span, including the cantilever and truss structures, will be demolished.

For the first time in history, pedestrians and cyclists have the chance to travel on the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. The 15.5-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path opened to the public at 12 p.m. on September 3.

The Guinness World Records has crowned the new East Span the widest bridge, with a total deck width of 258.33 feet (78.740 m), including 10 lanes of roadway, a 15.5-ft-wide (4.724-m) bike path and a gap where the central tower supports the two bridge deck sections.

The new bridge has also been honored with the title for longest self-anchored suspension span bridge in the world, with a length of 2,047 feet.

合作畫

難得東尼舅父昨日放假一天，剛巧兩位孫女來到家中吃飯。飯後，艾莉拿著平板電腦畫公仔。舅父蠻有興趣地和艾莉合作畫一幅畫。

這幅畫晝面很豐富─有天空、太陽、雲、雀鳥，也有載著人的帆船在海上航行。小魚在船旁洶湧的海浪上游過。所用的顏色都十分悅目。

我把握這千載難逢的機會，把合作畫攝進相機裏去記存。

巴中巴

畫中畫(Picture in Picture)是以前電視螢光幕上其中一個功能，即是說螢幕同時顯現兩個畫面(一個是錄影帶或碟上的，而另外一個是某電視頻道上的)。

今次所見的是巴士中有巴士(Bus in Bus)。上面照片的巴士上層及下層的窗門全部都是假的(是繪畫出來的)，而車轆是原原本本巴士的。

請留意，下面照片的巴士最上層的窗門是真的，巴士坐位是清楚可見。當然中層和下層那兩排窗其實是車身，是假的，。

今次巴士車身上的廣告正是香港歷史博物館向大眾推廣今年十一月十一日的懷舊巴士展覽。你們有沒有去看過呢？

Different Airliners at Sydney International Airport, 2007

Upon my request, my relatives in Australia captured the photos of planes of different airlines at Sydney International Airport in August, 2007 before their trip to New Zealand. Here I should thank them for the photos which have been frozen in my computer for 6 long years, not forgotten, but difficult to find.

Air Canada planes at that time have tail fins each with a maple leaf in a black background. In 2009, when I went to Vancouver, the maple leaf at the tail fin of an Air Canada plane stood out in a white background.

As far as I know, Jet Star Airline provides cheap flights with airbuses A320 (capacity: 180 passengers) and internationally A330 (capacity: 303 passengers).

Royal Brunei is the flag carrier airline of the Sultanate of Brunei, headquartered in the RBA Plaza in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the government of Brunei. Royal Brunei Airlines now operates a fleet of 10 aircraft to 14 destinations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia. Its B787 Dreamliner service from Brunei to Melbourne is due to commence in the 2nd quarter of 2014.

Etihad Airways is the National Airline of United Arab Emirates. As of September 2013, Etihad serves 96 passenger and cargo destinations across Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australasia from its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Etihad Airways, along with British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Korean Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways and United Airlines, is one of the few carriers to have services to all six inhabited continents.

Virgin Atlantic uses a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body jets with an average age of 9.1 years as of July 2013 and operates between the United Kingdom, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from its main base at Gatwick with secondary bases at London Heathrow and Manchester. The airline has operated domestic flights within the United Kingdom since 31 March 2013. Virgin Atlantic has orders for Boeing 787–9 and Airbus A380-800 aircraft for delivery beginning 2014 and 2018, respectively. The A380 was expected in service in 2006, but was delayed until 2009 because of problems within Airbus. Virgin then deferred its order to 2013, arguing that it wanted the aircraft to prove itself before it began to operate them. In July 2013, Virgin announced it was delaying the delivery of its A380s until 2018, primarily due to studies as to whether it is a suitable aircraft for the airline.

The order for 16 Boeing 787-9s, with options on eight more and purchase rights on 20 more, was announced on 24 April 2007. The aircraft will replace Virgin's older A340-300s. Virgin has listed Seattle, Vancouver, Bangkok, and Melbourne as possible destinations for the aircraft, saying the 787 would make possible nonstop operations from London to Perth, Australia and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Last time when I flied to San Francisco, I boarded a Boeing 747 of United Airlines. The plane was much older than I expected. Films were projected on a screen lowered from the ceiling. The light was dim and whatever films were on, it seemed that it was always in the night-time. I strongly remember that at mid-night (Hong Kong time), the air attendants served us with cup noodles only soaked in hot water. I think very soon these planes should be put into museums.

Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It is named after the mythical giant bird Garuda of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology. Garuda Indonesia is headquartered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta. The airline operates flights to a number of destinations in Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Australia from its main hub, Soekarno–Hatta International Airport as well as other hubs at Ngurah Rai International Airport, (Bali); Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, (Makassar); and Kuala Namu International Airport, (Medan).

In 2009, a new branding initiative was launched through a new image, developed once again by brand consultant Landor Associates, a new spin of the idea called "nature's wing". Garuda has since replaced the old logo painted on its fleet vertical stabilizer with this new "nature's wing" graphic of blue and aqua shades. The "nature's wing" graphic was inspired by the wings of tropical birds as well as the ripples of waves upon the water. The iconic bird symbol designed by Landor 24 years earlier is still maintained as Garuda Indonesia's logo, however the logotype is changed completely. The new look is expected to be able to "Capture the Spirit of Friendliness and Professionalism of Indonesia".

Emirates is an airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The airline is wholly owned by the government of Dubai. It is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating nearly 3,400 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International Airport, to more than 150 cities in 74 countries across six continents.

The Airports I have visited

I have visited 4 International Airports, namely, San Francisco International Airport, Sydney International Airport, Changi Airport and Vancouver International Airport.

San Francisco International Airport is recognizable by its wall pictures which are in American style. Many United Airline planes can be seen at the airport.









The parking fare at Sydney International Airport is unreasonably high. There are various shops and eateries. Qantas planes dominate at the airport and are easily recognized by the “red kangaroo” at the tail fin.








To me, Changi Airport is impressive by its flowering plants and an aquarium. There is a fleet of Singapore Airline planes at the airport. At the time I visited it, there was an advertisement of A380 Airbuses which were ready to serve passengers to and from Singapore.

Vancouver International Airport is outstanding in statue display. The statues are beautiful indeed. Air Canada planes are in majority, recognizable by the “Maple leaf” at each tail fin.

看著孫兒吃午餐

今個星期二，只有艾莉要上學，於是母親告了一日假陪阿比和送艾莉上校車。

我們倆老把握機會相約她們三母女在沙田吃午餐。


艾莉母親和蕭老師(艾莉的班主任)寒暄幾句之後，帶著兩個女兒往商場和我們會合。

途經幾間食店包括麥當當及飯店都沒有坐下來，原來艾莉母親心中想著往一田美食廣場四處尋找適合男女老幼都愛吃的食物。

在這美食廣場找一張空置的桌子是非常困難，可幸我們看見有一張四人桌坐著一位姑娘，詢問之下，我們是可以坐下來和她共用。

安置了婆孫三人坐下來之後，我和女兒去買食物。首先，女兒從超級市場買了一盒六件三文魚壽司。

之前，阿比不停嚷著肚餓，於是像趕緊去救火一樣，我幾個箭步把壽司送到孫女面前，由婆婆主持大局。回到女兒身邊，原來她正考慮自己的午餐選擇。我不消幾秒已經決定買一碗雜錦烏冬。付了款，不到一分鐘，所叫那碗烏冬就出現在眼前，相信店員一早煮好了烏冬，只不過是找配料放在上面便成。我端著烏冬回「大本營」，換出太太往找女兒商量大家的選擇。我坐在兩孫女對面，一動也不動地看著她們如何去食壽司，原來看起來是一件有趣的事。

當時艾莉氣定神閒及津津有味地在吃著第二件壽司，坐在旁邊的阿比滿不在乎般的還未開始吃。聽到她的解釋，我差點笑了出來。原來，她不喜歡吃壽司中央那小塊三文魚，於是不動手，也不動口。阿比確實太愚蠢了，我立即教她用筷子把她的壽司中的三文魚取出給妹妹吃便成了。阿比那種饑餓，但吃不下三文魚的矛盾心情立即一掃而空，匆匆吃下飯糰似的外圍。姊姊終於暫時解決了問題，妹妹盡吃所有壽司的三文魚，比姊姊吃的份量多。

心想那六件壽司無可能填飽兩個孫女的肚子。話說很快太太和女兒都捧著她們的兩個套餐回來。阿比和艾莉的第二輪食物要靠我們分配─阿比選擇了母親的微辣飯，而艾莉則對我的烏冬有好感。雖然我吃少了，有可能很快又肚餓，但看見聰明的艾莉用我教的啜食方法，幾乎把我留給她的烏冬吃得清光，我的心其實是非常開心的。

A Famous island in France

Le Mont Saint-Michel is an island in Normandy, France. It is located off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. It is 247 acres (100 ha) in size with a population of 44 in the year 2009.


The island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the eighth century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its name. It is good to study the feudal society that constructed it by looking at the structural composition of the town. On top of the Mont are the God, the abbey and monastery, below this the Great halls, then stores and housing, and at the bottom, outside the walls, fishermen and farmers' housing.

One of France's most recognizable landmarks, Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and more than 3 million people visit it each year.

Le Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a tidal causeway,  a trackway covered at high tide and revealed at low tide. This connection has been altered over the centuries. The coastal flats have been polderised to create pastureland, thus the distance between the shore and the south coast of Mont Saint-Michel has decreased, and the Couesnon River has been canalised, reducing the dispersion of the flow of water, and thereby encouraging a silting-up of the bay. In 1879, the tidal causeway was converted into a raised or dry causeway. This prevented the tide from scouring the silt around the mount.
On 16 June 2006, the French prime minister and regional authorities announced a €164 million project (Projet Mont-Saint-Michel)[5] to build a hydraulic dam using the waters of the river Couesnon and of tides to help remove the accumulated silt deposited by the rising tides, and to make Mont Saint-Michel an island again. The project's completion is scheduled for 2015.

The construction of the dam began in 2009 and is now complete. The project also included the removal of the causeway and its visitor car-park. The new car-park is on the mainland, about two kilometres (1.2 miles) or so from island. A light bridge that allows the waters to flow freely around the island will improve the efficiency of the now operational dam. Visitors can walk or use small shuttles to cross the causeway; the future bridge too will be open to pedestrians and unmotorized vehicle.

The above are extractions from Wikipedia.

Elly drawing on an i-pad

Yesterday night, after I had helped Abby spell some English words for preparation of her dictation today with an i-pad, little Elly wanted to draw something on the “chalk board”.

That was a good idea for Elly to draw something herself through her mind and hands. At once, I took a photo of her drawing by camera and studied it carefully. I did not ask her for what she had drawn at that moment.

It may be interesting to express my perception of the drawing.

1.    The rectangular thing is the eyeglass which a diver wears. The two circles are the eyes of the diver. The “S” is a worm or an eel that comes before his/her eyes. The diver is swimming in the sea towards Elly, so we cannot see the body.

2.    The other “S” are worms or eels that stay in the sea swimming or dancing orderly as Elly drew.

3.    The left-hand colourful “mass” is a coral fish also swimming towards Elly.

4.    On the left of the coral fish described in no. 3 is another fish which we see is the lengthwise (side) of the fish.

Here is what Elly describes her drawing:

1. The rectangles are twin doors with circular door-knobs.
2. The "S"s are English letters which she learns from her father in previous Saturday lessons at home.
3. The left-hand colourful mass is her mother.
4. The other one is her favourite sausage roll.

From this, I learn that Elly recalls the letter "S", the vision of doors and the bread she likes most. One thing which is important - she never forgets to put her mother in the drawing.

Though all these are loose images without a close linkage, but it shows to me that  Elly receives good experience in daily life such as food, love from her mother, literacy and the protection device of doors.

Australian Oranges

Recently this kind of Australian Oranges (Navel 6476 - with the map of Australia on labels) are sold at a very cheap price of $8.70 for every three. Its sweetness ranks high than Sunkist Navels or Non- navels (South Africa), Sunkist Valencia (South Africa), Outspan (South Africa) and Red Navel Cara Cara 3110 (producing country unknown).

The latest and sweetest Australian orange is one called Australian "ONE" 4012. Its photo is below.

The sweet Sunkist oranges from the United States have not arrived at the market yet, otherwise they will compete with the Australian ones at costs and degrees of sweetness. I am waiting for that moment for sure.

花比葉多

這些龍船花像趁墟一樣一下子把自己同根生的綠葉遮蓋了。

驟眼看去，矮叢變成一張用花瓣編織成的立體名貴錦繡，也許蜜蜂群已經在這些開得燦爛的龍船花身上採去了不少花蜜作過冬之用。我相信這個景象至少可以維持兩三個星期呢！

Same Bus looks different

There are two kind of new KMB buses here.

My discovery is that the same kind of buses can look remarkably different when they are painted in modern or nostalgic style.

Under the current “gold” paint, the KMB buses look a "wealthy" class of “gold” bars running on the roads of Hong Kong while the nostalgic-look KMB buses bring us back to the old days when we inserted “coins” or bought “tickets” from a bus-conductor or conductress.

A taste of Russian chocolate

Russian chocolate is rarely seen in Hong Kong. Thanks to our relatives who joined a tour to Russia this August in giving us one packet of 75 percent of cacao chocolate. What interests me most are the Russian Alphabet (33 letters) in their language and the figure of a knight on a horse at the top of the packet!

The 20 chocolate chips are nicely packed in 2 layers in a rectangular tray which can be pulled out from a paper “pocket”. On the surface of each chip, 5 grams of dark chocolate, is chopped with a picture of a half-opened cacao pod of seeds and a leaf. It is first wrapped up with beautiful paper in light gold colour, then by a dark brown paper coat with the labels of “75% Kakao”, the type of chocolate and the brand name.











From the “shape” of a chocolate chip, I wonder if this confectionery in Russia produces “puzzles” of chocolate because each looks very much like a piece of puzzle.

To tell you the truth, the chocolate is a little bitter to me, but not to my wife and son. Perhaps they are real chocolate lovers who like the “roasted” taste.

Though I do not know the price of such chocolate from Moscow, I feel it is quite expensive in terms of their luxurious packaging and lovely picturesque leaflet.