24 Hour Sail

Alec joined the sailing club team to sail for 24 hours for charity one weekend in October. All the kids took turn sailing all through the night, from 2pm Saturday to 2pm Sunday. Alec's shifts were 4-6 pm, 9-11 pm and 4-6 am. Tough going especially in the dead of night when the wind died off completely. However he saw the sunrise over the bay, ate a huge breakfast and stayed awake long enough to find his team had won by 4 seconds and collect the prize. We helped raise $30,000 which gave the team a real sense of purpose. Their average age was 9 years old- a great achievement for them all. Oh, yeah- the adult teams did well too!

5th Typhoon this season hits HK

We are battening down our hatches yet again as the 5th Typhoon this year passes by Hong Kong.
Schools are possibly remaining shut tomorrow, winds of 160 kph expected. Husband is stranded in Singapore as his 6pm flight is cancelled. We have homemade pizza on the menu followed by ice cream and Grey's Anatomy Season 4.

Summer '08

Back to work...

Long time no blog...I've been very busy and since we share two computers in a house of 7 people my time on it is rationed!
Anyway- I'm back at work and took this photo of my little office where I see all my 'patients'- primary school children from 4-11 years old. I love it and although it is very busy some days it is great fun. My son Alec is playing on my computer...you see I cannot even get to my work computer.
A laptop of my own is on my birthday list.

Junk season

The summer is moving in slowly to Hong Kong and it is Junk season again. This means renting a Junk made of teak along with a few friends chugging off to one of the islands dotted around HK island. We did this last Sunday. Alec was on this junk, I was on the next door one. We sailed for a short time to Turtle Beach. Turtles return there each year from June to October to lay eggs and the beach is closed. So we took a group picnic and BBQ, lots of wine and water, towels and cozzies. the kids had a ball jumping off the roof of the junk into the cool water. Parents took it in turns to supervise and relax. We were only a little sunburnt but very tired when we chugged home at 5 pm.

Rugby Sevens Hong Kong

Last weekend we spent about 28 hours watching the annual Rugby Sevens. The children play matches in the mornings, then the International teams play on a full sized field with seven players only, for seven minutes each half. It is a knock-out competition, fast and furious. Teams came from as far flung as Zimbabwe, Argentina, Tunisia and Wales. Two of my kids played- Alec in the U/10's and Catie in the U/19's. An exhausting but fun all-weekend long party! And the winners were....New Zealand, pictured after the fireworks doing the Haka.

Hello - Goodbye

We fostered a Jack Russell for two weeks. Sadly, he had epilepsy, but that could be dealt with easily with two pills a day, administered with great difficulty. He was generally a quiet little dog, and slept on the sofa (or tried to!). He was really happy, and loved walks, especially after living in a cage all his life. In the end, we managed to find a home for him. He is now living near Victoria Peak.

:)

Mendelsson

Last weekend we were treated to a wonderful ballet exhibition by Helen's Ballet School.
Helen is in the senior class and the girls got to choose the style of costume- long, floaty, pale colours, Helen chose Juliet dresses.
Mendelsson went with it perfectly. The girls learn the Chechetti method which puts a lot of emphasis on delicate and expressive arm movements. Helen's arms are the longest I've ever seen and she looked beautiful on stage. She is the one in the middle at the front, kneeling on one knee.

Sunday Best

Sydney was host to three big cruise ships last weekend- the QE2, the QV and the slightly smaller Sea Princess.
It was too crowded to get very close to the famous old ladies but we were surprised on a family bush walk to see the rather surreal younger Princess steaming over to Darling Harbour. Sydney was in her Sunday Best- a fabulous day for picnics and walks.
I was very lucky to be there helping my 18 yr old settle into University, and managed to have a little R&R on Sunday.

Hiking on The Peak

The lovely cool brisk weather and a long string of public holidays made perfect timing for hiking in Hong Kong. We took the dogs up to Victoria Peak, about 2 1/2 steep kilometres, and had a lovely brunch at the Peak Lookout restaurant where dogs are actually welcomed with bones and water bowls.
We ate hot samosas and soup. Then we hiked 3 1/2 steep kilometres home- all down hill. We all slept well that night.

Golden Wall

We found this Wall of Gold in our supermarket which is decorated in red lanterns and boxes upon boxes of gold chocolates.
The Wall ran down the middle of the isle, boxes thick on both sides.
They are very more-ish, hazelnutty and bite-sized. Perfect for family gatherings and Chinese New Year.

Gong Xi Fat Choy!!

Chinese New Year has arrived with a bang and some very cold weather.
At school yesterday we celebrated with the High School up the road entertaining the Primary School with its very own Lion Dance.
It was noisy, colourful and fantastic fun!

Anniversary

This week would be the 59th wedding anniversary of our parents.
Unfortunately Dad died 19 years ago, but they had a long, happy, fruitful marriage!
I don't have any pictures here in HK of their wedding day, but here is a photo of the last time I saw Mum, along with several grandchildren. Maybe one of my other sibs has a photo they can upload- Helen??

More Rugby

Sorry, all non-rugby fans, have to show Pic of Alec's team after a long gruelling tournament.
The first is Official for the new website, the second a relaxed shot.

Hong Kong- a city of contrasts

Alec took this photo while waiting for the bum boat to Middle Island Sailing Club. He then took an Optimist out with a crowd of kids and sailed to another island and had chocolate muffins and marshmallows melted over a fire. This was a very cold and windy day so the boats came back full of water!
I love this shot as the sampan chugs past the shiny motorboats (hardly ever get taken out) carrying another sailor to his day out.

Milestones

Our oldest who is 18 has just been accepted into Syd Uni Law School- a whole new road has opened up.
We celebrated by opening a bottle of Aussie bubbly while she went out to play rugby, refusing even a sip in case it spoiled her game.
Here's to a healthy, bright and positive future for her!

Girls Rugby

All my girls play rugby on the weekends. I love their dedication to the team and their feistiness on the field. 

I don't like their injuries or the concussion!

However after the game when they are all around the kitchen table comparing stories and injuries and painting themselves with iodine it is all forgotten, and I revel in their shared sisterhood.