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!