Raymond's visit to HK (late post)

Dear All,

After adjourning the dinner, we had a lunch gathering with Raymond on 16.9.2012 at Lei Garden Shatin. Though no female classmates present this time, we do have two female guests, Ka Koo's sweet heart, Charmaine and my daughter Janice. We got a big table and everyone can sit comfortably.

These years, Kai Ming was so busy & cannot always attend our gatherings. This time, not only attend, but also showed us his adventures in the passed few years. The photos he brought us made us a proud feeling to have a classmate contributed so heavily to the Society. His photo wearing the Airforce uniform and another one wearing the helmet standing by the side of the airforce helicopter looks like he is going to drive the helicopter and then do a parachuting amazed all of us. He also told us his gathering with Pak Suen in Paris on his last trip to Geneva in Swiss and reported that Pak Suen is fine and that she lived just close to the Eiffel Tower. So if any of us paying a visit to Paris can easily have a cup of coffee or tea with her.

Raymond told us that he had an unforgettable trip to Huang Shan (黃山). We guys have been talking for years to go there, while Alex also wondered if this was the case, now Raymond showed us the lead, acting 身體力行, a five days trip, with 2 nights staying in the mountain. There are sedan chairs you can take a ride for part of the journey, but people used to take the option to Walk. Up the hill, you will have to walk about 3 hours. The road is quite narrow and allows only one person at a time. You have to keep walking as there are many after you. If you like hiking, this will not scare you though you are carrying with you a bag of clothes & utilities to stay in the hotel in the mountain. Well, with a big rainfall such as raining dogs & cats, your clothes all wet, the camera wet, the shoes wet, the hair wet and the glass also wet, you can imagine if you still think this is fun. And then up in the mountain, it was surprisingly cold, about 8-9 degree Celsius. Can never forget this experience.

Raymond further said, the taste of food up in the mountain is for the purpose of keeping the hotel customers not going to starvation, you cannot expect much. A regret to this trip is that he didn't see the Sun-Rising which is one of the key sight seeing object. Yet he is happy to see the Sky of Clouds which is marvelous. Raymond said he may visit Huang Shan again in the future.

Then we changed our talking to the younger generation, Janice said nowadays the working condition is horrible for the new graduates. Without any experience and any knowledge of the job, she has been sent to Shanghai to work a job, morning go, night come back and without any senior supporting, leaving you one person in an oversea country without any help. Raymond said his son also experienced similar thing in England. The first practical training in the Hospital ward, the senior told his son that his son will take care all the patients in the ward that night, without any experience & without any doctor to consult if anything will happen. He has to pray for nothing will happen that night.

Sau Wah reported that Marrow was difficult to sit. Long time no seeing Marrow, and we shall see if next gathering place will be close to Marrow's place so that he join us. At our age, we are getting to retire sooner or later. Kai Ming also retired from CX, and can now do anything he likes. Tomson chose to learn how to sing 大戲. Tomson, Marrow, Fan Kai & Timothy were the Beatles-4 when we were P6. Talking about aging, Ralph said he met a friend with age 78 but looked like 60. Raymond said he has a friend about 100 but looks very healthy. Then we checked our ages. It was interesting to know that with the several of us present, NaiNai is the youngest. NaiNai is so happy about this. This is the numeric figure only. We all admitted that Ka Koo looks the youngest. Charmaine is so happy that her Honey just looked like about 30+, and Charmaine also looked like about 25. Amazing!

We ended our gathering with the good food in Lei Garden.

Ralph

Dec 13, 2012 function

Glad to make a report before things being forgot!

Dear All,

After so many years, Godfrey & his wife came back to Hong Kong. At the same time, June & her husband also visited Hong Kong again. Coincidentally, they both came back from Canada & are both joining their child’s graduation ceremony here. We have congratulations to them.

A dinner gathering is organized on 13^th Dec 2012 in Restaurant VTC Tao Miao Institute in Fotan by Kai Ming. We gathered in the Fotan Railway station, and then marched to the restaurant. We have four couples present, Godfrey’s, June’s, Aliana’s & Tomson’s and together with Stephen, Koon Tai, NN, Kai Ming, Tang Chi & me, totaled to 14 of us.

It is glad to see each other, & more glad to see the familiar faces some of us haven’t seen for many years. June has come back counted some years ago, and Godfrey stayed abroad some twenty years already, really long time no see. NaiNai of course first introduced Kai Ming to all of us again, cause Kai Ming is tactful in many aspects and now got more time to join with us. Tomson added that he got a lot of of titles which cannot be fully printed in one name card ….front & back page. As member of the Labour Advisory Board (勞工顧問委員會), one of the work he did was the introduction of the Minimum Wages in Hong Kong. It was found that though the minimum wages is HK$28 per hour, the cleaners are earning over HK$50 per hour. NaiNai got a humor that one day when he is going to retire, he will pick up the job of a cleaner. Aliana made a suggestion that anyone can try to wash the “big dishes” at home first.

Food continued coming, and we ordered some beer as well. Godfrey said he is still working at his own, a specialist in Rolex watch in Toronto. Anybody with difficulties in watches can seek advice from him. But he added that with new technology, the faked watches are so brilliant that some are made with the outlook totally the same, not likely to discover unless opened.  June said she lived a more leisure life, the funs of making snowman or digging snow are not so great now. Instead, they like to travel from here to there, visiting small towns. This is the life many people admired. 

Tang Chi said he also retired, but he is doing another thing…. helping some oldies to sort out problems for them. Tang Chi said one time he helped an old woman to look for a domestic helper, thinking that should be an easy job. To his surprise, over 10 agencies found, but none is willing to work for an oldie. One time he helped another oldie for a HK$5,000 cash transaction, but turned out to be a Million Dollar deal of ELN persuaded by the bankers. Tomson explained it is interest linked investment tool. Koon Tai asked if a deposit got an interest rate of 2% is a real deposit or not? Probably not all of us know what is ELN, and sometimes it is a merit to be a good listener, and I am glad that I can be one. Tang Chi, being an ex-banker, concluded that the business environment is so keen that the Banks have to go for some value added services and we should be award not to fall into a trap……or, perhaps into a fortune unless we understand it.

Stephen got a new assignment recently by establishing a food shop/ restaurant in Tang Lung Street(登龍街) in Causeway Bay providing various types of delicious Western Food. This is good news for the gourmets. This is proved by Stephen using some rice vermicelli mixed into the lambs meat pot and all of us found good taste and the dinner, including beer, each costs HK$200 only. Is it marvelous? We ended with a happy dinner.

Ralph

A Surprise - Tung Kit Man, after 50 years

As you may see in recent emails, Ralph happened to meet a long lost contact classmate, Kitty Tung Kit Man, and we have, before the time passed, had a gathering on 24-01-2013. We did not have many present in this dinner party as this is a bit rush. Place is not important as time of gathering is too close, and food is also not important, as what we are concerned is a long long time friendship. We have Nai Nai, Sau Wah, Kit Man, Kai Ming, Tomson & Ralph.

NaiNai started to say that in last time gathering with June & Godfrey, he had been asking if can find Kitty or not. His dream soon came true, seemed like miracle. We told Kitty that we have been connected together with the Group Email link. And our TPS blog showed our passed gatherings, as well as searching our lost contacted classmates. Ralph said that as a custom, not every classmate did the postings in the emails, some would like to post a little bit more, and some less. Some postings came from overseas just like from your neighbour.

Tomson this time brought with him an ipad. He had put the old photos of  our TPS gatherings, starting from the classroom days, through our secondary school days to recent years so that everyone can have a better memory of the old days, even with clips of the "紀念冊" kept by NaiNai.  Do you still remember what you have written to NaiNai? Some pictures showed many of us joining  picnics when we were about P6. Some pictures showed many of us joining picnics in our teenages. Some pictures showing our old school with the cotton tree. But now the cotton tree in the playground was gone, the school also moved to Tai Wo. And we had a 60 years anniversary dinner there some years ago to celebrate TPS.

Kit Man said she has moved to Australia and first time came back to Hong Kong in the 17 years. She & her husband came back to visit the relatives. In fact they had another dinner party that night, and she decided to split the functions and joined this union with us. Kit Man is still serving the society as a teacher. In leisure time will travel here & there in Australia, and quite settled & accustomed to the life in Sydney. This time came back seemed like a visitor travelling here & there, and found that Hong Kong changed a lot since she left. She said that it was such a short time they made the decision to move to Australia, just like all of a sudden. Same sudden happened when Ralph met Kitty in the restaurant, both passed by, such familiar face, but without the courage to say Hello to Kitty at that very moment. A thought came out if she is Kit Man or not. Kitty already came back to her table, with 3 other persons talking to each other.  Time is lapsing, still wondering  go or not go. With this wondering condition, Ralph went forward for an interruption……. Thanks God, no mistake.

We told Kitty that with the members now sitting in the table, half is already retired. Some of us got the insurance in UK, but in fact never did the move. Some stayed in other countries like US, UK, Canada. Sau Wah had been staying in Australia for quite many years and came back to Hong Kong. Kai Ming last year needed to have meeting in Zurich of Switzerland, and took the chance to travel to France and met Pak Suen in Paris under the Tour Eiffel. Ralph told Kitty that Kai Ming is the Member of  Labour Union of  Cathay Pacifics (CX), and if he says no, the aircrafts will stop flying. Of course Kitty knew this was a joke.

Now is 2013. Next year is 2014, 50 years since we graduated from TPS. Is it possible for us to have another gathering to see more familiar faces?

Cheers

Ralph