At last something happens

This summer has been one dominated by a wait and see approach. The weather, French work practices, bureaucarcy, Jack's departure for two weeks to HK and Australia all conspired to defer the arrival od the pool. Fortunately the weather has not been consistently hot so we weren't sitting around mourning the breakdown in our plans.

August was pretty quiet although I was busy both with the lovely grandchildren Abby and Elliot and of course the house and garden. However Kathy arrived just in time for the world renowned festival HURE EN FETE and we went off to the village dinner to celebrate in French rural style. And then Faith arrived and it was my 60th birthday. Everyone put in a lot of effort to make it a lovely celebration for me (except me - I just sat around feeling important). It was a great night in the garden.

And then finally, the pool was finished. Still surrounded by a lot of mud but swimmable. Sadly Clare had to leave so they weren't able to enjoy it this year. Abby is starting school and Ilan's working year begins so now we are a much smaller group.

The pool begins

Well I had been preparing myself mentally for the appearance of our garden in Hure after the extensive tree-felling so infact I was not as stunned as I might have been. Certainly it looks different now, mostlt like a huge pile of mud but if it ever gets finished, we hope it will be worth it. The base should have been poured a few days ago but due (we think) to th uncertainties of the weather (or a certain Gallic tendency to make haste slowly -festinate lente-)noth,ing has happened. Jack has been occupied digging in preparation for an unexpected retaining wall

Our dear neighbours, Ray And Phyllis, had arrived from Plymouth and we went with them to a jazz festival ("Le 24 heures du swing", in Monsegur, one of the many picturesque bastides in our region.

I spent a week working on the garden and settling in for our first long summer in France (up until now it has always been punctuated by visits to Australia and our other life.) Then I caught the TGV up to stay with Clare for a couple of days before she and I drove the long journey back down south with Abby and Elliott. We drove straight through with a couple of breaks for the littlies to get some variety and for us to change drivers. We used Clare's new GPS which gave us a new route through Paris, partly using the peripherique and partly other roads. It seems a good invention. I hope to have one when I head off to Italy in September.

Back in Hong Kong

After my long stay in Newcastle, I had a short break in Hong Kong wherfe I caught up with my HK friends (or some of them) again. Most significant was the time I spent with my friend Lesley who is leaving HK for the UK after about 20 years in the former colony. We've been close friends for most of my time in HK and her leaving will make it less like home to me when I visit. She's making a new life for herself and her boys so I hope it all goes well. Of course we'll keep in contact: she'll be my first port of call when I go to the UK. We had a couple of nostalgic lunches at Lucy's restaurant, our favourite haunt, which I've referred to before. As well our friend Don from Sharja was in town so we were able to touch base with him as well.

At the last minute, I decided to accompany Jack to Shanghai on his business trip. It was my third trip so I was able to take it easy and just wander around. We went on a short cruise on the river so we could see the Bund and again to see the Peace band playing the jazz oldies. You may know (dear reader) that the Peace band is an institution in Shanghai, all of its members being at least in their seventies, I think. Come to think of it, that's not much older than me. Oh well.

I also took a short term job in her college (Tsing Yi) for a few days so was gainfully employed once more. Life was very hectic as I had to make plans not only to go to France for the summer, but also to move out of our flat in Hung Hom Bay. We're downsizing again!

And then there was rain....

After a couple of weeks back in Hong Kong, I continued my travels to Australia. I must admit I was finding so many changes of environment a little wearing and my signature cough developed into full scale bronchitis. Still I managed to catch up with most of the important people in my life (not all) and to spend a weekend in Sydney with Kate and see the stage version of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I enjoyed the show - good production numbers and a variety of old songs I could tap my feet to, but sometimes I found the humour depended more on gratuitous bad language than anything else. Guess I am showing my age. Don't tell me rampant conservatism is catching up on me.

However the events of the last weekend overtook the rest of my stay as the long drought in Australia was broken in Newcastle at least. On the Friday before I left, an enormous typhoon struck, leading to the beaching of a ship off Nobby's beach, and flooding for many people. Poor Kate who was coming to Newcastle for the weekend had a long trip (7 hours) on trains and substitute coaches. Trees fell all over New Lambton Heights which is high, including on the house two doors down from us. In lower suburbs such as Jack's mum's flooding was terrible.

We experienced our own damage, mainly to Christopher's room. He was stranded in the Workers Club unable to drive his car due to the floods in Hunter Street. On the following Monday, I went to Sydney with Kate and escaped to Hong Kong but the deluge continued at home........

And so to France....

After about 2 weeks in Hong Kong it was time for me to visit the rest of my widespread family in France. I flew into Paris this time (and took an upgrade to Business Class using frequent flyer points –quel luxe!~- Then I caught the TGV up to Clare’s home in Valenciennes where I spent a few days before she and I drove with my 2 beautiful grandchildren, Abigail and Elliot, down to our house in the South West in the village of Hure (population 476 I think). It was a long trip especially for Clare who did most of the driving. However we arrived at about 2 pm, fell into bed and awoke the next morning to an empty house so we immediately trekked off to the local Saturday market in La Reole to stock up on supplies. It’s a good typical French market with a lot of regional produce and plants and flowers. The atmosphere is always good – and I enjoyed it more in the cooler conditions of Spring.

Jack arrived soon after us (flying direct from HK and taking a TGV to Bordeaux and then La Reole). This time we decided that we would decide once and for all if we would go ahead and plan for a pool in the garden. The house is more comfortable than it was when we bought it but the garden has deteriorated due to our protracted absences. As this necessitated taking out a number of trees I was a bit anxious (and still am). However, we have committed to a pool for the coming summer! I hope that we will enjoy it. The summers in the South West do get very hot these days.

Jack, as usual, spent most of this time working on repairs and burning a lot a old wood that was in the garden as well as chatting with pool people. For Clare and me (and Ilan when he arrived) time flew by, as we were kept busy by two very energetic little people who loved the outdoor life in the big garden. Elliot (now aged 14 months has changed so much in the time I have been here. His very adventurous spirit will keep us busy in the coming years. Abby at three, unsure of whether she is a big girl or a baby, is an excellent communicator in both English and French (and has to translate easily from one language to another when her poor Nana seems a bit dense!)

We were happy to see our neighbours Ray and Phyllis who live in Plymouth but who always spend summer with in Hure, but this time we had the chance to catch up in Spring as well.

After a few days of cooling down in Hong Kong, I began my retirement years with a return to my home town of Newcastle in Australia. At first I was a little trepidatious about filling my time in a “worthwhile” way but on venturing under our house where were stacked the treasures acquired over a number of years, I found myself busy unearthing a lot of rubbish and some gems as well. Some furniture that has been lingering under the house for years has been sent to the restorer and some has been bid farewell.

A lot of my time was of course spent with my oldest and dearest friends. Kathy came up from Canberra for the weekend and of course I spent a lot of time with Tony, now busy with her new granddaughter, with my cousin Carol and my friends Jill and Owen. Most important of course was the chance to catch up again with my own family, Kate and Christopher. Within three weeks I had settled in so that by the time Jack came out for a flying visit (in time for Christopher’s birthday), I was ready to stay.

However Hong Kong was calling so in early March, I flew out again for a brief chance to touch base with Hong Kong friends. I went back to my old workplace to see everyone and was able to celebrate Don’s birthday with Jack and Lesley and of course him at (of course) Lucy’s restaurant. My last weekend was occupied by my IELTS testing (my only employment now) and the historic Hong Kong Sevens. This three day rugby tournament is a highlight of the expat HK community life and although I am not a rabid rugby fan (too many years of enforced involvement in my youth), I do enjoy the chance to see old friends and the general air of excitement.

I have been moving from place to place (with my base in Hong Kong) for a while now – 10 years in fact- but it never amazes more how hard I find it to say goodbye and yet how quickly I adjust to a new place.

Celebrating Chinese New Year and a new life

In the week following my last days at work, I was able to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. After almost 10 years there, it’s the first time I was in Hong Kong for this time which is of course the most important part of the year for Chinese people. It’s the time for families to reunite and celebrate their relationship. Under the influence of western culture, some of the traditionally strong family ties have weakened a little but still, underpinning modern life, there are still very strong concepts of family obligation and duty. I find it one of the most heartwarming aspects of Chinese culture.

. We spent the weekend with our friends Phil and Judy at a lovely holiday house near the Chinese border in the New Territories and of course I had lunch twice with my friends Janice and Lesley at my favourite Hong Kong restaurant, Lucy’s, at Stanley near the famous Stanley Bay Market. I have often said that when I leave Hong Kong for good, one of my best memories will be of our lunches at Lucy’s- I love the food, the staff, the ambiance, everything. (This is not a paid commercial.) Lesley and I have spent many a happy moment there.

My Retirement Luncheon

Finally in the last week of my life as a fully employed person, I have created a blog to record the minutiae of my new life. It seems an appropriate time. Since 1998, I have been working in Hong Kong in a tertiary college. In the past weeks my colleagues have surprised me, not by organising a farewell, but by the care they displayed in doing so. It seems I might have left a little mark after all.

The people I had worked with from the beginning were at my retirement luncheon and some new colleagues as well. There were people both from Hong Kong and further afield. You can see me in the pictures below with Kelly presenting me with a retirement hat appropriately decorated with dangling pictures of retirement activities and with Rachel offering a jar filled with good wishes from current and past colleagues. They had really tried to find gifts that were meaningful so I now have a great photo of that Hong Kong icon, the Star Ferry as well as a beautiful gold pendant in the form of a Chinese coin. Perhaps what was most meaningful to me was Kanthi's speech. The comments she made were actually what I would have hoped people would say about me so needless to say, I shed a few tears.

Here I am with Kanthi after her speech. You can see I am looking a bit soppy.

Georges and the Star Ferry

Despite a few hiccoughs, I've learned a great deal from the opportunity to share my life with my colleagues and friends in Hong Kong. Some I have seen every working day since I began and a few have shared the most significant events in my life with me. So foreigners are drawn together in a different culture. It's odd to think that I won't be turning to them for support in worrying moments and for celebration in happy ones.