sun dim fai lok!! - by Lilly

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Kung Hei Faat Choi, a happy Chinese New Year to all of you :)

we have been busy bees recently following Mims highly charged culture programme and seeing the sights of Chinese New Year in HK. First though there are the pictures from climbing the rock walk again on Friday.

This time, Sam and the dog he's looking after (Hebe) joined James and his dog Kai Lee, Me and my dog Widget, and Alice Mim Mum and Toby for a healthy jaunt up a big mountain with a rock at the top. As steep downward slopes and my back dont get on well, me and mim walked up to the top and back down the way we came, to get the car and drive round to the end to meet everyone else who did the whole walk. Alice and Toby ran all the way down the other side, and whilst Toby is his usual self Alice has been hobbling and complaining for days since. The end of the walk comes out at a stables where a friend of James worked so they went to go see the horses, n then we went home for dinner.

That night we attempted to go to the cinema to see Benjamin Button but failed as it was completely fully booked, so instead we bought some dvds n had a movie night at home. I slept through most of them :P

Saturday evening began the cultural programme (after Alice had been on her romantic date with Sam the sailor that she doesnt want anyone to know about) with a trip to the New Year's flower market in Causeway Bay. It was so busy and packed with flowers, surprisingly enough, and tacky crap everywhere, twas brill. Mother instigated a who-can-buy-the-crappiest-thing-for-$20 competition, which I won with a cuddly singing samurai poo on a stick. Alice and Mim on their journeys ended up with 2 free inflatable bananas with anti-China political statements on, whilst the boys played with plastic parachutes and ate siu mai (chinese dumplings). returning home on the mtr with our various purchases was interesting in the extreme haha.

Sunday was the last day for the temporary pastor at my church so we went to both morning and evening services to make best use of the free food :) twas quite fun really. we also managed to get in a huge lunch at our country club with people from church just in case we hadnt ingested enough calories that day. Sunday marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year holiday, so Hebe Haven Yacht Club, the club just opposite church where James and Sailor Sam are members, gave their staff holiday and handed over the running of the bar and kitchen to the members. Sunday afternoon was James and Sam's shift....hahahahaha. so after evening church we all piled round there for many free drinks and lots of laughs, particularly mentioning mim laughing so much she fell off her bar stool, so we put our feet on her so she couldnt stand up. twas vair amusant. at 11.45 when the bar closed, we decamped to james' house which is currently empty as his parents are on holiday in Bali. so we sat on the roof and talked lots more. unfortunately i also happened to lose my mobile on the way to james' house cos it fell out my pocket in the taxi. ah well. and mim had a headache. ah well. all in all twas an excellent evening.

Yesterday (Monday) was another of Mim's excellent ideas - Chinese Christmas, which is Christmas a month after normal Christmas, same as Chinese New Year is a month after our New Year. So we had mulled wine, a HUMUNGOUS turkey, roast tatties, honey glazed carrots, cauliflower cheese, peas, bread sauce and cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, crackers, wine, champagne and apple champagne, AND veggie sausages, rhubarb pudding, sticky toffee pudding and malteaser cake, managing miraculously to fit 19 people round 3 tables in my dining room :) twas FANTASTIC. after a prolongued lunch we played compulsory scattergories in pairs and multiple card games which was super-de-dooper too.

As if Chinese Christmas wasn't enough, that evening there was a parade in Tsim Sha Tsui with dancing people and dragons and things, so we went there afterwards. it was completely packed and our view wasnt that good, and our photos were appalling so we're going to steal some off a girl mim met in a macdonalds toilet who said we could borrow hers. we tried again to go and see Benjamin Button but failed again as the next viewing wasnt til 11.30 at night and we were already knackered from the excesses of christmas and the parade, so we went home :)

and thats it! today we have planned a fiesta and the new year fireworks so new pictures to put up soon!

love to all
Lilly xxxxxx

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