Duck!

So here's one of the best moments from my family Christmas celebrations - my sister laughing because my cousin unfortunately (but comically) backed onto the pointy beak of her just assembled garden ornament duck.

Duck!

Good fun, lovely company, wonderful gifts and splendid food.  The latter is what I'm told because sadly I couldn't partake this year but it looked jolly splendid!  More things to add to the list of foods I can't wait to eat when I can chew again.

Merry Christmas all!

Fearsome

"The benefit of makeup is that it conceals all manner of ills..."

So why is it on the one day I don't put any makeup on, I get more visitors than the last week combined?!  My good friend arrived 30 minutes early this morning before I had the chance to get ready so I had to be brave and barefaced.  Thinking I had the rest of the day to myself I wasn't prepared for the impromptu drop-in from some other dear friends who wanted to check I was okay.  That's it, I thought to myself, not expecting anyone else today so there's no point in prettying myself up, but no... one more visit in the late afternoon.  

I'm so grateful for all the care that everyone has shown but I think I will have to observe the Catherine Zeta-Jones principle from now on - makeup is a must even if it's just to go outside and throw out the trash.  

Call it vanity if you will (because that's what it is) but I think my fading bruises, which have turned a rather odd shade of green, make me look particularly frightful right now.  It did get me the sympathy vote though!

Bumps along the trail

"The road is long, with many a winding turn, that leads us to who knows where, who knows where"

From He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother (The Hollies)

The last week has certainly been full of ups and downs.  The relative position of my teeth became the least of my worries today as I consulted an endodontist for the first of what will be a year's worth of treatment.  EGADS!

Another painful hour in the chair but the good news is I haven't damaged anything beyond my four front teeth, severe though that damage may be.  I now have the start of a treatment plan but pretty much need to let nature take its course and allow my bone to heal over the next six weeks and then go from there.   Mmmmm, more baby food.... my blender has become my best friend over the last 10 days and will continue to give me succour until the blasted splint comes off.  Roll on February 6th!!

It's when times are toughest that the kindness of friends is most profound.  More flowers today from a dear friend who is half a world away.  Pretty blooms to lift the spirits and remind me to keep a perspective on things.

Find beauty in the simplest things

Thank you Myth.

A minor setback

It's Day 6 and I wake up feeling more positive.  The last week has been an emotional roller coaster but today feels good.  It's my first day without painkillers and my face swelling has gone down a lot.   I've graduated to rice pudding and very finely mashed oats so I feel like I'm making progress.  Another of our beautiful neighbours sends food to us and lots of it.  Ross has his dinners sorted for the rest of the week at least.  I don't know how we're ever going to thank everyone. 

My life defined by flowers - I feel brighter today!

Bright!

It's a short lived feeling though.  It's a little crushing to go to the dentist at midday and discover that my teeth haven't been set in the best position.  It might mean repositioning + re-splinting yet again = more pain.  The dentist won't do anything until after I've seen the specialist on Monday morning and then we'll go from there.  I leave the surgery feeling pretty gutted.  

******

My beautiful husband goes out to buy me the best possible present right now - an AirFloss!

And yet another fitting quote for the day:

"Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory"

John Adams, President of the US between 1797 and 1801 

 

Plodding on

Some more words of wisdom from my scarily prophetic desk calendar:

"No retreat, baby, no surrender"

The wisdom of Bruce Springsteen

Funny how so much of my life revolves around flowers.  Usually they're for happy occasions.  This time they bring me comfort.  I am truly blessed that so many people care about me and I now have a beautiful garden inside my home.

My lovely garden 

And some more

Ross and I are so overwhelmed.  Everyone has been so kind.

It turns out to be a painful afternoon as my check-up with the oral surgeon turns into another trek to Royal Perth Hospital after hours to re-splint my teeth.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

 

 

 

The way forward

I have to wait six weeks for my fractured upper jaw to heal and will be limited to a soft food diet until the splint comes off.  Right now all I can manage are liquids.  No Christmas for me this year:(

Today is Day 2 since the accident.  My face is swollen.  I look like a lemming with massive cheeks.  I've had two days of utmost sympathy from family and friends and neighbours.  More messages arrive as the news gets around.  Poor mum and dad rushed over on Sunday afternoon still fatigued from their journey back from Hong Kong and late night arrival, trying to sound positive but not really concealing the worry in their faces.  Ross is tireless, he really is my champion and I could not get through this without him.  

And then the flowers start arriving.  I have to open the door to take collection of the flowers but the delivery man can't look me in the eye.  My swollen lips and bruised face make me look like I'm recovering from cosmetic surgery.  Maybe he thinks I've had too much botox.

The first of the good wishes 

More caring flowers

I'm blown away by all the get well messages and words of support.  

Ross comes home and our neighbours send him some food for dinner tonight so we don't need to cook.  Unspoken kindness.  Just because they care.  We're so overwhelmed we just look at each other with tears in our eyes.

My oddly prescient desk calendar sums it up for today:

"Ever forward, but slowly"

 Gebhard von Blucher, 19th Century Prussian officer

  

Out of left field

Every so often you'll be going about your life, acting out all your daily routines when something will come unexpectedly out of left field and turn everything upside down.

And so it is that 7 December 2013 started off as an ordinary Saturday but turned into something quite the opposite.  There was nothing unusual about the morning, about going for a haircut or going to the supermarket.  Nothing unusual about lunch at home while poring over the weekend newspapers and nothing unusual about driving up to mum and dad's house to drop off a few things before they return from Hong Kong tonight.  Nothing unusual even about getting home and joining Ross in the garage downstairs to wash our cars.

Nothing unusual until my foot slid backwards on the wet floor and I landed face first on the concrete.  Then just a horrible sound and the shock of seeing blood and broken teeth.  The next few hours were spent in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Emergency feeling afraid, hurting, bleeding, being scanned and examined and pockmarked with needles, being so grateful that Ross hasn't left my side, feeling guilty that he's so pale and worried because of me.  Then feeling scared again as we drive to Royal Perth and walk the deserted corridors to the maxillo-facial clinic so the surgeon can give up his Saturday night to operate right away.  

Watching the clock on the wall tick tick tick for over an hour while he does what he has to do and wishing it could all be over.

And then going home.

******

1am - home again, in my own bed.  The accident replays in my head.  Ross is exhausted and has fallen asleep.  It's going to be a very long road now.  Not really sure what the next step on the trail is going to be.

Welcome home

In case I haven't already mentioned it, it's good to be home!  Nice to come back to some Welcome Home flowers too - aaaaaaw, Ross is so sweet!

Welcome home flowers

I could only chuckle when I opened the fridge though.  Five days away and it has already morphed into a 'bloke's fridge' - beer, leftovers and a few lonely vegetables on the verge of going mouldy.

Bloke's fridge

Supermarket tomorrow methinks....

The journey home

I'm excited to be going home today.  Real home.  Back to fresh air, big sky, flowering jacaranda trees and... Ross!  

Dad meets me in the lobby at 8am and sees me into the taxi for the hour long journey to the airport.  It's a long time to be sitting in a cab and the driver is particularly friendly.  By the time we've reached the airport, he's serenaded me with various hits from the 1980s, excitedly yelped 'I love you baby!' a few times, refused to let me leave the cab without swapping numbers and even given me a hug outside the airport.  Wow.  I can't remember HK cabbies ever being this friendly!

Fortunately check-in is a better experience this time round than on the journey over here and all that's left to do is to kill some time before boarding the plane to Singapore.

******

Although Singapore is a little over 3hrs from Hong Kong, it becomes a very ... long ... flight.  Take off is delayed while bags are offloaded for a no-show passenger.  I also get stuck right at the back of the plane with a Mainland tour group.  Definitely a lack of basic travel etiquette going on.  So here are some things that are definitely uncool to do on a plane:

• Suck noisily on rockmelon and then lick your hands;
• Snort and then hoick phlegm into a paper bag;
• Take off your seatbelt and wander around the aisles looking for the toilet when the plane is actually taxi-ing to the runway and even cabin crew are buckled in (this causes crew to exclaim loudly and shout at you to SIT DOWN IMMEDIATELY);
• Snore loudly;
• Sit bolt upright and watch the food trolley as it approaches and then chatter more and more excitedly the closer it gets (this is only acceptable for those aged 5 and under);
• Reach over your fellow passenger and grab at drinks when the trolley finally arrives so much so that cabin crew just give up and serve you first;
• Handing your phlegmy paper bag to unsuspecting cabin crew as they walk past;
• Jumping up and trying to grab your things from overhead lockers before the plane has even reached the terminal.

Oh and did I mention the lady a couple of seats down was throwing up into a bag during the flight too?  The time couldn't go fast enough.

******

Ah Changi Airport, what a blessed haven of calm. 

Christmas trees at Changi Airport

I have a couple of hours until my Qantas flight (provided they're flying today:) so I walk over to Terminal 3 and visit the Butterfly Garden.  I'm so glad I did, it's absolutely amazing.  There is a koi pond outside and step through the chain curtain and you're a million miles away from the airport.  It's hot and humid and the colourful butterflies flutter and play in the lush green vegetation.

Singapore Changi Airport Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Garden

Terminal 3 is further away than I thought so I catch the Skytrain back to Terminal 1 just in time for boarding.  It isn't a full flight so I have the luxury of an empty seat next to me and JOY! My audio system is working so I can just sit back and relax for the next 5 hours.

*******

Home home home home.  So nice to be home.  It's a warm night and there is lightning flickering and the distant rumble of thunder as I climb the steps to my building.  1am - home again to a hug and a blissful comfortable sleep.

Last day of the Fellowship

On our last day together before we go our separate ways tomorrow, we made our way back to Admiralty but this time jumped on a bus to Stanley.

Hong Kong has put on its best weather all week and today is no exception.  The bus ride is pleasant and a good opportunity for mum and dad to reminisce about the various places we pass en route.  We walk along the Stanley sea front to Murray House.  Originally constructed in Central in 1844 as quarters for British officers, it was dismantled to make way for the construction of the Bank of China tower in 1982.  It was painstakingly relocated to Stanley and restored in 2001.  It houses swank restaurants now.

Stanley sea front

Murray House, Stanley

"Murray House, one of Hong Kong’s oldest buildings originally located in Central District, was reconstructed in Ma Hang.  In 2007 a new public pier was built at the waterfront outside Murray House.  The new pier, named ‘Blake Pier at Stanley’ and featuring the historic cast-iron roof truss removed from the decommissioned Blake Pier in Central District, resonates with nostalgia of a long past era."

Excerpt from Stanley - A Brief History (tourist information board on site)

We opt for an early lunch at Saigon at Stanley in Murray House.  Lunch is a bit subdued however owing to cumulative fatigue perhaps or just by virtue of it being our last day together.

Me and my roomie

Mum and dad at Murray House

After lunch we venture into the markets but it's only a quick whip round before we return to Admiralty on the bus.   The stuff on offer is a bit disappointing so we don't linger.

Stanley Market

There is one old resident of Stanley who has seen it all and continues to thrive, literally living on the edge.   The grand old tree has witnessed the rise and fall of the Empire and on it goes. 

Grand old tree eking out a living in Stanley

On returning to Tseung Kwan O there is one final sortie to the Popcorn Mall before dinner.  As Wendy and Bill have an extremely early flight in the morning, we meet downstairs for a quick meal at Crystal Jade.  We have one more photo in the lobby of the hotel amidst all the Christmas finery.

The HK Fellowship, Crowne Plaza Tseung Kwan O (4 December 2013) - and the last outing for my smile for a while...

There is still time so we make one last detour to the 47th floor and have a stickybeak into Cielo, the hotel's rooftop Italian restaurant and bar.  I'm not afraid of heights but even I must admit to having shaky hands while taking photos over the edge of the balcony.

Looking down from the roof of the hotel

It's a fitting close to the trip.  The bejewelled hillsides twinkle their final goodbyes to what has been a short, tiring but infinitely worthwhile trip.  Hong Kong doesn't hold that special something for me anymore.  I think it stopped feeling like 'home' a long time ago.  And yet it still resonates with a part of my being and always will, like a song you never quite forget and which ever so occasionally pops into your head and plays over and over.  It was wonderful to see my friends again.  Old friends who tug at the heartstrings and who made me promise I wouldn't leave it another 12 years before coming back.  

Goodbye Tseung Kwan O

I promise.

A visit to old Hong Kong

After last night's feast I'm not sure where I'm going to find an appetite for breakfast this morning.  Thankfully by the time I've made my way to Sham Shui Po I'm starting to feel a bit hungry.  I wait in the MTR station and before long my friend, Sam emerges from the crowd.  It has been another long span of time since we last met!  This time it's 12 years.

Sam has chosen Sham Shui Po because it still feels like old Hong Kong.  Small independent shops and tea houses abound rather than the ubiquitous chains and luxury brands that have swamped retail strips everywhere else.  

Sham Shui Po

We make our way to the Kung Fu Tea House, a small unremarkable hole in the wall which is packed even though it's only 10am.  We fight our way inside but still have to share a table.  It's the type of place where you try not to think too hard about the state of the kitchen, especially when they give you a bowl in which to rinse your own utensils using hot tea!  It's certainly a traditional dim sum breakfast and it doesn't even cost HK$100 for the two of us! 

My good friend Sam

Best of all I get to catch up on the years with my friend.  Not before there is a major disturbance in the restaurant however.  It is perhaps a bit toooo 'authentic' Hong Kong and more than Sam bargained for!  An old lady in a wheelchair is pushed into the teahouse by her foreign maid whom the waitress loudly accuses of being incompetent for pushing her mistress into a sharp table corner.  So begins a very heated exchange in Cantonese.  Everyone turns around to gawp just in case it should degenerate into meat cleavers at three paces.  Fortunately it doesn't.  The maid leaves angry and the waitress forbids her from coming into the restaurant ever again.

Before Sam and I say our farewells, he leaves me with a very interesting souvenir - it is for my protection since the news is rife with the season's first case of avian flu.

A rather strange souvenir

I have a few hours to myself so I return to Tseung Kwan O and take some time to explore the curiously named Popcorn Mall close to the hotel.  I manage to do a bit of shopping and can only stare in wonderment at the pace of development that is happening outside. Tseung Kwan O is taking off, I don't think I have ever seen so many cranes on the horizon.  There are massive residential complexes being constructed with even more behind, and behind those, whole hillsides have been sliced away to make way for more new builds.  

The pace of development in Tseung Kwan O is simply awesome

I have the luxury of resting in the hotel for a few hours before joining everyone else for dinner in Hennessy Road.  

The comforts of home away from home

The surprisingly spacious room at the Crowne Plaza

Some of our dearest friends who have become like family to us since we connected in Perth many years ago have recently started Zahrabel, a Lebanese Private Dining Club.  It has only been open for a few weeks and following the reception dinner last night, they insist that we go for a meal there.  We are absolutely spoilt.  We are treated to an amazing feast of traditional Mediterranean dishes, each made with secret ingredients and a whole lot of love.  It is a superb evening.

Full circle

Late afternoon sees us making our way to St Margaret's Church in Happy Valley - the raison d'etre for the Hong Kong trip.  My mum and dad married here on 5 November 1966 and posed for a photograph on the steps.

The steps up to St Margaret's Church

Today Wendy and Bill get to recreate the moment.  So do mum and dad.  They get to stand at the same spot they stood as newlyweds 47 years ago.  My dad mightn't have confetti on his shoulders anymore and my mum mightn't be sporting a flowing veil but the smiles are the same and they still look fabulous.

Looking back - my mum and dad on their wedding day and 47 years later

The next generation of newlyweds - Wendy and Bill recreate the moment

There is a short blessing inside the chapel to celebrate the happy marriage once again. Father Hanley is a Brooklyn priest who may have the grizzled appearance of an old man but whose sense of humour is still vital and sharp.  He reminds me of the stereotypical clergyman who has visited the sherry cupboard a few too many times.  He is warm and wonderful and the ceremony is fitting and sincere.

For me the happiest part of the afternoon is seeing my Godmother again.  I haven't seen her for 20 years but she is the same warm, generous, jovial and indomitable Aida.  Age really hasn't wearied her.  Her 81 years might have slowed her down but only a bit. She still goes swimming (a relatively 'new' hobby which she only took up at the age of 70) and her characteristic razor sharp wit remains.

My most gorgeous Godmother Aida

Outside the church with family and friends

From the church we make our way to Moon Koon Restaurant overlooking the Happy Valley Racecourse.  We are joined by more good friends and are fortunate enough to have a private dining room.  No races on today which is just as well because it doesn't detract from my dad who gives his Father of the Bride speech again.  And it is received just as well as it was originally in Perth a few nights ago. 

Father of the Bride

The food is exquisite and the courses just keep coming.  Assorted BBQ meat, fish, asparagus, the most tender of vegetables, prawns, chicken, noodles and rice.  By the time dessert comes it's difficult to find space ... but then there's always room for baked sago with a surprise centre of lotus seed paste.  

The evening rolls on and by the time we all pour out of the restaurant after 11pm, we are all tired and full but happy.

A walk down Memory Lane

Today was all about nostalgia and unashamedly so. My travelling companions and I braved the morning rush hour to catch the MTR to Admiralty where we then waited at the bus stop for our old friend, the No. 15 bus to the Peak.

Familiar sights - the Bank of China Building (L) and Lippo Centre (R)

The bus wound its way along a very familiar route up Stubbs Road and made its usual detour down Mansfield Road.  How strange and wonderful to return to the place I grew up!  I was so fortunate to call this home for 15 years.  I recognised the old watchman's office on the ground floor, the playground where I spent so much time, the wall I used to sit on, the route to the shops...  And yet everything seems so small now and a little bit weary like the buildings are drooping under the weight of all those years and the hopes and dreams of the countless souls that have lived in them, cherished them and then left them behind.   

Here it is - 9 Mansfield Road.  Home was on the 11th floor (second from the top)

The Mansfield Road playground - happy memories

We could not have chosen a better day for visiting the Peak.  Visibility was freakishly good and there was a clear view across the harbour.  Days like this are vanishingly rare so we counted ourselves very lucky indeed. 

The magic carpet of Hong Kong laid out in all its glory

Clear views from the Peak

We continued along the nostalgia trail down Barker Road, onto Peak Road and Coombe Road.  Past all my dad's old haunts from his running days and the familiar weekend walk trail we would do as a family past the old playground mum and dad took us to as kids.  

One last glimpse of Mansfield Road for old times' sake

Sadly the Police Museum was closed today but my dad still managed to tell us some stories about the traffic control podium exhibited outside.

Traffic control podium

It was a beautiful walk down the wooded hillside back to Wan Chai.  Hard to believe really that this is the same Hong Kong where 7 million people live.  We only passed a handful of people on our steep descent back down to street level.

Gorgeous tree covered in epiphytes

The path back down to Wan Chai

The hum of traffic started to drown out the trill of the kites above and the trees gradually gave way to concrete.  Before hitting the mayhem of Queens Road East, there was some tranquility to be found inside Pak Tai Temple.

Dad inside the temple

A little bit of solitude in a crazy world

Finally we reached Queens Road East and were reabsorbed into the crowds, traffic and consumerism.  You can buy anything in Hong Kong if you have enough money...

A bathtub shaped like a shoe

Or a flash car if you prefer.  You can't see it but the McLaren had a SOLD sticker on the windscreen...

McLaren showroom

Joy of joys, we had a break from dim sum and indulged in a sandwich at Pacific Place for a change!  Back to Tseung Kwan O for a breather before Part 2 of the day...

Old friends and familiar places

After a slightly restless sleep I wake up to a glorious sunny day.  Our room has a fabulous view of the surrounding schools and imposing tower blocks.  Hard to believe that there are more people in just one residential complex here than there are in whole suburbs back home.

View from the Crowne Plaza Tseung Kwan O

Tseung Kwan O residential blocks and schools

It’s so nice to see everyone and I accompany them to their dim sum ‘brunch’ downstairs in the hotel before taking my leave and making my way to the MTR station.  I travel to Quarry Bay station and there I wait at the designated place for my friend, Gen. The building across the road catches my eye – it’s Model Flats!  The place my grandparents used to live.  What a coincidence.  Not that I’d ever recognise North Point now.  Model Flats are a bit of a quirky anachronism in this modern supersized world of glass and steel.

A familiar place - Model Flats

It’s wonderful to see Gen and Simon again – our first meeting since my wedding 9 years ago.  We have a really nice dim sum lunch before I make my way to Tsim Sha Tsui to meet the rest of the gang.  

Having lunch with Gen and Simon

We walk around aimlessly for a while trying to find the new location of China Arts and Crafts and get there eventually.  Then it’s a stroll through Harbour City - another old haunt although it doesn't really trigger too many memories.  I do get to act the tourist though and photograph the stunning sunset across the harbour.

Looking across to Hong Kong Island

The end of my first day back 'home' is a dumpling meal at Din Tai Fung before making the return trek to the comforts of the hotel and hopefully a better night's sleep.