RETIREMENT YEARS: YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS 2000 The first seven months were the last at the university before retirement. The remaining five months were the first in the suite at HPRC. This year was a “golden” year of the dragon, that is, one that occurs every 60 years in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese calendar. Last months at CUHK • In January, Leonie and Gavin left after being back for their summer breaks; Leonie returned to UCSD and Gavin to Christ's College in Christchurch. • At Chinese New Year (January), Nadine went to Switzerland for a ski trip with a group from her school. (The photograph was actually taken on her 1999 skiing trip to Switzerland.) • Construction began on the cable car system from Tung Chung (near the airport) to near the Buddha statue on Lantau peak. • Reports of robberies of hikers on Pat Sin Leng by illegal immigrants (from China). • Nadine and I went to the CUHK clinic for hepatitis B blood tests. In a follow-up visit, Nadine got further primary injections while I got a booster. Went to Shatin College to watch Nadine's play “Anansi”. In April, Nadine was selected for the Hong Kong Under-16 girls' hockey team. She was the goalie. • Also in April, I visited Brunei for the second time. I made no record in my diary as to the purpose of the visit but I know it included discussions with the Ministry of Education officials on Book 3. At one meeting, one of the officials went very silent and was staring at one page in the Book 3 textbook. We were all very curious. Then he said words to the effect that the photo on this page would have to be changed. We looked at the page but could not see what he meant. He then explained that in the photograph of a government building, the •1

grass was too long and had to be cut!! Really! And this was just a few days before the publisher wanted to print the book. This delay set back the printing for several weeks while a replacement photograph was being obtained. (The photo above, I believe, is the replacement; I can hardly see any grass at all!) •

In May, there was a 'cocktail function' at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile for the Rangi Ruru principal and dean of international students. I guess the school had my postal and/or e-mail address and so sent me an invitation.

First months of 'retirement' at HPRC • I made a number of trips. In August, there was a trip to Singapore; this would have been for the launch of the first lower secondary science books I wrote for Singapore. In October, I visited the UK for a few weeks (see separate file for details of this trip). • In November, Gavin was in Malta as part of his 'float. He phoned me from there. • For the new year (and the correct new millennium!), there were a number of family visits: - Nadine was here. On one occasion, we went for a walk through Tin Shui Wai and discover a big flea market just across the river. I think that is the only time I have walked over there. She also attended the Shatin College Sports' Day and went to the university clinic to get a second opinion on a heart murmur that was detected in the US. - Leonie was in Hong Kong with Adam though I don't think they stayed with me. They made a trip to Beijing. One day,the tree of us went for a hike from Tai Mei Tuk to Brides Pool, around the area and back to Tai Mei Tuk. Leonie also had a couple of swims with me in the hotel pool. - Gavin arrived on Christmas eve, later than expected as the plane he was to fly on was diverted to Anchorage while on its way to Hong Kong because of a drunken passenger who was causing damage. He but did not stay here, except for one evening with one of his then girlfriends (he had more than one during this trip!). He took all of us to a Christmas dinner at the Kowloon Hotel. Leonie, Adam and Nadine were there but Nadine had to leave early without eating. - On January 3rd, to the airport in the morning to see off Leonie, Adam and Nadine. Gavin came here in the afternoon to use the sun bed at the gym ($70). He attended the Shatin races in the evening.

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2001 • In March, 41 pupils were killed in an explosion at a primary school in China while they were making fireworks! • Also in March, I received a letter from Gavin plus a copy of his promotion to corporal. • On a rare outing, I went to the City Hall for a concert by the Black Mountain Male Voice Choir of Wales. Bought a CD of their singing, which were on sale in the foyer. • In April, a Hong Kong plane, the “Spirit of Kai Tak” won the London to Sydney small plane race. It was flown by Cathay Pacific pilots. • A boxing troupe from China staying in the hotel used the gym changing room to wash clothes and then used the sauna to dry them! • In May, the bird flu virus reappeared, so many chickens were culled, local and imported. A few weeks later, chickens were back on sale again after having been banned from sale. • In July, my last (and final) year's full-time Chemistry students came to the suite. We had lunch in a restaurant, looked at the gym and the pool then came back to the suite for a chat and food. At the end of the course last year, they gave me a mug with a group photo plus the words “World's Best Teacher! on it. • I remember you telling me that the the name “Elizabeth Critchley” written in the Emile Zola novel “L'Assommoir” (with cover as in picture) was of a person you knew at CUHK. An entry in my diary said that the father was killed when hit by a car while crossing a road in Shatin. • In August, I took a trip to Turkey for a few weeks. I travelled around on a 'Fez' company hop-on-hop-off bus (cartoon). Refer to a separate file for details of the trip. • The CE announced in his policy speech that funds were to be spent to hire native English speaker teachers for all primary schools. Many of these teachers, who were in schools in this area, stayed in the hotel. • In December, Leonie and I went to Christchurch as Leonie felt that that might be the last opportunity to see Mum/Nana alive. She was right! The photo here is the •3

last one of me with them; there is a similar picture with Leonie. (I notice that the shorts I am wearing in the picture I still have (2012); I still wear them them but only inside as they are rather the worse for wear now!) We also had a number of barbecues, including one at the Groynes on Christmas day (pictured). •

While in New Zealand, Leonie and I went for a two-day trip around the West Coast. Some highlights: - It was a circular trip: Christchurch → Lewis Pass → West Coast → Glaciers → Arthur's Pass → Christchurch. It was summer, of course; only the second summer there since first leaving for Hong Kong (the other was when I took Leonie over for commencing at Rangi Ruru). - The first night was spent at Lewis Pass in Keith's large tent. Went for a soak in the hot pools there. In the evening - very dark - we walked and drove along the main road with a spotlight and gun looking for opossums to shoot. Saw a number but I don't remember how many, if any, we killed. - On the West Coast, we first visited the pancake rocks and blow-hole at Punakaiki (pictured). - On to the glacier area. We walked through the forest and up to the edge of the Fox Glacier. Pitched tent in an open space for the night well away from anyone, with Mt Cook in the far background (pictured, but with Mt Cook behind us). - On the way back to Christchurch, stopped for a while at various points in Arthur's Pass. The Keas were very cheeky and a little annoying, but very intelligent!

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•

On returning to Hong Kong, Gavin and Nadine were already here. I think I had given permission to the reception to allow them into the suite. The suite was quite a mess! A few days later, Leonie arrived.

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2002 •

On New Year's day, Leonie and I attend the (free) hotel brunch and lucky dip in the lobby for guests. Nadine left Hong Kong the same day. Later in the month, Gavin and Leonie returned to the US.

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In January, I had a meeting with Macmillan Publishers for the revision of my Hong Kong Chemistry books. They were eventually published and launched in 2003 with the revised title “Chem Quest”. Later in the year, Macmillan’s HK textbook section combined with a local publisher who took over the Chemistry books. However, they did not seem to be interested in doing the series and did not finish the teachers' guides. The Chemistry books were never updated later and went out of print which ended all my writing for the Hong Kong market. All my subsequent work was with the Singapore publisher.

• After a run (in February), I accidentally left behind (Nadine's) hat on the bus coming back from Tai Mei Tuk to Tai Po. Annoying! • In February, bird flu breaks out again. Originated on a Yuen Long farm; 100 000 birds had to be culled. Later, chickens in the Yuen Long area were vaccinated against bird flu. • In Hong Kong, people had to start paying for out-patient services and medicine at public hospitals. The fees are $100 for the first time and $60 for subsequent times. • The government announced that it is to build its new headquarters on the old HMS Tamar site costing $61 billion [not completed until 2011]. • In May, a Japan Airlines DC-10 nearly flew into Tai Mo Shan when flying in fog and not on the correct flight path. A China Airlines 747 with 225 on board went down on its way from Taipei to Hong Kong. The crash report, which came out in early 2005, said the pilot was mainly responsible. • Gavin was here in July. During this time, there was a big drug bust at Camp Lejeune, his Marines base. • Also in July, I had a four-day visit to Singapore. I cannot remember what exactly it was for, but it would be something to do with the Singapore books. • In September, I had a holiday in Honolulu and Tokyo. The Tokyo part was added because my flights were on Japan •6

Airlines and the return flight was via Tokyo. For details of the trip, refer to a separate file. • Later in the year, there was a crisis at Beacon Hill school. There had been a poor report of the school by inspectors (carried out once every 10 years), which resulted in the principal, Mr Lydon, resigning! •

In December, Nadine was back for another visit. On Christmas eve, we went to watch the ballet “Nutcracker”. Back on the last hotel bus at 5:30 pm, after eating noodles in the Cultural Centre café. Listened to a local primary school girls' choir in the foyer in the evening. Before she left, we called Christchurch to talk to Mum/Nana. That would be the last conversation. I wonder how much of it she comprehended? Nadine also got her New Zealand passport renewed while here. She left Hong Kong on New Year's day.

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2003 Parents passing • My mother passes away at 7:50 pm HK time (12:50 am (?pm January 14th) NZ time. The following Saturday, her funeral was held. Because of this, I didn't go for a run; instead I held my own remembrance 'service' here. •

Then, on June 18th, just five months later, my father died in the morning at 6:40 am (NZ time).

SARS epidemic The following outlines the outbreak and progress of the flu outbreak that eventually came to be known as SARS: ➢ February 11th: Outbreak of a kind of pneumonia in South China with some deaths. ➢ February 19th: A young boy returns from China infected with the H5N1 virus. ➢ March ??: One visitor from China with SARS stays at a Kowloon hotel and spreads the virus to others who then carry it to many countries overseas. ➢ March 11th: There was an outbreak of flu / pneumonia among staff at the Prince of Wales Hospital. ➢ March 18th: The Prince of Wales Hospital to close down temporarily due to a lack of staff because of pneumonia impact. ➢ March 26th: The number of pneumonia cases is now over 300. The KCR giving out face masks to passengers. ➢ March 27th: Schools closed for just over a week; universities closed the following day. ➢ March 31st: Everybody in one block of Amoy Gardens quarantined inside their flats for 10 days. ➢ April 1st: There was a run on supermarket foods based on a rumour that [all of] HK is about to be quarantined (not an April fool's prank!) Amoy Gardens residents are to be moved to holiday camps for the quarantine period. ➢ Friday 4th: The Under-19s HK Rugby team not allowed to play in a tournament in France because of SARS in Hong Kong. Some United Christian Hospital staff become infected. Fewer people now crossing the border for Ching Ming festival. Schools now closed till after Easter. Some expatriate families leave HK. HK students studying in the UK told not to return after the holidays (later withdrawn). ➢ April 10th: “Hong Kong will take your breath away” tourist advertisement in the UK withdrawn. ➢ April 15th: In Hong Kong, nine die today of SARS. ➢ April 22nd: Most schools re-open for Form 3+. ➢ May 12th: Most primary school re-start. ➢ May 13th: A female doctor, aged 35, at the Tuen Mun Hospital, dies of SARS. •8

May 22nd: The funeral was held for the 35-year old lady doctor from Tuen Mun Hospital. ➢ May 23rd: The WHO lifts its travel advisory on HK. ➢ June 23rd: Hong Kong is taken off the WHO SARS advisory list at 3 pm, 20 days after the last SARS case was reported. ➢ September 9th: A SARS case was identified in Singapore as the epidemic spread around the world. ➢

Iraq conflict • At the same time as the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, the war in Iraq began. On March 26th, I got a call from Gavin about 3 pm to say that their plans have changed; instead of returning to the US at the end of their float from Djibouti, they were to go to Iraq. •

On April 23rd, I received an e-mail from Gavin to say he was in Kuwait and they would soon be on their way back to the US.

•

July 18th was Gavin's last day in the Marines.

Brunei primary books • This year saw the publication of the first of the three Science books for Primary 4 to Primary 6 in Brunei. The books for Primary 5 and Primary 6 followed in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Each set consisted of a student's textbook, a student's workbook and a teacher's resource book.

Gavin's visit to Hong Kong • Late in August, Gavin visited Hong Kong for about two weeks. Here he was with Sian. Trip • For about three weeks in September and October, I took a trip to Spain. For details, see the separate file. •9

The Hong Kong crocodile • In November, a female crocodile was on the loose in a river in Yuen Long. But all the attempts by the authorities to catch it were in vain; it evaded every attempt. So, experts from overseas were eventually brought in and for quite a while, the crocodile made them look silly too. It soon became a tourist attraction with bus loads of people being taken to see it. Eventually, but not until June of the following year! it was caught and when the Wetland Park (near here) was opened in 2006, it was given a new home there together with the new name Pui Pui (meaning “precious one", which is also a reference to Shan Pui River where it was found). Helicopter accident • In November, Gavin was involved in a helicopter mid-air collision, which was not his fault but was due to two Air Traffic Controllers who were not communicating with each other. While coming in to land at Torrance Airport in Los Angeles, following the instructions of one controller, another helicopter, under the instruction of another controller, collided with Gavin's helicopter as it was taking off. Both crashed. The two in the lower helicopter were killed. Gavin, the sole occupant in his helicopter, was critically injured, but probably survived as his lower body took most of the impact and damage. He was helicoptered to nearby Harbor-UCLA hospital, which fortunately is the best in the area for trauma injuries. Their initial prognosis was just two hours to live. • Nadine contacted me by phone and I was able to fly over the same day to be with him, along with the rest of the family. He was in intensive care and heavily sedated, but was possibly aware that we were all there. Sian came over from England. I stayed in a nearby motel for about two weeks. While there, I sought out, by phone and by visiting, possible more permanent accommodation for when I was to return in January to help Gavin with his rehabilitation. I had to return to Hong Kong to organise things for a longer stay of three months (maximum for a visitor visa) in Los Angeles.

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2004 In Los Angeles: Gavin's rehabilitation • I was in Los Angeles for almost three months from January to March. I do not have any diary entries for the three months spent there, so what I write here is from memory. • This time I flew with Asiana Airlines (a Korean airline) via Seoul. • On arrival, I first stayed in a (different) motel a bit further from the hospital. Nadine also stayed there with me. Signs of what eventually tuned out to be my superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma (sBCC) became evident; the 'volcanoes' on my hand and foot were erupting blood and would not clot/heal. While there, I was using Gavin's Toyota 4x4 truck to get around, including visiting possible places to stay. • Eventually, I took an apartment in 'Park Regency Club' in Downey, Los Angeles. Nadine helped in the selection of the apartment, e.g. she rejected a ground floor apartment, with a garden and trees, as it was too dark. Took one on the third (top) floor. Gavin, using a wheelchair, could still access it easily through a lift and walkways. The contract was for three months. The minimum is normally six months but the management allowed three months due to the circumstances, and the fact that Gavin was an Iraqi veteran. The apartment was unfurnished so I rented some for the stay. Facilities there were good. There were two pools, one heated and one not, an outdoor spa, weight gym, an aerobics gym and a barbecue area. Gavin preferred to sleep on the sofa in the lounge while I slept in the bedroom.

• Gavin's rehabilitation was remarkably fast. Initially, he had to get around in a wheelchair. Then, he used a walker and eventually was able, with difficulty, to walk unaided. This took guts considering 85% of his pelvis was replaced with metal and his leg bones were held together with inserted metal rods! He was eventually able to use the gyms and the heated pool to do exercise. I was (still am) so proud of him they way he fought to rehabilitate himself. • 11

• Occasionally we would have to drive all the way across Los Angeles to the VA hospital (pictured) for treatment. It is regarded as one of the best VA hospitals in the country. • It was good having his Toyota pickup to get around in. But the licence had to be changed from North Carolina (where he bought it) to California. This was quite a hassle. First it took many visits to get the exhaust emissions tested (even though it was OK as the pickup was almost new) because the conditions for testing never seemed to be right. Then several visits were needed at the licensing department before getting the actual license plates. As I did not have the tools to fit the plates, I went round to a garage who put them on for free when they learnt that Gavin as an Iraq gift. (Americans, in general, seemed to be very supportive of their soldiers.) Then there was the recall by Toyota of vehicles such as Gavin's for some engine fault. This took several visits as well; the guy in the garage dealing with it happened to also have been in the Marines. • The McDonald’s in Downey was the original one in California and the second oldest (I think) in the country. The restaurant had a small museum on the history of McDonald's. • Then, as Gavin was able to walk unassisted, he wanted to drive the truck. I was not too keen on the idea, but eventually he was able to drive around the PRC area successfully. Later, we went onto the streets. • Visitors to PRC included Leonie, Nadine and Byron, his friend from Christ's College days and with whom he was sharing an apartment in the Hollywood area at the time of the accident. They used the pool and barbecue facilities (picture shows a BBQ when Leonie was visiting). • My three-month visa was due to expire a few weeks before the PRC contract expired. By that stage, Gavin was remarkably independent and rehabilitated, so I was able to head back to Hong Kong. On departure, I took a train to the airport stop then a bus to the airport and • 12

the Asiana flight back via Seoul. Gavin, saw out the time at PRC then spent some time at his Uncle's place in Los Angeles before flying to Boston. • See the photo files for more photographs of our stay at PRC and Gavin's rehabilitation. • On arriving back in Hong Kong, I started to feel ill with fever and diarrhoea, the same symptoms that Gavin had. Very lethargic. This lasted a few days. • About mid-April, I got an e-mail from Gavin to say that he was to become a US citizen. This was possible because the US bestows citizenship of foreign nationals who serve in the military and who fight in a war. • About mid-May, Gavin had a hernia operation in California as a result of the accident; it lasted about three hours. • In mid-December, Gavin was fit enough to travel and left Boston for England to be with Sian in Manchester. Books • The year before going to Los Angeles, I had been completing the set of three lower secondary books for Mauritius, which were adaptations of the Singapore series. Book 2 had come out in 2003. While in Los Angeles, I did the proof-reading for Book 3 (cover pictured) and posted them to Singapore (for while the PRC computers included e-mail, writing documents was not possible). Book 3 came out later in 2004. • This year also saw the writing an publication of Teacher's Resource Book 5 for the Brunei primary science series. Leonie (and Tom) • While in Los Angeles, Leonie told me about her boyfriend and announced that she quote “... was probably going to marry him”. I spoke to him on the phone. • In August, Leonie and Tom were in Durban, South Africa, doing volunteer medical work. On their return, Leonie spent nearly a day in Johannesburg with the Dewars. In the evening, they left for London. Hotel fire On September 1st, on my way back from the pool, I came upon fire engines, an ambulance and police outside the hotel. There had been a fire in a 9th floor suite, which activated the sprinkler system in the room. Everyone had to wait in the lobby until the fire had been put out. This was the first fire in the hotel since it opened. I have no idea what caused the fire. Visitors • There was only one visitor this year - Nadine was here again from Boston for her • 13

Christmas term break. • On the afternoon of Christmas day, Nadine decided to go to see the 'Nutcracker' (again!). She called me to say she got two of last four tickets so I rushed in to the Cultural Centre where it was being held, but we were a little late. (Query: If she had tickets, why could we not get in?) • She certainly got around while in Hong Kong with visits to Stanley, Shenzhen (across the border), to the large Buddha on Lantau and on a boat cruise to see in the new year. She actually stayed with me in the suite for one whole day! •

She left Hong Kong on January 2nd.

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2005 Visitors • In February, Edward passed through airport on way to Beijing to study Mandarin for six months. • Nadine arrived about the middle of December followed by Edward a few days later. He had flown to Shenzhen and came to Hong Kong from there. But as he had lost the instructions I gave him for getting here, be could not find Bus 902 at Sheung Shui so arrived here much later than expected. • Leonie, together with Tom and his family had been on a brief tour of China and were booked into a Hong Kong hotel. However, Leonie and Tom came and stayed in the suite for a few days. So there ended up being five people in the suite; Leonie and Tom on the sofa bed, Nadine and me in the regular bed and Edward in his sleeping bag on the sofa seat on the floor. That was a record for the number of people staying in the suite. • One evening, I went to a Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra concert with Leonie, Tom and his family. I remembered Tom's brother as being one of those who cheer and shout loudly at the end of a piece of music. On Christmas evening, we all went for a Christmas dinner at the Kowloon Hotel. This was spoilt a little by other guests smoking in the nonsmoking section where we were and whom the staff allowed to smoke even in spite of our protests. I subsequently wrote a letter of protest to the hotel manager about this. • One day, Leonie, Tom and I went for a hike through Tai Po Kau forest to Shing Mun reservoir. We looked though the Visitor Centre, then continued (by minibus) to Tsuen Wan to visit the Sam Tung Uk walled village (pictured) followed by a snack in a noodle shop and then to the new KCR station for the return journey to Tin Shui Wai. On another afternoon Leonie and Tom visited an art museum and Bird Street. While in Bird Street, Leonie was sick and vomited on the pavement. Later that night, the two of them flew out for San Francisco. •

Nadine went to Shenzhen for the day - shopping! Edward also went to Shenzhen and flew back to Beijing. Nadine returned to Boston after a few days into the new year.

Baby delivery

• In February, Leonie delivered her first baby. The mother was a Cantonese speaker, and she appreciated what Leonie did, which included being able to communicate in Chinese. She • 15

also referred to Leonie as “Doctor” Heyworth, though that (unlike the baby, pictured) was a bit premature as she had not yet graduated. • Talking about delivering babies, the Chief Secretary in Hong Kong urged people here to have three children per couple to help reverse Hong Kong's population decrease. Women here had (and still have) one of the lowest reproductive rates in the world. CE resigns; new CE chosen • In March, Tung Chee-hua announced his resignation -- finally!! Not long after, Arthur Li denied that he was interested in becoming the CE and is surprised that no-one believed him! (Remember his nickname - King Arthur!). • In late May, Donald Tsang resigned as Chief Secretary in order to 'run' for CE. Although I don't seem to have any note in my diary, he was elected as CE for the remainder of Tung's term. Gavin gets married! On August 3rd, Gavin called early from Boston to announce that he has got married! He also said that I was not to tell anyone, a request that he has never withdrawn. Hence, I have never told anyone that he is married. Holiday In September, I went for a holiday in Egypt for just over two weeks. This in spite of terrorist bomb explosions in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in July. I figured out that the chances of anything happening would be very low. For more details of the trip to Egypt, see an additional file.

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2006 CE's digs In January, Donald Tsang, the new CE, moved into the renovated Government House, that is, the home of the British governors in colonial times. C H Tung did not want to live there, preferring to live in his flat in the Mid Levels. Donald Tsang's father, who was policeman, once used to be on duty at the entrance to Government House. Bird flu Having been through the SARS epidemic just a few years ago, this year saw an outbreak of bird flu. In January, a dead bird in Hong Kong was found to have the H5N1 (bird flu) virus. Then in February, a bird with H5N1 was found dead in a street in Tuen Mun. As a result, backyard poultry raising in Hong Kong (that would only be in New Territories) was banned. Cancer and subsequent surgery • In early March, I had a referral from a doctor at CUHK to visit a dermatologist at a government clinic for the 'volcanoes' on my hand and foot and the smaller lesion on my nose. Biopsies were taken and analysis showed them all to be superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC). A short time later, I has a biopsy for a small lesion on the upper chest which also turned out to be sBCC positive. • Late in May, I went to the Tuen Mun hospital for a pre-surgery consultation, which took the whole day!! They took an ECG, blood pressure, a chest X-ray, urine and blood samples. I also met with the anaesthesiologist and surgeons plus two student doctors. • On June 2nd, I left for the hospital about 7:15am for the surgery to remove the cancerous growths. After admission, I got ready for the operation and was wheeled into the operating room at about 12:30 pm where I was anaesthetised. The operation itself began about 1 pm and lasted 1½ hours. I came to at 4 pm. The food in the hospital was lousy and there was one annoying guy in the ward (third class with just six beds) who wanted TV on and loud. I slept OK but had eye shades on and ear plugs! The next day, I left for 'home leave' (not officially discharged) at about 5 pm. • For the next few weeks, I would return to the hospital regularly to have the dressings replaced. Eventually I found out I had been officially discharged earlier. I paid for the hospitalisation - a grand total of just HK$650 plus $100 earlier on admission - for everything. This excluded the cost of subsequent visits for dressings which were just $60 per visit. As the wounds began to heal, I gradually got back to the gym for exercise, even • 17

though there were still a few more dressings sessions. I never said anything about this to the hospital staff as I know they would have disapproved! Leonie at Prince of Wales Hospital then graduation • Late in March, Leonie arrived to spend her final term at the Prince of Wales Hospital doing some research. On arrival, she went straight to the hostel at the hospital. A group of elderly Chinese women, whom she was to interview as part of her project, were relieved to find out that Leonie could converse with them in fluent Cantonese (though all the notes she took were - had to be - in English). • While she was here, she, myself and Prem, the (Nepali) manager of the hotel gym, went for several runs together in country parks. One run with Leonie, but not Prem, was from Tai Tong to Tai Lam reservoir and then to Ho Pui reservoir. I didn't enjoy it much - it was hot, I was tired and sunscreen lotion kept running into my eyes. • While here, Leonie went to the Philippines and later to Malaysia for brief holidays. She left Hong Kong to return to Harvard later in May. • On June 9th, Leonie's graduation ceremony was held early morning (HK time; afternoon in Boston). I was hoping to watch it on a webcast but it didn't work out. • Via Skype, Leonie tells me that she became engaged to Tom at a ski lodge in Vermont on December 26th. Gavin in Hong Kong • In April, Gavin and Sian arrived for a few days. A couple of days later, I went to the Kowloon Hotel for dinner with Leonie, Gian, Sian and Sian's dad. • While here, he applied for his new permanent ID card, which I picked up for him later. Books • I seem to have been busy this year on the 'O' Level Chemistry books for Singapore covering Secondary 3 and Secondary 4. I got the task initially only because the original author (a teacher in England who had also taught in a number of South-East Asian countries) died. Hence the books have both our names on them. Singapore divides students into three main streams: • 18

1. The best students study the three pure sciences - Biology, Chemistry and Physics for two years. 2. The next stream does a slightly easier course with students selecting two of the three science subjects. 3. The lowest of these streams does an even further reduced science courses but receive a different certificate at the end of two years. However, they can then do a third supplementary year to get the same 'O' Level qualification as the second stream. The books for these streams consist of a textbook, practical workbook, theory workbook with a teacher's resource book and additional resource material on a CD-ROM. (The pictures show the textbook and practical workbook for the top stream.) • In August of this year, I went to Singapore for eight days for the launch of these books. The publisher also arranged a few visits to secondary schools to promote the books to teachers. • The books are for use for the academic years 2007 to 2011 (the academic year in Singapore is the same as the calendar year, unlike Hong Kong and other Northern hemisphere countries.) • While the books came out this year, I would have been writing the material in 2005. • My time in Singapore was interesting. The actual launch only involved one morning. In addition, there was quite a lot of eating with the Pearson staff at various restaurants, including buffet meals. I also had free time to do a bit of sightseeing though walking around in Singapore is not always comfortable due to the hot weather.

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2007 Visitors • Visits by Nadine (twice!) and my brother Bruce. • Nadine's first visit was in January for about two weeks on her way to Sydney for a term. On one occasion, we both went to an Arts and Crafts 'fair' outside the Cultural Centre (a waste of time) then to watch an Omnimax film on the moon landings (almost a waste of time). She also had to go to the Post Office to get a box to freight excess luggage to Australia. A week or so later, I went to the Immigration Department to collect her new permanent ID card. • In April, I received $200 Super City vouchers from Nadine. I am not sure why I got them at that time. Perhaps she posted them to me. • In mid-June, Nadine came again for about four days. Perhaps this visit was when she was on her way back to Boston from Sydney. While here, she went to a tailor's shop in Kowloon to check the fitting for Leonie's wedding dress. Later I discovered a bag of clothes she forgotten to take back. • In June, Bruce came to Hong Kong for about a week but was staying in a flat at Discovery Bay and not here. We met one evening at the YMCA for dinner. Ming Yin College 40th anniversary The school I had taught at celebrated its 40th anniversary. I went to the school along with other former teachers, to meet Rex King, the founding principal (from New Zealand but now living in Adelaide) and have a look around the school. Following that, we all went to the Kowloon Club for evening dinner and reunion with many of the earlier teachers. On this anniversary, I did not go to the anniversary dinner; I decided I had seen enough. Books • This time it was the revision of the books for lower secondary school (Secondary 1 and 2) in Singapore. In July, I went to Singapore for about eight days for the launch of the revised books though this time I did not have to give a formal presentation. The launch was at a discotheque called the 'Ministry of Sound'. I had thought this was actually some government ministry but could not figure out why they needed a ministry of sound. The launch was in discotheque style and I am afraid I could not stand the noise! • For this visit, I had two days off at the weekend as the government had introduced a fiveday working week, so I was free on Saturday as well as Sunday. One evening, I watched a National Day parade practice - naval boats, helicopters, parachutists, 42 'jellyfish' hot-air balloons and fireworks.

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• In September, I was back again in Singapore for just one full day to conduct a workshop on the teaching of Chemistry. For the return flight, I was late leaving the publisher's offices for the airport (which is located on the other side of the city). However, the taxi drive was able to drive much faster than the legal limit as he knew which radar traps were operating. Apparently the police tell the taxi companies!! so that traffic can flow more easily. • After returning, I began the 'O' Level Chemistry examination revision guide. This was also a book I had taken over due to the death of the original author. It only took about a week to revise the book. The book came out in 2008. Leonie's wedding • This was the highlight of the year. It took place in San Francisco in November. I stayed in two motels (at different times) in Millbrae close to the airport. Other people were in the second motel, including cousins Janice and Wendy and their husbands, Nadine, Gavin and Sian. • On the day of my arrival, Leonie drove me to the house in San Francisco which Tom's parents have rented. Leonie and I (in Tom's gear) went for a one-hour run to Golden Gate Bridge and back; it was rather tough for me, as I was jet lagged, had some breathing problem, it was only my second run of the season and Leonie was very fit! • In mid afternoon on the day before the wedding, There was a dinner in the same house. I travelled to San Francisco by train and walked towards the house but missed it in the fog and darkness, ending up right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge in a closed area. An unhelpful policeman there in a car told me to clear off before I was arrested. Eventually, I found my way back to the house and arrived about two hours late. I also picked up the suit I had rented for the wedding. • The wedding itself was held in Palo Alto. The weather was very good. On the way there, in Bob's car (husband of Janice), we had a quick look at Escondido village and did a circuit of the Stanford campus. And would you believe it, I got the number of our Escondido apartment wrong so we looked at the wrong one (pictured), though all the blocks are identical. In the evening, a reception at a Chinese restaurant in Millbrae was held. Leonie and Tom, who were to stay in the same motel, did not get • 21

the bridal suite they were promised. The day after the wedding, there was a dim sum brunch at the same restaurant. Note: The picture of Leonie on the horse was taken when they went to the Stanford hills area for photographs. They saw a lady with the horse and she allowed them to get some pictures with it.

• After check in for my return flight to Hong Kong, I went through security where I was separated for an extra security check. Apparently I, and the way I travelled, had some of the characteristics of/used by terrorists!!

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2008 Nadine's graduation • Nadine graduated at North-Eastern University in May after five years of study. She also gave the graduation speech for her class, which included a quote Winston Churchill used in a WWII context but which Nadine used in an educational context: "This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning." Trips to Indonesia • In March, I was off to Indonesia for just two days to conduct workshops on the use of English in the teaching of Science (in secondary schools). These took place in the city of Bandung, about three hours drive inland from the capital Jakarta. In addition, I visited two secondary schools and taught a brief science lesson in each to a lower secondary science class. • In November, I made a second visit to Indonesia for similar presentations, but this time for primary as well as secondary. I first flew to Singapore for a day then on to Jakarta, staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel! Before the launch, I went to four primary schools where I taught science lessons to Grade 3 classes and had talks with teachers. Two of the classes were in Islamic schools; the behaviour and attitude of the children was excellent. The girl students in these classes were covered from head to toe! This was in contrast to a private school I visited where the discipline of the pupils was not good. For the presentations, one day was for primary science and the next day for lower secondary science. Examples for the secondary presentations were taken from the Singapore science books. For the primary, they came from the Indonesian primary science books that were then in the process of being written. From Jakarta, we flew north-west to Padang on the island of Sumartra. The hotel was a level down from the Ritz!! and there were no non-smoking rooms! The presentations were on just one day, so I cannot remember if I did primary or secondary or both. On the last day, we flew back to Jakarta, then Singapore and for me, on to Hong Kong. Visitors On Christmas eve, Nadine passed through the airport on her way to Sydney for about two weeks. I went to the airport to see her as the stopover lasted several hours and she could use her Hong Kong ID card to leave and re-enter through immigration easily. My, that girl does get around, doesn't she? Of all the visitors I have had, most have been her.

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2009 Visitors • Nadine again! In January she arrived from Sydney and departed for New York. I spent three hours with her at the airport. I also received many bags of MINTIES from her. A few weeks later, a Mintie pulled out half of a tooth filling! • In October, Nadine was on her way to Australia again! I can't keep up will all her travels! Bells' Palsy • In mid-January, I started feeling unwell with fever, weakness, sore throat and pain in the temple area. I went to the CU clinic where I was given antibiotics for trigeminal neuralgia. I had mentioned this in my weekly letters and Gavin called about 10.30 pm one evening and persuaded me to go to A& E in case it was a stroke. It turned out I had Bell's palsy not stroke. I got back about 1.30 am. The following (actually same) day I went to the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) department at Tuen Mun Hospital and got lots of medicine, most of which was the same as for asthma. Because the palsy had affected my facial muscles, I started rehabilitation exercises also at the hospital; this continued for several weeks. They also gave me a series of exercise to carry out daily. I still do these twice a day, once in the morning and once at night; takes only about a minute, though I wonder if they do any good or not. • A few weeks after the first symptoms, the palsy seemed to have moved to the other side of my face and a month after that I woke up one morning with my right ear making soft strange noise; Leonie correctly diagnosed this as pulsitile tinnitus. It did not affect my hearing and has never disappeared but does not annoy me at all. Books and visit to Indonesia More books written this year. • In April, I did a lower secondary revision book for Singapore. • I was also working on “Science Alive”, the Indonesian primary science series for Years 3 to 6. The books for Year 3 came out this year. All the others were published in 2010. • In November, I made another trip to Indonesia (the third). This time it was Jakarta, for about a week, and Medan (the main city in Sumatra) for about three days. Not long after arriving in Jakarta, I went down with food poisoning with terrible vomiting and diarrhoea. The hotel doctor attended to me. As a result, I lost one whole day of visiting schools, but still managed the presentation on how teachers could teach using our science books. This was followed up by visits to three schools to discuss • 24

further with teachers on how to teach using the books. In Medan, there was just the presentation of the books as in Jakarta, but no school visits. I returned to Hong Kong, via a transit stop at Singapore airport. Epidemics More epidemics this year. • In April, WHO raised the pandemic alert to Phase 5 (out of 6) - for swine flu, I think • In May. the first case of swine flu in Hong Kong was detected - a Mexican man who arrived via Shanghai. The whole hotel where he stayed was quarantined for about a week, some remaining in the hotel, others at a holiday camp in Sai Kung. (They took this action immediately, based on lessons learnt during the SARS outbreak in 2003.) Soon after, schools began to close because of swine flu. By mid-June there were about 190 cases of swine flu in Hong Kong. By September, there were 10 swine flu deaths and the number of cases about 13000. Grandfather This year, I became a grandfather for the first time with the birth of Kaia to Leonie and Tom in Boston on July 16th.

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2010 Burnside High School Jubilee • The big event of the year was the visit to New Zealand in April for about a month. The main purpose was for the 50th anniversary of Burnside High School in Christchurch, the school where I first began my working life and where I taught for four years before coming to Hong Kong. I stayed with Bruce and Keith while there. • On the way there on Singapore Airlines, I broke an incisor eating an ice cream that had a chocolate core that was frozen hard. I got it attended to after returning to Hong Kong with the fitting of a crown. • On the opening day, the Thursday before Easter, I registered and had a tour around the school. It has changed a lot over the years and in the process becoming the biggest secondary school in the country. On other days, there were reunions with some students, primarily with the form class I had for my first two years there, a ride in the Gondola and a walk down bridle path with some of these students, and a staff reunion with buffet dinner. The official opening was on the Saturday, carried out by the Prime Minister John Key who himself was a former student though after my time there. The closing ceremony was on Sunday afternoon. At this ceremony, several past students gave reminisces of their time there. Each student was introduced by a former teacher. I introduced one lady who I never actually taught though I knew her. • After the jubilee, a few days was spent at Ruru at Keith's 'bach' (pictured). While there, he and I went out on Lake Brunner in his speed boat where I tried, unsuccessfully, to water ski (something I had never ever managed to master); it was more fun driving the boat around the lake at high speed! We also went for a hike and a long road run and. Later, after Edward arrived (with Bruce), he and I went for a hike/run up Te Kinga, the local mountain. •

Other notable activities while in Christchurch included two mountain biking outings with Keith. On the second of these, at McLean's Island, I had a nasty spill while going at high speed; nothing was broken, but there were a number of bruises and many cuts and scratches, though I was still able to keep going, but a bit more slowly! On the final day, • 26

which was also Anzac Day, Keith and I attended the dawn service in the square. (I still have the poppy I bought at that service. Also, of course, this was to be my last ever view of the square as it was, due to the 2011 earthquake that destroyed the cathedral along with most of the rest of the central business district.) After that, we went to the airport and I returned to Hong Kong. Exercise and health

• In January, on a run in the Cloudy Hill area, when I stopped for a pee there was blood in my urine. A search of the Internet suggested that it was probably exercise-induced haematuria caused by the insides of the bladder rubbing against each other due to a lack of water in the bladder; it is not uncommon in long-distance running. For the next long run a week later, there was no haematuria and there has been none since. • For many years, in order to control asthma, I had been taking regular puffs of a preventative medicine every day and reliever puffs when necessary. From time to time, more serious attacks would occur and I would have to take other medicine in the form of tablets. But one day in about September, I forgot to take the regular preventative medicine and with no ill effects and decided to go off the medicine and see what happened. Nothing happened! For two years, I never had any problem with asthma and never had to take any medicine, for asthma or for anything else. Very surprising indeed! (Additional note: In late 2012, when doing major cleaning the Central Park Towers flat without wearing a face mask, the dust generated caused breathing problems and I was medicine again but only for about a week.) Skin cancer Following my return to Hong Kong from New Zealand, I had a number of biopsies for skin cancer. These included biopsies to lesions on one leg plus a small part of the nose and later a larger area on one side of my nose. (This last biopsy was done at a hospital, which as mentioned above I do not like as it takes much longer than when done at the clinic.) Most were turned out positive for sBCC though most of cancerous tissue was able to be removed during the biopsy excisions. On only one area of the nose was this not the case; no further • 27

surgery has been done on this as it does not seem to be a problem and the chance of sBCC spreading is low. Hong Kong happenings • In May, a legislative by-election had to be held as a result of five 'pro-democracy' legislative councillors who resigned to force what they call a 'referendum' on democracy. This tactic was not viewed positively by everybody in the community particularly as the five stood again for re-election. Still, I voted, though the turnout was only low at just over 17%. • From time to time, special licence plates are sold at auction in Hong Kong. One of these had the number '8964'. It was priced at $125 000 but could not be sold, perhaps because the political effect was too great as 8964 can represent June 4th, 1989. • In August, a bus load (25) of Hong Kong tourists was held hostage in Manila, with eight people eventually being killed after an incredible botch-up of the Manila police. And all this was broadcast live on TV here and around the world!! After that, the Hong Kong government placed the Philippines on its tourist travel 'black' list and two years later that has not been lifted (there are accusations that this is based on racial biases as well as political). Books In December I began what turned out to be a mammoth two-year task revising the Singapore science books. This began with the Chemistry 'O' Level books and the preparation of new sample chapters for the three series of Chemistry books. These sample chapters were passed to the Ministry of Education who then had to decide whether they were good enough to be given approval to continue the revision. (Along with the Chemistry, early in 2011, I found I had to also revise the lower secondary science books at the same time. This was just too much for one writer, so the publisher got another person to help in the revision of some - not all - of the Chemistry books.

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2011 Books • In January, the submission for the Singapore Chemistry books was accepted (slight groan as I wouldn't have minded not doing them, though in fact they turned out to be easier than the lower secondary science books which I wanted to do). • By March, the workload had become so heavy that it was decided to get another author to help with the Chemistry book, though I did all the lower secondary science books myself. Visitors •

In February, my cousin Roger (White) and his wife Maureen stayed for a dew days on their way to the UK and Europe. The last time I had seen them was in 1987 when we were on the camper-van visit to their house near Napier. They had a large house with a paddock behind it where his daughters (he had three of them) could ride horses. Maureen is his third wife (the others both died) and she appeared rather 'ngok'. But she is actually quite nice, just shy and quiet. On their last day, the second big earthquake hit Christchurch, the one that did most of the damage; even though it was weaker than the first, it was almost directly under the city.

Hong Kong happenings • In January a woman died of swine flu. • There were a number of medical blunders at various hospitals. In one case, a woman at Baptist Hospital died after getting the wrong treatment; she was given four doses of a respiratory dilator instead of adrenaline. • At Chinese New Year, a fight broke out between a tour guide and a group of mainland visitors over forced shopping. The groups come here on very cheap packages and the only way the companies and tour guides can make a profit is through the commissions received from shopping. • The government announced that all permanent residents over the age of 18 would receive a gift of $6000. • On the last day of March, Star Ferries from Hung Hom to Central and Wanchai ceased operation. Only the Tsim Sha Tsui to Central Star ferries remain. • The first minimum wage law came into effect, with the rate being $28 an hour. All the doomsday predictions that businesses would close and the economy would be in jeopardy turned out, of course, to be false and rather ridiculous. • The once every 10 years census was held. For the last census, I was interviewed. This time I just had to complete a (short) form online instead of posting it in. Some of the English in • 29

the form was appalling! A few days later, I received another Census form in the mail with a note saying that hotel guests cannot use the online e-questionnaire! Why this was not stated in the original I don't know. So I had to fill out a pencil-and-paper form and post it in. • After seven years of residency, people can apply for permanent residency. But this did not apply to overseas domestic servants. One Filipina maid challenged this in court saying it was unconstitutional and she won! The government and many in the population feared that if many Filipino maids got permanent residency, they would take away many local jobs, etc. The government launched an appeal and at the time of writing no final decision has been reached. • The results of a survey found that most people here identify strongly with Hong Kong and not with the mainland, to the extreme irritation of the Chinese Liaison Office officials here. Grandfather again This year, I became a grandfather for the second time with the birth of Elymie to Leonie and Tom in Boston on August 3rd (just missing out being born on Leonie's birthday one day later). HPRC • During the mid-autumn festival in September, there were many visitors from the mainland. On one day, while swimming (at the deep end) I accidentally bumped into a mainland woman who then (in Mandarin) began to accuse me of 'sexual assault'. She then hit me! I could have had her arrested and charged, and there were other people in the pool who saw what had happened and would have supported me but I took no action. • In November, HPRC announced that rents for long-term guests would almost double!! So in December I started looking at flats in Central Park Towers, almost next door to the hotel. I did not like most of the flats I saw which were in the older of the eight towers. There is no Tower 4 as '4' in Cantonese sounds like 'die' so is not used; '4' and numbers with '4', such as '14' are not used in the numbering of floors in buildings for the same reason.

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2012 Nadine's wedding • This was the highlight of the year, which took place in Boston in November. While there, I stayed with Leonie and Tom and then with Nadine and Joel. Other people were there too, including cousins Janice and Wendy (without their husbands this time) Kiri, Gavin and Sian as well as Andrew and Stuart (the former as a result of being on a European tour and the latter who was working in London). • Leonie showed me some of the city including the Boston Common (pictured), the waterfront and Greenway, as well as the Arboretum not far from their house. Nadine showed me around the campus of North-Eastern University where she had studied. When Gavin arrived, he took me together with Sian and Andrew to Bunker Hill area and the North End where we had lunch in a riverside restaurant. I also visited by myself the Forest Hills cemetery (and saw the graves of MacBeth, Hamlet and Montague all in same area). I also went with Leonie and family to a beach north of Boston followed by lobster at Rockport. Other outings included a visit with Janice, Wendy and Kiri to the Museum of Fine Arts (expensive; $23 for seniors, only $2 less than for adults) and a pre-wedding gathering and barbecue the night before the wedding.

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• The wedding itself took place on Sunday, August 19th at Gore Place. (A nice touch was the inclusion of genuine Australian pies as refreshment.) The wedding was followed by a banquet at a Chinese restaurant. (Because of '8' being an auspicious number in Chinese, they had wanted the wedding on the 18th, but Gore Place was unavailable on that date.) Hong Kong happenings • The new government headquarters at Tamar had teething problems. In January, Legionnaires disease found in parts of the building, including the CE's office. This after the Minister of Education had recovered from the disease he picked up in his office. • It was reported that in 2011, there were only 59 'good' days in terms of air pollution. And this is with out-of-date air quality standards that have not been updated for nearly 25 years. No wonder the air is so polluted everywhere you look. • The government began to get tough on the many mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth so that they can get residency for their children. A mainland woman was given 10 months jail for helping pregnant women to come to Hong Kong to give birth. It was announced that starting next year, no mainland women who do not have a Hong Kong husband would be allowed to give birth here. • The 'election' for the new Chief Executive took place this year. And it was a very noisy and controversial affair compared with the quiet elections in the past. Henry Tang, the business man and former Financial Secretary, was supposed to have been Beijing's choice. But then he got caught up in a scandal over an illegal basement at one of his homes. To try to get out of it, his wife took the blame! Then it was revealed that he had fathered an illegitimate daughter. Triads and police were also involved. Tang believed that his main opponent, C Y Leung, was in league with a triad to disrupt his (Tang's) campaign, so Tang lodged a complaint with the police. • In a 'popular' vote for CE carried out online, about 240 000 took part, the majority choosing 'none of the above' of the three candidates! • Although Tang did not withdraw from the election, his main opponent C Y Leung was eventually elected by the (unrepresentative) 1200-strong election committee. However, just after being elected, it turned out that there were illegal structures at his home on the Peak. • In September, elections were held for the legislative council. The overall turnout was about 53% which is high for Hong Kong. • On the evening of October 1st (National Day) a boat with staff from HK Electric and family members on its way to see the fireworks in Victoria Harbour collided with a catamaran ferry and sank (picture); 39 people drowned or died later. • 32

• There have been more problems with Hong Kong's unregulated beauty treatment centres. four women went into septic shock after receiving intra-vascular infusions (of their own blood) at one centre. One of the women died. • I have mentioned that many rich (and not so rich) mainlanders have been buying flats in Hong Kong for speculative purposes, which has pushed up he prices of housing making it more difficult for locals to afford or even get a flat of their own. To counter this, the new administration increased the stamp duty payable by foreigners who buy property. This seems to be working in dampening speculation. (The owner of the flat I am renting is a mainlander but I think she is married to a local man as she lives in Hong Kong.) New accommodation • In March, I signed a contract for the flat in which now reside, to take effect on April 1st. However, I did not move in immediately as the lease on the hotel suite had not expired. I eventually moved in on March 31st, having been able to get a refund from the hotel for May, the last month of the lease. • March was also spent moving things from the suite to the flat. Most of this I did myself using a supermarket trolley. It required 53 trolley loads to move nearly everything! I had to get a van to move the piano and the large wooden Chinese partition/screen. I had to buy some furniture for the flat and got this from Ikea. I also had to get curtains. The photograph shows the dining and living areas after being furnished. • It has been surprisingly cheap to live here. The initial rent was $7 700 a month which included Internet and telephone charges. Electricity averaged about $130 a month but as the government was providing a $150 a month subsidy to households for electricity, this was essentially free. Air conditioning was expensive but I only used it in the evenings and overnight during the hot weather. Gas was about $30 a month and water cost nothing as I never exceeded the 3 cubic metres a month free allowance. Unlike the hotel, I had to pay for using the pool and the gym. The fee for the gym is about $120 a month. So all told, the overall cost of rent plus utilities was about half of what I would have paid had I stayed in the hotel. • Given my status now as a 'senior' I went to a Social Welfare Department office and completed an application for a government handout of $1090 a month 'fruit money'. The government has also introduced a flat far of $2 for seniors on most (not all) public transport. • 33

Ming Yin College 45th anniversary • The secondary school I had taught at celebrated its 45th anniversary. This time I attended two functions. First there was a reunion at the school of the original Form 1 students. The second was the anniversary dinner (the picture shows some of the earlier teachers and students). Visitors • There was only one visitor this year, my brother Bruce, who stayed in the hotel suite for a few days on his way back to New Zealand after attending a wedding somewhere in China. While here, he visited the Wetland Park close to here (which I have not yet been to) and walked with me along the Tang dynasty era Ping Shan trail (near the Tin Shui Wai railway station). Books • A lot of the year was spent on the Chemistry and science books for Singapore. But this was all completed in October.

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