Another Week
Based on my research and records my mother left me, I turned 79 last Sunday. To mark the occasion, we took a picture with my Sunday Gang after Mass at Ricci Hall, joined by Carrie who came with the crucifix given her by the Diocese to mark her appointment as one of the seven official preachers of the Diocese. Carrie said emphatically that I should celebrate my 80th birthday in a big way next year. We will see. We ate rather lightly for the rest of the day, finishing off Su’s pizzas.
It was not exactly a packed week, except for two days, or maybe three. Let me begin with Wednesday, some of what happened I had briefly mentioned on FB, but which I would like to repeat here in more detail for posterity. We had been promised unsettled weather, and I had gone for my Medical at the Family Clinic in Wanchai with an umbrella. As I had expected, the doctor saw me for two minutes or less and gave me the usual prescriptions, apparently satisfied with my bp readings taken at the clinic. Su texted me while I was waiting at the Dispensary telling me that she wanted me to have lunch with her at noon at the restaurant housed in the Museum of Art in TST. The weather was turning foul, and the Observatory had already issued the thunderstorm warning. I had to go to Zetland Hall to collect my moneybag which I left in my locker Monday night, and by the time I left Kennedy Road, it was already pouring. Somehow, I made it to the bus stop at St John’s Cathedral and caught a bus to Admiralty, by which time I was thoroughly drenched. I called Su who was about to reach the MTR station at TST at which my train pulled up shortly. I waved Su onto the train. She saw my wet state and recognized that I needed to change to a dry outfit but was not ready to abort the lunch plan which I suggested. Indeed, she left at the next station and proceeded back to TST, insisting that I should double back to join her after I got into something dry. It was 11:45 am. I got home, had a shower and doubled back, which went somewhat against my grain, but that was my life. I met up Su again at 1:30 pm and we went for the restaurant on the first floor. The thunderstorm and rain had cleared up, and we took a table with a rather nice view. We whiled away at the restaurant, having a full lunch complete with deserts and Su was befriended by the supervisor, a Greek who later took us to see the rest of the restaurant’s facilities and booked us a table for dinner two weeks later to celebrate Su’s next birthday. After lunch, we visited the Museum and walked through the exhibits before taking the MTR back to Mei Foo for a rest. I had a dinner appointment at Gala Place with my Rotary Club in the evening. It was more than enough for a day.
The next event I would like to mention fell on Friday, which was Labour Day, a public holiday. We had arranged to meet Pat, Ko Ying’s widow, at her place in Lyttleton Road for a chat. Brenda had arranged parking. She also turned up to say hello. Su brought food and we had lunch together, and some whiskeys too. Pat was doing rather well. We last met her in mid-February, over the CNY season when Ying’s sister Florence was still around.
Then came Saturday when Joann had arranged for the evening a wine sampling with half a dozen of red wine – mainly Bordeaux – from Roger Cheng and a few Rotarians. The day began with the last rite of Su’s father to spread his ashes in open sea, arranged through the funeral agent as part of the package. We met up at 8:30 am at the North Pont Ferry Pier to board a ferry licensed by the Food and Hygiene Department for the operation. The ferry could take up to some 30 parties of 10 each and would carry the participants to Tung Lung Chau which was an hour’s sailing from North Point. It was very well organized. Everything went like clockwork. After the operation, Su and I had lunch with Su’s brother and his wife at a restaurant near the North Point Pier. We had a full meal, washed down with a bottle of Cloudy Bay before returning to Mei Foo, so that we didn’t have too much rest before we embarked on the evening wine sampling. As it happened, ten persons turned up, including Joann, Su and I. The party went on and on and we must have demolished some ten bottles of wine and bubblies. We left around 2 am. Somehow, I felt that age was catching up on me. We missed the 9:15 am Mass this morning and had to attend the 12:30 pm Mass, running into heavy rain and thunderstorm on our way back.
In two weeks, Su and I will embark on a cruise to Iceland after spending about a week in Stockholm. We would be joined by Su’s good friend Mei Mei. Life will be somewhat different then. I think I’d better get used to recording my daily routines. My diary for next week appears somewhat crowded. Again, we will see.
