Another Week
The last week marked the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup culminating in Spain, Argentina and England taking the first three positions in that order and as new stories and jokes emerged on the main players and countries including the never-to-be sidelined Trump. I spent the last weekend with a full schedule, first going to the funeral of my past Warden of Old Halls, followed by going to the book fare and the Book Launch of our old friend BT and ending with a dinner at our favourite restaurant at Mei Foo with Keith and Data. There were many familiar faces at the funeral, and I picked up two old books authored by the late Mr. Fung. The MTR became very handy for the trip between Hung Hom and the Exhibition Centre where I met Su who was already busy taking up new books and merchandise. The Book Launch was a phenomenal event as expected. We arrived early to secure our seats. Again, we met many old faces and took photos some of which Su had already posted on the social media afterwards. BT was everywhere and at her level best plus. I don’t think I could match her performances if I did one for my sequel, if it ever got published. The evening meal in the neighborhood was very enjoyable. Keith came up early for some gossips and of course a few pre-dinner drinks. We had some post-dinner drinks too, before retiring separately to prepare for the third-place playoff match. Sunday turned out to be a fully packed day, beginning with Mass at Ricci, followed by a run to the Funeral Home at North Point, but not before we had a morning dim-sum session at Kerry Centre. We then stayed for the farewell of Praveen’s mother, after which ceremony we and other friends retired to the same eatery at Kerry Centre for lunch before driving back home for a well-needed rest for the next session, which was Joann’s Rotary Club’s anniversary dinner at TST. Once again and as expected, we caught up with many friends with whom we had many photos taken and so on. It was rather tiring, so much so that we decided not to join the group to go to another place to watch the World Cup Final but had chosen to retire back to Mei Foo for it. Su joined me for most of the session, which was not exactly a very watchable match.
After the Final, I barely rested before driving off to Ricci for the morning Mass, for which I had scheduled myself as Reader. Life was supposed to return to normal after the FIFA games as everyone tried to catch up their lost sleep. I couldn’t recall too much of the rest of the day except that I attended my Rotary Club meeting in the evening when I was asked to speak for a little while after which I had my fair share of whiskeys, before going back to Mei Foo to prepare for the rest of the week. It came to pass that I read at the 7:30 am Mass Monday through Friday, followed usually by a simple breakfast at KCC. On Tuesday, I had lunch with Phyllis of Old Halls, whom I had not met for some two years; and on Wednesday, I joined the Wah Yan Alumni Past Presidents for a reunion lunch. I was glad that both were enjoyable occasions in their own ways. Then on Thursday Su and I attended a heavy Wine Dinner at ABC, featuring wines from Mitolo, which began with an Italian farming family settling in South Australia in the 1950s. We had debated whether to drive there, being mindful that we had plenty of wine to deal with during dinner, but that we were promised unsettled weather. In the end, I drove. Halfway through dinner, the F&B Manager arranged to have my car left in the Club overnight so that we could drink to our hearts’ delight. It was the first time I did that and I felt good. More relevantly, it was a great evening. We met a couple, Brendon who was an old boy of Wah Yan of the 1969 vintage and his wife Elsa. They were friends of John Berry, a past ABC Commodore and his wife Natalie whom we met the first time. We also met Saka who represented the wine sponsor who recognized us from a previous attendance at ABC events. We won a bottle at the Lucky Draw. Su ordered 18 bottles afterwards, which all arrived today, rather unexpectedly. We also had two other wine deliveries during the week: two dozen bottles of Su’s household champagne staple, Veuve Clicquot, and half a dozen or more of Italian Red, Sister Moon. Together, they filled up the space left in the wine cabinets.
Friday was PMH Day. I had three appointments at Princess Margaret Hospital between 1:30 pm and 5 pm, beginning with an exercise session at the Physiotherapy Department OPD, followed by Blood Taking and Plain X-Ray, which were all completed in two hours so that I was home by 4 pm. It was then that I became mindful that all the appointments, including one more in the next week, were allocated on 2 January 2026 when I attended the Orthopaedics General Department for the first time since I consulted government clinics when I experienced pain in my left knee sometime in June or July 2024. Since then, I had a total left knee replacement in September 2024 in a private hospital at my own cost and which operation had prejudiced my recent application for voluntary health insurance. I will not go further than this. I am happy with my present state of health, and I intend to keep it this way, with Su’s help.
With Tropical Typhoon Noul approaching, we are about to venture out to yet another Rotary Club Anniversary this evening. Again, we will see what transpires.
