The last article posted under “Letters from John Wan” on my personal website was entitled “Farewell Address” and dated September 2016. It had been on my website as a standalone piece for as long as my website was there, but when I created the new category in September 2016, I decided to lump it together…
If you have been wondering why I have not been sending you emails or answering to yours in the past few days, it is because my email system has been shut down involuntarily. I am experiencing what I call a New Year Meltdown. Let me briefly elaborate. I was planning for a quiet evening last…
Let me begin by thanking all the friends and acquaintances who have been creating, sending or routing messages and greetings with their best wishes for the holiday seasons and the year ahead. They began to come in around the second week of Advent, normally through WhatsApp, Facebook, emails or other social media. Some are long,…
I felt strong enough this morning to resume my treadmill session; and while at it, watched CNN Incredible Stories which featured amongst other things the amazing story of Eva Moses Kor. Eva and Miriam were born twins in January 1934. When she was ten, the family was taken to Auschwitz where the twins were separated…
I always have great admiration for the columnists who have their daily pieces printed in newspapers. They all need to meet deadlines which requires great discipline, determination and motivation. I have talked to one or two people and asked what made them tick. Naturally, they won’t share their trade secrets so readily; and besides I…
It has been rather hot and sunny: yesterday was over 35 degrees and today is not much better with tropical cyclone warning issued early in the day. I have come down with flu and have forced myself to stay indoors and mostly in bed, drinking plenty of water and going to the bathroom rather often….
Lest you get the wrong idea, I am simply trying to edit my website. I am taking out “Farewell Address” from the top menu, but not wanting to lose the historical item, which was the last address I made before I stepped down as Rotary International Governor of District 3450 in July 2001. The following…
Much has been said and written about writing in general and why people write in particular. Somehow, I often have the urge to write. A few things happened to me in the last fortnight or so; and let me try to share them with you, not in any particular order. First, I threw a party and…
That was how I ended my 3-minute speech at the Inauguration Ceremony for New Students at the Grand Hall at Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre on 26 August 2016. I am going to share with you the speech below, but first, let me briefly report what happened that morning. The Ceremony began with the usual…
It is Book Fair Week in Hong Kong again. Typically, publishers and writers would organize some public meetings for book sale and autographing and I found myself in one of them ostensibly organized to discuss how and what and why writers write. It was a good session and afterwards I found myself in a familiar…
