Jing In desert near Aqaba, Jordan

Aqaba desert, Jing in the sun... Southern Jordan

Barry’s Mum’s Monkey Madness

This is a collection of some of Barry's Mum's monkey troop of 200.

We went to see Greig Davies at the Punchline Comedy Club in Wanchai the other night. Greig's a very famous British comedian, and we're lucky to have him here in Hong Kong playing in our favourite little comedy club at the Viceroy, just a couple of hundred audience and one we've been going to for decades....
Greig's support was Barry Castegnola.
I've known about Barry for a long time.  He's a regular guest co-host on Rhod Gilbert's show on BBC radio Wales every Saturday, which repeats as a podcast on Sundays and is my regular accompaniment at the gym.  And one of the features on Rhod's show is Barry's Mum's Monkey Madness.
Here's the most recent of the podcasts.  Bear with it, it's funny and just half hour.
Barry's Mum is so crazy for monkeys and he tells such amusing stories about this on Rhod's show, that I thought I'd buy Barry a monkey to give to his Mum.
First the local store lady sold me this one, which she said was a monkey when I told her that I was after a monkey.  But I suspect that if I'd said I was after a bear, she would have told me it was a bear.
Here it is with Basil, aka the "piggy dog".

Basil the piggy-dog with Basil the monkey-bear

We named it Basil the monkey-bear.
Then Arlene found something more approaching a monkey.
So here's Basil the monkey

Basil the monkey

So, when we turn up at the Comedy Club, Barry does his set, and in the break I approach him, with Basil the monkey in a little paper bag.

Me: Barry, I have something for your Mum

Barry: [puzzled] What??!

Me: [Lifting Basil the monkey out of bag]: This, a little .....

Barry" [Eyes lighting up]: ... a monkey!! Wonderful!

What went on next was just so wonderful and heart warming.  Barry was genuinely overwhelmed, said his Mum would *love* the new Basil, he'd make sure that she got it, that I was so thoughtful, etc etc.  so much more than I could have hoped for.  

We took photos, one here with Jing.

Barry Castegnola and Jing.  Punchline Comedy Club, 22 Nov

And then at the end of the show, as we were heading out, Barry came rushing out, grabbed my shirtsleeve, and told us that he'd rung his Mum.  Exclamation mark!!  He'd rung his mum in Wales, during Greig's set, told her about Basil the monkey and she was so excited.....

So, all good then...

And Basil the monkey-bear is spare.  So who to give him to?  I wonder.....

Rocky

Age 9 months one week.  Melbourne....

And also here on YouTube

Mutti oral history. Early Days (1940s) to Tokyo Wedding (1946)

Margaret Anderson ("Mutti"), Wellington, NZ, Spring 1944

Below are links to some of the recordings I've done with Mutti, early ones face-to-face and later on the phone.
Be patient with the pops and squeaks: of signing on and off, and sometimes Mutti loses me because of tech gaps that I can't explain. And occasionally a disembodied Chinese lady's voice sounds; she's just reminding me to press "record".
That aside, hope you enjoy them, and tell me if you have any additions or comments.
Oh, and btw, it's important that you listen from the beginning. Because, re-listening as I am, I realise that you won't understand some of the references without the earlier passages.

Mutti 1: Early Days (15'48")

Mutti 2: War Years (25'56")

Mutti 3: Tokyo Early Days (19'14")

Mutti 4: Tokyo a Little Later (20'29")

Mutti 5: Tokyo Wedding (18'03")

A cleaner photo than the one above, which I have
just realised is just this one cropped.
Kilburn Park, Wellington, NZ, Spring 1944

At the Duomo, Milan. 3 June 2018

Great Jing shot from high on the Duomo, Milan

Duomo view from summit

John and Jing reached the summit

This is God

These are Jing's great photos of John and her walk to the top of the Duomo, the wonderful cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo in Milan. I had to stay behind due to torn leg muscle..... Later we had a milanese meal at the Locanda Del Gatto Rosso, right by the Duomo.
For earlier photos of our Italy trip go over here, includes our Mille Miglia race

The Golden Bugle or Wind-chime Tree

A rather lovely tree appeared on our street. Several, all flowering now, early spring ...

(Posting this as a memory aid...)

Above is the flower from what I have now tracked down and identified as the Golden Trumpet tree, aka Handroanthus Chrysotrichus. 

In Chinese it's called a Feng Ling Mu (風鈴木) which means "wind chime tree". 

We have several now flowering near our place. We tried to buy one at the monthly flower market, but they say we need to order. 

I like this tree!

From Wikipedia:

Handroanthus chrysotrichus, synonymTabebuia chrysotricha, commonly known as the golden trumpet tree, is a semi-evergreen/semi-deciduous (shedding foliage for a short period in late spring)^[1] tree from Brasil. It is very similar to and often confused with Tabebuia ochracea. In Portuguese it is called ipê amarelo and is considered the national tree of Brasil.

Sent from my iPhone

Rocky Forsythe Birse

Rocky Forsythe Birse, born Melbourne Women’s Hospital at 13:15 pm on 8th February 2018. 3.75kg. Mother and baby and all well. 

(Photos posted from my iPhone so no particular order or captions. If you have a photo you’d like to add here send to me). 

Love P / D / G-D

Rocky.
Born Melbourne Women's Hospital, 13:15 hours 8 February 2018. 3.75 kg.
(Sent from my iPhone so in no particular order and no captions. If you want to add to here send photo to me)
Love to all! P / D

King island, Tasmania

Places we went.... Jane and I, 4-8 January 

Penny's lagoon, King Island

Martha Lavinia Beach✔️

Calcified forest ✔️

Disappointment Bay✔️

Surprise Bay✔️

Seal rocks✔️

Cape Wickham lighthouse. ✔️

Cape Wickham lighthouse, NW King Island

Boomerang hotel/ restaurant ✔️

Cheese Factory ✔️

Cultural Centre ✔️

Bold Head brasserie (Grassy)✔️

Wild Harvest (Grassy) ✔️

Grassy harbour gallery ✔️

Sea elephant beach ✔️

Oleada restaurant (Currie) ✔️

Shag Lagoon Bird Hide ✔️

Mutti in Air Force Uniform. 1944

Kilburn Park, Wellington New Zealand. Spring 1944.

A nice afternoon’s walk to the monastery

A little way along the path, the "Filipina Village", looking back
towards Discovery Bay

Looking towards Peng Chau Island, East of DB
The Peak on HK Island in the background, looking East

DB hi-rises, near the Marina Club, and Nimshuwan Bay

All on last Wednesday afternoon: 18 degrees and dry

To Maintain Muscle and Lose Fat as You Age, Add Weights - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/well/move/to-maintain-muscle-and-lose-fat-as-you-age-add-weights.html


Sent from my iPhone

Aren’t I handsome!

Here I am guarding the house while the boss and 

Yaya are off shopping. 

Many people commented on my flash scarf when

I was out on my morning walk. 

Woof!

My Ethnic make up percentage

Well, here it is, courtesy the test with FamilyTreeDNA, the makeup of my DNA...

Sadly, nothing romantic. Mostly European, with a tiny bit of Jewish diaspora, in the shape of Ashkenazi Jews.  As a philo-semite, I would rather have had a bit more of that!
There's also a touch of Finnish in there, which I'm going to assume is Viking!

Australia June 2017, parte le deux

So... the Chinese on the Great Ocean Road.  I remember when Chinese
thought a trip to Hong Kong was a huge deal.  Now they travel everywhere and
are about to be named the largest tourist numbers in the world.  22 June.

Mutti at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.  23 June.

Mutti at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.  23 June.

Melbourne Botanical Gardens.  23 June.

Meredith, East Brunswick "study centre".  24 June.

Murray River, Echuca, from our cabin hotel.  28 June

The old wharf, 19th C, at Echuca, on the Murray. 28 June.

The old wharf, 19th C, at Echuca, on the Murray. 28 June.

Mutti on the Murray. 28 June

Mutti on the Murray. The Pevensey is the oldest operating paddlewheel
steamer in the world, mid 19thC.  28 June

Another grannie on the Murray. 28 June

The beautiful old original steam engine on the Pevensey,
still working. 28 June

Lake Mulwala, at Bathumi, Vic. 28 June

On the road, coming into ACT. 29 June

Mutti can you tell us these folks?

Australia June 2017

Again, maybe better late than never....

Metung, E. Gippsland.  16 June 2017.
Right by our hotel, evening, overlooking the lakes

Metung, E. Gippsland.  16 June 2017. Ditto above

Metung, E. Gippsland.  16 June 2017.  Ditto above

18 June. Great Ocean Road.  Lorne (?).
Joe's place.  Bledislow Cup game, Brisbane. We lost...

The Fishy Place, Torquay, Great Ocena Road.  21 June.

Mutti at Great Otway National Park. The waterfall path. 22 June

Great Otway National Park.  22 June.

Great Ocean Road. Wonderful drive, wonderful surf -- but scary! 22 June.

Great Ocean Road. Wonderful drive, wonderful surf -- but scary! 22 June.

Great Ocean Road. Wonderful drive, wonderful surf -- but scary! 22 June.

Chinese tourists, Great Ocean Road.  22 June.