I cannot believe this movie passed me by. I didn't even know about it until it won an Academy Award. And now its gone from the Cinemas
But the good news is that, Singapore Airlines are showing it as an In Flight movie in March and I am flying back to Australia on Singapore Airlines .....yea!
Here is the Making of:
This year we got to go to the CNY Parade and sit in a Grandstand, courtesy of our friends Gregg & Kay. It was something to see. Musicians, dancers and others from all over the World. It was certainly a highlight for us.
Intermingled with the International groups, were Hong Kong School Children, who did not s
uffer at all by
comparison.
And it was all so well organised. The police had the crowd well under control and getting home was far easier than expected, once we negotiated our way to the bus stop. Well done Hong Kong!
I must say though I never really understood the light bulb kids or the Swiss marching band in dresses!
After 4 years in Hong Kong we finally got around to checking out the Flower Markets. This is a very traditional thing to do in Hong Kong.
So when our friend, Bill Cheung invited us to enjoy a traditional CNY dinner at his home with some other friends followed by a short walk to the Flower Markets, we could not resist
SO after an amazingly wonderful meal we set off for the short
walk, to find a big crowd of people, who seemed mainly interested in selling blow up toys. Steve immediately bought a hammer for Bill, so we could follow him through the crowd without getting lost.
We then ruined all the good done by the walk by heading off to Dan Ryan's for Molten chocolate. Now that was good!! A bit like my mother's chocolate sponge pudding but even better! (sorry mum).
This Photo was taken last week after an illegal fireworks market in Shandong Province, China caught fire. It appears one of the customers could not wait until he got home and lit his newly purchased firecracker. Sadly 14 people died and many were injured.
Fireworks play a big part in Chinese New Year Celebrations in China and Hong Kong. In fact I can hear crackers going off as I write
The Photo below of Hong Kong CNY is how Fireworks are supposed to look.
We are really enjoying having the Harrison family from our Australian Club here in Hong Kong with us for the year.
Yesterday we took them to Lantau Island where we used to live. It was a really fun day and alsways great to go back to Lantau. here are a few photos
So here go a lot of sorry excuses, but we haven't got to send out our Feb News yet. With the computer crash I am still trying to get the mail list sorted and we have been unwell. Somehow we will get it written next week.
In the meantime we will be back In Australia From March 22 - April 22. The timing allows to attend 3 weddings (brother Jon & Jannine, Sarah & Matt and Rocky & Chantale) so it should be exciting.
We want to try to set up as many speaking appointments as we can fit in. Sundays are mostly free at the moment although location may be a problem, so we can do Schools, Churches, Clubs or other groups. We particularly want to speak to groups who may be thinking about short term work overseas. So email us if you are interested.
PS: that's me with the Buzz Lightyear gun I got for my Birthday ... infinity and beyond!!
Just got home from our North America trip. We wanted to blog earlier, but sadly my computer crashed. So I now have a new hard drive and we are back in business.
We had a wonderful time in Vancouver with Bob Amy, Mo & Miriam at the beginning and end of the trip. Vancouver put on snow for us the 2nd time there. Denver also had plenty of snow.
San Diego and LA were nice. It was great to catch up with old friends Nick and Courtney in San Diego. Courtney took us down to an amazing Orphanage in Tijuana run by an amazing couple caring for the children of street women.
Then we had a great time in LA with Curtis, Christy Rose, Chris and Athania. Becky also came for a visit, it was almost like being back in Hong Kong. Although our visit to Disneyland proved the Hong Kong version has some catching up to do. Somewhere in there we did get in plenty of meetings.
Sue & I took advantage of the Christmas break to take a visit to Beijing, but such is our schedule t
hat I am actually blogging this from Vancouver (more on that in a later Blog). I have not been in Beijing since 1987 so you
can imagine the changes since then. They seem to be doing a good job getting it ready for the Olympics. They just need to do something about cars and bikes having target practice with Pedestrians on crossings. It seems that traffic lights are purely advisory.
Just like the first time I saw it, the Great Wall simply blows you away. It is an amazing achievement, admittedly at the cost of many many lives. We also did the usual.....Ming Tombs, Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square etc. We had some good meals, but all in all I think Hong Kong offers more in terms of Chinese cuisine (my opinion)
Hello everyone,
We want to take this opportunity to wish you all the true light of Christmas.
Sue & I are very appreciative of all the love and support we continue to get from all our friends and supporters, around the world.
The next few weeks take us first to Northern China and then to North America for some meetings. We will blog as we can to keep you up-to-date.
Please take the opportunity to look at our Christmas message. You can do so by clicking on the link in the side bar or here http://www.craigrayner.com/Christmas2006.pps for the Power Point Presentation Version wish is a down load or http://www.craigrayner.com/Christmas2006.swf for the flash version, which can view in your Browser. Our friend Craig put it on the web for us. WARNING the Power point file is 32mg so if you do not have broadband it will take quite some time to download. We suggest you try the Flash version particularly if you have a dial up. If you prefer I will send it to you on a disk, but you will not get to see it until we return in the New Year.
PHIL
With Mem and Ricky (Mum & Nephew) visiting for a couple of weeks we decided to fly to Xian for a few days, after organising some cheap flights.
A lot colder there I can tell you. But we had a wonderful time. Pollution is terrible. And our cheap hotel was cheap. But warm and comfortable enough.
We hired a car for the day for 240 Yuan and went to see the Warriors, the Emperors Mausoleum, and the Hot Springs.
On the other days we went to the South Gate and walked on the Wall, then took a golf cart to the West gate. We visited the Muslim Quarter where we bought some great wall hangings, and of course the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. The down side was that my Camera got stolen and I had to use Ricky's Pics for the Blog and Flickr (his pics are good I just would like to have my own)
Tim Smith set out 4 months ago from London to cycle to Hong Kong to raise money for Crossroads In the process he raised over 7,000 pounds. it was an amazing effort.
He arrived in Hong Kong this morning and a number of us meet him near the border and escorted him back to Crossroads. You can read all about his travels by using the link in the sidebar. Here are a few photos. You can see more by clicking on the Flickr link.
Last night we celebrated Thanksgiving at Crossroads. This wonderful American Festival (I say wonderful, because giving thanks needs to be an on going part of our lives) falls around the same time as we celebrate our move to our site here in Tuen Mun.
On the 20th of November 2004 to be exact.
We are thankful that in the past year we have been able to ship to so many countries and we continue to do so every year. Around 40 containers of much needed goods. And about the same distributed here in Hong Kong.
We are thankful that we have been able successfully launch our fair trade store (Global Market Place). Around 4,000 people have gained greater understanding of poverty through our simulation games. And Global Hand has provided an amazing way for resouce and need to intersect on the web. Yes indeed much to be thankful for! (I am also grateful for turkey and cranberry sauce)
Last night we headed over the beach dressed up a little and celebrated Sue and Kate's birthdays in style, before heading back to our place for coffee and cake. A great night was had by all. Great food and some nice refreshment. Sue also had a long chat to the boys at home.
Yesterday was the annual team trip to Rajni & Sushma's to celebrate Diwali. It was a m
onth late due to so many other things happening in our busy life here at Crossroads. Rajni & Sushma graciously delayed so we could all participate.
What a wonderful day it was. This is our 4th time at this celebration and the team always look forward to this special day. Fun, games, incred
ible Indian food and great fellowship are the order of the day. Some of the team even indulged in a little 'Bollywood' dancing!
And of course a variation the Marshmellow game played each year where the idea is to stuff as many marshmellows into you mouth as you can and still be able to say "Happy Diwali"
Hi Guys,
As promised here is our report on a weekend of R & R in Macau.
It turned out to be everything we hoped. The little hotel we stayed in was wonderful. "Pousada de Coloane" on Cheoc-Van Beach ,on Coloane Island. It is a small hotel with just 30 rooms. Everyone of them with view of the beach and looking across the bay to Heng Qing Island, China. We had plenty of time to enjoy a swim and relax by the pool. Eat unbelievable food and soak in the spa bath installed in our room.
This part of Macau is very quiet compared with the hustle and bustle of the rest of Macau. Perfect place really for our much needed rest time. Did you know that Macau now has more casinos the Las Vegas?
We chose to have dinner sitting on our Balcony. The cool weather (Around 21 degrees) made it very pleasant.
In the morning if day 2 we did some walking. First from our hotel to Vila de Colcoane a small village with fishing huts built out in the water much like Tai O village on Lantau Island. The we caught a bus to Hal
c Sd beach with its black sand. Famous for Fernando's Restaurant. The walked via an amazing path built from granite, chipped from the sea wall to Jadins Village.
On the final afternoon, we walked around the City for a while, before 
heading home.
