Welcome to my blog.
A 'blog' is just an online journal. Mine is a collection of silly news about myself,or it may be taken from the wider world.I have kept it up for 2 years now-check the archives on the right side column.You can also find some links to my other blogs there or other blogs that I like. The main idea is to let family and friends from afar know how we are getting on,but as my travels are not really that interesting-I need to throw in some other stuff as well.
I head to Barcelona tomorrow at 5am to begin my TEFL or CELTA as it is officially known. I am taking it to give myself an edge in the job market in Hong Kong.
Sadly I have to say goodbye to my colleagues here in Birkenhead, but I have invited them all to come and visit us in The Far East.
The school in Barcelona has a computer room, so I will keep posting.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Liverpool today
BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Pilotless police drone takes off: "Pilotless police drone takes off
Merseyside police drone
The drone sends images to a police control room
The UK's first police remote control helicopter has taken off.
Merseyside police are using the 'spy drone', fitted with CCTV cameras, mainly for tackling anti-social behaviour and public disorder."
Merseyside police drone
The drone sends images to a police control room
The UK's first police remote control helicopter has taken off.
Merseyside police are using the 'spy drone', fitted with CCTV cameras, mainly for tackling anti-social behaviour and public disorder."
Monday, May 14, 2007
The King is dead
Just over 2 weeks till Barcelona. I have been studying, and I am really looking forward to teaching again. I only have 8 more days at work in the civil service. Will I miss it?I think I will, a little! I won't miss standing outside in the cold and rain-smoking! I won't miss standing in the bus station for late buses with loonie bin escapees and drug addicts. I will miss the TV here, but as I've put on 2 stone and my cholesterol is high, I might now get up and do some exercise now and again! I will miss the food here, but that leads back to the cholesterol.
I have found a school for Joseph now,on Lantau Island and he is already enrolled to begin in September. We will look at Kindergartens for Jack in September. We had a great spring here, it was warm and sunny for nearly 3 weeks.May has cooled down and the rain had to come,otherwise it would not be England.This week has been the kind of weather that you remember, but it feels quite unusual after the mild winter and very warm spring.
And of course it's the end of an era.....
I have found a school for Joseph now,on Lantau Island and he is already enrolled to begin in September. We will look at Kindergartens for Jack in September. We had a great spring here, it was warm and sunny for nearly 3 weeks.May has cooled down and the rain had to come,otherwise it would not be England.This week has been the kind of weather that you remember, but it feels quite unusual after the mild winter and very warm spring.
And of course it's the end of an era.....
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
30 DAYS
It is now 30 days until my experiment of being an Englishman in England ends. I am on strike from work tomorrow-something that would never happen in Asia! Mayday bank holiday next week I have my leaving 'do' on the 18th, my last week that I'll work a full 5 days, the next week is the late May Day holiday. I feel that a weight has lifted from my shoulders, the uncertainty of Hong Kong doesn't even register-yet. I know that I will thoroughly enjoy Barcelona-a month of sun,sea,and study in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities is there to be enjoyed. I have never been unable to find work in Hong Kong. It's school for the kids that occupies my thoughts.I have applied for Lantau International School already for Joseph, I just have to transfer the money-tomorrow.That, of course is a commitment to Lantau. I haven't lived there for 6 years.It is a big step, to go back to the Island.ShamShuiPo will never do for 2 hyper little boys.
Here WE go, Isn't life great?
Here WE go, Isn't life great?
Saturday, April 21, 2007
40 days
Just 40 days until Barcelona.
The Spring has been quite mild here so far, the sky was still bright at 9pm last night, bright for 9pm that is.I think sunset is about 8.20pm. If only Hong Kong had long days, but you can't have everything.
Saturday morning and the kids jumped all over me at 7.30am until I got up! Don't you love kids!
The Spring has been quite mild here so far, the sky was still bright at 9pm last night, bright for 9pm that is.I think sunset is about 8.20pm. If only Hong Kong had long days, but you can't have everything.
Saturday morning and the kids jumped all over me at 7.30am until I got up! Don't you love kids!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Lost generation
Have we really forgotten the reason why World War 2 was fought?Have we forgotten the lessons learnt by our grandparents?
Some schools avoid teaching the Holocaust and other controversial history subjects as they do not want to cause offence, research has claimed.
BBC NEWS | Education | Schools 'avoid Holocaust lessons'
Schools 'avoid Holocaust lessons'
 The Holocaust will be protected in the new curriculum |
Teachers fear meeting anti-Semitic sentiment, particularly from Muslim pupils, the government-funded study by the Historical Association said.
It also said the way the slave trade was taught could leave both white and black children feeling alienated........article continues below.
BBC NEWS | Education | Schools 'avoid Holocaust lessons'
Monday, April 16, 2007
Modernity
Two years here, I feel that conclusions must be made.
15 years ago when I was at college, we talked about how political correctness had gone mad.The bad news is that it continued, and is now the norm.The good news is that most people disagree with it,the bad news is that the few who don't- control the local councils and unions and NGO's, keeping it firmly in place.From banning fireworks shows, to banning kids playing tag, to 'carbon footprinting' they are here to stay.
When I was growing up, the towns had already begun to resemble each other, that is an absolute now. 3 supermarkets, 3 coffee shops, 3 fast food outlets, 3 banks, 3 phone companies, 3 clothes chains, 3 bookshops, 3 pub chains.You get the idea, possibly a little exaggerated-but only a little. Birkenhead, and every other Northern town are prime examples-they have no soul, no variety.The town has nothing to redeem it. Public transport is almost non existent, relative to London,Manchester or international cities. To be a non driver here, is to be a prisoner.People's only leisure options involve travelling to distant places.
The strangest thing of all, is that it is damned hard to be a car driver as well. Every single space where a car could stop for even 10 minutes without putting money in a parking meter ceased to exist a few weeks ago! My office doesn't have enough parking spaces for it's workers, but yet most have no alternative transport. Travelling by bus can be a lengthy dangerous proposition, if there is a bus. It is a ridiculous catch 22 situation, which I can only see getting worse.The local authorities make millions from parking and fines, the government openly state that they don't want people driving cars.Yet no one EVER talks about improving public transport!!
Where does this leave the youth of these towns? Nowhere. Young people have no interest in the dead,bland, expensive shopping areas.They have no leisure options.
What results are kids hanging out on estates, taking drugs and shooting each other, and creating a nation in fear in the process. The towns are virtual no go zones on weekend nights, violent and full of puke.When people have no other outlet to let down their hair, what else can be expected?This binge drinking culture is extended to the beach resorts of Europe.
What does the future hold for this country without a soul? I travelled through France 18 months ago, and was flabbergasted that all garages and hotels were automated, and that without a credit card , you couldn't get any petrol, or gain entry into the hotels.France has had rioting since then, and I believe it faces the same problems as here. As the core of communities is taken away, what is left?
I can see the same happening to a much lesser degree in Hong Kong, thankfully Chinese people will always sell things on streets,and entrepreneurs will always open new business's . The leaders of Asian cities, should come and visit towns like Birkenhead-to see how things can go wrong. The New Towns in Hong Kong have had problems with crime and young people-it's not a coincidence that their centres are on the bland side. If the UK had the weather Hong Kong has, then it wouldn't be so bad.Winter lasts for 6 months here, the park and beach may be free, but they are shit in the rain and cold!
15 years ago when I was at college, we talked about how political correctness had gone mad.The bad news is that it continued, and is now the norm.The good news is that most people disagree with it,the bad news is that the few who don't- control the local councils and unions and NGO's, keeping it firmly in place.From banning fireworks shows, to banning kids playing tag, to 'carbon footprinting' they are here to stay.
When I was growing up, the towns had already begun to resemble each other, that is an absolute now. 3 supermarkets, 3 coffee shops, 3 fast food outlets, 3 banks, 3 phone companies, 3 clothes chains, 3 bookshops, 3 pub chains.You get the idea, possibly a little exaggerated-but only a little. Birkenhead, and every other Northern town are prime examples-they have no soul, no variety.The town has nothing to redeem it. Public transport is almost non existent, relative to London,Manchester or international cities. To be a non driver here, is to be a prisoner.People's only leisure options involve travelling to distant places.
The strangest thing of all, is that it is damned hard to be a car driver as well. Every single space where a car could stop for even 10 minutes without putting money in a parking meter ceased to exist a few weeks ago! My office doesn't have enough parking spaces for it's workers, but yet most have no alternative transport. Travelling by bus can be a lengthy dangerous proposition, if there is a bus. It is a ridiculous catch 22 situation, which I can only see getting worse.The local authorities make millions from parking and fines, the government openly state that they don't want people driving cars.Yet no one EVER talks about improving public transport!!
Where does this leave the youth of these towns? Nowhere. Young people have no interest in the dead,bland, expensive shopping areas.They have no leisure options.
What results are kids hanging out on estates, taking drugs and shooting each other, and creating a nation in fear in the process. The towns are virtual no go zones on weekend nights, violent and full of puke.When people have no other outlet to let down their hair, what else can be expected?This binge drinking culture is extended to the beach resorts of Europe.
What does the future hold for this country without a soul? I travelled through France 18 months ago, and was flabbergasted that all garages and hotels were automated, and that without a credit card , you couldn't get any petrol, or gain entry into the hotels.France has had rioting since then, and I believe it faces the same problems as here. As the core of communities is taken away, what is left?
I can see the same happening to a much lesser degree in Hong Kong, thankfully Chinese people will always sell things on streets,and entrepreneurs will always open new business's . The leaders of Asian cities, should come and visit towns like Birkenhead-to see how things can go wrong. The New Towns in Hong Kong have had problems with crime and young people-it's not a coincidence that their centres are on the bland side. If the UK had the weather Hong Kong has, then it wouldn't be so bad.Winter lasts for 6 months here, the park and beach may be free, but they are shit in the rain and cold!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Official Liverpool Supporters' Club Hong Kong
I must join when i get back, so that I am not the only one singing You'll never... in the OCH.
Official Liverpool Supporters' Club Hong Kong
Official Liverpool Supporters' Club Hong Kong
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)