durian flowers and memories.

 sepals which we didn't pick, but now seller mix them to make up the bulk.

I learn about eating durian flowers from when I was a kid. We junior govt servants lived on one side of the road, some very very senior officers lived on the other side. 

One of the big house had one giant tree. The wife was not proud, she let us pick her flowers, outside where she had the mats. Every morning at 6 am, we went. 

They scooped up from the mats. 

We pick them off the grass. It was hard work and finicky. There were leaves, twigs and sepals. Me, a teenager, was angry we were like beggars. 

Mum said, you be grateful, they let you pick their flowers.

The kind woman was the wife of Chief Justice Seah.

The original North Borneo Orchid and the family

My parents were the Original Borneo citizens.
Both of them were the first Quang Ning babies to be born in Borneo.

Fate has it, they both loved the Original North Borneo Orchid.
We have so many passionate stories.
Dad cut his first spray of North Borneo Orchid.
For my eldest sister's wedding bouquet.
My younger sis Dr Margaret Chan is doing research in UTIM.
Fate has it that my friend had been able to source it.

Miss Fries in Singapore in 1999

With a blink of an eye, 15 years had gone. These photos were taken when Miss Fries came to attend our class reunion of 1971, 28 years after our form 5.

This year, my friends organised another. Regrettably, both of us couldn't attend.

Tang Dynasty,

Imagine you had a Time Machine that could zap you back to the year 618 AD. We had fun back then, especially if you were rich and had lots of maids to serve you. Unfortunately the beds were hard, and they haven't invented the pillow yet.

These  photos were taken in the Tang Dynasty in Singapore, a reconstruction of  old China. Recently a good friend D celebrated his 40th anniversary. D and his wife sat in an old Chinese vehicle, dressed in an old Emperor and his wife's costume.

World War 2 and Mum and Dad.

陳鹞飛/陈鹞飞

My parents were married during the World War 2, (Japanese War), they didn't take a wedding photo.

When the Japanese soldiers came to Borneo, Mum was 12 years old. At fifteen, Mum gave up her dreams of studying in the big city. She became a candidate for a child bride match making session because it was rampant that the Japanese soldiers were catch girls to be their comfort women.
Her grandma, my  Ah Tai promised her that she would choose a young man of fine character, educated and from a good family. Ah Tai went out to reconnoiter with her cousin Lai Siong who was a match maker. She must have loved her granddaughter so much to travel during the perilous war time in a little canoe. Together they scoured fifty miles of both sides of Rejang River, and the whole of Sibu town.
Word came that five miles upriver was that fine young man who fitted the bill. He was unfortunately not a Hakka but a Kwong Ning boy and a Chan. Mum and dad were wedded after seeing each other just once.
They married in March, and had been married  6 months by the end of the war. 
We used to tease them,"Would you have married each other if it wasn't for the war?" They teased us back, "What do you think?" We cheekily asked,"Why didn't you have a wedding photo? Did you elope?"

New Zealand Chinese Asso: Book Talk

 Thanks to Helen who organised my talk.

The New Zealand Chinese Association kindly hosted my book talk/presentation. I also showed the Youtube of the A Chinese boy in Sarawak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd0sylp3Zm4&feature=youtu.be 

I enjoyed myself and my audience had fun, listening to a talk peppered with my Quang Ning dialect which they could understand.

Bamboo Resource Centre, an act of kindness.

My book seller.

 I like the Bamboo Plant, it is a plant my ancestors planted. My grandfather  said it is the strongest plant.

I was very impressed  with the woman working at  Bamboo Resource Centre at Balmoral, Auckland, New Zealand. I was in a hurry to get some sticky tape and this was the only bookshop. The lady said she didn't have any, but offered to tape it for me, but my parcels were not with me. She kindly gave me two lengths of 1 foot each, and stuck them on some bubble wrap.

I didn't get her name,

whakawhetai ki a koutou and Ka Pai. This is Thank you and well done in our New Zealand Maori language.  I like to commend her to her boss. This post goes round the world.

Sensing I was in a rush, she invited me to come back in future. I told her, I did come before and left them a copy of the first edition of my book, "Diary of a bereaved mother."

 http://www.bamboo.co.nz/

Bamboo Resource Centre
591 Dominion Road
Balmoral
Auckland

ABOUT BAMBOO

Bamboo is the place to come for Bibles and Christian books in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Japanese, Thai, Korean and many other languages.

Bamboo also stocks many OMF publications related to cross-cultural mission in East Asia and around the world.

Bamboo is a resource centre where you can find CDs, DVDs, gift items, texts, tracts, greeting cards, and childrens and teen resources. Our staff are more than willing to help and advise.

As well as stocking Bibles and Christian books in a number of different languages, Bamboo is a place for connecting people to what they need, whether that be a local church or someone to help translate for them.

We're open Monday to Friday, 10:00am - 5:00pm and
Saturday 10am - 2pm. We'd love to see you!

A MINISTRY OF OMF NEW ZEALAND

Bamboo Kiwi-Asian Resources is under the umbrella of OMF NZ - an international missionary organisation with its focus in East Asia. OMF International was formally called CIM (China Inland Mission) and was started by Hudson Taylor in 1865.