I read The Star today and found out Petronas made another short film called Tau Fu Fahin conjunction with Chinese New Year. Some people said this was touching, but I did not tear like the videos made in previous years. Someone's dad who was a rojak seller before said she could relate to the film.
Sunday 3 February 2013
Paperman
Faster watch this before they remove it.
This is the love story everyone dreams of :):) Its a short film by Disney called Paperman. To know when a guy REALLY loves you is when he willingly goes through the trouble to get you :)
This is the love story everyone dreams of :):) Its a short film by Disney called Paperman. To know when a guy REALLY loves you is when he willingly goes through the trouble to get you :)
If you cant watch the video above, CLICK HERE
Saturday 2 February 2013
Abseiling Lesbians
February is LGBT History Month and 2 February 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of a remarkable event in British LGBT history.. the storming of the House of Lords by abseiling lesbians. This is my little tribute to them.
"Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin"
For anyone lucky enough not to remember, here's some quick background. In 1981 a straight Danish woman, Susanne Bösche, wrote an illustrated children's book called "Jenny lives with Eric and Martin". It covered, for example, a trip to the laundrette, a surprise birthday party, and an incident of homophobia in the street. Her aim was to show to children that it's perfectly fine that some people grow up with different family situations. As she puts it "It's not possible to go through life without meeting people living in different ways, and they shouldn't come as a shock to anybody" Here's an excellent radio piece from the BBC on it and a lovely Guardian interview with Susanne, in which she describes her gentle, incredibly reasonable, intentions.
When the book came out in English translation, there was uproar from the British tabloid press. In 1983, the Mail reported that a copy had been found in one school library in Labour-controlled Haringey and a storm developed with the press reporting that outraged parents didn't want their children subjected to "images of semi-naked men in bed with a 7 year old girl". A cultural gulf between Nordic countries, where families routinely have breakfast in bed together, and 80s Tory Britain where they apparently did not, was about to have explosive results. The Sun, the Star and the Mail led the hectoring and onslaught of prejudice and hate-speech against gay people. The book was apparently "blatant propaganda for homosexuality".
Only one copy of the book was ever found in that one school library. There is no evidence it was ever lent out, nor that a single schoolchild ever read it. If they had, the homophobic lobby would surely have highlighted it.
This was a ghastly time for many in Britain. Thatcherism was causing enormous social and political upheaval. Terrence Higgins had in 1982 become the first gay man in this country to die of Aids. Several Labour councils were pilloried for taking the (radical!) step of including sexual orientation in a list of discrimination policies, and the Labour-controlled Greater London Council, headed by Ken Livingstone, was attacked for funding the London Lesbian and Gay Centre which occupied a building in Farringdon. Bear in mind also that it was only in 1980 that sex between consenting adult males men stopped being a criminal offence in Scotland, and in 1982 in Northern Ireland.
"Pretend Family Relationships"
The Thatcher government's response to all of this was to introduce Clause 28 of the Local Government Bill. Dame Jill Knight, a leading supporter of the amendment, claimed that gay lobby groups were aiming to "abolish the family". Tory MPs claimed that gay people were attempting to "indoctrinate" children into becoming homosexual. It's been said many times, but how anyone can influence anyone to do anything with someone of a person of a gender they're not attracted to is beyond me.
The Clause was vile, spiteful and designed to offend the LGBT community with its use of the words "pretend family relationships". It provided as follows:
There was a huge amount of protest over the Clause. It led to Ian McKellen's coming out just over 25 years ago, on 27 January 1988. He did so on Radio 3 as a result of it and featured on the front page of the Gay Times. It's extraordinary to think that "coming out of the closet" was such a political act back then for an actor. It wasn't THAT long ago.. and it's weird to think that today Gay Times has pictures of 19 year old straight Olympic divers happy to get their kit off for their adoring gay male fans.
Here are some pictures from rallies against the Clause. These first two were in Manchester when LGBT protestors occupied Albert Square and Piccadilly Plaza. Some had to be removed by firemen and weren't going to leave quietly:
Five lesbians chained themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace on 8 March 1988 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Suffragettes doing the same, and were joined by other protestors, some in period costumes!
Abseiling Lesbians
The two most high profile protests, however, were the abseiling into the House of Lords 25 years ago on 2 February 1988, and the invasion of the BBC Six O'Clock News (more on that later).
What happened in the dusty old House of Lords (remember, this was before the Blair reforms, when literally hundreds of ancient Tory hereditary peers could be wheeled in to fall asleep on the benches), was that the peers had just had a two hour debate on the Bill. They voted 202 to 122 to pass it. A group of protestors in the public gallery began heaping abuse on them, while four lesbians attached wires to the ironwork and unfurled two thin wires. Three of them abseiled down into the chamber, shouting "LESBIANS ARE OUT!" Three House of Lords Ushers, all retired naval warrant officers, tried to quell the protest and in the chaos two of the three abseilers walked out of the chamber.
Sadly no pictures of the protest exist, even though this was after filming was introduced in the House of Lords. This piece in the Guardian records it. It has also entered this list of high-profile historic protests in parliament and has achieved somewhat legendary status. They are still remembered fondly today:
So who were the abseiling lesbians? Very little is known about them. Click on this link if you want to see a copyrighted picture that shows the four women. The woman on the right is Janet McLoughlin (not Jane as it says in the caption). The tall woman at the back is a German woman who went by the name of Tim. A third woman was Stella Blair (also quoted in the Guardian report) but it's not clear from the caption which one is Stella. And the fourth remains nameless. If anyone knows what they are doing now (and PLEASE check that they're happy for that information to be made public), do add a comment below.
Labour Peer Lord Monkswell, who had obtained passes for the women, was forced to apologise to the House a few days later. His apology was reported in the Guardian. He doesn't exactly sound sorry though: he declines to condemn the action, and he quotes a 12 year old girl as saying "This is just what Hitler did to the Jews."
BBC Six O'Clock News
The second famous protest was the invasion of the BBC Six O'Clock News on 23 May 1988. This was the day before Clause 28 was enacted into law as the notorious and hated Section 28. One woman managed to chain herself to Sue Lawley's desk and another was sat on by Nicholas Witchell. It really is worth watching this video: Sue Lawley's composure is absolutely remarkable. Do watch to the end because there's also an interview with the two women who invaded the studio.
(Direct link here if your browser doesn't work. Firefox properly supports Blogger)
Even more amusing is this little sound clip (just for the first part). A man can be heard saying "Oh f*cking hell, we've got a nutter in the studio! Get them out!... Get security. Get security quickly!"
(Direct line here)
The final priceless thing from this event is the front page of the Daily Mirror the following day:
A Long Road
And there we are... it all seems like another world to me, though I remember 1988 incredibly well. I was in the lower sixth form and struggling with my sexuality. You can imagine what the grotesque manifestation of homophobia from the then Tory party did to young gay people of my generation. I'm not sure I've ever forgiven them for it.
One immediate result of Section 28 was the setting up of Stonewall in 1989 to work within Parliament as well as outside to make sure nothing like this ever happened again, and of course to campaign for the repeal of Section 28 and other discriminatory laws.
Labour first tried to repeal the Section in 2000. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party also opposed the Section. The attempt passed the Commons, but was defeated in the Lords following a campaign by Baroness Young (Conservative). It was at this time that David Cameron defended Section 28 and publicly accused Tony Blair of being anti-family. He added that Blair wanted to "promote homosexuality in schools".
Section 28 sent out a message that the Government sanctioned homophobia; it endangered vulnerable children (because it appeared to prevent teachers from intervening in homophobic bullying); and it implied that gay people were dangerous to children. Not one prosecution was ever made under it. The Section was repealed under Labour by the Local Government Act 2003.
Michael Howard, who voted for the Bill, was Tory leader in 2005. He told Attitude Magazine that "I thought, rightly or wrongly that there was a problem in those days" but added "Nobody’s fussed about those issues any more". Never mind the damage it caused. In 2006, Tory Chairman, Francis Maude, who himself voted for it, told Pink News that the policy was wrong and a mistake.
David Cameron voted against the repeal of Section 28. In 2009, 21 years after its introduction and 6 years after its repeal, he finally apologised on behalf of the Conservatives for the Section. He accepted it had been "offensive to gay people".
A Different World
It is a different world in this country today. There is still bullying in schools, there is still homophobia in the workplace and we have seen a disgusting amount of it from (certain) Church figures relating to the issue of marriage equality. There's also an enormously long way to go in the fight against outright violence towards trans* people.
However, the days when people were openly proud of their homophobia have gone. We have an equal age of consent and anti-discrimination work protection. It's no longer permissible for a hotel owner to shout in someone's face "We'll not have any of that here" as happened to my friend Henrietta and her girlfriend not so long ago. People go to lengths to deny they are homophobic, even if the content of what they are saying blatantly is.
My experience is that young gay, lesbian and bi people are growing up feeling much more secure, balanced, and happier than ever was the case. It's not across the board, but I genuinely think it is the case broadly speaking... and it is a wonderful thing.
Marriage equality is of course going before the House of Commons on Tuesday. The Prime Minister supports it, despite a groundswell of anger from grassroots Tories. I wonder how many MPs who do vote against the proposals will look back in 25 years on marriage equality, as the likes of Howard and Maude do now on Section 28? Let's hope the hateful rhetoric of those times will be a thing of the past during the debate, that the measure will pass, and that we don't even have to call on the help of abseiling lesbians into the House of Lords during the process :-)
Huge thanks to my friend Anya (@anyapalmer) for suggesting and editing this post, and for providing me with loads of the source material.
"Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin"
For anyone lucky enough not to remember, here's some quick background. In 1981 a straight Danish woman, Susanne Bösche, wrote an illustrated children's book called "Jenny lives with Eric and Martin". It covered, for example, a trip to the laundrette, a surprise birthday party, and an incident of homophobia in the street. Her aim was to show to children that it's perfectly fine that some people grow up with different family situations. As she puts it "It's not possible to go through life without meeting people living in different ways, and they shouldn't come as a shock to anybody" Here's an excellent radio piece from the BBC on it and a lovely Guardian interview with Susanne, in which she describes her gentle, incredibly reasonable, intentions.
When the book came out in English translation, there was uproar from the British tabloid press. In 1983, the Mail reported that a copy had been found in one school library in Labour-controlled Haringey and a storm developed with the press reporting that outraged parents didn't want their children subjected to "images of semi-naked men in bed with a 7 year old girl". A cultural gulf between Nordic countries, where families routinely have breakfast in bed together, and 80s Tory Britain where they apparently did not, was about to have explosive results. The Sun, the Star and the Mail led the hectoring and onslaught of prejudice and hate-speech against gay people. The book was apparently "blatant propaganda for homosexuality".
Only one copy of the book was ever found in that one school library. There is no evidence it was ever lent out, nor that a single schoolchild ever read it. If they had, the homophobic lobby would surely have highlighted it.
This was a ghastly time for many in Britain. Thatcherism was causing enormous social and political upheaval. Terrence Higgins had in 1982 become the first gay man in this country to die of Aids. Several Labour councils were pilloried for taking the (radical!) step of including sexual orientation in a list of discrimination policies, and the Labour-controlled Greater London Council, headed by Ken Livingstone, was attacked for funding the London Lesbian and Gay Centre which occupied a building in Farringdon. Bear in mind also that it was only in 1980 that sex between consenting adult males men stopped being a criminal offence in Scotland, and in 1982 in Northern Ireland.
"Pretend Family Relationships"
The Thatcher government's response to all of this was to introduce Clause 28 of the Local Government Bill. Dame Jill Knight, a leading supporter of the amendment, claimed that gay lobby groups were aiming to "abolish the family". Tory MPs claimed that gay people were attempting to "indoctrinate" children into becoming homosexual. It's been said many times, but how anyone can influence anyone to do anything with someone of a person of a gender they're not attracted to is beyond me.
The Clause was vile, spiteful and designed to offend the LGBT community with its use of the words "pretend family relationships". It provided as follows:
A local authority shall not:Protestors Take to the Streets
(a) Intentionally promote or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality.
(b) Promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality in a pretended family relationship.
There was a huge amount of protest over the Clause. It led to Ian McKellen's coming out just over 25 years ago, on 27 January 1988. He did so on Radio 3 as a result of it and featured on the front page of the Gay Times. It's extraordinary to think that "coming out of the closet" was such a political act back then for an actor. It wasn't THAT long ago.. and it's weird to think that today Gay Times has pictures of 19 year old straight Olympic divers happy to get their kit off for their adoring gay male fans.
 |
| "Out of the closet and fighting" |
Here are some pictures from rallies against the Clause. These first two were in Manchester when LGBT protestors occupied Albert Square and Piccadilly Plaza. Some had to be removed by firemen and weren't going to leave quietly:
 |
| Albert Square, Manchester, February 1988 |
 | ||
| Defiant Manc Lesbian taking on the Coppers |
 |
| "Gay Proud + Angry" |
Five lesbians chained themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace on 8 March 1988 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Suffragettes doing the same, and were joined by other protestors, some in period costumes!
Abseiling Lesbians
The two most high profile protests, however, were the abseiling into the House of Lords 25 years ago on 2 February 1988, and the invasion of the BBC Six O'Clock News (more on that later).
What happened in the dusty old House of Lords (remember, this was before the Blair reforms, when literally hundreds of ancient Tory hereditary peers could be wheeled in to fall asleep on the benches), was that the peers had just had a two hour debate on the Bill. They voted 202 to 122 to pass it. A group of protestors in the public gallery began heaping abuse on them, while four lesbians attached wires to the ironwork and unfurled two thin wires. Three of them abseiled down into the chamber, shouting "LESBIANS ARE OUT!" Three House of Lords Ushers, all retired naval warrant officers, tried to quell the protest and in the chaos two of the three abseilers walked out of the chamber.
Sadly no pictures of the protest exist, even though this was after filming was introduced in the House of Lords. This piece in the Guardian records it. It has also entered this list of high-profile historic protests in parliament and has achieved somewhat legendary status. They are still remembered fondly today:
Labour Peer Lord Monkswell, who had obtained passes for the women, was forced to apologise to the House a few days later. His apology was reported in the Guardian. He doesn't exactly sound sorry though: he declines to condemn the action, and he quotes a 12 year old girl as saying "This is just what Hitler did to the Jews."
BBC Six O'Clock News
The second famous protest was the invasion of the BBC Six O'Clock News on 23 May 1988. This was the day before Clause 28 was enacted into law as the notorious and hated Section 28. One woman managed to chain herself to Sue Lawley's desk and another was sat on by Nicholas Witchell. It really is worth watching this video: Sue Lawley's composure is absolutely remarkable. Do watch to the end because there's also an interview with the two women who invaded the studio.
(Direct link here if your browser doesn't work. Firefox properly supports Blogger)
Even more amusing is this little sound clip (just for the first part). A man can be heard saying "Oh f*cking hell, we've got a nutter in the studio! Get them out!... Get security. Get security quickly!"
(Direct line here)
The final priceless thing from this event is the front page of the Daily Mirror the following day:
A Long Road
And there we are... it all seems like another world to me, though I remember 1988 incredibly well. I was in the lower sixth form and struggling with my sexuality. You can imagine what the grotesque manifestation of homophobia from the then Tory party did to young gay people of my generation. I'm not sure I've ever forgiven them for it.
One immediate result of Section 28 was the setting up of Stonewall in 1989 to work within Parliament as well as outside to make sure nothing like this ever happened again, and of course to campaign for the repeal of Section 28 and other discriminatory laws.
Labour first tried to repeal the Section in 2000. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party also opposed the Section. The attempt passed the Commons, but was defeated in the Lords following a campaign by Baroness Young (Conservative). It was at this time that David Cameron defended Section 28 and publicly accused Tony Blair of being anti-family. He added that Blair wanted to "promote homosexuality in schools".
Section 28 sent out a message that the Government sanctioned homophobia; it endangered vulnerable children (because it appeared to prevent teachers from intervening in homophobic bullying); and it implied that gay people were dangerous to children. Not one prosecution was ever made under it. The Section was repealed under Labour by the Local Government Act 2003.
Michael Howard, who voted for the Bill, was Tory leader in 2005. He told Attitude Magazine that "I thought, rightly or wrongly that there was a problem in those days" but added "Nobody’s fussed about those issues any more". Never mind the damage it caused. In 2006, Tory Chairman, Francis Maude, who himself voted for it, told Pink News that the policy was wrong and a mistake.
David Cameron voted against the repeal of Section 28. In 2009, 21 years after its introduction and 6 years after its repeal, he finally apologised on behalf of the Conservatives for the Section. He accepted it had been "offensive to gay people".
A Different World
It is a different world in this country today. There is still bullying in schools, there is still homophobia in the workplace and we have seen a disgusting amount of it from (certain) Church figures relating to the issue of marriage equality. There's also an enormously long way to go in the fight against outright violence towards trans* people.
However, the days when people were openly proud of their homophobia have gone. We have an equal age of consent and anti-discrimination work protection. It's no longer permissible for a hotel owner to shout in someone's face "We'll not have any of that here" as happened to my friend Henrietta and her girlfriend not so long ago. People go to lengths to deny they are homophobic, even if the content of what they are saying blatantly is.
My experience is that young gay, lesbian and bi people are growing up feeling much more secure, balanced, and happier than ever was the case. It's not across the board, but I genuinely think it is the case broadly speaking... and it is a wonderful thing.
Marriage equality is of course going before the House of Commons on Tuesday. The Prime Minister supports it, despite a groundswell of anger from grassroots Tories. I wonder how many MPs who do vote against the proposals will look back in 25 years on marriage equality, as the likes of Howard and Maude do now on Section 28? Let's hope the hateful rhetoric of those times will be a thing of the past during the debate, that the measure will pass, and that we don't even have to call on the help of abseiling lesbians into the House of Lords during the process :-)
Huge thanks to my friend Anya (@anyapalmer) for suggesting and editing this post, and for providing me with loads of the source material.
Friday 1 February 2013
The drive
So, i stayed up for 48 hours to push myself to finish my research project.
Amazingly I did it!
I thought I lost that kind of motivation.
Side effects: dizziness- literally felt like the room was spinning; feeling heavy in the head...
After I was done, I went out for Burger King. Not a good choice coz the brain which was dead and couldnt jump start anymore made me feel oblivious to my surroundings. Looking left and right also took effort! Lol
Anyway, completing a research project does feel like a very heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulder. It was undeniably stressful. I think I grinded my teeth more and had cold sweat too many times while sleeping because of this.
Amazingly I did it!
I thought I lost that kind of motivation.
Side effects: dizziness- literally felt like the room was spinning; feeling heavy in the head...
After I was done, I went out for Burger King. Not a good choice coz the brain which was dead and couldnt jump start anymore made me feel oblivious to my surroundings. Looking left and right also took effort! Lol
Anyway, completing a research project does feel like a very heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulder. It was undeniably stressful. I think I grinded my teeth more and had cold sweat too many times while sleeping because of this.
Monday 28 January 2013
Brazil's nightclub fire
If you have not read about the recent news about the fire in a nightclub that killed more than 200 people and 80 more hospitalized, READ HERE
What is eerie to read was that there were 180 bodies found in the toilet as the victims thought that was the exit sign.
The first time I read about the news yesterday, it reminded me of the Holocaust. True enough, it was reported that the policemen removing the bodies felt the same way. I know a lot about the Holocaust because there was a Holocaust museum in Washington DC which I visited. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to visit museums as that was the only museum I felt had meaning. I learnt so much and felt so much after spending half a day in the Holocaust museum.
Another sad thing about the fire was that most of them were 20 year old university students - future doctors, veteranians, etc May those young students RIP.
What is eerie to read was that there were 180 bodies found in the toilet as the victims thought that was the exit sign.
The first time I read about the news yesterday, it reminded me of the Holocaust. True enough, it was reported that the policemen removing the bodies felt the same way. I know a lot about the Holocaust because there was a Holocaust museum in Washington DC which I visited. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to visit museums as that was the only museum I felt had meaning. I learnt so much and felt so much after spending half a day in the Holocaust museum.
Another sad thing about the fire was that most of them were 20 year old university students - future doctors, veteranians, etc May those young students RIP.
Snowmageddon
It's been snowing in Britain this week! You could hardly miss it if you were here: on Saturday four out of the five most read stories on the BBC related to the impending white doom that was crossing the country.
My part of the country was one of the worst hit: we had a good 4 inches of snow. Oh... it's almost as though I can sense your laughing at that last statement. Please, allow me to explain this whole issue to an American audience!
The stereotype goes that the British are obsessed with the weather. Such generalisations often, of course, exist for a reason. Many people here find social situations a little awkward and it's the most familiar thing in the world to fall back on a discussion about the weather. I've done it myself: there's a slightly difficult pause as I'm getting my hair cut and I comment on the terrible rain we've been having, or the lovely bit of sunshine last weekend. It's familiar territory, it's safe and we know the parameters of the discusssion. Nothing remotely embarrassing can occur.
I've heard it said that it's not just the fact the topic is safe that makes us so interested in the weather; it is because we don't have any of it. We're a generally mild little island sheltered by the gulf stream, and don't have natural extremes of weather. When it rains a little more than normal, or the temperature pushes above 75F/25C (I'm not joking) it's deemed worthy of serious comment. Newspapers begin to roll out the "heatwave" or "Blistering London is hotter than Athens!" headlines (or wherever they can find that's usually warm, but happens to be having a coolish day). We don't usually have natural disasters such as tornadoes or hurricanes (the last one we did have, October 1987 is etched in my memory as a majorly significant event from my youth). The slightest deviation from the norm is discussed. Put simply, we love the drama of it.
 |
| Oscar Examines the Snow. Finds it's 4' deep. |
Therefore when it SNOWS, the British go crazy. The first thing that occurs is a delightful, almost childish excitement about it. Twitter is full of people upset that it hasn't snowed yet where they are. I've seen grown-up adults crying "I want snow!". Then the entire transport system disintegrates. Roads are blocked, trains are cancelled, schools are closed, and earnest well-meaning messages go out warning people to carry spades in their cars and thermos flasks. "Do not travel unless absolutely essential" is the refrain. Bear in mind that unless we are talking about parts of Scotland, this chaos is ensuing with literally 2-4 inches of snow on the ground and temperatures no colder by day than 25F/ -4C. I should mention in passing the Scots, who get snow more regularly, tend to be better prepared and just get on with things.
This, which was circulating on Twitter, is a joke (obviously) but it sums up the mood brilliantly:
We just adore it. My Twitter feed is full of pictures of the snow: gardens in the snow, dogs in the snow, cars in the snow, dustbins covered by snow, train cancellation boards (because of the snow). People tweet their locations with an indicator of how heavily it is snowing, so there is a real time record of where Snowmageddon has hit. The BBC actually had a "live snow blog" up last weekend. What could they possibly hope to report on a rolling basis? I've no idea, but people read it and watched the weather reports as if were literally the most important thing in the world. Australian and South African friends look on in total bafflement. As my Swiss friend, Rose, put it: "The UK is the only country where there is snow. Ever. In the whole world."
Next come all the criticisms. Roads aren't gritted properly. Stockpiles of grit are running "dangerously low" (or we are assured that stocks are "holding up"). The country has fallen to pieces. Why are flights being cancelled? We're a joke: how does Canada, Finland or Switzerland manage? Then comes the defensiveness: well, they are used to lots of snow. We don't get much, so it's no surprise this happens. That argument works to a point, but would be more convincing if it didn't happen every single year. After a couple of days people complain about the same snow they had looked forward to SO very much. "Fed up now. Wish this would go." Etc, etc.
A British snowpocalypse generally lasts a week. It can be much less, with all the fuss over in just one day. The press will herald its passing with headlines such as "NEXT COMES THE BIG THAW" and there will be flood warnings everywhere. This local headline even set up a gallery of the few roads that were flooded, which will last in most places for a day.
Finally everything is back to normal. The UK is mild, it is green again, and it is damp. The drama of the snow has passed. All we have to look forward to are the newspaper reports on the few warm days at the end of March "that the UK is hotter than Madrid!". It will then rain, pretty much for the entire summer, until September when three sunny days in a row are heralded as an "Indian Summer".
Naturally, and in summary, it's so easy to mock the Brits for all this. I grew up in Germany, which gets much more snow and doesn't collapse in the same way. However, I'll also remark that the childish delight with which the arrival of snow is greeted in the UK is incredibly endearing. There aren't many occasions when an adult is permitted socially to revert to this state of excitement and wonder. As ever, and as the "Met Office" image above displays, matters are generally conducted with a healthy dose of humour and self-mockery. We KNOW we're rubbish at the weather, we KNOW we are obsessed by it, and frankly we don't really care.
In my opinion, by a long way the best thing about Britain are its inhabitants. If you haven't been you should come and visit us. Just, whatever happens, make sure it's not on one of the few days a year it actually snows here. You'll think you've landed on another planet. It might even be partially white.
Saturday 26 January 2013
Last week
The days are passing by so fast. Someone told me our minutes are actually shorter now than last time due to the Earths something something which means we do not exactly have 24 hours in a day now. We have less! I'd like to believe that fact because it really feels like time passes by really quickly nowadays. Even the snow melts so fast in Glasgow.
Last week was great.
I organised a small birthday celebration for two of my friends. Coincidentally they were both January babies born two days apart. So, just maybe, friends I'd like to keep are Capricorns. I believe in horoscopes. Sometimes reading things about myself, a Virgo, makes me understand myself more. Anyway, I made egg tarts as a birthday cake. Thankfully I lived near supermarkets because I realized I was not in KL, meaning I didn't have a single candle or matchsticks here.
The egg tarts turned out alright I guess since my friends each ate two or three of it :D
Few days ago I attended Malaysian Night. It was great effort by everyone who organized it. Who knew trying to make teh tarik could have been so messy. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the games. The food prepared were pretty good. I contributed by cooking curry chicken. Making curry chicken using three whole chicken sounded like a pretty tough job but it was actually the fastest and easiest thing to make. Very minimal washing up too :) Other people were making ondeh-ondeh, curry puffs etc. The guy who was in charge of frying had to stand in front of the stove for 6 hours to cook all the curry puffs!! I salute him!
What else... it snowed yesterday. The longest one, but it rained after that so everything melted on the same day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)