Remembrance Day 2019 – Lest We Forget

Remembrance Day

We wear a poppy
On Remembrance Day,
And at eleven
We stand and pray.
Wreaths are put
Upon a grave.
As we remember
Our soldiers brave.

The Poppy Appeal in Hong Kong

Poppies can be obtained at the following locations:

From Tuesday 29th October 2019:  Temporary Poppy Depot at Room 3505, The Landmark Edinburgh Tower, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong (Tel : 2713 3315).
Opening hours: Mondays-Fridays 9am-5pm

Friday 8th and Saturday 9th November 2019:
Charity Booth in Pacific Place (at the end of Skybridge Level L2) from 10am to 6pm

Saturday 9th November 2019 – Poppy Day.
The streets of Hong Kong Island from 9am – 12:15pm.

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

 – Laurence Binyon (2014)

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

– John McCrae

Talk to Someone

It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn’t heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore’s stick house. Inside the house was Eeyore.

“Hello Eeyore,” said Pooh.

“Hello Pooh. Hello Piglet,” said Eeyore, in a glum sounding voice.

“We just thought we’d check in on you,” said Piglet, “because we hadn’t heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay.”

Eeyore was silent for a moment. “Am I okay?” he asked, eventually. “Well, I don’t know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That’s what I ask myself.”

“All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. Which is why I haven’t bothered you. Because you wouldn’t want to waste your time hanging out with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now.”

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“We’re sitting here with you,” said Pooh, “because we are your friends. And true friends don’t care if someone is feeling Sad, or Alone, or Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. True friends are there for you anyway. And so here we are.”

“Oh,” said Eeyore. “Oh.” And the three of them sat there in silence, and while Pooh and Piglet said nothing at all; somehow, almost imperceptibly, Eeyore started to feel a very tiny little bit better.

Because Pooh and Piglet were there.

No more; no less.

(A.A.Milne, E.H.Shepard)

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and this is National Suicide Prevention Week – Talk to Someone

Suicide PreventionHotline Service (24 hours): 2382 0000
The Samaritans (24 hours) : 2896 0000

Hong Kong Cyclothon – 13 October, 2018

In the dawn’s early light thousands of cyclists and fourteen professional cycle teams pedalled their way across Hong Kong in the fourth annual Cyclothon.

In the afternoon the eleven UCI WorldTour Teams, three Pro Continental Teams and the Hong Kong National Team raced all-out in Hammer Hong Kong, the Asian leg of the professional Hammer Series. Team Mitchelton-Scott emerging victorious on the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui to win the Hammer trophy.

Click on any photo for more images.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Cyclothon-13-October-2018/i-wsKzx7n

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https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Cyclothon-13-October-2018/i-NFmkwVq

Images: HKTB

Hilda and Sophia Talk Pizza in Pink October

In this the final round of the Cook Off 2017, PizzaExpress collaborated with the Hong Kong Cancer Fund to raise awareness of breast and prostate cancer as part of Pink October.

As Celebrity Chef & Founder of Flavor Mart Hilda Leung took on the winner of the last Cook Off round, Chef Sophia Cheng, Product Development Manager of PizzaExpress in a challenge to create three innovative dishes including one pizza for the “Pink Menu” we spoke to both women about their love of pizza and cooking.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-V9k5Znp

What for you makes a great pizza?
Hilda: Fresh ingredients come first! Crunchy crust topped with colourful ingredients combing with perfect sauce, simply tasty and attractive.

Sophia: Freshly baked pizza with right combination of fresh ingredients will certainly bring out the best flavour in a harmonizing way.

What’s your favourite pizza style: Romana, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Deep dish/Chicago and why?
Hilda: I always love thin and crunchy crust, with a perfect balance of thin tomato sauce and LOTS of grated mozzarella cheese.

Sophia: Depending on the toppings. If it’s seafood toppings, I will go for Romana style’s thin & crispy crust, while for burrata mozzarella I prefer the Neapolitan style.

Best combination of pizza toppings?
Hilda: Tomato, cheese and basil.

Sophia: Burrata mozzarella, basil, olives and cherry tomatoes.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-Rkk8DJh

How would you describe your approach to cooking?
Hilda: I focus on flavour matching, I love trying different combination of ingredients, fresh herbs and spice together. I have no boundary in using food elements, if it goes along, I will put them together and use the most perfect cooking method and create a perfect dish.

Sophia: Based on the seasonality, I will choose different ingredients and cooking methods. For example, I tend to create warm dishes with chilli, cheese and fulfilling ingredients during Winter, while I will use more seafood and fruits to create refreshing dishes during Summer.

For the PizzaExpress Cook Off 3, how did you go about creating your pizza?
Hilda: Using healthy and fresh ingredients that are suitable for everyone and the cancer patients. I’ve used lots of vegetables and fruits, as they are colourful and full of nutrients.

Sophia: Matching the theme of Pink October, I blended beetroot with béchamel sauce together and graced the pizza with a pinky look. Together with buffalo mozzarella, capers, cooked salmon chunks, fresh cucumber shreds and lemon oil, I want to add more vibrant colour and flavour to the pizza. So, people can enjoy the pizza when looking at it as well as tasting it.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Pizza-Express-Cook-Off-3-Times-Square-28-September-2017/i-59VnQNf

FeedingHK Volunteer Night @ Pizza Express Wanchai – 28 August, 2017

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/FeedingHK-Volunteer-Night-Pizza-Express-Wanchai-28-August/i-QjsK8fJ

Feeding HK held their fifth Volunteer Night at Pizza Express with Liam Collette General Manager of Pizza Express commenting “We are conscious of those less fortunate, and we have worked with Feeding Hong Kong to devise a programme where our leftover fresh dough is baked daily into flatbreads, frozen and redistributed to people in need.  However, this couldn’t be accomplished without the wonderful volunteers that also support this food bank, so we’re delighted to be able to share some tasty treats and a celebratory atmosphere tonight for this well deserving group.”
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/FeedingHK-Volunteer-Night-Pizza-Express-Wanchai-28-August/i-HV6KxTP

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/FeedingHK-Volunteer-Night-Pizza-Express-Wanchai-28-August/i-Vph5Cr3

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/FeedingHK-Volunteer-Night-Pizza-Express-Wanchai-28-August/i-RkNFDDK

Pei Ho Gift a Meal

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Start the season of giving early by giving a person in need a free meal. Pei Ho Counterparts charitable meal voucher scheme allows anyone to buy a meal for someone else for $24.

Restaurant owner Ming Gor (Chan Cheuk-ming) who has been running the restaurant since 1997, after starting work there in 1983, has been giving out free meals to the needy since then. This year the restaurant and it’s team of volunteers have been giving out around 500 free meals a week.

The new fund raising effort is simple you buy a voucher for $24. On various days in Sham Shui Po the vouchers are handed out to the homeless, elderly and others in need who can then visit Pei Ho Barbecue Restaurant and it’s sister outlet and enjoy a hot meal and a drink for free.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2016/Pei-Ho-Counterparts-Gift-a/i-xKtCFVS

The vouchers can be bought directly from the restaurant at 278 Tai Nan Street in Sham Shui Po, from 7-11 or from the pop-up store in Lan Kwai Fong until the 15 December – where you can also buy a lunchbox featuring one of Pei Ho restaurant’s nine signature dishes for $32. There will be a choice of three dishes each day, served from 11:30am -2pm, or until stocks run out.

The fundraising scheme is targeting 40,000 vouchers, enough for a year of free meals. Checkout the website www.peiho.hk for more details, while the meal gift is charitable the format of the scheme means your donation is not tax-deductible. Not that that should stop you contributing.

If you would like to be involved as a volunteer, please contact Pei Ho directly [email protected]