Camping the spawn point

Just a quick post today.  Why?

Well, this pic from last night might give some clues.

The new manager

As promised, here come the holiday snaps!

Back in August, I went to the UK for a couple of weeks.  I'd been really looking forward to going for a couple of reasons.  One of which was because for a whole month before we were due to go, we had been reading about a heatwave in the UK.  Coming from HK, I can imagine that the "heatwave" would have been really comfortable for us! :)

Naturally, the heatwave ended the week before we got there...

Anyway, being a Liverpool fan (did you know that before?) - I had to travel to Anfield.

Wait, did Liverpool get a new manager?

The return of the Meister

Wow - been over a year since I posted here.

To be honest, I had initially decided to stop updating the blog at all.  Frankly, it was taking too much time.  However, I realised recently that I need to spend more time taking photos if I want to actually improve my photography skills.  After all, what's the point in having a decent camera if you don't know how to use it!

So in that vein, I'm going to try to post a picture once a week.  Hopefully, that will force me to take photo's on a regular basis.

Below is a recent photo of Gordon to get us started.

I think he likes the noodles...

Ocean Park in Winter

Way back in December, we actually got some tickets to Ocean Park and had a day out.  Which was great as it gave me a chance to try out my new camera bag and accessories.  And I have to admit that they worked beautifully and made it much easier for me to use my camera during the day.

In any event, some photos!

Taken while on the tram

As you can see, it was a nice day

With sparkling oceans and a liner in the distance

No trip to Ocean Park would be complete without ...

... animals!

More animals!

and even more animals!

Okay, getting tired of all the animal pics now...

Really, you have more?

Lastly, did I mention a liner in the distance?  Yes, I did.

Wandering around a shopping mall

I've started to carry my camera whenever I go out with the family.  Hoping to grab some pics.  To be honest, most of the time the pictures aren't particularly interesting.  However, occasionally, I grab some pictures which make me pause and question what is going on.

Like these.

I wonder what they are talking about?

Playing with the on camera flash

I'm back!

The Meister's back

No - that isn't really my back.  Nor did I take the photo.  Nor do I actually have anything to do with the photo or the person in the photo.

Hmm - that kinda got away from me.  Lets start again.

I don't use the flash on my camera very often - which is why I haven't gotten a proper flash yet - but recently, I did try playing around with it to see how it would handle a relatively low light situation.

Overall, you can see why most people don't like using the on-camera flash.  Part of the reason obviously, is that the flash is centered on the camera itself which means that the light from the flash falls directly onto the subject.  Granted, a bigger flash wouldn't, in itself, solve this problem directly but it would give you the option of bouncing the light off another surface (which you can't do with the camera's built in flash as it isn't strong enough).

He still manages to look super cute though.
:D

Gerry and the drum academy - Part 4

Last post about the drum academy.  :)

One of the places we went to while we were in Jiangzhou was to visit a place to see how the drums are made.  As you can imagine, these drums are made by hand.

First, he shaves off pieces of wood

Then, he puts them up against the side of a drum template

Once all the pieces are in, they get nailed together and have the top and bottom planed

Last step - they get the drum skin and then painted

And then sold to consumers!

Gordon and the Spock effect

This picture was taken a while ago at the Island Shangri-La.  And yes, we were there for a buffet feast.  :)

I'm actually not sure what Gordon is doing here.  For some reason, he is raising one eyebrow (to be fair, something I do a lot!) at the camera which was when I took the picture.  Regardless, any guesses as to what is going through his mind?

That is illogical, father...

Celebrating the end of exams

And that is the end of exams for another year!

In case its not obvious, I should mention that I'm not taking exams.  I'm celebrating because the kids have finished their exams.  And as far as I'm concerned, that is a good enough reason to celebrate!

Going out to eat!

Naturally, when I celebrate, I celebrate with food!

Buffet time!

While there, I also took the opportunity to play around with my camera a bit more.

My other cars a Honda

Lastly, can you guess where we went?

A clue!

The Solar Tower

One of the activities that the kids really enjoy is camping out at the Solar Tower in Ma Wan.

I say camping but at this point, it's worth clarifying that they don't actually camp out.  There is a complex at the Solar Tower where the kids actually sleep at night.  However, the kids still get the feeling of camping out as they spend several days and nights there without their parents looking over their shoulder.

That's right - we get to kick the kids out of the house for several days!  Woot!!

Getting ready to camp

Gordon of penzance

One of the things that Gordon got involved in at school was the school choir.  To be fair, he doesn't have a great voice (too much time spent crying and screaming didn't not help) but he did get selected as the captain as the previous captain was a wee bit too naughty!

The choir had a great performance in the competition for which they got an A grade which did wonders for Gordon's confidence.
:)

Anyway, here he is in his pirate captain uniform.  The sword isn't part of the uniform but the sword which he uses to practice his fencing with.

Yarrr!!!

Another trip down mountain road

This picture was actually taken during that wander down the mountain road I posted about last week.

You can clearly see that it was a really nice day without being obsessively hot.  Gerry's glasses are actually photo-sensitive and will turn dark if it gets too sunny.  The fact that they aren't actually that dark gives a pretty good indication that they are in the shade.

Can you spot the bird?

Gordon and the sports day

After several "arty" pictures, it's time to go back to showing pictures of the kids!  Huzzah!!

The event itself is surprisingly big although this shouldn't really be a surprise given that the school now has 4 separate locations.

Lookit all the kids!

As you can expect with a sports event targeted at kids, everyone got a medal.  Gordon was still delighted to get his though.

Winner!

After the opening ceremony, the kids get to split up and take part in various games and activities.  With the number of kids, a lot of time is actually spent queuing up.

Go push that ..,. thing - yeah!

What is done really well is that many of the games actually let the parents get involved as well.  As you can imagine, the kids love being able to play with daddy and mummy.

That baseball cap falls off about 1 sec later

They even had "proper" sports events such as the long jump.

Picture taken after the long jump - Gordon is happy with his "record"

Gordon ponders the meaning of life

Managed to capture this picture of Gordon.

I have no idea what he is thinking but he looks as if he is pondering something fairly heavy.  His navel perhaps?

The answer is 42

Lunar New year 2015 - The Peak

More pictures from our Chinese New Year holiday!

While Gordon was sick for most of the holiday, there was one day where he seemed to have broken his fever.  We immediately took the opportunity to head up to the Peak and spend a bit of time sight-seeing and playing in the playground there.

The missus and the mountain

Gordon seems to be enjoying himself

Does whatever a spider can!

Whee!

Double whee!!

We had initially planned on eating at one of the buffet restaurants at the Peak but as we got close to evening, Gordon's fever started to come back.  Unfortunately, his fever was probably only under control due to the medicine.  What this meant was that we ended up grabbing a quick dinner before heading back to the hotel.

We did get in some dessert though.

Lunar New Year 2015

For Chinese New Year, we took the kids out to a hotel on HK Island.  The plan had been to hit the various tourist traps on HK Island.

Unfortunately, Gordon fell sick with a fever on the second day and we ended up spending most of the time cooped up in the hotel!  On the plus side, the kids managed to get plenty of time to watch TV.

Luckily, we did spend some time outside - including some time at the hotel playground.

Does whatever a spider can!

I think he sees us

Check out my cool shades!

The missus getting in on the action

Woo hoo!

I honestly have no idea what Gordon is doing here

Faster than a speeding bullet!