| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||||
 | Kingspark News Rotary
Club of Kingspark |  | ||
| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||||
Editorial
(Blowing Our Trumpets) - By Francis Wann | ||||
Blowing Our Trumpets Last week was the second anniversary of the terrorist attack of the World Trade Centre, and we're constantly reminded in the media that terrorism is anything but over. On September 11, there were at least two documentaries on Pearl (Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, Report from Ground Zero) and ever since America claimed victory officially, there have been almost daily reports of casualties or deaths of US troops in Iraq. The climax came when mourners in New York observed a minute of silence timed exactly at the collapse of the two towers. You can say it's sensational, or even a media hype. But that's the media which is there to make sure we don't forget, and that's the media which is in the business of stretching our senses. But also thanks to the media our world has become more united and understanding, that our humanitarian message is getting across, and that regardless of our colour, race, or creed, we are one people. Next year Rotary will be into its one hundredth year. One hundred years of service and commitment is of course no small feat, and already there have been various events worldwide to mark the occasion. Rotary as a service organization has not been overtly media-sensitive over the years, and one might consider it an appropriate occasion to make sure that our mark is firmly established on the world map. It is of course an occasion for Rotarians to go back to our humble past, and a platform for us to consider our future, and the future of mankind. There are books written to coincide with the centennial year, and the Rotary Bell has already been travelling around the globe, and passed from club to club as a symbolic gesture. But are we in danger of attaching too much fanfare to the centennial celebration? Numerous functions have been initiated and time for the occasion, and almost every club and district will put up something for the occasion. It's centennial this, and centennial that. Even our signature project PolioPlus which aims to wipe out the polio disease across the globe is apparently under the spell of our centennial year. One wonders if we're putting the cart before the horse, and that we're more concerned about the numbers game than the services we pledge to offer. A few weeks ago during a luncheon meeting, DG Jones Wong made a point about the impact of centennial year with DGE Alex Mak which effectively means Alex's job would be the most significant as he would be the centennial District Governor when he takes office next year. I cringed with amazement - and a little embarrassment - when I heard the term. I suppose it's meant to be a joke, but what a bitter joke it was. Perhaps we should all be blowing our trumpets. | ||||
President's
Column An Old Man's Advice This article is not mu auto-biography, but rather a snapshot of my past that I would like to share with you, something which happened to me over the years. Back in 1962 when I was still in primary school, the Government adopted an elitist education policy, or so I thought. I don't think there was any financial constraint, but there were not enough secondary schools to cater for all the primary students. Only about 40% of P.6 students were allowed to take the H.K.C.E.E, and the school internal examination results were used in the screening process. Students who were not aware of the system would be at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, I was one of them. I needed to work for my family business in those days as an apprentice when I was 12. I even worked after midnight, assembling plastic flowers, making rattan chairs, spraying toys, making Chinese candles, and helping to deliver soft drinks and mahjong to customers, etc. As a result, my school work suffered and I didn't have a chance to take the exam. I remember some of my teachers told me that if I couldn't get into a government subsidized middle school, it would be very expensive to get into private colleges to continue my studies. On the day of the exam, I saw my classmates queue up at the playground waiting for the examination. I was so depressed, helpless and I was crying for my future. I didn't know who was right or wrong. My father understood it was not my fault; he was willing to pay a higher school fee ($45) to let me continue my studies. That was a large amount for my family. When I was promoted to Form 2, the college told us to pay $50 as registration fee, and my father had to pawn his favorite leather jacket to pay for it. I was crying at the corner of the street. I said to my father, "you can pay this month, but how about the next month?" My father was silent, and I told him I prefered to leave school so that my two younger brothers could have more chances to study. He was reluctant, but finally gave in. That was how I started my full time apprenticeship in 1964. One day an old man stopped by my work site. He looked at my work and asked why I was not at school. I told him the facts. He talked to my father and gave us a new school decoration project in Tzewanshan. I hired many of my football team players who were all jobless and out of school at the time. Most of their parents, just like mine, could not afford their school fees. We were then paid daily, at $6 per person per day. During that period, a Father Cheung who was Principal of St-Bonaventure Primary School, told me that education and qualifications were crucial, but not 100% to one's life. More importantly,everyone was born with many valuable assets, including Health, Wisdom, Integrity, Diligence, Loyalty, Discipline, Ambition, Mentality, etc. Anyone who could make use of these assets would be on the road to success. Suddenly, it dawned on me. His words made me overcome my frustration. His encouragement had really changed my life over the last four decades. Coming back to our Club Bulletin, over the last two months we have produced three issues. The quality of the articles may not measure up to the requirements and expectation of our chief editor, but the most encouraging thing was that we have received contributons and comments from at least two overseas readers, Harry and PDG Dom and friend Graeme. Dear fellow Kingsparicans. I am sure and confident that you will all support editorial team, and I am waiting for your positive response. Finally, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to those who have written to our newsletter in the past. We look forward to your continuing support. | ||||
By PP Ted Ho (PP Ted Ho was twice President in the Club and is our Events Editor) When Chief Editor Francis asked me to be the Events Editor of Kingspark News, I hesitated as I didn't know what was expected of an Events Editor. Although I still don't know the exact answer, I have promised Francis to be a regular contributor to Kingspark News. In the last issue, I went back to the basic of Rotary and asked members why they had joined Rotary in the first place. I was very surprised that my article was read by some old friends from the other side of our globe. They sent me emails and shared their thoughts with me. It was very encouraging indeed. At last week's meeting, we had PDG Dipo talking to our club on membership growth in Rotary. I was not surprised to learn that membership in our District had dropped continually for the last few years. PP Raymond asked the question of "quality or quantity" of members in a club. When PDG Dipo showed us the Kingspark statistics on membership, our lowest membership in Kingspark history was 26 members. I was embarrassed because it happened in 1997-98 and 1998-99 when I was President. But I am also proud to say that we had the highest attendance then of around 80% and we ranked top 5 in the District. Of these 26 members, many are in our core group. Personally, I would go for quality in membership. But a club should have a least 20 to 30 members in order to function well. What do you think? | ||||
By Joseph Chan (Joseph Chan is our Review Editor.) I love eating. One cannot fully appreciate the tastes of food if one does not know some basic cooking skills and understand the nature of ingredients. I learn about cooking and various recipes from different sources, television programmes, newspapers and cookbooks. Having practiced cooking for a few years, I have realized that the essence of a good dish mainly lies in the ingredients. I have therefore learned to focus on finding the best ingredients through shopping frequently in the traditional market places. Shopping in the traditional market places is a very enjoyable thing. One can exercise one's own judgment in choosing the ingredients one likes or seek advice from the hawkers and butchers. Not only can they recommend the picks of the day in their stalls, they can also tell you how best to cook the food, by paying attention to the cooking time, the importance of mix and match and the balance between your needs and budget. Their services will become much personalized once you become more familiar with them. The joy of shopping in the traditional market places is not confined to the above. The hawkers and butchers would sometimes introduce you some new and rare food. For an example, a seafood seller once showed me a few local lobsters caught in Hong Kong. Their taste and texture is stronger than those imported from Australia or Canada. Besides, you can find more flesh in the local lobsters and they are much cheaper. I have never seen such lobsters in the Park'n Shop or Wellcome. Maybe it is due to their scarcity and the giant chain stores prefer those goods which could be supplied in a stable and bulk manner. Of course, there are downsides, the most serious one being hygiene. Besides, some hawkers and butchers may be dishonest. However, the environmental hyguene of most of the traditional market places has been greatly improved and the Government has put great efforts in monitoring them since the outbreak of bird flu and SARS. You can go to the better ones and enjoy shopping there. For example, the ones near Wanchai Road, Hollywood Road and central Kowloon City are very good in terms of environmental hygiene, freshness and variety. In fact, many wealthy families shop at these places and you can find their Mercedes Benz or other luxurious cars parking along the streets nearby. As regards the second problem of dishonesty, here are some tips for your reference: 1. Never dress up when you go to the traditional market places. The bad hawkers will think that you are not familiar with the prices and quality of foods. Besides, they will think that you will not argue with them openly when you dress up. However, this problem will not happen when you go to the stalls you frequently visit and the hawkers recognize you. 2. Go to the bigger stalls with lots of middle-aged women customers. The chance of getting cheated there will be much smaller as most of the experienced customers know which stalls are better. In addition, you will feel better when you notice that you are not the only one being cheated. 3. Try to go to the market places in the non-peak hours and chat with the hawkers and butchers. They are just human beings like us. They also want to be treated as professionals and respected. Once the rapport is built up, you will have unexpected rewards. 4. Never bargain with the hawkers. The prices of most food are not that high and the profit margins are low. Actually, the prices in the supermarkets are often higher. Remember your prime objective is to get the best ingredients. Besides, bargain is often the main reason for the hawkers to cheat you in order to maintain their profit while giving you the "favour" you ask for. 5. Do have the courage to argue with the hawkers if you are cheated. You don't have to speak foul languages as it will be useless and most of us are not as skillful as they are. Just stand in front of their stalls and keep on asking for refund if you have already paid. It will be much easier if you have not paid: tell them you will not be cheated loudly and then go away. We should protect our own consumer rights! Once you have more experience in shopping in the local market places, you should visit the overseas market places. Those in Japan, London and Paris are really fantastic. They are clean and tidy with lots of enthusiastic and professional hawkers. Just buy a pack of strawberries or a bundle of flowers in order to enjoy the feeling of shopping like a local person. If you spend an hour or two to observe the operation of these markets, I am sure you will have a deeper understanding of their culture. It may be much livelier than visiting their museums or reading tour guide books. Those market places in Beijing are also good, but you have to take more notes in smaller amounts if you want to buy anything. For those in southern China, well, just go and have a look only. It is really difficult not to be cheated when one shops there. My advice is, try to appreciate their cheating skills and spend as little as you can. That would add another interesting experience in your travel. It's time for you to take action. Let's go shopping and share your experience with me later in the luncheon meetings. I will then give you more tips. | ||||
New Generations September is New Generations Month, or what used to be called Youth Activities Month during which Rotary clubs worldwide give special emphasis to the many Rotary-sponsored programmes which serve children and young people. Rotary and youth activities have been inseparable for many years. In 1949 the Rotary International Board of Directors adopted "Every Rotarian an Example to Youth" as a special slogan to underline the commitment to children and youth Rotary has in the communities in which there are Rotary clubs. Indeed, many Rotary clubs have made serving the young people a key feature in their Rotary programme, notably Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards or RYLA, Youth Exchange, Group Study Exchange, Ambasadorial Scholarship and so on. It should be stressed that in organizing youth activities, Rotary clubs and Rotarians are doing such for themselves as much as for the youth whom they profess to serve, that they be the better on the road to becoming better Rotarians and better people. I would hastily add that youth activities are not the only avenue of service although the satisfaction and fulfilment thus derived could easily top others and help to last many a Rotary club or Rotarian for a very long time. More importantly though, once a Rotary club is committed to running or sponsoring a youth programme, its Rotarians have a duty to see to it that they are giving their best to the young people in the same way that they would were they their own children, lest the slogan adopted by RI in 1949 would stay no more than a slogan. It is most gratifying and uplifting therefore to hear that our Vice President Dominic Ko is contemplating to commit the Club to charge a third Interact club in a school with whom we have worked on a Vocational Service project. The subject school may not have the branding and track records of the two in which we have already sponsored Interact clubs, but the challenge offered would be no less, and hence the rewards thus derived could be manifold more. This is what Rotary clubs are here for: to serve an identified community need. No doubt, we can expect the Club leadership to give priority to the project, thereby making the New Generations Month more meaningful to the Club. | ||||
Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response fro the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||||
Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Peter Lo | ||||
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