Lunch with Former Badminton Buddies

We had a reunion lunch on 28 December 2023, three days before the end of 2023. Attendees of this reunion are former badminton kaki or buddies who used to play badminton at Basel Hall at least twice a week for over thirty years from 1980's to 2000's. The group last met for a meal on 10 October 2022 when one of the ex-players came back from Vancouver, Canada (Read here).

Now, we call ourselves, "The Badminton Survivor Group" because we know the number will dwindle over the years. I have written earlier that some of the members had already passed on. First is Peter Lee on 4 March 2019 (Read here), then John Wan on 27 March 2022 (Read here) and Tai NK about a year and a half ago on 6 July 2022 (Read here).

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2023 did not end in an entirely happy note.  There were heavy-hearted moments after reading the news of the suicide of a South Korean actor, Lee Sun Kyun. He died just a day before our lunch date. 

Sun Kyun, a recipient of "Excellent Achievement in Film" Award, was at the peak of his career when chose to end his life because he found no other way or incentive to continue living. As he put it in his suicide note, "I cannot do anything else, there is no other way but this". With his acting career practically in ruin and a looming contractual penalty of 10 billion won (RM$33 million), he chose death as a way to end the mess. My speculation is that he chose death to ensure that the well-being of the rest of his family is kept intact, at least financially! 

His tragic end is a case of getting involved with the wrong people and committing an improper act either knowingly or unknowingly that gave rise to blackmail! 

Impending End of Year 2023

This year, we decided to open our home for a Christmas Pot Bless Lunch Celebration for our CG on 15 December 2023. Quite remarkably, we had a similar event at our home four years ago in December 2019 (Read here). In my blog written soon after that event, I concluded with the hope that 2020 would be another great year!

2020 turned out to be a year way beyond the expectation of all people around the world. Almost immediately after our 2019 year end Pot Bless gathering, Covid 19 virus struck. Country after country started lock down to contain the spread of this global pandemic.  Travels within country and cross border were suspended. Schools, colleges, universities and work places were closed. Church services and gatherings in religious premises were too all suspended. For the first time, we began working online, study online, meeting online, worship online..... Traditional ways of doing things gave way to new ways of doing things!

Once Covid was contained and when the pandemic was slowly being accepted as being endemic, physical meetings and gatherings resumed. Our CG switched the regular meetings from home gathering to meeting in the Church premise (Kyrugma House). Our recent Pot Bless Lunch was the very first gathering in home.

Nineteen people came for the gathering. Of the nineteen, seventeen attended the 2019 get-together while two were first timers.

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Our CG leader is a very thoughtful person. He sprung another surprise after the meal. He unwrapped a package and presented a birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays of "boys" and "girls" born in the months of September to December. He gave a similar treat earlier on 18 August 2023 soon after our CG morning walk in Taman Ujana Rimba Tropika to the members born in the month of August (Read here).

Members of this CG are all seniors in their late sixties, seventies and eighties. All have contributed their part in raising their families and preparing the next generation to face life challenges.

We all know the inevitability of lives - deterioration in hearing, eye sight and memory and the ultimate end of life. A topic that frequently pops up these days is - "Have you booked your final resting place?" Notwithstanding this, we would make all attempt to liven the remaining time:  keeping good health, fostering emotional support through regular communication, companionship and yamcha sessions!

A Recent Trip to Papar - Far and In Between

These days, visits to Papar are far and in between. Our last two visits to Papar were all meant to attend wedding lunches.

Five years ago on 15 December 2018, we drove to Papar to attend the wedding lunch of one of my staff. Recently on 2 December 2023, I accompanied my wife to attend another lunch for the occasion of the wedding of the son of one of my wife's ex-staff of SM St. Mary, Limbahau.

Group photo of office staff with the newly-wed couple
on 15 Dec 2018.

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With the newly-wed couple on 2 December 2023.

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After both wedding lunches, we made detours to Kampong Limbahau to see the school premise of SM St. Mary, Limbahau before heading home. 

My wife was the School Principal of SM St. Mary, Limbahau for eleven years in mid-1980's to mid-1990's. In the recent visit, we were pleased to see the two major building extension projects are still intact after a lapse of almost thirty years. The first major building constructed is the Multi-Purpose Building comprising of the school hall at ground floor and the staff room at the first floor. A year or two later, she built the Domestic Science Block. It was a privilege to be asked to offer my service as the consultant in the planning, design and supervision of these buildings - all on pro-bono basis.

Posing in front of the School Hall.

The School Hall.

The Domestic Science Block.

Final Day Before Departure for Home

I promised Nathan and Grace that we would have ramen at Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King before our departure to the Airport for our return flight at 2.10am on 14 October 2023.

Before the ramen dinner, we went up to King's Park to enjoy the evening view of Perth City and the twilight ambient at the top of the hill. 

The Perth War Memorial and Flame of Remembrance.

At the Whispering Wall to test the transmission of sound from
one end of the curved wall to the other end.

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By the time we reached Raman Keisuke Tonkutsu King a couple of minutes before 5.30pm, score of people were already queuing up waiting for its opening. We were fortunate to be the first customers to be let in. Still, we were seated in two separate tables (4 and 2) because the bigger tables to accommodate all six of us were already taken up. 

This is my second visit to this outlet. We ate their raman for the first time in our previous visit on New Year Eve, 31 December 2022 (Read here). Unlike outlets I have visited, this outlet offers unlimited number of hard boiled eggs!

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After dinner, we adjourned to Kumo Suffle Pancakes to savour the suffle pancake.

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Good bye the night before our departure the next day.

For 3 weeks, we talked, chit-chatted, laughed, walked, trekked, climbed, travelled to interesting places, stayed in holiday home, watched movies, played games, shared stories, flew kites, cycled, ate all kind of delicious food...... This family holidays will be remembered for a very very long time!

Crossing Another Milestone

These days, it is very rare to be able to celebrate my birthday together with family members. This year, coinciding the visit to WA in October, my daughter arranged a pre-birthday lunch in a restaurant called Coogee Common in WA which was joined by her entire family members. 

This restaurant where we had lunch is advertised as an upscale farm-to-table restaurant which serves a variety of unique dishes. Many of the dishes are made from fresh produce that come straight from the garden next to the restaurant premise.

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Garden next to the restaurant.

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The birthday celebration did not end after lunch. At dinner time, a birthday cake was brought out for the "birthday boy"! 

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Further surprises comes 16 October 2023 when video clips of my grandchildren singing birthday greetings were received!

This birthday will definitely be remembered for a very very long time............ 

Family Cycling

Ever since our grandchildren picked up cycling skill, we have not stopped cycling with them whenever we visit WA.

Six years has lapsed since we first cycled with them in April 2018 (Read here). Over these years, we have seen them improving in their cycling skill and growing steadily in maturity.

Cycling has been part of family holiday activities. We cycled with Sam's family in Yarra Valley in Melbourne during our family holiday in March 2019 (Read here). At that time, Livvie was just two years old and had to be taken along in a bike trailer dragged behind her dad's bike! A rather adventurous endeavour!

Family cycling is indeed rewarding - both for fun, family bond and togetherness. Elena in Belarus wrote this simple poem to sum up the joy of Family Cycling:

Family cycling is so exciting.

It is so funny and so uniting!

We are so happy to ride bikes together,

When it is sunny, we have a good weather!

We rode across park and meet some squirrels,

Then ride along the Mukhavets river.

We enjoy life and these happy moments.

I am so inspired and can write my new poems!

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Unlike Elena who saw squirrels along the Mukhavets River, we saw plenty of wood ducks along the way.