Ice Scating Camp

For the first week of summer holidays we booked Hannah into an ice-skating camp run by the YMCA

Hannah seemed to have a great time and enjoyed playing with the other kids.   

I dropped her off in the morning a couple of times on my way to work.

Reluctant Dragon

Hannah has been attending a Saturday morning drama class.   This weekend her group performed at the HK Arts Theatre as part of the drama school's festival.

Hannah's play was  'The Reluctant Dragons', and Hannah was a very reluctant dragon indeed.  She really didn't want to perform.

The play was about a small town that discovers dragons living nearby.   The adults want to exterminate the dragons but the children discover that the dragons are vegetarian and write poetry and eventually convince the adults to coexist with the dragons.

Hannah role was chief of police.  She did a good job with her acting and said her lines clearly.  But during the first performance when she wasn't speaking you could tell that she really wanted to be somewhere else!

The second performance on Sunday was much better and she stayed engaged through the performance.  I thought Hannah and the other kids dd a really good job.  And I was proud of Hannah for performing well even though she didn't really want to.

Cast photo at the end of the 2nd show.   Well done everyone!

Video : Saturday Performance

Video:  Sunday performance

Some kids really get a  buzz from performing.  And some don't.   Unfortunately Hannah didn't this time.   After the show she asked to stop going to the drama class next year.   She says she wants to spend more time playing and relaxing during the weekend.

Clear Air

In mid-June we had some exceptionally clear weather.  

We could clearly see some islands out beyond Lantau Island in the Pear River delta that Id never seen before.

Birthday Party

It was birthday party season, with another party at the YMCA climbing wall where Hannah had done climbing courses.

So it was her turn to show-off her skills.

The hosts were a nice and adventurous couple who often go rock climbing 

Sai Kung Craft Market

After the success of the Discovery Bay market Rika signed-up for a similar market in Sai Kung.

The market was held at the Hong Kong Academy, in the recently built building for a international school that recently re-located from Hong Kong Island.

The building had a nice atrium and Rika and Hannah set-out their stall hopefully, among about 50 other stalls.

But it was a slow day.  The market attracted a fairly small crowd and most of them didn't seem to be in a buying mood.

Rika guessed that most people were parents or friends of the school who had dropped in mainly for a social chat.  

Rika's products got some interest especially the hair-ties.  But she only sold one garment and the total revenue barely covered the rent on the stall and the taxis to Sai Kung.

I got took pretty bored and took a walk into Sai Kung town.   It was a lovely day but scorching hot.

There was another market on the waterfront, but it didn't seem to be doing much business either. 

And as I walked back I pondered the big difference with the event at Discovery Bay which benefited from a steady stream of people passing through the plaza on their way to shops or public transport.   Whereas the only pedestrians I could see braving the heat outside the school were a lethargic group of cows.

And they weren't buying either.  

Sunset

The weather finally improved towards the end of May

Sunset view from my work at ICC across Stonecutters Island.

Birthday Party

On Sunday I drew the short straw and had to accompany Hannah to ???'s birthday party in Tai Wai.

It was a girly girls party and the first time in a quite a while that I'd seen the massed ranks of Hannah's classmates in full cry.    I was struck how much kids grow up between 7 and 8.  

The roomful of little princesses played happily and noisily while the mums chatted to each other.   

And Hannah Papa beat a strategic retreat to the nearby Hong Kong History Museum where he enjoyed an exhibition of chinese painting in near total silence.