Graduation: When did you grow up, my son?

My baby boy graduated from his kindergarten last Saturday, 27th September 2014.  His kindy alternates between a Sports Day or a School Concert every year, and this year it was the School Concert.

Two years ago, when William was 4yo, he played the main role of the lion in his class presentation.  This year, he was given the Whistle Master role.

Students were required to arrived early by 7:45am to register, thereafter they were to gather in their respective classes so that the teachers and helpers can help them put on light make-up, adjust their costumes or graduation gowns and feed them a light snack.

Left:  Big jie jie helps him gel up his hair.  He wraps a towel around his neck in case his shirts gets wet in the process.    Middle:  Wearing his shoes  Right:  Boy wears his costume by himself. 

Photography credits

Much as I would have liked but parents were not allowed in the classroom.

The auditorium was decorated with balloons and fairly packed with excited parents and family members 

However, as you will see later, we received privy photos taken by the official photographers of our son behind closed doors and unblocked view up on stage.  Words cannot express how touched and blessed I am when these photos were sent to us, as the photos from my camera did not produce very good results.  On the same note, many of the beautiful photos here were taken from Yeh Yeh's camera because Yeh Yeh decided to move up to the Gallery before the ceremony, and he found prime spot for his iPad to video and snap photos.  I am forever grateful!  Looks like getting front row, aisle seats has so much limitations.

His class teacher, Apple puts on a little bit of color on his fair white cheeks and lips

The concerts started on time at 9am with a brief welcome by the Emcee, followed by the house rules and soon after, the announcement of the students and classes as they walk proudly into the auditorium.

Oops, this is not William!

First to walk in was the Malaysian flag bearer who was a boy from another class.  I held my camera up to get ready to snap pictures of my son not knowing when he will be walking in, but assuming he will be together with his class.

I got a shock when the Emcee announced my son's name instead as the Malaysian flag bearer!  I fumbled with my camera for awhile until I realized it was a mistake. I felt so bad for the boy who's name was only quickly mentioned after the Emcee realized his blunder, which I thought was rather too late as the Selangor flag bearer has walked in.

Finally, here he is!

After the four flag bearers walked in, it was William's turn and he smiled his boyish smile at me us when he saw me us by the side.  My heart melted.

First glimpse of my graduating boy!  

View from the powerpoint

Standing beside Teacher Evelyn who gives him the cue to blow the whistle

Steady on stage.  Very serious too.  Hhmm...

View from the Gallery.  William stands in the middle

The students entered class by class, all dressed up in their respective glittering, shiny and smart costumes.  The 3yos made the guests oooh-ed and aaaahh-ed with their cuteness, the 4yos made us giggle and laugh, the 5yos made us clap louder, and last but not the least, the 6yos made us all swell with pride.

Teacher Evelyn gives the cue to William for the first blow on the whistle, to indicate for all to stand as the National Anthem, Negaraku is played.

After the National Anthem was sung, the guests were requested to sit and William blows the whistle twice to gesture the same to his fellow school friends.  They get off stage and then it was time for the student speeches in three languages, Principal's speech and Pastor's speech.

Presentation of Certificates

William stands on the last row, second from right

Second from right, William stands almost as tall as a few of the girls in his class

Each graduand's photo was flashed up on the big screen when their names were called to collect their certificates

Party time!

We were entertained by all the colorful and vibrant performances in different songs made popular in the 1970s also in different languages.

Here are some by other classes:

William in action

And here's the video of his class presentation of "Ja Jambo"

My little performer 

Mummy with my two darling children

Let's celebrate with food!

After the ceremony, we had lunch at the newly opened Jaya Shopping Mall in Section 14.   Although we had not planned to eat at Serai Restaurant which serves local, northern cuisine, but it was a pleasant surprise as service and food quality was good, dessert was sweet and the ambience was comfortable.

The foods that we ate...  from nasi kerabu to pavlova

And finally our home looked festive too, with all the balloons that we took back from the auditorium.

My Dear Boy Boy,

I want you to know that Mummy Daddy are both very proud of you.  Your graduation marks another milestone in your life and although reality have not really set in for me, I know I will very very soon miss sending and fetching you from kindy.  I will one day hold your folded uniform, wishing that you can fit into them once more.  I will one day look at your Transformer pulley bag and wish I'll see you push and pull that bag as if it was a car to you.  

Wasn't it just a couple of years back that you cried when you joined kindy?  Boy boy, now you almost run into class every morning when I drop you off!  

I know you are ambitious just by knowing what you want, and praying hard for it.  But hardwork needs to be put in, and consistency is the key.  Take time to play, but don't take too long a time to finish your meal or a page of homework.  Last but not least, take time to assure your mummy here, that you will always be my little boy. 

Loving you always and forever.

Update:

Last night when I put him to bed, I lay down beside this boy because I wanted to see him drift into Dreamland.  This is what he told me after a while, "Mummy, you better go out to do your work now, so that you can finish fast and come in to sleep fast."

UK Day 9 and Day 10: Greenwich and then it's Bye Bye UK... for now

Day 9
5th August 2014

This is our last morning here in London as our flight departs at 1010pm tonight from Heathrow Airport.  We cleared the last food stuff from our fridge for breakfast (ie last night's pizza from dinner) and packing was considered final.  We stepped out of our apartment close to 930am so that we can just nicely enjoy the off-peak train rates.

We topped up our Oyster cards once during this trip, and a day or two before my card somehow was not detected at the Touch Out machine, so I touched it a couple more times.  When we checked our balance later, we noticed that my card was over deducted instead. A visit to the Customer Service counter at the tube station corrected one trip with a refund, but charged me a few quid as "penalty."  Ah well.  Can't stomp my feet and scream and yell, right?  Just have to swallow my mistake and move on lor.,. Fortunately, Dad calculated if we take both to and fro train rides during off-peak times, I'd have JUST enough balance in my card without needing another trip to the Customer Service to request for a balance refund.  Dad donated a small unused balance in his card.

We arrived Greenwich which is not too far away, probably half an hour train ride including change of trains?  I can't recall exactly.  Some pronounce Greenwich as "Green itch" and some as "Gren idge" which some claim is the proper pronunciation (just like Yorkshire as "York sher" and not "York shy-er") but a quick check with Uncle Google claims its a recent pollution from the middleclass newcomers.

I personally think Greenwich is a nice town, albeit not a very big one but this first visit we discovered many international cuisine eateries, which shows there is an international community here - Vietnamese, Italian, Thai, French and of course Chinese!

A wefie with the English postbox?  By the way, I realized a few days into this trip that Dad brought different caps to wear, it's like an accessory to him - how cute.

I didn't miss you out, little wild yellow flowers!  If my 6yo boy, William was here, he would not hesitate to pluck you and present a bunch of you to me. : )

Look what we discovered?  We chanced upon, and I say chanced upon, because we did NOT know it was market day here.  So yea... yippeee!!

Flea market... from trinkets, photos, gardening tools, clothing, to food and toys and antiques!

No close up photography allowed, so just a general, quick shot

Ok, this is where we'll be heading... 

As we headed towards the Royal Observatory we took mental notes of places to have a lunch later, as we learnt from our painful experience last night.  The prices of lunch here was very reasonable, and if you were on a string budget, you could get away with less than GBP5 lunch at the bar.  Of course, don't expect to down it with a beer ; P

We picked one or two places to eat near the train station, but as we walked along, we saw more choices and then by the time we were near the Observatory and Museum, I think we both decided to "play-by-ear"!  Haha... what a far cry from Oxford Street!

Everything about King William.  My boy was so happy to here that he's not just named after the future king of England, but also a previous King.  

Greenery.  As we left at lunch time, we saw many people having picnic, cycling, children playing and just casual outdoor activities.  I wish our Malaysian weather and park could allow us to have the same enjoyment

Can you spot my Dad?  Glad that he could walk well and not have any pain in his legs

This is the bottom of the small hill - leading the walk up to the Royal Observatory

Nelson's ship in a bottle

The Queen's House from up the hill, which now forms part of the National Maritime Museum

Errm... this is definitely NOT the time that we arrived. 

By now, I guess anywhere where there's grass and open space, the angmohs will just plonk themselves down and let time go by... a great way to destress - DO NOTHING

Not knowing what to order for myself, I asked the bar attendant to recommend a drink for me.  The Summer Berries mout cider surprisingly taste sweet with a tinge of soda to it. 

I had the Ultimate Hunters Chicken whereas Dad opted for the Prime Steak Burger

Lunch Venue.  A bar with an open garden in the yard called Kings Arms. We normally choose our makan venue based the look of the place and then glance through the menu if it suits our appetite or craving, then we'd walk in. 

On our walk back to the train station, we passed by the market entrance and I thought I'd take a photo of it, just to remember how inconspicuous it is.

The entrance is the beige concrete right behind where the two men are standing.  If you walk past and look right in, you'll see that it opens out to the market hall we were in earlier.

Queueing to check in.  There was quite a long queue in front.  Dad attempted many times to do a web check in from as early as 2 days before our departure but could not.  So this trip we had to wait in queue, and somehow the queue was moving so slowly.  Worse, as it neared our turn, a girl from a group of returning students a few numbers in front of us suddenly fainted and that held up the queue a bit

We had a quick dinner at Pret-A-Manger on the way to the gate.  I think it's a good meal to end this trip since we have seen so many PAM outlets in London but never tried one until now. The hot wrap was very delish.  Being Chinese I guess, we weren't too keen on the cold sandwiches for a proper meal 

On the flight, we were served food before lights were turned off.  I had a good sleep but whenever I woke, I kept my eyes on the screen, taking note on the location of our flight as I was still worried.  The flight was uneventful and I don't recall turbulence or crying kids or a snoring passenger.  I even managed to watch a couple of movies including a Filipino comedy.

                                           

Good bye UK, till the next time I step foot in this beautiful country, so so dear and special to me.  When I left in July 1999, I looked down from my window seat and wondered if I will ever breathe your air again, or step foot on your soil.  When we married, hubby and I did not have enough funds to have our honeymoon back in the UK where we fell in love, instead we went to South New Zealand and discovered another beautiful land.

11 years later in March 2010, we returned to the UK, not just the two of us, but four - two beautiful kids in tow.  This trip was planned very impromptu and I'm thankful that God had allowed this trip to materialize and for Dad to "game" on.  Right now, I realize what a miracle it was for him to have no severe pain on his legs despite so much walking and there wasn't a need to use the foldable walking stick that he packed along.

Our flight was delayed by half an hour, I supposed due to some Malaysian royalty on the same flight.  We arrived 15 minutes late as the pilot caught up on time.  But poor hubby who was waiting at KLIA with Vic and Will, did not get any updates from the ground staff and that worried him as they could not answer when our plane will arrive.  After MH370 and MH17 incident, I think they should be more sensitive and informed on questions on flight delays.

Oh well, all's well end's well.  All glory to God for this summer trip with Dad.  It sure was great to be back home with my loving husband and children.  My parents in law were also at home with dinner waiting and a happy maid ready.

UK Day 8: Hop On-Hop Off London Sight Seeing

Day 8
4th August 2014

Before our trip, Dad had made booking with The Original Tour bus company for their Hop-On-Hop-Off sight seeing. With a printed booking confirmation, we needed only to wait at the designated stop to have the QR code scanned.

After a simple breakfast at home (I can't remember exactly what, but it was definitely clearing off whatever food stuff we had in our fridge).

We were at Canary Wharf slightly passed 9am, and the scene here was a typical working day whereby men and women were in their work attire, solemn faces and hurried steps.  For a split second, I have to admit that I kind of miss my work life, but that thought quickly went poof, as I am loving where my life is today.

Just a slight note for those looking at properties around or in Canary Wharf - this is definitely a bustling place and worth considering.  Readers' own discretion and research adviced as yours truly hold no responsibility in any investment decision making.  ; )

Rush hour on Monday slightly past 9am at Canary Wharf.
                         

I wonder what does these pictures mean... are they depicting a story, history or random expression of creativity?

This map is probably too small to read, but you can view the bigger version here.  There are all together four routes to choose from, but in my personal opinion, it would be unwise and unreasonable to be exploring all four routes unless one just prefers to sit passively in the bus

                         

From on top the bus, a picture of souvenir shops which are mainly run by the Middle Eastern folks

Praise God for yet another beautiful day with good weather, albeit after being up on the deck of the double decker bus, I was kinda feeling tortured under the heat of the summer sun, and wishing I had put on more sun block.  But sitting on the top deck was definitely a better choice, in order to take clearer photos.

As I don't have much to write about today, this post will be mainly pictures:

The first Hard Rock Cafe was opened in London

I forgotten where I took this lion picture, possibly in the area of Westminter.  My son William has always thought this animal powerful and majestic.  I think he is quite right, even as Aslan in the famous C.S Lewis movie, Narnia represents our Lord Jesus

Another picture of the Clock Tower aka Big Ben

Souvenir shop selling sweaters ahead in the middle of summer?

On the Bridge Walk on route to our cruise on River Thames

Left:  Wellington Arch on Hyde Park Corner, Right:  The London Eye

On board our cruise on the River Thames.  We boarded at Westminster and cruised towards Greenwich Pier.  We sat inside, protected from the heat outside.  I bought two snacks to enjoy on this half hour cruise.

                           

St Paul Cathedral from the River Thames

This, my friends... is the underneath of the REAL London Bridge (remember the nursery rhyme song?)... there's nothing attractive about this bridge, honestly.  

The Shard, is home to some best offices, Shangri-la Hotel, restaurants and bars

Dark clouds hovering above.  Don't expect heavy rain here though.

The River Thames cruise headed towards Greenwich Pier where we were required to hop off and boarded the next ship back to Westminster.  For lunch, we returned to St Stephen's Tavern

Later in the afternoon, we hopped off the bus near Regent's Park to explore Queen Mary's garden this time.

I was captivated by the smooth carpet of green moss on this lake, so smooth they look almost fake!  Picture taken from York Bridge in Queen Mary Gardens

Another view - this green, green lake look more like a well manicured ground

White roses - my favourite!

A cafe hidden in the midst of the rose garden

This would be a nice spot for a picnic or even duck feeding

Beautiful roses in Queen Mary's garden in Regent's Park

Brown english ducks

Part of the Boating Lake

We didn't stay long in Queen Mary Gardens.  Our next stop was back to Oxford Street to see if I missed out anything in the previous visit.  Hehehe... this time Dad decided to just sit outside along the concrete extension of Primark, where most other men seem to be waiting too.  It was a lot more crowded, and the cashier lines were easily more than 30 metres long!  I bought two more big bags of clothing for the children and only a couple of pieces for myself (dare not buy more, because I wasn't game to queue for the fitting rooms).

Oxford Street after 5pm

After shopping, we decided to look for dinner before heading back to our apartment.  Which one would think it'd be pretty easy to do, since we were on Oxford Street - this is where retail rules but alas... eateries were limited on this part of the street.  We didn't want to walk too far off as we were already near Bond Street tube station.

Pret-A-Manger was packed with after-work office workers and we couldn't find a table.  Other than the Italian restaurant that we had lunch at on Day 2, there was only Pizza Hut fast food.  So we ate there.  Secretly I thought, why not... it's a change from the usual bar settings and maybe fast food in London offer a different experience.

We ordered two regular pizzas and salad came free - helped ourselves at the Salad Bar.  Variety was impressive.

Fast food is fast food... nothing great here unfortunately and we over ordered.  Oh well, we asked a packing box to take away the remaining pizza which we will have for our breakfast the next day.  

At night after bath, I did a final round of packing and weighed my check in luggage and handcarry.  Yes, I was still within the allowable limit!