Lunar New Year Holidays 2024 農曆新年

Time flies and we are already three months into 2024! If you’ve been following my monthly look back, you probably know that I’ve been busy migrating my blog to a new server. Better than what I originally projected, the transfer of all contents had already been done last week. What remains is to monitor the new system and make any necessary tweaks; my life is finally back to normal.

話咁快 2024 又過了差不多四份一，大家如果有留意我最近的每月回顧，大概都知道我忙於轉移我的網誌去新的 server。上星期尾剛完成全部 contents 的搬動，剩下來是新系統的監察及作適當的微調，空間多一點，生活又可暫時回常。

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Last week, I received the Council Tax Annual Demand Notice for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. There is an increase of about 6% compared to last year, or 16% since we first arrived! By adding all those mandatory costs like service charge of our apartment, energy costs, and water bills, we have to pay at minimal, over eight hundred pounds a month! The financial burden is really high.

Although Kingston is a very nice place for people like us that used to the Hong Kong living environment, it is also the most expensive borough in Greater London when it comes to Council Tax. May be we have to move to other more affordable area in the near future!

But hey, all things considered, life in the UK is still pretty decent. At least it’s a tad less stressful plus we lived with dignity, as compared to Hong Kong nowadays.

上星期收到新一年度的 Council Tax Annual Demand 通知，較上年增加了約 6%，而相比起剛到步時則上升了 16%。 如果加上居所的管理費，energy charge 及水費，每個月即使不飲不食，不作其他消費仍要支付八佰多鎊，生活壓力真的嚇人。Kingston 居住環境雖然很好，適合香港人，但 Council Tax 亦是大倫敦中最貴的一個 Borough，看來遲早都要搬往生活水平較低的地方！

不過無論如何，在英國生活尚算不錯，總比在今天的香港活得多一點專嚴。

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During the Lunar New Year, my family and I spent a few days at my old classmate’s new house in Portsmouth. It was a great opportunity for us to celebrate the new year together and also to help him test out his new living arrangements. Even though he lives alone, he’s always got family members and relatives visiting, so his place is decked out with extra furniture to accommodate guests. I jokingly call it our “home extension”!

I drove down to Portsmouth on the evening of New Year’s Eve via the A3 and it was also my first time driving at night in the UK. Given the size of the country, the highways here generally lack streetlights and only rely on headlights and reflective markers on the road for illumination. It was pouring heavily that night, with heavy fog blanketing the roads. To add to the challenge, my car’s GPS navigation system failed unexpectedly. Driving side by side those speeding vehicles on the highway, it was quite the nerve-wracking experience. Luckily, my car is also equipped with Apple Carplay, which eventually helped me navigate safely to our destination.

By the time we arrived, it was already quite late, so we ended up having a simple dinner at my classmate’s place!

農曆新年期間，我們一家到了舊同學在 Portsmouth 的新居住了數天，一方面可共渡新春，另外又可以替同學測試他新居設施，雖然他是一個人，但因經常有家人及親友到訪，所以屋內已添置多了家具，方便客人留居，而我亦笑稱這是我家的 extension！

年三十傍晚駕車經 A3 到 Portsmouth，這亦是我第一次在英國晚間駕駛。由于英國地方較大，高速公路基本是沒有路燈，主要靠車輛的大燈及路面上的反光石作照明。當天滂沱大雨，路面多霧，再加上我車子的 GPS 道航系統又不知何故失効，夾在路面上其他高速行駛的車輛，真是一步一驚心，還好我的車有配備 Apple Carplay，終能助我安全到步。

因為到達時間已不早，最後只能在同學家中吃個簡單的團年飯！

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Short Visit to Southampton

On the Lunar New Year day, we drove to Southampton after breakfast. Coincidentally, the local Chinese association had organised a large-scale Lunar New Year celebration at West Quay. The streets were bustling with what seemed to be Chinese expatriates, dressed in vibrant red attire, carrying “Fai Chun” (or red banners) and lanterns. At first glance, one could mistake it for a China Town, but ironically, the Chinese population in Southampton is actually slightly below one percent. 😬

After strolling around the nearby historic spots for a while, we headed to the Duke of Wellington for lunch. This traditional English Pub is hosted in a centuries-old building with a charming atmosphere. However, the food turned out to be rather disappointing.

大年初一，食完早餐便駕車到 Southampton，剛巧當地的華人協會在附近的 West Quay 有大型的新春慶祝活動，街道上有頗多相信是中國僑民，一身紅色衣裳，手上提著揮春、燈籠，驟眼還以為這裡是 China Town，但有趣的是華人在 Southampton 卻只佔百份之一。 😬

在附近的古城區逛了一會便到了附近的 Duke of Wellington 吃午飯。這間傳統英式 Pub 座落於有數百年歷史的舊式建築，氣氛不錯，只不過食物就頗另人失望。

With no specific plans in mind, we wandered around the nearby area for a bit before heading back to Portsmouth for a Chinese dinner.

在沒有甚麽計劃下，到附近走了幾𨍭便返回 Portsmouth 食中式晚飯。

This Chinese restaurant is quite popular among the locals. Even though I made a reservation before noon, we could only be seated after 8:30 pm. The food, both in presentation and taste, was pretty good. The Sweet and Sour Pork had that distinct Hong Kong flavour, and what really touched me was that they even served us with oranges after the meal.

這中菜館頗受本地的居民歡迎，即使我中午前已定訂座，但亦只可以在八點半後才可入座。食物無論賣相或味道都算不錯，咕噜肉都有香港風味，而最令我感動則是飯後竟然還奉上甜橙。 😭

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Short Visit to Isle of Wight

The second place we visited was the Isle of Wight, just across the sea from Portsmouth. My family and I had already enjoyed a leisurely short stay on the island last Easter break. Given that we only had a one-day trip, we need to focus on just one or two spots.

Early in the morning, we boarded the car ferry from Gunwharf Wightlink Terminal to Fishbourne. We were so lucky to catch sight of the latest UK aircraft carrier, the Prince of Wales, docked nearby at the His Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) – a first-time experience seeing something so impressive up close like that.

第二個到訪的地方是與 Portsmouth 一海之隔的 Isle of Wight， 而我一家上年復活節已 “慢” 遊了數天，今次一日遊當然只能集中一、兩個地方。

大清早便從 Gunwharf Wightlink Terminal 乘搭汽車渡輪前往 Fishbourne，有幸地見到停泊在碼頭傍的皇家海軍基地的英國最新航空母艦 Prince of Wales，這樣的近距離遇上亦是第一次。

As we got on an earlier Wightlink ferry than we originally booked and it was a Sunday, with not many attractions open in the morning, we decided to head over to Ryde. Take a look of the hovercraft running between Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, as well as one and only one train line on the island, the Island Line.

由于乘搭了早一班的 Wightlink ferry，再加上當天是星期日，早上開放的景點不多，最後決定駕車到 Ryde，看看連接 Isle of Wight 及 Portsmouth 的汽墊船及島上唯一的火車線 Island Line。

After lunch in Newport High Street, we hopped back into the car and headed west to Compton Beach, where we soaked in the endless stretch of coastline that spanned over two miles and and the magnificent view of white chalk cliffs near FreshWater. Finally, we drove back along the north coast to the ferry terminal, patiently awaiting the ferry back to Portsmouth.

To be honest, driving along Isle of Wight could be a bit stressful. Most of the roads are quite narrow, yet the speed limit is surprisingly high (60 mph).

在 Newport High Street 吃過午飯後便再再駕車往位於西面的 Compton Beach，瀏覽連綿兩哩多的海岸線及白色石灰岩懸崖。最後便環繞北海岸返回碼頭，靜待渡輪回 Portsmouth。

其實在 Isle of Wight 駕車都有點壓力，大部分路面頗窄但車速卻一點都不低 (60 mph)。 😱😱

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Having lived in the UK for nearly three years, one of the greatest things I’ve learned is the art of “Slow Living”. Holiday travel doesn’t always have to be about going far away every day; even going to the supermarket or cooking a meal can be a form of enjoyment!

在英國住了差不多三年，最大得着是學懂慢活，旅遊不一定天天都要遠行，到超市購物、煮飯都可以是一種享受！