Category: Random Thoughts
Driving in UK 英倫駕車日常
I had about 30 years of driving experience in Hong Kong and it wouldn’t be any surprise that I would pick up driving in UK. Once accommodation was settled, I started by car buying exercise.
在香港開了差不多三十年車，到了英國自然心思思想買車，居所安頓好後便開始我的買車行動。
Medical Consultation in UK 英倫睇醫生
One of the greatest concerns when moving to UK is medical care. People like me having chronicle illness, getting the required medicine and proper medical follow-up are the major issues to be addressed.
移居英國其中一個極大的憂慮就是醫療，就像我這類長期病患者，覆診和藥物安排都是主要面對的問題。
Meal Deals 平價午餐
In UK, we normally cooked our dinners and would only go to restaurants during weekends or holidays. As my son was at school during weekdays, making lunch for just two of us became quite uneconomical and we normally ended up having instant noodles, pasta or bread instead.
在英國的日子，晚飯都是在家煮食，通常星期六、日或假期才出街食飯。至於午餐，因兒子上學，剩下我和太太兩人煮飯就變得頗不化算，又不知煮甚麼餸，往往只是吃個公仔麵、意大利粉或麵包就算。
UK Immigration – Six Months Summary 移居英國 – 半年小體驗
Dated back in late April when I first arrived in Heathrow Airport, it was cold at 7 to 8℃. Despite I had my thick jacket on, I still couldn’t stand the cold weather. Next came the UK summer where I had enjoyed some lovely warm and sunny days. Stepping into late autumn, weather is getting colder and colder. Temperature suddenly dropped back to 6 to 7℃ and I have to put on my thick again.
記得四月尾到達倫敦，剛踏出機埸，氣溫只得七、八度，雖然已穿上厚厚外套，但還是有點吃不消。往後有幸過了一個陽光普照，和暖的夏天。轉眼半年，剛踏入十一月的深秋，這幾天氣溫又驟降到六、七度，又是時侯重新披上我的羽絨外衣了。
A Night with Eric 與神共聚
Haven’t listened to Eric Clapton’s songs for quite a while. I believed having only his “Riding With The King” album in my iPhone is the major reason why the chance of presenting his songs under Random Play mode was so low.
Tonight, I came across Eric’s latest album through YouTube’s Ads Algorithm.
很久沒有聽過 Eric Clapton 的歌，原因可能是手機中只有他和 BB King 的 “Riding With The King” 大碟，在 Random Play 模式下很少遇上，
今晚剛巧就碰上 YouTube 在其廣告演算法下推介的新歌曲片段 。
Handed Down 傳承
I was deeply attracted by a YouTube video while I was aimlessly browsing the internet before dinner. The video was taken from the “Car SOS” TV series broadcasted in the National Geographic Channel. The title of the video was “Car S.O.S – Fiat X1/9 | Car S.O.S Full Episode 2021”.
晚飯前在網上漫無目的地瀏覽了一遍，突然被一條 YouTube 片吸引著。影片節錄自國家地理頻道播放的「汽車修復」(Car SOS) 電視節目，標題是 “Car S.O.S – Fiat X1/9 | Car S.O.S Full Episode 2021″。
Hampton Court Park and River Thames Ride 漫遊漢普敦公園、泰晤士河
Stepping into September, the temperature had slightly dropped to around 15 or 16 ℃. A little bit cool but not that cold. Just as my son had back to school, my wife and I went our for cycling in nearby areas. Some exercise for both of us as well as to search for new cycling routes.
Last week, I rode with my son along Barge Walk. This time, my wife and I would go cycling in the Hampton Court Park.
踏入九月，早上氣溫已降至大約十五、十六度，雖有一點點的涼意，但又未至於寒冷。兒子悠長的暑假剛結束，再重返校園，既然閒著便與太太到附近踩單車，順便找尋新的路線。
上次去了 Barge Walk，今次嘗試往漢普敦公園（Hampton Court Park）走走。
My Boy’s New MTB 兒子的全新攀山單車
In my previous post, I had talked about getting a new bike for my son. This not only allowed him to ride with me during holidays but also help to reduce playing online games at home. After several rounds of product research and shop visits, I finally got his new bike last Saturday.
早前提過要為兒子買單車，除了放假時能與他出外遊玩，亦可盡量減少他留在家中玩 online games，經歷數輪資料搜集及實體店舖拜訪，上星期六終於收到新車。
TV Watching in UK 英倫睇電視
As the one who spends most of the time working with computers, it has been a very long time since I last sat down to watch the television. The recent self isolation period seemed to be the longest time that I spent on the television.
人生大部分時間對著電腦的我，已經很久未試過坐低正式看電視，剛到英國頭十天的隔離可算是近年比較多看電視。
First Ride in UK 英倫踩單車：落地篇
It has been almost three weeks after my bikes were delivered. Nevertheless, I lack the motivation to go for a ride.
I did not sleep well last night and could not fall asleep again after waking up early in the morning, so I decided to go for a ride.
我的單車回到身邊差不多有三個星期，但不知何故，總是欠點動力出去走一敞。
昨晚睡得不太好，晨早起來又沒法再入睡，決定出去走走。
Cycling in UK 英倫踩單車
The last riding I had was the time I waved goodbye to my old classmates and cycling buddies back in end March this year. As all my belongings had already been picked up by the international relocation company in mid-March, I had to rent another road bike from the bicycle shop. With quite a big difference in the components and bike settings, that 50+ Km bike ride seemed to be much harder than before. My muscles got sore and it took me few days to fully recover.
對上一次踩單車已是今年三月尾，亦是我的與一眾老同學和車友門道別的一天。而跟移民隨行的物品包括我的單車已在月中經國際搬運公司裝箱，當天只好在相熟單車店租用另一部 road bike。由於租用的單車與我自己的在配置及設定有頗大差異，那天五十多公里的行程踩得較辛苦，肌肉亦酸痛了好幾天。
ABRSM Performance Grade Exam – Final Stage 英國皇家音樂學院表演評級考試 – 終結篇
Once the booking of the ABRSM Performance Grade Examination has been made, candidate or his/her guardian has to upload the performance examination recording to the ABRSM Portal.
完成了 ABRSM Performance Grade Examination (英國皇家音樂學院表演評級術科考試) 的預約後，考生需要於選定的限期內呈交錄影到 ABRSM 的考試網站。
Play My Blues – Tommy Chung & The All Blues
Just like most of the people in Hong Kong, running out of space is always one of the major issues. Months ago, I decided to convert (or rip) all my Compact Discs to digital format. Over the past 30 to 40 days, I have ripped around 300+ CDs and now it came to its final stage.
又是土地問題，早前決定要把家中所有音樂CD轉成數碼檔案。經歷數十天，完成了約三佰多隻CD，今晚終於踏入尾聲。
Those Same Old Days 那些年
Ever since I have got my wireless EarPods, time spent on listening to music has increased quite significantly. Without exception, this also applied to today’s family hike.
買了無線耳機後，聽歌的時間比之前多了好幾倍，今早和家人行山也當然不例外。
A Brighter Tomorrow 明天會更好
My family had another hike on Christmas Eve, or to be more exact, morning of Christmas Eve. This looked like kind of strange Christmas celebration, but we can’t help as this is the norm of the year. You can’t go abroad, no group gathering, and probably hiking is a more safe activity. However, my family still have to go in group of two, in order not to violate the social gathering ban and got arrested.
2020 年的平安夜，其實只是早上的日子，和家人去了行山。沒法子，經歷了不一樣的一年，外遊不得，朋友聚會又不可以，戶外行山應該較安全，只是一家人仍要分成二人一組，避免違反限聚令而被捕。
Om
My friend has shared with me her first self filmed video tonight. To my surprise, she managed to present the solid contents fluently for more than 20 minutes without any preparation. Seems like this budding KOL is full of potential.
朋友今晚分享了她第一次自拍的視頻，在沒有任何事前準備下，除了內容充實外，她亦能流暢地演繹了二十多分鐘，看來這個末來 KOL 潛質真不可低估。