My New Chapter In Life @UK Blog
Home Automation 家居自動化
It has been almost a year since I moved into my current apartment. Apart from daily household chores, the introduction of home automation has taken up most of my time. And the story begins with the pendant lights in the living and dining rooms.
搬入現時居所差不多一年了，這段日子除了日常家居打理外，花得最多時間可算是引入家居自動化這個概念。 而故事就是從客、飯廳的吊燈開始。
Your Honour, I Plead Guilty 法官大人，我認罪
A notice from the Metropolitan Police was received week ago. I was formally charged with an offence.
個多星期前收到 Metropolitan Police 寄來的傳票，法庭正式向我提出控訴。
Simple Guitar Repair 簡單電結他維修
Life was really boring during my course of Shingles recovery and I planned to pickup my aging Line 6 Variax 500 electric guitar to pass time. As the guitar had not been played for nearly two years, two of the tuners could not be tightened and the strings were out of tune shortly after few hours. Close inspection found that the plastic washer of those tuners disappeared.
休養期間生活有點百無聊賴，找來我的古董 Line 6 Variax 500 電結他消磨時間。 由于這電結他差不多有兩年没有彈過，在調音時發覺其中兩條低音絃線的 tuner 有點鬆，調好音後不到半天便走音，細看原來是 tuners 有破損，其中的膠墊圈已失掉。
Can’t Stand the Pain 痛不欲生
I always believe I was a tough guy!
Able to ride 40+ KM back home with my right hand seriously injured after accident and even managed to fully recover within two months after my Coronary Artery Bypass Graft operation.
I remained strong throughout and never felt desperate.
However, I finally reacquaint myself in 2023!
一直以為自己是個硬漢！
當年右手撞傷後仍可踩四十多公里單車回家，即使心臟搭橋手術後，不用兩個月便完全康復。
期間我沒有叫過辛苦，亦不感到絕望。
可是今天我終於重新認識自己了！
Piano Restoration – Welcome Home 鋼琴大翻新 – 回家篇
The full restoration of our Yamaha U1 piano, that was sent to the workshop in last April was completed for quite a while. As I was tied up with other bits and pieces, I failed to provide a timely update on the works. So let me wrap it up in this post.
家裏的鋼琴上年四月中運回 workshop 後，翻新工作早已完成。只因其他鎖碎事情，我遲遲未有作更新，就讓我今天來個總結吧！
A little update before Year End 年終前的生活點滴
In slightly less than 24 hours, 2022 will be in history. Despite I managed to achieve quite a number of my targets in the first half of the year, things were getting worst as I was terribly laid-back for the rest of the year. Judging from the ‘One-post-per-month’ of my blog writing, you will know what I meant. In fact, my personal loopback for November has already missed the schedule and probably (and hopefully) a bi-monthly version would be released shortly.
還有不到一天，2022 年便將成過去，上半年看似完成了很多目標，但無奈下半年卻像洩了氣的氣球一樣，變得不太積極，單從我最近每月一 post 便看得出端倪，而十一月的個人回望更早已脱期，相信要和十二月的一拼發佈！
Paying My Tribute to the Queen 我對女王的致敬
In the evening of 8 September, I was awakened by my wife from my nap. The television broadcast was disrupted by the latest news from the Buckingham Palace:
The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
The King ad the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral and will return to London tomorrow.
As some of those like me, who were born, brought up and enjoyed those glorious moments of Hong Kong, I believed the Queen definitive had an important place in our hearts.
九月八日黃昏，太太把我從小休中推醒，電視正轉播白金漢宮的最新消息：
The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
The King ad the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral and will return to London tomorrow.
對於像我這些在英國管治下出生，成長及有幸渡過最光輝時刻的香港人，相信英女王在我們心中佔有一定地位。
UK Horse Racing 英國賽馬活動
My wife recently asked if I would be interested to explore the British horse racing culture. Given that she would make all the necessary arrangement including the tickets, I had no reason not to immediately accept her offer.
早前太太問可有興趣到馬場體驗一下英國的賽馬文化，難得她會安排一切，包括購買入場票，我只須做個司機，真的找不到拒絶的理由。
Localisation for my bike? 單車也要本土化?
Those two Giant TCR bicycles that delivered to UK were bought through authorised dealer in Hong Kong few years ago.
Being the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer, Giant bicycles sold in different parts of the world have to conform to local regulations and riding practices. As such, there are variations in the use of components and settings for these bikes across the world.
隨行到英國的兩部 Giant TCR 公路單車，於香港的代理購入已有數年。
基於全球單車第一品牌 Giant Bicycle 產品行銷世界各地，需配合當地的法規及使用習慣，因此無論在設計細節，零件使用或設定亦會有一定的差異。
Do It Yourself 自己的事自己動手做
Since I had published my last post on replacing my road bike tyres, some of my friends living aboard mentioned that DIY is the way to go to save money and possible lead time. I absolutely agreed with them and do believe that mastering DIY skills is another objective to achieve in UK.
居於外地的朋友們對我上一篇自行更換單車軚的網誌，都不約而同提出日常維修工作如果找店家或 Handy man 做，除了費用高外，往往亦要等很久，因此學習自己做 (DIY) 是必然的事。這個我完全同意，亦是移居英國後其中一個學習目標。
Life is just Bits and Pieces 生活就是一些無聊的點滴
Since moving into our new apartment in late May, it seems that I was extremely busy. Spending most of the time tidying up those bits and pieces, moving the furniture around and went shopping household items. I considered myself so exhausted that I didn’t even have the mood to write any post for this blog.
自五月尾搬入新居後，每天總是看似非常忙碌；不是執拾東西，便是把家具移來移去，又或是再添置家居用品，亦因此總提不起勁去寫文章。
