Life in United Kingdom

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Showing posts from August, 2008

The Language of Stones

This book tells a fannatic story which is much like Chinese Taoism tale, the wizard Gwydion is like the Taoism Imortals, although both are same as human, live and die.

This is a rich and evocative tale set in a mythic 15th century Britain, the Realm is poised for war (the war of roses). Its weak king -- Hal, grandson of a usurper -- is dominated by his beautiful wife and her lover. Against them stands Duke Richard of Ebor and his allies. The two sides are set on a bloody collision course!

Gwydion is watching over the Realm. He is regarded as sorceror/warlock/wizard by the valefolks, he has a multitude of names down the generations but is recognisable under more familiar pseudonyms as Jack O’Lantern or Merlyn , though known throughout the novel Gwydion. The legend of King Arthur is reborn. He has walked the land since before the time of the druids, since before the Slavers came to subdue the people. Gwydion was here when Arthur rode to war: then they called him 'Merlyn'. But for…

Annual Fee

A £28 annual fee appeared on my bank statement. This is the commercial credit card annual fee, but all I was told is my bank account is on free banking terms, no standard activity charges or account fees are payable. No similar warning with my credit card which comes with the current account. (Ah well, there are small prints on the back of the statement, I never read it.)

The Office of Fair Trading ruled that any late payment or unauthorised borrowing charge levied by a credit card provider was likely to be illegal if it totalled more than £12. But last months the bank charged me £3.0 per day for overdraft. I asked for refund, and the banker did so.

Some bank charge a fee when the card has low usage, either in terms of the frequency of transactions or their value. But my bank charges annual fee regardless of how many times you use your card. But the fees on credit cards need to come with a similar warning to those on packaged current accounts, i.e. the banker should have told me £28 ann…

Sharon fruit

I did frown on the box of Sharon fruit when my wife asked me if I liked it. "You likes what ever reduced price," I said, "I never dare to buy before, because I know unripen one tastes very astringent and bitter. I always wonder how could people eat unripe persimmon?"
The instructions say that I can eat persimmon as apple. My daughter ate it, and my wife did so. This encouraged me to try, and I am quite surprised by its sweetness, not astringent and bitter at all. It's a different specie called non-astringent persimmon.

The Persimmon originated in China and is called "shizi" (柿子) in Chinese. Persimmon tree is deciduous, with broad, stiff leaves. Persimmon bears sweet, slightly tart fruits with a soft to occasionally fibrous texture, It is edible in its crisp firm state, but has its best flavor when allowed to rest and soften slightly after harvest. Persimmon fruits are commonly called "Sharon fruit" in Western supermarket named after Sharon pla…

The W. Wing Yip & Brothers Bursaries

The bursaries were set up by the W. Wing Yip and Brothers Foundation in 2000, and over 300 bursaries have been granted since it's inception.

This bursaries aim to encourage Chinese to pursue university education by providing assistance to students who encounter financial difficulties to carry on their studies. Candidates must be of Chinese origin (one of the parents be of Chinese origin).

The total amount of the 2008 awards is £36,000. There will be 30 awards, each for £1200. No single applicant shall receive an award for more than 3 times. The deadline for receipt of applications is October 31, 2008. The results will be announced by the end of 2008.

The award will be decided by a The Board of Selectors and based on three criteria:

"The students' ability in their field; interest and passion in their subject; and lastly the nature of the core subject itself, which the Board considered to be worthy of support."

The W. Wing Yip and Brothers Bursaries page: http://www.…

The Elephant Song - Cool Tunes for Kids by Eric Herman

Children's music artist, Eric Herman, sings an incredibly cute song all about elephants... sort of... The video was created by his wife, Roseann, with the help of their 3 year-old daughter, Becca. The little girl in the song is Meghan from Amherst, NY, who was 6 at the time.

Wealth Verification System?

Have you ever heard of "Wealth Verification System"? The spammer posted a message on Yahoo group, claiming he has wealth verification system which can helps you find the right person.

He says: There are many ways to a good life, including hard work and Lady Luck. But for some, the short cut to a fancy lifestyle is through dating a millionaire!

Sure enough, it's a short cut for those who are living on a champagne and caviar diet, but have a beer budget, their ideal is "a high calibre love" and romance and a fancy lifestyle.

But in a TV show, one woman hooked a millionaire, he takes her to a fancy French restaurant where she can't even read the menu. He ordered a shellfish soup for her, she tries to eat the shellfish, but she can't even get them loose from their shells. What fun of that kind of life?

Vote for Top Iconic British images

Nikon camera and Windows live search has an joint promotion of creating a chart of the top 100 British icons. What images define Britain? In this event, people are asked to submit photos which they think may are best define Britain. They don't have to take any photos, just use Live Search to find images that fit one of the 10 categories. What is your idea of a British icon? These icons might be nice views, food, or football. As for politicians, the first thing come to their mind may be the Mother Queen, or Westminster.

Many phishing telephone calls recently

About one month ago, I received a strange telephone call. At that time I was suffering from a bad cold, I had a very high temperature, very bad headache, and felt dizzy, but in high vigilance, though.

Phone rang, I struggle up from the sofa, the people on the other side was a man who claimed himself as "Yang", from certain department, certain committee in China, Chinese government would like to invite oversea Chinese to participate in the Olympic Games opening ceremony.

I was wandering how he knew my surname and phone number, I asked him where did he get my phone number.

He did not answer my question, instead, continued to ask me whether or not to participate the opening ceremony.

I said that I was not celebrities, why would Chinese government invite me?

He has asked me if I had a fax number, some documents should be sent to me.

I said that I did not have a fax.

He asked me if I could give him my email, he might sent the documents by email.

I said, you could find it from the company…