Past Events – My CMS

The Three Intrepids At The Summit Of High Junk Peak

Veronica Pearson And Francis Hon Catching Their Breath

Clearwater Bay Country Park Hike Jan 15 2011

Past Events

Around 12 alumni and friends joined this walk, led by one of our alumni, Benjamin Robertson – an enthusiastic hiker who knows the area well. We were blessed with sunny weather, although the air pollution that is now more or less a permanent feature of Hong Kong meant that the views over the bays and islands of Sai Kung were a little muted. Our route led us to a point where a serious decision had to be made; who was going to walk UP High Junk Peak and who was going to walk ROUND it. The 360 degree views from the top are legendary, but they come at a cost to the knees and calf muscles. Three of the younger and more intrepid of the group decided to do it the hard way, promising to take pictures so the rest of us could enjoy the views without the effort! Even from the lower levels the views of Sai Kung, to our left, were splendid. To our right was the rather less lovely Lohas Park, Hong Kong’s largest landfill, rapidly being developed.

Three and a half hours after we started (and many, many, MANY hundreds of steps later) we arrived at Po Tai O to claim our reward; a wonderful sea food meal and an array of Chinese New Year goodies to buy and take home. Sample tastes were being offered and the ginger steamed rice ‘cake’ found particular favour with our group with several people carefully balancing one on their lap on the mini bus back to the MTR. Our thanks to Benjamin, in whose safe hands we enjoyed a wonderful walk and excellent dinner, and to Cherry Cheung who took the photos.

Farewell Dinner for Prof. Marilyn Osborn, Jan. 19th. 2011

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FAREWELL TO PROFESSOR MARILYN OSBORN

On January 19 a farewell dinner was held at the Rice Paper restaurant in Festival Walk by some of the EdD graduates and current students for Prof. Marilyn Osborn. The EdD is rather special in that it is a Bristol University programme, taught by Bristol University staff but located at the partner university, the City University of Hong Kong. Thus it enables Hong Kong students to have the benefit of international exposure without leaving home. This and the fact that it is very well run has made it popular. Prof. Osborn, who will soon be retiring, has taught on the programme since its inception in 1997 and has managed to teach every student on the course at least once! She has acted as internal examiner on a number of doctoral dissertations and in recent years has been co-ordinator for the Hong Kong programme.

Prof. Osborn had the following message for us:

‘Working with the doctoral students in Hong Kong has been a wonderful experience for me. I really enjoy their enthusiasm and commitment to the programme and the co-operative way in which they tackle group tasks and presentations. It has been very rewarding supervising quite a number of students to completion of their dissertations and I have followed their post-doctoral careers with great interest. I know that I shall miss coming to Hong Kong regularly but hope to find a reason to come back at least occasionally in the future’.

We, in turn, wish Prof. Osborn a happy retirement and look forward to seeing her again during one of those occasional visits. Our thanks to Dr. Patrick Lo and Dr. Theresa To who organized the occasion.

Society for AIDS Care Fund Raising Walk 23 Jan 2011

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One of our members, Jan Lee, is a supporter of the charity, Society for AIDS Care which organized a fund raising walk around the Peak on Sunday, January 23. The money raised on the day is to be used for their work in preventing and treating mother to baby transmission of HIV-AIDS in Hong Kong click over here. Jan invited Bristol University alumni in Hong Kong to participate alongside her. We were blessed by fine weather and sunshine and the proximity of some very good ice cream with which to reward ourselves when we finished!

Guided Visit to the Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Tang Clan Gallery, 19 Feb 2011

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Ten alumni and friends joined this guided walk led by Ms. Pauline Poon, an expert on Hong Kong vernacular architecture, who has not one, not two but three Master’s degrees in history, conservation and development!

The trail is about 1 km. long and is packed with interesting things to see. The story of Ping Shan is largely the story of the Tang Clan, one of the ‘Five Great Clans’ of the New Territories. A branch of this clan is said to have first settled in the New Territories in the twelfth century and has lived there continuously since, growing in wealth and power – reflected in the built environment that they created for themselves. The trail consists of a number of buildings including two ancestral halls, a study hall, a temple and a pagoda (the only one extant in Hong Kong).

Pauline showed us how to ‘read’ vernacular buildings and recognize the clues they provide to understanding the culture and priorities of those who built them. Pauline taught us the significance of the common decorative symbols; not just the dragon and phoenix but also the bat, fruits, clouds and so on. The crab motif is frequently used to decorate study halls because the word for shell sounds like the informal name for the Imperial Civil Service examination and so the crab has come to symbolize success in exams.

Bristol University alumni and friends standing in front of Hong Kong’s only pagoda. Photo by Sarah Chapman

Our tour finished at the Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery and Heritage Trail Visitors Centre. It is housed in the old Ping Shan Police Station, built in 1899 and contains many items related to both everyday and ritual life and video recordings of older members of the clan talking about their lives and what it means to be a Tang.

This was a wonderful outing and our special thanks go to Pauline Poon who was endlessly patient with our questions and a treasure store of knowledge. Those of us who took the tour were particularly impressed by the care and detail that had gone into the notes that she had prepared for each one of us – complete with coloured pictures! Thank you, Pauline!

More details on Ping Shan can be found at this link http://www.amo.gov.hk/en/ping_shan.php

Our Most Loving Couple And Generous Supporters – Denis And Agnes Chang

Annual General Meeting, 3 Apr 2011

Past Events

Seventeen alumni attended the AGM on April 3, held in the garden of the United Services Recreation Club (thanks to our Immediate Past President, Dr. Charles Wong who arranged this for us). The business of the meeting was concluded quite speedily and we then settled down to the rather more enjoyable eating, drinking and chatting. It was a pleasure to welcome our newly selected Scholar for 2011-2012, Ms. Denise Chan. Denise will be going to join the MSc in Deafhood Studies programme at the University of Bristol in October.

EdD Students Research Seminar in Hong Kong April 2011

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Doctoral Student Seminar: Challenges and Opportunities for Doctoral Research in Hong Kong

In April 2011 a Doctoral Student Seminar, jointly organized by the University of Bristol and City University of Hong Kong, was held for the EdD students at CityU, attracting 48 participants. The guest speakers were Prof. Mark Bray (Comparative Education Centre, CERD, the University of Hong Kong) and Dr. Dora Ho (Hong Kong Institute of Education and a graduate in 2006 of the EdD programme). Poster presentation awards went to Mr. Ted POON Tat Hong (first prize) and Ms. Iris WU Lai Ying (runner up).

The following paragraph is from Iris Wu:

“The Hong Kong Doctoral Student Seminar held at the City University of Hong Kong is very productive for us EdD students. The sharing made by graduates, professors and even EdD students provides a valuable learning opportunity and journey to most attendees. We all feel it valuable to enjoy the moment with EdD classmates, graduates and professors on learning and sharing the valuable experience with each other. And we wish there would be more workshops and seminars organized by University of Bristol and City University of Hong Kong in the future. I am extremely honoured to have my poster presentation recognized in this way. I really never thought that my work would appeal to the judges and was bowled over that it merited such praise. Winning this award was so encouraging in my EdD study and I am truly delighted.” — Ms. WU Lai Ying, Iris

Flower Boats and Working Girls – A Social History of the Sex Trade in Hong Kong

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Talk by Jason Wordie on April 29th 2010 at 6.15pm at the Helena May

Dear Members,

The Hong Kong Association of Business and Professional Women (HKABPW) and Action for Reach Out (AFRO) have organized a talk by well-known local historian, Jason Wordie. As the subject is fascinating (a social history of the sex trade in Hong Kong) and Jason is an excellent speaker, I asked permission from HKAPBW-AFRO to bring it to the attention of our members. The venue is The Helena May, 35 Garden Road on 29-04-10 at 6.15pm. Cost is $280 per person and all funds raised will be donated to AFRO to support their work with commercial sex workers in Hong Kong.

Payment: Please make your cheque payable to “HKABPW” and send to GPO Box 1526, Central, Hong Kong (and notify by email) or deposit directly to HSBC 567-622717-001 and email your deposit slip to: info@hkabpw.org

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Dr. Veronica Pearson
Chairperson
Hong Kong Branch, Bristol University Convocation

Bristol centenary celebration in Hong Kong

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Professor Eric Thomas, Vice Chancellor of The University of Bristol, visits Hong Kong on 19 October 2009 during his world tour undertaken as part of the university’s centenary celebrations.

Date: Monday 19 October from 6.30pm

Venue: The Hong Kong Club, Garden Lounge, 1 Jackson Road, Central, Hong Kong

Dress code: Lounge suit / smart casual (No jeans, running shoes, shorts)

The evening will start with a drinks reception. Dr. Charles Wong (MB ChB 1973, MD 1982) will then give an introductory speech at 7.30 pm, followed by the Vice-Chancellor’s talk which will take stock of the first 100 years of the University and outline major plans and developments for the future. Concluding the talks will be Professor David Clarke, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, with his thoughts on ‘Witnessing the University’s internationalisation – Reflections on 30 years at Bristol’. There will be time for discussion, socialising and networking after the talks and over canapés and drinks.

Attendance is free of charge, but requires pre-booking. To book a place for you and any guests you might like to bring along, please contact Patrick To (BSc 1973), e-mail : toylandplcto@iohk.com; office tel: 2341 9099; home tel: 2337 5021; fax : 2343 4091.

You are also invited to attend the Vice-Chancellor’s forum at 5.30pm prior to the reception. This is a unique opportunity for alumni to take part in an in-depth conversation with one of the UK’s most respected and influential Vice-Chancellors. Professor Eric Thomas* (Hon LLD 2004) will be sharing his insights with alumni on some of the current issues facing UK Higher Education, including the role of universities in society, participation, the value of degrees and access to higher education.

If you wish to attend the Vice-Chancellor’s forum, please indicate accordingly on the booking form. Early booking is advised as space is limited. Seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

We all would be delighted if you were able to join us and your fellow alumni at The Hong Kong Club to celebrate this historic milestone.

Ping Shan Heritage Trail Guided Walk Feb 19

Past Events

All Alumni and their friends and family members are cordially invited to join us on the afternoon of Feb. 19 for a guided walk along the Ping Shan Heritage Trail. We are fortunate that Pauline Poon, a local expert on heritage conservation and history, has generously agreed to lead us through the variouss vernacular heritage buildings in Ping Shan and teach us how to `read’ them and what they say about the culture and people who built and used them. Details are included in the attachment. In brief, we will meet at Exit E of Tin Shui Wai West Rail Station at 1.15pm on Feb 19 and antcipate that the visit will last for about 3 1/2 hours.

Please could you let us know via e-mail (sent to vpearson@hkucc.hku.hk) if you intend to join this trip by February 16. Pauline would like to know about the numbers a few days in advance as she intends to provide illustrated notes for participants.

Children over the age of 10 will be welcome to join in.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Activities Sub-committee
Bristol University Alumni Association, HK Branch

Hong Kong Society Welcoming Reception

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The Hong Kong Society is the organization that works for the benefit of students from Hong Kong at Bristol University. It is the ‘sister’ organization of the Bristol University alumni organization in Hong Kong and we do what we can to support each other. Each year the HK Society organizes a welcome reception for new students in Hong Kong before they leave to take up their studies in Bristol. This year the event is to be held on August 22. Details are given below. Any alumnus who is interested enough to attend has an automatic invitation and will be most welcome to go along and share their experience.

Date: 22/08/2010 (Sun)
Time: 2:30pm
Venue: City University, Room Y4302
Direction: From CityU main entrance, walk to the podium heading towards the swimming pool. When you reach the Yellow Zone, there is an exit on your right to the room. The room number is shown on the sign board. It is close to Lift No. 9 in the Yellow Zone.

Prof T Wing Lo of CityU has kindly offered to be our guest speaker (Topic: World University Rankings and post-graduate study opportunities in Hong Kong).

It would be also be great if some of the alumni are free participate and support us.