Alex 25th December 1941 by Joyce Osmund Van Langenberg Christmas 1941 was one of the greyest and grimmest in Hong Kong’s history, distinctly lacking the flavour and frivolity of Christmases past. Streets and pavements were devoid of last minute shoppers as the spirit of Christmas dwindled to a dim memory now that the battle in […]
Hetty’s Story by Joyce Osmund Van Langenberg The village of Homantin lay several miles northeast of Tsimshatsui in a stretch of rural land nestling within gentle hills. The Hakka farmers who lived there were content, the soil fertile and productive, their vegetable plots so symmetrical they looked like quilts spread out in the sunshine. Swathes of
SEIS SACOS DE TERRA PORTUGUESA por Padre Manuel Teixeira SIX SACKS OF PORTUGUESE SOIL by Padre Manuel Teixeira [Este é um extracto de uma série de artigos em português sobre Macau durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, escritos aparentemente pelo P. Manuel Teixeira no início dos anos 80.] [This is an extract, roughly translated, from a
Some war-time reminiscences by Frederic (Jim) Silva, 2012 I was in Macau for 3 years during World War II. I finished my high school education there under the tuition of Irish Jesuit priests from a very prestigious High School in HongKong. I was in HK after the Japanese invasion for nearly one year, aged 14;
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Pastimes by Frederic A. (Jim) da Silva Edited extract of an article, Times Past and Pastimes Some old childhood games of Hong Kong are now obsolete or forgotten, but some others remain – marbles, for instance. As children, we had different games involving marbles. There was the traditional game with marbles placed in a ring drawn in
The Macanese – A Legacy of Portugal in China by Frederic A. (Jim) Silva Edited talk given at the 2004 Encontro in Macau. Whoever said “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet” ” had obviously never met a Macanese, for in the Macanese there has been the perfect blending of
On Macanese Nicknames by Frederic A. (Jim) Silva Edited version of an article first published in the UMA Bulletin Introduction I shall take a chance and risk offending 49% of our Macanese community in order to raise a chuckle or two from the other 51%. Here goes. Besides the preparation and consumption of “our kind” of
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Peter the Cruel by Frederic A. (Jim) Silva It must be flattering or else insulting to be a ruler of nations and men and then to have an added title bestowed for posterity by history. For instance, young King Alexander of Macedonia would probably be flattered by being labelled Alexander the Great. I am sure Suleiman the Magnificent, Peter
The Spy who Never came back Pêro da Covilhã by Frederic (Jim) Silva In the true tales of high adventure the story of Marco Polo’s travels have been indelibly recorded in history. But few have ever heard of one Pêro da Covilhã. And yet Pêro da Covilhã’s travels and exploits can come a close second to
Portugal’s Flag by Frederic (Jim) Silva It is not all that surprising to find that a country as old as Portugal has had its flag much altered as circumstances changed. Today’s modern flag tells us a story of a past and a people. We can see something of Portugal’s origins and history, of early Kings
