Like A Teapot

I tried Takoyaki for the first time eight days ago at Chinatown night market. It is Japanese octopus dumpling balls. Here they were made by Chinese of course. I tried the seaweed flavour. It was okay.

This afternoon, on my after-rain lake checkup, I discovered a music festival being held at lake shores!

First I was surprised to see no parking spot on the street which should be relatively empty on weekends. I had to turn into the paid parking lot by the lake which I never used before. It was then when I discovered tons of people around the lake. I looked at the faces closely to see if it was a senior citizens' weekend event. But they were people of all ages.

I asked a woman what was going on and she told me music was to be played on the lake. I immediately thought of a similar event on the Thames in London and mentioned it. She said she had heard about it.

There seemed to be a delay, possibly due to the rain, because for a while nothing was going on and people were patiently waiting. It did not matter to me since I was busy photographing. Besides the event, I was also interested in the colours of the mountains after rain, which was what I came for.

While I was busy with my camera, the music started. It was nice but a bit too short. A small-scale event, nothing like what happened on the Thames. It is a little disappointing, but as a community cultural event, there was nothing to complain about. What happened was twelve trombonists, including Cuban jazz icon Bobby Carcasses and the world music trio Vocomotion, were placed at corners of the lake interpreting R. Murray Schafer's Music for Wilderness Lake. The music was supposed to work in harmony with the environment. An excellent concept!

Dinner tonight is another popular Chinese dish, Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice. What makes it special is that tiny bits of dry salted fish is thrown in to add flavour to the rice. The fish used is not simply any kind but a specific one harvested from the Pacific Ocean with a fine texture.

It is one of those things that may sound too exotic or unappealing at its first mention but is a must try. Once you taste it, you would likely be a fan forever. Also one tends to eat too much while at it.

Today's brunch is made of chicken wings, rice porridge, and jasmine tea. It is lacking vegetables, I know. I will make a fruit smoothies soon.

Some of my friends do not know what rice prorridge is. It is rice and water cooked to a fine texture. It is runnier than normal cooked rice; but it is not cooked rice put in water, although you could make a sloppy porridge that way if you have not enough time, as it is done in some of the Asian restaurants, where it is also called congee.


Its standard cooking process takes much longer. At least two hours. I use a slower cooker; that way I need not worry about it getting burnt or not in the right texture. Another good way to make porridge is to use a rice cooker and keep adding water when the rice is almost done. You have to keep stirring it though.

It is good for cleansing the body and, because it is easy to digest, it is also good for the ill and weak. It is excellent for breakfast. You could add all sorts of things in it to increase nutrition and spice up the flavour. But every now and then I prefer it plain.

For our king and our country, and the promise of glory
We came from Kingston and Brighton to fight on the front lines
Just lads from the farms and boys from the cities
Not meant to be soldiers, we lay in the trenches
We'd face the fighting with a smile ... or so we said
If only we had known what danger lay ahead

The sky turned to grey as we went into battle
On the fields of Europe young men were fallin'
I'll be back for you someday - it won't be long
If I can just hold on `til the bloody war is over

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting - on Remembrance Day

By October of `18 Cambrai had fallen
Soon the war would be over and we'd be returning
Don't forget me while I'm gone far away
Well, it won't be long `til I'm back there in your arms again

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting - on Remembrance Day

One day soon I don't know when
You know we'll all be free and the bells of peace will ring again
The time will come for you and me
We'll be going home when this bloody war has ended

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
We'll all say a prayer - on Remembrance Day

... on Remembrance Day ...
... say a little prayer ...
... on Remembrance Day ...

Well, the guns will be silent
There'll be no more fighting
We'll lay down our weapons
On Remembrance Day

... on Remembrance Day ...