Surviving is hard but oh so much fun (sometimes)
I did not post yet the pics of our birthdays. We have pretty unusual dates: myself 31 December, Sun 14 February. Valerie follows on 21 February.
Sun got two cakes on Valentine. As usual we celebrate in Morel’s Restaurant.
Except for Valerie as she had to work, she wanted her Japanese sushi and we had other friends joining.
On the occasion of the visit to China of Professor François ENGLERT (ULB), the Nobel Prize Winner for Physics 2013 together with Peter HIGGS for the discovery of the Higgs mechanism H.E. Michel MALHERBE, Ambassador of Belgium to China and Mr. Philippe NAYER, Delegate of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and of Wallonia invited us for a reception on Wednesday June 4th at the Embassy of Belgium.
Well, not everyday you meet somebody like that, so my daughter Valerie insisted to witness the unique event.
The professor was pretty friendly and talkative and made it, along with a cool breeze, a nice evening. Even better as Renaat Morel spoiled us with another great buffer and Belgian beer.
Great event and I met the ambassador of Malta who turned out to be a real “Old china Hand”!
Note: some content and pics removed.
Yes, another round of our monthly gathering and it seemed all were pretty happy chatting with each other, so I had to ask them to sit down and order…
Always a good sign!
Some got stuck in the thunderstorm or in meetings or somewhere enjoying a beach.
Next lunch is 4 July! Same place as usual, Morel’s Restaurant on Gongti Bei Lu.
One other lunch in Morel’s Restaurant on 9 May. Normally it is on the first Friday of the month but because of the May 1st holidays, one week later.
On Sunday evening 13 April I went to my usual “pit stop” at The Den, thinking it would be quiet on a Sunday night. It was full house and I was wondering what was going on with all the Chinese having a red T-shirt.
Then the soccer match started between Liverpool and Manchester City, at the Anfield stadium. I did not know the Chinese were big supporters of Liverpool, cheering and jumping up as Liverpool scored two goals in the first half. They finally won by 3-2.
There was also a minute of silence at the start of the game, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 of their fans died during an FA Cup semi-final, one of the darkest days in the history of English soccer. The supporters lost their lives in a crush at the Leppings Lane End of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground at the start of the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.
The Den is probably the oldest and best known sports bar and restaurant in Beijing, frequented by a mixed crowd of Chinese, expats (most being pretty close to retirement), the occasional girls of the night looking for business, and tourists. Families with kids are also regulars. It is