May Babies Party in Ossie

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

A special birthday party

The May Babies Party in Ossie was on Saturday 13 May to celebrate the birthdays of William, Peter and Veronica. Some 40 friends joined the lively party with the free flow of beer, wine and snacks.
The great thing about the party was that many people knew each other, quite a number being part of our Old China Hands Monthly Lunch.

Ossie (Aussie) Restaurant & Bar (澳西酒庄&餐吧)

At Aussie Wine Bar they serve an array of wines, beers and authentic culinary dishes ranging from traditional western food to Outback Aussie Steaks. Ossie is the “official” name as Aussie was not legally accepted in Beijing…
To reach: very close to Guangqumenwai subway station, Line 7 exit B
See: https://www.facebook.com/aussiewinebar/
For me the first time to visit the bar but all were impressed with the service of Steve and the staff.

Fourth Old China Hands Anniversary

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Happy Anniversary OCH!

On Friday 5 May 2017 we celebrated our fourth Old China Hands Anniversary, being our monthly lunch normally on the first Friday of the month.
I started it indeed four years ago with some six or eight people and soon we settled for Morel’s Restaurant (Gongti) and we never changed. Everybody seems very happy with the place and the formula. I love to organize it because it is a nice gathering of friends.

Good attendance

My “member list” counts a little over 100 people and is updated regularly to add new people or remove those who left us or never RSVP. As most “Old China Hands” are busy people, many can often not make it due to their busy schedule. On 5 May we had around 30 people, being a typical attendance.
The background of the people is very diverse and so are the nationalities.

VETEX in Beer Mania

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

VETEX in Beer Mania, for our friend Steve

On 1 February 2017 a special birthday party for Steve: none less than VETEX in Beer Mania.
A real great evening, as usual it proves Thierry knows how to run his vibrant café.

Who is VETEX?

VETEX is a group from Kortrijk, Belgium. The name comes from a former textile factory (VETEX) in the city of Kortrijk. The brass band has trumpets, flute, saxophone, clarinet and more, just watch the pictures and the video. They were on a tour in Beijing. Impressive and enthusiastic performance.
See here their introduction in Flemish:

Orchestre International du Vetex is een feestfanfare uit het Belgische Kortrijk.
In 2004 werd het gezelschap opgericht in Vetex, een oude texielfabriek in de kanaalzone van Kortrijk. Vlaamse, Waalse en Noord-Franse muzikanten van diverse sociale achtergrond maken muziek die een mix is van Balkan, Gipsy, ska, Latino en Klezmer, de polka of de Tarantella gedanst kan worden.
De groep bestaat uit vijftien blazers die op fluit, trombone, saxofoon, trompet, bugel, klarinet en sousafoon spelen. Zij worden ondersteund door drums, percussie en accordeon.

See: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestre_International_du_Vetex
and: http://www.vetex.org/

The video

See here a short video, on YouTube (in China needs a VPN). I have the video on file, the original is near 600 MB, the reduced version 90 MB.

Rotary Beijing Club lunch on 18 April

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Tuesday lunch

As every Tuesday we had our Rotary Beijing Club lunch on 18 April in Kempinski Hotel.
Our Rotaractors Max and Georgiana gave their report of the RYLA event in Shanghai, see previous post: https://www.beijing1980.com/2017/04/06/rotaract-beijing-starts-2017/

Once again I was Sergeant-at-Arms.

Rtn Monica Dierks, Cultural Differences

As speaker we had Rotarian Monica. She is the head of German Phoenix Information Consulting (Beijing) Ltd. Monica travels between China and Europe (read: Brussels!), bridging gaps between companies or people of China and European countries, helping them better understand each other. She insists speaking Chinese when she is in China, and she loves trying new things. After all, speaking the local language is extremely helpful. However, cultural interaction is about much more than language skills. It is also about adapting to the culture.
Monica is the author of a book called “Cultural Differences Between East and West”. Monica talked about three things: 1. What’s culture? 2. What’s intercultural communication? Who can navigate us through the cultural iceberg?

Rotary Beijing Club lunch 11 April

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Kempinski as usual

Our Rotary Beijing Club lunch 11 April was of course in Kempinski Hotel. Personally I am pretty happy with their food, creative and varied. My only complaint: I always end up eating too much.
Those who complain about the food are mostly those who have a very narrow culinary experience.
Our Rotaractor Max also joined.

Speaker: Mr. Ted Plafker

Ted Plafker is currently the correspondent with the Economist. He is well known and respected.
He has been reporting on China since 1989 for a variety of publications including the South China Morning Post, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe and, most recently, the Economist. He is the author of the book ‘Doing Business in China: How to Profit in the World’s Fastest Growing Market.’ In his speech, he drew on his rich experience and gave a stimulating tour d’horizon of the current economic and political situation.