So I,
- had a massage
- took a warm bath
- de-cluttered my desk top ridding of stuff related to the last task (ritualistically declaring to myself "It's over!")

Settled? Not quite! Haven't yet found peace in my heart.

So I laid on the sofa, awaiting Mui Tau to climb onto my chest (she always does). Soon she did, cuddled and started to purr. I immersed myself in her beauty and meditative purrrrrrrrring, and finally arrived at a peaceful state of mind.

TRIFLE!!!

Ingredients
1 Swiss Roll
4 fl oz sherry
1 pack jelly powder
fresh fruit (strawberry, blueberry, kiwi, banana)
4 egg yolks
2 cups of cream
whipping cream
vanilla essence
2 Tbsp sugar

Method

1. Lay thickly-sliced Swiss Roll on the bottom of bowl. Sprinkle the sherry.

2. Mix jelly powder with half of normal amount of water. (¼  hot water, ¼ cold water or ice cubes to quicken cooling). Put in freezer to chill until it begins to set.

3. Put jelly on top of the cake base.

4. Dice and dry the fruit and put it on top of the jelly.

5. Chill until jelly is fully set.

6. Making the custard: Beat together egg yolk and sugar. Heat milk, and slowly add to egg. Blend well and return to pan. Cook over gentle heat. Keep whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Add vanilla essence. Remove from heat when the custard starts to thicken.

7. Add custard to the trifle and chill until fully set.

8. Whip the cream and add to the top of the trifle. Use remaining diced fruit to decorate.

Recipe: cake mix from supermarket

2005, Chocolate Cake - This one's hilarious! 

2006, Charlotte Malakoff - This one's pretty, and very tipsy! (We got drunk after having it!)

2007, Baked Alaska - It was a disaster!

2008, Mandarin Cake - Cute looking owls!

2009, Raspberry Cake - Still need to work on how to whip the cream.

They're sometimes awful to look at, but all of them are good to taste, and surely hearty to make!

And this?

How about this?

The answers:

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14 - 19 July 2009, Sydney Australia

IDIERI is the pre-eminent drama education research conference held triennially in centres of excellence for drama education throughout the world. In 2009 it will be hosted by the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney, Australia.

IDIERI 6 “Drama Research Futures: Examining our past, critiquing our present, imagining tomorrow” examines the shifting conditions in schools and society generally. The theme begs a discussion of the current state of drama education and applied theatre and engages with the future of the field. While speculative in some ways, the theme seeks reflection on the past as a way to examine our research agendas, contexts, methodologies and practices. The conference aims to provide fresh perspectives on familiar debates and engage in a critical examination of emerging issues.

Website: http://www.idieri2009.org/

This time, I consulted You Tube and got to understand why I failed.

I should have frozen the ice-cream before adding the meringue, and then frozen the meringue before baking. Skipping all the freezing procedures, no wonder my Alaska just collapsed!

This time I also added some lemon juice to the meringue to make it stand firmer.

A good success at last! (Though I still haven't figured out how to do the flambé!)

Now I'm back.

Some friends told me they've been checking out my blog for an update on my cats.

Here's a photo taken this morning.

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Our apartment is on the roof-top (with the tree) of the yellow-brownish building.

Accommodation in Paris is incredibly expensive. For €100 per night you normally get a 2 star hotel room only, but for the same price, we got a 5 star "home"!

Bright and airy living room

Warm and cosy at night

Eating out in Paris is also amazingly expensive! Staying in an apartment, we had a kitchen for making our own meals so we didn't have to eat out everyday. For someone who enjoys cooking like me, it also brought more fun as we did our shopping at food markets. This made us feel less touristy.

A spacious open kitchen. Upstairs in the attic, the bedroom and washroom.
 

 Dinner on the terrace, where we had all sorts of wonderful meals.

Paella
 

Roast Chicken & Baked Potato
 

Legume Soup, Bilini with Tamarasalata, Green Salad & Penne with Stewed Beef in Red Wine Sauce
 

Indian Curry

We mainly bought ready-made meals from the supermarket, as they were quick to make. It was very convenient since the supermarket was right opposite to where we stayed! Though just packed meals, they tasted fresh and delicious – unlike the ones in Hong Kong which could often taste awful.

The supermarket is just downstairs - opens till 12:00 midnight.

We also went to the fresh food market on Sunday. It was only 10 minutes' walk from our apartment.

The market
 
 
 
We got plenty of food!

The apartment stay not only helped us save money. Most of all, it marked a very different experience from other trips - gave us a little taste of Parisian life!

 C'est la vie!
  
 
Voila!

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A similar question arose after a Forum Theatre session I conducted. A social worker, liking the performance as it was, worried if the young people who watched it would be puzzled as the play did not arrive at a final solution. I told her that this question had not been raised by any of the young people who had seen the play (about 700-800 of them). The only people who have asked me questions of this sort are adults who are used to giving fixed answers.

I think the issue arises from their notion of problem solving. Look closely at the phrase "problem solving". Which part would you see as the most important? "Problem"? "Solve" or the solution? Neither of them in my view. I think the essence lies in the final three letters - ING - in continuous tense.

I see problem solving as an on-going process. In teaching problem solving we teach young people how this process occurs - by takING a close look at the problem, from multiple perspectives; by analyzING the problem using different lenses; by generatING different proposals to tackle the problem; and by testifyING those proposals in a relatively safe environment – and here I mean the dramatic environment, where we could be more courageous as the fictional world protects us from the real consequences of those testified actions.

Would we find THE solution in the end? Oftentimes not. And when we do, it is probably because the problem has not been challenging enough to echo the complexity of real life situations.

Life is complex, and ever-changing. A solution that works for me may not work for others. A solution that works today may not suit future circumstances.

In teaching problem solving it is of utmost importance to equip people with the competence for dealING with problems, instead of limiting ourselves to quick fixes, easy, one-size-fit-all solutions - And I do wonder if such solutions ever truly exist.

For me, it was amazing to see such a large group of local master graduates in drama education altogether. There aren't many in Hong Kong!

The moment I saw them in the graduation ceremony, tears filled my eyes. I think all teachers would be moved seeing their students graduate. And I was particularly thrilled as they are my first batch of students.

I am astonished at how strongly my emotion has bonded with this masters programme. The few times I cried my eyes out in recent years it had been something to do with this programme. When you have invested so heavily into something it just becomes a part of you.

I remember a friend once told me, it is above all tiring working in our profession as we are constantly giving ourselves, juggling emotions, egos, while all the time having to manage consciously the human elements of teaching and art.

In many ways I am glad to be in a career that I truly aspire, and that means such a lot to me. Happy times outweigh bad ones, but at times things can be really tough, when you come across obstacles created by people who just have no idea. And this is not uncommon in our field, as drama education is yet something to be truly understood by people at large.

UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning
Interactive Web-Cast Symposium
Educating Drama/Theatre Teachers: Principles and Pedagogies

Look at the beautiful view from their house.

We had a nice cup of tea, and then went to their garden to see them pick fresh lemons & limes (for homemade lemon juice). Then we went to see their cattle. See how hungry the cattle are!

My friend's Dad has a big workshop. All my life I have dreamed of having a workshop like that at home (but of course for a Hong Kong dweller, that'll always be a dream!). When I saw the workshop I was totally thrilled! I asked him to teach me to do some real work there!

It feels like a dream has come true. I am contended!