In PD

We're in PD this morning, together with Mak.

For all her 68 years of age she'd never set foot in PD. Well, being orang Perak, Telok Murok (now Telok Batik) is like more up her alley.

I remember when my brothers and I were small we would often make the short trip to Lumut and Teluk Murok from our house in Bota Kanan for a our family outing and a spot of picnic. Always a thrilling and exciting occassion for us kids.

Of course Teluk Batik is not as beautiful as your east coast beaches. But it can beat PD anytime, me thinks.

But of course I'm bias, teman oghang Perak juga :-)

"Tough" ride

Syafiq leading the way, always

My Merida bike lying flat from exhaustion. Okay, actually the owner was exhausted

Syafiq trekking back to retrieve exhausted dad

This morning I went for a ride with my son, Syafiq. And it was one hell of a tough ride.

It was tough because I've not had enough practice, no stamina. For this is my first ride since Hari Raya -  that's Raya Eidul Fitri, not Eidul Adha!

Nevertheless it felt good to be riding again. We took it slow and easy and lasted 17km through the beautiful wetlands of Putrajaya.

I've just got to keep the momentum going.The good doctor has warned that my cholesterol level is rising, so I need the exercise.

One ride per week minimum, that's the target.

Of Family ties & Hari Raya Aidil Adha

Today is Aidil Adha. All my kids are back home.

The house tends to get all messy and cluttered with things, and is much more noisier when they're all back home. But, as ever, I really look forward to them being back, nevertheless.

This morning my two brothers came over with their families for Eid al Adha. It got noisier, and merrier. Then the Mem Besar's brother and sister also came. More laughter - and the occasional cries of the baby.

We are blessed for our family.

You might have best friends, bosom buddies and office mates. But nothing beats the warm feeling of love and closeness with our family.

Whatever friends you might keep, and no matter how close you are to them, still, family ties are paramount.

This is not to take anything away from friendship, of course.

But that is another discourse for another day.

For today, enjoy some raya day pics, including flowers from our garden.

Selamat Hari Raya.


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In Penang

This is Baha-san my colleague. We're in Penang for a workshop.

Another working weekend:-(

In Seoul

At Incheon Airport car park

The Central Mosque inSeoul, close to the Ittaewaon Street. The imam is a Korean but Malaysian-trained

Insadong the street in Seoul, popular for its arts and craft

Open air concert, vibrant city

A small building designed as an arts and craft market in Insadong

Arrived in Seoul this morning. Attending the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

The weather is fine. It's early autumn and the temperature is cool and is just nice.

The inaugural Korea F1 Grand Prix was hit by rain, though.

Will be back home next Saturday, insyaAllah.

Good bye and good riddance

The Kops never took to liking the Yankees, ever

The jokers. Well, they do remind you of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, don't they?





The original Laurel & Hardy, which I'd much prefer, anytime

 



At long last the saga of the Liverpool takeover is concluded. And with that, hopefully, we've seen the last of the two Yankees who were intent in their desire to make tons of money at the expense of an English football institution that is Liverpool Football Club.

In hindsight, and to be honest, we should never have trusted and taken these two jokers on board in the first place.

They know nothing about football. And they just fail to embrace the history and tradition of this club, revered by fans not just in Merseyside, but millions around the world. They just do not understand that Liverpool FC is a passion, and a way of life which affects ordinary folks week in, week out

Even up until yesterday, Hicks was still making statements like this concerning his defeat in trying to hold on to the club:  "It has hurt my family tremendously. This is a very valuable asset that was swindled away from me".

Says a lot doesn't it?

Good bye and good riddance you ignorant, greedy Yanks .

My only regret is that, in your three years escapade in Merseyside, you've almost destroyed Liverpool FC and taken it to the backwaters of English football like never before.

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Repairing old photos

We all have old, black and white photos which provide memories of old days and reminders of our loved ones.

Having scanned a few of my old photos with the help of my daughter Sakinah, it saddens me to see some of them showing signs of age. Some seems to be fading, whilst others have scratches and unsightly spots all over them.

But in this day and age of IT and multimedia, fret not.

Anything is possible – well, almost anything.

With the help of photo repair softwares – and there are many of them around – one could restore and retouch old, damaged photos and bring them back to their glory days.

The pic above was taken in 1979 or 1980. I was on a train from London (or was it Manchester) back to Blackpool.

I’m not very good at it yet. But it  sure looks better than the old, damaged one.

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