Support your local businesses on Small Business Saturday - UK 7th December

Here in the UK there is a grass-roots campaign going on that I would like to tell you about - Small Business Saturday.  From the internet I see that this is being derived from a very successful campaign that was held in the US, so I am sure readers based in America will be familiar with this:

From the 7th of December - two weeks from now - a nationwide campaign will start, focusing on bringing small businesses to the attention of the public.  Small to medium size businesses in the UK generate almost half of the private sector's turnover and provides two thirds of private sector employment.  However, with competition from the high street, the internet, supermarket convenience stores as well as the rising cost of supplies, bills and rent, small businesses are in danger of being wiped out from our towns, cities and communities.  Small Business Saturday is the key to fighting back and a chance for small, independent businesses to receive the recognition that they deserve.

Over the years I have seen drastic changes happening to the shops in my local area.  Slowly but surely, independent businesses like the local grocery shop, the tailor, the general store, the cafe, the florist and the baker began to disappear.  Very close to me, a small business set up seven months ago already has its shutters down and a "To Let" sign by its top window.

The decline of independent shops and small businesses fuels the presence of betting shops, pawn brokers and pay-day-lenders.  Skills, liveihoods and the prospect of jobs in the area are a struggle to retain due to lack of diversity, lack of identity and lack of local economic interest.  It is a very, very sad state of affairs.  Hopefully now, things can change.

I believe that this campaign can make a huge difference to the fortunes of small independent businesses and have a positive impact on the communities where they are based.  I hope that if you are reading this that you are encouraged to take part.  On Saturday 7th of December, please do go out into town and visit independent shops in your area - some of them will running special discounts for the event.  Please do out and visit the farmers market/market fairs your community might be hosting.  Through your custom, big or small, and your continued interest we can all help breathe a little life back into our towns and villages and help support our local economy.  This in turn will provide opportunity and growth, jobs and liveihoods.

If you would like to help spread the word online, you can follow Small Business Saturday on Twitter and on Facebook @SmallBizSatUK and you can use #SmallBizSatUK to help take part.  There is also another initiative going on with @LiveShopLocal / #LiveShopLocal.

Thank you very much! And wherever you are - even if you are outside of the UK, please support your independent shops!

Source:

Small Business Saturday UK
LiveShopLocal     
        

       

Another Chinese ghost story - Encounters of the Spooky Kind

Another ghost story from the collection: Encounters of the Spooky Kind - directed by Raymond Chow and starring Sammo Hung.  The story begins with a man who has a nightmare about ghosts.  A kung-fu comedy with plenty of references to Chinese superstitions and folklore.  Enjoy!




 

Happy Halloween!

Hope you are having a great one whereever you are, and despite of the weather!

We spruced up our pumpkin and made pumpkin chiffon cake using the pumpkin flesh and seeds:

Still have lots of seeds left!

And we made ghosty cupcakes using icing sugar and marzipan - these have already been taken by the trick'o'treaters!

Happy Halloween!

Perfect fluffy rice? I would rather it had taste.

Came across a video of Jamie Oliver showing how to make fail-safe fluffy rice from an Uncle Ben's packet of basmati rice:

Uncle Ben's is an expensive type of easy cook rice, and like easy cook rice it is not very flavoursome.  The huge amount of spices and other things he was adding in kind of proves that point.  Saffron is like gold dust - £3-4 for a tiny packet.  I think he heaped that amounts worth in there.  And the tumeric - wowee!

Watching this video reminded me of a cooking program I watched with my mum on satellite TV at night when I was a kid.  At midnight the only Chinese channel that we found hosted Cantonese speaking shows that included one Master Chan in his kitchen (陳東師傅) who one night showed how to cook stir fried rice.  We watched open-mouthed as he spooned ladle after ladle of cooking oil into the wok of rice that as I remember could give 4 servings.  I think we counted over ten ladles of oil. Surely it didn't need that much?! The difference here, though, is that we know the reason why.

I guess it may be down to culture in that Chinese meals has the rice and the other compliments of the meal in separate dishes and bowls, whereas Western meals has it all on one plate.  From that, the rice in Chinese food is expected to have its own delicate taste and fragrance.  In terms of its texture, some types of rice are meant to be sticky - think of sushi rice and glutinous rice - so in that sense fluffiness is not so important to me.

And cooking rice in a pan: despite being here so long is such a strange thing to me. When I think of rice, I think rice cooker. All these chefs, filmed travelling around the world and cooking exotic foods - why have they not discovered its joys?? It is so simple and easy!

So yes, taste wins over fluffiness for me Jamie, and I prefer the rice cooker way ;-)

Chinese Ghost Stories: Nevermind Twilight, Here's a proper vampire movie!

Well, it is Halloween soon!

Anyone remember this? - a season of Chinese Ghost stories hosted by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4.  The stories included Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Rouge, Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain, Spiritual Love, Espirit d'amour and  one Mr. Vampire - this one scared the life out of me when I was a kid! 







What I didn't know at the time was that this movie, released in 1985, was nominated for a host of awards at the 5th Hong Kong film festival, was ranked within the top 100 must-see Hong Kong movies, was the inspiration for three movie sequels and a vampire craze (the selling of toys and merchandise of all things vampire). Despite having very basic visual effects, this comical representation of Chinese vampire folklore makes it worthy of its cult status. The full length version of this movie with English subtitles can be found here. Enjoy! :D

Answers to a UK Biology/Chinese GCSE question.

Saw this on Facebook:

The picture shows a page of actual GCSE revision questions.  The topic is Biology.  Question 2 asks:

'You see a website advertising a cure for blindness using stem cell therapy in a clinic in China.  Outline reasons why people should be cautious about going there for treatment.'



Well this is rich, considering the high volume of criticisms and outrage aimed at our very own National Health Service! 

But better the devil you know than the devil you don't, right?? ;-)



I can think of some responses to this question.  I wonder how many marks I would receive (and how far I could push the examiner's sense of humour):

Answer one: your waistline might expand with the amount of health food offered to you as part of your after-treatment.

Answer two: But you might be end up being fed rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hospital.  If you don't like rice then you've got a problem.

Answer three: Even worse, they could be feeding you mantou breakfast, lunch and dinner and then you will be well and truly stuffed.  Say gooodbye to your waistline.

Answer four: Everyone will have to use Google Translate to communicate with one another, which could lead to all kinds of disasters.

Answer five: They don't have Twitter or Facebook over there! How would you survive??!




Well? Did I pass?? XD

China's National Day (国庆节)

The Parterre especially created to celebrate China's 2013 National Day

On the 1st of October of this year, China celebrated National Day and the 64th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.  Special ceremonies include the raising of the flag and the nation's leaders paying tribute at the Monument of the People's Heroes.  

China's National Day marks the start of two weeks public holiday and there are many festivals, including fireworks and concerts.  You can see videos of the ceremony at Tiananmen Square and watch the festivities here.

(Contrast this to the non-existent National Day of England: St. George's Day - a day that passes by without so much as a rainy garden tea party!  Why doesn't England have a National Day? :( )