Monday, October 1, 2007

Toowoomba trip, Mid Autumn Festival, wedding

Saturday 29/9/07

I was out for much of Saturday. A few of us (myself, Winston, Eilen, Maria & her friend Jen) went to Toowoomba to visit our dear friends Hung, Stella & their baby Nathaniel. Thank goodness we arrived safely, although the day almost started badly with our car (we took Jen's Honda CRV 4 wheel drive - Maria was driver) almost got hit from behind as we changed lanes on the Ipswich Highway roundabout.


We arrived at Hung's place (some sort of villa/townhouse? it was nice) just before mid-day, when Hung was out working. He returned home shortly after, & we all headed out to the city for lunch at The Deli Cafe. After lunch, Hung took us to a couple of parks: Laurel Bank Park, & then Queens Park. My goodness, such beautiful flowers!! Both parks are beautiful, & there was a sizeable number of visitors, though not overly crowded, which was good. I don't think both parks were that different from each other, really - though I recalled Queens Park had tulips but not sure if Laurel Bank Park had tulips. Oh well...what the hey, they were both nice. I certainly appreciate flowers more than when I lived in Toowoomba many many years ago (when I was a "teenage geek").

From Queens Park, Hung then directed us to the residence which had the Prize Winning Garden (annual garden competition in Toowoomba). We drove past my old church (Toowoomba Gospel Chapel), upon entering the Prize Winning Garden, immediately understood why the won. Hung told us that the owner apparently took some 27 years to construct such a garden. That's remarkable. He sure did a good job, & deservedly won the prize.

I took so many pictures, mostly of the flowers in Laurel Bank Park, Queens Park & the Prize Winning Garden. I'm not a "flower person", but on this occasion got carried away with my camera, & kept snapping shots after shots. I certainly enjoyed every minute of the day trip to Toowoomba, & I heard that everyone (including Jen) did too. I will post the photos in my Multiply blog.

We rushed back to Brisbane in the evening, to get to our church's Mid-Autumn Festival, which the church held to essentially celebrate Chinese culture (at the same time, give thanks & praise to God for blessing the church). It was good, too. The food was quite nice - lots of nice curry dishes (of course, I'd say that, given my bias towards spicy food). There were lots of items, such as Sunday School children singing, a play (Chinese opera style) on Sodom & Gomorrah, kung-fu/martial arts presentation, & Chinese choir. Have I missed anything?? Anyway, they were all good. I got to eat some mooncakes, too.

So, all in all, one of the best Saturdays in memory. Thoroughly enjoyable, & I praise God for the day.

I will provide the link to my Multiply blog, once I put the photos there. Here are some of them:




These are the people we visited - Stella, baby Nathaniel, Hung - such lovely people!









That's us at The Deli Cafe!










Flowers from Laurel Bank Park










Another view of Laurel Bank Park











Tulips from Queens Park











Queens Park - nice, eh?











A glimpse of the Prize Winning Garden







Sunday 30/9/07


On Sunday afternoon, I attended the wedding ceremony of my friend (Sharon, formerly of YF & Clay), at Eight Mile Plains Methodist Church. The crowd was sizeable, but not overly huge. I didn't know most of the people there. The exceptions were Pastor Steve, Keiyeng & Ray Fong (who knew Sharon's husband Andrew from uni) - them & myself were the only Clay contingent. Also saw Euan & Selena, who I see from time to time at various functions (like BLT). Yi (also formerly of YF) was the maid of honour. But yeah, apart from that, I don't know anyone else.

Anyway, the ceremony was good - short & quick. Like many weddings, the pastor's message covered the Christian view of marriage, & he covered how it mirrors God's relationship with the church, how marriage should not be entered into lightly, bla bla bla, you get the idea. There were some nice snacks & refreshments after the ceremony. Sharon & Andrew, I thank God that He has brought u both together. May He bless your future richly.

Again, photos will be posted on my Multiply blog. Here are some:





Newlyweds - Andrew & Sharon











Whoops, he blinked











The Clay contingent who attended - Ray Fong, me, Keiyeng, Steve









No comments: