In 1985, after finishing my time at Stanford, we (gradually!) moved back to Hong Kong. At the end of August, I returned with Leonie and Gavin. As Nadine was still too small to travel, she stayed with Vanessa in San Francisco at her brother's place) for a couple of months until it was deemed safe for Nadine to take the air trip.
In Hong Kong, we moved into a new flat in the recently-completed Residence 12. Leonie began Primary 2 at Beacon Hill School, while Gavin began attending the Chung Chi Nursery School on campus.
I remained at the university until my retirement in the year 2000. The children did their formal education in the English Schools Foundation (ESF) system, though both Leonie and Gavin did several of their final years of secondary education at boarding schools in Christchurch, New Zealand.
One of the major events of this time was the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 after having been a British colony since 1842
The handover ceremony from Britain to China in 1997: (a) Left-hand picture: Just before the handover - Union Jack still flying (b) Right-hand picture: Just after the handover - flag of the PRC flying
Here are accounts of the later years in Hong Kong. On clicking the first link, the file will open in a new tab. Alternatively, you may like the file to open in the frame at the bottom of the page. If so, click on the second link.
Leonie and Gavin at a Kung Fu class with Chinese University students
Life history files:
Sleepovers were common either at our place or at friends
Campus residences and layout of our flat
The floor plan of Residence 12, Flat 5B. Note: The original (pdf) files contain 'sticky notes' but you will only be able to see these if you download the file and view in a pdf viewer:
Christmases (1985 - 1988):
The first Christmas in Residence 12 after returning from Stanford (1985):
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Christmas 1987 (at home and at Chung Chi):
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Christmas 1988 (Chung Chi manger scene):
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General pictures of life on campus:
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School pictures:
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Sleepover, ca. 1987 (more pictures of the same sleepover):
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Trip to Ping Chau ca. 1987 or 1988:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Mini Rugby
There were a number of Rugby clubs in Hong Kong specially for children - boys and girls - between the ages of about 8 and 13. Gavin, and later Leonie, joined the Flying Kukris club which was based at the British military barracks at Sek Kong. Practices and matches were held on Sunday mornings in the cooler months. Occasionally tournaments were held with teams from all the clubs competing. At the end of the season, the mini Rugby teams also played curtain-raiser matches at the annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament.
Pictures from mini Rugby tournaments:Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
International Rugby Sevens 1989 or 1990:Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Crayon activity
At the university swimming pool:
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In the Chung Chi College gym:
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School/Faculty of Education:
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Campus dance group:
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7th birthday (1986):
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Performing at her Primary 6 school concert (Christmas concert may be Primary 5 at Beacon Hill):
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Pictures and documents from Rangi Ruru Girls' School, Christchurch, New Zealand:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Miscellaneous:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
The same photos of Leonie's 7th birthday as a slideshow:
Pics of Leonie's 7th birthday (Vimeo). Password (if needed) = L7
Gavin's 9th birthday party 1990:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Miscellaneous:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
The same photos of Gavin's 9th birthday as a slideshow:
Pics of Gavin's 9th birthday (Vimeo). Password (if needed) = G9
Photos of baby and early years in Hong Kong:
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2nd birthday 1987:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
USA visits, 1986 & 1988:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Young girl:
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School:
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Year 10 exam results (last year at Shatin College):
Exam results Same exam results (in file viewer)
A slideshow of Nadine at 2nd birthday, as a young girl and at school:
Pics of Nadine 2nd birthday, young girl, school (Vimeo). Password (if needed) = N2
YouTube
The cover of an earlier edition of "Chemistry Insights", an O-Level chemistry textbook for Singapore
Not long after I first came to Hong Kong, I became involved in the writing of school science textbooks. This also continued during this period of my life. All of the books had been at the secondary level and for Hong Kong. This then spread to neighbouring countries, primarily Singapore and then later Brunei. I made to trips to Brunei in connection with these books. One of the files below includes pictures of the first visit to Brunei.
Please refer also to the website on textbooks by clicking on 'Textbooks' in the navigation bar at the top of this page.
Textbooks written
The file below summarises the textbooks I have written in my life, starting with a book written while I was still in New Zealand at Burnside High School. This book, written with other teachers at Burnside was not very good, did not do do well and did not last long but at least it was a start.
Textbooks written:My textbooks File viewer
Brunei visit (1997): Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Riding an elephant during a holiday in Shenzhen. Just how did we all get up there?
The pictures here cover the years from 1986 to 1999. Many of the trips were with the family, though a few were made without me when I had to teach during the summer (as in 1986). A few others I did myself.
Youth Hostels
For the trip we made to Europe, we stayed in Youth Hostels. Each hostel puts its stamp in the little membership books we carried around. The file below shows some of these stamps.
Visits to WWI and WWII battlefields
During the 1993 European holiday, we visited several WWI and WWII battlefields in Belgium and France. The file below describes the places we visited and what we saw. Of particular interest was the Battle of Messines Ridge in Belgium where a relative of mine was killed. For more on these visits refer to the links to photos under 1993 Holland, Belgium and France below.
WWI and WWII battlefields visited File viewer
Travels year-by-year
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Photos (Alaska - Anchorage to Fairbanks) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Alaska - Fairbanks and North Pole) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Alaska - circuit back to Anchorage) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Arizona and Nevada) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Disneyland and Universal Studios, Los Angeles) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Escondido Village and San Francisco) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Seattle and Vancouver) Same photos (in file viewer)
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Map of route taken File viewer frame
Photos Same photos (in file viewer)
Map of route taken File viewer frame
Photos (Holland) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (Germany) Same photos (in file viewer)
Map of route taken File viewer
Photos (1 and 8 Holland) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (2 and 7 Belgium) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (3 and 5 France) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (4 Switzerland) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (6 Luxembourg) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photo (Unknown - Paris, I think))
Photos (Parents' 55th wedding anniversary) Same photos (in file viewer)
Other pictures Same photos (in file viewer)
Map of route taken File viewer frame
Photos (1 and 5 Holland) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (2 and 4 Northern Germany) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (3 Denmark) Same photos (in file viewer)
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Photos (Christchurch) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (South Island trip with Leonie) Same photos (in file viewer)
Map of route File viewer frame
Photos (1. Tokyo) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (2. Hiroshima) Same photos (in file viewer)
Photos (3. Kyoto, Nara) Same photos (in file viewer)
For photos, click a photo to enlarge it (and also to see the complete caption).
