Are you from Penampang and feeling the world pays you no attention? Think again! Pascal was reading the London Metro on the Tube this morning when he stumbled upon some news about home…
Be careful about having affairs in Borneo... it may cost you a few buffaloes and a pig!
That’s right! Beware all ye adulterers of Penampang for you may be punished for your sins in moos and oinks! *laugh*
Two days ago, I blogged about my Saturday evening with the Typhoon Tigers and need to make a correction about a stat that is shamefully outdated. In one of the photos, I had stated that the Typhoon Tigers were ranked 6th in the United Kingdom, which was a stat I got a year or two ago from distant memory.
The Typhoon Tigers getting mentally ready at the 2008 BDA Victoria championships | Photo: Alan To
Andrew Liu (last year’s captain) wrote to update me that they ranked 3rd in the 200m and 4th in the 500m last year in the 2008 British Dragon Boat Racing Association nationals (BDA). It was also their first year competing in the Premier League and to achieve those results is just an amazing feat, bearing in mind that some of their competitors are actually paddling for Great Britain. My apologies for the outdated info. Here is an updated 2008 photo of the team!
The Typhoon Tigers! I LOVE THEM! | Photo: Alan To
I am so proud I even got the chance to train with them at the Royal Albert Docks in 2007 and feel inextricably linked to them wherever and whenever the words “dragon boat” appears in conversation. If I should ever find myself back in London again on a more permanent basis, I’ll be sure to join them for training again.
Typhoon Tigers Warming up at BDA Victoria 2008 | Photo: Alan To
When it comes to dragon boating, there is no other team for me but the Typhoon Tigers from London. Such a fantastic bunch of people with so much fight you’d think that what started from a couple of friends six years ago, is now a 44-team strong Premier League team! I can’t wait till the day some of them make the Olympics when it becomes an event! Look at them go at it… woah!
Typhoon Tigers in action at BDA Nottingham 2008 Photo: Jo
The season has just begun and I have no doubt they’ll be fighting with everything they’ve got to go up in the rankings in Britain this year. This weekend, they’ll be racing their first event up in Liverpool. I’ll be sure to keep in close contact with them and also pick on this year’s captain Daniel Chin’s brains over the course of the season.
They are also recruiting, so if you’d like to join a team that is committed to results and fun, consider going to one of their training sessions on Saturdays at the Royal Albert Docks in the Docklands. More information about joining the Typhoon Tigers can be found here.
GO TYPHOON! I’ll be rooting for you all the way in Asia.
Photo credit: The photos seen here were snagged from Alan’s Flickr account.Life is pretty funny. When it realizes you’re about to give a place up, all of a sudden there are a hundred and one things coming your way to deter you from doing that. For me, it was the reminder that I had (to my acknowledgment or not) built up a comfortable life in London with friends and activities that I now have to forgo.
Last Saturday night, I was reminded of the wonderful people I’ve come to know whilst in London. I went to Bodean’s for some unadulterated American-sized BBQ at Tower Hill for Alan, one of the Typhoon boys’ birthdays. Check out the size of this combo. I only ate half and already was bursting out of my seams!
Bodean's Pulled Pork and Ribs with Chilly Fries Combo - GBP 14.95
The Typhoon Tigers Dragonboating Club were the first group of people I got to know when I moved to London when I briefly joined their B-team for training in 2007. Even though I did not train with them for long, they’ve always just invited me to most of their gatherings and treated me as one of their own. Awesome club, awesome peops! Here’s a picture of me and the captains of the U.K. Premiere League dragon boating team. Just a few days ago, TT paddler Thanh nicknamed them the Four Heavenly Kings (四大天国), and rightly so!
All the captains of the Typhoon Tigers, Great Britain's 3rd ranked dragonboating team for the 200m and 4th ranked for 500m in 2008. L-R: W. Hung, Dan C, Andy L and S. Ping.
After a gorging session of porky goodness, we headed to The Refinery for the K-pop night. No, it wasn’t Karaoke or Korean pop but an R&B party. Here are the boys giving Alan the birthday boy some nookie-loving.
The Typhoon Tigers on a typical birthday celebration
Here are some more pictures from Saturday night.
Bumping into Kim after a year of not seeing her was nice!
Sam C being attacked by chicks on the dance floor! Try spotting this extra in the movie Wimbledon!
I was trying to get a picture with the birthday boy, but he couldn't get over the lipstick doodle on his chest!
It was really quite nice to see everyone again! I’m going to really miss them when I go. Hopefully I’ll catch them in Hong Kong for the Stanley Cup!
James McAvoy plays an American in Three Days of Rain
Last Tuesday I went to watch Chronicles of Narnia actor James McAvoy and British soap opera star Nigel Harman in Three Days of Rain. The tickets were courtesy of Kareen (who couldn’t make it to London) because despite being crazy about James, she received some life-altering news which caused her to forfeit about a thousand quid worth of “non-refundable” travel arrangements.
Thanks to Kareen who spent a fortune on the tickets, we had the best seats in the house… right in the middle of row 3 in the stalls! I read some reviews online and they weren’t encouraging, but don’t take their professional booism too seriously because theater critics are usually grumpy jaded obsessives with clinical standards, often looking for a new drug to turn them on!
I thought the three actors were so impressive I waited backstage to meet and speak with James McAvoy and Nigel Harman. Well okay, I also promised we’d shamelessly capture some pictures for Kareen who was pretty bummed out about not being able to make it to watch his idol perform. Check out the pics that Trinh took on my Flickr album and for descriptions, just click on the pics. Enjoy! 
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
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