Christmas decorations and wall plates at James Devadason's home
One of my
more memorable Christmas's was in 2012 when i was invited to the home of James
Devadason, an old friend, history buff and a proud Michaelian.
I don’t
normally visit anyone during Christmas just the immediate family but that year since
I got invited and I went without thinking twice. And it turned out to be a deliciously lovely
dinner.
Superb dinner but there was more ....
Lovely
because it reminded me of Eurasian dinners of past with lace table
cloth, polished cutlery, candle stand and brass tray. Even the dinner mats
looked like they were brought out especially for this occasion.
A well decorated dinner table with lace tablecloth and dinner mats ..I liked it
Drinks before dinner ......
..then dinner. That's Melanie btw James' wife
..having her meal with son Tristan . Nb James's wall plates was everywhere .....
..the outside
A snap before i partake of my Christmas meal ..... Noritake hmmm!
Christmas decor was everywhere ....
...Polished brassware and cutlery .. very impressive .
James’ plate
collection which was displayed on the wall was impressive as was their décor all
throughout from the hall to the kitchen.
The kitchen too had Melanie's touch..with Tristan and Louisa and Kevin
And their
pets were so well behaved. What else was I to do but snap away.
The well behaved pets ..the cats kept an eye on me roving around .
..while Melanie coddled the dogs
Mind you
this was a homely Christmas meal not a fancy star restaurant at any hotel but it displayed all the trappings of one.
A Christmas
to remember ... cozy, nice, unique and very memorable.
..and when the guests had left ( James with the late Victor Sankey)
Saw Karma early one morning perched atop my garden lamp
looking out for mosquitoes. It refused to budge instead it posed (I think that’s what
it did) for me.
'I did it' ... Beatrice Lim sharing the joy of her 'graduation'....
Beatrice
Lim works as a Mission Partner with the Good Shepherd Sisters a job that she
has been in for the last 13 years.
A
Mission Partner is a lay person who wants to share in the ministry of Good
Shepherd Sisters but does not want to live the life of a religious sister.
In
order to become more adept at the job she enrolled for a course in psychology
five years ago. She graduated last December and her convocation has been
postponed indefinitely due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Nevertheless
she decided to celebrate her ‘graduation’ with her colleagues and the Good
Shepherd Sisters at their Convent during this Christmas season.
with the Good Shepherd Sisters and ......
colleagues Agnes Ngai (left) Beatrice and Theresa Symons
About
her work she said she has fallen in love with the Mission of the Sisters which
is working with vulnerable women and children.
Lim who is from Kuching said
that thirteen years back she worked with the Good Shepherd Sisters but on a
part time basis.
“Then
I got a taste of doing the ground work and found myself getting hooked. When an
opening came by I took the opportunity to work directly with women and children
and have been here since.
I
am passionate about the work and about people in general. I had wanted to do a
course in social work but psychology was a related subject so I opted for
it.
Now I am working with the Good Shepherd Community
Service Centre which is based at No 34 Jalan Wayang, Taman Pertama, Ipoh.
I
feel privileged to work directly with the women and children and I consider it
a great blessing".
The live ‘Extraordinary
Christmas’ podcast last Saturday evening (19 Dec) was more than it was billed
and was truly an extraordinary Malaysian Christmas.
No doubt it
was well organized and without flaws but because it was interactive enabling all Catholics from
across Malaysia, from East Malaysia to Penang and beyond, to participate in the 2 hour
presentation it was, in my opinion, pretty extraordinary indeed.
Hosted by a
Kevin Francis and MAGS and organised by Catholics@Home a section (presumably)
of the Archdiocese of KL it was an eye opener into what the pandemic Covid19
has brought out in the common man can achieve when faced with
adversity.
The hosts and special guests
‘This years
celebration was going to be very different unlike past Christmas’s with social
distancing and limited numbers per gathering so Catholics@Home decided to organize
the Extraordinary Christmas Special to celebrate the coming of Christ’.
There was
key Christmas messages from Father Clarence Devadass and Father Patrick Massang, the singing Parish Priest from OMPH Ipoh, including a special message form Archbishop
Julian Leow.
At the start the hosts mentioned 1000 viewers but a half hour later stated 5000 was achieved.
Kids Choir
....more melody .....
But the contributions
from the public such as what they felt this Christmas or the Catholic Crib
contest and different choirs throughout the country not to mention the largest
Catholic virtual choir singing in 6 different languages..simultaneously made for a fantastic Christmas show.
..sharing their mood this Christmas
Christmas Crib contest
Posters of home cribs ..
Children art and craft
Part of the largest 500 or was it 1000 strong ..
largest Malaysian virtual choir ....
who sang carols in different languages .... simultaneously
Let's forget
about the "Strong Formidable and Convincing Majority" and move
forward. Let's accept the fact that we do not have 112. It is proven.
We need to
have an united opposition front and play our role as an effective opposition.
The 108 must be ONE unit …. Wong Kah Woh
------
KUALA
LUMPUR /Tuesday 15 2020/ The STAR:
The Dewan Rakyat has passed Budget 2021 despite two attempts for bloc
voting called by Opposition lawmakers.
Opposition
MPs called for bloc voting at the committee stage and after the third reading
for Budget 2021, with 111 MPs voting
aye and 108 nay in both instances. Only one MP was absent from voting.
The bloc
vote was called by Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PH-Pokok Sena) after Finance Minister
Tengku Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz gave a third reading on Budget 2021
in Parliament on Tuesday (Dec 15).
Budget 2021,
at RM322.5bil, is the largest budget in Malaysian history.
