Burns Night - Scottish Whisky and Haggis tasting 🍻

🍻Last time when I visited Scotland, I actually felt cold and distance. But two things really won over my heart: one is the rare and lovely Scottish Blackface, a breed of domestic sheep, and black sheep dolls; another thing I quite enjoyed is visiting whiskey factory, surely, I got a drink there.

上次去蘇格蘭(Edinburgh and Glasgow)的時候，第一印像其實是冷冷的而且有距離感。不過, 2件事嬴得我心: 第1是那裡蘇格蘭稀見的黑臉羊還有黑羊玩偶，非常可愛的眷養羊，另一件事我非常喜歡的是,參觀威士忌工廠,當然,在那喝了一杯。

Cultural difference

Different to England, Scots have their own culture and traditions. Notably, the Scottish Enlightenment initiated in the 18^th century has significant impact on the process of European civilization. Scots should be very proud of their reading habit; and by the 17^th century, they have 5 universities more than just 2 in England. In this sense, the productivity of literature and science was relatively prosperous. Famous Scottish thinkers and scientists at that period such as Adam Smith and Robert Burns are iconic figures.

與英格蘭不同，蘇格蘭人有自己的文化和傳統。 令人注意的是，18世紀啟動的蘇格蘭啟蒙運動對歐洲文明的進程產生了重大的影響。 蘇格蘭人真的應該為自己的閱讀習慣感到自豪; 在17世紀前，他們就有5所大學超過英格蘭的2所。 從這個意義上來看，文學和科學的生產相對是較繁榮的。 當時著名的蘇格蘭思想家和科學家，如亞當·斯密和羅伯特·伯恩斯都是標誌性人物。

Glasgow

Scottish elites in the early history

The study of the history of Scottish elites is important to understand why they have different views on political and social affairs, and how the charity activities engage in British life. As the book ‘Scottish elites’ written by Tom M. Devine (Devine is originally an Irish surname) mentions, Scottish elites have close identification with local communities, civil and philanthropic roles, less to national affairs before the World War Ⅰ.

研究蘇格蘭精英的歷史，對於了解他們為何在政治和社會事務上有不同的看法，以及慈善活動如何融入英國人生活，都是很重要的。正如Tom M. Devine (Devine原本是愛爾蘭的一個姓氏）所寫的“蘇格蘭精英”這本書所提到的，蘇格蘭精英在第一次世界大戰之前，較少涉獵國家事務，但與當地社區，公民和慈善事業較有密切的關係。

Robert Burns’s birthday celebration

Today, 25 Jan is Robert Burns’s birthday. People here are celebrating the great legacy of Scotland -- a Scottish poet and lyricist and a pioneer of the Romantic movement. I then join Burn’s night party and know how Scots like to eat haggis (for me, it is kind of cozy food), drink whiskey and recite his poetry.

今天1月25日是Robert Burns的生日。 這裡的人們正在慶祝蘇格蘭偉大的遺產 - 蘇格蘭詩人和作詞家，浪漫主義運動的先驅。 我於是參加Burns之夜晚會去了解蘇格蘭人是如何喜歡吃羊雜，喝威士忌，背誦他的詩歌。PS:吟遊詩人（英文：bard）

 Scottish Shortbread (before meal)

a set of haggis meal 

It is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs)

The 27th January Holocaust Memorial Day

Robin Cohen (2008) thinks that the term ‘Diaspora’ has evolved in different stages. This concept originally was used to label Jewish historical experience and Greeks’ spread across areas, and was later extended to the dispersion of collective victimhood, such as Africans moved by the slave trade, Armenians deported by oppression, and the Irish propelled by famine.

From victim dispersal to new patterns of global migration in the postwar era, the term ‘diaspora’ now has been widely used in academic literature regarding different topics such as diasporic political engagement in the migration-development nexus. However, it is the homeland — the place of origin, attached to diasporic stories — which composes the whole picture of diaspora in different settings, despite the usage of diaspora being refined over time. In other words, diaspora has strong connections with their homeland. 

Tonight, 600 lighting candles set as a sacred ritual held in the York Minster ‘s historic Chapter House in memory of victims of genocides from the Holocaust to the present day. Although international organizations such as UN has made efforts to promote humanitarian principles , genocides, ethnic violence and human rights persecution still happen every day. According to BBC news, Myanmar's army kill Rohingya people and burn their villages, forcing 600,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since last August (BBC News 25 October 2017).

The 27th January marks Holocaust Memorial Day. These 600 candles not only commemorate the past ethnic disaster but also uncover the present persecutions and call for actions to make a difference in the future.

在國際移民時代，羅賓·科恩（Robin Cohen，2008）認為“流離人群”這個詞在不同階段發展出新義。在第一階段的“流離人群”概念被用來標記猶太人的歷史經驗和希臘人在各個地區的散居，後來擴大意義到集體受害者的分散，例如奴隸貿易中的非洲人，被壓迫驅逐的亞美尼亞人和被飢荒驅走的愛爾蘭人(後來到了LONDON找工作而被鄙視, Pub門口貼著No Irish, no black, no dogs)。

從受害者分散到戰後新的全球移民模式，現在“散居人群”這個術語在學術文獻中被廣泛地應用於不同的話題，例如移民發展關係中的離散國民的政治參與。然而，儘管散居國外人士這個名詞隨著時間的推移而逐漸被修改，但它卻是以家鄉 - 原生地，附屬在散居人民的故事裡 –來構成散居者在不同背景下的全貌。換句話說，僑民與家鄉有著密切的聯繫。資料源自: 'Why is diasporic political engagement in the homeland sometimes cast in a negative light? The case of Tibet', 2017, Ching-Yu, Chang)

今天晚上，在約克大教堂歷史悠久的Chapter House舉行了600根點燃蠟燭的儀式，以紀念從大屠殺到今天的種族滅絕的受害者。儘管聯合國等國際組織為促進人道主義原則作出了努力，但種族滅絕，種族暴力和人權迫害仍然每天都在發生。據BBC新聞，緬甸軍隊殺死羅興亞人民並燒毀村莊，迫使60萬羅興亞人自去年8月以來一直逃離緬甸。

1月27日是種族大屠殺紀念日。這600支蠟燭不僅紀念以往的種族災難，而且還揭示了目前還在進行的迫害，並要求採取行動，以改變未來。

British Afternoon Tea Culture 🍵

‘You are “my cup of tea”’! is a British phrase which means something or someone makes me pleasing. 

In York, Betty's Café Tea Room is one of the most famous tea rooms in the UK, and they have two stores which located in Helen’s Square and 46 Stonegate in city centre. 

About Betty's history, says the website, 'With beautiful interiors inspired by the Queen Mary ocean liner, it’s been making a splash since 1936.’

Betty's traditional English Tea 

They nowadays still follow the traditional way but serve more kinds of tea and coffee than before.

Interestingly, the founder—Frederick Belmont, is a Swiss confectioner, and who is Betty? It is still unknown.

In fact, tea culture has been popular for many centuries in the East and West world. In the past, tea is for the working class in the UK to be the evening meal and is typically eaten between 5 pm and 7 pm. For the upper social classes, they would call the midday meal—‘lunch’ or ‘luncheon’; and the evening meal (served after 7 pm)—‘dinner’ (if formal) or ‘supper’ (if informal).

Cream tea at Cotswolds tearoom

There is no doubt that drinking tea is one of the most fascinating cultural traditions in the UK. If you trace back to the British history, tea is very important so that the British Empire was intrigued to control the colony, such as India and Ceylon. The British Empire and Americans even fight for tea tax and finally, the US broke away with their counterpart, Indeed, the British people drink tea from breakfast to afternoon, tea drinking is definitely part of British lifestyle.

Whittard, Twinings or Yorkshire tea are popular brands in the UK, and if you want to enjoy tea time in the tearoom, it is better to learn the proper manner in which to drink tea, especially when you drink English Cream Tea. Should I put Jam on top first or cream first? This YouTube shows you how to drink it in a proper way (Cornish say 'put cream second' ). 

I do enjoy English cream tea in the Cotswolds and Brighton & Hove and now drink my high tea in Yorkshire. As the British say, it is something they are proud of! Come and Enjoy it!

🍵+🍥

英國茶文化

‘You are “my cup of tea”’就是中文說的你是我的菜啦!

生活在約克，Betty’s是英國最有名的茶坊之一。他們的歷史如同他們的網站所描述:“成立於1936年以來,美麗的內部裝飾是受到瑪麗女王的遠洋航輪所啟發，它一直深受大家喜歡。”他們現在仍然遵循著傳統的方式，但比以前提供更多種類的茶和咖啡。有趣的是，創始人Frederick Belmont是瑞士糕點師傅，但誰是Betty？目前還不清楚。

事實上,茶文化在東方和西方世界已經流行了很多個世紀。在過去，茶是英國的工人階級的晚餐，通常在下午5點到晚上7點之間吃。對於上層的社會階層來說，他們會把午餐叫做“lunch’ 或 ‘luncheon’”。晚餐（下午7點後）稱為“dinner”（如果是正式的）或“supper”（如果是非正式的）。

毫無疑問地，喝茶是英國最迷人的文化傳統之一。如果你追溯到英國的歷史，茶是非常重要的，以致於促使大英帝國控制殖民地-如印度和錫蘭。大英帝國和美國人甚至為茶稅打戰，最後美國人擺脫了他們的對手了。的確，英國人從早餐到下午喝茶，喝茶絕對是英國生活方式的一部分。

Whittard, Twinings or Yorkshire tea 是英國有名的茶葉牌子,如果你想去茶室享用下午茶,最好學習喝茶的正確方法，特別是如何喝英式奶油茶。我應該先把果醬放在上面還是先把奶油放在上面呢？以下這個YouTube顯示你如何以適當的方式喝它。(Cornish人說奶油要第2個放,PS:參考其他資料是說可能是果醬在以前較貴,所以可以先放一些,再堆疊奶油).

我在Cotswolds和Hove享用了我的奶油茶，現在在York喝傳統英式下午茶。如同英國人說的,這是值得他們驕傲的事!來英國就喝一杯吧!

Happy New Year 2018!

Happy New Year 2018!🎊

I spent the last day of 2017 and the first day of 2018 in London, where held the incredibly beautiful firework displays to welcome 2018 and spectacular annual New Year's Day Parade to celebrate it.

As watching firework displays on site and standing so close to the shooter, when fireworks spew out to light up the dark sky, I was dazzled by these sparkling stars, then I suddenly felt that the spreading firework ash was hitting on my cheek.

I was not so panic to be burnt but felt that this is really something like ‘Your best life now’.

The next day—the first day of 2018, Google maps was saying some roads might be closed due to New Year's Day Parade running from Green Park through all the Central City. I definitely do not want to miss out such an event!

When I arrived on time around 12 pm, I was lucky enough to have a vantage point in Piccadilly Circus to take many colourful photos and really enjoy both these New Year events.

Have you made your New Year Resolutions? There will be many exciting events coming up in the following 365 days.

Taking one’s life to a higher level is never so easy, are you ready to set your goals, list down your events calendar, and give yourself a boost? 

Have a healthy and happy 2018! 

2018新年快樂！

我在倫敦度過2017年的最後1天和2018年的第1天，倫敦舉辦非常美麗的煙花展演來歡迎2018和壯觀的年度元旦遊行慶祝新年。

因為現場觀看煙火表演，而且站在距離射台很近的地方，當煙火噴出來照亮黑暗的天空時，我被這些閃閃發光的星星迷住了，然後我突然感覺到蔓延的煙花灰燼正打在我的臉頰上。我並不是很恐慌，反而覺得這真的是“活出美好”。

第2天 - 2018年的第一天，Google地圖說，由於從綠色公園出發的市中心城市元旦遊行,可能會封閉一些道路，我絕對不想錯過遊行，因為我正打算著要去威尼斯嘉年華。

當我在下午12點左右到達的時候，我很幸運地在皮卡迪利廣場有一個高據點位置，拍攝了許多精美的照片，很享受這兩個新年活動。

你有沒有立下你的新年志願了？未來365天將會有許多令人興奮的事件發生。

把自己的人生提升到一個新的水平從來就不是那麼容易，你準備好設定目標，列出你的事件日曆，並給自己一個提升了嗎？

2018年健康快樂！