I arrived in Sydney last Thursday evening and have been doing the usual run around catching up with family, hence the radio silence. I haven't seen my brother (Justin), sister-in-law (Jo) and my nieces and nephew for a couple of years and I haven't seen my Chinese side of the family since 1998 (in Hong Kong) and then in 1999 (in Sydney). My gran (my mother's mum), who is a sweet Chinese old lady, happens to be a rather devout Catholic and goes to mass every day. She said that she prays for me every day, which is just as well that there is someone looking over me and stops me from getting into too much trouble. I didn't realise that she nearly became a nun when she was younger but then met my grandfather (who sadly passed away a couple of years ago) and that idea became a distant memory. Just as well, as I wouldn't be sitting here typing this! She also does not know how old she is, as in the year she was born the Chinese destroyed all birth certificates. We reckon she is about 87 years old but she is still in good health.
It was my cousin Mary's wedding yesterday, which was interesting, as I have never been to a Chinese wedding before. We arrived at my aunt's house at 9.30am for the tea ceremony but before that starts, it is tradition for the groom to try to gain entry into the house to see the bride. The bridesmaids then ask him to carry out all sorts of silly tasks before they will let him in, so poor Stanley had to various tasks such as donning a straw skirt and dancing some girlie dance with his groomsmen, by which time the girls felt sorry for him and finally let him in. At the tea ceremony, family members (starting with the bride's parents) sit before the bride and groom and bestow gifts of jewellery (gold and diamonds) to the bride and lysee packets (red money packets) to the bride and groom and, in turn, the bride and groom offer you tea to thank you and celebrate good health and long life. Mary was wearing a lovely Chinese red dress with intricate embroidery and then changed into her wedding dress. The difference to English weddings is that family stays behind to see the couple go off to the church, so that we have already seen the dress by the time the bride walks down the aisle (I think I like it the English way, so there is a bit of anticipation from everyone to see whether the bride is wearing a hideous meringue or not).
It was a catholic ceremony but unlike other ones I have been to which seem to drag on forever, this was ok. I think the whole of the church other than my dad, Justin, Jo and I didn't go up to take communion, but then we seemed to be the only non-Catholics in there. After photos outside the church, the bride and groom then went off to have more photos taken, so in usual Chinese fashion where we always think about where the next meal is coming from, we stuffed our faces for the next couple of hours with lots of dim sum in a Chinese restaurant in the city.
The evening do started at 7pm and it was at the Shangri La hotel in central Sydney, which is pretty posh indeed. My dad drove us there but anyone who has driven around Sydney without much of a clue where they were going will realise that it is a bit of a nighmare, as some of the streets are one way and when you want to turn left or right, you can't. It took us an hour to find the hotel and somehow we ended up on the Harbour Bridge going north of the city and it wasn't until we turned around to go back on the bridge that we finally saw the hotel!
My youngest niece (Tilly, who is three and a half) and my nephew Sonny (who is five and a half) seemed captivated by my digital camera and wanted to take photos at every opportunity, so that I seem to have quite a lot of photos of the carpet and bodies without faces on them! Still, we had lots of fun, and of course, when it was time for Mary to throw the bouquet, I didn't want to come across as some old spinster fighting to catch it, but my mum suggested that I look after Tilly and Sorrell (my other niece who is 9), who were trying to catch it themselves (she must be hinting for me to get married off). Needless to say the bouquet came nowhere near me, so there will be no wedding bells for me!
As dinner started quite late by English standards, there was no DJ or dancing but what I do like about Chinese weddings is that there is jewellery galore for the bride and it is no coincidence that I love my diamonds! It is really expensive for close members of family, however, but Mary, Stanley and their respective parents put on a really lavish do. There will be a ceremony in Singapore, where Stanley's parents live, which will be in the Raffles hotel, and I can imagine equally as sumptuous but I will be in New Zealand by then.
Today (Sunday) I went into Sydney and saw the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. As I was here in 1999, I don't have the urge to do lots of sightseeing. At the moment I seem to be doing lots of eating and shopping for Christmas presents. My uncle is getting married tomorrow (wife no 3), but it will be in a registry office and a much smaller affair (Mary and Stanley had 212 guests!).
Unfortunately the weather has been a bit hit and miss here and we have had quite a few thunderstorms. Luckily it isn't too hot but I am not complaining that it has rained a bit - I hear that it is cold. wet and miserable in the UK and I know where I would rather be!
I have uploaded a couple of photos from the evening reception - the first is my gran with Sorrell, Sonny and Till and the second is my mum, dad and me.
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