SEASON 2 EPISODE 2: Thinking of home and giving thanks

It has been 2 weeks of assessments and assignments, with one more to go before flying home (ie Solicitors' Accounts). I will have a mock assessment for that this Friday and Part 1 of the real assessment 2 weeks later.

In the midst of all this, I want to take some time out to reflect on what has happened these past 3 months in London.

Time has really flown by since I came over in September 2007. In a blink of an eye, we are now at the tail-end of 2007. For me, the next big thing is to come back home (even if it is only 2 weeks!).

At my recent SKYPE conversation with my parents yesterday, I was very touched to hear that my parents have both taken leave off work from 24th Dec to 31st Dec to be with the family. [Heartiest thanks Mummy and Daddy! :)]

This is because it will be the ONLY time where the WHOLE family will be together. Therefore, it is this that will make Christmas 2007 extra special and memorable! This will also be contained in the subsequent episodes of Season 2.

Most importantly, I believe I have grown more aware and conscious of my own faith in Jesus Christ. I give thanks to the LORD for keeping me safe and sound, providing a clean bill of health thus far and seeing me through each day here.

I also thank the LORD for providing opportunities for me to serve and grow (ie SWOT @ All Souls and Lawyers' Christian Fellowship) and people to catch up with. These "extra-curricular activities" have just made my weeks here more exciting.

So, in the run-up to 15th December 2007 (the date I am flying back), I will be going through the final weeks of school and I will go through it with excitement and anticipation. Stay tuned for the next episode.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Season 2 Episode 1:In the thick of things

The previous season saw my journey from Singapore to London, settling into school and ended with a weekend away with the Weis.

The opening episode for this season begins with assignments and mock assessments. Yes, it is that time of the year! At time of writing, I have already submitted 2 assignments, gone through 1 mock assessment and will be doing the real assessment tomorrow. I still have another mock to go and a real assessment before flying home for Christmas.

However, this is not all that I am doing at the moment. In the background, I also have to decide the electives to take, steer a Student Fellowship Group @ Westminster [ie a Christian Fellowship] under the banner of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (of which I have just taken up leadership) and begin my hunt for training contracts, not to mention having time for myself.

So, there's alot of things to do and this reminds me of my time back home... Juggling studies with extra-curricular activities. The other thing that comes up once in a while is meeting up with friends and this will conclude this episode.

The BRMC-London group had its second gathering at Strada's near St Paul's Cathedral. The reason? Well, Edmund Bek and Hannah Wong (2 BRMC visiting London. Organised by my doctor-in-training contemporary Melvin and his girlfriend (also a doctor) Amanda. we had a great time and here are the photos of the gathering:




The gang (clockwise): Guan Sin, Edward, Lishan, Hannah, Edmund, Amanda and Melvin


The desserts we had (from top to bottom): Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Ice-cream, a Strawberry Crumble, Tiramisu and (another) Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Ice-cream

[Did not take photos of our main courses because all of us were having it at different times. Anyway, the dessert was what I was going for]


We cleared everything and felt satisfied thereafter. Yummy!!

The following 2 photos are from Edmund's camera (thanks Edmund for them):


Edmund, Amanda, Melvin and myself


Melvin and myself (I was having my main course, a pizza)

I look forward to our next gathering.. :)

Stay tuned.

Episode 10: Weekend with the Weis (3rd to 5th November 2007)

This week is the "non-teaching week" which really means catching up week. I do not need to go to school but I have lots of catching up to do (and today is already Wednesday!!)

Anyway, just want to update my adventures here in England. In view of this non-teaching week, I decided to have a weekend away from the city and go up to visit Uncle Tonni, Auntie Jennifer and Jemima Wei ("the Weis") in Basingstoke, which is about 1 1/2 hour or so out of London.

My links with the Weis go back a long way. Jordan Wei [whom I caught up with in Episode 5] was my classmate back in secondary school, while Uncle Tonni and my parents were classmates back in their years in school!

My journey began on Saturday morning at ten past 9am where I had to take the National Rail train from Waterloo station to Basingstoke. However, due to weekend engineering works, I had to drop off at Woking (2 train stops from Basingstoke) and take a - what was a long and winding - rail replacement bus service to Basingstoke. The photo below was taken from the bus at Woking station.

Throughout the journey, I was greeted by greenery, fields and farms, a refreshing change from the urban jungle in the city. [My apologies for not taking any photos of this]

I eventually got to Basingstoke and was greeted by Uncle Tonni. He then drove me back to the house, which is about 25 minutes away by car from the station. After settling in and catching up with the Weis, we then made a trip to Winchester, the former capital of England before London.

Winchester is largely a historical town, and the archtecture is just marvelous. There was the Great Hall, the town centre and the great Winchester Cathedral. Photos below:

A replica (so they say) of King's Arthur's Round Table

Auntie Jennifer, me and Uncle Tonni beneath the Round Table

The interior of the Great Hall

Winchester Cathedral - Admission fee of GBP3 (students) and GBP 5 (adult)

[If I had more time, I will definitely make a visit]

The road for pedestrians only

An example of a tree in autumn

We left Winchester and headed to See Woo's (a mega Chinese wholesaler) at Reading to get some food for dinner. The Weis also invited 2 of their friends, Yau Wee and his wife Ronnie over.

We had laksa (with [what was left of their] air-flown sambal belachan from Singapore... :)) and chicken rice that night.

Dinner with the Weis and friends

(from left: myself, Yau Wee, Ronnie, Uncle Tonni, Jemima and Auntie Jennifer)

Good things come in pairs!

I spent the "intervals" (and the rest of the night) catching up on my reading and looking through my 2 Timothy 4 notes [which I will be leading the study this evening at All Souls SWOT].

I woke up to a misty Sunday morning. This is the view from where I was holding up and it faces the back of the house.

I followed the Weis to their church. It is a community church located at the town centre. It was mainly worship and the preaching of the Word. But, it was there that my thoughts for 2 Timothy 4 somewhat crystalised and I revamped my approach to the study. Service finished at midday and we walked over to Yau Wee and Ronnie's place for lunch [see below].

Fried rice, chicken rice and salad for lunch

In the afternoon, we had a badminton game at a club where Yau Wee and Ronnie were members. The day ended with dinner at the Weis of meat loaf and pastry pies. For the rest of the evening, I spent it relooking at my notes.

I left the Weis on Monday at around ten to 10am and returned to Old Street just a quarter to 12pm. All in all, it was a great getway, a first for me since I arrived in London. But, it will definitely not be the last. I am somewhat refreshed to face the challenges that lie ahead of me.

Thanks be to God for the Weis, their friends and the hospitality! May the Lord bless them in their individual lives and in their ministry as they continue to serve the Lord wherever they are.

On this note, that concludes Season 1 of the Adventures of Josiah. In this short 2 but exciting 2 months, we saw Josiah's entry into London, finding his feet and establishing himself in both school and church.

In Season 2, we will see Josiah moving through assessment after assessment as the school terms draws to a close for Christmas. Josiah looks forward to coming back to Singapore and be reunited with his family for Christmas!