This is the original story of “Gordon Brown’s son has cystic fibrosis” written by The Sun published on 30 November 2006:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article73335.

The story started with this:

“FRIENDS of Gordon and Sarah Brown last night called their second baby heartache an ‘enormous blow’ – but said the couple were determined to stay strong.” and the story continued to say that

“One friend said: ‘Fraser’s condition has been an enormous blow, as anyone can imagine, particularly after the loss of Jennifer. But Gordon and Sarah are determined to be strong and positive. You would never know Fraser was any different to any other little boy. He is putting on weight as he should.’”

Who are those ‘friends’? Is this ‘friend’ the member of public that The Sun claimed in their statement today (12 July 2011): the information was obtained from a member by the public, who has a family member whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis?

In no where did the original story mention a member of the public. If it is true, why did they protect this member of the public’s identity at that time? If the purpose was to raise the public’s awareness about cystic fibrosis, why did this member of the public’s relative was not mentioned about the illness?

I found it sick that The Sun sensationalise this and profit from other people’s sadness or misfortune. This is sick, really sick.

If this member of the public really exists and he reported this to The Sun but did not reveal his own information, did it mean that he sold the story? Sorry, not convinced that they did this to raise people’s awareness. Sorry.

Statement from News International: “Following allegations made yesterday by Gordon Brown against The Sun, we have been conducting an inquiry. This is in line with normal practice and procedure.

“We are able to assure the Brown family that we did not access the medical records of their son, nor did we commission anyone to do so.

“The story The Sun ran about their son originated from a member of the public whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis. He came to The Sun with this information voluntarily because he wanted to highlight the cause of those afflicted by the disease. The individual has provided a written affidavit this afternoon to a lawyer confirming this.

“On receipt of the information, The Sun approached Mr Brown and discussed with his colleagues how best to present it. Those colleagues provided quotes which were used in the published piece which indicated his consent to it.

“We believe that the article was written sensitively and appropriately. We are not aware of Mr Brown, nor any of his colleagues to whom we spoke, making any complaint about it at the time.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3691260/The-Sun-denies-Brown-son-claims.html

Of course the Treasury would need to provide a quote when approached. What choice did they have? Deny it? Got angry with them and never spoke to them again? Using power to stop them publishing the story?

Since the Second World War, the Japan China relationship has always been awkard and uneasy and they have never been close. This is true not just from the government and political level, but among the ordinary citizens as well.  I am a Chinese. My grandfather would never buy any Japanese goods when he was alive.

When I searched “Japan earthquake” 曰本大地震 on Google.com in Chinese today, a lot of the results returned with forum posts with revengeful messages like celebrate Japan earthquake. A lot of the Chinese people still cannot forget and forgive the crime done by the Japanese in China during the Second World War. In one city (Nanjiang) alone, more than 300,000 people were killed, many of them women and children. Even nowadays, many Japanese are still freighted to travel to Nanjiang for holidays, fearing of revenge. Years ago, there were a Japanese couple travelled to Nanjiang specially to apologise.

Everyone is equal in front of natural disaster. Amid natural adversity, we should put aside cultural differences, nationalism, politics and even history. Just think of everyone as a human being. Let’s care for Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster victims. Offer whatever you can offer to help: money, prayers, communication, blogs. May be in doing so, we discover some common traits in all human beings, above race and nations.

Below is a very positive view from a Chinese media working in Japan about how the Japanese handle the earthquake. It’s written in Chinese. I have summarised in English below:

Although the recent disastrous earthquake and tsunami have caused a lot of sufferings to Japan, the Japanese people still maintain unity and uphold the discipline and respect for the values ​​of mutual assistance.

There are long queues in the Tokyo subway stations and convenience stores. Every person is just waiting very quietly, no jumping, no looting, no cursing. School hall is a safe haven for the victims, unlike the schools in Sichuan when earthquake stoke China. The Chinese Internet users see the the stark differences between the Sichuan earthquake 3 years ago and the quake in Japan and give thumbs-up to the Japanese.

After the earthquake, there are long queues everywhere. The railway is suspended and a large number of people cannot go home. At stations in Tokyo, hundreds of people are quietly waiting to buy tickets. You don’t hear angry complains.

In Japan’s Haneda airport, the situation is the same, long queues, but quiet and orderly. Dozens of people line up on both sides of the stairs and left in the middle a smooth path for people to move. Restaurants offer free curry rice. A number of schools along the Tokyo stations open up to office workers who are stuck and cannot go home. Inside them, there are sufficient food and blankets enough for thousands laid out in order. Many hotels change their sign from a price to “sanctuary” for free accommodation. Sendai survivors who are restaurant chefs cook free curry rice. Electrical shops offer free mobile phone charge. It only takes one click of a button to get drinks from the slot machine. Public telephones are free to dial.

Japanese Internet users leave messages after the earthquake: “We must assist the evacuation of foreigners who do not speak Japanese, even if you only say Hello or OK.” The internet users also remind each other: “to care for the elderly women in particular. Is your neighbour living alone? Remember to knock on the door.” “Please tell your friends who cannot go home that they can stay in the following places for free” There were reports of looting and shops increasing their prices after the quake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tokyo is an equally developed city. But there’s no such thing in Tokyo.

Of course, Tokyo is not the hardest hit. Chinese Internet users witnessed the Japanese fleeing from disaster and wrote on-line, “hundreds of people gathered in the square, during the whole process, no one smoked. The store attendants came to send blankets, hot water, biscuits. Men helped women carry things, tuned in radio. 3 hours later, the people dispersed and there’s not a piece of garbage on the ground.”

One Chinese working in a convenience store in Japan left messages on a forum, ” My mother asked me whether the fare was increased to take advantage of the earthquake. I told her no. Food and drinks are free and there’s no looting. After people took the free food, they lined up in the checkout and said thank you.”

The Chinese media continued to say that the Japanese shared a common value which is “taking the big picture into consideration”. This helped them overcome adversity with dignity and compose.

(source: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/110312/4/n6rq.html）

Recently, I watched the programme of Britain’s Trillion Pound Horror Story by Channel 4. The programme, presented by Martin Durkin, painted a very gloomy picture for Britain. Using many visual presentations, Mr Durkin was telling the people in Britain that we are in serious trouble with 4.8 trillion pound in debt.

And then, it used Hong Kong as a comparison to say that the British should follow what Hong Kong has been doing – to have a low tax system.

After living in Hong Kong about half a century before moving to reside in the UK 7 years ago, I have something to say based on my own experience.

But I am no economist. I can only offer my opinion as a citizen with experience in both countries.

The low tax system in Hong Kong indeed is very good in the way that people have more disposable money, with that they go out and spend and in turn it helps the business, especially the small businesses. Everyone has an opportunity to get rich in Hong Kong, really rich. It’s very easy to start a small business. The whole city is very entrepreneurial.

There are only 8 million people in Hong Kong. They have announced in earlier this year that a 26-billion-Hong Kong-dollar (3.34-billion-US-dollar) budget surplus for the past fiscal year and said that its finances had been buoyed by rising tax revenues and land sale.

What a different picture to the UK.

But I want to say that money is not everything for a society. People in Hong Kong can get very greedy (although some economists may say greed is good). Money can blur other values in a human being’s life.

I see less entrepreneurial people now. But I still like Britain. Its devotion to quality. Its pursuit for knowledge. Its logical thinking. Its charity mentality. Its tenacity to protect the underprivileged. Its commitment to give respect to everyone in the society no matter he’s rich or poor – all these qualities appeal to me as a foreigner in Britain.

I don’t know which tax system Britain should pursue. But whichever way, I hope the British can uphold all the above values for human beings and understand that getting rich is not the only thing in life.

Starting from mid-Jun, the lavender plants will start to bloom in many parts of Provence, France. It will last until mid August, when farmers start to harvest the lavender and make them into all different types of scented products we love today: lavender oil, lavender soap, lavender lotion, lavender herbs, you name it.

But Provence is very big. Where exactly can we see the lavender fields (Champs de Lavande in French – meaning lines and lines of lavender)? I have just been back from a lavender hunting trip and can share some of my experience.

The only thing I could find from the search engine was an image which shows patches of lavender fields in Provence area. I used the map and a bit of my own experience in the area since it’s my third time and managed to find some beautiful Champs de Lavande in the early stages of the blooming season.

Thanks to the help of a French Tourism Office, I got this map of Routes de Lavande (the routes of Lavender), which I am going to share with you and anyone who are passionate about Provence. The map shows the routes of where the lavender fields are and I found it very useful especially if you are driving a car. You can click to enlarge.

Routes_of_Lavender_Provence

We stayed in Sault en-Provence (circled white above). Sault is in high altitude. From the village centre viewing point, you can have a panoramic view of many fields of Lavender down in the valley especially in the peak season of July. From here, it’s only about 30-40 minutes drive to the popular villages of Gordes and Roussillon. If you take a small road from Sault (D943 and then D230) and pass St-Saturnin-les-Apt before going to Gordes or Roussillon, you will be able to catch a lot of lavender fields along the way already. This is not shown exactly on the map above.

Gordes, a Renassiance town and Roussillon, a village built on red earth are definitely worth visitng by the way.

From Sault, take D950 to Banon, you will be able to see some beautiful lavender fields and the bonus French poppy fields as you can see from the photos below.

Another wonderful route to see Lavender is on the way to and out of Valensole (circled white in the map above) through D15 and D6. On these roads, you will see the lavender fields which are so big that you cannot see where they end. With the summer breeze, comes the wonderful smell of lavender. There is no other place on earth you will want to be in.

Lavender hunting in Provence is fun and the area is so big. If you follow the map above and some of my tips, you’ve got to bump into a few at least. Do not need to be bothered with joining the large group lavender tours. Just hire a car and do your own adventure. You have all the time you need and take as many pictures as you want. Although, there’s a difference between the West and the East about taking pictures in traveling as I pointed it out in my other post Some interesting cutural differences between East and West with the following picture:

Lavandin
One thing I have learnt from this trip isthat there’s a separate species very similar to lavender called lavandin. So I was told that lavandin was a hybrid species in the sage family and it could produce 4 times more oil than lavender. We bumped into a shop in Ste-Croix de-Verdon on the west edge of lake Ste-Croix (Lac de Ste-Croix), which sold mainly lavandin products. I took a photograph of one of the products, which shows what lavandin is like. The buds are bigger than lavender’s. Lavender in French is lavande and this hybrid species is called lavandin.

Hope you will like Provence as much as I like it. Click here to see more photos of lavender in Provence. The pictures were taken in mid-June, when the lavender season had just started. Imagine, what will it be like when it’s in peak season? I can’t wait to revisit my beloved Provence again.

Fancy becoming a travel writer?

Most of us are vain in nature.

I found this trait “prominently subtle” in men. Not being sexist. But it is true. The more successful the man is, the more vain he can be. Women express vanity in clothes, jewellery and body shape. Men express it in wealth, status and indeed many in their clothes and shoes as well, not just cars and beautiful girlfriends.

“They think I am rich.”
“They think I am capable.”
“They think I am beautiful.”

Once we have this feeling in us, we feel good about ourselves. I suppose there’s nothing wrong about that. We all want (and sometimes desperate) to look good in other people’s eyes. It’s a matter of degree. Life is about balance, isn’t it?

Let’s do a test about the degree of vanity in you by truthfully answering the following questions:

1) Do you always notice that everyone seems to look at you when you are in a party?
2) Do you always go for the best possible top of the line products (no matter it is the Finest line in a supermarket, or a car or gadgets or a handbag) even you know it will be stretching your budget limit?
3) Do you always look into a mirror?
4) Do you like to meet important people a lot, like celebrity, senior government officials, or a very rich person etc.?
5) Do you always want to talk about your holidays but find it difficult or boring to listen to other people’s holiday experience?
6) Are you over-exercising?
7) Do you still dream to do something that you don’t normally do and will surprise all your friends, like writing a novel, starting a big business, getting a degree or buying a second home just to impress?
Do you feel you are richer than most of your friends?
9) Are you feeling a bit embarrassed by some of your family members?
One last question:
10) How many pairs of shoes do you have? – for women
10) What type of car are you driving? – for men

Keep the answers to yourself.

Vanity has a lot to do with class. According to some sociologists, people want to distinguish themselves as a different class by acquiring a special taste or knowledge in certain things, like the knowledge of wine. By demonstrating special knowledge in appreciating wine, they put themselves above many.

If we are honest with ourselves, the older we get, the more vain we become. Or may be it’s just simply a struggle between managing the peer group pressure and striving for a better life for ourselves?

Yes vanity is empty. Vanity also plays a part in the over 40s in order to maintain the balance of self-esteem that is constantly challenged by the ups and downs in life.

I wish we all play it well.

I am mourning for the death of Michael Jackson.

Those in my age (in the 40s) know very well that he has been part of our life. It did not matter where you lived. It did not matter whether you liked pop music or not. You could not be possible not heard of Michael Jackson if you are in my age. He was everywhere. He is still everywhere. I did not realize the scale of the impact only after his death. He united so many people in so many different parts of the world – from USA to Russia, from New Zealand to Scotland. His music and he himself as a person brought people together. The impact was so strong that it had surpassed any religion or political differences.

The last few days were spent in wandering along the memory lane of our youth by listening to Michael Jackson’s songs repeatedly.  Read his interviews. Looked at his photos. Read stories about his trial. I wish I had known him more. I wish I had been more connected to him.

The more I read, the more I realized how much the world has just lost – a generous genius, who has given all his gift to us – to entertain us, to inspire us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to make us feel good and to tingle our emotions.

He might not be perfect as a human being. That made him one of us. We all have our confusions, temptations, emotions. I did not hear him judge anyone in any of his interviews.  Also, being in the PR business for over 20 years, I know very well the destructive power and the capability of fact-twisting and sensationalizing technique of the media. Sometimes, they may not do it with intention. Unfortunately, journalists are also human beings. They form their own opinions on things and use part of the facts to support their opinion and the clever ones with words can create a real drama.

No one can judge the personal life of Michael Jackson. In fact, no one can judge anybody’s personal life.

Look at the joy and hope he brought to those many children in sickness. I finish this mourning by using one of his own songs he wrote in honor of a pediatric AIDS victim Ryan White. Now I use this to mourn my feelings for Michael Jackson, the true giver.

Like A Comet
Blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

If you feel the same, join me and leave your comments.