Brenda

Saw this special collection of UK coins.....very elegant.

Originally I love my blog very much, not only because it has a uk host but also because it has a very simple, modest layout. It matches my theory of "the beauty of simplicity" - beautiful things don't need too much decoration. That's why when all my friends are deliriously creating their own blogs under Xanga and MSN Space, I have mine with Blog.co.uk.  And honestly I don't regret any at all. Well, not until I saw the Liverpool FC ads on the bar of my blog! 
"What"!! For all the people who know me, no matter well or not, should realise that I am a MU fan.  What an irony to have Liverpool ads all over my blog while nothing I can do about it. Worst, I found out yesterday that they are not just promoting the Scousers but also the Gooners and the Blues - selling tickets, introducing the field....I had enough!
So I decided to write to the host and ask them to remove those ads although I assume they will ask me to pay for such service.  Anyway, I have no choice.
During dinner, I told my friend the story; she raised a good question - What if they refuse to do so? "Well, I would rather get rid of the blog than abide such a humiliation", I said without hesitation.  "How can I seemingly promote Liverpool while deep down am supporting Manchester United"? "How can I be such a hypocrite"? My friend echoed, "Yes, hypocrites only appearered among Labour politicians but not among football fans". I gave her a smirk.
Surprisingly, all the Liverpool ads are gone within an hour and are replaced by "Payroll Bureau UK" and "Etiquette Table Manners" kind of ads. No words I could find to express my gratification to the host so I want to take this chance to thank you for doing so.  Deeply appreciated!! 
I rang my friend to share the good news.  What she said is "Even the blog host acts faster than the government"!!   

Many of us take for granted towards everything we have, have you ever thought about some people came to this world where everything else is a bonus? If not, think about it and please support the NCB to help improve the lives of children and young people.
http://www.ncb.org.uk/Page.asp

There is a man I wanted to find out more about.
He is a friend's friend who sometimes appears in one of our gatherings organised once a month. He just looks like someone lived next door, meaning he does not have a pair of Paul Newman's eyes or a body of  Brad Pitt. However, for some reasons, I find him attractive.  I guess it has something to do with his personality?  To me, he is always warm to be with and he can easily light me up with just a smile. 
But in fact, I think it has more to do with his appearance - he looks very clean and tidy. I really can't stand dirty people, not even if someone given me just a sense of untidiness when actually he is decent enough to shake hands with Angelina Jolie. I once dined with a friend who cleaned his mouth only at the end of the supper but not in the middle and I found his look, while eating, very unpleasant.  And someone who rubbed their used tissue papers in one of their palms like a ready-to-throw-away rubbish is no good either. But this man just pays much attention to his personal hygiene and that's why I like him. He may wear the same coat every so often, but it always looks clean.  He may not clean his hands everytime before dinner but he does not have long fingernails and his fingers are always clean too. 
Although I understand that the level of one's cleanliness shouldn't be the only angle of judging one's true character,  and it certainly shouldn't be the basis of a relationship, it's a big deal to me.
First of all, I wouldn't even think about  going out with him if his clothes are ragged or his face is oily. Even I did so, I don't see I will agree with another out if he splashed some soup on the table or used again the napkin that he just dropped on the floor.  Whatever situation, it's hard to believe dining out with your lover in a fancy restaurant where chandeliers are on top of you and roses are at your side while he polished his fork with one of his sleeves. So this man has just passed one of the most difficult tests that I have always given to my opposite sex. But for the rest of him, as I said in the beginning, I have to find out.

Have watched "The Queen".
Before watching the movie, I would have wanted personally the film to win the Oscar award for Best Movie.  After watching it, I immediately transformed my subjective will into a rational hope.  I know how easy it is for you to imagine how disappointed I was when Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton announced that the award actually goes to "The Departed".  Although I like Dicaprio, I think his performance in both "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond" are outstanding, I honestly think "The Queen" deserves the award more. For the movie has presented the Queen beautifully. No need to mention, Helen Mirren's performance is outstanding, but also worth giving credit to Stephen Fears, for his courage in documenting such a sensitive story.  
While the movie is beautifully done, I dislike it incidentally recalls our memory of the glorious period Tony Blair once had, as if we are still enjoying in that period and we should all celebrate it.  I should remind all viewers that the glorious period shown in the movie is passed. And one shouldn't be mistakened by the plot. The movie presented Mr Blair as a shrewd, visionary reformer. However, for 10 years, we don't see any major reform being carried out to bring our nation to another level, and we don't see how shrewd our PM is, especially on the matter of the Iraq war. What we see, though, is one of Mr. Blair's secretaries, Ruth Kelly, opted his son out from the state's school and go private while the Ofsted report revealed that students' passing rate in GCSE is actually falling.  
I supposed to watch the trailer to once again enjoy Helen Mirren's performance, but now I decided not to.                 

The happiest thing for tonight certainly is the winning of MU over Liverpool.  The victory actually reflected the complete eagerness of MU taking over the premiership title from Chelsea this year.  
The saving done by Van der Sar in the second half was definitely brilliant while the finish by O'Shea at 90  mins further secured the 3 points for MU.  Although I think the match would be more satisfied if it is without Scholes being sent off and  the injury of Rooney, the result by far is happy enough for widening the gap with Chelsea for 9 points.
Some people said that the victory is just a fortunate one, but I bet if someone had gone to Rafael Benitez before the game started and asked if he would accept a 1-0 win over MU, he would say yes. What I want to say is "a victory is a victory"- forget about how you get it.  In fact,  if we admit the victory is just a lucky one, is it even more ironic since the Scousers is always proud of their unbeatable record at Anfield but tonight they just ended up giving away 3 points to MU just because they are not as lucky as the Reds?  

Today, after work, I went shopping.  Visited a pen shop in Causeway Bay and in there I found something gorgeous - the Lamy Dialog 1.   Ballpoint pen, metal body with triangular cross-section and rounded edges. Surface finished with titanium-coated PVD. With pen case made of beech. Costs £80.

Today is my first day of posting in this blog and I am happy to share with you the story of Faber-Castell. 
Faber-Castell is one of the oldest companies in the world, and surely the oldest of its kind.  Beginning making pencils in 1761 and with the celebration of its 100th birthday in 2005, the company has established a series of products ranging from crayons for children to fountain pens for connoisseurs.  Among all the fine products, I personally recommend the E-Motion Fountain Pen Series.  But the one I adore most is Graf von Faber-Castell's "The Pen of the Year 2007".