RHTTC55 e-Magazine

各位球友， 新年快樂！ 明年一月份第一週仍有兩中心未開放予乒乓球組，故決議將午茶延期至第二個星期二，即一月十日，地點仍為黃金閣酒樓，時間為上午十一時四十五分。 敬請撥冗參加 球友 Richard Chi  約

Dear friends, We are approaching the end of 2016. It has gone by with ups and downs. But first of all let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  We have a significant larger number of new members in 2016. Everybody is enjoying the game and meeting new friends. Some members, such as Emilia, Sue and Jeffrey had won medals in various tournaments. Time slots have been extended. The centre is also contemplating adding more dates for us to play table tennis. New tables have been purchased. In short, our group is growing and prospering. However, the year did not go by without issues. We have noticed premature damages of many of our tables. While normal wear and tear are expected, we do want to help to maintain our tables properly. The fact that our tables are not set up permanently but have to be set up and stored every session does not help. But we can definitely do our share of maintainence  by treating them with tender love a...

金庸 来源：凤凰国际智库 大家希望听我讲小说，其实写小说并没有什么学问，大家喜欢看也就 过去了。我对历史倒是有点兴趣。今天我想简单地讲一个问题，就是 中华民族如此长期地、不断地发展壮大，到底有何道理，有哪些规律 ？ 这几年我常在英国牛津大学，对英国文学、英国历史和中国历史很有 兴趣。大家都知道，英国对二十世纪影响最大的一位历史学家名叫汤 因比，他写了一部很长很长的《历史研究》。他在这部书中分析了很 多世界上的文明，说明世界上的很多文明都在历史进程中衰退或消亡 了，直到现在仍真正兴旺发达的文明只有两个，一个是西方的欧美文 明，一个是东方的中国文明。而中国文明历史悠久且连续不断， 则又是世界唯一的。 虽然古代有的文明历史比中国早，有的文明范围比中国大，如巴比伦 的文明、埃及的文明、希腊罗马的文明，但这些文明却因遇到外力的 打击，或者自己腐化而逐渐衰退、消亡了。他说：一种文明总会遇到 外来的挑战，如果该文明能很好地应付这个挑战，就能继续发展； 如果不能很好地应付挑战，就会衰退，甚至消亡。 这里也有多种情况：一种是遇到强大外族的打击，整个民族被杀光杀 尽，消灭了；一种是民族内部长期僵化，没有改革，没有进化，像活 的木乃伊，结果衰落了；有的则因自己的腐化而垮台；还有一种就是 分裂，国家的内战不休。 我们的国歌中有一句：“中华民族到了最危险的时候”，这句话是在 抗战前后写的，它表示了一种忧患意识。那时候我国遭受外族敌人的 侵略，处境确实非常危险。在座的各位同学年纪轻，不知道，你们的 爸爸妈妈就知道了。我同在座的雷洁琼大姐、周南社长等都经历过这 段艰难而危险的时刻。 就我看来，我国历史上遭受外族侵略的危险时期有七个：第一是西周 末年到春秋战国时期东西南北受到外族进攻；第二是秦汉时期匈奴的 进攻，时间长达四百年之久；第三是魏晋时鲜卑等五胡的进犯，时间 也有四百年；第四是隋唐时期突厥和吐蕃的侵犯，时间约三百年； 第五是五代、南北宋时期契丹、女真及西夏的侵犯，时间大概也是四 百年；第六是元、明、清时期蒙古、满族的侵犯；第七是近代西方帝 国主义和日本帝国主义的侵略。 纵观中国历史，大概可以看到这样一个规律：我们的民族先是统一强 盛，后来慢慢腐化，组织力量衰退。此时如果出现一些改革，那么就 会中兴。如果改革失败了，或者自己腐化了，那么外族敌...

Thanks to the friends who generously donated the roasted pig and friends who brought in their delicious dishes. Thanks to Amy Li for the above photos. Special thanks to Charles, Prescilla, Echo and all volunteers for organizing the  happy Christmas Potluck  at McConaghy Senior Centre  on Dec 9, 2016 十二月九曰在 McConaghy 長者中心舉行的聚餐 Friends, please send to David Au  your Christmas Potluck photos or your thought to enrich this blog.  

Dear Friends, Just a gentle reminder that our annual Christmas Potluck will be held at McConaghy Senior Centre on Dec 9, starting 12 noon. There will be no need to punch card for attending the potluck party. However, anyone playing ball in the morning on that day will have to pay the drop-in fee as usual. Please come a bit earlier if the dish you bring needs to be warmed up. 各位朋友, 謹提醒大家不要忘記十二月九曰在 McConaghy 長者中心舉行的聚餐,參加者不需打咭,但任何會員如果早上到中心打球,則必須如常打咭或付費,如你帶來的食物需要加熱的話,則請提早一点到達 Best Regards, Charles

Dear friends, With the approaching of the Christmas season, it is time for our traditional Christmas Potluck Party again. This year, it will be held at McConaghy Senior Centre on Dec 9 from 12 noon to 4:30 pm. There will be karaoke after food. Each member is required to bring one dish to the party. If you are a couple, please either bring two dishes or one dish of bigger portion. Friends and relatives are welcome but they too have to bring one dish each. In keeping with our Canadian multicultural spirit, may I request, if possible,  that you bring a dish representative of your homeland. Then we can taste delicious food from different regions and countries. The centre will be providing us with water, tea and coffee as well as lending us the karaoke equipment. To facilitate setting up of the tables, may I request that you  let us know if you plan to attend the party so that we can have an approximate number of participants. Looking forward to seeing you there. 各位朋友, 隨著聖...