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British people like to go out for lunch with families on Sunday, either in pubs or restaurants.

Yesterday, we had a typical english sunday lunch in a local pub in Litton. Litton is a small village in Peak District. Thanks for the driving and guiding provided by Paul, one of our best English friends. The weather was not very nice, with slight rain from time to time. But at lunch time, the small pub was crowded with customers. Around us, there was an old couple who were drinking beers and talking gently and slowly to each other. At another table, a family with grand parents to little kids, were having meals, chatting and smiling.

I think the point of Sunday Lunch is not on the lunch itself, it's a chance to get together with people who you like on the last day of the week, to have one or two hours time to relax, to have some words, or just to sit and watch each other.

At Litton and another village called Tideswell, there is a local tradition named Well Dressing which usually happens in June. Well Dressing is a kind of art of decorating wells or springs with pictures made of growing things such as colorful flower petals and leaves. Local school children are encouraged to make their designs with paintbrush and then organised to build selected designs mainly with flowers, leaves, beans and other natural items. We've seen some very lovely well dressing, which give the village beautiful signs.

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On last Sunday, we paid a visit to Haddon Hall, a medieval english manor house which can be dated from the 12th Century. Haddon Hall is located in the heart area of Derbyshire National Park, only 3 miles away from Bakewell.

This outing can be regarded as a sort of activity for this year's Children's Day. As I mentioned in the previous post, last year, we went to Chatsworth House where the film "Pride and Prejudice" was taken place. This time, Haddon Hall is also a place which hosted another famous film "Jane Eyre". I actually read the book "Jane Eyre" when I was in school. I didn't know that one day I could walk in the house where the love story happened, at least in the film. (Though it's not really the actual place)

Looking at everything in this house with nearly 1000 years history and listening melodious sound from an old piano, we seemed to walk in the 12th Century and have seen how people were living and working in daily life there. Going out to the garden, we felt more relaxed in the sunshine, surrounded by a lot of blooming flowers. It's such a nice trip and we wish to go back again.

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Best wishes to all my dear friends in China, UK, US, India, Malaysia and elsewhere in the world.

Home is always the only place where we can feel the family love and warmness in the Chinese New Year Eve, especially when fireworks makes sounds and pictures in sky through windows.

So, go back home and see your parents, guys. Happy New Year!

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Our one-week stay in Shanghai was not bad. Thankfully, the important things have been done without any trouble. However, very unfortunately, I lost my wallet with all my cards and some cash gone! It seems that both good news and bad news always come along together.

After meetings with friends one after another, we arrived in Beijing on the 28th of Jan. It's cold outside in Beijing but very warm and comfortable at home. The wind here is a bit as same as in Sheffield.

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