Joining Kate G, & Debbie C will be Deborah J & Yvonne G

Thanks to everyone who volunteered. It’s great to know there are people willing to speak to other groups about their adoption experience.

Debbie will keep the names of all who volunteered and create a pool in case of future requests. If you would like to be added to the pool, please email Debbie.

Future selections will take into account who has already spoken (via HKAN) to ensure a fair crack at the whip; geography may also be a factor, especially if host groups aren’t able to cover expenses.

Children Adopted from China [CACH] are holding their 2015 annual gathering Friday 13^th – Sunday 15^th March.  They would like a small panel of speakers from the HKAN to deliver a presentation on Saturday 14^th.  Debbie and Kate will be taking part – we need up to two more to join us.  In case there are more than two volunteers, Debbie will draw names from a hat on Monday 15th December 2014 – so, if you’re interested, email Debbie NOW!

The event will be taking place in Northampton. CACH will cover travel expenses, and are offering a small speaker fee.

The time slot is one hour + 15 minutes Q&A.  They would like to hear about the history of HKAN, our personal histories and the story of us ‘finding each other’.

They wish to see an outline of the presentation, therefore there needs to be a certain element of coordination once we know who all the speakers are.

We have made it clear that each speaker offers a unique perspective based on their own experience ie nobody is acting as a representative voice – therefore the coordination is only to ensure the three elements they want are covered without duplication.

Link to their website is here http://www.cach.org.uk/.

We will post the panel on the website and Facebook page on Tuesday 16th December 2014

 

 

Visiting HK Oct 2014
The last time I went to HK was the year before the change over from British to China 1997.
So when the opportunity to travel with kim came up I couldn’t refuse.
My first impression since I last visited was the vast amount of buildings that have popped up and so tall and how much busier the streets were.

This was a unique time to visit because the democracy protests were happening. They were scattered in a few locations around HK. They had started in September 2014.
On our 1st evening, we went with Becky (another adoptee who lives in HK) to Occupy Central Admiralty and were amazed at the amount of people present and no trouble. We were impressed with the organisation, they even had volunteers sorting recycling, delivering donated food & water and of course famous umbrella symbols (called the Umbrella Revolution because umbrellas were originally used to stop tear gas falling onto the protesters). In Mong Kok, Nathan Road which is a major street in Kowloon with lots of the shops, Occupy Central has blocked it off from traffic and is now full of tents and people but no vehicles to be seen. Very surreal!

Had a nice swim in our Grand Hyatt pool, very nice although a bit chilly for Becky. The sea near Stanley Market was lovely and a bit warmer when Becky and I went the next day.

It was great to be in HK when Debbie’s SCMP newspaper article came out and we could grab a hard copy.

I managed to see some tourists things in between press and TV interviews. Went to Ocean Park to see live pandas one of my wish list things to do. The park was more quiet than usual, due to the Chinese government had stopped Mainland Chinese tourism into HK because of the demonstrations.
I visited the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. The cable car ride there and back is amazing, not for the faint hearted but great views.
Riding the tourist junk boat around the bay was very relaxing.
Lamma island and Stanley Market was also very interesting and fun.

I enjoyed the food, Dim sum in Fanling and vegetarian Chinese at a restaurant near the YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Another highlight was going to see the place I was abandoned 3 Hing Hon Road. We met Mickie who lived on right side next door to the building where I was found. He was age14 at the time. The Landlord of the building where I was found at was very secretive and went to work early 5 am and then came home at midnight or later. He was very wealthy. Back in the 60’s a lot of rich Chinese people emigrated which may be the reason many babies were abandoned in this rich part of town, so that we would be found. I was very touched when Mickie gave me handmade jewelry that he’d made himself. Then we went to the Chuk Yuen orphanage location where I was placed after I was found before being adopted to UK.
It felt strange but happy that I could see/visit a part of my childhood history, it wasn’t very emotional for me, due to I don’t remember anything and that I had such a happy childhood with my adopted family. I couldn’t have wished for a better life.

Serena Sussex

26 October
Article in the Sunday Morning Post paper in Hong Kong.

Adoptees reaching out to Hong Kong birth parents
Artist Serena Sussex, visiting the spot where she was abandoned 49 years ago, says birth mothers should know children found happiness
Almost 50 years ago, two-week-old Serena Sussex was found abandoned in a cardboard box in a Sai Ying Pun stairwell.
Last week Sussex, now a 49-year-old artist, visited the building on Hing Hon Road where she was found and said she wanted to reassure local birth mothers that their children could lead happy lives.
“I want to let mums that were forced or had to abandon [their children] due to their circumstances know that a lot of adoptees are very happy. If they wanted to get in touch there is an opportunity for them to find us,” Sussex said.
“I would have liked to have known my birth mother, who she was and what she is doing now.”
Sussex was 2½ years old when a British family adopted her and moved to the United Kingdom. She is now an award-winning artist based in Brighton, southern England, whose oil paintings are in exhibitions and collections across the world.
She spent her early years at the Chuk Yuen Children’s Reception in Wong Tai Sin, East Kowloon, where she believes there was little stimulation. She said her new parents had to teach her to cry and her speech was impaired.
A social worker’s report ahead of her adoption described Sussex, then known as Wu Wai, as “not an attractive baby as her features are rather plain but this is very largely redeemed by her responsive and sociable personality”.
Sussex grew up in a largely white area south of London and said she was shy until she started to excel in sports and art. She said adoptive parents in Britain were not offered support groups. “They probably all thought they were alone adopting this subdued baby, and the difficulty they were having, and it would have been nice for them to compare how to bring up this little baby,” she said.
Her mother, Brenda Sussex, has since met other adoptive mothers through her daughter’s involvement in the Hong Kong Adoptees Network.
One hundred mostly female adoptees were matched with parents in Britain under a plan to find families for Hong Kong orphans as part of the United Nations Year of the Refugee in 1959.
Margaret Bryer, a UK-based former social worker who worked for the International Social Service said publicity in 1959 drew great interest from potential adoptive parents in Britain.
“Towards the end of the period, applicants were being turned away because of the lack of children coming through for adoption,” she said.
In the United States, at least 500 children were adopted through the Hong Kong Project by the early 1960s, according to Professor Catherine Ceniza Choy, who studies adoption at the University of California, Berkeley.
This month a Hawaiian former professional dancer adopted from a Fanling orphanage in the 1960s traced her birth mother through social media after efforts via official channels failed.
Mandy Horst, now 50 and a retired businesswoman, said she first contacted Hong Kong’s Social Welfare Department 10 years ago with information from her adoption records, but the department was not helpful. “I pretty much gave up,” she said.
Horst renewed her search in June, approaching city agencies and contacting people who shared her unusual Chinese surname, Tsigg, on Facebook.
She has been in touch with her birth mother by email and has told her to let go of any guilt she still holds for giving her up.
Horst will travel to Toronto this month to meet her birth mother and family.
The Fanling Babies group, which Horst has joined, provides information and support to Hong Kong adoptees. It plans a reunion next year
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Adoptees reaching out to HK parents.

 

 

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1614696/adoptees-1950s-1960s-run-against-scanty-record-keeping

I was given a chance to get our story out into the media mainly due to the latest interest where two adoptees have managed to find their birth mothers.

I hope that between the Brits and the Americans we can gain some momentum of interest as a lead up to our reunion in Hong Kong Nov 2015

THE GRAND TOUR by Debbie

followed by Serena and Janet’s accounts

(A Northern Incursion into the Southern Counties of England)

As most of you know I live in the far North of England near the city of Carlisle and close to the border with the rebellious Scots.  So you can imagine how delighted I was to find Janet another sister who lives even further north than me in Northumberland when we both attended the first BAAF meeting.  Since then we have met regularly at our famous halfway meeting point a tea-room near Hexham and during a recent chatter session we decided to visit as many of you in the South of England as we possibly could.  Shortly after this the planning began in earnest and with military precision Janet plotted the location where every sister lived on a detailed map of the country but she cunningly left the logistical arrangements to me.   The rest is history and before I knew it I was contacting you for our Grand Tour.  A big ‘Thank you’ to: Joanna, Serena, Sue and Janet’s sister Liz for allowing us both to stay in your homes. I also wish thank:  the two Jasmines’ and Claire for feeding two weary travellers.   We thoroughly enjoyed your hospitality and it really helped us to keep the cost down.

Tuesday 8^th July

During the morning Janet travelled to my home and during our last minute preparations she carefully marked the obligatory tea-stops on the map every twenty or thirty miles along the entire length of our proposed tour.  Later that morning we headed down to a Premier Inn in Corby, Northants where we were met by the lovely Yan.  We all enjoyed a lovely meal together at the Angel Inn and indulged in our usual incessant chatter, I don’t think we drew breath until we retired to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday 9^th July

Off to Chichester to stay with Joanna but before we arrived we stopped off at Bosham which is traditionally believed to be the birth and burial place of King Harold the last Saxon King of England.  This place was very picturesque and one of Janet’s old haunts!

When we arrived in Chichester Joanna treated us to a lovely guided walk around the city with its stunning Cathedral and the beautiful Bishop’s Palace Gardens.  Where we managed to obtain some wonderful photos which was followed by a meal at Joanna’s house!  Thank you, Joanna.

 

 

 

Thursday 10^th July 

We met Beccie from the Isle of Wight in Portsmouth and we looked round The Mary Rose Museum where a Tudor warship that sank in 1545 and was raised from the seabed in 1982 is housed.  It was a fascinating visit but no meeting of sisters is complete until we share a convivial meal together in a Chinese Restaurant!  (Picture to come later)

Friday 11^th July

Upon our arrival in Bournemouth Jasmine very kindly arranged a lovely lunch at a local pub and to my delight Joy from Weymouth joined us for the meal.

 

 

 

After another good meal and plenty of chatter  we walked down to the beach and visited the Marriott Hotel on the Sea front (See Pic) another of Janet’s old haunts.  We walked through the gardens before going back to Jasmine’s for a High Tea where we were treated to some fine home baking.

Thank you, Jasmine.  When we eventually returned to Chichester later that evening we visited Zizzi’s restaurant, for a light supper and on recommendation of Joanna I had the Bolognaise, which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Saturday 12^th July

We arrived at Serena’s flat in Brighton or should I say her artists’ studio because the walls were adorned with several of her fabulous paintings and art works, she is such a talented artist!  Shortly after arriving Serena drove us up to Devils Dyke where we had a lovely pub lunch.   We later wandered around the town and visited the famous lanes of Brighton before returning to the flat where Serena had a lovely Casserole Cooking for Dinner.  Sue J arrived from Bromley in time for dinner and she also stayed at the flat over the weekend.  It was the first time the three of us (Serena, Sue and myself) had been together since we arrived back from our jaunt to San Francisco so it was extra special.   I was fortunate to be sleeping in Serena’s work room and I went to sleep each night admiring her paintings but it was impossible to choose a favourite.

 

Sunday 13^th July

After a brief visit to the Marina and Laughing Dog Art Gallery where many of Serena’s paintings are on display we returned to the flat to prepare food as Serena had graciously volunteered to host a meal for several other adoptees.  Later that afternoon: Melinda H, Susie U with their husbands, Mei E, Marie R including the four of us Janet, Sue Serena and me enjoyed a wonderful meal.  What a gathering it was just fabulous meeting in such a small intimate group as this allowed us the opportunity to share personal details with each other and bond together in friendly surroundings.  After the meal we continued our incessant chatter as we walked down to Brighton pier but sadly at this point our group started to dwindle as both Melinda and Susie had to return to their homes.

 

Monday 14^th July

Janet’s Birthday (although officially on 15^th and the date of her parents wedding anniversary therefore they moved her birthday to 14^th in order give Janet her own day).

Sue, Janet and I left Serena’s shortly after 8 am as we were going to visit a lady who was a young nurse at Fanling between the years of 1964 to 1968.  We were greeted with a noodles and bean sprout meal with runner beans that had been cooked by her husband. Wow what hospitality, we were all honoured that she was prepared to see us and had so many questions but we felt that it would be impolite to continually quiz her during our first meet.

Thank you!

 

 

We then drove over to South Bromley to Claire’s for a light lunch and it was just so special to be sitting in her garden on a blistering hot day having a good catch up!  Thank you, Claire.

After lunch Sue took us to her house in South Bromley where Janet and I were to stay for the next few days, here we were able to relax and chill out.    After arriving at Sue’s we watched Janet open her birthday presents taking care to saviour each moment!  Later we were treated to Sues husbands special Coq a van which went down like a treat. Thank you for your hospitality Sue.

Tuesday 15^th July

My ‘non birthday’ as I have decided to not to celebrate this date anymore,  those who know me, knows it does not fill me with delight to celebrate something that perhaps wasn’t that a joyous occasion for my birth mother.  Therefore I have decided to celebrate 14^th September as a more meaningful day which was the day I came to the UK for a new life with my adopted family this gave me hope and a better future.  Here is something to celebrate!

Sue, Janet and I set off to China town to meet up with Eva and Tessa for yet another meal in a Chinese Restaurant but this time a Dim sum and Thank you Eva you are so kind to treat me.  It was great to catch up with both Tessa and Eva.   Thank you both.

 

Later that evening after returning to Sue’s we went to a lovely Turkish restaurant for another meal but I was somewhat full from our Dim Sum lunch but I did manage to share a lamb dish with Sue,  (Brings back memories of what we did in San Francisco doesn’t it Sue ?).

 

Wednesday 16^th July

 We had a lovely visit to BAAF offices to see Julia Feast and we owe a great deal of gratitude to both her and the organisation for the assistance they have given to our UK HKAN group.  During the time I was contacting fellow adoptee sisters BAAF conducting a survey on adoptee girls who came over to England in the early 60s through the ISS refugee project.  Although the initial study has closed Julia was delighted to inform me that they have received further funding to analyse additional information. Julie’s continuing support and friendship has been so important to so many of us and hopefully BAAF will conduct a further study to see how our lives have progressed since the original survey!

 

 

The final treat for the day was to go and stay with Janet’s Sister Liz for a couple nights in North Harrow.  It was such a lovely gesture to meet her as she has an exceedingly busy working schedule.  Thank you.

 

Thursday 17^th July

Janet and I had a lovely visit to Jasmine G for lunch and although she was getting ready to move out of her flat she more than welcomed us.  Isabella helped with the lunch preparation and it was just fabulous catching up!  I have been privileged to see the St Christopher’s photos which I will be adding to the partitioned area of our website which is viewable to members of the HKAN group only.  So if you are not a registered member please go to the http://www.hkadopteesnetwork.com/become-a-member/ and follow the instructions to apply.

Friday 18^th July

Off to Bocking, Braintree so that I could visit a lady who is 92 years old and who has known me since I first came to the UK to be with my adopted family, although she was our neighbour I have always to called her Auntie Margaret.  Thank you, Janet for this detour before heading up to York.

Our final last minute meeting was to see Esther for lunch at a Garden Centre just outside Cambridge.  This was brilliant and it was a lovely finish to our tour on such a beautiful day.

Our final stay of the tour was at in a Premier Inn in York so that Janet could get her John Lewis shopping fix before we headed home on the Saturday.

The weather was a real treat all the way through our journey and we met so many old friends we could not have wished for anything more.  Janet you were a lovely thoughtful travelling companion a true friend and birthday buddy, Thank you.

 

Serena’s account

 

 

TWO NORTHERN LASSES GO ON ‘LE TOUR’ written by Janet

As the intrepid Tour de France cyclists pedalled North to South, I felt inspired as I prepared to follow them days later. I resolved to cycle more, then packed, dressed for Sunshine (a phenomenon rumoured to occur south of the Watford Gap) and drove to collect Debbie. We couldn’t cycle because, to see 16 sister adoptees, we were going to take in 1,200 miles over 12 days and 21 counties.

A big thank you to Debbie, for her lovely company and for making the arrangements. Debbie and I played to our strengths – hers was organising, mine was letting her. Her planning and generous hospitality from several friends underpinned a most successful holiday. It was great seeing friends and meeting new ones.

Map: 01JanetContemplatesPlanningTheForthcomingTour.png
Caption: Janet contemplates planning the forthcoming Tour.

Map: 02WhatWeActuallyDid.png
Caption: What we actually did. Key: Bh Bournemouth, Bn Brighton, By Bromley, C Chichester, EL East Layton (tea room), P Portsmouth GS Great Shelford, MH Market Harborough, Y York

The rain (sometimes torrential) stopped as we approached The South, pretty much level with Watford Gap! Our first stop was to see Yan, and we shared a lovely meal at an historic coaching inn in Market Harborough (roast pork with all the trimmings, steak with salad and handcut chips). Next day Debbie and I headed straight for the south coast. Our first glimpse of the sea (only just) was at Bosham Harbour where we had tea and cake overlooking sail boats moored in dry mud as the tide was out (when it’s in it covers the road).

Picture: 03BoshamHarbour.jpg
Caption: Debbie at Bosham Harbour

Joanna looked after us well, with food for body and mind. She cooked a vibrant yellow cauliflower korma curry with chick peas; followed by an indulgent homemade strawberry and cream cake, so nice we had some for breakfast too. While with Joanna we visited Chichester Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace Garden. At Pallant House, a modern art gallery in an historic house with a 21st century extension, I was impressed by a dress made of (deflated) red balloons, and by “Scottish Colorist” J.D. Fergusson, especially his punning “Megalithic” depiction of his wife Margaret (“Meg”).

The Tour could be called ‘Two Increasingly Fat Ladies’ as Debbie and I dined well throughout – Chinese, French, Indian, Italian and Turkish, and one or two or three full English breakfasts. (I’ve now lost the weight I put on.)

Beccie, Joanna, Debbie and I explored the Mary Rose exhibition in Portsmouth. About 500 men died in 1545 when the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, sank in battle against French invasion. We saw the salvaged hulk and the painstakingly restored crew possessions. The exhibition was shipshape, literally, to give a feel for the Mary Rose’s size, shape and even height. A staff member, dressed in Tudor costume, told us about the ship’s surgeon, an important and wealthy man – we saw the amputation saw and bowl for hot pitch to seal the stump. There was no hygiene and no anaesthetic except drinking rum, ouch. It didn’t put us off lunch – at a Chinese restaurant in Portsmouth we tucked into pork satay, chicken, stir-fried vegetables, Singapore noodles, shrimp, and crispy chilli beef.

Picture: 04MaryRose.jpg
Caption: King Henry VIII welcomes us dolefully to the Mary Rose museum.

That evening Joanna, Debbie and I ate at an Italian restaurant, a first for Debbie at that particular franchise. Next day in Bournemouth with Joanna, Joy, and Debbie, Jasmine P. gave us a posh cream tea with homemade scones and beautifully light homemade cakes.

Picture: 05JoannaJoyDebbieWithBournemouthPierBehind.jpg
Caption: Bournemouth sea front and Pier.

Picture: 06JoannaInTheFunicularAtBournemouth.jpg
Caption: Travelling in the funicular up the cliff face, Bournemouth.

Picture: 07JasmineP_HighTea.jpg
Caption: Jasmine presents high tea.

Serena had invited Debbie, myself and Sue to stay in Brighton. Serena’s flat has some of her art on display so we Artful Lodgers loved looking round. She hosted a lunch buffet, this was for the largest group gathering – 11 of us (see her write-up). The star dish was Serena’s Mediterranean vegetable and tuna bake, with home-prepared coleslaw, potato salad and rice salad. Debbie sculpted a pineapple for the fruit salad. Marie and Mei brought yummy homemade goodies.

Picture: 08SerenaBuffetMainCourse.jpg
Caption: Serena’s buffet – the main course.

Then we walked along the sea front. Susie, Melinda, Adrian and Tim said farewell and left the rest of us to amble along the Pier. I bought a pancake that was made to order at a kiosk, mainly to watch it being cooked. It came only in one size – so large it had to be folded. Afterwards we strolled into town to find a coffee shop. We had to look in more than one as I needed a cushion; Sue suggested I sit on a pancake.

To start the second week of Le Tour, Sue put Debbie and myself up very comfortably – we all had an enjoyable and very relaxing time, and were well fed too, starting with a delicious homecooked coq au vin. During that time the three of us saw Claire, who provided a light lunch of minted lamb burgers in finger rolls with Mexican salsa, which we ate in the garden to enjoy the heatwave.

Next day Sue, Debbie and I shopped in London’s Chinatown, then met Eva and Tessa at the Lions in Chinatown. We shared four types of noodle dish, vegetable fried rice, a selection of dim sum, and of course jasmine tea throughout.

Picture: 09MealAtTheGoldenPagodaChinatown.jpg
Caption: Lunch in Chinatown: Sue, Debbie, Eva, Tessa, Janet.

Debbie and I shared a meal with Sue and her family at a Turkish restaurant in Bromley. I’ve eaten Turkish before but a Turkish restaurant was a first.

Picture: 10DebbieSueTrainToCentralLondon.jpg
Caption: On the overground train into Central London. I love using London public transport. I saw the Shard and the Houses of Parliament from the train, the River Thames gleamed in the morning sunshine.

Picture: 11BreakfastInKirbyStreetNearBAAF.jpg
Caption: An English breakfast (poached eggs on toast) and a Continental breakfast (croissant with jam).

Debbie and I saw Julia at BAAF before travelling to our London base in Middlesex. Next day we travelled by Tube to see Jasmine G. who’d prepared a meat, salmon and prawn salad buffet, followed by strawberries, a perfect light lunch as by then it had reached 33 degrees.

Picture: 12JasmineG_SaladBuffet.jpg
Caption: Part of Jasmine’s lunch buffet.

Heading homewards, Debbie and I stopped for a long lunch with Esther in Great Shelford near Cambridge. As we re-entered The North, the rain began again. We stopped overnight at York and next morning visited the new John Lewis store there. Someone was trying to tell us we’d shopped long enough as after a few hours the fire alarm sounded and the staff evacuated everyone. It was raining heavily by tea-time (another all-day cooked breakfast at East Layton). While travelling Debbie and I chatted about where we’d been and who we’d seen. What a marvellous time – thank you so much to everyone!

….Anyone in the South fancy a Northern Tour?? Would love to see you!….

 

All pictures will be shown at the bottom as it’s very difficult to position properly in WordPress  my apologies

Please read Mim’s lovely thoughts of the day, link below

http://www.hkadopteesnetwork.com/uk/news-blog/saturday-march-16th-2013-reunion-london/