Lent

Splashing sunset yesterday

The past couple of days was sunny and warm. People were out in the streets, street hawkers were out, dogs were being walked in the park ... it was like a normal day at last. Until we saw the dreadful news clip of ISIS people smashing 3000 yr old statues. It was abominable. All our students (and they study archaeology) were shocked. Utterly unbelievable that people would smash up what their ancestors created.

Meantime Lent is underway. The Lenten rigors are in place. We fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Saturday 11.40pm starts Vigils at the Holy Sepulchre ... matins is sung till about 12.30am then a candle-light procession takes place around the Empty Tomb. Masses then follow up on Mt. Calvary till 4am. Every Wednesday a pilgrimage and mass is made on one of the Passion churches (Dominus Flevit, Gethsemani, Condemnation, Flagellation) when the Passion of John's Gospel is sung in 4 parts.

Indigo anemones are blooming

Healthwise I finished my course of Prednesone ... which I dislike. Now my fingers are swollen, nauseous and depressed ... the usual side-effects and withdrawal syndrome. 15 days of the cortisone didn't do much .. I still am wheezing and my chest still hurts. I'm afraid even Prednesone doesn't work  anymore for me. Don't know if there's another medicine that I can take. Miserable.

On a happy note, my flowers are finally blooming after 2 snowstorms. Anemones of different colours are out, freesias are also opening and the first ranunculus (orange) is amazing.

More christians kidnapped

My poor echium snapped
in half by the snow

More bad news from Syria as a christian cleric announced that at least 100 families have been kidnapped by ISIS. At the same time, italian broadcasters RAIUNO and RAIDUE have announced that they will no longer broadcast videos of ISIS. I think this is a right move ... stop giving them free publicity; when they realise that no one is watching them and paying them attention, they'll have to quit killing christians. Let's pray very hard for their safety.

Meantime I'm still sore that the snow destroyed my echium. It had over 40 buds and now half the plant is broken off. I hope the remaining half will not be too traumatised and die off. They're quite sensitive.

Another street scene of
broken branches felled by
the snow

It was good to meet an old friend from the security team. Haven't seen him for over half a year. He was back at the Tunnel security schedule to cover a shortage of guys ... most have left ... in fact all my good friends are gone. They can't take the stress and pressure working in this aggressive arab neighbourhood even though the pay is very good. "Not worth it" is the usual remark. Well how about me living here all these years? They think I'm crazy to live here and have unanimously ganged up to urge me to move away. A very very good idea! I'm very stressed too.

After the snowstorm

Trees split in half by the heavy snow
and gale force winds

The past few days have been very busy ... now that the snow has melted and life goes back to normal. The municipality was in action all weekend to remove the snow from the roads. It had only snowed for 24 hours but it was severe and extremely cold, much more than the first snowfall in January which lasted 3 days. Many trees have fallen or branches broken off ... much more than the previous snowfall. It goes to show how strong the winds were this time round, and how much more snow fell (30 cm here).

Well actually life isn't all back to normal ... not for the christians here. This morning's news that ISIS had captured 90 or so christians in Syria has upset everyone here. The ancient Assyrian church of the Virgin Mary was blown up and thousands of ancient rare religious books were burned ... as was also the National Library. We've always known that as a minority in this region, we would face with difficulties. But persecution at this level, and international silence about it ... it leaves us in stumped silence. Well the threat of ISIS is so real, the Swiss Guards at the Vatican are now preparing for the worst case scenario of an attack on the Pope.

Meantime work continues to build up ... the usual fatigue of the week. Mondays are the worse as I start work at 3am and finish at 9.30pm - a full 18 and a half hours of work and classes with no rest in between. I managed to grab 2 pieces of sandwiches for lunch but suffered a dreadful diarrhea ... my IBS is still torturing me. This Lent is going to be very hard on me as I have retreats to preach every weekend as well. A couple of these lasts between 3 to 5 days full.

2nd snowfall this year

Yesterday morning we woke up to a white white Jerusalem. Snow covered everything ... some 30 cm in some places. It was a very stormy night as well with thunder and lightening. And the wind was very strong.

But the snow stopped falling by 10am and the sun came back up. But it was still very cold ... one degree at highest. Last night it fell to minus 2 degrees. Even more thunder and lightening with a whole night of hail last night as well.

*Thanks to Rose Chiu, Paulette, the Caveros, the Monday Class, the Wednesday Class (Causeway Bay and Wan Chai). Received everything*

Here are some pics of the snow at Damacus Gate area yesterday morning.

Damascus Gate park

Snow covered steps

Damascus Gate

Damascus Gate form inside the City

Damascus Gate

Palm Square

Popsicle tree

Snowed over cypress

Damascus Gate park

Empty Light Rail tracks

Snow covered motorcycle

Popiscle tree

Popsicle tree

Damascus Gate park

Snow again

Snow smothering my flowers
at 1am

Yesterday was a very cold Thursday. It rained all day ... with sleet and graupel ... and very strong winds. It's so cold, four children in Gaza died yesterday from lack of heating. Police and Home Front services have been advising people to stock up with food and water as roads will be closed ... and all shops.

I went out at 3pm to buy bread and water as the police advised. The rain was bitterly cold and most shops were sold out on bread. I had to go to the largest bakery in our area, which is in the Musrara neighbourhood, to get some fresh bread for the next few days when we're stuck at home. Out in the streets, crowds of people especially women were rushing about buying up as much food as possible. Husbands and sons were tagging behind, strained by the load of purchases made.

By 5pm the first snowfall began ... large flakes and lots of sleet. I wasn't looking forward to it. Because of my slipped disc, I could not keep my flower pots in the shade ... and the freesias and anemones are just beginning to flower. I'm afraid they'll all be frost-bitten. And the poor finches will have to endure another snowstorm out in the courtyard. I've fixed a 100 watt bulb in their cage to warm it up and wrapped their cage with blankets for warmth and plastic from the wet. The canaries are luckier ... being in a smaller cage, I put them inside my office with the heater on. And of course Mr. Bird sleeps in my room.

Vegetarian lunch yesterday

Yesterday being the first day of the New Year, my meal was vegetarian. I had bought 2 kg of spinach and cooked them and kept in 6 small containers. That way I just take out and eat what I need without having to heat up all and ruin the lot. Khalil our chef cooked up scrambled eggs and tomatoes for me as well. It was a nice warm lunch. Couldn't help thinking of the poor children in Gaza who are still sleeping roofless, without heating and warm food. Mother Theresa's sisters from Gaza are in Jerusalem now ... I'll have to pass them some help to bring to those children.

Happy New Year!

Mr. Bird wishes you
恭喜發財

Wishing everyone health, joy and all good things for the Year of the Goat! Though the goat is known to be capricious ("capra" = "goat"), all will be well when the Good Shepherd is in control. Let him lead the way.

CNY Reunion dinner was quite an event ... not the meal in itself but the dramatic weather change we are experiencing. Temperatures plummeted, rainstorm battered and snow is expected. The Horse was not going out without a kick and the Goat is butting its way in.

Despite the weather, 6 of us made it to Mandarin Restaurant. Hailing from Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong we met up to pass the old year and hail in the new. Not many other chinese came to celebrate the new year, not in this weather. There was a chinese guide and her family on another table, and a group of VIP tourists from China on the other. Our table was made up of students studying in the various Catholic institutes in Jerusalem: Magdalen and her visiting sister Betty, Lucie, Matthias and Pedro. Enoch had to go to the airport to pick someone up and Sherry was guiding a group so they couldn't come. Magdalen had just returned from Hong Kong and brought traditional cantonese carrot cake. Ah Ling prepared vegetarian siu mai and gao zi (jiao zi), boiled a whole chicken for 4 hours in herbs, rice, noodles, steamed fish, spinach, brocolli and carrots, Mongolian beef.

Our little group at CNY Reunion
dinner. Behind them is the Chinese
tourist group

We had a slow dinner ... with the hope that the storm would have blown off or at least reduced in force when we will have finished. It did reduce to a heavy drizzle and we managed to walk home. Let's see if it'll snow now ....

Emergency Room again

Injecting medicine

Yesterday was dry but cold ... and despite the rain of the rpevious night, dust continued to blow in the air. I suffered a 24 hour difficulty in breathing. It was suffocating and by evening the chest was extremely painful. Practically it was a daylong asthma attack. Went off to hospital in the evening and they treated me immediately. Stayed there for 3 hours till my blood tests returned from the laboratory. I practically had no potassium in my body - 2 out of a scale of 10. They insisted that I had to push the potassium level up. At the same time my eosinophils were super high ... which the docs say is normal as it's linked to my asthma and allergy attack. 

Fai Chun on my door

This time there was another nurse. I'm terrified because the former one couldn't get the catheter into my veins right and had made several tries. It was extremely painful and lots of blood everywhere. This time the nurse was good ... just one painful jab. And removing the catheter was much better ... didn't feel it at all. He kept counting one to ten in arabic and asked me to repeat with him. While concentrating on counting, he pulled out the catheter and i didn't even know it was done. Smart move.

Now the rain is falling again and the temp. is falling even lower. Forecast is for heavy rain in the next few days and snow on Thursday. I'm staying home and cleaning my room for the New Year. Hope the Goat will be good to me. Thanks for the Fai Chun ... I got it up on my door.

Last Saturday of the Year of the Horse

Patriarch's Street leading to
the Holy Sepulchre is almost
empty

It rained the whole night ... and the skies are cleared from dust and sand. It is still very cold though ... about 5 degrees. And the skies are cloudy and dark. My asthma continued all night ... now my chest hurts very much from all the coughing and wheezing. And I finished one Ventolin inhaler in just one night. Too much steroids in my system now ... am feeling nauseous.

Groups of tourists continue to come, though very few in number. They're mostly asian groups from Mainland China, Vietnam and Japanese. Most restaurants have closed due to lack of business. Small hotels are also closed. All are taking advantage of this lull in tourism to make repairs, renovations or changes in ownership. The streets are relatively quiet now. We expect a sudden rise of tourists next week ... mainly chinese during the Chinese New Year holidays. I heard some 50 groups are coming just next week alone.

The Ancient Roman Gate
museum is now reopened
under Damascus Gate

Last night there was a clash between jewish security guys and local arab youths behind my house. From what I learned, 2 security guys had their path blocked by 4 arab youths who refused to budge. In the stalemate, the security guys pushed their way through and a punch-up resulted. Both sides called for backup ... ending in a 40 person free for all. Finally police and soldiers came and the everything died down. That's how volatile things are in our Quarter. The other Quarters are peaceful and never face such aggression. It's only here this corner of the Muslim Quarter.

The ancient City Gate from the Roman period is now reopened after years of closure. It contains the remains of the Roman Plaza and tower at Damascus Gate. The present Damascus Gate is built over this ancient entrance. I believe there is no entry fee to this museum. I'll go visit it when I feel better.

Still sandstorm

Our terrace covered with fine
desert sand

The sandstorm continues for the 3rd straight day. It is bitterly cold. Though only 4 degrees, when the wind blows it feels like below zero. And the sand is so fine and dangerous to asthmatics like me. Going to and returning from work, I got asthma attacks because the very fine dust enter the lungs without me noticing. When you lick your dry cracked lips, all your tongue feels is a film of sand. So this weather is a bad for me. I've tried my best staying indoors. And now ... a gift from heaven .... it is raining. It'll wash away all the sand in the air, wash clean all the plants and trees caked in yellow dust, wash away the streets coated in a layer of sand. And I can breathe without fear.

Another type of storm is brewing in Israel - one in a teacup - the resignation of the entire panel of judges of Israel's coveted literature prize. Apparently the Prime Minister's office intervened in the panel's makeup because it was accused of not being nationalistic enough. Cries of fascism were aimed at the PM's office ... and the panel resigned in protest over this "external meddling". Now however things have turned around. The panel came under scrutiny by the Press and is accused for being biased toward one section of Jewish writers only - male, jewish of non middle eastern origin. Then the PM's office retracted it's disqualification of the panel members but enough damage has already been inflicted. So mud continues to be flung around ... and Israel might not have a winner of the Literature Prize this year.

Longan and red dates with an egg

Yesterday Ah Ling from Mandarin's called me over for dinner. She boiled a chicken with chinese herbs and it felt very good eating it in this cold weather. She was also wrapping dumplings for the New Year and boiled 4 for me. Then she packed a tub of soup made from red dates and longans. It's been a long time since I had that. But the strange thing is she added an egg inside. Guess it must be how Shanghainese eat it. I had it for breakfast this morning. Tasted good.

Sandstorm

Sandstorm over the Mt. of Olives

The temp. dropped to 4 degrees at 3pm today. And the sky was smothered in a thick yellow blanket of sand. It's a tremendous sight. Gale force winds smashing in ... and very very cold too. Everything is now covered in fine desert sand. Eyes, ears, nose and mouth are very vulnerable spots of the sand to lodge. I had several asthma attacks when I was going to and from work. Definitely not a good day for asthmatics.

At about 4pm it rained and then hail dropped but almost immediately it stopped. The wind continued to blast and everyone ... mainly chinese and ukrainian tourists were frozen. I guess most businesses have closed early as hardly anyone is out in the streets.

There has been a strong police and military presence but I'm not sure why. The lull in violence seems to be holding up ... except for one incident this morning when arab boys threw rocks at the Light Rail in Shuafat, the town 5 kms north of Jerusalem. If the cold continues for the next few days, we'd expect the peace to continue.

Healthwise my neuroma seems to be easing as I manipulate the toe bones and nerves apart everyday. But now the left foot hurts ... must go see my podiatrist again. The pain in my slip disc comes and goes. I've learned to roll a towel and place it under the spine when I sleep so it relieves the pressure from the disc. But the swollen fingers and feet from the steroids that I took for the asthma is still hurting me. And the cold isn't helping. Now with the sandstorm, I think it's a good excuse to stay home and stay warm.

Char Siu Fan

Char Siu Fan

Temperatures continue to fall ... and very very strong gusty winds are whipping the country. It's not only cold but it's a sand storm from the south. The sky today was yellow, the sun was blocked by sand and dust. I had a very bad attack of asthma outside ... am now staying indoors for safety.

Egypt too is experiencing this sandstorm ... it's airport in Cairo is closed because of it. I guess tomorrow Ben Gurion airport will also have to close. From tomorrow it'll rain and even hail and perhaps light snow. On Friday the temp. will drop to 1 degree. No one is looking forward to it.

Stray cats congregating at a rubbish dump

Not even the street cats. They're all fluffed up to buffer from the cold ... and they're all gathering at rubbish dumps to scavenge food to keep themselves warm. I'm putting out seeds, bread and other stuff for the wild birds to eat in the courtyard. Lots of sparrows and turtledoves gather to feed and fatten up ... occasionally even bulbuls will stop by.

And talking about fattening up ... the other day I made char siu fan. Obviously the char siu came from Hong Kong ... thanks to the kind people who brought it over. I cooked the rice and made the sauce. It was nice. It beats the cold weather. Now if only I can hibernate for the next few days.

Return of Cold Front

The almond tree at Damascus
Gate is in full blossom

The weather has suddenly turned around and a cold front is lashing us again. Forecast is for rain from tomorrow onwards and even a little snow on Thursday. No one is looking forward to this. We want Spring ... but winter is clinging on ferociously. The cold will kill all the Spring flowers that are now beginning to blossom. The last snowfall had burnt all the young leaves of shrubs and flowering plants ... it's an ugly sight. And before they can recover, this cold front will deal another blow.

The warmth of last week was very welcomed and everyone thought it was time to put aside the jackets and blankets and heaters. The weekend (Friday - Saturday) market at Musrara was packed with shoppers - both jewish and arab. It's one place where everyone can mingle freely. There has never been any incident there throughout the Intifadas and other unrests. The road lined with cartons of colourful fruit and vegetables going at wholesale prices ... this attracts many people especially those in the restaurant business or hotels. Very cheap deal and the products are all fresh.

Friday market at Musrara

Some schools are having holidays now while others are in the midst of exams. There're lots of students in the streets, some enjoying the semester break while others are still slogging the final hours before entering the school. I had hoped to do some renovations in the library during this break but the workers are/were not ready to work ... goodness knows when they'll be ready to do a serious job.

My slipped disc is much better now. I'm able to walk and carry some load, but still have to be careful bending or reaching out. Asthma is under control only because I'm on heavy dosage of steroids ... which has resulted in swollen fingers and feet. Nasty. Hope all these go away when Chinese New Year approaches.

Ramallah visit

My EpiPen

Had another attack of asthma this morning. Wasn't fatal but I managed to keep it under control. The EpiPen I ordered last week arrived. I went to the pharmacist and he taught me how to use it. But he said "I hope you won't have to use it at all". I hope so too. It's pretty big and bulky to carry in the pockets ... a bit of a bother if I;m going out. Will always need to carry a bag to put it in.

Yesterday I took the opportunity to visit the city of Ramallah in the West Bank (Palestine). Qalandya checkpoint was a torture as usual but once we got passed that, traveling was smooth.

High class shopping, new
expensive cars everywhere.

My last visit to Ramallah was 20 years ago. It was a miserable town with thousands of Palestinian refugees. Housing was minimal, roads and sanitation barely existing, shops selling the basic necessities.  Poverty was the norm. But yesterday I couldn't believe my eyes.

Rows and rows of deluxe apartments and penthouses lining the main street. An apartment that costs 300,000 shekels here would go for 1 million shekels in Jerusalem. Expensive new cars in every road. Shops selling middle class to upperclass appeal goods. They even have Giordano shops which Israel doesn't have. There is none of the tacky stuff that we find in East Jerusalem. The first thing I thought of when I saw the streets and shops and cars and thousands of people milling around was not Jerusalem or Tel Aviv ... it was like Hong Kong. It was utterly unbelievable the change and progress that Ramallah had undergone.

Deluxe apartments being build all
along the main street and beyond

And the people ... over 65% that I saw in the streets were young. Very fashionable, good taste and on the whole better manners than in East Jerusalem. The goods sold in Ramallah are not mainly chinese but rather Turkish or european.

The visit was really an eye-opener. People are doing well in Ramallah and the neighbouring town of El Bira. Hopefully the people know how lucky they are and work toward more economic and social progress rather than bickering and backstabbing each other as in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Tu B'Shvat

Full moon at Tu B'Shvat

It's the Jewish Arbor Day today - "Tu B'Shvat". The almond trees are all in blossom ... they're always the first trees to flower. The oranges and lemons are also all over the place. Spring is slowing changing to Summer ... and though the weather is still cold, the sun is quite hot. We still have to wear jackets and hoodies though. And the moon was quite full and bright as well.

The news of the Jordanian pilot's murder by ISIS has shocked not only the Jordanians but also the arabs here in our country. This morning I saw black flags flying in several shops and windows. ISIS played the wrong card this time ... it's got the muslim countries banding up against it.

Kitten camouflage on my carpet

My slip-disc is getting much better. The physiotherapy did some good ... and I'm careful how I carry myself. My asthma was bad last night ... but only because I had a kitten sleeping with me. It was a stray that decided to stay in our courtyard ... very fluffy and cute. I'm not a cat person but this one was really cute. Bar'On my security friend said he'd like to keep it but couldn't take it home that night so I decided to keep it in my room till today when he could take it. The kitten just slept right through the night on my bed, it's head on my chest. And he didn't even attack Mr. Bird who also spent the night in my room. Mr. Bird wasn't too happy and shrieked several times at the kitten while it sat in front of the cage watching Mr. Bird. Anyway I got an asthma attack because it was too close to me. Now the kitten is gone and my asthma today is getting better. Lesson learned - no kittens in my room.

Sunday

The weather has continued to be fine and sunny but cold. Night temp. goes down to 6 degrees but in the afternoons it rises to 18 degrees. There's another lull in the violence in the country ... the northern borders with Syria and Lebanon are quiet.

Trees in the park

Work continues ... despite the weekend. I have 2 urgent articles to correct and the english is horrendous. It burdens the brains to read paragraphs of sentences with no articles, relative pronouns, melapropisms and outright misunderstanding of words. Still I must get them done by this evening.

News from neighbouring countries are good and bad: from Egypt is good news, Peter Greste the Al Jazeera reporter jailed for 400 days has been released. His colleague M. Fahmy will be released soon too. This is a victory for free press ... but frankly I disapprove of people trying to link this arrest with the Charlie Hebdo's freedom of journalism. I don't think anyone has the right to insult, mock, deride, destroy the dignity and respect of others and hide behind the "Press Freedom" claim. Try doing that to the Jews and you'll be slammed with anti-semitism, a jail term, financial loss and international ostracism. But doing it to others is ok? Notice Charlie Hebdo never has cartoons against Jews? A case of self-censorship or double standards?

Moon rising at 4pm

Now for the bad news: the japanese journalist was killed this morning in Syria by ISIL. Persecution against everyone non-ISIL is still widespread in Syria and Iraq ... I'm just wondering how come all those people demonstrating at the Charlie Hebdo incident aren't marching for the captured and dead journalists killed or held by ISIL?

Anyway it was a tiring day but I managed to correct one article and am starting on the other. Had a 2 hour break chatting with the security guys ... actually they asked me to come down. It was good to see them ... Shane, Tom and Bar'on are really good friends. And we saw an amazing sight - the moon rising at 4pm in the east while the sun was still shining in the west. Shane said "It's the end of the world". It might as well be ... if it isn't already ... the way the double standards it plays, the world doesn't deserve to continue.