One unforeseen consequence of the lockdown was that it finally got my dad to write down past years via email – one little chunk (parcel) at a time. My dad is 97 and he is typing using a tablet with a software touch keyboard using his arthritic fingers – furthermore one of the fingers cannot bend because it was broken from a fight during his younger days – it never healed properly. So this is a big deal for him.

Note that at that era, there are things and viewpoints that we now frown upon. This is a somewhat private blog of what happened in those times, therefore, I made no attempts to change it to make it politically correct.

Mario

References:
La Salle Hong Kong
Wah Yan College Hong Kong
Hong Kong World War II

****************** (As written by Bernie Lam)
As promised, I start with my babyhood.

I was born a pretty baby. I was admired, praised and loved by the people My dad was well pleased and always bring me with him to join the big gathering with his friends, often in the Chinese great feast style. The guests always asked the nursing maid to show me to every table. I was not shy in meeting all of them. The maid, holding me in her arms, would bow and say thanks for me..Some playful guests would poke their fingers at me, and I quickly poke back at them , making everyone laugh…and the waitresses would gather round and play with me , and taught me to make monkey faces and to do other little tricks… I learned so fast that made them wonder! Some guests were amazed by the fun we had, they left their table and joined in, creating boisterous laughter……until my dad said to the maid to take the baby home, it was way past his bed time!

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OK, time goes fast and babies grow quick! This parcel (ii) takes us to the time I was already at the age of 6 or 7. Even at this early age I showed a tremendous delight in traveling, enjoying whatever landscapes or seascapes that came our way. My mom used to take me for rides around the Island of Hong Kong, to see its many
beautiful and breathtaking beaches and to have teas at the hotel lounges which were very plushy and cosy. I would have a glass of milk and an ice cream. Truly living life in luxuries. Our travel trails covered also Macao, a small Portuguese Colony, famous for its Casinos, often called the Las Vegas of the Orient. But our visit was in the other side of the city, in the residential districts, which were very quiet peaceful and comfortable. We visited also the Governor’s House on a very picturesque hilltop, surrounded by a dozen short range cannons, which were more as a deterrent to pirates in those early days, it’s no defense for any real attack.

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I received my basic education, grades 1 to 10 in Hong Kong where I was born, it was the British system we adopted. The teachers were mostly come from England, Italy or France. We called these schools Colleges. I did my earlier grades 1 to 6 in the Wah Yan College , and the advanced grades 7 to 10 in the La Salle College.

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To begin, I must emphasize that this period of my life lays down Not only the foundation of my education, but also builds into my mind and body an insatiable desire to learn – learning became my Highway to infinite Joy.
And Wah Yan College did all this Magic ?.!
Yes and yes. Please read on to find out.

This College was headed by a Malaysia born Chinese , robust in health , at his early 40s. Determined to make education his life career. Turning out students to be the cream of the Society. He would personally screen and select every teacher , making sure that all of them were as zealous and dedicated as himself! His relentless efforts has placed the College among the very Bests in Hong Kong.

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Thanks to Two Outstanding Teachers , I excelled in the Subjects of History and Geography, Physics and Chemistry. These 4 subjects could be boring and downright scary. However, they were transformed into attractions , more inviting and thrilling than Oscar winning movies, keeping us glued to our seats. For example, for our History and Geography classes, our Teacher, nicknamed the ‘fat fellow Mr. Chan’ , he would tell us to put aside all our maps ànd books and look at the full sized screen, hung over the blackboard. He would then project a page from the Life Magazine, titled ‘What happened to the crews of the ship filmed in the Classic Movie ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ which was a hot topic on all newspapers and periodicals. This was a factual historical film…. The ship, wrecked and beached at the bay of an unmapped and unnamed Island. Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea… The crews were quite happy at first, but soon became homesick… and chaos started when a sailor discovered he could make a strong alcoholic liquor from the coconuts… grown abundantly along the Beeches…..and mutual killing began and became uncontrollable…until the end…not a single crew survived.
The Physics and Chemistry teacher too could turn his laboratories alive and fun filled. He would take us to visit other schools…to see their labs with new equipment… exchanging new ideas and exciting experiments…..His classes were always active, and interesting.

So this was the way our days in Wah Yan College glide by…. Our Way!

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It’s worthy of mentioning that, while we were enjoying our classes during the week days, our weekends were filled with fun and thrills by our Godfather Mr. Stephens, who took us to visit the poor, the sick and the suffering – in their homes or in the hospitals. It’s so rewarding to see the happiness and the smiles glowing in their faces!

Our visits usually took us to Aberdeen, Hong Kong where there was a unique floating population of fishermen, living in their 30 ft long boats which serve as a home as well as for offshore fishing. There was an assigned anchorage for each boat. They were out fishing for a week and then home for resting and replenishing in the other week. These boats made a very impressive view! Reporters from around the world came to do their filming and reporting!

Our Godfather and me, we were frequent visitors to some of the boats and we bring small gifts for the children, such as pictured books and color pencils. and small toys….they welcomed us with jumping joy.
We also visited the sick in their homes or hospitals. They were usually very lonely. Our visits, our company and chats…often brought tears in their eyes! When someone died, we visited them in the hospital mortuary. Their frozen staring eyes, open gaping mouths…they were such sad and heartbreaking sights…!

Our other places of visit include a School for Blind Girls… we sat to admire their performances…they played beautifully the piano… and they sing songs that move our hearts…they made us cry!
We gave a handsome donation every time we visited.

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Here is my last parcel (v) La Salle College days. Those were truly my happiest days. When things and classes became too dull, or when we were in a real bad mood. we simply started a mêlée, leading to a fierce fist fight, resulting in many swollen blue eyes and bleeding noses! That were the price we paid for the fun we had! And much worse than the injuries was the cutting down of our lunch allowances and pocket money for a whole month by our mom! Alas, alas!

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The La Salle days were exciting and unforgettable. I’ll try to give a gist of it as follows :-
Its students were multinationals,
Portuguese, Chinese, French, Italian, Malaysian,
Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Siamese,….
You name it and we have it .
With a mix of students like this, fist fighting were inevitable.
Starting with jeering, and making faces at each other, …. someone calling the Portuguese goose …. or someone calling the Chinese fleas …more and more students gather round … someone began pushing … and fists started flying… some noses bleeding, eyes turning blue, …teacher’s whistle started blowing ….fighters disappearing in seconds … Such scenes were frequently seen at La Salle College ! Haha !

There is a Chinese saying which says , ‘you get to know each other better, after a fight’ …. This came out to be fairly true when some Portuguese students became my very best friends . I was a frequent guest to their family dinners ……and when I had to say farewell to them in my departure for China, they showered me with gifts (some were from their own collection of souvenirs).

****************** (The following was in response to my question “So the reputation of La Salle being a bad boys school where there are lots of fights is true. So the best wah yun offered are 2 inspiring teachers but la salle gave uou the best fights?!”

The notorious reputation of the La Salle boys is only partly (tiny little) true ! Because later on in Society and in Life, in Peace and at War, they have been time proven to be the most dedicated and bravest , way above the other boys !
The School Anthem of La Salle College has a few lines which tell it all :,

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There are famous schools in plenty
With their heroes by the score,
And they flourish high and mighty,
But La Salle has Something More

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And in the records of the World War ll, it is evident that every word above is TRUE