English Roadtrip - July 2008 - The Jane Austen Tour

I had the pleasure to be travelling with an obsessed Jane Austen fan, *ahem* Alison, which turned out to be educational for me since I have never read any of her books nor watched any version of Pride & Prejudice, which turned out to be a unifying theme throughout the trip. [I have only watched Sense & Sensibility directed by Ang Lee.]



It was funny how the day worked out, since Alison and I were scheduled to go horseback riding that day, but was unfortunately rained out that morning. Instead, we decided to head to Winchester Cathedral (see previous blog). In addition to it being a beautiful cathedral, this was also the burial place of Jane Austen. [Who would have known.]



A "stone's throw" away from Winchester is Chawton, the small town where Jane Austen lived, and her old house has been turned into a small museum. In it, we saw the table where she wrote her books and letters, keepsakes from her brothers... all in all, a quaint little house with a lovely garden. In today's day, it looked comfortable enough, even if small. Jane Austen lived there after her father passed away and her family had to auction off their remaining assets to generate funds. Incidentally, Bath was also on our route!



While the rest of the group visited the Roman Baths, Alison visited the..


Stamford happened to be one of those little historic cities en route to our destination in the Nottingham area. Stamford is on this list because it was also used as the backdrop of Meryton in the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice, but walking through the town was a quaint experience nonetheless! Though we didn't visit it, Burghley House is a major estate nearby, previously an estate of one of Elizabeth I's advisors, which was also in Keira Knightley version of the movie. Below, you can see the historic architecture of Stamford, very much fitting a backdrop of 'officers' of Meryton.




The finale attraction was Chatsworth House, which was Mr. Darcy's beautiful residence, Pemberley, in the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice. Do these pictures look familiar? The visit was indeed breathtaking, backdropped by the rolling hills of Derbyshire (for real -- I "heard" that Jane Austen was inspired after visiting Derbyshire and Chatsworth House to include it in her story.) The drive here through the rolling hills of Derbyshire was so nice. The fountain in the first picture is called the "Emperor's Cascade", a beautifully long, cascading fountain, where the steps were varied for a different sound along the walk (and the water was cold!)





Ah, Mr. Darcy... though, I can't say I am completely smitten by his character in P&P... :p He is a nice guy, with sufficient funds and good relationships to allow for generosity and to pull strings behind the scenes to do stuff for the girl he likes/loves, but... is he really "man" enough? hahaha But I suppose he and Elizabeth complement each other in the end.

Epilogue -- after the bombardment of Pride & Prejudice, (which included the BBC version soundtrack), I did purchase a copy of this book (at Jane Austen House, no less) and finished it as soon as possible when I returned to Hong Kong. I very much enjoyed it -- a very charming and witty satire of social norms, great writing and dialogue -- and also watched the 'inferior' Keira Knightley version of the movie. I figure I would watch this version first, since it would be so much more inferior if I were to watch it after the BBC version of the story. Indeed, the movie pales in comparison to the original book, where a movie character's intended 'non-'expression can, in no adequate way, convey the emotional tensions that underlie the situations. While I have not yet seen Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy, Matthew Macfadyen's anti-social quietness in his early scenes at the ball only come across as blank and empty stares. It makes me think that Leon Lai possesses the similar emptiness in a Hong Kong version of Mr. Darcy. :p

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

English Roadtrip - July 2008 - The Cathedral Tour

It's difficult to think about visiting England without seeing its magnificent cathedrals. While there are various similar features, each has a certain uniqueness and grandeur that makes a visitor feel in awe once inside. And since many cathedrals are older than the Renaissance period, there isn't as much as sense of lavishness as in Italy.



Winchester - Even though the exterior is not very spectacular ("an old log"), the interior is very awesome, since this cathedral boasts the longest nave of a Gothic cathedral in Europe. The building dates from the early 11th century and is the burial place of Jane Austen; she had lived in a nearby town of Chawton.




Salisbury - This cathedral is nearby to Stonehenge and boasts the tallest spire in the UK. The interior courtyard was really pretty.




Canterbury - Yes, the Canterbury of the title "Archbishop of Canterbury", who is the head of the Church of England. We visited the cathedral actually one week week before the Lambeth Conference, a once-in-10-years conference for all worldwide Anglican bishops... a good thing for us because otherwise, we would not have been able to go near the cathedral, even if it would have been an awesome sight to glimpse all the bishops! The cathedral is open to visit and we caught Evensong, which is a liturgy, an afternoon/evening service that is delivered musically. It consists of various prayers, including the Lord's Prayer that is sung, plus a Scripture reading from each of the Old and New Testaments. For us with less discerning ears, we enjoyed the voices very much [please mind my shaky recording while walking!]





York Minster - The Archbishop of York is second highest to Canterbury, and has likely always had a rivalry with this other large church in the south. York Minster is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe... and it was amazing to walk in. We also caught Evensong this time around [also, if you go to the cathedral to worship, you don't have to pay for admission... :p], and this time around, my ear was a little more discerning. :p But it was a good time of quietness, prayer, and meditation amidst a busy vacation.




London - St. Paul's Cathedral - The previous building (4th cathedral) was burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666, so this cathedral was designed in the 17th century. The interior artwork of mosaics is spectacular (unfortunately, no photographs), and the view from the inner ring of the dome is amazing [it is large enough to be a small track!] Then, there is a trek up many steps to the top of the dome that provides a great view of the surrounding area. Here, I'm not sure what I'm eating... it could be a multi-grain bun, which is supposed to contrast with Alison's sugar-coated apple turnover. :P



Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

English Roadtrip - July 2008 - The Historic Tour

So there was the "Creation tour". Then, there is the Historic tour, including the pictures below, though of course, these are limited to certain major tourist hotspots since really, every spot may qualify as a historic site in one way or another:



Stonehenge - Of course, this historic site is a must see, dating to between 3000-2000 BC. While we may never know what this circle was meant to be used for, or will never know how much greater the monument used to be, what's left is still an awesome sight. Too bad it was a windy/rainy/cold day that day! This was taken earlier on before the rain came..and my hand was still warm enough to hold the audioguide!



Hadrian's Wall - Built by Emperor Hadrian starting AD 122, Hadrian's Wall spans the width of England to mark his territory and defend against ancient Scottish tribes. The length 84 mile length of the wall is still open for people WALK it. Of course, though this was an attractive option, I decided to forgo that option for a shorter walking trail of 4 miles, of which we likely actually did 0.75 miles. :p Oh well, like a good Chinese bus tour, we saw the wall (and some cows in the field -- yes, Alison would have went nearer if I wasn't as 'chicken' :p), and then went out for a great dinner! Other than the wall, the weather and countryside would have made for a great hike, even if it means that you would hike past the cows. :p

This picture is in the ruins of what likely used to be a fort on a hill.





Bath - Known for its Roman Baths... the remaining architecture, though is an amalgamation of various time periods, was largely developed during the Georgian times (late 1700s to early 1800s) with influential architects John Wood, senior and junior. We were fortunate to have a private resident tour guide for Bath and was introduced to the intricacies of Georgian architecture (have you ever noticed the back of a Georgian building?) and the major outputs from this city: Bath Stone and the Bath chair (which brought you to the spa) :p I won't show typical pictures of the Roman Baths or the Royal Crescent, and you can see the Sally Lunn's bun that covers my face elsewhere, but here is a old post box which has not been changed to the new version. Plus, the pig to the left of it is Bath's version of New York's bulls or Toronto's moose... they were all over the city in many designs and colours. As to why pigs were used... our tour guide couldn't tell us, though he dryly remarked it could reflect an underlying psychological condition of the city.



York - Though I mainly knew about the York Minster, the looming Cathedral, York was also a strategic city in the early Roman empire. This statue of Constantine sits outside of the York Minster. The city is very pretty, lined with stone pathways with different styles of building, and a riverside always makes a city peaceful. The picture of the round tower below is Clifford's Tower, wherein a tragic episode culminated in 1190 when Jews were generally violently persecuted, and a number of Jews took their own lives there.






London - Tower of London - Of course, one of the main attractions of the Tower of London are the crown jewels, which are in a display in a large padded safe in the Tower. But we joined onto a tour by a Yeoman Warder who gave an entertaining count of the stories of torture and execution at various points in the Tower of London, most notably of the wives of Henry VIII.

The National Portrait Gallery also is a great place to go -- best of all, it's free -- to learn about the history of the country in all aspects: cultural, scientific, political, episcopal... collections started in 1856 and now has over 100,000 portraits.



Manchester - Haha, just for the sake of completeness to bring in modern history with a reference to the Industrial Revolution, of which this city played a Central part. We didn't spend much time here, though the honest opinion is that the city still feels very industrial (it wasn't a great feeling). The rain and poor weather may have provided a negative backdrop for our visit. (Plus our parking in the long-term parking at the back of Manchester Picadilly train station, which for a long-term parking lot, where one would expect many people to leave their cars, was a very dodgy place.)

British Airways flight back to Hong Kong - and in the making of modern history with the Beijing 2008 Olympics, it happened that I took a flight with members of the Great Britain Olympic team, namely the womens field hockey, gymnastics, and judo teams. They all boarded the plane later than me, which means that the flight would have waited had I got there a little later ;) [thankfully, I had no problems with my flight plans.] Sorry guys, no pictures, though their uniforms were pretty cute... white tracksuit, lined with blue stripes down the sides with a simple and small studded GB flag on the front, white tanks tops underneath. :p British Airways is the official airline sponsor for the GB Olympic team, though this being a flight to Hong Kong (not sure if they were just laying over in HK or staying in HK first), the pilot's congratulations and wishes of good luck for Team GB were only met with a very unenthusiastic applause from the rest of the cabins... I kind of felt bad for the team. And yes, they flew economy like the rest of us!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

English Roadtrip - July 2008

Addendum to recurring themes -- Sweet or savoury?

Oh, and how can I forget, a roadtrip is not complete without snacks... a LOT of snacks. Alison had requested some straight-from-Hong Kong dried mango and dried squid, so I bought 1.5 lb of dried mango and a wide variety of assorted dried squid before I left. And when we get to UK, we find ourselves wanting to try out every variety of gourmet "crisps" (turnip crisps, sweet potato crisps, cheddar and chives, or even normal Walkers baked crisps -- those are really good). Plus add on to Alison finding my 'Achilles heel' for mint chocolate, (I'm overall *ok*, I think,) proceeding to push me to try out every variety of mint chocolates that we could find, we found ourselves with a full bag of sweets and a full bag of savoury snacks. Actually, it was pretty disgusting, and by the end of a week, we were done with eating snacks, though I continued nibble away at the dried mangoes until they were gone! Yum... Though the picture below of the snacks still looks unappetizing now...

English Roadtrip - July 2008 - recurring themes

"Check the manual"

Since Alison alluded to it in her comment, for the purpose of planning and ensuring that we had all information on hand at all times (since it would be difficult to find connectivity and printing services, etc.), I had printed out a "manual" that included items such as:
- our planning timetable document, replete with post codes of all destinations which we would set into our Satnav GPS system
- all hotel, train, and ticket confirmations and contact information
- Google maps of all destinations throughout the trip..

Anyway, it was useful information information in the case that we needed any telephone number, etc... it was in there. I referred to it quite a bit (or, my response was always just "check the manual") -- so fine, you can say that it's kind of anal. :p


Stupid GPS!

My parents brought a Tomtom device for which they purchased and downloaded Europe maps. It was very helpful at the beginning (though the very first leg of driving into Rhinefield House from Heathrow was a miracle we found the place without it), but we ended up having a VERY, very frustrating relationship with this little device.

Every so often, we would hear some direction such as "stay right... turn left". WHAT?? Impossible now!... ok, it rerouted us. Or, "after 300 metres, turn left"... (after 2 seconds) "turn left". WHAT?? Missed it again... ok, rerouting.

**new!** Alison reminded me of another recurring example:

GPS: Ahead, cross the roundabout and take the fifth exit.
[approach the roundabout, there is a gas station on the corner with a driveway]
GY: This [driveway] isn't an exit right?? Right??
AH: The GPS just says 5th exit.
[I skip it, we count five exits...]
GY: What?? We missed it! The GPS doesn't know how to count, THAT'S NOT AN EXIT!
GY (on walkie talkie to my dad following me from behind): We need to go around again and take the 5th exit!
AH: Haha, the GPS says that's an exit!
GY: The GPS is wrong! THAT'S NOT AN EXIT!
GY/AH: Stupid GPS!!

[This example was especially funny because AH and I complained quite a bit to Janey, who just laughed at us.. but she was here to witness this incident!]

After a very short time, I instinctively distrusted every direction it gave me, and Alison, my poor navigator who really was just relaying the directions to me, would simply repeat it to my "comfort":

GPS: Ahead, cross the roundabout and take the 3rd exit.
GY: [to Alison] 3rd exit? Seriously?
AH: 3rd exit
GY: Seriously? Are you sure??
AH: Seriously!! Take the 3rd exit!

Hahaha... I guess I am a "need to know" type of person, and I think Alison and I worked out an effective communication style by the end of the trip. :p

And finally, the GPS always gave us the shortest routes to places, for which we found ourselves on numerous 'unnamed roads' (especially when we were staying in the forest)... these roads went on for 15 miles sometimes... in the end, we finally worked out an effective system which found us finding a 'parallel solution' that conformed the GPS directions to our roadmap as well as the Google map directions in the Manual.

Independence Day

We were fortunate to have a few good days of sunshine, though it is inevitable that we would be rained upon in England. We just found that the clouds were very ominous at many points in time, to which we felt like we were under a huge round disc of 'cloud' -- similar to the alien spaceship in Independence Day. The picture in Dover kind of shows it, but this one of my parents in Brighton is *really* prominent! The focus is not totally on the cloud... it is also on the rest of the sky that is completely clear!



On driving...

While not really a recurring theme, driving on the left side of the road was very interesting, since I had not done so before! I think I only veered into the "right" lane... twice... haha (of course, there were no cars there at the time!) The first couple of days were most challenging, of course, but also because we stayed in the forest where the roads were essentially like single lane roads but meant for two cars, and the other cars would be driving really fast! So often time I would go on the dirt to avoid them. I think it took me about 3 days to get used to it, and by the end, I was quite enjoying the curvy mountain roads in my manual car.

The roundabouts took a while to get used to, but after reading a driving manual in a bookstore that told me how I was supposed to signal, it cleared the protocol up a bit. :p I think the weirdest to get used to was shifting gears while signalling -- which is both done by the left hand, as opposed to Canada/US where you would signal using your left hand and change gears with your right. It allows for smoother communication and control that way, practically using two hands, as well as using both sides of the brain, which allows for smoother multi-tasking! Bet you never thought of this?? :p

English Roadtrip - July 2008 - The Creation Tour

OK, creation was just an allusion to the breathtaking sights that we saw throughout the country. When you compare to a big country like Canada, England is actually really small -- the drive from London to Edinburgh in Scotland is probably only 8 hours (for the non-Canadians, say, Toronto to Quebec City... going west, you can't even get out of Ontario in that time!) You can traverse the 'width' of England's north end in under 2 hours. But within this small area, there is a varied landscape, so here are some of the spots that we hit:



Dover white cliffs - the white colour is because of the chalk - southeast corner of England





The Lakes district - of course, you can hardly compare to the thousands of lakes in Ontario, or the size of the (5) great lakes, but in England, this small area houses all of the major lakes (and mountains) -- northeast corner of England



The Cotswolds - rolling hills and plains - best on horseback! -- west-central England






The New Forest - Well, it's a big forest, and this is where we stayed for the first week -- in the forest. :p Rhinefield House is the name of the 'hotel' (the word hotel doesn't do it justice) -- it was a beautiful estate -- southern England

English Roadtrip - July 2008

Precursor - Though going home to Toronto to see family and friends is a considerable joy and pleasure every time, this was my first 'long' vacation since coming to Hong Kong, and especially special since I actually planned this one! The original reason for going to England was to attend my cousin's convocation from Sheffield. However, since the university could not fix the date well enough in advance, it turned out that my flight plans -- which I booked in January -- would completely disallow my attendance, and this became fully a personal vacation. I was to travel with my parents, auntT (from Toronto), auntHK (from HK), and auntM (from Montreal -- mom's old friend, not really my aunt). Very thankfully, for the sake of my sanity, Alison availed herself to come along for the ride -- my car ride -- on this English roadtrip on the other side of the road. ;)

While I do enjoy travelling, I realize that I am generally too lazy to plan for anything. Therefore I would be perfectly content if I never saw some of earth's most awesome sights during my lifetime; this is because I am certain of my salvation (some personal theology for you. :p) And looking back, I realize that every single vacation has been planned by those more anal and particular than me -- which has worked out perfectly fine for me! Nonetheless, this time, at the four-weeks-left-to-go mark, my lack of planning threw me into a obsessive panic, and I planned most major details in one week, replete with estimated mileage and petrol budget analysis. I was very pleased! Google docs is also great!

So, allow me to share my journey -- we will start with... creation!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

For those who can read and/or listen to mandarin (though with a heavy "curl tongue" accent).. this is pretty funny!

10 Book Challenge

Ever since Yuling started this challenge, I was too lazy to participate, but I think I am finally ready! The 10 book challenge started to promote the book habit of reading, especially over the summer when Waterloo students were on work term instead of studying.

Here is my list for the summer (or until I finish, which I allow may be past the summer :p) in no particular order:

Creative Ministry, Henri Nouwen
Run With the Horses, Eugene Peterson
Old Testament Theology - Jeremiah, Walter Brueggemann
Closing of the American Mind, Alan Bloom
Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia), C.S. Lewis
God's Tsunami, Peter Tsukahira
Speaking My Mind, Tony Campolo
Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver
拾香記, 陳慧 (it's on my list!!)

Keep me accountable! :)

One month from the epicentre

[photo from South China Morning Post]

On May 12, a massive earthquake ran through the province of Sichuan, China. On that day, I was sitting in a manager office of the Ernst & Young Tower in Toronto (actually) doing some work before my dinner plans that evening. While various coworkers remarked at the current events of the day, the statistics were processed in my head as information (and at that time the death toll was likely 'only' around the 20,000 range.) I didn't process the events of the earthquake until I returned to Hong Kong to see and feel the impact that this earthquake had on the people of Sichuan, China (including Hong Kong), and of Chinese people worldwide. And not even now, with a death toll of over 69,000, can I seemingly really comprehend the tragedy of this disaster, and only one disaster among many.

The photograph above was accompanied by the story of parents raging against politicians regarding the collapse of a school of 1600 students. Reading and seeing that brought tears to my eyes. Of course, the loss of life is tragic, on any level. Add to that, the loss of a child (and remember these were the only child parents were allowed to bear), but the loss of students -- such students who were to become the foundation of future society -- magnifies greatly the loss to future society. The figures are mind-boggling. And while it is possible to extrapolate the pain of a loss of a parent or a child, that is still an idea.

There was an slight connection having been to the small city of Mianyang which was not affected by the earthquake but was on high alert for fear of the quake lakes. [By the way after I visited the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Mianyang in 2005, the entire campus moved to Chengdu in the following year. As far as I know, none of my students were affected by the earthquake.]

It was a blessing to listen to a first-hand account of a small team who went to the sites with an American Christian relief organization two days after the earthquake. Their pictures and stories brought the level even closer, feeling the dearth of fresh water or any food, sensing the loss of a home and livelihood, not having any covered personal space to sleep, or to even breathe fresh air, or even to find a suitable grave space for a loved one... It was a sad, sad Father's Day for some. I pray for the children who lost their father or mother, and I pray for the parents who lost their children.

But hope only emerges out of such tragedy. As devastating as this earthquake was, I know I am still limited in what I can comprehend (though it takes some time for the massive level to come down to me.) It takes reminding that God's power cannot be measured on any scale; for that power would be *truly* incomprehensible. Even a measure of 8 has already been protected by his mighty hand; the earthquake could easily have been detrimentally stronger or if it were situated nearer to more populous areas. Despite the sinfulness and degradation of humankind, his Spirit is still present and is our protector and help in times of trouble. How can we imagine the picture when he will return back to heaven?

And amidst the desperate situation, there have been many counts of kindness and love expressed on a face-to-face level that reminds me of the rawness of humanity. There are no classes or levels amongst us; we are all broken and in need. We all need food and water to survive. And when someone has little but still is willing to share, the gesture of love expresses more than words could express. I pray that God bless those who share love during this time, and that God's love showers upon China.

God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
    and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
    Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
        -- Psalm 46:1-3

Olympic flame takes Hong Kong

It was a relatively uneventful day at work until this afternoon rolled around. Many pedestrian walkways throughout the city were closed to control the crowds in anticipation for the Olympic torch relay. While I didn't really care to see try to see it, at about 3pm this afternoon, the torch was on its way from Kowloon onto the Star Ferry, to the Central Piers, to be taken to Wan Chai. Conveniently, IFC is adjacent to the Central Piers... so, my coworkers started to stalk out the positions until we saw the flame!! We're on the 17/f.

Something I want to bring out -- for those who visited Hong Kong last year, you may have walked on the pedestrian walkway linking the Pier to the city. This pedestrian walkway was built alongside the harbour. Now, it is already about half "reclaimed". For the tenants of IFC in the near future, they will soon be looking out at other buildings instead of say, gigantic cK ads. :p


People lining the streets in red with Chinese flags. At least, this relay was a peaceful one.


And passed onto the next one! The flame is pretty big, it was probably the most clear thing that we saw from 17/f.


This is still here on the old Ritz Carlton. (Picture is not much better.) There is also a female version on the backside of the hotel, I guess you may be able to see it from the Peak. :p

Oops... too much

Oh all right. So I was persuaded to publicly confess my rather shameful performance with respect to missing a recent flight from Shanghai back to Hong Kong. The discussion stemmed from me trying to paint a picture that missed flights occurred far and few in between. However, upon evaluation, this was probably the fourth in my lifetime, with a certain flight to Singapore almost making a fifth. (Probably my most stressful flight experience ever, especially since it was for vacation.) Now, for business trips to China, I know that the flights are frequent enough to/from Shanghai and Beijing, and I have enough flexibility over my schedule to allow for a stress-free wait for reticketing or on standby, provided that I make important personal commitments -- last Friday, I had adequate cushion before having to teach at University of Hong Kong so that as fine.

So that's my confession for last Friday. Then, this morning came about when I got to the airport on time for my flight... if it were really scheduled at 900. Instead, it was flight KA 900 departing at 800. OOPS. I guess I should have paid more attention to all of my electronic ticket, my itinerary, the online check-in page, and my discussion among coworkers to meet in Beijing at 11:30 -- I remembered this discussion, but thought 12:30 instead of 11:30. But regardless, it was a usual calm experience, heading off to the nearest Pacific Coffee for my breakfast after once again registering for stand-by, with just a slight complication the one time I neglected to print my e-ticket. With the torrential rains this weekend, a number of flights were cancelled and so, for this morning, all flights were full and I couldn't get on the next flight (this was a first for me). So finally, instead of trying for standby on the next flight, I just reticketed for a later flight this afternoon; I even considered going back to the office to take the last flight into Beijing. But all in all, I departed at about 4pm and got some solid work done this morning at the lounge.

Anyway, I think this episode shows (a) my auto-pilot mode when it comes to flying now.. just don't change my itinerary from my norm, (b) morning flights don't work for me; I think the last time I flew in the morning before this month was a while ago.. I should just stick to that, (c) my nonchalant nature regarding missing flights is getting to an unhealthy level of concern, and (d) too much flying make Gladys go crazy. :P Hope there won't be any more flying before coming home soon!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Ruined

Does anyone else think this advertisement ruins the HK Central skyline?? (Unfortunately, it's very cloudy today and my camera isn't very good.) This is taken from one of the senior manager offices in front of me. At least I don't look up to see the ad!

No more

As much as I like (love?) exams, I think I am finally done -- for professional designations, anyway. I am happy to report that I passed the Hong Kong CPA exams (law and tax) -- which means I can wear a suit and join the 'tute. No dancing though. :p The real message is -- God is gracious because I hardly studied for it.

Anyway, I will not waste any more time on these exams, and I am slowly accepting that I will finally let go of the CFA. It means nothing in the end and adds no value to me! I look forward to focusing on completing more Tyndale courses, which mean a LOT more to me.

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.