A Mid-August Get-Together in GuangWai
Glory Be: A Small Report from Harvest Restaurant 
by Mao Sihui 

Dear Jiaji & All,

I know, Jiaji, you could not "wait any longer" to see the snap shots at the Dinner Party which, I hope, may not be a real test of the size of your memory bank (although "size does matter"). But this small report here should be seen only as a "brick" before the showering of "jade" (sorry, Zhong Yong, this is not translation) from Liang Jianan and other folks who bear witness to the profound friendship and love among our GW 77 folks at this dinner party in honour of Li Jiemei, Qiao Xin, Luo Yaoming, Zhou Nan, Ou Lie and us folks from GZ & HK. We had three full tables (GW77 folks and their folks) and Jianan is preparing the full list with contact information. 

Prologue: Enter Ophelia

Dear folks, please do not tell Li Lee about the romantic secret that Qiao Xin had on the 16th. He was among the last two groups of "guests" to arrive at the famed venue. At about 7:00 PM, he came in glowingly with a very elegant sun-glassed lady like Ophelia who surprised us all. Just guess who came to dinner arms in arms with Qiao Xin? And Zhuo Yingzhi (from HK) also came with her former boyfriend who is now her daughter's father and became the official cameraman for the collective photo with our dear Mr. Cai Rongjian sharply focused in the centre of the front row (photoes to follow soon).

Act One: Glory Be Us

(Humming the tune of the theme song of the Hollywood romantic movie "Love Story"): Where should I begin to tell the story of how great a dinner can be? The simple truth about dinner party for old school boys and girls is to enjoy the soothing balm of each other's company as well as the delicious morsels (very healthy and guozili-free) cast before us. And we all did, and did it immensely.

Act Two: Food? Who Cares?

In full consultation with the restaurant supervisor and with 100% trust from our folks, the 12-course-plus-one-soup menu with fruits plate as compliment was carefully "designed" (and "pointed out" while walking along a sea of fish tanks full of swimming creatures) by myself and Zhang Jin (with the face and hair of a modern artist and still a heart of gold who produces infectious laughters with such amiable ease). I won't tell you the mouth-watering names of the dishes but Dongying from our table managed to capture some images of the dishes (before they disappeared, that is) simply to make you want to come back next year, if not exactly NOW.

Act Three: Gossiping & Posing Is Never a Privilege Just for "Girls"

At this get-together, we (including Mr. Cai) all behaved like "kids", saying whatever we liked and eating the way we felt "natural". Lots and lots of confessions and retellings of our school life more than two decades ago. Ms. Li Yan (director of Student Affairs then and Party Secretary of the Faculty of English Language and Culture) also honoured us by joining the party (I will say a bit more about her in a minute). She remembered many of us, our looks, likes and dislikes and temprements. And contrary to the stereotypical image of masculinity, many "boys" were just as, if not more, eager to gossip, which made the venue look more like a nice and noisy bar. The only difference was that it was very brightly lit and Liang Jiannan's face, unlike mine, revealed no wrinkles. That's why I made a modest proposal that he and Dongying (of course, Dongying) have at least two more kids so as to make him a bit more like our generation.

Act Four: Some Resolutions: Grand Reunion 2004

It was generally agreed that we do a gathering every year in August but the long-awaited Grand Reunion should be in 2004. The preferred date(s) would be the first weekend in August (definitely before the 10th) which would hopefully make it easier for folks to arrange visits with their families and also enough time for kids to relax a bit (after China visits) before they go back to school. It was also proposed that each country/ region should have a chairperson to coordinate with our folks in each region and with also GW. This of course needs more discussions from all of us.

Act Five: The Bill 

Before the Dinner Party, I conveyed to all our folks that Ms Li Yan, the present Party Secretary of our English Department (now the Faculty of English Language & Culture) would like us to accept their good will to foot the bill on behalf of the Faculty, a most generous gesture of love towards GW77 graduates. Led by Mr. Cai and pushed by powerful people like "Smoker" Du (Hongsui who is now co-managing 5-star China Hotel in GZ), we all agreed to accept this offer from our Alma Mater although we were very willing to learn from the Dutch. And we, of course, expressed our gratitude to Ms Li Yan and the Faculty and promised to work hard to bring in more honour for our former English Department and our University.

Coda: Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer's Day?

As Shakespeare wrote in one of his immortal sonnets: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date". Indeed, this Pre-Reunion Dinner Party for our folks lasted less than a day in Guangzhou and in summer, but I must say this to all our folks (I certainly mean our female folks) there: "Thou art more lovely and more temperate". And to our male folks: "Please do not shake more darling buds of May than necessary". So long as men and women "can breathe or eyes can see", and so long lives this friendship which would "give life to thee".

Take care!

Mao Sihui