Sports Injuries

Yesterday evening Urai and I were playing badminton along with Sharon, (Urai's friend who lives just opposite us) and while Urai was retrieving my backhand passing shot, she fell down a small step, twisted her ankle, cut her toe and crumpled in a heap on the hard floor. We rushed over to help her and Fie took her upstairs to wash down her cuts and bruises. She moved a little gingerly for the rest of the night. Here is her slightly swollen ankle...

Her right big toe sustained a deep cut which stung badly as she hit it against the stone step. The skin was still clinging on as we got her upstairs...

As you can see, or as you will see in the following picture, her cut exposed some raw flesh which watered as the remarkable human body began it's natural defence against injury. After cutting off the flap of skin, her toe looked like this...

But Urai is a fighter and was later that night studying with Sharon in the living room for a while.

Urai won't be playing badminton again for a while, but she valiantly hobbled to the school bus this morning and made it through the day. Well done Urai, you're a true champion!!!

School shock!

I experienced my first fling inside a Malaysian school this morning and had the shock of my life. I left with a bad, bad taste in my mouth.

It was my sister-in-law's (Florina) first day at her new school, SMK Methodist All Girls, here in Kuantan. We met one of the assistant headmistresses, and right from the offset she was like an insolent, erupting volcano. She spoke in a very intimidating way to Florina even while my wife and I, as guardians, were there beside her. She seemed happy to delve into family history problems oblivious to how her on-the-spot questions were extremely sensitive and inappropriate, reducing poor Florina to tears.

Her attitude was brim with arrogance and rudeness. I felt very much like an abandoned piece of excrement on the street, left to slowly decay and waste away into nothing.

It was quite a shock to my system so I verbally challenged her when Florina wasn't quite sure how to answer this impertinent pedagogue. She mentioned how students nowadays can pass exams with straight A's yet still can't talk, and I wondered if she had ever considered that it might be impudent people like herself, who are the cause of this.

And then there was the commotion about a diminutive hair clip which was the right colour, but after listening to a laughable example of a woman's questionable eligibility for a job if she was wearing ten such accessories, we were told that she couldn't wear just that one hair clip! She then proceeded to put the offending hair clip in her own crop of frizzy hair to which I remarked, "That looks quite nice!" That was the one funny moment, well, for me at least! The answer was still 'No.'

I'm not opposed to setting rules or being strict, but there's a certain dignity and respect to which they can be presented, and to which the lawgiver is respected in turn.

There was a sense of deep injustice as my wife and I left the school premises and drove back home. And injustice only breeds contempt.

East Coast Mall, Kuantan

East Coast Mall Saturday was buzzing with excitement as the 'Sunshine' Academy thrilled us with their nifty dance moves and songs for 3 action-packed hours. Well, maybe that dramatic introduction is a little over-exaggerated, but it was an easy way to spend some time on a hot and lazy Saturday afternoon, where the air-con ruled and the entertainment pleased.

Girls of various ages performed numerous dance routines throughout the near three-hour presentation in a variety of eye-catching costumes. For the sake of preserving modesty, I didn't take any pictures of the 'sexiest' act of the afternoon where teenage girls danced around provocatively in hot-pants and skimpy t-shirts, attracting a whole host of men of varied ages.

All in all, it was an entertaining programme, my baby daughter was silenced while the loud music was playing, and she even got herself two balloons to her delight! Following are pictures of some of the highlights of the afternoon...

Manchester United versus Chelsea

The Community Shield Sunday sees two of the most successful managers in the game pit their wits for the first time as opposing managers of Premier League clubs. Carlo Ancelotti, having guided AC Milan to two European Cup triumphs, takes charge of his first competitive match as Chelsea boss and will experience his first taste of an English atmosphere. The latest managerial recruit at the merry-go-round at Chelsea will face the toughest start when his Blues come up against the current and three-time consecutive league winners Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been around forever and has all the experience of these sort of 'curtain-raiser' matches. But both managers will be aware that there will be much more important pieces of silverware to play for later in the season. However, this is a last opportunity for both squads to be tuned up and ready for the opening round of Premier League fixtures next weekend. Do not expect this to be a friendly match.

Just over a year ago, tempers bolied over as Rio Ferdinand took on half the Chelsea team in a pushy face-off as United went down 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to a debatable penalty decision. It had no bearing on the title race in the end. United are unbeaten against Chelsea since that day, with a penalty shoot-out victory in the Champions League final 2008, a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge and a 3-0 thumping at Old Trafford. Two seasons ago United beat Chelsea in the Community Shield thanks to a 3-0 penalty shoot-out win after a 1-1 draw.

With Ronaldo and Tevez departed, Sir Alex will have to get the very best out of free transfer signing Michael Owen, and Wayne Rooney, who can expect to be playing in a much-higher-up-the-pitch central position. Together with Berbatov, whose first season at Old Trafford was less than average, these three strikers will have to bag the goals more regularly than they have been doing. Whether they can fill the boots of Ronaldo will remain to be seen.

For Chelsea, it's very much the same playing faces performing under yet another new manager. Expect Drogba and Anelka to give Man. Utd's defence a few shaky moments, especially in the absence of Vidic through injury. Frank Lampard continues to be the most consistent goalscoring midfielder in the world, and John Terry is sure to put in a brave, commanding performance as usual.

This one will be close, as it usually is between these two teams. Expect it to go the distance and Ben Foster to once again shine in a shoot-out.

A House of Order

We have been cleaning and re-arranging the house in preparation for the arrival of my sister-in-law, Florina (Urai) on Sunday. We got rid of the layers of dust stashed away behind the wardrobe and in various other places, and performed our own sort of Feng Shui in re-arranging our room to simplify it and make it look bigger.

There is now space either side of the bed and a lot more space at the entrance to the room, as we removed Lauren's play cot which she barely ever uses. I realise that there should be a place for everything, and everything in it's place. Feels a lot better when it's clean and organised.

The green stack of drawers we bought for Urai, along with a small and rather cute-looking study table which is in my tuition room.

We also bought this ironing board which is being beautifully modelled by our daughter Lauren...

Urai is moving in with us here in Kuantan and will be attending the Methodist Girls School starting next Monday. This will be a first experience for my wife and I in looking after a teenager. But we are all excited for the switch and look forward to good times ahead. If the past is anything to go by, you could expect a few more pictures like this...