The Weed: Events 2008-2009

What an eventful year! In this edition, we proudly present to you some of the events organised by the University of Bristol Chinese Society 2008/2009


Love,
University of Bristol Chinese Society Committee 2008/2009

A Tribute to Sichuan Earthquake Victims

2th of May 2008 is a date to be remembered. An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan leaving 51,000 dead and 30,000 missing. Families lost their loved ones – children were orphaned and parents lost their only child. Houses were destroyed leaving the survivors with no place to stay while we live within the comforts of our home.

Miles away in Bristol, England, a group of students from the University of Bristol Chinese Society organised a gathering in the memory of the Sichuan victims. There were concerns about weather as it rained heavily throughout most of the day. Even so, several of us went to the Downs with thoughts and prayers for those who lost their lives, those who are suffering and to contribute what we could towards the Aid effort. It was meant to be a candle lighting ceremony, but it was impossible for any candle to be lit in the cold and windy weather despite all our efforts. An enterprising individual with some forethought actually brought a lamp so there was at least one light amongst just 14 of us. Yes, quite a small number. Finally, after all that has been attempted in lighting the candles failed, we gathered together in a circle and had a few minutes of solemn silence.

Following the silence, Pastor Barnabas Shin led us in prayer. He spoke of how our lives are like the candles we attempted to light, feeble and snuffed out by something as invisible as the wind. Despite the energy and effort a flame on a candle is so easily extinguishable. He mentioned how our lives should continue to shine while it still can. That it should burn and continue to be a light for others in the World.

Money was raised both through the sale of candles and donations which will be banked into a bank account setup by the Chinese Embassy in the UK. If it is the thought that counts, then I believe there was a general consensus as to where our thoughts lay. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank the people who came and Pastor Barnabas for his words.


Leavers BBQ Party
Time: 11am -6pm
Date: 7th June 2008
Venue: Weston-super-mare, Somerset

As the name suggests, the event was for leavers but everyone was welcome and of course, the more, merrier! We also had friends coming from all over the UK, so it was also a great opportunity for everyone to make more friends and that’s what Chinese Society is essentially all about! (Aside from the cultural bit :D ) . Some of us were still having exam papers the next week, but what the heck! The beach party was definitely a good break from those books. Yummy, yummy barbequed Salmon – so I would say!

Unfortunately the we weren’t allowed to have the BBQ (after some point, the BBQ smoke was blowing in the direction of the crowd, so we were advised to not have the BBQ due to health and safety reasons), but that didn’t spoil our fun – instead, we had a huge lunch eating Fish & Chips and played some ball games Sveta created. The food for the BBQ wasn’t wasted, no worries :) , we then had a huge BBQ party at the Clifton Obscura right after the beach trip.

Finally, we would like to thank all the leavers for their support and contribution over the past years and wish them a very successful future! Best of luck!


Hungry…all waiting for the food to be ready

Stirling Yiin, Yifan Yang, Bo Hou, Gu Jie

A Pyramid – “It pays to be the smallest,” said Hannah, the girl at the top.This looks so wrong.


More photos in this album:

Leavers’ BBQ Party

Freshers’ Fair
 Date: 1st & 2nd October 2009
Venue: Students’ Union Building

Time: 9.00am-6.00pm

The Freshers’ Fair is held at the Union annually. The Chinese Society gained 200 members, both Chinese and non-Chinese, as committee members distributed complementary Chinese Society pens, Freshers booklets, discount forms whilst advertising our very own Chinese Society t-shirts. Some came looking for a home away from home right here in Bristol and others looking to experience Chinese culture expressing a particular interest in language or cooking. Others (perhaps more honestly) just seemed interested in the discounts that come with our membership card at the various restaurants and supermarkets. After all, what is Freshers fair for but the free stuff?

Welcoming Party + Mid-Autumn Dinner
Date: 11th October 2008
Venue: Manor Hall Dining Room
Time: 8.00-11.00pm

Welcoming dinner was co-organised with the Chinese Calligraphy and Chess Society (CCC), took place in Manor hall in mid October, it was a success and brought a lot of the freshers together. Our committee put in a lot of effort into this event, as it was the first in the academic year. With our very own Entertainment Representative Sveta Semykina as the emcee, we put on a great entertaining show including singing Tong Hua by two of our very talented freshers from the audience, speeches by Shirui, president of CCC and Yifan, President of Chinese society. One of the members Arthur performed a brilliant Chinese painting, live. We also had Chinese traditional musical performances.

Halloween Party

Date: 31st October 2008
Venue: Chicago Rock Café
Time: 7.00pm onwards

A joint clubbing event with the Hong Kong Society and Malaysian Singaporean Students’ Association was held at Chicago Rock Café by the Harbourside.

The party began to pick up from 10pm onwards as more members begin to fill an exclusive platform booked and partitioned off just for our members. As the night went on, some gathered around the tables content to sip their drinks and chit chat as some took to the dance floor as it opened up. One of the highlights of the night, as per the Halloween tradition, were the costumes many came in costume with some of the more exceptional ones including an impersonation of the white faced red cheeked puppet of Jigsaw (from Saw) and a complete Jason Vorhees outfit including the trench coat, mask and fake machete to the more gentle sort (a full white Angel dress up complete with wings and a halo).


Ice Skating Social

Date: 16th November 2008
Venue: The Bristol Ice Rink
Time: 5.00-7.30pm

To makes everyone’s life more enjoyable, we decided to take time out from studying with a visit to The Bristol Ice Rink right in the centre of the city. We gathered, we talked, we laughed, we skated. Ice skating round and round in the rhythm of some of the most popular hits.Who would’ve known that no matter how good you can skate, there are so many ways to do it: holding hands, in a train line, backwards, spinning etc. Good times.

Bath Christmas Party

Date: 6th December 2008
Venue: Bath
Time: 10.30am-5.30pm

A day trip to the Bath Christmas Market by train opened up to a variety of shops not commonly found in our part of Bristol. The streets were packed this time of year lending it a festive carnival-like atmosphere as the Christmas Market is quite popular throughout the Southwest.

Street performers blow fire and tell jokes cause people to congregate in stationary islands amongst the shifting crowd. Quaint little shops decorate the side of the streets full of home made goods involving everything from sausages (filled with everything you can imagine from duck to pork, ale to Guinness and a plethora of herbs) to chocolate (sculpted into impressive models and meshed with all sorts such as grounded coffee beans, green tea). All in all, we got back at sundown and it was well worth the trip.


Christmas Dinner


Date:13th December 2008
Venue:Zen Restaurant
Time: 8.30pm onwards

Christmas dinner was the special event to end the term. Though it was Christmas, we had hotpot, a Chinese dish that everyone likes, from old to the young. Zen, being a very regional and authentic Chinese restaurant, provided us with a wide range of hot pot food, including my favourite Tofu and Fuzhu, various meat, fish balls. It was a very memorable that brought everyone together by sharing the same pot between 5 to 6 people. I would really like to go again if the committee next year gives us the opportunity.


Chinese New Year Dinner

Date: 23rd January 2009
Venue: Zen Restaurant
Time: 7.30pm till late

The Chinese New Year Dinner was a success as the dinner party was filled to the brim with members and non-members alike. The evening kicked off with our very own Lion Dance troupe regaling the crowd with a performance to remember as people pulled out their mobiles and cameras to capture the scene. An eight-course meal was served shortly after and as soon as everyone was fed and watered and raffle tickets were sold. The ensuing raffle draw offered members the chance to win luxuries including an iPhone and a set of Logitech speakers for only 50p a ticket.Mr. Christopher Everest Whipmarsh, whose wife founded the Chinese Society and has watched the society for evolve into what it is today for many years, gave a few kind words to conclude the dinner. With the advent of the following after party, many took to the dance floor at the Zen restaurant bar area. It was an evening worthy of Chinese New Year.


University of Bristol Chinese New Year Celebration: Come and Celebrate the Year of the Ox


Date: 25th January 2009
Venue: Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol
Time: 11.00am-4.00pm

*****
Pictures during the University’s Chinese New Year celebration which was graced with much splendour and excitement from upbeat Lion dances and Kung Fu demonstrations to the gentle, soothing sound of the Guzheng accompanied with graceful dancers from The Weed Editorial Team and beautiful Chinese calligraphy.


The perfomance from Chinese Society from the Weed Editorial team

Pictures courtesy of Daniel JB on 25th January 2009. Texts and photo arrangement from http://www.wishingurhere.blogspot.com

Mandarin Lesson

Mandarin lessons were conducted by two of our very own members, Fred Yu and Arthur Wu, and were structured so that each teacher had a small tutorial group. Rather than a larger group sitting around a table in a classroom environment, the class environment was suitably chosen for a group for a smaller number of students as it gave the lessons a more personal touch; catering to what the individuals were specifically looking for and their level of competency.

Chinese Society Sports

The Chinese Society and Korean Society co-organised badminton, football and basketball on every Saturday. Other types of sports such as volleyball are also organised depending on the number of people interested.

The Weed Online

The Weed Online was the brainchild of Hannah Nazri, the 2008/2009 outgoing Secretary. The Weed, however, has been around for 40 years since the establishment of the society but it is quickly noted that due to rapid changes in the current modern world, making The Weed accessible online around the world is the way forward! Plus, this reduces the use of paper, hence environmentally friendly. The Weed’s mission and vision has not change much from the original version – we strive to educate and increase awareness about the beauty of Chinese culture while displaying the talents of some of our very dedicated writers and graphic designers from Chinese Society.

Last year’s committee include:

  1. Stuart Chan, as Editor
  2. Jia Yin Lim, as Sub-Editor
  3. Sue Yin Chuah and Shou Lee Wongas Journalists
  4. Sky Ng and Hannah Nazri as Graphics Designers
The Weed Editorial Team 2008/2009 may be small, but the dedication and perseverance towards their work enabled us to enjoy learning more about Lion Dances, Chinese astrology, the origins of Chinese characters among others. Thank you and well done!NB: WE NEED MORE PEOPLE! Those who are interested to join The Weed Editorial Team 2009/2010 please contact Hannah at Hannah.MohamedNazri@bristol.ac.uk or Stuart Chan at cty.stuart@doctors.org.uk.

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