I Updated My Blog’s Welcome Page

A few things happened since my Book Launch sessions, not least the dramatic exit from the White House of Trump and his equally dramatic second impeachment, followed by the Inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th US President amidst a capital under lockdown, with an empty National Mall and no crowds and a heavily guarded Capitol, fortified by some 25,000 National Guardsmen. As some journalists had put it, it felt like a wartime Inauguration. No sooner had Biden moved into the White House than we saw a series of Executive Orders issued ranging from climate changes to border control, from Covid-19 to affordable medical care, from the economy to the environment, and so on, so that by 29 January, he had signed 42 such orders. As if not to be outdone by the Americans, UK announced terms for admission of BN(O) passport holders from Hong Kong to UK from tomorrow, only to be followed immediately by Beijing’s declaration that the BN(O) would cease to be a valid travel document on the same day. In the meantime, Taiwan tries her best to create news and tension between China and the United States.

After collecting the hard back version of my book, I held another session at the Florist last Saturday, calling it the last, after which people would need to make appointments for autographed copies, or simply collect them without. I also took the opportunity to send the HKU Library a copy of the hard back version, after the Librarian has agreed to keep the paperback version in the Main Library. I am rather pleased with the development.  Then, suddenly it dawned on me that I had yet to update the Welcome Page of my website. I must confess that I am not too good with the technical aspects. Over the years, I updated the page very rarely, and my last update was in early November 2020 when I mentioned that I was about to have my first autobiography printed and published. I presently had the website updated so that anyone who wants to know would now know that the book “The Middle Child” is now available and can be purchased from me through my email address – johnwan@netvigator.com . I hope it helps.

We must have met about 100 or more friends in the first six sessions of the book launch, many of whom we haven’t met for some time. They all donned face masks, as did everyone in the shop. When we took some books to the Post Office to mail overseas, after these sessions, Su picked up at the Post Office two kits for voluntary Covid 19 tests based on Deep Throat Saliva organized by CHP. She then sent them off to the collection centre in Tsuen Wan the following morning. The results which came back two days later, on 22 January, proved negative. Su immediately broadcast the message on Facebook, assuring that all those who had visited the Florist the week before are safe and Covid 19-negative by inference.

Then Paul Wan, the friend who took the cover of the book accidentally, came to me with a suggestion to do some videos for uploading onto YouTube. Paul actually likes the cover photo the first time he saw the book, as do most if not all of my friends indeed, except one very good friend who thinks it is too flashy and would probably better fit to be the cover of a magazine than that of an autobiography which is supposed to be a serious book! She was outvoted by a landslide; but I must thank her for taking my work so seriously. Back to Paul’s suggestion, I was initially not quite on board. Maybe I was too tired; and maybe it seemed too much work. A week later, I asked Paul to come with his equipment to the Florist and took some trial clips which seemed to work. He came another time to Mei Foo for more clips so that we now have a working video that could eventually be put on YouTube. We would see.

As to the five friends who have contributed Forewords to The Middle Child, I have delivered them all, individually, by now at least one copy of the hard back version of the book, some accompanied by a paperback version, either in person, or by post. Two of them are overseas, so that I can only reach them by post. I am of course eternally indebted to each and every one of them.

I would pause here and I hope to talk to you again soon.