FIHK     The Year of the Dragon

Happy Lunar New Year!   I wish you the good health and strength of spirit of the dragon and the horse (精神)!

What a happy time of the year this is! When I see so many people dressed up, with children often  in traditional costume,  visiting relatives and friends, greeting each other on the street,  I can't help thinking of that beautiful old song that Louis Armstrong made famous "What a Wonderful World" - especially the lines
I see friends shaking hands, saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying, "I love you"

No doubt the Year of the Dragon will be a special year for marriages....and births!
Lots of little dragons!

This year is a good time to sing one of the all-time favourites: " Puff the Magic Dragon".
When I was learning to play the guitar a long time ago, "Puff" was one of my favourites. It's an easy song to play.

One of my favourite movies, "Mulan", has a dragon: Mushu. Which reminds me of a true story. Some years ago in Zhaoqing (肇庆) I met a 17 year old girl from Beijing who spoke really good English. I said to her "How come your English is so good?" She replied "When I was 12 years old, I began watching a DVD several times a week. Each time I would watch 5 or 10 minutes. I would listen to the audio while watching the subtitles, and gradually try to speak and sing along with the movie. Over the years I have watched that same DVD more than 100 times!".  "What was the name of the movie?" I asked.
She replied "Mulan"!