July 31: Maidstone

Monday morning, we had brunch before taking a bus to central London to visit Victoria and Albert Museum. It has separate sections for South Asian, Chinese, Indian and others. Having seen some old phones, furniture and so on, I realized that we should not throw certain things away as it serves to remind us of yesteryears and it might be interesting to future generations. Cheng bought her train ticket for 6.00pm to go back to Colchester and we had to go back to pack to catch a train to Maidstone. We parted company at 4.00pm at a tube station and I was a bit worried because her phone battery could not be charged in the morning.

Back at the flat, Sharif could not wait to make sure we leave the keys with him before we left.

Paula had earlier agreed with Clem to give a surprise birthday party to Alex. Because of this secret, I had great difficulty in explaining to Alex on what plans we had. In fact, I find his questioning like some cross-examination when he asked about our trip to Leeds! I unintentionally let slip when I mentioned “July 31, when you have your celebration”. My wife also mentioned, “we are visiting Paula” and Alex asked, “why do you want to visit Paula?”

In the first place, I had put myself as a reluctant tourist, if not because I promised Cheng, “only, if you got First Class Honours”. Even the itinerary was sent out at the last minute so that I did not have to inform people if there were any changes. SP is still computer illiterate. Sometimes, it is also difficult not to be “wearing trousers” for a man, as it is expected.

When Alex sent us to Crayford railway station, he mentioned that he might visit us in London in the evenings. During our stay in London, I was quite surprised that he did not contact us, and we thought that he knew about the surprise party, but which he later explained that because Cheng said something about giving us some privacy as it was to be our “second honeymoon”!

The train journeys involved a couple of transfers before we could get to Maidstone. We were lucky our son was with us to show the way and helped carry the clock. Nee had to make her way by train from Canterbury to meet us at Maidstone railway station. Just before we arrived, Paula was notified so that she could fetch us.

It was a really big surprise for Alex when we walked to the back of the house where he was having a telephone conversation. He could not continue with it and just passed the phone to Clem! Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise for him. He did not realize that we were to be involved in that little party as there were already a small group present. Was it worth all that trouble? Well, for Alex, who is known to play pranks on others, he deserved it!

Once, my wife’s sister just arrived at Heathrow airport. She had yet to meet Alex who had been hosting her son when he was doing his medical training there. Having confirmed with her son that she was the right person, he walked past her a few times, asking “Mrs. Lau?” She, being a strict schoolteacher, got annoyed and said, “Which Mrs. Lau? There are so many Mrs. Lau.” They had a good laugh and so did we, over and over again whenever this was mentioned.

It was the first time we met Paula and before that, she had already got ready her rooms to accommodate us for the night. Her house was bought recently and she was lucky because the previous owner had just renovated it. Like Alex’s, it was situated in a cul-de-sac, with a back garden adjoining a public field where there are apple, cherry and plum trees as well as field big enough to play casual football. I could see many people walking their dogs there.



The party was meant for two “birthday boys”, Alex and Dissa, for whom Paula had prepared a beautifully decorated cake each. Dissa’s wife, daughter and her boyfriend were also present. Paula’s niece, Emily, who was on vacation from US, was there too. She later followed us to Dartford.