Craig Rayner

April was a month that I will not be forgetting in a long while. It was full on. The month began with the expectation of Debbie arriving in Australia from Hong Kong . A party for Debbie and I to catch up with people now in Sydney , who had meet us in various places around the world.. My brother was married to Kylie, who he has been living with for about 15 years. He was the last of my brothers and sisters to get married, and he had certainly held out for a long time. My parents celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary the very next day. Debbie and I travelled over Canberra in a hot- air balloon. I asked her to marry me. She said ‘Yes'. Debbie returned to Hong Kong . I stayed and celebrated with Sheridan (eldest daughter) her birthday. I travelled to Hong Kong …

Only in Hong Kong

As many of you already are aware, I have journeyed back to Hong Kong . The motivation for such a move is pretty obvious: it is where Debbie is currently residing and working. I have joined her working at the same organisation, and we reside on opposite sides of the residential grounds. You can tell you are back in Hong Kong , not by the humidity, or the heat (it has actually been a little cold) but by the theme restaurants that you visit for a drink and / or a meal. “ Modern Toilet ” is such a place. The food looks pretty standard in terms of Hong Kong . Rice, hot-pots, seafood, B-B-Q Pork, Green Tea, etc: all the standards. The difference happens in the décor. The restroom theme taken to the nth degree, with toilets as your seat, glass covered basins as your table, your drinks served in urinals and your food in toilet bowls. The light fittings were… Yes, all true, and only in Hong Kong .

Rings, Venues and Timing

The arrival back in Hong Kong was with much celebration as people shared their blessings on the news that Debbie and I had announced from Australia . There were also a couple of questions: Where is the ring? When are you getting married? Where are you getting married? The answers to these questions, in reverse order are: Hong Kong , Union Church; The 8 th , the 15 th or some other random date in September (Monday); and the ring, it is complicated.

The ring became a little bit of a story all by itself. I had not purchased a ring before asking Debbie because I wished to give her the opportunity of choosing for herself the style, etc. It seems that this decision split the community at about 50-50. Half scandalised that I had not purchased a ring, the other half in agreement that ladies choice was a good move. O.K., divided opinion!

Taking Debbie to look for a ring revealed that Debbie had no idea about what she wished for in an engagement ring. The Hong Kong market has some lovely, and huge arrangements of diamonds set on the thinnest of bands, all of them in white gold. After a couple of days moving from shop to shop, we settled on the style and colour that Debbie wanted for her ring. We managed to find the setting and the band style in the same shop. They agreed to make the ring for us, in yellow gold. Wait a couple of weeks for manufacture, and finally, an engagement ring, yellow gold band with solitaire 0.41 carat diamond, brilliant cut in 6 claw setting.

Wrapping Up

Thanks to all who travelled to meet with Debbie and I at the Roxanas' household in early April. We had a great time catching up with all of you. Thanks to all of you for your continued support. Perhaps the next newsletter may mention Kazakhstan again.

Photos

• Mum, Kylie, Iain and Dad at Iain and Kylie's wedding
• Mum and Dad (Allan and Rosalie) at their 50 th Wedding Anniversary party.
• Susma at Modern Toilet, with mini-urinal.
• The Ring.

Contact Details

Phone:
Australian Phone: +61 (0)2 6100 3637 This phone number connects with my Skype account and has a messaging service.
Hong Kong: +852 6271 4477

Mail to our Hong Kong address should not be sent from overseas after the 18th August 2008. All mail received after the 8th September will be redirected to our Australian post office box.

Donations Australia

For Australian Donations please send your support to:
N.L.C.Q.
P.O. Box 758
Queanbeyan N.S.W. 2620
Australia

Please make cheques payable to “Craig Rayner.” Cash donations (at NLCQ) need to include a note that the donation is for Craig Rayner. This support is not tax-deductible.

---

Contact and Donation details were last updated on the 26th August 2008.