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There’s so much more to parenting than feeding, clothing and schooling kids. Are we teaching them the behaviours and thought processes they need to make their way in our community and beyond? Trisha Hughes reports A s a parent, saying your role is one of life’s most important undertakings is doing it a grave injustice. We are literally bringing another living, breathing human being into the world and subsequently doing our very best to help him navigate the society he finds himself in. Creating the next generation of decision makers, world leaders and, hopefully, world changers is a monumental task, and most of us have no idea how hard it is going to be. ‘Important’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Teaching our children life values is an incredibly hard job and it can also be bewildering. On the one hand, we all want our children to have minds of their own and work things out for themselves, rather than turn them into clones of ourselves. But on the other hand, shouldn’t we remember that when they fly the nest, the rest of the world has to live with them? In our attempts to encourage our children to develop their own characters and minds, while trying not to stifle them, are we overlooking our responsibility to also teach them basic principles, like being respectful and polite? How about honest, responsible and giving your best effort in school? Is that too old-fashioned and, dare I say it, conservative? Honesty is accepting and promoting the truth even when we don’t like what that truth is. Responsibility is acknowledging how our actions affect others as well as ourselves. Best effort includes our role in the community. In other words, aren’t we, as parents, duty bound to teach our children that some behaviour is not acceptable? Life values kids need to learn I also believe listening is one of the most important life skills you can teach a child. It will impact on every relationship he has. And what about it’s OK to be wrong? Grades are important but isn’t it more important to be a good person? Apologise when you’ve  made a mistake? Give and accept nothing less than respect? If there is basic human respect, so many other good character traits follow suit. Respect for authority also shows obedience. Respect for others covers kindness. Things like teasing and bullying happen in the absence of respect, and failure to learn responsibility at an early age is the catalyst to poor, sometimes tragic results, whether it is addiction, inability to hold a job, racism or criminal conduct. Raising kids in such a materialistic world is not always easy, especially when they are constantly bombarded with cool new stuff to covet, and encouraged to see shopping as a recreational pastime. Sure, we want our kids to have the best things in life, but we also need to teach them that even though they may not always have the latest and greatest toys and gadgets, they do have plenty to be grateful for. Plant the seeds of gratitude when they are young, so they can learn to appreciate the many gifts they have. It’s not what we do for our children that is more important but what we teach them to do for themselves. Their minds are unquenchable sponges and it is our responsibility to feed that thirst with the right information and to shape them into responsible and admirable members of our society. And as we know, children learn from example so when they see their parents being rude, it sends a message to them that it’s OK to say one thing and do another. Teaching kids to be kind It’s never too late to teach a child how to become a good person, but it won’t happen on its own. Children need to practice caring for others and expressing gratitude for those who care for them, and they need to contribute to other people’s lives. Make sure your children are friendly and grateful with all the people they encounter and that that they are, first and foremost, kind. Even as my own children were turning and waving happily to me on their first day at school, I spent the day crying because they were on their long march towards becoming adults. They would learn that we all have to pay our dues, we all have to work, and we all have to face failure and rejection before we can achieve success. Our challenge is to help our children learn to care for and respect people outside of their small circle of friends and family, such as the new kid in class, someone who doesn’t speak their language and particularly, perhaps, their long-suffering auntie.

Try your hand at the first-prize winning recipes in the DB Kitchen Baking Competition, created by Elizabeth Giannetta (Open category), and Amaira Bali and Zahrah Hasan (Under 10 category) Coconut Cream Pie ELIZABETH GIANNETTA 4 large egg yolks 30g corn starch 1 (14-oz) can full-fat coconut milk  600ml heavy cream 130g granulated sugar  ¼tsp salt 80g sweetened shredded coconut 30g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 1tsp pure vanilla extract  ½tsp coconut extract 1 baked flaky pie crust Whisk the egg yolks and corn starch, set aside. Whisk the coconut milk, 240ml heavy cream, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Boil for 2 minutes, then reduce to medium-low heat. Once boiling, remove about ½ cup of the mixture and whisk it into the egg mixture in a slow and steady stream. Then pour and whisk the egg yolk mixture into the pot in a slow and steady stream. The pudding will immediately begin to bubble and thicken. Whisk and cook for 1.5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the shredded coconut, butter, and vanilla and coconut extracts. Pour the filling into a pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the filling surface and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. For the topping, whip the remaining heavy cream (360ml) until medium peaks form and place on top of the pie. Garnish with additional shredded coconut (toasted), if desired. Chill the pie uncovered for up to a few hours or serve immediately. Chocolate Cupcakes AMAIRA BALI AND ZAHRAH HASAN 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour ¼tsp baking soda 2tsp baking powder  ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder  ⅛tsp salt 3tbsp butter, softened 1½ cups white sugar 2 eggs ¾tsp vanilla extract 1 cup milk Preheat the oven to 175ºC. Line a muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour and baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk and beat well. Fill the muffin tin cups three-quarters full. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean. Frost with your favourite frosting when cool.

Through her #Ittasteslikelove campaign, DBer Liz Thomas is on a mission to make nursing mothers’ breasts every bit as boring – and accepted – as they should be. Elizabeth Kerr reports Boobs, it would seem, still cause us irrational fitsof puritanism, outrage, fear or confusion – occasionally at the same time. Between juvenile ‘gags’ like host Seth McFarlane’s We Saw Your Boobs song and dance at the Oscars in 2013, an Ontario woman getting slapped with a criminal fine for taking her shirt off in public one summer day in 1991 (something men worldwide are free to do in 35-degree heat) and Discovery Bay resident Liz Thomas getting berated for supplying food to her infant in public, a lot of people have a hard time dealing with female breasts. Unless, of course, they’re being used to sell or seduce. Enter Liz and her campaign to strip the stigma from breastfeeding in a world where breasts have been deemed sexual rather than functional. “People have grown unused to seeing breasts used for their primary purpose and generally humans feel uncomfortable when confronted with abrupt change,” she opens by way of explaining our inexplicable hang-up. The inspiration for #Ittasteslikelove ( www.ittasteslikelove.org ) came on the heels of the aforementioned berating Liz received on a bus in DB one day from a middle-aged Western woman, who screamed, “Cover yourself.” The woman was, of course, free to wear what she liked, while Liz’s right to expose a slither of breast in order to meet her infant’s needs was challenged. The incident succinctly summed up the hypocrisy that surrounds nursing mothers in Hong Kong, and for Liz it was the proverbial straw. It’s fortunate that she was both armed with the perfect comeback in the moment, “I am more covered up than you are,” and in a career position where she could demand changes. Sadly, that wasn’t an isolated incident. “I have breastfed all over the city, but outside of the public health system and overzealous security guards, Discovery Bay has been the place where I’ve had the most ‘issues’ for openly breastfeeding,” says Liz, explaining that the negativity has ranged from gossipy disapproval for featuring in the campaign’s breastfeeding photography to the “ridiculous hysteria” of the DB bus incident. As it turns out, according to Unicef, some 40% of women who breastfeed in public in Hong Kong have had negative experiences. One of the most inexplicable that Liz recalls is being asked by nurses at Queen Mary Hospital that she go into a private room to breastfeed her newly born son because “male doctors may mind.” Setting new workplace standards Liz is a Brit by birth and journalist by trade who left Fleet Street behind in favour of Hong Kong in 2013. Currently with a well-known global news organisation, to say Liz leads a full life would be an egregious understatement. She and her French husband settled in DB four years ago for the sake of their two sons. Most of our discussion is via email, but a phone call eventually reveals a relaxed sounding, thoughtful woman committed to the myriad feminist issues inherently connected to #Ittasteslikelove, as well as the humour in its baffling contradictions. “Any choice a woman makes seems to be questioned,” she scoffs. New mums eager to try breastfeeding are certainly receiving mixed messages in Hong Kong. On the one hand the authorities are encouraging more women to breastfeed, and to do it for longer, but on the other, the practice continues to be undermined by widespread discrimination, inadequate maternity leave , and few workplace provisions for mothers to pump when they do go back to work. “Government guidelines urge employers to enable working women to pump in the workplace but there is no law to insist on its implementation,” Liz says. “As a result, mothers are still being forced to pump in toilets, storerooms, even stairwells and corridors.” Ironically, women are held to insane standards of ‘good’ motherhood yet they are not free to fulfil that role on a fundamental level. “Normalising breastfeeding means ensuring mothers are comfortable nursing in public but it also means ensuring authorities put in place legislation that enables mothers to meet breastfeeding targets and hold companies to account that flout them.” Liz describes returning to work after her second son was born, and how the initial shock of seeing her pump at her desk (the best option based on Hong Kong government guidelines) led to greater understanding and tolerance among staff that would eventually set new workplace standards. “Normalising breastfeeding is about creating a society where parents feel empowered,” she states, adding. “I think COVID-19 has underlined how important good hygiene is and how inappropriate it is to ask people to produce nourishment for babies anywhere you wouldn’t eat yourself.” The time for #Ittasteslikelove is now. COVID-19 has proven that. “If businesses can think creatively to tackle life with the virus, they can think creatively on how best to ensure that being a parent doesn’t disqualify you from career progression,” Liz states bluntly. Breast is best The list of reasons breastfeeding needs to be normalised, so that all infants are nursed to WHO’s six-month recommendation, is a long one, topped by the fact that 800,000 more infants would avoid death annually; US$300 billion would be saved on healthcare spending every year; 20,000 more women a year would survive breast cancer; and many children, particularly in areas where easy access to medicine is more difficult, would have improved immunological support. “The goal of #Ittasteslikelove is to ensure it doesn’t take another three decades before this central tenet of motherhood is accepted,” states Liz, recalling actor Demi Moore’s 1991 Vanity Fair cover that caused outrage before ushering in a new age of pregnancy thinking. “People still feel entitled to project their discomfort instead of learning to deal with it rationally,” says Liz.” And there’s one of 2020’s keywords: entitlement. “The disgust, horror, or claim to some moral superiority for being covered up is deeply rooted in issues of social class, poverty, and perhaps even race,” Liz argues. “Two generations ago, it was not unusual to see women in Hong Kong nurse in public, so this culture of offence is new and arguably a puritanical hangover from the colonial period.” #Ittasteslikelove uses its website, blog, Facebook group and Instagram account to reappropriate images, offer advice, and work with the community and businesses to normalise an issue that impacts us all. “We’ve opened our blog up to women across Hong Kong, who are now sharing experiences from nursing premature babies to breastfeeding and the coronavirus – all with the aim that the more visible, and accessible this topic is, the more things will change,” says Liz. In one must-read story on the site, Liz provides ‘10 Perfect Comebacks to Silence Breastfeeding Critics.’ Let’s say that while nursing your baby, you are accused of attention seeking. Liz advises that you first try humour: “You got me! I decided to go through the engorgement, sore nipples and cluster-feeding because I realised nursing offered the perfect opportunity to flaunt my fantastic hooters to the world.” If that doesn’t work, she suggests you rely on facts: “Good parents react to their child’s cues to see if verbally, or non-verbally, they are telling us they’re in need of sustenance, comfort or reassurance. Breastfeeding is an excellent tool to address one or all of these basic needs and avoid unnecessary distress. Whether I’m dressed in a ballgown or in my pyjamas, what I’m wearing while nursing, is irrelevant. The sole intention remains the same: helping my children.” In the lead up to World Breastfeeding Week ( waba.org.my/wbw ), August 1 to 7, Liz has been stepping up the pace. Over 100 restaurants, bars, gyms and brands now back #Ittasteslikelove, taking a stand against discrimination, and empowering breastfeeding mothers. In addition to Hong Kong-wide players like Pizza Express, Pret A Manger, Maximal Concepts and Black Sheep Restaurants, Liz has also garnered plenty of support on home turf from local concerns, such as Hemingway’s, Kapuhala Space, Kristen Handford personal training and Treece Fitness. “As more and more places actively support nursing in public, people will think twice about voicing their disapproval, and after a while they may see there is no need to be disapproving at all,” Liz concludes. “Then the real changes can begin.”

Determined to discover an otherworldly, high-altitude land, packed with palaces, temples, monasteries and mountains, Dorothy Ainsley takes a virtual trip to Tibet How good it must feel to stand on the roof of the world, 4,500 metres above sea level, and surrounded by imposing mountain ranges that harbour the world’s two highest summits, Mount Everest and K2. With its breath-taking, high-altitude landscapes, huge salt lakes, magnificent palaces and monasteries, and inspiring spiritual and cultural life, Tibet has to be one of the most magical places on my bucket list. The best time to visit Tibet is from April to June and in the early autumn, when the weather is not too harsh and most areas are accessible. The winter months are inhospitably cold, falling to around minus 9ºC at night, and you’re also well advised to avoid a visit in high summer (July and August), since that’s when Lhasa, particularly, gets inundated with tourists. If time permits, give yourself a week in Lhasa to acclimatise to the high altitude and see the sights before heading off on a grand overland adventure. Be aware that the Chinese government requires foreign travellers to visit Tibet as part of a pre-arranged tour with a guide, driver and vehicle. Place of the Gods Grandly enfolded by the Himalayas, Lhasa, literally ‘Place of the Gods,’ stands 3,650 metres above sea level. The Tibetan capital has been the centre of Tibetan Buddhism for over a millennium and the highlights of your stay are, to a greater or lesser degree, going to be of a spiritual nature. Expect an otherworldly mix of chanting monks and prostrating pilgrims, magnificent monasteries and ornate prayer halls. Your tour begins in Barkhor, the charming, whitewashed old Tibetan quarter. The highways of the modern city threaten to overwhelm its winding alleys but for now, at least, Barkhor is still yours to enjoy. The bustling backstreet temples and markets provide you with your first taste of traditional Tibetan life, and you get to join the tide of pilgrims on the Barkhor Circuit, as they make their way around Jokhang Temple, the most sacred in Tibet. Jokhang Temple was built in 642 by Songsten Gampo, the Tibetan king who is credited with introducing Buddhism to Tibet, and legend has it that pilgrims have been walking the 1-kilometre Barkhor Circuit ever since. Today, locals and foreigners alike crowd into Barkhor to make their way clockwise around the temple, swirling prayer wheels and prostrating themselves in prayer as they go. Packed with people chanting, ladling yak butter into lamps and spinning prayer wheels, the religious enthusiasm within Jokhang Temple is intense. Pilgrims queue patiently for hours just to touch their foreheads to the image of the Jowo Shakyamuni statue. It’s the single most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism, said to have been personally blessed by the Buddha. Right across from Jokhang Temple, the jaw-dropping red-and-white Potala Palace soars 100 metres above Barkhor. Founded in 637, the ‘new’ palace was constructed in 1645 and it’s now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Encompassing palaces (containing opulent residential quarters and chapels), as well as the defensive fortifications and glorious gardens, it’s best viewed in sections, ideally over the course of a day. In the White Palace, you can view the 14th Dalai Lama’s former residential quarters, left just as they were in 1959 when he fled to India during the Tibetan uprising. The Red Palace is completely devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer. The interiors are dark and atmospheric – a blur of wafting silk brocades, flickering yak-butter lamps and gleaming golden Buddha statues. Next up is a visit to at least one of Lhasa’s three great university monasteries – Drepung, Ganden and Sera. The largest, 1416-built Drepung, houses the burial stupas of the second, third and fourth Dalai Lamas (only the Potala Palace has more). Built on the slopes of Mount Gambo Utse, just 5 kilometres out of town, it’s blessed with amazing views across the Lhasa Valley and mighty Nyenchen Tanglha mountain range. Accompanied by your guide, you are free to explore the colleges, residential compounds and chapels – and watch the monks in lively debate. Goddess Mother of the World Once you’ve acclimatised to the high altitude, it’s time to hire a car (and a driver) and get out of the city. Immediately on leaving Lhasa, as the road winds its way round the mountains, you’ll start spotting groups of nomads tying their rainbow-hued prayer flags to poles, while silently saying prayers. Be sure to stop and greet them; Tibetans are unfailing friendly. In fact, your lasting memories of Tibet are likely to be of chance encounters such as these – drinking yak-butter tea with a monk in a remote monastery, sharing a bottle of Lhasa Beer with a villager in a hilltop teahouse, or picnicking with a herding family on the shores of a far-flung lake. After crossing the mighty River Brahmaputra, which originates in the Angsi Glacier, on the northern side of the Himalayas, the steep, gradual climb to Kamba-La Pass (elevation 4,700 metres) begins. Here you get your first sight of breath-taking, fan-shaped Lake Yamdrok. Drive on for an hour or so, and you arrive at Karo-La Pass (elevation 5,010 metres) for more spectacular views of snow-capped mountains, notably the sublime, glacier-dripping Mount Nojin Kangtsang, which soars 7,191 metres above sea level. As you head further inland towards Nepal, Gyantse, an incredibly appealing and seemingly ‘untouched’ frontier town, 260 kilometres from Lhasa, is a great place to overnight. Situated on the trade route to Bhutan and India, it remains a bustling centre of commerce and pilgrimage. Be sure to explore the 1450s-built fort, which perches high above the settlement on a huge rock spur, and 1497-built Gyantse Kumbum, a 34-metre-high, octagonal stupa – the largest in Tibet. Rounding off your trip in spectacular style, Mount Everest’s North Base Camp lies just 360 kilometres from Gyantse. While two-week trekking routes on the Nepal side offer only fleeting glimpses of the peak, in Tibet you can drive on a paved road right up to unobstructed views of Mount Everest’s incredible north face. Make your way to Rongphu Monastery, the highest monastery in the world at 5,000 metres, and your view of Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the World, is framed by prayer flags. How good it must feel!

Schoolchildren across Hong Kong broke up for the summer holidays at the end of June, having only been back in class a month. How are they dealing with all the disruption? Jason Broderick reveals that for the most part at least, they’re taking everything in their stride After nearly five months of lessons in pyjamas and lonely lunch breaks, schoolchildren across Hong Kong headed back to school at the end of May, squirting litres of hand sanitiser and ready to put carefully developed hygiene plans to the test. Here in Discovery Bay, seeing children and teenagers filling the footpaths again as they made their way to and from school was a welcome sight, suggesting to observers that a change was in the air. The question is how did the students deal with the realities of school post-lockdown and, just as importantly, how did they feel about schools closing again, for the summer holidays, a month later. On again off again On the first day back at school after lockdown, May 20, it’s my belief that it was the parents who were the most jittery. They were nervous that their kids might not be able to comply with the necessary health regulations, and there was also a high level of nervous excitement in the air – in anticipation, perhaps, of the return to some semblance of normality (some much anticipated freedom). Either way, teaching staff throughout Hong Kong were prepared and under strict instruction to keep social distancing in place, and alleviate parents’ concerns. The number of students waiting to be allowed to return to school got fewer day by day. Some schools had staggered starts with 60% of primary and secondary classes resuming during the first week, the remaining 40% joining the week later; other schools adopted a different approach having students come in on a rota system. The exception has been the Early Years campuses, where teachers are still awaiting government approval of commencement of classes. To accommodate government requirements, all students went through a body temperature screening upon entering school, lining up 2 metres from one another and donning their masks. It must have felt more like walking into a hospital than a school but the children’s sense of humour gradually returned, and staff were assured that all the special measures were worth it, just to be back in class. For most students the new normal of mask-wearing and constant hand sanitation was preferable to being home alone and distance learning. They openly discussed how being off school had initially seemed like an ideal situation but how boredom and loneliness had soon set in. They’d quickly realised, whether consciously or not, that school is integral to their wellbeing. One student spoke of how she was “insanely excited to be back at school,” while admitting to nervousness about social distancing, particularly on the bus. She said her fellow students were displaying a range of reactions: “You don’t know where people are at, and how people feel, some just want to give you a big hug and others are a bit hesitant. Another girl said how wonderful it was to be with classmates again, even though she sometimes felt like she was “in detention” due to the positioning of the desks (2 metres apart) and always having to “face forward.” Older students, in Years 11 and 13, expressed concerns about their grades. There was acute anxiety from some, who worried they would get lower grades than anticipated because all their hard work over the past two years would not be revealed through end-of-year exams. Other students were delighted, however, relieved to be avoiding the very real anxiety that the milestone examinations bring. Older students were also concerned about a second outbreak of the virus occurring on their return to school. However, as one boy put it, “There has to be a return at some point and we are all Zoomed out!” Talking of Zoom, the enforced reliance on technology that lockdown afforded has provided much food thought within the education sector. Zoom and Google meetings allowed students to stay connected to their friends, peers and staff; they could log on and stay for the whole lesson, or get on with an activity whilst checking back in periodically. Social classrooms were also set up, just so students could chill with their friends and feel part of their social circle. There’s no denying that most students missed the direct interaction of the regular school day, but there were undeniable positives. Kids started to see that although they were apart, they could stay connected. Overall, I think once reality kicked in, along with the realisation that everyone on the planet was in the same boat, students’ anxiety lessened. They found solace in the fact that the situation was – and to a large extent still is – beyond their control. School’s out for summer No sooner, of course, were students back at school, than it was time for many of them to take their summer vacation. Not surprisingly perhaps, most were looking forward to the prospect. One student put it very succinctly: “Of course, we’re excited about the holidays! It will mean time away from screens, and time out of both real and virtual classrooms.” The kids will be stuck in Hong Kong over the summer, and many of them they will miss catching up with friends and families overseas, but overall, they’re simply ready to have some time out to relax and have fun. With so many of the social distancing restrictions lifted, this now seems like a very real prospect. Concerned that grade points have dropped over recent months, more parents than usual seem to be considering enrolling their kids in academic-based summer camps. While some students may require extra tuition, my advice would be not to overburden them with such classes. Allow them, instead, a summer of fun – they are fortunate in Hong Kong to have more freedom than their peers in many countries overseas. When it comes down to it, I’ve noted that as with most challenging situations, students seem to be taking all the disruption caused by COVID-19 in their stride. Sure, there are a number of children who are having difficulties but a lot of this is caused by wider external factors – global worries as a result of the pandemic and worries about the future of Hong Kong. Over the summer, parents will be well advised to give kids the space to share any fears they may have. Children need to know that it’s natural to feel worried at this time. They also need to be wellinformed. Fact-based information is likely to be more reassuring than anything they hear from their friends or on social media. So, focus your conversations on what is improving in the world and how well you see your children doing in the future – in August, when they are (hopefully) back in school again for the long haul. Jason Broderick is a counselling psychologist and Head of Wellbeing at Discovery Bay International School (www.dbis.edu.hk). To follow him on Instagram, head to @wellbeingcoach101.

Easy-breezy frozen cocktails to help you chill out on a hot summer’s day Orange Cream Floats (Serves 8) 940ml vanilla ice cream 475ml orange juice, freshly squeezed 475ml club soda 235ml vodkaChill eight glasses in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Scoop the ice cream and divide evenly among the chilled glasses. Top with the orange juice, club soda and vodka. Berry White Pops (Makes 7) 96g sugar 235ml white wine 1tbsp Cointreau 4tsp fresh lemon juice 130g fresh berries Stir the sugar in 235ml hot water until dissolved. Mix in the wine, Cointreau and lemon juice. Divide the berries (such as blueberries and thinly sliced strawberries) among seven paper cups. Pour the wine mixture into the cups. Cover the cups with foil, and then insert a craft stick into the centre of each pop. Freeze for at least eight hours or overnight. (For kid-friendly frozen pops, simply replace the wine and Cointreau with berry-flavoured yoghurt). Frozen Margaritas (Serves 1) 50ml tequila 25ml triple sec or Cointreau 25ml lime juice 15ml sugar syrupPut all the ingredients plus a large handful of ice in a blender and blitz until smooth. Tip into a cocktail glass, garnish with a wedge of lime and serve. (When blood oranges are in season – or you can get blood orange juice in a carton – make this with 50ml tequila, 25ml lime juice, 25ml blood orange juice and 15ml sugar syrup. If you like bitter-sweet drinks, add a dash of Campari.)

Jonny Haines and Tim Tait sit down with Elizabeth Kerr to discuss Lantau Island Paddle’s latest adventure (and reveal that everyone can join in). Photo by Baljit Gidwani Summer is exerting itself. The heat and humidity are rising and the waters around Lantau are beginning to beckon. Discovery Bay’s own Lantau Island Paddle founders, Jonny Haines and Tim Tait, are relaxing on the terrace of Hemingway’s after a hard day paddleboarding. Their muscles have been barrelling towards atrophy of late, and they admit to feeling exhausted. Recalling the long months of lockdown, they joke about their virus weight (join the club) and the inevitability of staycations for 2020. After months of helping students with their online learning, Jonny and Tim (both teachers) headed back to school at the end of May, only to break for the summer holidays a month later. “Lockdown was a test of resilience for parents and teachers but particularly for the students,” opens Jonny, in between sips from a frosty pint. He’s proud of the strength of character everyone’s shown, and admits that the tech innovations hoisted upon us have been eye-opening. “However, from a wellbeing point-of-view, there is no substitute for the school environment and the value of social interaction,” he says. “It’s been good to have the students back.” Tim, Jonny’s partner in paddling, agrees but admits, “I struggled. Now I go to Kowloon Tong for work but the majority of it is as director of sport activities. I’d plan things and they would get cancelled, and it got to a point where I stopped planning. Being back at school was still a bit odd. You don’t realise how much you communicate with your face.” Surgical masks do get in the way of that. Regardless, the duo is in high spirits, much like the last time they were in the news in February 2018. Back then, they were drumming up support for the inaugural Lantau Island Paddle, which saw them paddleboard 75 kilometres around the island across five consecutive days. Their mission was to raise funds for Plastic Free Seas and environmental action in general, and they beat their target raking in an impressive HK$125,000. Two years ago, 36-year-old Discovery Bay International School (DBIS) teacher Jonny wasn’t a father – which he is now, to two-year-old Jacob – and 39-year-old Tim wasn’t commuting to the Australian International School Hong Kong, though he’s holding steady with three kids between three and 12. Needless to say, protests, pandemics, children – life– curtailed their paddleboarding, but now they’re raring to go again, having dreamt up the Lantau Island Paddle Community Adventure Series (lantaupaddle.wixsite.com/ lantaupaddle.) Sharing the love Starting July 1, Jonny and Tim are intent on getting water enthusiasts (of all ages and abilities) onto the water, free of charge, to have fun and connect with the environment. Launching from three of DB’s beaches, across the six weeks of summer, the Lantau Island Paddle Community Adventure Series features 22 different routes open to all types of watercraft (including paddleboards, kayaks, small boats and swimmers). “We are not instructors but we are happy to lead the tours,” Tim explains. “We’ve split the 22 routes into 10 ‘virtual challenges’ that people can take part in. The distances that we cover will equate to iconic water-based distances in the real world, such as crossing Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong (1 kilometre) or the Cook Straight in New Zealand (22 kilometres). The idea for the Community Adventure Series was born in late April from a casual get-together among some fellow paddleboard enthusiasts, keen to take advantage of the warmer weather and loosened social distancing restrictions. “We decided to get the team back together – the band,” Jonny explains. “We pinged some other keen paddlers and all of a sudden we had seven interested . Just like that we ended up in the water for nine hours.” The paddleboarders set off from Tai Pak Wan on May 2 in perfect conditions but beyond the shelter of Hei Ling Chau, they were hit by severe winds. Tim recalls cramping up half way through, sure he was done, but ultimately of course, there was no way he was going to retire and let Jonny get one up on him. Despite the heat and the skill range, the seven-strong band finished the gruelling 35 kilometres – a virtual English Channel paddle – eager for more. “We sat there shellshocked thinking how the seven of us had just had an amazing time, an amazing experience, and we thought about what an opportunity that might be for spreading awareness again,” Jonny says. “I said to Tim, ‘What can we do next?’ Lantau Island Paddle still has legs; people are still talking about it. More and more paddleboarders are getting into it.” Tim and Jonny’s mission with the resulting Community Adventure Series is twofold. First, they are dedicated to sharing their love of watersports. Second, they’recontinuing their commitment to environmental awareness. Tim notes, “People have heard the environmental message but they want to experience it too… It’s amazing what you see when you’re on the water. There’s plenty of opportunity to explore and hopefully to appreciate the environment.Anyone can give money but it’s not changing anything. The idea is that you take action. There’s no entry fee or anything, but we hope new paddlers will find something they want to do – small or big – for the environment.” Jonny and Tim couldn’t have got the Community Adventure Series off the ground without help from old supporters and community partners, like Plastic Free Seas and Gary Stokes at Hemingway’s– who stops by to boast about the success of his vegan menu. They also owe a debt of gratitude to the ‘English Channel’ paddlers: Discovery College teacher Lawrence Wilkinson, soon-to-be Malvern instructor Charlie Ko and her husband Bryan, paddle “legend” Ron Schwartz, and DBIS deputy Ben “Captain Honey Badger” Loran. Inspiring change COVID-19 is without a doubt an unmitigated public health crisis but its side effects include cleaner air that’s a result of fewer planes in the skies. Sadly, another side effect is the garbage that protection (disposable surgical masks) from the virus creates and the uptick in toxic chemistry to keep it at bay. As Tim sees it, we’re all just going to have to double down on the good behaviours and habits that were making inroads in Hong Kong pre-COVID. Getting people on the water where our bad habits show most glaringly should help. “You can’t take your own coffee mug to shops anymore. The masks washing up on shore are noticeable because they weren’t there before. There’s more takeaway packaging. It’s frustrating but I think it’s a good time for people who are aware of this to make a point of making sure they go back to those habits,” Tim says. “Besides, I kind of wish there were more people sitting in coffee shops, because that’s what coffee shops were about.” Another COVID side effect is simply the reach it’s affording: it’s rare to see so many residents in DB over the summer ready to take advantage of the environment they often cite as a reason for living here. Hence the Community Adventure Series. “We’ve a chance to get a lot of people out on the water, and we’d be crazy not to take advantage of that. If people use an environment, they then care more for it,” says Jonny. “If we get twice as many people on the water and twice as many people seeing the damage, there’s no better way to raise awareness and inspire change. A visual picture, like when you see plastic bags in the water that fish have bitten into, has an impact,” states Tim, recalling the 2015 footage, in which marine biologist Christine Figgener filmed her team removing a plastic straw stuck in a sea turtle’s nose. Jonny is unperturbed by the Community Adventure Series coinciding with prime typhoon season. “Absolutely! That’s where the adrenaline is!” he jokes, before trying to persuade this writer to get out on the water. Unfortunately, I have no sense of balance. But Jonny laughs this off with a robust, “Neither did we, at least until we got out there.” There’s a pause from the other side of the table as Tim puts his pint down. “I still don’t.” Looks like it may be a fun summer after all.

DB’s best bakers have been busy in the kitchen whipping up their entries for the DB Kitchen Baking Competition. Prize-winners in each category will be chosen through a community online vote on the Around DB Facebook page from July 8 to 15 . Click on the photos to below to watch finalists' cooking videos on YouTube . The first-prize winners in each category will have their recipes and photos published in the August issue of Around DB . Prizes include up to HK$10,000 worth of kitchen utensils or appliances from Le Creuset, Bruno and more! OPEN CATEGORY FINALISTS UNDER 10 CATEGORY FINALISTS

Has having the kids at home for so many months turned you on to the idea of homeschool? Sam Fisher takes a look at the pros and cons Being with your kids 24/7, which is what so many of us have experienced this past year, is challenging. Let’s face it, at times, it’s tortuous. But now that schools are reopening, and we’re about to go back to the old ways, I find myself looking for alternatives. I feel we’ve gained so much as a family from this ‘enforced’ time together at home, and I’ve really enjoyed teaching my kids – I’ve loved understanding how each of them learns, and seeing them progress – so, I wonder, is homeschool an option for us? Legalities The first thing to know is that homeschool is legal in Hong Kong, but if you are going down this route, you need to inform the Education Bureau. Government inspectors will then visit your home to check you know what you’re doing – that you follow a timetable and have appropriate teaching resources – and to assess your child’s performance. If the inspectors like what they see, your child is registered as a Non- Attendance Case, and you can proceed. You can expect follow-up home visits twice a year, but as long as the inspectors don’t see a drop in your child’s performance, you’ll be allowed to continue. As it turns out, homeschool is already a popular option in Hong Kong, particularly within the expat community. Danny Harrington of ITS Education Asia explains: “Firstly, there is the question of school place availability. It is incredibly difficult to access local schools as the competition for places from local families is so high, and there are huge concerns about the impact on education of being thrown into a completely different school language and cultural environment. Most expats look therefore to the international school system but there are limited places, dependent on year group, and there’s also the issue of cost. “‘International school’ in Hong Kong means independent or private school anywhere else and, of course, the costs are comparable. At US$20,000 per child per year up (and as much as US$40,000++) there aren’t all that many families that can find the spare cash to educate one, let alone two or three children. Homeschooling by comparison can be done very cheaply indeed for younger kids and even for children in exam years, such as IGCSE and A-level. Getting support online both in terms of materials and expert teachers through live online classrooms doesn’t really need to exceed about US$5,000 per child per year, although deluxe options could take this up to more like US$15,000 per child per year.” While ITS provides a wide range of online homeschool classes and support, teaching the main syllabuses to all ages, there are many credible options out there, including specialist apps like iTooch. Just as importantly, there are a number of locally based homeschool support groups that enable parents to network to get the best academic process in place and to deal with the socialising issue. Local families looking for a ready-made support framework are advised to check out Facebook groups like Homeschooling Support HK and Homeschool Resources HK. The Hong Kong Homeschool Meetup Group is another good bet, since it meets on a regular basis to provide support for parents and extra-curricular activities for kids. Freedoms After the initial shock of leaving the school system has passed, parents who homeschool say they experience a real sense of freedom. With their lives no longer revolving around school hours, homework and the school calendar, they are free to plan off-season holidays, visit parks and museums during the week, and live their lives in their own way. It’s also worth noting that homeschooled kids, who benefit from one-on-one tailored learning, tend to accomplish in a few hours what kids in a typical classroom take much longer to cover. Most homeschoolers therefore spend less time studying and, of course, as an added bonus, they get no homework. What’s more, free of the commute to and from school, and the gruelling eight-hour school day, they tend to be less stressed and better rested. To a large extent, homeschooled  students have the choice to study what they want, when they want, for as long as they want. The basics may be covered at age six for one child, and at age 10 for another, depending on ability, maturity and interest levels. While formal schooling follows a strict timeline and many children find it challenging to keep up, the opposite is true of homeschool, which makes it an ideal option for kids with special or different learning needs. Even in the secondary school years, with exams looming, parents can pace and customise learning schedules to suit their children’s needs, preferences and abilities. By the same token, homeschool provides the opportunity for parents to incorporate their religious and spiritual beliefs into their chosen curriculum. Homeschool also makes sense for kids who find it difficult to find their feet in the mainstream school system and who need to be protected from what can too often be a ‘hostile’ classroom environment. Peer pressure, bullying and competition can all be part of a typical school day, particularly for girls in their early teens. However, none of this is an issue for homeschooled kids. Homeschoolers can dress, act and think the way they want, without fear of ridicule or a need to fit in. They live in the real world, where lives aren’t dictated by adolescent trends and dangerous experimentation. On the flip side, ‘troubled’ teens are seen to benefit enormously from the closer family relationships engendered by homeschool, with parents reporting that rebellious or destructive behaviours soon start to diminish. Certainly, most parents stress the important role that homeschool plays in helping them find time to foster loving ties between all family members. Challenges There’s no way around it, however, homeschool is a full-time job. For married parents, one partner often foregoes employment outside of the home in order to homeschool. This can be a big sacrifice for families who are struggling to balance their budget. The plus side is that most parents believe that the loss of income is well worth the satisfaction of watching their kids grow and learn in freedom. Bottomline though: If you don’t enjoy being with your kids 24/7, then homeschool is not for you. There’s time spent on formal studies, and you also need to provide plenty of additional learning tools in the form of hands-on experiences and activities. Planning, getting to, and participating in these extracurricular activities (or waiting for them to be over) will likely take up the bulk of your day. And what about friends? How do you provide for your child’s social development without the ready-made community of a school? While local sports activities and clubs fill the void for younger kids, homeschooled teens often find limited opportunities to join sports teams, especially competitive ones. An appropriate level of socialisation with children of their own age is important for homeschoolers, so this is where groups like the aforementioned Hong Kong Homeschool Meetup Group prove essential. Like any activity that challenges mainstream thinking, homeschool may be seen as an oddity, or even a threat. If you are unable to live ‘outside of the box,’ then homeschool is not for you. But we live in changing times, in which external factors (social unrest and pandemics) are keeping our kids out of school. What if homeschool is the way forward; what if it’s already the new normal? By teaching our kids ourselves, we can provide them with stability during difficult times – homeschool may just be the cure we need.

Planning a holiday in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, Dorothy Veitch looks forward to taking it easy and enjoying some of the finer things in life Sun-drenched vineyards Located only 70 kilometres from Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is considered the premier wine region in South Australia, and also lays claim to being the best in Australia. With diverse and layered varieties to suit every taste, it boasts a versatility that rivals any wine region in the world. Red wine is the flagship of the area, with Shiraz leading the way, but the outer reaches of the valley also deliver superb white wines, in particular Riesling. Village life Life in the Barossa (population almost 25,000) has a certain serenity to it, making it ridiculously easy to slip into a relaxed frame of mind. For an authentic, rustic experience, bed down in one of the many B&Bs available, with some of the best located in sleepy hamlets like Tanunda, Nuriootpa and Angaston. Cellar doors One of the benefits of the Barossa being so small (912 square kilometres) is that it makes it possible to visit a range of cellars in a short time and there are a number of bus tours available to help you do just that. The wine tour is part of local folklore and with wineries like Rockford’s, Peter Lehmann’s, Langmeil, Chateau Tanunda, Yalumba and Whistler Wines to visit, it’s easy to see why. German history Set at the foot of the rolling Barossa Ranges, the region has a rich German history, with the Germans first settling in the area in the mid-1800s. A lot of the culture is still prevalent, with stone cottages and Lutheran churches dotting the picturesque, rural landscape. Be sure to drop by the traditional butcher shops and bakeries boasting age-old, German favourites, like bratwurst, apple strudel and plum cake. Hot-air ballooning The Barossa’s sunrises have something magical about them, dancing off the Barossa Ranges and settling in amongst the vineyards and paddocks. The best way to make the most of this is from the basket of a hotair balloon, a common sight in the (very early morning sky). For the romantics out there, a Barossan balloon ride might be as good as it gets. Degustation menus The Barossa is known for its food culture and fancy degustation menus, with cuisines ranging from Asian fusion to traditional German. ‘From farm to table’ is a common theme, and the majority of restaurants pride themselves on using freshly grown local produce, paired, of course, with Barossan wine. Farmers’ markets Despite its standing in the world of wine, the Barossa is by no means a one trick pony and the local produce is some of the best in South Australia. Farmers’ markets are the perfect place to immerse yourself in what the region has to offer, with local meats, cheeses and seasonal fruit and vegetables all common fare. The renowned Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop is a must visit for its terrines and patés, as well as its scenic, lakeside location. Wine festivals Any wine and food connoisseur planning a visit to the Barossa should consider timing it to coincide with either of the region’s biggest food and wine festivals: Barossa Vintage Festival in April and Barossa Gourmet Weekend in September. These festivals offer up all sorts of events, from intimate tastings to competitions and parades, and they are the perfect way to experience the heritage and culture of all things Barossan.

DB baking expert Sarah Lee , founder of Sweet Secrets bakery, has some timely advice for all those entering the DB Kitchen Baking Competition The DB Kitchen Baking Competition strikes me as such an inspired idea not least because so many of us have been busy in our kitchens these past few months. I’m looking forward to viewing the finalists’ creations on the Around DB Facebook page and to casting my vote for the winners alongside the rest of the community. In the meantime, here are my top tips for entrants. Follow the recipe In baking, too many factors play into the success rate, so I highly recommend that new bakers follow the recipe very closely, especially when also trying out a new recipe. Once you know how it works in your home environment, you can make adjustments the next time. It’s important to realise that every ingredient in a baking recipe has a purpose, whether it is to enhance the flavour, the texture, or the structure. There is also a lot of science at work in baking, so you have to be precise. Converting cup measurements to grams, so you can use a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients can help with this. If you are working in cups, be sure to fill your measuring cup with individual spoonfuls instead of using a measuring cup to scoop an ingredient – like flour – straight out of the bag. Do this and you get much better results! Note too that it’s best to sift flour prior to placing it in the measuring cup, and you can also give the measuring cup a gentle knock on the table to help level the flour. Take your temperature Does your kitchen run hot or cold? It’s vital that you know your oven, and whether the temperature indicator is accurate. If you’re unsure, an oven thermometer will give you peace of mind. For pastry making, butter is at its best at room temperature. If it keeps its shape and is easy to cut through with just a little resistance, then that is a good level of ‘softness’. Eggs are best at room temperature as cold eggs take longer to whisk and will not fluff up as well. Be patient Most important is to be patient. If the recipe says to combine ingredients separately, don’t try to save time by dumping everything into the same bowl. Creaming butter and sugar together in a separate bowl incorporates air and adds lightness. But if you mix the butter and sugar with the wet ingredients all at once, then the end result will be dense and heavy. The tips from expert bakers leverage their experience from patiently baking a recipe over and over again. That’s why the experience can be therapeutic – or not.There are no shortcuts in baking and you can’t really speed things up. So, you might as well take your time and enjoy the ride, and the competition. Good luck! To enter the DB Kitchen Baking Competition, read the eligibilty requirements here . To get in touch with Sweet Secrets, you may call 9371 9089 or email info@sweetsecrets.com.hk or visit www.sweetsecrets.com.hk

With all the different summer camps on offer across Lantau, how do you decide which will benefit your child the most? Samantha Wong reports In choosing a summer camp for your children – with your children if they’re old enough – making sure they are goingto have lots of fun has to be a first priority. After all, they’ve been stuck at home for most of this year and they’ll be ready for some excitement. Whichever type of camp you choose, your kids will be given the opportunity to be busy and social. The idea is that they’ll be able to make new friends and, with the guidance of adult mentors, discover new things about themselves. The obvious way to go about choosing a camp is to match your kids’ interests with a course that’s available locally. And with so many different classes on offer across Lantau, this will likely be a no-brainer. You’ll find camps that allow your children to focus on everything from the environment to surfing and Mandarin. Looked at this way, your decision-making process is simple enough. Sign your children up for an activity they already enjoy and give them the chance to focus on it, and get seriously good at it. Game over! But have you considered going the other way? Rather than enrolling your kids in a course they already know something about, plump for something new and unexpected, something that will expand their horizons. Let’s say, for instance, that your kids are homebodies and, like mine, tech obsessed. Any camp you choose will encourage them to unplug and get social, but one that’s based outdoors could be the best bet. Sign them up for a sports course and you’ll see them being physically active and more than that, they’ll be outdoors, connecting with nature in some way. My kids are always saying that they aren’t interested in being outdoors, that they lack access to it and it makes them feel uncomfortable… a few sessions on the playing field could well open their eyes! To keep things interesting, there’s also the option of enrolling children in a classroom-based camp. This is going to be a particularly good bet if you feel grade points have been lost during lockdown. And an educational camp doesn’t have to be dull. Specialised, teacher-led summer courses make learning and problem-solving fun and interactive. Most summer camps last a week at most, so here’s your answer: Sign your kids up for as many different courses as you can afford. Ideally, they’ll be able to explore their favourite hobbies and try something new, while keeping up with their studies. It’s starting to look like a busy, productive and most importantly fun summer!