GSE 1190 UK 2009

In the News

2009-04-07T21:57:00.001-07:00

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/your/news/4245297.Malaysian_Rotatians_visit_Church_and_Oswaldtwistle/

Our Vocational Study Trip

2009-03-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

My last vocational study trip was to Paccar Parts and Leyland Truck Assembly. Mr. Peter Zak, the Logistics Director is kind enough to brief me on business models for Paccar Parts and Leyland Truck Assembly. I am impressed by the scale of Paccar Parts Warehouse and its operation. Of course, the big WOW would be the truck assembly line. For the first time, I was exposed to the truck assembly line and it is HUGE.

Torotrak Ltd. specialized in traction-related R&D. It owns R&D and testing center that are sophisticated. I was impressed by the sophistication of equipment and investment spent as explained by Mr. Phil Winter. It opens my eyes on world of R&D.

You can find the enterpreneur spirit in Alan Myerscough which he started his automotive career 25 years ago. His achievement been ownership of Ford Sales and Service. Surely, he had come a long way.

Talk about James Bond, BMW would come to your mind. My next vocational study was to Lloyd BMW. Lloyd is a family business which is strongly positioned in Cumbria. It has branches elsewhere in UK too. It owns several luxury flagships. The General Sales Manager - Craig greeted me with sunshine smile. And I learnt some practices that are out-of-the-box from the management team. I find the ideas useful and will share with my colleagues later.

Toyota - the world famous brand. I was greeted by host who later introduced me and Dave to the manager. We were impressed by the nicely done showrooom in par to high standard (gamestation obviously attracted my attention). Dave and I had test drive session together.

As I stepped into MultiPart Solutions Private Limited, the Managing Director - Chris welcomed me to the conference room. Wow! Could you imagaine MD welcoming you for the visit. I am honoured. MultiPart is 4th Party Logistics company specialized in commercial and defence parts. Lately, they expanded MSys Database as an value-added or outsource services to customers from water industry to vehicle industry. What a wonderful visit as I was impressed by the scale and scope of its business! As in the photo, I was amazed by few storeys parts storage, combi-trucks, lean lift, etc. Could you imagine they deliver small item such as nuts to big item such as head of the truck!

Our Host Family

2009-03-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

7th host family - Sheila and David Spiller from RC Church & Oswaldtwistle. Sob..sob.. my last English breakfast served with hot plates. How I wish the stay will extend longer.

6th host family - Ron and Sandra Marshall from RC Blackpool South. We had feast in Malaysia way - fantastic way to cure homesick.. And I had my first radio interview experience too.

5th host family - Elizabeth and Mike Hall from RC Ulverston. Bus stop look-alike backyard and the breeze is refreshingingly cool. An ideal place for forty winks.

4th host family - Caroline & Ellis from RC Carlisle. Ellis could cook very well and Caroline with her Apple Crump.. yummy. They never fail to catch Dancing on Ice show.

3rd host family (Louise & Dave King) from RC West Lakeland. Warm and caring couple. We also had guest among us. Could you spot who she is? And I love the Bob Hall songs they were playing.

2nd host family (Carol & Howard Jackson) from RC Preston Amounderness. Jovial and lively :) Mind you! He drives Saab Convertible like James Bond... whoosh...

1st host family for Cheong (John & Joan Lucas) from RC Chorley Astley. Aren't they lovely couple.. First host family that greeted me.

Dove Cottage & William Wordsworth

2009-03-13T17:38:00.001-07:00

This is the residence of William Wordsworth - Dove Cottage. This place inspired some wonderful masterpiece of poems that he wrote.

Daffodils
by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Rotary District 1190 Conference @ Leeds

2009-03-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - Opening Session

The spectacular & imposing Leeds Town Hall, where the conference was held from 6th-8th March 2009

The fantastical ornate interior

The Conference was officiated by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, the conferance Chairman Ron Bailey and District Governor Tony Parrini.

After Dinner, the team headed back to the Town Hall for an enjoyable evening with performance by the Royal Marines Band Concert. They played classical band favourites ranging from the Marines tunes, to the Big Jazz Band and Pub Songs :)

The happy team w GSE Co-Od Richard Bird

The smiles are hiding the fact that everyone but Richard was worried and anxious about the next day's presentation :)

Day 2 - It's Showtime!

After 4 hours of sleep, the team woke up bright and early and headed over for rehearsals.

Rehearsing on the front steps since the hall wasn't open at 8am :)

DG Tony Parrini introduced the GSE team and welcomed us warmly :)

*performance pictures witheld for security reasons*

The presentation went well *phew* however.... the joget performance........ was...... scary :)

The conference adjourned for the day before lunch and the team set out to wreck havoc in Leeds City!!!!

The evening's Gala Black Tie dinner was held at the Royal Amouries Museum, which was a fabulous place. It felt special to enter such a grand museum after official closing hours.

Battle scences were re-enacted especially for the guests.

Or more for my benefit... ;)

It was magical, exploring the museum at night.

We had to be dragged away from the musuem exhibits as the dinner bell was rung by the 'town crier' (see if you can spot him)

Fellowship

The food, great fellowship and wine brought out the Party Animals!!!

*WARNING- adult content ahead*

A little bit of OK Magazine influence coming right up!!

Tsk tsk tsk...... a scandalous way for a Team Leader and a GSE Co-Od to behave ;) (no names mentioned)

We danced and we partied the night away, or at least until the Museum authorities threw us out and we limped home w very very sore feet.

:)

Day 3

The conference started out w a Multi Faith service of which Jamie was given the priviledge to share a something from a Buddhist quote.

*personal excerp from Jamie*

I am most honored to be given the opportunity to share my faith in Buddhism during the District Rotary Conference of D1190. Personally I find that the session was so beautifully done as it unites 5 of world's great religions i.e. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism but all with the same message. The quote that I shared with the crowd is as follows:-

Quote from Udana Varqa of Buddha saying:
"Jangan Melukai Orang Lain Kelak Nanti Diri Sendiri akan Terluka" (In Malay Language) which means "Hurt not Others with that which Pains Yourself."

One of the speakers that planted seeds of inspiration in the listeners that day was Gary Skyner. Gary is a Motivational and Diversity speaker who uses humour to talk about how he has overcome the challenges presented to him in his life as the second Thalidomide victim in this country.

Congratulations to the organizing committee on a succesful conferance. The team will treasure the weekend in Leeds forever.

Yellow Cruise on 9 March

2009-03-13T16:22:00.001-07:00

As we set ourselves out for Bowness, GSE team and Dave (PE from RC West Lakeland cum tour guide) were excited over the Yellow Cruise. The magnificent view of Bowness is ooh..lah..lah.

What a BEAUTIFUL view in Bowness! Don't you want to be there with us too? I am sure you would like to.

Farewell dinner hosted by Rotary Club of Preston Amounderness

2009-03-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

8th March, 2009

After returning from the District Rotary Conference in Leeds, we attended a warm and cosy dinner at Derby Arms, pub/restaurant hosted by our host families from Rotary club of Preston Amounderness. We had a wonderful dinner and fellowship with Rotarians and their spouses who have taken good care of us during the short stay with them.

Pictures of our new found family in Preston.

Visit to Myerscough College on 5 March

2009-03-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

The beautiful flowers in Myerscough College refreshed our mind and body. Myerscough college provides wide range of specialist land-based and sports courses.

Along our tour, we were greeted by horses, cattles and other animals.

Visit Royal Preston Hospital

2009-03-13T15:33:00.001-07:00

This visit took place on 04/03/2009 arranged by Rotarian Howard Jackson, we had a tour around the hospital. The first place that we visited was the Rosemere Cancer Foundation. The foundation in midst of raising fund to upgrade the existing radiotherapy medical equipment. President Peter representing the Rotary Club Of Preston Amounderness took this oppurtunity to donate to the cancer foundation. It was a eye opener for the team.

The next visit was to the Education Center of Lancashire teaching hospital. We were invited into the simulation room where there are manikins. There manikins are from Medical Education Technologies incorporated (METI) and the Laerdal SimMan and Sim Baby cover an age range from a 3 month old infant, and 7 year old child to a 80kg adult. These manikins can be programmed to respond just like a human for medical related scenarios. The training helps the undergraduate students in experiencing real medical situation except that they are able to make mistake on this manikins.

Preston Council Of Voluntary Visit

2009-03-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Preston Council Of Voluntary Service is a registered charity that promotes and supports local voluntary groups. The purpose of this visit is to understand the role and responsibilities undertaken by the council such as providing resources to help the public in setting up voluntary service groups. Example of support provided by Preston CVS are trainings, library and meeting venue for volunteers. Below are the pictures taken with Mr John Freeman and his team. To our surprise Sir Tom Finney, the Eric Cantona of Preston arrived to the Preston Council Office. He is well known for many charitable work in Preston. It was a great honour this great personnel and organisation.

Preston - Samlesbury Old Hall

2009-03-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Samlesbury Hall is a 14th Century Manor House. We went for a visit on this wonderfull historical building on day 2 with President Peter, Mr.Paul and Ms Dorothy Jones from the Preston Amounderness club. Below are the same photos that we would like to share with all of you ;)

The above is the portrait of naughty looking Henry the 8th!

A great lunch after long session of history education :))

Manchester United (Theatre Of Dreams)

2009-03-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

I have no words to describe when my first host parents Jim and Margaret Clarke told me we are going to Old Trafford to have a TOUR! I'm preety sure my foot was not in ground....till we reach the wonderfull stadium which has been the dream for many people whom crazy about soccer!

A Lifetime thank you to my dearest first host parents to make this dream real.

Here comes the shots that i would like to share with the rest of people :-

More pictures will be made available at later stage of the program. Thank you.

First Vocational

2009-03-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Had a great half day with United Utilities back in Warringthon. They have around 7,000 employees worldwide with half of the employees working from Warringthon. Mr. Collin the genaral manager was the man in charge for me on this visit. They have a big billing system that took care 65,000,000 million customer on their utilities bills.

I was honoured by the United Utilities team to participate on their active project meeting.

Which enables me to meet the below great individuals. It was a great experience for me to be able to have a site visit to a big organisation as United Utilities.

First Family Portrait

2009-03-07T23:25:00.001-08:00

It doesn't take a lifetime to make friends, and the Team definately made a family in the four days since touchdown.

The team @ Lancashire Constabulary HQ & Washington Hall Fire & Rescue Training Centre

2009-03-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

Got into some trouble and spent the day being lectured at by the kind Constabules at the Lancashire Constabulary HQ.

Ran into the BIG CHIEF in the hallway

Took a spin aroung the HQ in the gleaming BMW bikes :P

They sent us off w a threat that if the team didn't behave we'd be thrown into the Riot Van :P

Next on the agenda, we headed over to Washinton Hall for our firefighting training. We were trained by the best Firefighting guy around, Ben, a ex-GSE team member to Jo-burg.

We were given new outfits :)

And proceeded to burn everyhting in sight :)

It wasn't enough that we tried to burn down the whole of Chorley, we had to vandalize a small little car as well. After we cut it in pieces, we trained to rescue someone trapped inside the car.

Thank goodness the tiny Malaysian girl was rescued or else Mr Richard Bird would have a coniption at having one less GSE member :)

Briefing at Parkhall

2009-03-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

The first pictures of the team and host families

We had our first briefing at ParkHall w GSE coordinator Richard Bird.

Pat and District Governor Tony Parrini

The Day Jessy became a Veitch

2009-03-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

Am quite taken with the road names here, I stay on Forest Way now, in Leyland. And I have to mention that the GSE Coord. Richard Bird stays @ The Hoo!!! Awesome.

Meet Ron (he doesn't respond to Earnest, nor to Charlie either I presume... :))

and darling Ann, of whom I have managed to bully into making me apple crumble with CUSTARD!!! (Yum Yum)

and home!

As soon as I've settled down, the Veitch's took me to Rufford Old Hall, part of the care of the National Trust. It's one of Lancashire's finest 16th century Tudor buildings, famed for the fact that a then very young Shakespeare is said to have performed there.

From the front driveway

In the courtyard

Sculptural Landscaping

another sculpture like thing on the grounds ;)

Later in the evening, we attended an evening of live music performance, an annual concert by the youth in Preston organized by the Rotary Club of Preston. It was an amazing effort and performance, a real showcase of local talents. It was held at the Guild Hall in Preston and I absolutely enjoyed the contemporary interpretation of favourite tunes such as Final Countdown, Mama Mia (is there no other musical craze in the world right now?!)and some classical jazz tunes such as Fly me to the Moon.

That's a very tired me, logging off.

Ok, One more photo for a taste of what I did the next day.......

I'm sure you can guess it :)

First Day Jet Lag Crazyness

2009-03-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

After making our Chorley Astley hosts crazy with worry since we didn't show up at Manchester at the planned time, we had a good night's rest (R & I were actually sleep talking to Peter in the car, but he didn't realize it :P) and we hit the buffet line for our FIRST English breakfast (at least I think it was English....)

R looks at my plate of unhealtiness dissaprovingly, as he munches on his cereal. I am in love with real pork bacon, sausages and had my very first taste of black pudding. this peculiar pudding made out of left over parts makes me think that the English and the Chinese are not very far apart related at all... after all the Chinese has the leftover sausages too!

The morning jet lag look is very hip at the moment

Then we went out for our morning walk before we got down to some work

WC made his first English friend!

I personally find it a waste of road space to dedicate an entire lane for ducks to cross... :)

and so I delcared myself of the same species so that I could cross too :)

Familt shot in the 8 degrees

Departure

2009-03-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

No Tears, No fears, the Team heads out to UK!

I think the Rotarians were really glad to get rid of us finally.... can't you see the relief on their faces?!

and another one for the road

AND then the real adventure begun... with us being stranded at Heathrow cause we missed our connecting flight to Manchester!! But ironically the team did not miss the photo opportunity.. -_-

And being the design nerd, I can't resist loading this shot of the NEW TERMINAL 5 at Heathrow (I was personally glad we missed the flight, at least I got to see the new structure that everyone was talking about)

But finally........ we got to our first night's lodgings, Park Hall Hotel, Charnock Richard where the Rotary Club of Chorley Astley holds their meetings. Isn't it cozy?! It has 'Camelot' (an amusement park that has long closed down) next to it, but unfortunately for Jamie, she didn't get to see Sir Lance.

Introducing The Team

2009-03-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Family Portrait
L2R: Jessica, Weng Cheong, Ramesh, Jamie
C: Mama Pat

Mama Pat

Park Hall Hotel, Charnock Richard

2009-01-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

Our first night lodgings

Welcome On Board Team UK

2009-01-20T07:13:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,
BY giving you publishing rights, all are allowed to contribute to the blog because once we hit the Airports and land, i dont think i have time to update this everyday or once every two days.

Plus, i think it'll be nice to get differant point of views, instead of just mine, which i suspect will be all pictures and hardly any words. And this way, the blog stays fresh and the responsibility is shared by all.

However, I remain the the admin for the blog, so if you dont like the design of the blog, you can't really do anything about it unless you nag me to death to change it.

Cheers,
J