Men's Hockey It was an interesting final playing Sunday of the year, with two Recreio teams being advised not to play due to safety reasons. Anti-WTO protestors had had scuffles with the police in the Wanchai area on the previous Tuesday to Friday (13th to 16th), and this escalated into a riot on Saturday (17th) resulting in the closure of a number of roads in Wanchai and Causeway Bay, as well as the Cross Harbour Tunnel. In light of this situation, plus the fact that the hockey association decided the players' safety traveling to and from hockey matches was not its concern, the Recreio hockey convenor with the support of members of the Recreio hockey committee decided to keep the players away from the trouble spots. Therefore, Recreio "A" did not go to Happy Valley for their match against Valley C, and Recreio "B" were advised not to show up at Happy Valley for their match against CSSA. Both Recreio teams were also advised not to send umpires to matches in the area, and the convenor made every effort to contact the affected teams. We now wait to see how this hockey association handles the matter. The bright spot, then, on Sunday (18th) was the match between Recreio "C" and Aquila B at Boundary Street which we won 4-1. Gerry Xavier, who lives and works in Shenzhen, managed to show up for the game. In true form, he played for a few minutes, scored a goal, then limped off. Always good to see you, Gerry. The fixtures for most of the second half of the season have been published. There may be one or two changes after the association hears comments from various clubs, but for now those new fixtures are available on the Fixtures by Date and Fixtures by Team pages. Ladies' Hockey The Recreio Ladies' "A" team completed their first round of the current league season with an impressive 4-2 win over Dutch. The victory ensures that they celebrate Christmas at the top of Division 2. In past years, the top two teams have been promoted to the 1st Division, but the association doesn't seem to have made up its mind yet what they want to do this year - par for the course where this hockey association is concerned. Our Ladies' "B" team had a tougher match against HKFC D at Football Club and ended up sharing the points after being held to a 2-2 tie. With WS Bauhinia winning on Wednesday (14th), the Ladies' "B" end the season in third place in Division 2. The Christmas Tree Angel Ever wondered how the tradition of the angel perched atop a Christmas tree came to be? We take a light-hearted look at that. Did you know ... that Coke was originally green in color? ... that the phrase "mind your Ps and Qs" originated in English pubs? ... that each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history? Click the link below to find out more. Fun With Numbers There's an easy way to tell if a number can be divided by 9. Find out how in "Fun With Numbers". Jokes Why don't dogs use computers? What is Jughead's real name? And did you know there is a fine for detonating a nuclear weapon within the city limits of Chico, California? It's all in our Jokes page. Motor Pics We have our third and final set of motor pics featuring 15 expensive toys on wheels. The Internet As the Net grows, it's becoming an unruly beast. We take a look at the good side and the seedy side of the Internet. League Tables The league tables have moved to their own section, and you can click on "Tables" below throughout the season to see how our teams are doing. Birthdays Those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries in December include: Dorothy Wong (December 2nd) Ladies' A Mavis Cheung (December 3rd) Ladies' B Manny & Anna Pinto (December 7th) Men's C Mike Delgado (December 14th) Rennie Marques (December 15th) Men's C Alex "Butch" da Silva (December 17th) Susan Luke (December 17th) Flora Chow (December 20th) Ladies' B Dino Au-yeung (December 21st) Peggy Chung (December 24th) Ladies' B Carol Lo (December 26th) Ladies' B Edo & Fanny Sousa (December 29th) Rick da Silva (December 29th) Men's C Suzanne Wong (December 29th) Ladies' A General Holidays in Hong Kong for 2006 Occasion Date Day The day following the first day of January Jan 02 Mon The day preceding Lunar New Year's Day Jan 28 Sat The second day of the Lunar New Year Jan 30 Mon The third day of the Lunar New Year Jan 31 Tue Ching Ming Festival Apr 05 Wed Good Friday Apr 14 Fri The day following Good Friday Apr 15 Sat Easter Monday Apr 17 Mon Labour Day May 01 Mon The Buddha's Birthday May 05 Fri Tuen Ng Festival May 31 Wed Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day Jul 01 Sat The day following National Day Oct 02 Mon The day following Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Oct 07 Sat Chung Yeung Festival Oct 30 Mon Christmas Day Dec 25 Mon The first weekday after Christmas Day Dec 26 Tue Source: http://www.info.gov.hk/info/holiday_e.htm ^o^ ^_- Archives Every month, we add to our archive of newsletters. If you've missed any editions, or would like to re-read something from past publications, click on the Archives link below. Please contribute If you would like to have any images or special dates included in the newsletter, kindly write to recreio_newsletter@graffiti.net. We would love to view your pictures and know of occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, and special events or when a baby is due - anything that you would like to include in the newsletter. Write to recreio_newsletter@graffiti.net and share your news and image files (as attachments) with the rest of us. The Editor.

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