This is the Royal Victoria Infirmary Maternity Unit. All the scan photographs were put into this cute little pocket.

12 weeks - Baby is moving.

12 weeks - Baby is doing some exercise, with left arm behind head, but kicking legs in the air.

12 weeks - Baby is relaxing now with left arm behind head.

12 weeks - Baby is kicking! So energetic!

12 weeks - Baby's left leg is very clear in this image.

20 weeks - Can you see baby's brains & heart? It's so big now, it is occupying almost all its space now.

Leung passed his UK driving test first time! Almost unbelievable. Despite driving with handbrakes half-way up, and being called “heavy feet” by his instructor, he finally saw the “light” at the end of the tunnel. After four months of driving lessons, he is now a proud owner of a full driving licence. I am secretly jealous. But everyone tells me it is the best scenario to not know how to drive and being chauffeur-driven. So I guess that will do for me for now

Within two weeks of passing the test, Leung went with his colleague Mark to view the potential car to buy. He already had his eyes set on a Honda Jazz before, given its highly reliable and economical reputation. Not to mention it is a Honda. A make that my family so loves (Click here to read the special role that Honda played in our family history).

Mark who owns a website reviewing BMWs says the Hondas’ engines are very durable. 100,000 mileage is nothing to a Honda. Leung settled with the first Honda Jazz he saw from Pearsons, Mitsubishi dealer in Newcastle. They also sell Hondas.

From day one, we went to lots of places with the Jazz. The places we have been so far are:

Day 1

Newcastle International Airport. I bumped into my neighbours, Marisa and Michael at the lift. They were on their way to the airport to go to Belfast so I volunteered to take them there! After the airport, we proceeded to our good friends – Tommy and Lily’s house at Kingston Park. We later drove to the nearby 24-hours Tesco, and even filled the petrol tank at Tesco kiosk. The only thing we were definitely sure of was that it does not run on diesel.

Day 2

York! 1.5 hours from Newcastle, and 1.5 hours back. We went to shopping bargain heaven – York Designer Outlet Village. We got there late so there was not much time for shopping, but I enjoyed the drive there, saw sheeps and cows along the way. Smelt the crop fields that were being prepared (it is Autumn now) for the next growth. It wasn’t a great smell – even in cold weather, you could still smell the “fertilisers”.

Day 3

Alan, our Vietnamese friend whom we met at the Snooker Club, dropped by for a visit. Drove to Chinatown, had Dim Sum at Garden Palace. Every Sunday, they push the Dim Sum trolleys around the restaurant for customers to choose the Dim Sums, an experience not to be taken for granted . The idea is similar to sitting around a Sushi rotating belt, except that the trolleys are pushed by a real human and is in my opinion, a more personable experience.

After food, Alan and Leung went to Spot White snooker club in Chinatown for their usual fix, and I (although can also be competitive at snooker) decided to give myself a treat and checked into the La Chaise, the beauty saloon in Aspers Casino for a pampering back massage and facial. My favourite back massager Jenny (a big-sized and adorable lady) was off on the day, so I was a bit disappointed but Kim was really accomodating too. She gave me a nice little Dermalogica sample for dark-eye circles to try on. Sometimes, I have very dark eye-circles, and I wonder if I might have been a panda in my previous life! Whenever I visit Ocean Park in Hong Kong, I can stay in the Panda Sanctuary (an air-conditioned space) to watch the 2 resident pandas – Jia Jia and An An for hours.

Day 4

Went to Ming Kee restaurant in Chinatown for congee. Did not go anywhere special but a little drive around town. Leung sent me back to work which was a rather unique experience. Imagine if you have been with someone who has always (6 years) been walking/cycling you to work and one day you find yourself sitting next to him in a car!

Day 5

Today, we drove to the “Angel of the North”, a large structure made out of thousands of tonnes of steel. A landmark to represent the North-East. It was Autumn the wind was so cold. We also stayed for awhile for a few photos.

So that’s it for the Jazz diary. I am sorry that you had to read this much. Maybe all you wanted to do was to see some photos and move on to read your e-mails or have a poo… well at least there are photos to see. Weeeeeee!

Jazz with the Angel of the North.

The GPRS navigation system.

Honda. The car make familiar amongst most people around the world, but special to our family. My father owned 3 Honda Accords. I remember the first one being a white colour Honda with number plate JAN 5555. It was stolen while we went to watch a dragon-dancing event in Johor, Malaysia. My father was heartbroken. The second car was a Mazda, but papa never forgotten about Honda. He eventually traded the Mazda in for a Honda Accord, black colour, second hand.

When Honda launched a new and beautiful design for the Accord in 1991, papa sold the black Honda and bought a new Accord in metallic Silver. Being a fan of patterns, he bought the number plate “JBJ 77″ to go with the car. I remember the day papa took us all into the taxi and said “we are going to collect our Honda today!”. Needless to say, we were all very eager. Especially my brother, whom if Shedden’s friends are reading would know that he is an absolute car-craze. According to one of his friends’ blog, Shedden is the “Lord of the Perverts” a nickname unknown to me although I do remember a time when I sat in his car, and opened the glove compartment, finding a black-colour CD case, and out of curiousity asked “what is this COR (brother)”? He said “It’s Shu Qi the famous actress from Taiwan – you know, her photos in nude.” “Oh” was my respond. Both my brother and Leung share the same traits, honest and straight to the point.

When we got to the dealer’s shop, the salesman took us to see the Accord that papa had ordered and waited for 2 months. Upon seeing the car, we just stood still, in awe of its beauty. It was a gorgeous car. I remember getting into the car, and smelling the “new” welcoming smell, not to mention the headrest with the plastics still on. I sometimes think of objects as having a “life”, a “spirit”. When I went in the car, and said “I really like you”, I could almost feel as if the car giving me a hug back. I also remember vividly that at the red traffic lights, the taxi driver beside us, looked at our car in admiration and giving us the “thumbs up”. Papa knew that he had got the right car.

In 1992, we suffered a tragic chained-car accident on our way to Malacca (mama’s hometown). Our Honda was squashed into almost half it’s original size. I remember coming out of the car crying my eyes out. Then I stopped when I realised that there were better things to get on with. We drove the car to a nearby workshop, with its boot having to be kept down by a string to the bumper as it could not shut properly after the crash. The insurance company paid for the car to get fixed and parts brought in from Japan to heavily “restore” the car to it’s pre-accident glory. To our relief, the Honda was restored perfectly. It was like seeing the same beautiful wife that you married 20 years later after that faithful wedding day. Seeing her real beauty for the second time is pretty breath-taking. Deep down inside, we were so grateful that our family came out of the accident unscathed. The Accord was with us until we migrated to Brunei Darussalam in 1993.

After migrating to Brunei, loyalty to Honda is still strong in papa’s blood. His first car in Brunei is… guess what? Honda Accord! The exact same model, and exact colour as the one we had in Malaysia. Mama followed suit, hers is also a Honda but in white.

When my brother passed his driving test, it is no surprise that he had his eyes also on a Honda. He bought a Honda Civic 2nd Gen. I believe it is now his “show car” where he takes to Motorcar shows in Malaysia.

All these sum up to what I like to call “Honda Happiness”. Thank you to the makers behind Honda for making such beautiful cars that has brought our family joy and to many places together.