Mum's Annual University Reunion

The weather in Taipei in July settled into a regular routine of steamy hot mornings followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon.

So, it was fortunate that an escape was arranged. The 2013 holding of Craig and Graham's Mum's annual university reunion was upon us. (To see what happened in 2012 click here, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008.)

The weekend began at a mushroom farm in Nantou.

While Graham waited for lunch Mum renewed old acquaintances.

Craig was pleased to be out of the car after a 4-hour drive.

Mum's friend Yating's kids were pretty happy too.

After a lunch that largely consisted of mushrooms there was a tour of the mushroom growing.

There were lots of mushrooms.

Lots of different kinds of mushrooms.

More than can be easily imagined.

Which made the tour far too dull for two little boys. Fortunately, they found a slide to play on.

It was a lot more fun than listening to a tour guide talking about mushrooms and their uses. (Craig's Dad had never seen mushroom soap before and didn't think to take a photo of it.)


The reunion group then moved on to a famous distillery in a town called Puli. The English on the signs inside the distillery didn't inspire confidence that the produce would be safe to drink.

The ice creams looked ok.

The distillery is a bit of a tourist trap. It provides plenty of places for children to pose for cute photos.

Graham wasn't allowed to have all the fun.

Craig just didn't understand why he had to lift up this heavy thing and smile for the camera. It made no sense to him at all.

After stopping off at the no-name B&B the group moved on to the Paper Dome. The building is a church with structural elements made of paper tubes.

Inside, Craig found a familiar face to play rock, paper, scissors with.

It was getting late and food was needed but they only sell waffles and snacks at the Paper Dome. The boys didn't mind.

The church looks lovely when lit up at night.

After a cheap dinner it was time for the adults to get together for some conviviality. This is the type of thing Taiwanese blokes munch on while drinking beer! If you've been brought up in other places like Australia you might never get used to it.

Nevertheless, everyone had a good time.

They're a quiet bunch during the day but get far more boisterous after a drink or three.

The kids were entertained with sparklers outside. Graham hadn't played with one before but quickly got the idea.

Craig took a relaxed approach.

The next morning, Sunday, Graham wanted to pull fish out of the B&B's little pond with a net he'd found.

The morning activity was a paper-making factory that doesn't make paper any more. It's been turned into a tourist trap. However, some of the attempts at historical information boggled the mind, especially the "4Ws".

For the second year running, whenever Graham wandered off one of the girls in the group would bring him back. This young lady took great care of him. It made life much easier for the boy's parents.

The factory had a little shop that sold edible paper, among other things. The poor boys were given some chocolate and paper snacks. It was a pretty silly idea.

When someone suggested a group photo people started to gather together. The kids found a playful kitten to play with while they waited for everyone to get ready.

The group was much smaller than the previous year but it was still really good to see all the familiar faces.

Some people headed for home straight after the photo but a few others made their way to a place that sells gelato.

The gelato is excellent and very, very popular.

It was another good chance to sit and chat before a final parting of the ways.

The boys didn't talk much, they were too busy eating. :)

Hot Summer Days

The month of June was very hot in Taipei. The good news was that Craig found time to go to his soccer lessons.

Coach Ian gets quite involved in the sessions.

Craig's passing skills still needed some work.

So he received some close coaching from Ian.

The game that ends the sessions is sometimes a step too far for Craig. He loses concentration and watches the other kids play at times.

On this particular Saturday, after the morning soccer lesson the boys headed up into the hills to Taiwanese Grandma's house. The water in the pool wasn't as cold as last time.

Instead, it was refreshing and lots of fun.

The girls started blowing soap bubbles to distract Craig from his jumping. The ploy worked brilliantly.

After drying off, the kids moved inside to play some other games. Graham insisted on playing with Aunty Jessie.

He only consented to playing with his cousin Soit-Jade if Aunty Jessie stayed nearby.

The next day the boys went to an indoor play centre to escape the heat. This is Craig sliding into plastic balls.

He went down this slide more times than his dad could count.

There's other things to do like climb this pyramid and sit on the top provocatively waiting to get pushed off.

Graham preferred this rather sedate merry-go-round.

Mum also got involved in the sliding.

The slide was a bit big for Graham.

There was a group of kids from the extended family at the play centre. Some of the girls in the group wanted to have their picture taken with Graham but it was hard to get them all looking at the camera at the same time.

Very hard.