The email which from Alan Young in October said simply: 'can you and Fr O'Connor find a week to come to Hong Kong?'
By sheer chance, I had met Alan some years previously as I rehearsed for a wedding in Princethorpe. Little did Dan and I realise just what a marvellous and memorable experience it was to be. As we emerged from the airport on an unusually warm Spring afternoon to be greeted enthusiastically by twelve former Princethorpe pupils, it seemed, in a sort of uncanny way, as we had been apart but for a very short time instead of the 40+ years.
Memories came flooding back as we embraced and came to recognise the boys we knew some forty years ago, each now successful in their respective chosen careers. All had taken some time off work, some indeed the entire week, to be with us. It was gratifying to be remembered and appreciated after such a long time.
Greetings over, we were taken to our residence at the Catholic Cathedral and told: "have a rest, Fathers - we failed to be called Dan and Teddy! - and we will collect you for dinner at 6". At this post-Chinese New Year party in down-town Hong Kong, we were introduced to some of the many people we were to meet throughout the following week. Here also we encountered the very high level of hospitality that so pervaded the entire week. Nothing was too much for Alan ('78/81) and his team - Heman Lam (78/79), Vitus Leung (78/82), Nelson Ngai (75/80), Stephen Yeung (71/74) - together with those others who daily escorted us to the prominent tourist places in Hong Kong. Catering for our every need, they repeatedly thanked us for taken them to places they had never been and for bringing them together.
What became so clear as we spent each day with different past pupils was the depth of the relationship that had survived the test of some forty years. Their memories - and ours - of specific events disguised the deep appreciation that they felt for what they received at Princethorpe. Sharing of these memories proved also life-giving to Dan and myself as they validated the MSC commitment to education at Princethorpe College from the 60s onwards.
Those we met first made that long journey from Hong Kong when they were but 11 or 12 years old. They spoke with great humour of a favourite meal they liked - chip butties "because they filled us up" - and their oriental self-catering ("Ted never knew that was going on", "of course he did") as they spoke of their efforts to disguise the smell of oriental cooking in the then Sixth Form wing.
The spirit of the week was appropriately summed up on the Sunday morning as Dan and I concelebrated Mass in the cathedral in the company of those who looked after us throughout the week. We were applauded by the congregation as another Cork priest welcomed us. The emotion was tangible throughout the Mass - our hosts could be seen shedding tears - as Dan remarked to Alan Young: "just like the old days......". After Mass we shared dim sum - breakfast or brunch to the uninitiated - which, translated, means 'a little bit of heart'. Indeed this gathering of families in a huge restaurant has stayed with me, as do memories of the many places visited and the variety of culinary delights that we shared: their welcome was palpably heartfelt. Their generosity - in giving of their time and resources was magnificent; their attention to detail and their concern to attend to our every need was, at times, overwhelming. We did not repay them because we could not and rightly so - theirs was a gift to us, a gift that we welcomed with gratitude.
A typical day saw us taken first to Stanley Market, a must for shopaholics who covet designer goods, then on to lunch hosted each time by a different Old Princethorpian. Then on to Deep Water Bay for a stroll by the sea after which we went to The Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong with a 360 degrees panoramic view of Hong. Then it was off to Happy Valley Racecourse in the evening, an adjustment to the planned itinerary because I mentioned that Fr Bill and myself liked the occasional flutter during the winter months at Princethorpe! We were guests of the Hong Kong Jockey Club for dinner, indicative of the influence exercised by many of the Old Princethorpians in Hong Kong.
Indeed, the many photos would suggest that we spent much time eating - which we did! All the food was delicious - healthy (mainly steamed) with rice served only at the end of the meal (hence no weight increase during the week!). We were treated to Japanese lunch, Korean dinner (barbequed at the table), Malaysian supper, a Chinese post New year party and, of course, full English afternoon tea overlooking Hong Kong harbour - and what a stunning view that is. All the while we obeyed the dictum: "do not ask what it is; just eat it!". Paddy Yeung flew down from Bejing to meet us for dinner in Shen Sheng, just inside the border with China. This was an unexpected experience of China - modern, wealthy and alive. On other days, we visited many Buddhist temples, including a 45 minute cable car ride to see the Big Buddha; had Maks Wanton Noodles in the afternoon and a stroll on the Avenue of Stars and some time spent viewing the harbour by night gave ample time for reminiscing.
The Gala Dinner on the Friday evening at the Eight Degrees Hotel was a splendid occasion, attended by some thirty former Princethorpians. It was a delight to meet their families, to be introduced to them and to sense their pride in introducing us to their children - "this is my maths teacher" they would say about Dan. And they would recall their times sitting by the open fire in my room as Director of Boarders. I am sure now that none of us then appreciated their experience of being so young and so far from home in a truly foreign and quite spartan environment. We drank a toast (with Irish Malt whiskey, what else!), to absent friends and we remembered, in silence, those who had died. Dan and I could but express our gratitude and promise to be there for them should they come, at Ed Hester's invitation, to the Golden Jubilee celebrations at Princethorpe in 2016/2017. Ed Hester's message to them was greatly appreciated, as he honoured the past achievements of the College while expressing his vision for the future. Already there are assurances that some will attend in 2016/2017. When they do come over, they are assured of a great 'dim sum', in the tradition of the College and of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
I am left with the sense of wanting to maintain contact with the Asian Old Princethorpians. They reminded Dan and I of the "good old days" of Princethorpe College and of how important relationships are in the formation of the minds and hearts of young people. When they return in 2016/2017, I sense that, while they will see that much has changed, the spirit that promoted this First Asian Old Princethorpian gathering is alive and well.
I can't wait for the second gathering!
Fr Teddy O'Brien
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