Chinese Culture and the Globe Cafe
Or, “The Unexpected Consequences of a Gift“.
Some tales about my mother-in-law:
She had a Catholic upbringing (later abandoned). When she told me that, as a child, she wanted to be a nun I said “I wish you had been; you would have saved me a lot of trouble”.
During her final illness I was with her one evening in the hospice when a nurse came round collecting dentures to clean and was surprised that ma-in-law had two sets. I explained that it was because she was two-faced!
However, from a holiday in Hong Kong she brought me a Chinese chess set which was new to me. I learnt the rules, but for many years had no opportunity to play.
The Globe Café, at Jesmond Parish Church in Newcastle, provides opportunities for overseas students to meet in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. On Easter Monday 2012 my wife and I responded to an invitation to assist and spent most of the evening serving refreshments. It was supposed to be a one-off occasion and would have been but for an approach made to us by Natalie, a student from Taiwan, who was seeking people of our age group to interview in connection with her studies. We agreed and she came to our house a few days later. She stayed three hours and in addition to the business in hand, I produced my Chinese chess set and we had a game (which resulted in a draw).
It occurred to me that by returning to the Globe Café I could enjoy many more games. Among early opponents was Weiwei (unlike many oriental students, she did not adopt an English name). When the time came for her to return to China she asked if we could maintain contact by email which we did, and still do occasionally. Two years after leaving she emailed me to say she was in Newcastle on a brief visit and hoped I would be at the Globe where we could meet. We did.
One night as I was leaving the Globe at 10 o’clock a young man asked if I could help him. He had just come to Newcastle and, in the dark, could not remember how to get to his lodgings. I walked with him until we reached an area which he recognised. As we talked he told me he was Jimmy from Hong Kong and was interested in model railways. Soon after this I discovered that there was to be a model railway exhibition in Gateshead. Wishing to inform him of this, I looked for him the next few Monday evenings but did not see him.
As the date for the exhibition neared I felt desperate measures were required. I did not know exactly where he stayed but had a rough idea. It was in a location where many students were coming and going so one morning I spent half an hour asking passing students if they ‘knew Jimmy from Hong Kong’. Eventually one did who undertook to deliver a message. The following Monday Jimmy turned up at the Globe, thanked me for the information and said he had attended the exhibition which he had thoroughly enjoyed, We got on famously after that and before he left Newcastle we had a pleasant night out together. We still correspond.
I had encountered Chinese script on chess pieces and during the interviews with Natalie and wished to pursue this further so enrolled for a short, basic Mandarin course (I would like to say that I became proficient in the language but, sadly, that is not so).
My first experience of the Oriental Museum in Durham was in the 1970s when I attended a one-day course on Egyptian hieroglyphics; later we had a family outing there with the grandchildren. Now my motivation for further visits was the new interest in Chinese things. On one visit I took two Chinese lads; we also visited the Cathedral. On another, memorable, visit I greeted a Chinese girl with a ‘Good morning’ in Chinese to which she replied, adding an amazed “I know you; you play Chinese chess!” She (Angela) and I had met briefly at the Globe. She was studying museum management and was on placement in Durham.
The following Monday I was greeted at the Globe by Angela’s friend Susie with the words “I hear you met Angela at Durham”. Friendship with both Angela and Susie followed. I was a guest at Susie’s wedding in Jesmond Parish Church with a reception at Brunswick Methodist Church. Two years after leaving Newcastle Angela emailed to say she was returning for a holiday and wanted us to meet. We did, for two hours in M & S café. This was just after my second knee replacement and I was still on crutches. Strange to say I taught many Chinese students to play their own game. On one such occasion I was introduced to a university tutor, who was passing the table, by Miya, one of his students. On being told by Miya that I was teaching her Chinese chess he exclaimed “He’s teaching you!”
I met several Japanese students and learnt Shogi, the Japanese version of chess, which is much more complicated than the Chinese or the normal game. While playing against Yoko, she took a photograph of me. The following week she brought me a framed caricature she had drawn from the photograph (my great-grandchildren love this picture.)
Another photograph of me, taken by a lad called Dean, produced another surprise. After he had returned to China he sent me, via the Globe, a copy of a 322-page book he had written describing his time in England. Written of course in Chinese, it contained many photographs, including the one of me! The caption, translated, reads ‘Norman, an old gentleman passionately interested in Chinese culture’.
A student from Thailand tried to teach me her language and I responded by imparting some Geordie. The next time we met I asked (in Thai) “How are you?” to which she replied “Canny”. One Sunday at my church the morning sevice was followed by a meal and musical entertainment. I had invited several students to this and four turned up: Angela (from Taiwan), Jimmy (from Hong Kong), Chihiro (from Japan) and Fuji (from Vietnam). There were many other memorable encounters and friendships. None of this would have happened without my mother-in-law’s gift from Hong Kong.
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