SAVE THE CATS

we rescued Mao from the cold wet streets of chongqing, smuggling him on a train back to Shanghai for a better life <3

 HOW COULD YOU NOT RESCUE THAT???

 train smuggle.

settling in.....he got bigger quickly

the first time he got cat food the edit gulped it down, his belly twice the size and could barely move...he had bad gas for.a bit...idiot haha

HE SETTLED AND BECAME NOISYYYYY haha

 haters gona hate

 A HARD LIFE

save the cats

found him in a shoebox, utterly covered in flees, eyes barely open

FRIENDS OF N.I IN CHINA NEWSLETTER

FRIENDS OF Northern Ireland IN CHINA END OF YEAR SUMMARY

 FNIC  – Summary for 2017

NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our ever-increasingly inaccurately named Summer Newsletter. The summer can now be said to be officially over and it is time to look back over our programme for the year. 

We had a great programme of activities with the goal of getting more people together and involved. Currently on our WeChat group we have 149 members and 9 on our committee. There is always room for others who want to be more involved in the organizing of the work we do. Just contact me or one of the others on the Committee and let us know what you would like to be involved in.

We are a growing force in Shanghai and welcome anyone with a connection to Northern Ireland to join our ranks. If you have something to contribute, just let us know and we will find a way to accommodate you. If it is support you need, just ask. We have more than enough talent and experience in the group to help you out.

Enjoy this copy of our newsletter and feel free to share it around.

Looking forward to seeing you all at our next event.

Stephen

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday 14^th December - Annual Christmas DinneR

Tipsy Fiddler

March 17^th 2018 – Saint Patrick’s Day Ball

Our Year to date

St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the Kerry Centre

By Andrew Brown (breakfast champion)

Breakfast Champion Feeds Belfast Baps to the Masses

 

On Saturday the 11th March Andrew and the Breakfast Champion team where invited to the Kerry Centre Puxi to cater for the masses at The Feile Shanghai 2017. Bacon and Sausage Baps were on the menu as well as “take home” fry up essentials and were a hit with Irish Patrons as well as the locals and others who attended.

Look out for more Breakfast Champion events, giveaways and promotions in the coming weeks and months.   

St Patrick’s Day Irish community reception

15TH MARCH

At the invitation of the Consul General of Ireland Ms Therese Healy, several of the committee members along with many others attended the reception leading up to St. Patrick’s day, held at the Shanghai centre in Nanjing road. Food and drink was offered, with many of the men opting for the Guinness and the Ladies for Baileys. The relaxed setting soon became lively when a group of Irish musicians dressed in traditional greens performed traditional Irish tunes with fiddles, whistles and accordions, etc. This was followed by a beautiful speech from Ms Healey before food was served, completing a great traditional evening and Irish setting completely in sync with the upcoming holiday. 

The Saint Patrick’s Ball 2017 – The Hottest Ticket of the Year!

 Pictures and editorial by Paul McCarthy

  Over 750 revellers packed into the Grand Ballroom at the Shangri-La Hotel, Pudong to party into the wee small hours.  As ever, Jameson’s Whisky and pints of the black stuff were in full flow.  FNIC hosted 2 tables, kindly co-ordinated by Holland & Sherry.  Guests included visitors from Northern Ireland representing BI Electrical, including Managing Director, Ian Humphreys.  BI Electrical is the first NI company to set up a commercial office in China and FNIC is always pleased  to support its endeavours.  Also in attendance was Miss Bei LI, the General Manager of Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce, who we are delighted to say brought a delegation to Belfast in April.  Guests were treated to a feast of  Irish traditional music, dance and song, - the bewitching hour saw a switch to rock anthems and The Beatles, live! It wasn’t long before the dance floor was packed, with a varied range of dance styles, much of it improvised, on display.  Brendan Brophy and his support team can be rightly proud of the result, as was the Irish rugby team beating England to crown a wonderful night.  We look forward to another evening of “Ceol agus Craic” next year.

  

  
Andrew’s Showstopper Bake Marks Titanic Belfast’s 5^th Birthday
Great British Bake Off Finalist, Andrew Smyth has engineered a bespoke birthday cake to mark the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction, Titanic Belfast’s fifth birthday.

Andrew, who is originally from Northern Ireland, the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, expertly designed the cake’s layers to showcase the enduring appeal of RMS Titanic, Belfast’s ship building heritage and the success of Titanic Belfast.

For the bottom layer, Andrew took inspiration from what first-class passenger Lady Duff Gordon remembered  most about the food on board Titanic - fresh strawberries, grapes and pink roses. He created a luxurious genoise sponge layered with fresh strawberry and red grape jam along with a lightly rose-flavoured buttercream to reflect the first-class experience on-board. Whereas the modern top layer of chocolate cake with a Bailey’s Cream filling reflects Titanic’s Northern Irish roots and celebrates the success of Titanic Belfast today. 

Great British Bake Off Finalist, Andrew Smyth, commented, "I am thrilled to be involved with Titanic Belfast's 5th Birthday celebrations and am delighted to be designing a unique cake for this special milestone. Titanic Belfast really is a fantastic experience, and is a real gem in Belfast's crown; a fitting celebration of the ingenious engineering and majesty of Titanic. It rightly deserves its title as the World's Leading Tourist Attraction and I hope many more visitors get to experience the magic over the next 5 years too!"

Tim Husbands MBE, Chief Executive of Titanic Belfast, “Having been crowned the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction, welcomed over 3.5 million visitors including Her Majesty The Queen, former US Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, TITANIC  director James Cameron, the discoverer of Titanic, Dr Robert Ballard. Today, as we celebrate our fifth birthday with Andrew’s cake, we’re showcasing the allure of RMS Titanic in 1912 as well as its enduring appeal today for visitors at Titanic Belfast. If you fancy yourself as a Titanic Bake Off Champion, check out the recipe at www.titanicbelfast.com.”

Described by The Guardian as "an inspiring testament to the Titanic and the city that built it", Titanic Belfast tells the story of the Titanic, from her conception in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch, to her famous maiden voyage and tragic end.  It is located on the exact spot where Titanic was designed, built and launched. For more information, visit www.titanicbelfast.com.

FNIC BBQ AT HOLLAND AND SHERRY - SUNDAY 30TH APRIL

  Barbecue Party

Not only was it a Bank Holiday weekend, and the last Sunday in April, but the afternoon of Sunday 30th April was also the first FNIC BBQ Party in Shanghai.

And it was a fantastic event at the beautiful Holland & Sherry Villa on Fumin Lu. The sun shone, the drinks were well chilled, the barbecue was lit and the people came and we are certain a great time was had by all.

More than 120 FNIC friends turned up for an afternoon of eating, drinking and socialising, catching up with old friends whilst making some new friends too. The garden was a hub of activity. Gerard did a grand job on the BBQ, the ale was flowing and Alan and Dave were providing the live music.

Upstairs in the lounge, guests helped themselves to refreshing glasses of Pimms cocktails, Prosecco, red and white wines, and I think, even a few glasses of whiskey went down a treat.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our first FNIC BBQ in Shanghai, and in particular thank you to our generous sponsors; Mark Graham and Holland & Sherry, Andrew Brown, the Breakfast Champion, Dillon King and Camus Yuanliu, David from Westwood Ales, Tom from Laowines and Alan and Dave from the Tipsy  Fiddler.

   

VISIT OF WENZHOU CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO BELFAST

APRIL 2017

FNIC Committee assisted in the visit of Zhejiang Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai to Northern Ireland in April. 

There were 9 delegates in the group made up of business owners and decision makers of Chinese enterprises with interests in exploring business opportunities in the area of technology, food & drink, investment, education, financial services, etc. 

The group met with H.E Brian Kingston (Lord Mayor) and Chief Executive Suzanne Wylie in the Belfast City Hall. Mark McCann of NI Invest give an introduction of Belfast to the group and the group also met with NWRC and BI Group. 

They also met with Madame Wang, Consul General of China to Belfast as well as representatives of China Chamber of Commerce in Belfast.    

                   

THE LIBRARY PROJECT

After another successful and entertaining Christmas Dinner and fundraiser, FNIC raised 27,030RMB to fund another Library in Liaoning Province - our  second in the area.

This time we denoted to :

Fang Yong Gang Elementary school

Chaoyang County

Liaoning Province

FNIC are happy to support The Library Project which has established over 2,000 elementary school libraries and put more than 1,400,000 Chinese language children's books into the hands of eager young readers. Over 700,000 children now have access to improved educational infrastructure. Together we are changing the world, one book at a time. 

Thank you to everyone at FNIC who bought tickets for our raffle at the Christmas dinner and who donated personally. You have all made this possible.

  

  

    

BRIT CLUB

Brit Club was founded in 2013 with the oversight on Owen Paterson the then DEFRA UK Government Minister.  Currently it has more than 500 members, mostly British expats living in Shanghai and also Chinese with British business interests or who lived or worked in the UK previously. Brit Club's mission is to promote UK-China interests and British culture here in China.  We have the support of the UK Consul General and British businesses. We operate a lively WeChat group and host a monthly meet up where we invite speakers from business, culture and diplomacy to talk about different topics.

That’s all for today folks.

We welcome anyone who wants to contribute, post anything or be part of the team. Please contact anyone on the committee by WeChat or email me at stevefg@mac.com.