il Giardino Romantico

*This is a bilingual article. *本篇文章以雙語撰寫。

利物浦大學資深學者Michael Hoey教授日前因參加研討會來臺三日。停留期間表示希望抽空與校友會面。Michael Hoey除為利物浦資深語言學教授之外，也是利物浦大學的副校長（Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalism）。機會難得能與利大高層相見，但礙於Michael Hoey教授來臺時間短暫，只能於平日晚間時間於臺北與校友碰面，因而只能邀請在台北的校友們參與。

十一月三日晚間七點半相約於臺北市的NOX相約。Michael Hoey一進門便遞出印有繁體中文的名片給大家。本次校友聚會同時也邀請了British Council的Susan參與。Susan帶了紀念品送給參與的校友們。校友大使Sandy也將印有利物普大學字樣的原子筆贈送給校友。Michael Hoey則是帶了校友徽章送給出席的校友們。當然除了能夠取得各種紀念品外，此活動大家最大的收獲就是能夠認識各界校友。雖然本次聚會為小型聚會，但出席校友的畢業年份分散得很平均。有剛交出論文回國的應屆校友，校友大使Sandy為2008-2009年代表，另外也有兩位2007-2008校友代表出席。校友們領域也非常廣泛，有理工科、商學、語言學以及英國文學系畢業的校友們。

除寒暄問暖、閒話家常外，Michael Hoey教授表示他很開心能夠看到臺灣的校友們漸漸地建立起在臺的校友網絡。在聽到校友大使報告於2011年初所舉辦首次的校友聚會以及明年的聚會將於2012年初開始籌備後，Michael Hoey表示對於成立臺灣校友會的肯定並且表示未來會全力支持校友會後續之發展。但更重要的是，Michael Hoey教授聲明，校友會的成立，以及校方積極的鼓勵建立校友網絡的原因不在於希望未來能夠得到校友募款捐回給學校，反而是希望能夠朝向未來能夠成立針對弱勢或是清寒家境學生的獎學金基金會。對於Michael Hoey的理想，校友們表示肯定與支持，也希望未來能夠朝此方向進行，回饋社會。

Jovial tune, lively steps, colourful costumes, and the lovely smiles on each of the dancers faces together make Morris Dance something you will never forget once you've seen it. Without further adieu, let's continute some Morris-fun!

活潑的音樂、輕快的腳步、繽紛色彩的服裝、以及每位舞者臉頰上的笑容，正是莫里斯舞蹈最令人難忘的地方！那麼，天仙就不在浪費時間廢話，讓大家好好繼續欣賞這個英國傳統舞蹈囉！

Morris dancing is said to date back to early to late 15th century. It is a form of folk dancing accompanied by music and based on rhythmic stepping and choreographed group dancing. Sticks, swords, hankerchiefs, and bells are often used in Morris dancing. During the Oyster Festival, there was a special area exclusively set aside for a whole afternoon of Morris dancing. I'm sure you will find it as satisfying as I found it when I was there watching it live. Please note that there are two parts of Morris Dancing articles. Stay tuned for the sequel after your perusal of this one.

莫里斯舞蹈是一個英國傳統舞蹈。據說最早興起是在十五世紀初或末期。主要的特色是節奏性的踏步以及團體的舞步。常用的舞蹈道具有木棍、劍、手帕以及鈴鐺（鞋子上）。在牡蠣祭當天，有一個特別的區域專門安排給莫里斯舞蹈表演。我想看完這上下兩集，大家也會跟我當時在現場看的時候一樣滿足～

These mastiffs are Newfoundland dogs and are known as 'lifeguards of the sea'. These dogs were here to demonstrate their skills in water rescue and carting. I think we missed the carting (although they were carting during the parade), but we caught a decent portion of the rescue show. 

這些大狗狗們叫做紐芬蘭犬。據說他們有個封號叫做「海上救生員」。今天他們就是要來展現他們的驚人的海上救援以及拉車的能力。除了在遊行上看到的拉車，其實我們好像沒看到其他的拉車表演。不過這個水上救援我們倒是看得很滿足。

After the ceremony of the Landing of the Oysters, immediately following was the Parade Party. It would be a big mistake to underestimate this little town, as seeing the parade, you'll see that everyone's involved. From young ones to old ones, everyone plays a part in this parade. And even though there are a lot of people, everyone seemed to be quite generous in terms of giving way to people in the back could still get a nice shot with their cameras. No pushing, very civilised. Well, enough said, let's take a look at the parade. 

祝福儀式結束後，馬上緊接著進行的就是遊行了！不要小看這小鎮！你看看這遊行的陣容，就可以猜出這活動一定是全民參與的！因為陣容很強大啊！老的小的，胖的瘦的，高的矮的，全部都有！而且把整個牡蠣祭的特色完全的展現出來。而且就像天仙之前說的一樣，雖然觀看的人很多，但一點都感覺不到擁擠。而且大家都很有秩序。看看照片就知道，每一張都可以橋到可以拍照的好角度。一起來看看這個遊行吧！

Staring afar, as if waiting for the arrival of someone or something. Oh, it's oysters they are waiting for. Oyster Festival is held every year, apparently when the tide is at its highest. After the oyster ship lands, blessing is given, and the festival officially begins. The ceremony is short, but meaningful. The entire ceremony takes no more than ten minutes, but it is still extremely interesting. 

遙望著遠方，期待著什麼的到來嗎？原來是牡蠣。「牡蠣登陸」是一個簡單的儀式。這個牡蠣祭特別選在潮水最高的時候舉辦。牡蠣登陸後，給予祝福，整個儀式不過十分鐘上下，非常簡短，但又非常具有象徵性意義。是個很有趣的活動。

Allons-y! To the Whitstable Oyster Festival! This is the shuttle bus that took us straight to where the event took place. It was really convenient, because without this service, finding a parking space would surely have been a pain! 

出發囉！要去惠斯泰布爾的牡蠣節囉！這是活動專屬的接駁車。其實很方便，因為要是開車去，停車位一定是一位難求的啊！

This is a glimpse of the gorgeous Kentish scenery. It is a beautiful place, and we were so lucky to be here with such glorious weather. There was a reason why we came here. Despite the fact that I believe Whitstable would be a lovely place to visit anyway, the day we were there happened to be on the day when the Oyster Festival was held. Lucky, lucky, lucky us!

Before getting into the festival itself, however, please remain patient and allow me to show you around Whitstable. 

This was another spur of the moment decision. I was meeting a delegate from the University of Liverpool, to get to know our new officer in charge of the Taiwan market, and also to remind myself of the good old days in L'pool. It's always nice to meet someone from the Uni. I would never get tired of sharing my experience there with people. 

I met up with the delegate at the hotel she was staying at. Unfortunately, I did not know the neighbourhood so well. And judging from our special dietary requirement, our choices were a little limited. But seeing that we both eat seafood, Japanese food seemed like a good choice. We saw the sign to this restaurant from across the street where we were standing, and decided to have our meal there. 

I had left the office in a hurry the previous day, and did not realise until leaving that I had not brought home my camera with me. Thank goodness the camera on my phone takes rather decent pictures.