The Chinese New Year

This weekend sees the beginning of the Chinese New Year. This will be the Year of the Rooster. Saturday will be the first day of a year that is based on a lunar calendar. It is also known as the Chinese Spring Festival. [I was always bemused by that - the dates on which the festival begins can only be between January 21st and February 20th - dates I associate - certainly in England - with the worst of the winter.] However it was, according to a Chinese website - "set to coincide with the slack time just before a new year of farm work begins, as a time of preparation." It begins on the day of the New Moon.

While researching for this post I came across this very interesting website - http://www.chinesenewyears.info

In London the London Chinatown Chinese Association have organised a free event on Sunday. It will begin at 10.00 and end at 18.00 - and we are promised "the biggest dragon and lions procession in Europe"



I'd like to wish a Happy New Year to all my Chinese friends.

Chinese New Year Parade
The theme of the celebrations for this year is “China: Today & Yesterday”, celebrating Chinese cultures past and present.

The day kicks off at 10am with a colourful Chinese New Year parade that snakes its way from Charing Cross Road (just to the north of Trafalgar Square) to Shaftesbury Avenue. This lively event features six hand-crafted floats and the largest gathering of Chinese lion and dragon dance performers in the UK.

Trafalgar Square
Events take place in Trafalgar Square from 11am, as screen shows and a thanksgiving ceremony are followed by firecrackers, speeches and the Lions’ Eye-Dotting Ceremony at 12pm.

Don’t miss the spectacular Flying Lion Dance at 12.50pm, before the Dragon Dance and a range of performances take place on the main stage. You’ll experience everything from puppetry, acrobatics and martial arts, to drumming, classical music and Chinese rock hits!

The day ends in Trafalgar Square with a grand finale featuring martial arts, traditional sounds and a stunning light show with special effects from 5.30pm.

The Soft Drink Industry Levy

What a title! It seems designed to bore - but behind it is an important initiative designed to improve the health of the nation.

Sugar is relatively cheap to produce - but the costs to individuals and society can be huge. There is growing evidence of the damage that it can do. The damage to teeth has been obvious for years - but the use of sugar has also been linked to diabetes, obesity, depression and dementia.




In the 2016 Budget, the former chancellor, George Osborne announced the introduction of a levy on soft drinks. The levy would apply to manufacturers and importers of sugar added soft drinks and would be implemented in April 2018.  There would be exemptions for fruit juices and milk based drinks and for small producers.  The proceeds of the Levy would be used in England to increase spending on PE in schools, after school clubs and breakfast clubs.

Not only will this 'sugar tax' bring in extra resources for good causes - but it is intended to discourage over-consumption of a delicious but deadly poison. The House of Commons Library [an independent, non-party political body] has produced a research paper on the Levy. It is available here.