Old fan-collecting hobby of Hanoi-lovers

A busy life in Hanoi cannot dilute the elegant hobbies of Hanoians,
and among these is the hobby of collecting old fans.

A 40-year-old collector, Do Ngoc Long, alias “old fan-lover” is
well-known in Hanoi ’s old fan-collecting circles. His small house in
the Hoang Hoa Tham Street is full of many models of fan.

He said he does not remember exactly how many fans he has altogether
after 20 years of collecting. At present, he has more than 800 fans.

Long likes to collect the Marelli fans – an Italian
model of the 19 th century. It is a very durable fan with a unique and
multiform design.

Not only does he own a huge number
of old fans, Long also has a wide knowledge of types of fan and is an
expert in repairing them. He is able to talk about six models of Marelli
fans with more than 130 different designs.

He said
his wife and children are also very interested in collecting and
admiring at fans like him and in the future, Long intends to open a
private museum to introduce Marelli fans to the public.

It is impossible to refer to old fan-collectors in Hanoi , without
talking about Tran Cong Phuc in the Ta Hien Street and Le Tan in the
Hang Bo Street .

Almost all old fans that they
own are the models of Marelli, Émi ( Holland ) and Éon, Calor
(French). These appeared in Hanoi from a very early time.

According to Phuc, the collector circles are being hunted for two
models of two-wing ceiling fan and ceiling fan with decanter-shaped
wings, which were only used by Hanoi Department of Electricity and the
State Bank of Vietnam .

In the recent years, Phuc
and Tan gathered and restored some of these rare models of ceiling fan
but most of them were bought by foreign visitors.

Phuc said that he desired to retain examples of all fans as evidence of life in Hanoi in the past./.

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Wolves stun Man Utd on day of Premiership drama

LONDON  – Manchester United crashed to their first defeat of the season in a shock 2-1 loss at bottom club Wolves after a day of drama and record goal-scoring across the Premier League.

League leaders United, who had started to entertain dreams of emulating Arsenal and Preston North End as the only clubs to go through a whole season unbeaten, saw their run end abruptly at Molineux.

A superb individual goal by winger Nani had fired United ahead on three minutes but Wolves equalised with a fine header by fullback George Elokobi.

Five minutes before half-time Kevin Doyle was deemed to have got the final touch on a Nenad Milijas free-kick to put Mick McCarthy's side 2-1 up.

Despite furious late pressure from Sir Alex Ferguson's side, Wolves held on to record a victory which gives the rest of United's title rivals hope.

"We are disappointed obviously. It's been a long run for us. The players have done us all proud but today in the second half we didn't really get going," Ferguson told ESPN afterwards. Related article: Defeated Man United targets derby recovery

"We are not looking at the people below us, we are looking at ourselves.

"It was an opportunity for us to continue the great run we are on. The consistency we have shown in the last two months has been terrific so this was a great disappointment."

Ferguson believes next weekend's high-octane derby will give Manchester United the perfect incentive to bounce back.

The Scot insists Saturday's game against Manchester City at Old Trafford could not have come at a better time.

"It's a terrific game to try to recover from a defeat. It's a massive game. It's something to look forward to," said the United boss.

"Unfortunately, we have internationals in midweek. To my mind that is crazy, but we have to get on with it.

The result reduced United's lead over second-placed Arsenal to four points with both sides having played 25 games each. Wolves however remain bottom, behind West Ham on goals scored.

The Gunners would have narrowed the deficit even further had they not squandered a 4-0 lead in an extraordinary game against Newcastle at St James Park which finished 4-4. Related article: Arsenal's Wenger fears scars from Newcastle match

Arsenal looked to be cruising after goals from Robin Van Persie (2), Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou put them 4-0 up after 26 minutes.

However the sending off of Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby gave Newcastle a way back into the game and the Magpies produced a stunning fightback to draw courtesy of two Joey Barton penalties, a Leon Best strike and a rasping volley from Cheik Tiote on 87 minutes.

A total of 41 goals were scored across Saturday's eight games, shattering the previous record of 36 scored in a single day of the Premier League.

Third-placed Manchester City swept to a comfortable win over West Bromwich Albion at Eastlands, birthday boy Carlos Tevez netting a first-half hat-trick in a 3-0 victory.

Tevez's treble included two from the penalty spot as the Argentinian took his goals tally for the season to 18.

In a dramatic match at White Hart Lane, Niko Kranjcar struck a 90th-minute winner for Tottenham in a 2-1 victory over Bolton.

Rafael Van der Vaart put Spurs ahead from the penalty spot on six minutes, and looked to have doubled his tally moments later when he buried a second spot-kick only for the kick to be retaken for encroachment. Van der Vaart shot the same way but his effort went wide.

Bolton looked to have done enough to earn a share of the points courtesy of a Daniel Sturridge equaliser but Kranjcar's strike settled it for Spurs.

Elsewhere, Fulham twice came from behind to grab a share of the points in a 2-2 draw away to Aston Villa.

An own-goal from John Pantsil gave Villa the lead on 13 minutes before Fulham hit back through Andrew Johnson on 52 minutes. Kyle Walker put Villa 2-1 up but Fulham's US international midfielder Clint Dempsey equalised.

At Goodison Park, Louis Saha struck four goals as Everton came from behind to score a dramatic 5-3 win over Blackpool.

The Toffees twice took the lead through Saha only for the Seasiders to level through Alex Baptiste and Jason Puncheon.

Charlie Adam put Blackpool 3-2 up but Saha grabbed his third on 76 minutes before Jermaine Beckford struck a superb volley 10 minutes from time to make it 4-3. Saha then grabbed his fourth to complete the scoring.

At the DW Stadium, relegation-threatened Wigan scored a vital 4-3 victory over Blackburn in a see-saw battle.

Jason Roberts fired Blackburn into the lead before the struggling Latics drew level through James McCarthy.

Hugo Rodallega and McCarthy's second put Wigan 3-1 up, and although Blackburn pulled one back through Chris Samba, Ben Watson restored the home side's two-goal cushion from the penalty spot.

Yet David Dunn ensured a tense finale with a spot-kick on 81 minutes for Rovers as the goals continued but Wigan held on.

In the early kick-off, Robert Huth scored two goals in the final 10 minutes as Stoke City came from behind to defeat Sunderland 3-2.

German defender Huth struck the winning goal in injury time after earlier equalising on 83

minutes to cancel out an Asamoah Gyan strike that had given Sunderland a 2-1 lead.

Sunderland had taken the lead through Kieran Richardson after two minutes before Stoke's new loan signing John Carew hit back on 32 minutes.

.

 

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Inter, Roma clash to stay in Serie A title hunt

37 minutes ago .
Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder (top) is tackled by AS Bari Kamil Glik during their Serie A match at San Nicola Stadium in Bari, on February 3

Photo: AFP

ROME – Champions Inter Milan and Roma face a crucial clash at the San Siro this weekend as both sides try to stay in the scudetto hunt.

Inter pipped Roma to the title by two points last year as they finished as the top two for the fourth time in five years -- with Inter winning the championship every time.

But this time around both have been left lagging in leaders AC Milan's wake and defeat in Sunday's game could prove terminal for either side's trophy hopes.

With just 15 games left, this would be a bad time to start losing touch with the teams above but Roma club captain Francesco Totti insists there is still a long way to go.

Asked about his own lack of goals this season -- he has scored just three times in 19 league games -- Totti claimed he would soon click into gear.

"There's still a long way to go in the championship and my goals will come," he said.

"It's a vital match, if we get a result on Sunday we'll be able to remain hot on AC Milan's heels, even though right now we're nine points back with a game in hand."

Milan have stumbled several times since the turn of the year but both Roma and third-placed Inter have failed to take full advantage, themselves slipping up when there was the opporunity to close the gap.

However, things are going a lot better for both of them than for Italy's most successful side, Juventus.

Following the disaster of last season when Juve finished seventh and went through two coaches, they spent big in the summer and hired Luigi Delneri to revive the club's fortunes.

Things started out well enough this season but they have completely lost their way since the turn of the year.

Milan travel to Genoa looking to maintain the five-point lead at the top they extended in midweek despite a 0-0 draw at home to Lazio.

Napoli failed to capitalise as they produced a listless display in losing 2-0 at Chievo.

However, they return home to host struggling Cesena on Sunday while Lazio entertain

Chievo.

Fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated):

Sunday

Bologna v Catania (1130), Brescia v Bari, Genoa v AC Milan, Lazio v Chievo, Lecce v Palermo, Napoli v Cesena, Parma v Fiorentina, Inter Milan v Roma (1945)

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Hanoi through eyes of French photographer

If he had more time, Nicolas Cornet, a French photo-journalist would
have talked more about Hanoi both in French and Vietnamese. However,
he prefers to use his photos to tell his stories.

Cornet said he has closely followed the changes in people and Hanoi
through his own photo journalism. That is why when visiting an
exhibition showcasing Cornet’s photos of Hanoi at the French Culture
Centre L’Espace in late 2010, many people who were born and grew up in
the city suddenly recognised scenes they had taken for granted for a
long time.

Hanoi in his photos is not merely a
reminiscence, but is always moving. Viewers can see the city through
photos portraying people’s daily lives, high-rise buildings or ancient,
moss covered pagodas.

“His photos are unexpectedly
lively,” a common comment made by many visitors. For them, Cornet’s
photos are beautiful, not only in terms of lay-out and colour, but also
of containing the city’s flavours such as steamed glutinous rice and
green tea that are served on the city’s pavement kiosks.

After three years of collecting images and ideas, Cornet has published
a pictorial book about Hanoi to celebrate the city’s 1,000 th
anniversary.

Since 1987, Nicolas Cornet has spent a
couple of months each year returning to Vietnam and feels it is his
“home country”.

Besides working for many of Europe
’s well-known daily newspapers and magazines such as L’Espresso, Mare,
Le Republica, Figaro Magazine, Le Monde, Ulysse, Geo, Grands Reportages
and Nouvel Observateur, Cornet has given lectures on photography and
press photography. He has already hosted a series of personal
exhibitions in France , Germany , Switzerland and Vietnam. /.

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Restoring portraits of ancient Vietnamese

A group of scientists has tried to restore the faces of ancient
Vietnamese people who lived thousand years ago, revealing interesting
stories about their lives.

Eight years ago, people discovered
human skulls and skeletons dating back to the Dong Son age – 2,100 years
ago – in a tomb in Dong Xa, Kim Dong district, Hung Yen province.

With
a desire to discover more about the life of ancient Vietnamese people,
Dr. Nguyen Viet, Director of the Southeast Asia Prehistory Centre and
his colleagues reconstructed the face of a 17 to 18-year-old girl living
in Dong Son age, from the skull they found.

To do that the
scientists had to X-ray 100 people in Hung Yen province to check, adjust
and find out fundamental parameters of the figure of ancient people in
Dong Xa.

After this step, scientists continued to
restore the faces of three more women and a man, of whom the oldest was
about 40-45 years old. The scientists rebuilt not only the shape, but
also facial appearances.

Viet’s research on 60 Dong Son age
skeletons unearthed in Dong Xa showed that the average height of women
at that time was about 1.40m-1.50m and men, between 1.45m-1.65m.

For
long-term research, Dr. Viet built a place to store 70 skeletons of
ancient Vietnamese people, including the remains of those of Hoa Binh
culture dated tens of thousands of years ago, at Pham Huy Thong museum
in Quang Ninh province.

Scientists of the Southeast Asia
Prehistory Centre also worked with foreign counterparts to study and
detect common diseases of ancient Vietnamese people as well as the
reasons for their deaths.

They also studied samples of collected clothes, finding that the clothes were made from flax fibre.

Dr. Viet said that he plans to open the first museum of wax models of
ancient Vietnamese people and cooperate with US experts to restore the
faces and figures of these people using 3D technology./.

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Largest collector of gongs in Central Highlands

Y Thim Byă has become the largest collector of gongs and jars and the
first person to open a private cultural museum in the Central Highlands
province of Dak Lak.

After 20 years of
collecting, Y Thim Byă now owns 30 Tuk and Tang jars, 18 sets of ancient
gongs with over 300 gongs from the ethnic minority groups of Gia Rai, E
De and M’Nong, dozens of Kpan chairs (chair of master of the house) and
hundreds of artifacts such as bowls, cups and bracelets.

“The number of his ancient gongs is more than that of the people in Ea
Bong village”, said Y Than Nie K’, the village’s patriarch.

Inspired by a set of ancient gongs thrown away by a local, Y Thim Byă
felt sad and decided to buy them back. Since then, he has travelled many
places to buy back Kpan and Jhong chairs, gongs, jars and other old
musical instruments.

At present, his house in Ea
Bong village, Buon Ma Thuot city has become a popular destination for
tourists who want to explore the Central Highlands region’s culture.

Y Thim Byă added that he is continuing to build
another house, with a total investment of 300 million VND to finish off
his cultural museum.

He has also set up a gongs team
to perform at traditional festivals and community cultural activities
such as buffalo sacrificing festival and new rice festivals.

Apart from collecting ancient objects, Y Thim Byă has also made many
kinds of traditional musical instruments such as Kram gongs, T’rung,
Pah, Buot, Tak Tar, horn. He has also taught young people how to use
these instruments, thereby helping to maintain and develop the special
cultural values unique to the Central Highlands people./.

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Vietnamese flock to pagodas for New Year

Ngoc Dung’s family from Van Chuong alley on Kham Thien street in
Hanoi’s Dong Da district often goes to the pagoda on the first day of
the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. While most business households visit
large and well-known pagodas, Dung’s family chose one nearest their
house for traffic convenience and to avoid the hustle.

“Apart from praying for happiness, prosperity and good health for
family, visiting pagodas gives us a chance to enjoy the peaceful
atmosphere at religious places,” the 40-years-old Hanoian said.

Visiting pagodas at the beginning of Lunar New Year has become an age-old tradition of Vietnamese people.

While streets in Hanoi are deserted in the first day of New Year, a
stream of people goes on a pilgrimage at Tay Ho, Tran Quoc pagodas or
Ngoc Son and Quan Thanh temples.

Among the religious
destinations, Tay Ho pagoda attracts the largest number of visitors
from both in and outside Hanoi with several thousand each day during
Tet holiday.

Fruit and offering shops in the entrance leading to the pagoda are overcrowded with visitors on the occasion.

Thanh, 70 who is also from Kham Thien street, said he often goes
to Tay Ho pagoda with his old friend on the first day of new year.

“We can go to the pagoda anytime but the first day is a special time
of a year to pray for good things for our family”, he explained.

Meanwhile, many citizens, especially students, chose to visit the Temple of Literature in the new year.

Nguyen Thu Phuong from Quan Su street in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem
district said she visited on the first day of Lunar New Year to pray to
become a good learner.

“This year, I pray for good
health for my family and wish that I will enter Teachers Training
University,” Phuong said.

The first half of the
first lunar month is the best time for a pilgrimage. Joining the flow of
devotees in the spring’s wonderful atmosphere you may feel the harmony
of the sky and the ground, she said./.

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