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Barbara's mother was cremated on the 23th of februari 2017 at Cambridge. It was a very windy day. But during the cermony the sun appeared. As Barbara's mother was a Buddhist the cermony was held in the traditions of Bhuddism. It was a small service and godson Andrew held a speech. A Buddhist priest and 17 followers attended the meeting, other participants were family and close friends. In total between 40 and 50 people attended the closed cermony. The hall in which the cermony was held was full.
Barbara's mother ashes will be placed next to the ashes of Barbara, in the same grave.
昨天，心情就像那罕見的天氣一樣，狂風不止，波瀾不定。姨姥姥的葬禮以佛教形式在劍橋殯儀館舉行。室外擺滿了親戚朋友和翁美玲影迷會送的花環，多數都選擇了姨姥姥生前最愛的粉紅色玫瑰。
當我們誦經念詩中，忽然天空放晴，一束耀眼奪目的光芒透過天窗，直射在供奉台和我們身上，彷彿是您用溫暖的陽光來撫平我們心頭的陰霾，讓我們振作堅強。就在這金色光暈中，您隨著誦經的旋律，騰然而去，往生極樂世界......
扶棺低語，潸然千行，怎奈心碎斷腸，何處話凄涼......
一路走好，安寧吉祥!
敬爱的翁吧朋友们~
刚才阿翁表弟安德鲁已将翁妈妈葬礼细节公告于FB，因原文颇长，仅摘要大意如下。
翁妈妈于1月17日逝世，享年91岁。葬礼日期为2月23日，将与女儿阿翁合葬于剑桥公墓。由于场地座位有限等因素，只作家祭，不开放公祭，所以大家不用亲自去英国参加葬礼。
翁妈妈生前热心慈善公益，所以安德鲁希望有意参加葬礼者，改以翁妈妈名义捐赠给公益慈善机构来纪念她。安德鲁提供了一些捐助公益网站的名细。此外，也有可从网路订花致赠花篮的信息。
由于度娘禁止在贴吧募资，大家请自行上网以安德鲁提供的方式捐赠。翁妈妈的中文名字是张明如(因广东话发音问题一直被误以为是张明仪)，英文名字是Cheung Ming Yee.
安德鲁最后并提供问与答，供各位参考。附上全文如下，谢谢大家!
翁吧吧务团队 2017.1.30
Dear all,
Gran passed away peacefully in her sleep on 17th Jan 2017 in her home. At the age of 91, she had a rich and fulfilling life, taking on everything with energy and vigor. Her smile, love, and cuddles will be dearly missed.
Her funeral will be held Cambridge City Crematorium on 23rd Feb 2017. Due to limited seating, we have decided to have the service as a private event. For those who wished to fly over to attend, you have our sincerest thanks but I hope you understand. Instead, it would have made gran very happy if you could consider spending more time with your friends and family, especially elderly members who may not be so mobile, or perhaps some voluntary work to help those in need during the Chinese New Year. Life is precious and we must make the most of it.
Many have asked how you can donate to charity so here's a link below. Gran always helped those in some of the poorest countries in the world so we decided that GiveWell can fulfil her wishes. GiveWell is a non-profit organisation that examines the effectiveness of multiple charities. Every year they publish a list of top charities doing the most effective work in alleviating suffering and saving lives. You can donate directly to them and they will then distribute it amongst their top chosen charities or pick and choose yourself (they do not take a commision from your donations). Their top charities include Against Malaria Foundation, who distribute cost effective bed nets to prevent the spread of malaria; and other initiatives aimed at controlling debilitating parasitic diseases. Please go to their website to read more about their research and finding.
Here's how to donate:
1) Go to https://secure.givewell.org/
2) Enter the amount(s) you'd like to donate
3) Under “A few more questions”, tick “Would you like to dedicate this donation to someone?”. Please enter:
4) Dedication name: Cheung Ming Yee
5) Dedication email:
6) Under “Where did you hear about GiveWell?”, enter:
7) Press the Donate button
Residents of the UK can use the link below to allow Gift Aid to be claimed (25p extra for every £1 donated). Please email
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/trust/givewell
More information about GiveWell can be found here:
http://www.givewell.org
For those who wishes to send floral tributes, please use this website:
http://www.barnwellflorists.co.uk/
Tel: +441223350761
You can select the flowers you wish to send and pay online with PayPal or a credit card. As gran was over 80, you can select pinks and other colours (she liked pink roses and lillies). Please no red flowers. You can also leave a message in English or Chinese. Please order by 15th Feb and confirm by emailing me at
The details you need are:
*Deliver to: Funeral directors (£3.50)
*Delivery Date: 22nd Feb 2017
*Delivery First Name: Ming Yee
*Delivery Last Name: Liu
*Company Name: Richard Stebbings Funeral Service Ltd
*Address: Kendal House, Cambridge Road, Impington
*Town/City: Cambridge
*Post Code: CB24 9YS
*Order Notes:
Name of deceased: Mrs Ming Yee Liu
Date of funeral: 23rd Feb 2017
FAQ:
Q: Who are you?
A: My name is Andrew Chan, Barbara’s godson and Roderic Chan was my father. Although we were not related, she became my gran and I her grandson from the day I was born. When Barbara found out my mother was pregnant, she said she was going to be the godmother and no one else could be!
Q: Were you close to gran?
A: She was my family and the person dearest to my heart. I loved her very much.
Q: Was she ill? This sounded so sudden.
A: Gran has been ill with many problems from the day she was born. As you may have known, she had a stroke a few years ago but she also had underlying heart problems amongst other things. I’ll post more details when I feel it's more appropriate later.
Q: Why is the funeral date so late?
A: Many reasons, including the registration office and crematorium being very busy, Chinese New Year, and finding date for the Buddhist nuns to lead the service.
Q: I thought Barbara was Catholic, what about her mum?
A: Gran wanted a Buddhist ceremony. I guess it’s more in line with her culture and tradition.
Q: Where will she be buried?
A: She wanted to be buried alongside with her daughter at Cambridge City Cemetery, we are in the process of arranging it.
Q: You mentioned that there’ll be an exhibition of Barbara’s artwork, any updates?
A: Sadly no updates yet. After I’ve catalogued all her work, I’ll update you.
Q: I’d like to visit Barbara’s grave in Cambridge, is there anything I can help with?
A: Yes, please remove any dead flowers and don’t leave fruit. This will help keep the area clean and bug-free.
Q: Why has gran got so many different surnames? It’s very confusing!
A: Her family name was Cheung. Barbara’s father’s surname was Yung, but when gran remarried in the UK, she took on Liu as her surname. After her divorce, she did not change it back to Cheung and it stuck ever since.
Q: Did she have an English name?
A: Yes, Sally. It means “Princess” in Hebrew (and yes, she was like a little princess!).
Q: I thought she was born in the year of the rabbit? Why was she 91?
A: It was what was written on her official documents. There were probably discrepancies between the Chinese and Gregorian calendar when her DOB was recorded when she was born (if at all and if accurately).
Q: Do you speak Chinese? This Chinese translation is a bit strange!
A: I speak Cantonese but my Chinese is poor. I’m not sure how well Google/Baidu/Facebook will translate my English, many apologies.
Q: Will you be replying to email on
A: It is unlikely, but I will try to read as many of them as possible and leave a reply on facebook or by other means.
Kind regards,
Andrew
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I hope today's burial went smoothly and was not affected by the storm Doris battering around the area. I took the liberty to inform a few journalists from various press about your post --- I am glad they have all reported about this with a note about the burial will be a private event. I hope today's burial went according to the plan.
The funeral went well, between 40 - 50 people attended, It was very windy afterwards. There was some sunshine during the service. Some guests had a few hours delay getting back because the trains and roads had major delays.
Interesting to know that you have connections with the media.
Thanks again for being so kind and generous on sharing so much about Barbara's life before almost every household in HK knew about her back in those days.
If you are ever visiting Barkingside again, no need to run into each other :D I would love to buy you a Turkish coffee at Cafe104 which is 2 min walk from that take away shop (I wonder if that coffee shop was there already back then)! Just email me and let me know? (I don't seem to get an email alert)