If you are a fruit grower—or would like to become one—take advantage of Apple Day to see what's around. It's called Apple Day but in practice it's more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but since it has caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.

Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste, a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn't taste of anything special, it's still worth a try, as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的) Cat's Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.

There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you'll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it's a pipe dream for most apple lovers who fall for it.

       At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.

Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园). If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent.

    China's Singles Day, which falls on Nov. 11 every year, has far surpassed its U. S. counterparts of Black Friday and Cyber Monday—combined Last year, Americans spent a record $ 12.8 billion online between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday. It's impressive until you compare it to the $ 17.6 billion in sales made by Chinese consumers in a single 24-hour period during 2016's Singles Day.

    Singles Day is known as “Bare Sticks Day” or “Bare Branches Day” in Chinese-because the date “11/11” looks like bare branches and “one” is the loneliest number. Singles Day began in the early 1990s in the dorm rooms of Nanjing University when a group of single friends were sorry about the lack of significant others and decided to mark the day by organizing activities as a group of singles and reducing their loneliness by buying themselves a gift.

    Then in 2009, sensing a break between the sales period of China's National Day on Oct. 1 and Chinese New Year in late January or early February, Alibaba's Jack Ma saw an opening: sell to comfort lonely hearts.

    The first year did only $7.5 million in sales, but just 8 years later, shoppers spent $ 25.3 billion, or 168.2 billion yuan, this year—a 40 percent jump from last year's $ 17.6 billion. For comparison, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U. S. only netted $ 6.79 billion in 2016. Amazon doesn't release sales figures for July's Prime Day, but it's pretty safe to believe the not-quite-national-holiday doesn't come close to $ 25 billion.

    “More than $ 25 billion in one day is not just a sales figure,” Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement. “It represents the desire for quality consumption of the Chinese consumer, and it reflects how merchants and consumers alike have now fully accepted the combination of online and offline sales.”

    Are you the type of person who always says “yes”? I've come to learn that it is very important to learn to say NO! It's okay. People are still going to like you. They may even respect you more because they know you are honest.

    I'm not saying to say “no" to someone who really needs your help. I'm talking about refusing that meeting that you really do not want to attend or that birthday party that you don't want to be a guest at.

    Think for a moment how you feel when you say YES to something that you really don't want to do. If you're like I once was，you can't sleep at night and you think about it too much. It weighs on your mind. You try to find ways out. Whatever you're saying to yourself, if you really wanted to go, you wouldn't have all of these thoughts.

    So, why not just say NO from the beginning? Maybe you feel like if you don't show up at the meeting (by the way, it is not one you must attend) your boss isn't going to like you or your co-workers won't respect you. Maybe you feel as if your mom, dad or sisters won't love you as much if you don't do everything for them that they ask every occasion.

    If these people are your true friends, family members, or a good boss, they will like or love you the same no matter what. People treat you the way you usually use, and if you're someone who always says “yes” then that's what they're expecting.

You need to do what is right for you. Of course we do have real responsibilities in life to do, but we do not have to do everything others want us to do.

    At your next meeting, wait for a pause in conversation and try to measure how long it lasts.

    Among English speakers, chances are that it will be a second or two at most. But while this pattern may be universal, our awareness of silence differs dramatically across cultures.

    What one culture considers a confusing or awkward pause may be seen by others as a valuable moment of reflection and sign of respect for what the last speaker has said. Research in Dutch and also in English found that when a silence in conversation stretches to four seconds, people start to feel uneasy. In contrast, a separate study of business meetings found that Japanese people are happy with silences of 8.2 seconds — nearly twice as long as in Americans' meetings.

    In Japan, it is recognized that the best communication is when you don't speak at all. It's already a failure to understand each other by speaking because you're repairing that failure by using words.

    In the US, it may originate from the history of colonial (殖民地) America as a crossroads of many different races. When you have a complex of difference, it's hard to establish common understanding unless you talk and there's understandably a kind of anxiety unless people are verbally engaged to establish a common life. This applies also to some extent to London.

    In contrast, when there's more homogeneity, perhaps it's easier for some kinds of silence to appear. For example, among your closest friends and family it's easier to sit in silence than with people you're less well acquainted with.

    During the past Spring Festival, many children may have received red packets from their families. But Xing Pu, a 40-year-old economist, is asking the government to give red packets to every Chinese citizen.

    Xing suggested the government give out 1,000 yuan to each Chinese since the government income has increased rapidly in recent years. He said his suggestion would allow everyone to directly enjoy the fruits of the country's economic success, help the lower-income groups deal with rising prices and increase consumption around the country.

    Recent years have seen the government carry out a series of pro-poor (扶贫) and pro-rural (惠农) policies, including increasing spending on public health-care and cutting down the agricultural tax. But the lower-income group still needs more help.

    Xing said he has borrowed many ideas from practices in countries like the United States and Singapore. Earlier this year, the governments of the two nations offered cash handouts (救济) to their citizens. As for in China, 'We can even encourage the rich to donate their 1,000 yuan red packet to the poor,' said Xing.

    Although Xing's suggestion has gained wide support among ordinary Chinese on the Internet, many other economists criticized it as unpractical. 'To better use the increase of money, handing out money is not a solution that holds good for all time. It could be better to improve the public service or cut the price of energy use in daily life,' said Qiao Xinsheng, an economic professor.

Chanukah Festival

    Activities for kids of all ages

    Sunday, December 17   9: 00 a. m.-4: 00 p. m.

    Join us on December 17th, 2017 (2nd day of Hanukkah) for our annual Hanukkah Family Fun Fest for an exciting day of fun activities for the whole family. The Hazimir Choir will provide holiday musical entertainment. Drum Tales will present "The Hearty Story of Hanukkah" show. There will be ceramic (陶瓷) painting of dreidels. Menorahs (烛台), and other Hanukkah items for the kids. And fun foods, crafts and activities will be happening throughout the day. Bring the whole family and enjoy a fun—filled day!

    11: 30-Jolly Follies puppet show Ages 2-12

    A fun Muppet (提线木偶) style musical holiday story followed by a Hanukkah sing a song featuring the "Chipmunks" and other favorite characters. Adult: $7 Child $5

    1: 30-Hazamir Teen Choir

    Sponsored by the Berman and Lerner families in memory of Cantor Moses L. Snyder

    3: 15-Drum Tales presents The Hearty Story of Hanukkah

    Drum Tales is fun, interactive percussive (打击乐) and musical. It is much like the traditional drum circle concept. It combines story telling, musical instrumentation and song. Each participant is given a percussive instrument which becomes their media of transportation to far away lands and exotic (异国情调的) places, to ride the waves of mystery of an unfolding plot, and into the deep realm of imagination and the colorful beyond. Drumming, rhyming, rapping, clinking, shaking and clapping, this performance will leave you feeling refreshed after having returned from a journey through these stories! Adult $7 Child $5

    Plus food and fun for the entire family

    Crafts with BBYO and Young Judea

    Ceramic painting with Jack and Jill

    T-Shirt fun with Computer Adventures

    Fun with Cyber—Connection

    Vendors

    Special visit by "Chanukah Bubby"