Gary Barlow

I chose Gary Barlow as the 46th person for this blog. This year my daughter stopped watching the X factor because she says it is “boring”. I understand what she means. I can feel more than ever that the judges are choosing contestants just to gain attention to the programme from audiences and media and not for their talents or ability. I think The X Factor needs a judge who can make harsh but honest comments like Simon Cowell. Maybe Gary Barlow is this person. If he is not there, I think the programme might feel like flat beer.

Gok Wan

 I chose Gok Wan as the 45th person for this blog. I enjoy watching his cooking programme ‘Gok Cook Chinese’ and I really enjoy cooking his recipes.

I always look for the recipes to cook easily and quickly, and preferably those I haven’t eaten before. I think his recipes are exactly what I am looking for. Ma-po tofu with omelet, lamb and cucumber kebabs are very interesting combinations aren’t they?
Some celebrity chefs meals need a little of many kinds of ingredients such as herbs and spices. If you follow these recipes you have to buy all these ingredients just for one meal. After cooking, these leftover ingredients then go off in the fridge. These recipes are much better if you occasionally entertain guests, but they are not for every day meals. It also always takes a long time to cook them even when they advertise that they should only take 30 minutes.

Li Xiang Lan / Yoshiko Yamaguchi

I chose Li Xiang Lan (Chinese name), Yoshiko Yamaguchi (Japanese name) as the 44th person for this blog. She is a China-born Japanese actress and singer. She started her career using her Chinese name in China, so people thought she was actually Chinese nationality for some time.

 I recently watched her biographical TV drama and her film `Ying chun hua` that was made in 1942. I became very interested in her life, especially pre and during war period. In some way her life can not be told without including the war between Japan and China.