On Thursday, June 21st, I received a message from a friend at Paltalk, a chat room service, that dear Firefly had passed away. I had just left a neighbour's house in London where the family had recently lost a loved one. Having paid my respects, and feeling very moved, I crossed the road to my house, and opened Paltalk. The last line of the message read as follows " hoa trang ngoc (đom đóm) chết ngay 15/6 " meaning "flowers (fireflies) died 15/6" or "pearl white flowers (fireflies) died 15/6".

I cannot describe how those few words hit me. I wasn't prepared for them, nor had I understood the seriousness of poor Firefly's illness. My sense of both shock and grief was extraordinary. Of course, one is sad at the loss of any person that one knows. But I hardly knew Firefly. A lady, thousands of miles away in Vietnam, whom I had met in a virtual reality room at Paltalk, where we both sang songs, as did others in the room. Her kindness to me and support during those visits had so touched me. The more I looked at the finality of those words, the more I felt the loss. My grief over the past four days seemed to have been as deep as I'd ever known.

So, I started this webpage, in memory of Firefly, on the day I read of her passing. Only now, have I finally written this introduction. Just looking at the three pictures above, and the three images below, has helped me to collect my thoughts, and to try to make sense of the past four days. It's as if Time has stood still. Firefly made the effort to make her Paltalk Profile interesting, and consequently, her pictures made it possible for me to put up this webpage immediately. Thank you Firefly. : )

It is now 3 months later, and Firely and I have made this page into a beautiful little home. It has grown, week by week with many additions since I started this introduction. However something has just happened that has made Firefly and me so very sad. Yesterday, I heard, from the same lady who told me of firefly's passing, that a dear friend of hers and of firefly, had also passed away. Hoa tím lục bình died on September 8. The news came as a great shock to me, and I felt a deep sadness for Hoa as I had felt for Firefly. Two ladies that had been so welcoming to me in their music room back in January, had gone to Heaven within 3 months of each other.

It was decided that Hoa Tim should be remembered in the same way as Firefly has been, and that she should share our little home. I haven't been able to find any photographs of Hoa Tim, therefore all the photos here are still just of Firefly. Hoa Tim, welcome to our home where I know you will be very happy. Once we were two here, now we are three. :o) :o) :o)

Happy Birthday Zhang Lu

Zhang Lu was born in Suzhou, China on January 21,1932. She moved to Shanghai aged 4, following the death of her father. From her early teens, she began singing songs by her idol, Zhou Xuan, entertaining audiences in clubs and on the radio to support her family. Her sister Xiao Lu was also a fine singer. In the late 1940s, she signed with EMI, and released a string of hits. Zhang Lu moved to Hong Kong in 1952. In 1959, she married musician Ollie Delfino from Singapore, and had 2 sons, Orlando and Alex. She retired in 1975, and moved to Canada in 1980, but returned to Hong Kong in 1985 to be there for her son Alex's musical career. In November 2008, she made her last trip to Shanghai with Alex. She passed away in on January 26, 2009, New Year's Day. Her ashes were buried in Shanghai. "My life can be simply divided into 3 phases, the first one is singers stage, the 2nd phase is the mother, and now it is to be myself. "

Hương Lan – Im Lặng

Khánh Hà - Lời Tình Buồn

khánh ly một cõi đi về

MỘT CHÚT QUÀ CHO QUÊ HƯƠNG Khánh Ly

Hương Lan – Lan Và Điệp 3