[Sing Pao]

With her birthday on the 3rd of October, Joyce Koi held a belated birthday celebration in a restaurant yesterday where she had 70 tables of fans, guests, friends and colleagues there to celebrate with her. Good friend Steven Ma was there to present her with a cuddly duck toy, flowers and a surprise present as well as giving her a birthday hug and making Joyce very happy.

Talking of a birthday wish, Joyce who was nursing a bit of a cold hopes for good health, she says: "SARS made everyone very afraid and I hope that everyone keeps healthy, work goes smoothly and Hong Kong is well. I also hope that the land reclamation of Victoria Harbour stops because I am a believer of Feng Shui and if there is too much reclamation, this will signify that Hong Kong does not have enough to eat and Victoria Harbour is very beautiful. If there was no Victoria, there would be no Hong Kong. Also I hope for world peace, plenty of working opportunities and less unemployed."

With plenty of presents every year, what did she receive this year? Joyce says she hasn't looked yet and doesn't know what she has received, but she was very happy that everyone turned up. As for 70 tables being rather impressive, she says that there were lots of fans, guests, friends and colleagues to invite and mentions that opera fans are very faithful.

Talking of her mentor Lam Ka Sing, Joyce praises him and his wife for being stronger and calmer than she imagined. At first she was very worried about them, but they have managed to bear the shock now. She says: "If this path that their son took is a happy one, then so be it. If it was myself, I would not be as strong as them so I have learned a lot from them." Joyce reveals that her teacher and his wife are still in Hong Kong dealing with some affairs.

At the party, some good news was revealed in that Fung Hang Records have produced a set of Cantonese Opera Karaoke discs to try and popularise opera and bring Joyce and Ng Mei Ying closer to the fans. In just a few years, the sales of these products have reached ten platinum (500,000 copies) and have been very successful.

http://www.singpao.com/20031021/gossip/464570.html