A LEEDS LIFE
BECOMING MR CHUI
Meng Chiu Leung
Born 1946
Meng Chiu Leung is known in Leeds as “Mr Chiu”. He tells us about his childhood in hong Kong, why he came to Leeds in the 1960s and reveals how he became “Mr Chiu”.
Officially, I was born in 1946 - but I was actually born in 1944 in the war, under Japanese occupation, in Hong Kong. In the war, they fled from Hong Kong, my parents. The war finished in October ‘45, [and] we had until April ’46 to register. So I'm “officially” two years younger.
I was, at first, in Kowloon. Temple Street, it's a very rough area, with all the prostitution, drugs and everything. And all the back alleys, they always try to get money from people, protection money they call it. I'm the eldest. I got four other siblings. I'm smart, because I'm two years older than myself. Not because I'm clever. Because I'm two years older than my peer group. And I never study.
Because I'm two years older than myself! I don't need to.
My father, he always told me, he's lucky to be alive. He survived all the bombing by the Japanese. He met my mother in Vietnam. After the war, my father became an immigration officer for the Chinese government. My granddad, he always spoiled me. We lived near the sea. We always have some fresh fish. He was a coolie. He’d always say, “Coolie make good money.” Most coolies, they tend to be gambling away. Smoking opium drugs; prostitution; women. But my granddad - never. And he saved all his money. So when my father, in 1949, he became a harbour pilot as an apprentice. In those days, an apprentice got no money. So it's my granddad who fed us. My granddad smoked. So I never smoked. You know why? Because I saw him suffer. When he smoked he got throat cancer. And he can't swallow things. He was in pain all the time.
I studied in Queen's College in Hong Kong - the best secondary school was King's College and Queen's College. I went into the textile industry. I came to the UK in 1967, Leicester.
A place of knitting technology. A technical college. I went for HND the High National Diploma. I was a knitter. Hand loom. You put the shuttle, push the foot down, press the shuttle back again. And when the thread is finished, you change another shuttle. My father said, HND is not a degree. So you've got to go up for a degree course. There was no degree in Leicester, so I come to Leeds to do a postgraduate diploma. I was 23 when I came to Leeds.
Mr Chiu’s sister came to the UK and he had to take on the responsibitily of being “guardian” to his younger sister. He found this difficult.
I become mentally stressed. I never finished the degree, became a dropout. But I become a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. In a restaurant Kee Hong. In the city centre, next to the British Home Store.
[One day, in comes] a gentleman, he's a director of West Riding Fabric. It's a big chain, they supply cloth to Jaeger - top-class cloth. When he saw me, [he said,] “You don't look like a waiter.”
“Yeah.” I said, “I'm not a full-time waiter.” I told him about textiles.
He said, “Come to my factory. Since you drop out, you've got to start at the bottom.”
The factory is in Guiseley. They call it the Nunroyd Mills. Now the mill is gone - it's a big shopping complex. I started with warping. It was one of the most comprehensive mills in the whole of the UK. In those days, either you've got a factory, or you've got a spinning mill. In Nunroyd mills, we do our own spinning, our own knitting and weaving. And then we do our own dyeing and finishing. All in one place. I was there from 1973 to 77. The reason I finished is textile was going downhill.
Mr Chiu went into marketing and studied for a Diploma. And he found love in Leeds.
I married a Malaysian girl, Malaysian Chinese. We met in Leeds, in St. James. She was a student nurse at that time. In those days, the student nurses [lived] in student nursing homes - men not allowed. Once a month, they have a disco. Because they're not for the dancing - just to pick up girls! That's how I first met her. So it's fate. We never met in Hong Kong, we met here! We've been married for 53 years.
"His name means ‘selfless service’ and he lived up to it. As a father he was loving and encouraged me to choose my path in life, always there for me in the ups and downs of life."
Mr Chiu and his wife had three children. However, one of their babies died at four months old from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The couple found their baby unresponsive at home.
My wife is a nurse. So she revived the baby. And it turned pink. We went to LGI straight away. The next day, Saturday morning, the baby suddenly stopped breathing. So we will put him in a machine, helping him breathe. After 40 hours, the doctor told us, your child is brain dead. He's not breathing on his own. It's the machine helping him breathe. We had to pull the plug. It was very hard. Very sad. But I never let “the bastards” get me down. I want to survive. You don't expect life [to be] smooth. You always [have] problems. You've got to solve the problem to get on with life. That's how I've done it.
Mr Chiu started his own textiles business and ran a workshop on Aire Street in Leeds City Centre. Though successful, the decline of the manufactrung industry caused him to move on.
I changed my career every 10 years. I went into education. Teaching English people Chinese and Chinese people English. Adult education. I taught the immigration officers, police officers. When you teach other people a language, first you tell them a swear word. So you know you've been insulted. My Chinese peer group call me a banana. Banana is yellow on the outside, but it's white inside. I'm half-and-half. I still count 1,2,3,4 in my head in Cantonese.
A few years ago, Mr Chiu found fame on a TV cookery show. It all started when some members of the TV production team contacted him about his interest in rhubarb.
“Do you know anything about rhubarb?,” they said.
I say, “Yes, because I grow rhubarb in my garden.” The reason I grow rhubarb is my wife got breast cancer. When we recover, we need rhubarb. Rhubarb is an antioxidant. It's good for health. So we grow rhubarb. I don't make pie. I use rhubarb my own way. I cook my own recipe. I cook with Chinese sweet potato. The rhubarb dissolves very quickly. Very sweet potato takes a long time to cook. So you cook the sweet potato until it's almost ready. You add the rhubarb in there. And then I add in the spices. I add in cinnamon. Orange peel as a powder. And then mix it.
So they say, “Look, can we come to your house and film you how to make rhubarb?”
I say, “No, because I cook for the Chinese seniors. Tuesday and Friday in North Street.
So you come to film me there cook.”
And then on Sunday, the phone rang again. “Do you know who's coming to cook with you?”
“Who? I say.
“Jamie Oliver.”
“What Jamie Oliver!? I can't do it. I can't do it!” I say. I'm not a chef!
They say, “Don't worry about it.”
It was fun. It was all in one take. And that's how I start the name Mr. Chiu. Chiu is my first name. And at first, Jamie, he called me Chiu. But after a while, he called me Mr. Chiu. [And now] I'm stuck with the name Mr. Chiu!
Though he retired some years ago, Mr Chiu keeps very busy with all sorts of hobbies, such as kayaking and dancing. He is remarkably fit man in his 80s.
Dancing - it’s for health. I joined Decodance seven years ago. I'm the oldest, longest-serving member. It’s the best, dancing! I danced in Slung Low in Holbeck. I sang Wannabee by the Spice Girls and danced. Alex and Megan, they were the backing singers. Loved it!
Mr Chiu dances with Decodance every week - and is often to found popping up on social media, dressed in outlandish costumes and strutting his stuff alongside the other members of the dance collective. Check out their moves at https://www.instagram.com/decodance_/
