Have
you heard about the concert on Power Station beach, where the HK Electric
band raised HK$100,000? Browsing through their quarterly house
magazine, CONTACT, Feb 2005, one can learn that this event was called
"Lamma Fun Day", drawing a big audience for this band of "Sunday players".
In this nice
story & interview with the budding musicians - all HK Electric staffers -
there's no mention of any other activities going on at the Fun Day, except
the bush fire and HEC's wind power booth. The glossy magazine's
stories feature carefully selected activities & issues deemed important for
HK Electric's large work force. It reads as an impressive
morale-booster (awards & prizes won, recent successes) and gives fascinating
insight into their corporate "one big happy family" culture.
Recommended reading for Lammaites...
As the main sponsor/donor of the Fun Day,
HK Electric really deserves a great deal of the credit for the huge success
of the event. For the few other activities, events & concerts going on
at the Fun Day, please click on TALKBACK! for an extensive photo gallery.
Public Affairs
Dept., HK Electric - CONTACT magazine, issue #65, Feb 2005.
All photos & captions supplied by HK Electric:
All's Well that Ends
Well at Fund-raising Concert
The band makes its
first public performance.
There were anxious moments at the fund-raising
concert marking the Fifth Lamma Fun Day on 21 November at Tai Wan To
Beach. The concert, featuring the Hongkong Electric Band, was to raise
funds for children in Nepal. Fortunately, all went well in the end and
the event raised HK$100,000.
The band, formed by Projects Division colleagues,
was making its first public performance. There were the usual “first
night” jitters which were further heightened by a hill fire which
started just before they were ready to perform. The fire caused the
stage to be moved from the Cable Route to the beach.
Visitors are attracted by our booth
on wind power and renewable energy
“Fortunately, the fire was promptly put out,” said
one of the band members, pianist Ms. Florence Kan. “The good thing that
came out of it was that the event turned out to be a beach concert,” she
said.
“It was our first public performance and we were
somewhat anxious,” said guitarist Mr. Johnson Hon. “Furthermore, we had
to perform outdoors which heightened our anxiety,” he said. “The scenery
was beautiful with the sun setting on the beach. Also, with colleagues
supporting us made us perform all the better.”
One of the lead singers, Mr. M.K. Wong, was not
feeling too well before the performance and only attended a few
rehearsals. However, on the day he managed to live up to the task and
the concert went off smoothly. “It was very exciting to see friends
singing and dancing to our music,” he said.
People
move to Lamma for a wide range of diverse reasons. Some are economic
migrants, like myself, some are looking for low rents, the better living
environment and/or a great place to raise a family. I'm always
interested in these reasons and managed to get a friend to interview a
recent new arrival on our fair isle:
Marie-Margault's
story - as written by her good friend (edited by LG):
Il était une fois...
(Once upon a Time)
During
the month of May 2004, a French Lady named Marie-Margault lived in a
very old house in the middle of nowhere in the South-West of France. She
was working by herself at home, creating exciting adventure vacations in
many countries.
But,
because of the general European economic situation, her business was not
doing too well. The most reasonable solution would have been to get a
regular job, but Marie-Margault hates to be reasonable! She thought that
having a regular job would be so difficult after more than four years of
independent life!!!
One
day, while she was in an especially bad mood, she started thinking that
her forties will be arriving soon, that she has no kids, that her job is
not doing so well, that…, that…, that... STOPPPPPPPP!!!!!
She had to find a way to get out of this self-destructive way
of thinking. So she simply switched her mind to positive mode and
started to tell herself: OK! Almost 40 (in 18 months) - it seems to be a
woman’s age of maturity... Hmmmm… no kids and no husband anymore - free
like a butterfly! 15 years of professional experience - JUST LEAVE this
country behind and find a new place to start a new life!!!! Great!
It became suddenly all so very clear in her mind…
But
where????? A couple of weeks later, she sent an email to a friend who
was supposed to be in Paris at that time. He replied, saying that he’s
now sharing his time half-half between Paris and Shanghai, loving the
experience…
Marie-Margault knew this friend very well and she thought that if HE
could live in China & enjoy it, SHE could enjoy it, too!
So
she sent out 800 résumés, many of them to addresses found on the
Internet. Then, one day, she received a reply from a French lady who’d
be in Paris 2 weeks later and could meet her. Marie-Margault met the
lady and 3 days later she decided to move to Hong Kong!
After
finding this job via the Internet, she found a flat share online as well
in Sheung Wan. She arrived with her suitcase just last October! It’s
impossible to describe what she was feeling during the first weeks,
somewhere in-between excitement, happiness and anxiety… She tried to be
positive about everything, especially this place she chose for her new
life without ever visiting before moving here!!!
It
wasn’t easy at first… living in Sheung Wan in an 80-sqft room - sharing
daily life with two other people, after two years alone in an old, huge
house in the middle of nowhere… But it’s OK, she thought… When you
decide to restart from scratch, you’ll REALLY have to restart from
scratch!
But
the started to become really stressed out by the sheer noise of Hong
Kong. Working in Central, living in Sheung Wan, no quiet space
anywhere…
She
tried to create a kind of herbal garden on her window sill with menthol,
basil and cherry tomatoes, but after a couple of weeks neither herself
nor her plants were feeling too well… So, one Sunday, she decided to
visit Lamma Island, like so many other “Sunday tourists”…
When
she arrived on Lamma, walking on the ferry pier, feeling the wind,
coming to the “village”, watching people chatting, having a drink… No
cars, but kids, dogs… she thought immediately, "This is the place for
me!"
She
returned to Hong Kong and started talking to her friends about her
plans. There were many different opinions… People who know her well
said, “Yes, do it, the way you describe it, it seems the place for you
and we’ll visit you on weekends for barbecue parties! Others were saying
“You’re crazy, taking the ferry everyday, and it’s not a good place to
live when you’re single, and bla bla bla…
But
Marie-Margault is really “chee seen”, so she moved to Lamma as soon as
she could. As she had just arrived in Hong Kong just a couple of weeks
earlier with her suitcase, she didn’t have many things to move, but she
also didn’t have any furniture yet!
She
could see on the walls in Lamma’s streets that there are many moving
sales, but she was feeling too shy in the beginning. So she asked the
agency to find her a bed and a fridge. It’s enough to start a new life,
no?
After
several weeks, some friends gave her more furniture and, like so many
people, she asked Nick the Bookman to help her moving them into her new
place.
And
now, what’s happening to her? I think she has caught the “Lamma
Fever”, because she prefers to stay on the Island during the
weekends, meeting her new friends there rather than going out to Hong
Kong!
She
loves her life on our island and thinks that leaving France for Hong
Kong and living on Lamma are the best choices she’s made in her life in
a long time...
Why?
Arghhhhhhh, she doesn’t want to tell us, flashing a big smile and her
special kind of secretive look! Now, she’s sure that life’s fabled
“Great Happiness” - which we’re all seeking - is made up of many small
happinesses…
But,
hush… Maybe that’s the real secret of true happiness. ;-)
If you're
already living on Lamma, why did YOU move here? Want to tell us about
your personal reasons & experiences in a little story? I'll help, if
necessary, and it can be anonymous. Email me!
"Dear Nick,....Karen Mok" on the latest
Lamma-zine flyer above!
Following up on the blog
article about Karen Mok filming a tourism commercial for the
Mainland in the Deli Lamma on Feb 21: Nick the Bookman (and autograph
hunter extraordinaire) waited for the end of the filming and got himself an
autograph on one of my promotional Lamma-zine flyers. He's helping me
with distributing them all over Lamma. Pick one up!
Nick's been collecting auto-graphs for a long time and
has gotten Karen Mok's autograph before, 5 years ago after her performance
at the Tamar Site in Central. No comment
on why he used this paperback - "The Death Pit" - for the autograph.
Sounds like quite a potboiler, maybe referring to a concert's mosh pit?
Nick even got
Faye Wong's autograph in his collection...
Venturing out
to town today to cash a check from a regular Lamma-zine advertiser and shop
for the few regular items not available on the island. While coming
back, walking through the IFC II shopping mall, I check my ferry timetable
and...
"Aieeyah! Less than one minute left to the
next ferry! Too late to run and catch it! Oh well, no hurry to
get back home, I've got enough time. But what to do till the next
ferry in 45 minutes? Hey, there's a piano player tickling the ivories,
close to City!Super. I'll get closer and listen in for a little
while...
Damn, this guy is good! Actually, VERY GOOD!
This
young Chinese guy's really quite a virtuoso, amazing to watch his hands fly
over the keyboard of the Yamaha grand piano. Dressed immaculately in a
black tux, he looks hardly 30 years old. The next Lang Lang?
A piano player of this caliber is quite an unusual
treat. I'm more used to listening to Lamma's several fine bands live,
but none of them is using a grand piano...
How to clap with a Large Cappuccino in one hand?
Splash! Spill! Shit!
The
performance sounds fault-less, as far as I can tell. The melodies are
floating & wafting through the noise of the lunchtime mall, transforming it
into a warm & friendly place. Such an unusually wide range of really
difficult & challenging pieces, from Beethoven to "modern classics".
Oh, this piece sounds very experimental & percussive, probably early 20th
century? No notes, how can anybody memorise all these thousands of
notes? A true miracle for somebody who is tone-deaf but enjoys all
kinds of music...
Hey, it's really a pure joy to listen, why not take
a picture of this special moment right now, my camera with me wherever I go?
That'll be my blog article for today, something totally unexpected,
spontaneous & unplanned!"
I listen for
20 minutes, till the end of the performance. Then I stroll leisurely
to the Lamma ferry, in a good mood, spiritually & emotionally refreshed
after this unexpected & free pleasure. So many of the best things in
life are free, like this piano concert in a shopping mall, and
under-appreciated by most of the passers-by in a hurry.
Arriving at
the ferry pier, they're just in the middle of hosing down the departure
area. The floor's flooded & very slippery, all the seats are wet.
It's cold & muggy & very windy outside. Welcome back to the real
world...
Once upon a
time, out of the blue sky (more like gray these days), noisy iron birds have
been swooping down on Lamma Island's scenic hills, disgorging hundreds (some
blessed eyewitnesses claim thousands!) of tree seedlings. Small armies
of workers have been pickaxing holes into the hills & slopes between Hung
Shing Yeh beach & Lo Tik Wan for days on end, planting all these most
welcome trees firmly into Lammas hallowed soil.
The natives - many of them reputed to be real
tree huggers & nature worshippers - cheered and were overjoyed about this
surprising & unexpected green gift from the supreme powers high above.
But after the
initial giddy happiness, they were wondering which of the various rival,
often feuding groups of supreme beings that ruled their lives should they be
thankful to, offering their sacrifices of gratitude? Nobody seemed to
know who where the powers behind this almost random act of kindness.
Their wisemen/women, their
village leaderess Lammadonna and even the high'n'mighty royals ruling the
mysterious "Power Station" castle didn't know the true origin of these
magical trees.
So this mystery deepens, the villagers huddle
together, trying in vain to guess where this Manna from heaven is coming
from. Why, oh why have they been found worthy of such a precious gift
bestowed upon them? Some of the more cynical, world-weary locals
wonder secretly if there'll
be a high price to pay later, in the shape of a flood of concrete washing
over their island or more wasteful construction projects sprouting all over
the hills like trees... (to be continued)
Lamma is full
of unique & fascinating characters, some of them eliciting strong reactions,
good or bad. Pinky Chan is definitely one of them. A
Lamma landlady, Lamma-zine contributor & friend of mine, I've been
chronicling her entertaining exploits for a while, dubbing her Godmother
of
Pinkyism, Lamma's only "Truly Evil Cult"!
I've just
heard from Canada, where Pinky has been spending the winter,
Pinkyism has been spreading fast like a benign
virus up there and seems to be thriving, attracting some smart & tough, but
also amazingly devout & adoring disciples! Take a bow, Maureen,
"Pinky's 2nd-Biggest Fan", as I've dubbed her. You'll quickly see
why when I'm quoting (with her permission, of course) from her recent three
emails to me, merging them into Maureen's sincere homage to her good friend.
You're
welcome to ignore all the "silly flatteries" about the Lamma-zine (which
might have - only slightly, a tiny little bit - contributed to make me
publish her homage...):
Maureen -
Pinky's 2nd-Biggest Fan (picture on the right):
Pinky's Fan Club
Please
add me to your subscription list. My friend, Pinky Chan, has
introduced me to your magazine. I LOVE IT !!
Lamma-zine is both outrageous and delectable !! Features, articles and interviews are captivating,
informative and humorous. For those of us on the other side of this
planet who may have never had the privilege of experiencing Lamma Island
and its people, your magazine is nothing less than alluring.
Pinky is a gem, to say the least and I treasure her while she is here
in Canada. It will be sad when she returns to Lamma Island.
If I were able to
truly describe my episodes with Pinky, with added photos of proof, you
would have to start a whole new magazine!
Our friendship was immediate upon meeting during her previous visit to
Canada. When she returned to us last October, we celebrated !! Pinky and
I were introduced by the man who has stolen her heart (sorry, guys).
This probably answers your question as to why she would brave the cold
winter of Canada when Lamma is so warm. She is a trooper - totally
adaptable adding her unique, unsubtle flair !!
Her sweetheart is my good buddy from Calgary, Alberta who has invited
me repeatedly to come see Lamma for myself. I live on the other side of
the Canadian Rocky Mountains... I have mentioned before that Pinky and
her beau have plans to return to Lamma in just a few weeks...
I work
as a Rehab Therapist, teach the basics of Gung Fu to young children, am
a student of Gung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan and Karate, and raise 3 children on
my own...
Indeed, Lamma knows its treasures !! Myself and many other Canadians are grateful to all of
you for sharing the immeasurable sparkle of Pinky Chan. She radiates the
warmest light even in the frigid snow of Canada !!
Her generosity, huge heart, open mind and colourful, candid, straight from the gut opinions
have kept us all entertained and enlightened as
she describes the
beautiful Lamma Island plus adventures
in many other places where she has travelled. Now she can add her
experiences from Canada too. The entire world benefits from Pinky's
charming way of bringing us all closer together by pointing out our
similarities while equally celebrating what makes us unique.
I am NOT her biggest fan in Canada, that would be my friend (her lover) in Calgary. I DO
enjoy her uninhibited passion, vulgar honesty and sense of style.
Canadians are so laid back in general. So when someone like Pinky
presents herself here, she illuminates and intrigues many of us.
I don't always agree with what she says or does, but her conviction is
admirable. She is so willing to learn another's point of view - our
diplomats should take notes from her on how this is done.
Now, it
could be that her motivation comes from her love interests. Her man is
quite relaxed in comparison and I think it may have calmed her down over
the last few months. She definitely adds spice to his life !! You could
say it is a balanced partnership.
You
will have to decide for yourself when you
see the new Pinky Chan!!
I
swear that I did NOT make up or change any of these sentences! There's
simply no need to make up any stories for this blog, real life is astounding
& surprising enough already, providing a daily stream of suitable &
sometimes outrageous input for this Lamma-zine Blog. Submit YOUR stuff
in any language, even hand-written notes, pictures, posters & press
clippings for scanning are most welcome!
Wed, Feb 23: 'Bilan
de la Première Semaine à Lamma'
Remember my
recent article about the Invasion of
French Bloggers? Let's hear from one of them, about her first
week living on Lamma! She's still a bit shy and doesn't want to show
her face or her blog to everybody, so let me make up a pseudonym for now.
For your convenience, I've translated this article from her blog in French:
Mademoiselle
Alexandra - new arrival on Lamma - Feb 4, 2005:
Review of my first week
on Lamma
It'll
be one week tomorrow since I've started living on Lamma. Before moving,
I admit that I was a little bit worried about the ferry schedules you
have to respect. In fact, I realized during all of this week that it is
simply a routine to follow and that living on Lamma has many
advantages... (about the inconveniences I'll speak out some day, but I
prefer trying to remain very positive).
To
get up every day at the same hour, never staying in bed. I'll have to
tell you that I've never been late so far and that I am in good shape
because I rise so much earlier than before (today 7am, before 8:15am).
Walking to the ferry is a true pleasure, because every day I see and
hear the small birds singing, I walk past banana trees and when I
cross the village, there are all these merchants already opening.
People chat, laugh, buy, sell... Real village life. Duration of the
walk: 8 minutes.
Every
morning I pass the same retirees who take their breakfasts at the same
restaurant. They are sitting in the same place every day, eating dim
sum outside on the terrace and talking gossip almost constantly.
In
the ferry, every day the same heads, and what makes me especially
laugh is that people ALWAYS sit themselves down in the same seat, like
it belonged to them. So what, I also do the same thing now. People
read the newspaper, drink their coffee, listen to their music...
During the 25-min trip to Central, I am absorbed in my reading. I read
more these days, which is very very good. I do not feel the time
passing and often find that the ferry ride goes by too quickly.
In
the evening, after my job, I want only one thing: TO RETURN. I don't
have a desire to spend time in the bars, but I also think that this is
because of the weather we've had all week. Cold, humid, sky all gray.
I take the ferry at 7:30pm and when I return I make my small trips to
the grocers, I wander around a little in the village, I relax at the
edge of water or I will lose myself in the small side alleys.
What
I really like very much is that I'm completely UNCONNECTED. And it is
exactly this "well-being" which I sought before moving here. Not to
think of work anymore, not to live in the noise anymore and not to see
the concrete everywhere, and to leave one's mobile at home when I go
out for a walk.
Review of this week: In spite of the really bad weather, I think that I made
the right choice. Anyway, I never never never regret anything.
Hapifiou,
another French blogger on Lamma, added a comment to this review, asking if
Mademoiselle Alexandra is also participating in the "wet hair" ritual on the
morning ferry. Hapifiou has been living on Lamma for two months
already. She shares the feelings of relaxation & well-being above and
agrees with most of the comments. I've asked her to write about her
own reasons for moving to Lamma... see later this week!
I've been
lucky to catch up with bbChris on Nick's corner in her faux fur and several
new hair colours.
Her Jason
Statham look-alike – "Snatch", "The Transporter", "The One" (Jet Li),
"Cellular" – bodyguard, eh, hubby looks really cool & tough! He's a
boxing student of former Muay Thai heavyweight world champ Alain. I
captured the pair sparring outside Alain's home in Sha Po Village, but from
a remote & cowardly distance not to disturb or upset them!
Most Lamma bands have been hibernating this winter, so I've been
giving Madame Moderator of the Music forum of
Lamma.com.hk a little homework. I asked her for a little short
update on what's new & happening with Lamma bands, in her own personal,
inimitable style.
At first, she
complained "Hahahaha HOMEWORK!?!?!? You're mad!!",
but then she quickly relented & sent the following great update within just
a few hours! Enjoy!
bbChris -
RocK GoDDess & Miss Lamma.com.hk:
News from Lamma Bands
Well,
it's the Year of the Cock, musically what is that bringing us Lamma
folks?
Word is out that the
Shockin' Rockin' Donkeys are braying for a new lead guitarist -
may they continue to make asses of themselves.
Half of the band
NUDE are seeing the side-effects of nudism and are either pregnant
or celebrating new mini-Nudes!
The Yung Shue
Wankers seem to be wanking in public every other week - can one wank
too much?
Over a Dogma
was seen partying over the CNY holidays in houses all over Lamma.
Thinking Out Loud have scored a tall new kick-ass drummer -
catch them later on this year.
Flowers
of Babylon - playing a special gig this Thursday - Lamma
meets Samui.
Will there be another
drum jam
on Lamma in the future? Beats me!
Thanking
bbChris for this fun contribution, I've promised to help promoting her next
UNDERGROUND gig with her "other" band, "Flowers of Babylon", on
Thu, Feb 24, in Venue, 15-19 Luard Rd, Wanchai, from 8:30pm. Free
entry! Click here for more info.
From the SCM Post Magazine
yesterday (Sun, Feb 20):
Spicy Island
Proprietor Amar Singh's 15 minutes of fame in the most widely read local
English newspaper. A great little story about this cheerful & widely
popular member of the local Indian community and long-time Lamma-zine
advertiser. Click on the ad banner
for more about his fine restaurant & bar!
Amar has also
graced the cover of the
Lamma-zine & the Spicy Island has been featured frequently here in
photos, food
reviews & stories, even
having its own forum.
Here's a photo outside the Spicy Island, Amar being grabbed by another
celebrity, the founder & godmother of
Pinkyism. More about her in Thursday's
blog...
Right
now, 5pm on Monday, Feb 21, a big crew is filming a Putonghua-language
commercial for the HK Tourism Board in the garden of the Deli Lamma.
At least 20 people, including security guards preventing people like me from
taking pictures. Unsuccessfully, of course...
Major HK movie
star & Cantopop singer Karen Mok Man-wai and another lesser star are filming
a scene right now. They're sitting down on the middle bench and are getting
served coffee & cake by Prafull. Then they're excitedly enthusing
about the view in Putonghua, obviously trying to attract more Mainland &
Taiwan visitors to HK and Lamma.
Karen Mok is a really big star in these three places.
She's been filling the HK Coliseum concert hall many times and is also
filling HK TV with her shampoo commercials.
This is a
major publicity success for the Deli Lamma!
Congratulations! Even Nick the Bookman got very excited when I told
him that Karen Mok is filming as he had gotten her autograph a few years
ago. She's been in so many movies, locally & internationally, here's a
good link to a Time
Magazine interview & her
biography/filmography.
My
snoop picture above: Karen Mok on the right in the Deli Lamma Garden.
She's definitely got
movie star charisma & her smile in person is really pretty dazzling...
Testing some
of Grandma Hilda's great & specific
"Lamma Diet" advice, Lamma-Por and I went shopping today (see
right).
I'm still
amazed about much value you can get for precious little money on YSW Main
Street. This is our haul today from the green grocer hawker besides
the Deli Lamma:
9 different types of vegetables & fruits, plus 30 eggs. How much did
we pay? Want to take a guess?
This
handsome photo comes from an article in the quarterly house magazine of
HK Electric, CONTACT #65, Feb 2005. I've got friendly
permission from their Public Affairs Dept. to republish it here.
There's no internet version of the magazine and most of you are probably not
yet on their subscriber list.
The article
below provides an interesting glimpse and a bit of insight into this huge,
mysterious, gleaming & smoking city, the Lamma Power Station, just over a
little hill from Yung Shue Wan.
Ms Esme Lau,
Public Affairs Manager (Media & Community), HK Electric:
Fire-Drill Keeps Lamma
Staff on Their Toes
It was all quiet at the western end of the Lamma Power
Station on 12 November. The only sound heard on this warm and fine
day was the hum of a machine nearby.
However, the silence
was broken at 11 a.m. by an explosion which occurred during a light oil
transfer operation at the Fuel Oil Pumping Centre. The explosion
started a huge fire and staff immediately reported the incident to the
Central Control Room.
Fire personnel from
the station rushed to the scene to investigate. They reported the
nature of the explosion and the damage
to the Control Room. Though there was no casualty, they requested
assistance from the Government Fire Services Department.
In the meantime,
station personnel sealed off the area, isolated fuel tanks and called
for an emergency supply of foam liquid and foam equipment.
Minutes later,
fire-fighters from the Lamma Fire Station and Central Fireboat Station
joined in the rescue work putting out the fire in 45 minutes.
This live drama was staged during the
annual fire-drill conducted in mid-November to enhance the alertness and
preparedness of HEC staff in dealing with emergencies at the Lamma Power
Station.
HEC Fire Officer, Mr.
Chan Kin-fat, was satisfied with the swift response of the staff and
their ability to react to changing circumstances.
“This year’s scenario
emphasizes the importance of logistical arrangements, including the
emergency supply of foam liquid to combat the fire and the isolation of
fuel tanks,” Mr. Chan said.
“We are pleased the officers involved
followed emergency operation guidelines properly. I believe the
exercise has provided a good opportunity for them to test their
alertness and cooperation with outside parties,” he added.
It was the first time
the drill was shown to the public. RTHK filmed the drill for an
eight-part series on the history and development of the power industry
in Hong Kong.
Apart from filming
the drill, the RTHK documentary also carried interviews with senior HEC
officers on various aspects of the Company’s operation.
Today afternoon, from 4pm in the Island Bar will
be your chance to become a member of the ultimate in-clique on Lamma, the
highly prestigious & very successful "Lamma Dragons" dragonboat teams!
On the left,
the frequently victorious female team, staffed by many of the
famous
"Lovely Lamma Ladies".
Lamma is so lucky to have ladies from many
countries living here. Our intrepid ENG Cameraman (Electronic News
Gathering) Mr DickStock's passion seems to be to capture them all on
his camera's BIG memory card.
These photos
come from Josie's (bottom middle) farewell party on Feb 15 in the Deli Lamma,
where she was working & also making the very best full breakfasts.
Emigrating to
New Zealand with her hubby, the "Italian Stallion", and dog Rollo, the "Nutless
Wonder", she's eager to start a family down under.
I've dubbed
Josie the "Sunshine
Girl" a long time ago, for
the obvious reasons of her beaming smile & her always sunny & cheerful
disposition, making Deli Lamma customers feel welcome
& relaxed. She'll be sorely missed by so many friends.
The other
Lovely Lamma Ladies above are (from left to right): Renée, Rose, Santi,
another Josie and Lani, who'll also leave the Deli and Lamma
in a few weeks time.
Let's hope that this exodus won't catch on, as
Lamma would be a much less happy place without all our Lovely Ladies!
Pretty new
street signs have been going up all over Lamma recently. Here's the
one at the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier.
They inspired
our very creative Lammaite Samson the Mighty/Naughty Tai Peng-uin to
suggest the following:
"I propose that we rage against the new signs, and get
another brand new set of signs of our own with local references, like Nick's
Corner, Hookworm, Granny Chan's etc. And the new signs must be
coloured pink as it is Lammadonna's favourite colour - and the symbol of
our one true evil cult!"
The work on
Lamma's "Magical Spinney Thing" (local nickname, inspired by a windmill in
Teletubbies) has finally started. Site formation and civil works have just
started. The actual wind turbine will be erected in Aug, testing &
commissioning is planned for end-Nov this year. It should start
generating power for about 250 households by early next year. This
amounts to about 3% of Lamma's total power needs, 1 Gigawatt hours of
electricity or around 0.01% of HK Electric's total power output.
The figures
mean that we'd need more than 10,000 of these turbines to replace the Lamma
Power Station and its 5 million tons of coal burnt every year. I don't
think Lamma's big enough... While one wind turbine will be generally
welcome - or at least tolerated - by most residents on Lamma, a wind farm
would face stiff opposition. China's already installed a wind farm in
Rudong 300 times the capacity of Lamma's little Magical Spinney Thing,
planning even much bigger wind farms. This local single wind turbine
pilot/test project is a small, but important step in the right direction as
the energy source is free, non-polluting & totally renewable. A lot of
the local tourists will also just love Lamma's new attraction, I think.
Here's an informative
press release by HK Electric:
A new addition
to the initial plans is a "education corner for
renewable energy" at the base of the turbine, plus a green,
tourist-friendly rest area. The displays will
"include info of renewable energy in general as well as specific
information of the Lamma wind turbine."
Proving the
great importance of this high-profile "green" project to HK Electric's
management, I've counted six different references in six different stories
in the last issue of HK Electric's cheerful house magazine, CONTACT.
Let's
keep a watchful eye on the progress of the "Magical Spinney Thing" and other
local activities by HK Electric, like the other projects under construction
right now:
the huge, multi-billion-$ Lamma Extension, the 3rd Cable Route via Pak Kok
Tsui, the gas pipeline from Lamma to Shenzhen, etc.
One more great Lunar New Year photo with a local
flavour:
Photo of the
Main Street Policebox submitted by Pit, the morning after Yung
Shue Wan turned into a war zone on Lunar New Year' Eve, at the stroke of
midnight.
Pit wrote:"Hi Gungan, Did you get this shot the morning after
the local sons welcomed in the "Year of the Rouge'ster"?
I wish I had gotten another one of the iconic "$25,000 fine" poster to complete my
very own "get out of jail free" card... ;-)"
Well, I might be
able to help out with my extensive Lamma poster collection of the last three
years...
A picture of samples of the offending items, still wrapped &
unexploded. I secured these for research purposes only, of course.
I would never even dream of actually lighting these most dangerous & highly
illegal products. But I'll happily snap pictures if other people, good
friends and neighbours, decide to indulge in these activities:
These are the
two best Lunar New Year illustrations I've seen this year. From
Lamma's inimitable Harry the Cartoonist, of course. The first one with
the "monkey on the back" was his private NY card (I think).
The jittery,
always afraid rooster (like HK
people these days - SARS, fire ants, bird flu,...) emerging from the Year of
the Monkey was from a story about his topic in the SCM Post recently.
For more about roosters and other bird brains on Lamma, click on TALKBACK!
I'm really looking forward to Harry's next illustration created exclusively
for the Lamma-zine!
One lunar new
year ago, exactly on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Monkey 2004,
the over 150-year old Tin Hau temple in Sok Kwu Wan burned down completely.
A few weeks earlier I shot a lot of photos of this
really beautiful Tin Hau temple for this photo gallery: Sok
Kwu Wan dinner.
After the burn-out a collection started right away to fund the
reconstruction, including many benefactors, even the Lo So Shing primary
school chipped in. Today, one year later, the building word is in full
progress. No more wooden roof and interiors this time... (last two pics
by Guy Miller)
Today, on
"Sweets & Flowers Promotion Day", eh, Valentine's Day, let's avoid the usual
soppy, syrupy, sentimental declarations of eternal love & devotion and talk
about the new pavilion in Yung Shue Wan harbour, finally open to the public.
This new tourist attraction has obviously great romantic potential and I've
been wondering what to call it ever since it opened. Lammaites love to
nickname well-know spots around the island, so I've started a search for the
best nickname.
Uncle Guy the Bugman swamped us with so many
suggestions, incl. some pretty good ones. I had to narrow down his TWO
exhaustive lists covering almost any possible angle of naming
this spanking-new pavilion in the typical, cynical Lamma style.
Here's the
slightly edited & sorted list. To pick your own favourite nickname &
vote for it, just click on TALKBACK above!
Air Quality
Control Centre
Nearest
pavilion to the Power Station... and they've sponsored the construction
costs
Alan's
Watchtower
He's heard
they're building a new path/drainage ditch somewhere near there
Bay Watch
Location
for the next Lamma TV series
Bookworm’s
Kitchen
Because
of the time it takes to get your food there
Britain’s
Last Bastion
Last one
left in Hong Kong?
Chinese
Garden
Not a
blade of grass or flower in sight - nicely concreted
Drum Jam
Practice Room
A place
to play their drums on a rainy day
Exclamation
Point
A
wordplay on "reclamation", but also a place to let off steam
Ferry
Watcher's Hangout
Quite a
few of those on Lamma, so it might get crowded
Fire Ant
Lookout
First one
to spot a fire ant on Lamma wins an ant farm!
GAIA Alley
It's
pretty close to GAIA Valley
GAIA Teepee
II
Typhoon-proof alternative & upgrade to the original
Granola
Eater’s Forum
He isn't
talking anywhere else online anymore. Also, a place to enjoy eating
granola al fresco
Green Cottage II
We
already have a Green Cottage
Gung's Last
Stand
His next
stop if he doesn't get more sponsorship
Gung's
Limit
That's
the furthest he's ever walked from the Bakery
Harry's
Bookshop
There's a
shelf with room for one book
HEC Gallery
A good
viewing spot of the 3 smokestacks
Hippy
Recruitment Centre
So few
are left these days, we need new blood to maintain our ancient "Hippy
Island" cliché
HKKF No
Smoking Area
Since the
ferries are enforcing the smoking ban on the ferries these days
I.I.
Sanctuary
Close to rich
pickings in Po Wah Yuen, easy to reach for Mainland boats
Illegal
Structure
Who
gave permission for it to be built anyway? Nobody asked the residents
Island Bar
WC
Another one
besides the brand-new $1.5-million Public Toilet
Karaoke
Lounge
Greeting (or
shooing away) the tourists on the arriving ferries
Lamma
Check-in Terminal
For
the airport - Central & TST have one already!
Lamma
Community Centre
We have a
great community, but it has no centre, no focus point
Lamma
Landmark
A
shopping plaza for high-class Lamma gift items
Lamma Palais
A palatial & exclusive place directly by
the sea
Lamma
Passport Control
For
the Independent Republic of Lamma
Lamma
Tourist Office
The
first landmark that incoming tourists notice. Get maps!
Lammadonna’s Perch
The
driving force and promoter of the pavilion
Lamma-Por's
Refuge
Where she
goes to get away from Gung's incessant talking
Lamma's
only 7/11
It's
open 24 hours a day
Lamma-zine
Lookout
Always on the lookout for a good story
Landlord
Lock-out
A place to
sleep after you've been locked out for not paying the rent
Lover's
Leap
It's not too
far down & Lammaites only do it for show, not for real
Miller's
Pulpit
Nobody pays attention to my sermons anyway
MST II
Pavilion
Getting ready for the next Magical Spinney Thing
Nick’s
Loading Bay
If
you it get there - he'll get it to the ferry
Nick’s
Unloading Bay
If you get
it there from the ferry - he deliver it to your new home
Pinky's
Nest
She's
going to fill it with beds & start charging
Smoker’s
Retreat
Soon
you'll be allowed nowhere else to light up!
Statue
Square
A good spot
for a statue for that unknown Lamma Hero
Sunset Pavilion
Most romantic and
least-cynical nickname in this list
Sunset
Strip
For
nude sunbathing & named after the street in LA
Tourist
TRAP Pavilion
Turn
Right At Pavilion (for tourists asking how to get to Sok Kwu Wan)
The Amah's
Room
Close
enough to Po Wah Yuen, but not too close to interfere with family life
The Clock
Tower
All
we need is a clock - just like the clocks in the shops that are all 10
mins fast
The Fish &
Chip Shop
If it
opens first, before the Main Street’s "Chip Chop Shop"
The Library
Annex
Close
to the Library, more room for books for our well-educated population
The Mouldy
Cottage
We
already have a Green Cottage
The NUDE
Room
If
the band NUDE plays there - I'll go & listen
The
Observatory
A
great low-light area for stargazing
The
Playstation
For
the kids to play their computer games undisturbed by parents
The
Recording Studio
A
good place for Lamma bands to do their recording if Mt Stenhouse is
booked
The Refugee
Hostel
Conveniently located (2 mins from ferry), rent-free, a roof over your
head
The Rock
Venue
A
good place to listen to Lamma bands if they are playing on Mt Stenhouse
The
WatchWhatTower
Nice
view, but of what?
Tsunami
Lookout
But
it's on the wrong side of the island
Weeping
Gallery
Unbottle your emotions, for free! Weep, cry, shout, complain,
nobody will hear you!
Worldwide House
Filipina
Shopping Plaza & a place to chat
Y2K Terrace
It's
their seaview terrace
Yung Shu Wankers Auditorium
If
they play there – who’ll go there & listen?
plus a
few sexy nicknames:
10ft High Club
Lamma
alternative to the Seven Mile High Club
G.A.G. Pavilion
Grab-A-Grot - a good place to take that partner you've just met but
don't want your friends to meet
Mooning Mansion
So
you can moon at the ferry & the tourists as it passes
Passion Point
Self-explanatory
Safe Sex Area
Lamma's alternative to al fresco sex on a rainy day
Lamma-Por and
I were chatting with a neighbour in front of a grocery shop in Main Street,
after Kung Hei Fat Choi-ing him.
Knowing that
we're still looking for a rooftop flat, he spontaneously & unexpectedly
invited us for a viewing of a new flat he just bought atop his own.
After viewing
his 700sqft rooftop flat (ideal but unaffordable for us at $6.5K),
his wife invited us for traditional Lunar New Year lunch,
featuring a delicacy from their home county north of Guangzhou: "Vegetable
Tea" (see above). Their NY goodies trays were even nicer than ours!
This landlord,
a "Village House" builder himself, owns 4 flats himself and has 4 children
who were also visiting with their partners & spouses. Ideal family
home planning it would seem, if the children wouldn't have left Lamma
already for the lure of the big, "more exciting" city. This is quite
similar to myself growing up in the countryside, but moving to the biggest
city in my country as soon as I hit sweet 15. But now I've returned to
a place quite similar to where I grew up in...
It's quite a
rare occasion to witness an event that makes TV headlines and the cover
pages of the local Chinese & English papers, but it happened to us today!
See SCMP
story!
A family
visit with Lamma-Por's children and their families to the famous Wishing
Tree in Tai Po Lam Chuen resulted in my big photo gallery of this major
Lunar New Year event. While dodging falling oranges with tails of
lucky paper and hand-written wishes attached, we witnessed the media frenzy
after a 25-foot branch of the Wishing Tree had just dropped off due to the
sheer weight of the oranges, slightly injuring an old man & a boy.
Have a look at my
Wishing Tree photo gallery.
The most
unusual Lunar New Year's card this year arrived from Lammadonna's office. It contained the
following flyer, addressed to all residents, printed all in pink (her
trademark colour).
Lammadonna has
recently become a part of this website (see menu on the left side of
this page, Adding menu), together with 3 other Lamma Celebrities:
Chow Yun-fat,
Pinky and
Nick the Bookman.
As Ms. Yu is
still the Most Powerful Woman on Lamma I didn't even dream of
resisting to publish the flyer verbatim, no editing or censorship at all.
But this is the editorial policy of the Lamma-zine & Blog anyway, a
freedom-of-speech platform for anybody who's got something interesting to
say. The words below speak for themselves:
Ms. Yu Lai Fan - District
Councilor, Village Representative, School Director, etc.
Dear Residents
To commence a new start for the Year of the
Rooster and to welcome the coming back of spring, the Golden Rooster is
sending us a good message for the coming year. All the members of
our office and I would like to express our heartfelt wishes to wish you
Happy New Year, all your wishes will come true and things turn out to be
better than you wish. All industries are getting more and more
prosperous and people can live a life of ease and peace.
My office has been set up at the ground floor of
No.72 Yung Shue Wan Main Street in Lamma Island in January 2004.
We have continually collected the request, complaints and opinion from
residents and more than hundred of cases have been dealt. During
the time, Mr. Tam Yiu Chung, Legislative Councilor, and I have expressed
our opinion and suggestions to relevant government departments at our
greatest effort to look for some remedial methods. By now, most of
the cases have been completed while some are still in process.
In the past year, we
have collected precious opinion from our fellow residents. Many
residents have expressed the need for strengthening of police patrol,
the improvement of transportation services during nighttime, the urgency
for establishment of apron for helicopter and parking space for bicycle,
combination of medical facilities, recreational facilities, drainage
problem, improvement of emergency passage of road, put into practice of
reclamation work planning, and the like. I will do my best to deal
with all of the above-mentioned issues. Moreover, we have
successfully notched for the establishment of medical combination
facilities with the co-operation from Councilor Tam Yiu Chung, Chairman
of the Lamma Island Rural Committee, Village Representatives and
Regional participants. Last year we have successfully notched for
the establishment of a temporary helicopter apron that start operation
in March 2004. Meanwhile, tele-clinic is available in the Island
where vaccination and weight measuring services for infants are provided
as we did before. Nevertheless, the full and thorough provision of
combination of facilities to improve the environment of our community is
in fact an issue of urgency. In the meantime, all the members of
our office and I will do our best and continue to serve our fellow
residents in the coming year.
Last but not least, I hope all the residents can
hold our hands and have a unique heart to create a happy and peaceful
living environment together.
A few of my
favourite products from this Lunar New Year, a little automatic collage
(done in just two clicks!) in the free Picasa photo library program.
Click on it to see the updated and subtitled photo gallery.
A real
East-Meets-West Fai Chun, the superhero family from Pixar's newest &
best-so-far animation The Incredibles. The 4 Chinese characters
mean something like "5 generations under one roof", a very good wish in a
culture so devoted to their children, elders & ancestors, plus all the
family clan allegiances & "mandatory" filial piety.
Another
East-Meets-West moment were these NY ads by local cheap-clothes-chain
Giordano, shot in an Aberdeen shop window: three traditional Chinese gods
(longevity, "plenty-to-wear & -eat") as cool dudes (including snowboard,
e-guitar, skateboard & iPod), wishing customers all the best in the NY.
Shot in Yung Shue Wan shortly after midnight of the first day of
the Lunar New Year, posted here 1 hour later. Some of my best fireworks
shots ever (4 seconds exposure, tripod).
Rushing around
on the eve of the Lunar New Year of the Rooster, taking the ferry over to
Aberdeen for critical NY goods not available on Lamma, it's hard work
fighting the crowds! Ticking off our checklist of essentials, we
finally succeed and are all set now!
I can't help but express my happiness for you and hope
that you really appreciate where you live! I don't know exactly where
your Island/community is located, as when my wife and I were able to visit
HK/Kowloon about 12 years ago we didn't get to visit other areas...
obviously our loss..."
Nick's reply (hand-written on the email print-out,
as usual, then typed up and sent by email by Yours Truly):
"Thanx for your kind e-mail. Lamma's the closest
island to H.K. - Lantau is the biggest and Cheung Chau the most crowded.
I've been living on Lamma since 1986 - it's a fine Bohemian place so to
speak...
...Hope you come back and visit the Lamma.com.hk
website again. There's plenty of good shit on it. Take care and
Happy Year of the Cock. (Let's hope it's not a cock-up w/Dubya back in
the saddle?)"
The Lamma-zine Blog webhosting has just run out of disk
space! After quite a bit of haggling (Peng-dee-lah!) I managed to get
a massive discount on a 1 Gigabyte (1GB=1,024MB) disk space upgrade, for
just $150/month on a HK-based server. As most of the readers of
this Blog, the Lamma-zine and the forums are residing in HK, a local server
is fastest for them, even though webhosting in the US would be even less
expensive.
By the way,
the same amount of web server disk space from Netvigator, the locally
dominant & arrogant ISP, would cost an astronomical $20,000/month, according
to their online rate card,
no kidding.
What's all
this web server disk space used for, you might wonder? Pictures,
mostly! All these photo
galleries, that's what! But now that we've got enough space,
do you want to add your own Lamma-related photos? Email me!
Yes, talking
about the birds & bees is very popular on our so-called "Fertility
Island".
Be it late at
night in the way too many bars or in the frequent raucous rooftop parties
or in the numerous charcoal BBQs outside homes or on the beach, talking
about birds
& bees remains popular. Some people even take pictures, extreme
close-up pictures!
Yes, it looks
like the Intrepid Lamma Bug Man has found new targets for his
super-duper ultra-zoom lens on his brand-new Nikon D70! Click on any
picture to see his new outstanding, high-resolution photo galleries made
with the new, fantastic & completely free software Picasa, part of the fast-rising Google
empire.
Picasa lets
you automatically
organise, find, edit & share ALL images on your PC. I've started using
it a few weeks ago and recommended it highly to Guy and other photographers.
It has simplified & speeded up my own photo gallery production tremendously
and lets me manage my library of far beyond 10,000 Lamma-related photos much
easier & quicker.
These are the 4 most popular types of Lunar New Year's puddings,
only available before the Lunar New Year. Usually, they're pre-ordered
& pre-paid, but they're also available from a number of people around the
village who steam them at home. These are very common presents when
visiting relatives & friends over the 3 official NY holidays (Feb 9-11) or
during the entire 15-day New Year celebration period.
Click on any
of the puddings above for a list of ingredients. See picture above on
how they look like when prepared. I love them all and fry them up
every year!
Disclaimer: Maxim is not an advertiser of this Blog, but they're
actually the leading manufacturer of these puddings.
Why do I still
love living on Lamma so much, even after three years?
Let me
describe Saturday morning shopping with Lamma-Por on this weekend before the
Chinese Lunar New Year, with lots of photos, of course:
Having
breakfast in a Dai Pai Dong, decorated with NY banners, where they know us
regulars well and treat us in a very friendly manner.
Selecting a
free hand-drawn Fai Chuen banner (Mine - on the right - says
"May money and treasure be plentiful") in front of City Hall, while
chatting with Lammadonna,
the "most powerful woman on Lamma". Her locally dominant right-wing
party DAB is sponsoring the event and the calligraphy artist.
Getting the daily papers, a friend stops by and whispers in
a secretive manner in Cantonese "Wanna buy fireworks?". Yes,
of course! In Hong Kong, all fireworks are illegal and the punishments
quite draconic. But on Lamma and other Outlying Islands people love
"to play fireworks" at NY. So some enterprising locals smuggle them
in from Mainland China, where they're legal. But pets often get disturbed by the noise (see LAWC
poster on the left).
Strolling out to the reclamation boat pier where NY plants
are being sold direct, only today.
Choosing a
lucky tangerine tree & 2 big flower pots from Ah-Ying, getting them
home-delivered right away. The delivery guy is hiding behind the
cart when I'm taking a photo!
Our
neighbour's spontaneously helping to carry a pot upstairs to our flat in a
typical, new "Village House", a low-rent, 3-floor "Spanish-style villa".
Taking
photos during all of this and putting them into a photo gallery which will
grow considerably over the next several days: CNY '05 photo gallery!
Fri, Feb 4:
Restaurants & Bars - Lunar New Year Opening Hours
I've been
collecting the opening hours of bars & restaurants in Yung Shue Wan.
The ones who replied are all listed. Most Chinese restaurants will
close only on Wed, Feb 9, the first day of the NY, reopening from the
2nd day. Website links included!
Plus our own very extensive
Lamma-zine Galleries by a
number of local amateurs & professionals, including my own
(click on
"Galleries" at the top of this
page). Most photos in these Lamma-zine Galleries are
free for non-commercial use. High-resolution versions for printing:
available on request.
If
YOU know any more good online Lamma photo galleries, I'll add them to the
Links page right away. Let me
know!
Discuss Lamma photo galleries by
clicking on TALKBACK!
A
very familiar-looking painting, just completed and shot in the Back Street
studio of a famous local artist yesterday. He's currently bald like
the symbolic man in this picture, after auctioning off his hair recently in
a Close Shave for Tsunami Relief.
But the painting is NOT a self-portrait,
the artist exclaimed vehemently! Hmmm...
I like the
subtle Lamma touch in the background. It'll go into the Chapel Bar
on HK Island soon.
I also picked
up a little present (see right, a HEAVY, 1-foot concrete ammonite),
as a thank-you for a little free artist website I made from Alastair's
art gallery, featured recently in the Lamma-zine.
Check out his best artwork: paintings, sculptures & "other stuff" at: www.Lamma.com.hk/edge.
Are you
"Broke on Lamma?" Now you can "Eat Well For $20 a Day!!"
(Grandma) Hilda is giving us a preview of
her upcoming cook book for Lammaites:
"No, not a Michelin Guide to restaurant backdoor
handouts, but a way to eat well and stay healthy on Lamma without
begging, stealing, getting married, or rushing out to find a new job…
This diet was well researched by
Roy and I as a young couple in Africa in the 50s. We survived!!!
A healthy lifestyle is important
for everybody, but on Lamma your health can be affected by your wallet.
There is a solution.
You can have a healthy diet on
about $20 a day, without resorting to Pot Noodles, boiled rice with tomato
ketchup, “picking up” vegetables in the dead of night, hunting stray cats
and dogs, or turning to religion.
If
you are really hard-up, it’s a sustainable diet,
leaving those much needed resources for the important things in life (Gin &
tonic, party frocks, and shoes), and allowing you
to maintain your normal lifestyle even in the hardest of times. Your friends
will never guess, and even compliment you on how well you look!!!"
Lamma-zine Blog
started on Sep 1, 2004, and will be updated frequently with
anything related to Lamma Island or its residents, be it news,
stories, events or photos.
Contact Lamma-Gung with anything relevant to Lamma that you'd
like to see published on this home page!
Posts
from all former months are stored in the Blog Archives, see
below.
All
photos, text & graphics by Lamma-Gung, if not otherwise credited.
At the end of each month, the best of
this Lamma-zine Blog will be collected and published in the Lamma-zine, together
with many other additional original contributions.
Free subscriptions!
Have
you heard about the concert on Power Station beach, where the HK Electric
band raised HK$100,000? Browsing through their quarterly house
magazine, CONTACT, Feb 2005, one can learn that this event was called
"Lamma Fun Day", drawing a big audience for this band of "Sunday players".
She had to find a way to get out of this self-destructive way
of thinking. So she simply switched her mind to positive mode and
started to tell herself: OK! Almost 40 (in 18 months) - it seems to be a
woman’s age of maturity... Hmmmm… no kids and no husband anymore - free
like a butterfly! 15 years of professional experience - JUST LEAVE this
country behind and find a new place to start a new life!!!! Great!
It became suddenly all so very clear in her mind…
Following up on the 
Nick's been collecting auto-graphs for a long time and
has gotten Karen Mok's autograph before, 5 years ago after her performance
at the Tamar Site in Central. No 
This
young Chinese guy's really quite a virtuoso, amazing to watch his hands fly
over the keyboard of the Yamaha grand piano. Dressed immaculately in a
black tux, he looks hardly 30 years old. The next Lang Lang?
The
performance sounds fault-less, as far as I can tell. The melodies are
floating & wafting through the noise of the lunchtime mall, transforming it
into a warm & friendly place. Such an unusually wide range of really
difficult & challenging pieces, from Beethoven to "modern classics".
Oh, this piece sounds very experimental & percussive, probably early 20th
century? No notes, how can anybody memorise all these thousands of
notes? A true miracle for somebody who is tone-deaf but enjoys all
kinds of music...
Pinky's Fan Club
Her generosity, huge heart, open mind and colourful, candid, straight from the gut opinions
have kept us all entertained and enlightened as
she describes the
beautiful Lamma Island plus adventures
in many other places where she has travelled. Now she can add her
experiences from Canada too. The entire world benefits from Pinky's
charming way of bringing us all closer together by pointing out our
similarities while equally celebrating what makes us unique.
Wed,
Feb 23
Most Lamma bands have been hibernating this winter, so I've been
giving Madame Moderator of the 
damage
to the Control Room. Though there was no casualty, they requested
assistance from the Government Fire Services Department.
This live drama was staged during the
annual fire-drill conducted in mid-November to enhance the alertness and
preparedness of HEC staff in dealing with emergencies at the Lamma Power
Station.
“We are pleased the officers involved
followed emergency operation guidelines properly. I believe the
exercise has provided a good opportunity for them to test their
alertness and cooperation with outside parties,” he added.
A few weeks earlier I shot a lot of photos of this
really beautiful Tin Hau temple for this photo gallery:
After the burn-out a collection started right away to fund the
reconstruction, including many benefactors, even the Lo So Shing primary
school chipped in. Today, one year later, the building word is in full
progress. No more wooden roof and interiors this time... (last two pics
by Guy Miller)
Uncle Guy the Bugman swamped us with so many
suggestions, incl. some pretty good ones. I had to narrow down his TWO
exhaustive lists covering almost any possible angle of 
Another
East-Meets-West moment were these NY ads by local cheap-clothes-chain
Giordano, shot in an Aberdeen shop window: three traditional Chinese gods
(longevity, "plenty-to-wear & -eat") as cool dudes (including snowboard,
e-guitar, skateboard & iPod), wishing customers all the best in the NY.
Nick's reply (hand-written on the email print-out,
as usual, then typed up and sent by email by Yours Truly):
These are the 4 most popular types of Lunar New Year's puddings,
only available before the Lunar New Year. Usually, they're pre-ordered
& pre-paid, but they're also available from a number of people around the
village who steam them at home. These are very common presents when
visiting relatives & friends over the 3 official NY holidays (Feb 9-11) or
during the entire 15-day New Year celebration period.
