|
Mar 31:
Lovely Lily Flirted With Lamma
|
Jay Scott Kanes (text & photos) |
|
After 17 years, the truth has emerged. One of Hong
Kong’s best loved heroines twice flirted with Lamma Island until
sudden twists of events diverted her affections.
Seeking refuge from the urban jungle, cartoonist
Larry Feign, the creator of the popular cartoon strip The World of
Lily Wong, and his wife Cathy initially favored Lamma as their place
to live.
If Larry had chosen Lamma, then many of the
adventures of Lily Wong, his cartoon heroine, would have been
conceived here. Surely, Lily, too, might have become a Lamma
regular. After all, “Lily was my alter-ego,” Larry said.
“Cathy and I used to go to Lamma all the time,”
Larry said. “We knew the place, and it appealed to us. We liked the
layout of the island, all the little coves and the beaches.
“In late 1989, we looked at moving to Mo Tat Wan,
which was very attractive. But we decided to leave Hong Kong
instead.
“After returning a year later, we stayed briefly in
Western District. We’d decided to move to an outlying island. The
only one we knew and liked was Lamma. So I took a trip to Yung Shue
Wan to look around. All the accommodation that I saw turned out to
be unattractive -- small, old and rundown with mildew on the walls.
It must have been a bad day for real estate.
“I returned to Hong Kong Island feeling glum. Then a
friend from Lantau Island invited me there for an evening. Right
away, I noticed that Mui Wo had better shopping than Yung Shue Wan
did.
“The next day a newspaper ad offered a 2,100-square-foot house with
a garden for the same rent we’d paid in the city a year earlier. So
I grabbed it, and we moved to Mui Wo.”
For years, The World of Lily Wong appeared daily in
the South China Morning Post, and Lily starred in most of Larry’s 14
books. Twice, she received Amnesty International’s Human Rights
Press Award. But as media self-censors assailed her in 1995, Larry
lost his newspaper job.
“I got dumped by one newspaper and then
blacklisted,” Larry said. So he pursued other opportunities. In
2001, he created Stvdio Media, an animation company based in an
office at his home on Lantau.
Back in 1990, Larry quickly adjusted to Mui Wo.
“Within days, the shopkeepers knew me as a new gweilo who spoke some
Chinese,” he said. “If I came up short on coins, the shopkeepers
said, ‘Oh, pay next time.’ When I first heard that, I nearly fainted
in surprise. Then I realized, ‘Hey, this is a good place’, and we
stayed.
“Now I haven’t been to Lamma for years,” he
confessed. “But it was just providence that we ended up on Lantau
instead.”
The Feign family, including children Ivan and Annika
and mongrel dogs Toto and Otto, plans to move again soon. They’ve
built a “dream home” in Mui Wo. For Larry, the new place means a
larger office and studio. Cathy, Toto and Otto gain a bigger garden.
The entire family loves Mui Wo. “This really isn’t
Hong Kong,” Larry said. “We have a different world here on Lantau.
Living in Mui Wo keeps us sane.
“Although Hong Kong isn’t the most conducive place
for what I do professionally, Lantau must be the best place in the
world for us to live. It’s unique -- without cars, just getting
around on bicycles, and with wildlife. If you want a dose of the
city, it’s not far away. We couldn’t find anything like this in the
United Kingdom. We looked in Australia and couldn’t find it there
either. There’s nowhere better.”
Hmm! Larry sounds exactly like a devoted Lamma
Islander, except that he’s fixated on the wrong outlying community.
Presumably, Lily Wong feels the same way. |
Lily Wong: almost a famous Lamma Islander?
Larry presses a pencil to paper at Stvdio Media’s headquarters on
Lantau.
Family dogs Toto and Otto share Larry’s enthusiasm for life on
Lamma’s rival island.
Larry makes a point: pencils remain the basic tools of animation.
Cartoon life emerges from paper, pencils and the creative process.
Images from famous cartoons decorate Larry’s Lantau home. |
Mar 30:
Respect for Animals -
a Life-Lesson too Rarely Learned
|
Jay Scott Kanes
(text & photos) |
|
Primary-school teacher Phil Stride, from Hong Kong’s
Lamma Island, easily pinpoints one of the most important lessons he
ever learned, and it seldom appears in textbooks.
Three decades ago while growing up in Bristol,
England, Phil realized that if he cared and showed compassion for
animals, then dogs, cats and perhaps other pets would respond
multiple-fold, giving him enormous joys and deep satisfactions that
many people miss.
“Unfortunately, I witnessed many examples of animal
cruelty and neglect going back to my early childhood,” Phil said.
“My decision to spend a lot of time, effort and money to help on
behalf of animals came from what I saw.
In 1999, he published GASP, A Guide to a Greener,
Cleaner Hong Kong, a book about environmental issues.
“In Hong Kong, many parents can’t teach their
children how to treat animals properly because they never learned
themselves,” Phil said. “The school curriculum has nothing about
animal welfare either.
“So children lack empathy. If they want puppies,
they usually get them. Six months later, the puppies are big and get
discarded. That’s why 20,000 dogs a year are destroyed in Hong Kong.
Too many people regard pets as products, like toys, things without
feelings or pain. The result is a lot of suffering.
“When I see my neighbors keep a golden retriever in
a cage that I wouldn’t put a budgie in, my heart sinks,” Phil said.
“Once I did some one-on-one teaching at an apartment where a husky
lived. If the dog was lucky, the people took him outside once a day.
When he peed on the carpet, they beat him with a stick.”
In the AAF’s Professor Paws programme, dog-owners
take their pets to visit primary schools to show the merits of
companion animals and to promote compassion for living creatures.
Many of the students then greet or touch canines for the first time.
A former artist and businessman, Phil, age 38,
arrived in Hong Kong 14 years ago. He conducted financial-industry
training courses, started an environmental company and then became a
schoolteacher.
After helping to establish Lamma Animal Protection
(LAP), a charity that seeks homes for needy dogs and cats, Phil
provided a foster home to “many cats”. In 2001, he sheltered Dot,
Not and Pause, three kittens rescued from a rubbish bin. When
adopted by another Lamma author, Jay Scott Kanes, that trio inspired
a pro-animal novel, Dog-Gone Cat Case.
When Phil adopted his dogs, he named one Sam after
the luggage brand Samsonite to reflect how they emerged from a
suitcase when found by LAP’s founder Sheila McClelland. “The poor
things were a mess, just scrawny scraps of love,” said Sheila. “Now
they’re wonderful dogs.”
Phil’s book will provide the content for a future
Website:
www.crazyadventures.com.hk, geared toward teachers and students.
Then what he learned back in Bristol can continue to circle the
globe. |
When rescued, baby Patch looks a fright.
Young Sam needs cleaning and healthy meals too.
Soon Sam and Patch, the Crazy Adventures heroes, begin to
prosper.
Happy together, Patch, Phil and Sam pose for a team picture at
Lamma’s Power Station Beach. |
Mar 29:
The Crazy Adventures of Patch and Sam
|
Jay Scott Kanes: |
|
When a conscientious school teacher like Phil Stride
of Lamma Island hankers for a new book to promote learning, a
foolproof strategy soon forms. He needs to buckle down and write it
himself.
Phil enlisted co-author Jackie Leung and cartoonist
Peter John Bolt to create The Crazy Adventures of Patch and Sam
(2007, Sustainable Solutions, Hong Kong, 60 pages). This bilingual
volume (English and Chinese) entertains children while educating
them about animal-welfare issues and the need to care for pets,
notably dogs.
“We wrote the book for the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF),”
said Phil, who also likes to promote waste-recycling at urban
housing estates. “It’s designed for students to increase their
knowledge of responsible pet ownership.”
In the AAF’s Professor Paws programme, dog-owners
take their pets to visit primary schools to show the merits of
companion animals and to promote compassion for living creatures.
“But I discovered that much of the AAF’s material had really somber
overtones, all about the abuse of animals,” Phil said. “It’d leave
you depressed for days. Educating children needs an approach that’s
more fun.”
So The Crazy Adventures of Patch and Sam has
cartoons and a story that begins with three puppies placed in a
suitcase, toted onto a ferry and later tossed into a clump of trees.
As the text says, “This is a true story. It is a story of happiness,
a story of sadness, a story of hope, a story of fear and a story of
love.”
In reality, Patch and Sam are Phil’s own dogs whose
early lives resembled those of the cartoon canines. Mike, the book’s
leading human, looks a lot like Phil too.
The real Patch and Sam are regulars in the canine
crowd that gathers to play at Lamma’s Power Station Beach, where a
“scruffy dog” in the story invites Sam to frolic: “I’ll try and bite
your ears and you try and bite my ears. What do you say?”
Surprisingly, the story has several bursts of
poetry:
“So if you find yourself on Lamma
Look out for Patch and Sam
Because when you see how cute they are
You might just make a plan
To adopt a homeless puppy
Instead of from a shop
And the plight of homeless mongrels
Help to put a stop.”
Admittedly, Phil’s no rival to Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, but that’s forgivable. Maybe so is the careless
proofreading that weakens the book as a tool to teach English.
More significantly, The Crazy Adventures of Patch
and Sam is an activity book with 24 pages devoted to quiz-like
questions and an educational card game. A carefully perforated
section tears apart into decks of Dog-Fact and Dog-Need Cards. The
fact cards teach things like: “Dogs should never be kept in cages,”
“A nice bone will clean your dog’s teeth,” and “Walking a dog keeps
us fit and healthy.” The need cards highlight necessities like a
friendly vet, clean water, dog food, loving hugs and regular walks.
The book delivers valid advice even to children
without pets: “If an unfamiliar dog looks scary and is walking
towards you, do not run. Stand very still and wait until the dog
goes away.”
Echoes of Phil’s work-a-day role in classrooms never
vanish, but that’s a minor flaw. Ultimately, his book represents a
worthy contribution to a noble cause.
The Crazy Adventures of Patch and Sam may not
go on sale at many bookstores. Much of the print run goes to the AAF
for distribution at its events. But copies soon should be available
at a new Website:
www.crazyadventures.com.hk.
For more information on animal welfare, visit
www.animalsasia.org.
Closing Note: The Crazy Adventures of Patch
and Sam made a favorable impression at the Animals Asia Foundation.
Now the AAF has hired Phil to play a leading role in its educational
programmes. He starts the new job soon. |
 |
Mar 28:
Land of the Free-Roaming VIntP
|
Jay
Scott Kanes - STBWFLA
(Soon-To-Become-World-Famous Lamma Author), the most prolific
content contributor to the Lamma-zine. Thank you!
We're featuring a Lamma-zine
Quadrilogy of Jay
Scott Kanes stories over the next 4 days, today, Wed,
Mar 28 - Sat, Mar 31.
Also, have another look
at Jay's recent Lamma-zine stories - this year so far - and his own
Cairns
Magazine website, of course!
Wizened Main Street Pooch Made an
Impact (Mar 18)
Tough Time Turning Away From
Tropical Turf? (Mar 13)
Benefit
Boosts 'Stunningly Beautiful' Bear Bottom and Buddies
(Feb 22)
BANGS AND
FANGS: Fireworks Fan Unfazed (Feb 20)
On Duty, on
Alert, on Top in the Guarding Game (Feb 16) |
|
Jay Scott Kanes: Not long ago, the
Lamma.com.hk forums grappled with the question of whether
any celebrities lived on Lamma Island. By international standards,
the answer appeared to be a resounding "no".
But count our blessings. Lamma Island has something
vastly better, an abundance of Very Interesting People (VIntP).
Everywhere you look, from the pier to the football pitch, from the
bakery to the Back Street, from distant Pak Kok and lofty Tai Peng
to tasty Sok Ku Wan, there they are -- VIntP to the right, to the
left, up front, and behind you too.
Although some VIntP display visible eccentricities,
you can't always identify them on sight. In most respects, they look
a lot like everyone else. The secret lies in starting conversations.
Then many (perhaps most) Lamma people reveal VIntP characteristics.
For example, they've led interesting lives. They tell fascinating
true-stories. They work passionately for important causes.
By some lucky process, Lamma attracts people keen on
activities other than chasing dollars. Equipped with
wider-than-average interests, they become VIntP.
Lamma-Gung seems very appreciative that I've written
stories for the Lamma-zine. The inspiration comes from meeting so
many VIntP.
Although precise statistics elude us, Lamma easily
leads Hong Kong (maybe the world) in the number of VIntP-per-capita.
Pausing, I peer out my office window. "There goes
one now." |
|
Jay Scott Kanes - Interview with ex-Lammaite
Dr Julie (all photos by Dr Julie): |
|
Car-Free Island Propels Bell to
the Oil Industry
Every life holds rich ironies. For Dr Julie Dee
Bell-Lanier, who recently moved to a London suburb from tropical
Lamma Island, the ultimate irony surrounds her plan to work in oil
exploration.
“Indeed, it’s ironic,” said Julie when interviewed
by email from her new home in Eltham, a 20-minute commute from
Central London. “But the fact that oil doesn’t play a major role in
transport on Lamma is one of the unique qualities of life there.”
Attracted by Lamma’s serenity, Julie, originally
from North Carolina, lived here during seven years devoted to
securing a PhD from the University of Hong Kong’s Department of
Earth Science. Her 1,210-page thesis, titled Properties and
Genesis of Regolith, A Working Model For Hong Kong Hillsides,
made her an authority on regolith, “all the unconsolidated material
overlying rock”.
 |
|
Julie enjoys academic “gown glory”. |
After graduating in December, Julie moved to Britain
in February. Now she aims to join an oil company. Her academic work
leads to “a wholistic under-standing of the locations of oil and the
ability to produce better and more detailed models”.
As one person who understands exactly what Hong
Kong’s “made of”, Julie says: “The regolith on Lamma is very unique
in that it’s a very old, weathered rock sub-surface with a very
young material overlying. In general, Hong Kong has very deep
weathering, up to 100 metres, above the solid bedrock.”
Although keen for new challenges, Julie regrets
leaving the tropics. “Lamma doesn’t require an immense wardrobe,”
she said. “You can wear shorts most of the year.”
Nostalgically, she recalls the summer Saturday when
she first arrived on Lamma. Earlier, she lived in the Admiralty
district.
“I understood that the sounds of piling and
construction work represented the city’s heartbeat,” she said. “But
once I got off the ferry on Lamma, I knew it was a place where I
could stay. Most Lamma Islanders experience the same feelings of
‘welcome’. I liked the blue skies, low-rise buildings and ability to
move normally without doing the Hong Kong-walk by weaving in and out
of the crowd.”
On Lamma, Julie gained a new family, including three
dogs, Laura, Sasha and Sammi, and two cats, Moshe and Yesha, all
rejoining her in England. “The girls (her dogs) have a garden and
part of the house, going from inside to outside via a magnetic
door,” she said. “Still, I’m sure they’ll miss the daily runs on
Power Station Beach.
What parting words does Julie offer to Hong Kong?
“I’d like to stress the importance of taking responsibility and care
for pets,” she said. “Be mindful that they depend on you. Lamma’s
one of the few places in Hong Kong where people and pets can enjoy
the fun and sun of a lovely tropical island with beaches and hills.”
Spoken like a true Lamma Islander. |
Dr Julie Dee Bell-Lanier
As seen from the ferry pier, Lamma “welcomes” its people.
Julie leaves these tropical hills for a London suburb.
Near the Power Station Beach: a runway for dogs.
Adopted as a puppy, Laura the dog remains Julie’s ‘oldest girl’.
Sasha the dog enjoys final moments of relaxation on Lamma.
Julie digs for learning. |
Mar 27:
The Lamma-zine Needs YOUR Help!
To help the Lamma-zine and this website survive and prosper in the future, we need your help!
To maintain our 365-days-a-year schedule of stories we need constant input
from our readers and anybody willing to help to maintain this as a community
website and make it better.
We need all kinds of content, stories, ideas, interview subjects, videos,
sounds, animations, anything that can be used on a website, really. More
correspondents reporting from their own Lamma neighbourhoods would also be
most welcome.
Photos for stories and the Lamma Photo of the Day spot on the home
page are always most welcome. So are the Lamma Wildlife and Lamma Artwork
spots on the home page, open to anybody with a vaguely Lamma- or
Lammaite-related photo, wildlife shot or artwork.
We also need more sponsors and advertisers to pay the running costs of this
website. There's a very special deal for home page
advertising available now, basically it's just $333 per month, all
inclusive. Valid only till Easter, Apr 9.
Check out our special offer advertising rate card in
English and
Chinese.
Mar 26:
Going Woolly for Woolley!
|
Nick
the ReviewMan - "Official Court Music Reviewer of
the Lamma-zine"
(All
photos by Dan Peterson, click above to enlarge photo-montage) |
|
Well, another interesting musical night at The
Island Bar. Shep Woolley, an old-school English troubadour with a
nice line in wry humour, is playing our lil' ole watering 'ole.
Should be a good larf... It's 20:30, Wednesday, March 14.
I've arrived to find a medium-sized crowd. All the usual suspects
have been rounded up. Shep mentions "...the mike's cocked up." Cue
successful roadie activity from John Hutton. Big thanks to Hot,
Ginger and Dynamite. Saved the night with the kind use of their
P.A. (Well, that's what it says here.)
Shep kicks off with "All Shook Up", segues sort of
smoothly into a couple of Beatles tunes, including "Hide Your Love
Away" and more or less alternates between American and British
artists. Splendid version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
(the Band) into a more subdued "You've Got A Friend" by James
Taylor. Shep explores his Dark Side by going straight into "Your
Cheating Heart" (Hank Williams. 1, 2 and 3 all do it.) The theme
continues with an energetic "Bad Bad Leroy Brown". Ah Jim Croce.
Another one who died prematurely. Wonder if we'll get John Denver?
Patsy Cline? Lynyrd Skynyrd?
Spot an old mate Ray Dey sitting opposite. He tells
me Shep's been here since Sunday. A mini-tour to follow his
medi-tour of Australia. He's played at previous incarnations of The
HK Folk Festival and doesn't mind coming... (oh, he's singing again.
Sorry. On with the review.)
A couple of Irish tunes to get toes a-tapping, arms
a-bending, throats a-gulping and legs, err, legless. The tempo is
rising. More Beatles covers follow. "I Saw Her Standing There",
followed by a slightly lost "Nowhere Man". Fiddler Davy is by me,
part wanting to play as well. He's going to provide me with
invaluable technical assistance later. Shep's into "Peggy Sue" now
(Buddy Holly joins Jim). Kay is bopping behind the bar, pulling
pints (it's frothy, man) and Shep blazes into "Summertime Blues".
Eddie (yup, he's dead too) Cochran. Intense strummaging from Shep as
he changes the chorus to "...ain't no cure for the George Bush
blues."
 The
crowd is getting wilder (bearing in mind it's a week night) as
"House Of The Rising Sun" starts. John Hutton provides a
memorable audio cameo with a honking toot or six on a Swanee
whistle. (thanks for the i.t.a., Davy). Sounds like a steam whistle.
Or a theremin (wait, what's in this Kool-Aid?) Kelly's
arrives, sway-grooving and singing the refrain. Dan's snapping
photos (see above). Rob and Alex are up front. Harry and John are
discussing the finer points of tootling. Dave (minus Eva) is here
with Frank (minus Jackie). Julie, Les and Jim are around. Kevin's at
the door. People trundle off the 21:30 ferry. Shep gives us a
rousing sing-along with "American Pie" (you know, the one with all
the dead singers in it.)
I don't think any song he
played was under 25 years old. Shep finishes, realises he's missed
the ferry and stays another half an hour. Steve Cray pops in and
tells Shep they come from the same town. Shep tells Dan he's not
averse to coming back this time next year "in time for the Rugby
7's".) It's been another double top night. Thanks for sharing in the
shit. |
|
Reply
from Shep Woolley, after Nick emailed him the review above: |
|
Cheers, Nick
No mention of Pinball -
Ray Day will be disappointed - good to have met yer - pass on my
best mudguards to all, especially swanee whistle sid!!
sheppo |
Mar 25:
Hog Heaven
On a sunny Sunday a while ago, I paid a visit to Keren and
her private little "Lamma Zoo" up in Tai Peng. A veritable Hog Heaven, it's the home of the locally famous Sumo the Pot-Bellied Pig
(above right)
and his companion Peggy (above left). But it also features a koi pond, a kind of parakeet
bird, dogs,
cats, various little critters and a wide range of subtropical trees and plants,
all in a beautifully landscaped setting with an amazing view.
Families with little children love to visit on weekends and some even bring
kitchen scraps to feed this almost vegetarian pair of hogs.
Click here for the Hog Heaven Photo Gallery!
Mar 24:
'Guided by The Senses from Pier to Eternity'
|
 EILEEN - Resident of
remote Pak Kok Village, leaving
soon for the UK. This
guide was published first in our
Trees forum.
Don't be
fooled by her Avatar, a fairy painting she chose to represent
herself in the
forums; she's just admitted to be a pants-wearing, 15-times
grandma! So we should call her EILEEN15,
which sounds more impressive than Lamma-Gung3.
Many local places of
interest have been assigned widely used, funny or at least memorable
nicknames. Eileen expands this cherished tradition and makes up a
whole bunch of very creative new nicknames. If you live here, can
you make out to which places they refer to? |
|
Guided by The Senses from Pier to
Eternity
Straight up from the ferry, past
Foul-mouthed-Rip-Offrest (known to some as the Bent Estate
Agent's Arms), you will be upon Blank-Stare Corner Bar
(they have their own toilet block and Beer Garden) keep on
going over the Troll Bridge towards the Seats of Shame
were you can sit and drink SPECIAL BREW
... if you're hard enough.
Take the path along past the next big rip-off rest
(not foul-mouthed this time) and onward to the Tree of
Enlightenment were you can make a wish to eat your meal in peace
without fag smoke or stinking sea water... but wish very hard.
If you're not eating and only out for a stroll then
keep on along Rat Alley until you reach the Crossroads of
Delight.
Here you will need to make a decision: do you want to
go past the Hall of Fame
for more blank stares) or turn right towards the Beach of Lecky Land were you may sit a while and contemplate either retracing your steps
or making a day of it by heading off up into the Crags of Nomansland,
where only the wild can survive. (The mild will get pushed off the
path by wild hordes of yellow-t-shirted, bother-booted,
stick-wielding grannies as they steadfastly follow their leader's
yellow banner.)
Be warned: To walk these crags alone without a big
stick is only wise to do if you have been sitting in the Seats of
Shame and had a tin or three
If you keep on going you will come to the Land of Plenty there you
will be met by Hordes of Foodlums who will not let you past unless
you sit a while and fill up on what they have to offer.
It is wise to obey, as what they have to offer is plenty and
filling and, who knows, if you refuse, you may never ever be seen or
heard of again... |
Mar 23:
Historic GvR Pillar Mailbox
There's been renewed interest in HK's rapidly dwindling
heritage in the print media recently. An SCMP article ("Keep
historic mail boxes in service, experts urge") mentioned that there
are only 56 historic mailboxes left in all of Hong Kong, which originate
from the reign of King George V of England, 1910-1936. See the royal
insignia GvR (George V Rex - Latin for King):
 WKC,
a regular Lamma-zine reader, informed me that one of them was located on
Lamma Island, in Sok Kwu Wan. He wondered if someone from the Lamma-zine
network will be able to find this endangered heritage. We managed to locate
it (behind SKW Main Street). I got a local off-duty police inspector to take
a few snapshots for the Lamma-zine. Many thanks, Mr "Local police inspector
who prefers to remain anonymous"!
These mailboxes were orginally sporting a beautiful dark-red (see photo from
WKC), but got all painted green just before the Handover when the Post
Office changed their corporate identity and colours to green and blue.
 
Mar 22:
Inside the New Drainage Channel
Following up on the progress of the new drainage channel
under construction from the footbridge to Tai Peng into the harbour, here
are a few brand-new pictures I shot today. While snapping away, I met the
Site Agent of the construction co. in person which was quite illuminating.
Check out our
Yung Shue Long drain proposal forum for the latest news on this
project. The Main Street temporary footbridge over the channel outflow seems
to be on hold at the moment, pending some objection letters...
(Click any photo below to enlarge)
  
The middle section of the channel under construction -
View from the Footbridge to Tai Peng towards the harbour -
Over 2 metres wide and deep
 
Channel construction works in progress -
Temporary cover to avoid any locals falling in
 
The footbridge to Tai Peng, as seen from the Refuse
Collection Point, the channel starts here going into the harbour -
A VV driving over the footbridge, as seen from the Lily Pond.
This upstream section will be preserved (after a long fight was won against
the govt. 5 years ago).
But about 10 metres from the bridge upstream, the vegetation and a few palms
will be cleared, making room for the raising of the paths to Tai Peng and
Yung Shue Long by 0.4 metres, above the rare, most extreme flooding levels.
Mar 21:
Shops We Do & Don't Need on Lamma
|
Spinoza1112 - Inmate of the Island of the Ghost
Teachers
(This list has been posted first in our
What kinds of shop you like on Lamma?? forum. Add your own
wishes for new shops there) |
|
 We
need
An English, Chinese and Tagalog bookstore
(Nick's stall and Bookworm aren't true bookstores but great to have
anyway)
Artist's supply shop and stationer's
Newstand carrying International Herald
Tribune, Economist and New Yorker, dammit. That lovely lady is great
to see on the other side of the dark water but I for one am tired of
scratching my nuts and reading the South China Moaning Pest on the
inbound trip.
Small movie theater with popcorn called
Tivoli showing movies like The Set-up, Out of the Past, Lady from
Shanghai, and old mysterious black and white Kung Fu movies from the
1940s, with special effects painted on the film stock, and starring
female fighters who become goddesses through suffering, who lose
their children and live under the sea.
A couple of hookers
A ferry boat that takes a full hour to get to
Central with a bar and cafe and an onboard band
Lamma International Airlines: one flight: to
Central: inflight entertainment consisting of 5-minute Chinese Opera
performed by the flight attendants and flight engineer if possible.
Stick the airport on pylons in Yung Shue Wan bay, and bring back
that old Kai Tak feeling of kiss your ass goodbye. I have never
experienced Kai Tak, but I am certain somehow it was cheap
psycho-analytic therapy.
Joe's American Bar
We DON'T need
Borders, Virgin Books
and Records, Starfuck's, 7-11, White Hen, Steak and Shake, Bed Bath
Bazonger and Beyond, Louis Vuitton, or Billy Bob's Guns
...for the coffee and the veggie roll at Green
Cottage tastes wonderful precisely because it is unique to the Green
Cottage, whereas the misery of being told exactly what to do is the
taste of Starbuck's, the death of laughter, surprise, and
"Waiter, is fly in my soup! - We no charge for fly." |
Mar 20:
Local Construction Is Booming, It Seems!
(All photos below by Lamma-Gung, like ALL uncredited photos in the
Lamma-zine.
Click any photo below to enlarge)
Lammarina luxury housing development on Tannery Beach
below DickStock Residence
 
Old and new styles of Village Houses - Fish-eye view of new Village House under construction
 
Hung Shing Yeh beach just received a Bobcat earth (sand)
mover - Scaffolding metal frames
 
"New Territories Exempted House", max. 700sqft and 27'
high -
Left-over construction machinery in Wang Long
 
Out-of-service earth mover, rusting away in Wang Long
Village and behind Lung Wah Rest.
 
Out-of-service cement mixer, outside and inside
Mar 19:
Christie Flowers - Junior Lamma Artist
Click above for a selection of the best of Christie's sculptures,
mixed
media, paintings and sketches:
The Lamma Artist of the Month of March 2007 (click
for his art gallery) is the youngest
one I've ever featured in the Lamma-zine. Just 9 years old, but already such
an impressive multi-media artist, talented in so many artistic endeavors, from
drawings and sculptures to poems and photography. What an amazing grown-up artist he
might become some day! (Click to read Christie's 2 photo poems below):
  Christie
is a prime example of Lamma being a great place for artists of all ages
working in so many different media and subjects. He has kind of a "home
advantage", being the son of famous artist Katie Flowers. She's been encouraging him to
become creative from a very early age, nurturing his budding talents and
she's obviously setting a great example for
Christie. Many artists of many types have been featured in the Lamma-zine
over the years, but there are so many more out there!
Contact
me!
There are no age limits to become a Lamma Artist of the
Month. You can send me the best artworks of YOUR child... or your grand
parent!
 
Some of
Christie's many artistic friends presenting their own artworks:
George, Alix and Kira,
part of the KKK: Krazy Kids Klub!
|
Christie Flowers
- Lamma Junior Artist (all photos by Katie Flowers): |
|
I
am Christie Flowers, 9 yrs old. I like playing with my friends and
my Game Boy stuff. I like listening to poems and music, especially
Shel Silverstein, Mozart, Crazy Frog and The Beatles.
I like making models using just about every arty-farty
thing in our house!!! My favourite model is the alien that I made
for school. It’s made of boxes, tissue paper and wire.
I’ve taken a few photos here on Lamma and some in Mai Po and Sai
Kung. My mum’s teacher, John, gave me a camera. That’s what got me
started with photography.
My
favourite artist is Leonardo… you know who!!! Because he was like me
and did drawings, paintings, models and was a scientist, inventor, botanist and even an architect. I like doing experiments in my
kitchen to try and create potions.
Currently, I am planning to make a Warhammer scene called Skulls
Pass.
Oh
yes, I’ve been famous already as a stand-up comedian in my school
and for reading poems in a shopping centre and being on Karin
Bergen’s TV show!
[Editor: Karin Bergen
hosted the TVB Pearl Report for many years, featuring Christie and
his mum separately.]
Ok,
gotta go and eat a flapjack. |
|
 |
P.S. Christie's proud mum already sent this story to a bunch of his
teachers as well as to his relatives. One teacher has printed it out already
and posted it on the bulletin board in the school cafeteria!! Christie has
also just been featured in the Island School's online zine
"The Dragon's Gazette", being quoted right below the gazette header
and his "Swamp Monster" poem re-published. Great!
Mar 18:
“Lobert, a Lamma Legend, 13.03.07.”
|
Jay Scott Kanes - Newly appointed
Official Court Pet Correspondent of this website (all photos by
Karin) |
|
WIZENED MAIN STREET POOCH MADE AN
IMPACT
Sadly, Lamma Island has lost one of its most
familiar and respected residents. Lobert (alias Robert), an
ancient-looking dog of typically mysterious breeding, died on March
13 after devoting most of his life to hanging out on a section of
Main Street in Yung Shue Wan.
“This marks the passing of a great and much-loved
Lamma icon,” said Samson in our forums.
Lobert’s favorite spots at the outdoor Man Fung
Seafood Restaurant and The Island Bar meant that almost no one
arriving on Lamma missed seeing him when strolling into the village
from the pier.
With Lamma attracting thousands of day-visitors from
the hotels and housing blocks of urban Hong Kong each sunny weekend,
Lobert became familiar to urban-dwellers and to visitors from
overseas too.
Aged 16 or so, he succumbed to age and related
deterioration. No longer able to eat or walk properly, he was
euthanized. His departure drew tears from the restaurant’s staff.
As a tribute, The Island Bar’s management plans to
hang a commemorative plaque for Lobert, an honor afforded to very
few of its human customers. The plaque will read: “Lobert, a
Lamma Legend, 13.03.07.”
Absolutely, he qualified as a celebrity, the most
famous among Lamma’s animals. Such elevated status never went to
Lobert’s head. He always looked somber, thoughtful and maybe a
little sleepy while observing people, dogs and occasional cats
strolling past. Never hostile, noisy or overly friendly, he became
the ultimate pedestrian watcher.
“He showed a lot of character in his features,” said
Vicky Baker, a Lamma artist and photographer.
In recent days, much of the chatter and woofing
along Main Street mentioned Lobert’s illness and demise. Here are
some of the comments:
“You can bet that if you asked 10 Yung Shue Wan
residents on the street for
a shortlist of their Lamma icons, Lobert would appear on at least
nine lists. The same applies with regular visitors to Lamma.”
“Patrolling his beat from the Man Fung Restaurant to
The Island Bar, the sitting-out area (across from the bar) and the
roasted-chestnut stand, Lobert gave many years of faithful service
to his community.”
“Lobert had more character than some of the Lamma
characters who surface
from time to time.”
“He asked for little, just some fresh water set out
and a small treat now and then, but he gave much to this community.”
“Too bad he didn’t get royalties from the many
photos taken of him over the years.”
Nick the Bookman, a rival Lamma icon who occupies a
favorite corner down the street from Lobert’s turf, said: “Lobert
had a good life. He lived through much of two decades in two
centuries and two millennia.”
Lobert’s human friends soon posted tributes in
Lamma-zine’s public forums.
“I miss Lobert very much,” said a writer nicknamed
Honey Moon. “When I first came to Lamma, I saw this short-legged dog
with a funny face. He was really cute. I always called his name, and
he’d wag his tail. He was nice, the icon of Man Fung.”
“Sad news indeed,” wrote another person. “Now the
Man Fung needs a new mascot and clearer of scraps.”
Lobert spent so much time stretched out among the
restaurant’s seaside tables that local people considered him part of
the Man Fung’s management. He rarely “missed a shift”. If the eatery
opened for business, that’s where Lobert could be found. The staff
encouraged him, fed him and protected him from cold weather with
thick shirts or gaudy overcoats. Diners deemed him a curiosity,
proof of the “craziness for pets” prevalent on Lamma.
“Usually, Lobert was the first one I said hello to
when coming home to Lamma every day,” said Gisela, another
Lamma-zine reader.
Seldom spry even when younger, Lobert rarely
wandered away much beyond The Island Bar adjacent to the restaurant.
He made friends and became a regular there too.
Online writer Dusty Mop called him “one of the more
interesting characters” around the bar. “He’ll be sorely missed.”
 An
online tribute from Eileen addressed the deceased: “Being the wise
dog you were, you hung around The Island Bar where you would be sure
of a pack of nuts or crisps given by the bar punters. I think that
whoever made the choice for you to go must have looked down and saw
what a welcome addition you’d be to the place where one day some of
us will meet you again, and perhaps you’ll offer us a paw.”
Lobert proved “spry enough” to procreate a few
times. “He fathered one of my dogs, Shye, who died several years
ago,” said Nick the Bookman. “Lobert was your basic Lamma short dog,
and Shye stood much taller. I often wondered who the Mommy was, and
how they did it.”
The dog’s double name (Lobert / Robert) emerged from
different pronunciations by his human friends of assorted mother
tongues. Some spoke Cantonese, others English or other languages.
Maybe the proximity of The Island Bar, and some of the slurred
speech there, contributed too.
“Lobert hadn’t looked well in the past week,” said
Samson. “But the last time I saw him, he crippled towards a fellow
Lammaite who had called out to him. Although restricted in movement,
he wagged his tail and looked very happy.”
Then Samson delivered the most suitable parting words: |
|
Samson - Official Court Translator & Chin. Forum Moderator: |
|
 Robert
was a Lamma icon, perhaps even a landmark! Affectionately known as
the “hippo dog” by some, Robert’s appearance – those dreary eyes,
the dull-yet-cute facial expression and those short legs made us
laugh and forget our stressful off-island lives.
From enjoying his scrumptious seafood feasts at Man
Fung, to pub-crawling at the Island Bar and simply lazing around in
his own distinctive way, Robert had been a part of our daily lives.
Definitely, he’s sealed his place in the Lamma collective memory.
Farewell, old friend. Ain’t no other dawg’s gonna
replace yer.
Rest in peace, Robert! |
Check out more comments in our
English and
Chinese Lobert forums, or post your own remarks or photos!
Mar 17:
St Paddy's Nightmare
–
A Happening
|
Celtic Viking - Senior forum member #100. A
true story: |
|
On New Years Eve 1995, I met a wonderful Indian girl in Tsim Sha
Tsui, with whom I enjoyed an all too short relationship. She had
long been planning a trip around India with her parents. Her dad,
being attached to the Indian embassy in London, wanted to see India
once more, and her mum, being half-Burmese, finally had an
opportunity to visit family in Rangoon (now Yangon) where she hadn’t
been allowed to visit for so long. I couldn’t possibly stand in the
way, and she left for Calcutta on the 13th March that year. In
Calcutta, she would introduce her parents to Mother Teresa, for whom
she had devoted three months of each year to working as an
accountant to the charity in the slums of Calcutta. She is a
mathematician.
I
was working as a locomotive operator/organiser and assistant to the
chief engineer on a large tunnel project. Things were going well,
and I received several pay scale rises. I was down to see her leave,
and decided the only thing to do was drown my sorrows, and go on a
'bender'. Copious amounts of things went down over the next three
days. At about 2 o'clock on the morning of the 18th March, I can’t
remember leaving 'The Watering Hole' in Tsim Sha Tsui to go back to
a room I shared with a friend and work colleague. I wasn’t wearing
Irish green, and I recall not being able to open the next bottle of
red wine. My friend dutifully took over the task and it was the
sound of the cork popping that brought me around slightly. We
guzzled the wine, and I appeared to have contracted an instant
'cold'. We left at about 2.30am to go back to the pub. I remember
thinking 'don't go out in this state, you'll get bloody shot'! We
wobbled along to the lifts, I knew I wouldn’t be at work in the
morning.
We entered the lift on the 12th floor. The doors opened again at the
10th, and in walked a young guy who was in something of a 'state'
himself. He was about 18, and 5ft 5 inches, and slightly built as is
the like of his countrymen. He looked at us with very glassy eyes,
and I swear his hair stood on end. He spoke. "Where are you guys
going,” he asked none to politely. "Back to the pub", we answered
together. Being polite and happy, we asked the same question. I can
never forget his answer. "To kill some f***ing Chinese bast***s if
they give me any more f***ing shit tonight," he said. He sported a
British accent. "With this," he added. Pulling up his black T-shirt,
he revealed a handmade sheet metal sword. It still had the red oxide
paint on it and we could see the grinder marks where it had been
sharpened. Neither of us spoke again, we just stared forward at the
doors. We felt the lift reach the ground floor, and when the doors
opened, all hell broke loose.
There, standing with big smiles was an attractive blonde woman of
maybe 25 years. She wore a very skimpy, low-cut boob tube,
Irish-green, I recall, I think, hot pants as well, and adorned in
multi-coloured glitter. Behind her stood a six-foot or more
muscle-bound boyfriend, resplendent in his tight-fitting Nike vest,
and Reebok shorts. Sun-tanned and shiny, with either oil or sweat,
and a big smile, he was turning sideways to flex his muscles, and
show off his physique, there was a good 17 stones of him! The young
lad took one look and grabbed at her boobs, she jumped back startled
and let out a reflex scream. He wadded into her with punches, kicks
and a head butt. He ripped at her clothes as she went backwards and
down.
The big boyfriend did something totally unforgettable. He shouted
"RUN!" and dashed into the opposite lift, and began frantically
pressing the interior lift buttons. The last I ever saw of him was
his hand coming through the closing doors, and then pull quickly
back before they caught his fingers. His girlfriend was screaming
and bleeding as the young man proceeded to rip at her hot pants, by
this time (all in a few seconds) he took out the sword from under
his T-shirt as I feebly stumbled onto his back, pushing him to the
floor and kicking the sword away. I helped the hysterical and bloody
girl into another one of the four lifts, and pressed any button to
close the doors and send her up, anywhere would do.
The young guy was getting up and, snarling manically, he grabbed at
his sword which had been knocked from his hand. I heard voices from
behind, and the second shout of "RUN!", this time from my friend,
coupled with "There’s five of them!" I couldn’t blame him, it was
the sensible thing to do. I turned to see five men of the same
descent as the attacker, virtually blocking my way. A quick scuffle
broke out, with one of the men, a portly looking gent exclaiming "No
trouble, no trouble, please walk away!" I did, and due to my more
than stunned state, I stupidly turned my back and tried to walk
away!
As I walked, a punch landed on the back of my head. I turned just as
the sword, in a downward stabbing motion, and wielded by the manic
youngster, was closing in on my head. I managed somehow to block or
deflect the weapon, and arched my back, but not enough. The sword
caught me in the left side of my ribcage, breaking two ribs and
entering my body, slicing into my colon and stomach. I crashed to
the floor, crunching my head on the concrete. All the men fled, and
as I somehow managed to stand up, and grabbing the sword handle with
my left hand, I began pulling it out. More happened next than I can
write here; but if you ask me, I’ll tell you! In court, he was
prosecuted under a ridiculous name, I'll tell you that too!
More raised voices of alarm were followed by scuffling feet as I
began to pass out, feeling the blade moving from right to left
inside me. I again crashed to the floor under the weight of
something, and the sword, now most of the way out, was plunged back
into me. This time puncturing my diaphragm and coming perilously
close to my left lung. I collapsed.
I
remember the wonderful lady in the ambulance, she saved my life. She
wouldn’t let me close my eyes. She kept shouting at me to look at
her and focus on her eyes. She was asking me if I had taken any
drugs, or just alcohol. I knew I was doomed, in more ways than one.
"I've been drinking heavily for three days, no drugs." I also recall
arriving at the Prince of Wales hospital, ironic as we have the same
one in my home town. I helped build the baby care and x-ray units
there. I also remember being shaved from my neck to my knees.
I
will never be sure, but I think I recall a tunnel, not the one I had
been working on, but a brightly lit one, or was it the lights of the
operating theater? I don’t know, but I may have seen my grandfather,
standing aided by his walking stick, and not smiling, but wheezing
from the pneumonoconiosis and emphysema which ended his days. I will
be able to understand this when I do die, I may be met by my younger
brother Steve, whom I lost this year. I wonder if he will be wearing
Irish green, he was a fun guy!
Sorry if this has taken 11 years to write, and sorry if I show an
utter lack of fear of big muscle-bound guys. Also, please accept my
apologies if I'm not to be seen, emerald-clad, and tripping the
light fantastic on the 17th of March this year! |
Mar 16:
Tough Training & Fantastic Fun!
|
Adie - Publicity
Liaison of the
Lamma Dragons
(Men's) Dragon Boat Team:
(text and pictures by Adie) |
|
Walk past Yung Shue Wan harbour on the weekend and
you may hear the sound of drums and see a team of men in blue shirts
paddling in unison. With the Dragonboat season already well underway this
year, the Lamma Dragons Men's Dragonboat Team have been on the water,
training hard every weekend since early February.
 As well as regular local races such as Stanley, this
year the Lamma Dragons Men's Team will travel to Boracay and
Singapore. In addition, 2007 sees the first
Lamma Dragon Boat
Festival on June 10.
Always on the lookout for new recruits, the team
train on Saturdays at 3pm and Sundays at 10am. Think you have what
it takes to join the meanest paddling crew of men for the new
season? Join them on the weekend, where they meet before each
training session at the garden seating area (Beer Garden) opposite the Island Bar,
Yung Shue Wan. What are you waiting for? Learn more
and sign up for a season of tough training and fantastic fun.
Interested? Either call Oliver on 9139 7305,
visit
www.LammaDragons.com, or meet them at training. See you
there! |
Our dragon
Timing &
Technique! |
Mar 15:
Scum, Sludge & Soakaway Pits
Isn't that a cute mosquito trying desperately to get into a septic tank? It
even wears shoes! This cutesy illustration comes from the cover of a
govt. leaflet that was distributed to Yung Shue Wan households the other
day, informing us of "MOSQUITO PREVENTION IN SEPTIC TANK". The sewage
treatment plant for Yung Shue Wan is still a number of years away -
officially announced in a village meeting a few months back but no date
confirmed yet. So we'll have to live with sometimes smelly septic tanks
under our houses for a while longer.
For more free and often unintentionally funny, bilingual govt. leaflets and
other info about what's going on in the village, check outside Lammadonna's
office on Main Street and on the G/F info desk in our City Hall, opposite
HSBC. I visit these places at least once a week and always find something
new of interest. They've even got free candy and calendars!
This mosquito leaflet is very informative, if you'd like to know what's down
there
below our feets and how to avoid it becoming another mosquito breeding
ground. There's scum, sludge and soakaway pits down there, below
the manhole covers. Click on the illustrations above and below to view the
entire bilingual leaflet.
Mar 14:
Enduro-ing
5
Hours of Sweat and Pain
As we all know, Lamma Island is a major tourist attraction. On Sundays, even
the hills come alive with the sounds of... not music, but with these sounds:
Bikes speeding, brakes screeching, fans shouting encouragement, bikers
breathing heavily and occasionally swearing, bones cracking (sorry, I made
that last one up.) Have you ever seen such an overcrowded Lamma hill like in
this photo above (thanks, Zep!) It was taken last Sunday, Mar 10
2007, in Pak Kok Shan during the Lamma Enduro 2007?
Well, at least these people stayed away from Main Street, leaving it for the
tourist crowds, made up of mere pedestrians who will never enjoy the
adrenaline rush and muscle burn of the true daredevils of the hills, the
mountain bikers.
The Lamma Enduro event seems to have been an overwhelming success without
any serious accidents and just a few bruises and blisters. Besides 120+
riders, the photographers were out in force, dotting the hills
(photo by
nicole_kam):
It was a really rugged, difficult race, narrow dirt paths, up steep hills,
down sheer drops and even the Graffiti Ghost House was part of the circuit
(photo by Ben Lun of MTB United):
There was great infrastructure and organisation, including most important
and crucial facilities like extensive signage, a "marshal dog", the BBQ and
even a ladies' toilet (all photos by nicole_kam):
 
 
Some of these very experienced guys from
MTB United have
been riding in HK for a very long time. See photo below and note the 80s
hairstyles (click below for more historic photos collected by Ben Lun):
Last but not least, several fine photo galleries from the Lamma Enduro 2007,
so you can recognise some of your Lamma friends of whom you might not have
known that they are serious and very competitive mountain bike racers:
More photos in our Lamma Enduro forum
Miu's photo gallery
4
comprehesive galleries from the organisers (photos by Ben Lun):
 
 
 
Mar 13:
Moving From Lamma to Slovenia?!
|
Jay Scott Kanes (all text and photos)
(Jay
seems to love alliterating titles even more than I do) |
|
TOUGH
TIME TURNING AWAY FROM TROPICAL TURF?
Why would anyone
abandon a tropical island, a place where they’ve
enjoyed happiness and an idyllic lifestyle, in favor
of chilly mountain slopes?
John Newson
and his wife Caroline Biebuyck, journalists
and publishers originally from the United Kingdom,
must explain to puzzled friends why they’re
relocating to a tiny village near Bovec, Slovenia.
The move in the spring of 2007 will take them far
from Lamma Island, their Asian home since the mid
1990s.
|
 |
|
John and
Caroline’s Lamma home (foreground) keeps
the big city at bay. |
“One needs a change
every so often,” said John, relaxing on a covered
veranda outside the couple’s Lamma home, located
near a scenic hillside and caressed by ocean
breezes. “We’re moving to a different kind of
exotic, but we leave with more than a few regrets.
Lamma’s the most relaxing and interesting place I’ve
ever lived.”
A 35-minute ferry
ride from Hong Kong’s Central business district,
Lamma has only a few thousand residents, plenty of
trees, no motor vehicles, cleaner air and a more
leisurely pace than the nearby big city. It’s a
paradise for pets like John and Caroline’s beloved
dogs, Lucky and Hebe.
“You can’t beat the
laid-back atmosphere, the remoteness from people and
the proximity to nature in a part of the world where
such privileges are rare,” said John, a man known on
Lamma for seldom wearing shoes or a shirt. “Maybe
I’ll never go barefoot again, which is appalling!”
Caroline moved to
Lamma in 1993. Two years later, John arrived. They
married in 1999.
Although Lamma people
come and go, the long-term residents move away only
reluctantly, and many return. How could a snowy
mountain village in Eastern Europe gain the upper
hand?
“As the jungle claims
our garden on Lamma, we’ll start hacking back the
forest there,” John said, pledging to become more
active in “the processes of life”. He envisions
chopping wood, growing vegetables, hiking lofty
trails, wielding a chainsaw and driving a tractor.
John and Caroline roamed “hemisphere to hemisphere”,
from Tasmania and Thailand to elsewhere in Europe,
seeking somewhere superior to Lamma. “The place we
chose seems to offer exactly what we wanted – an
Arcadian retreat where tradition and the 21st
century co-exist,” John said. “The housing will be
more comfortable. In summer and winter, the alpine
scenery will be dramatic, and the way of life should
be sufficiently different to keep things interesting
for a good many years to come.”
Slovenia’s two
million people share a territory slightly larger
than Wales. Bovec, near the Italian border, has
about 1,600 residents, plus grocery stores, several
restaurants, hotels and guest houses. The area
offers rafting, skiing and mountain-biking.
Five kilometres from
Bovec, John and Caroline’s new village, home to a
few hundred people, is smaller than Pak Kok, where
they lived on Lamma. Caroline will continue as a
writer and publisher while John builds and manages
some apartment units for tourists.
Lucky and Hebe have
always lived on a tropical island. “It’ll be a shock
for the dogs,” John said. They’ll meet new wildlife,
like bears, wolves, deer, wild goats, lynx, badgers,
foxes, hares, squirrels and otters.
Slovenia’s people may
be reasonably warm and welcoming, but not the
climate. “Long johns are the answer,” said John, the
long-time Lamma Islander.
|
Wearing a cold-weather cap, John practises keeping his ears cosy.
Looking ahead, John visits Slovenia on the Internet.
As leader of the pack, John briefs Hebe and Lucky on the big move.
Lucky the dog may need to abandon football for skiing.
Constantly cultivating, John keeps his Lamma garden growing.
Slovenia’s rugged beauty defies easy description.
Unchopped wood awaits John’s arrival in Slovenia. |
P.S. John just sent these new pictures from Slovenia, titled "This is
NOT Lamma":
 
Mar 12:
"Lamma Ladies' Rudeness Endures"
I've just received a wonderfully self-deprecating email from the Lamma
Ladies dragonboating captain, Gina. The subject line of the email is the
title of this blog story. I would never dare to compose a title like that as
I'd be afraid of being tarred, eh, pinked and boa-feathered in retaliation
for not treating them as the pure, innocent ladies they truly are with their
refined, polite manners. They say so themselves: "We are very prudish and
shy."
OK, enough of my brown-nosing, on with the story:
Gina writes:
"I am afraid that I’ve come to you rather late with
this bit of information. But perhaps better late than never!
Putting fun back into fundraising"
The party is already over (Mar 3 in a "Private Location" with a dress
code of "Sexy Sultry/Plunging Necklines") and I wasn't even invited,
how rude! It was women only and – very strangely for them, unheard of – they
decided that privacy was the utmost value of the evening. Amazingly, no
photos were taken at all and they even chased one photographer away! Gina
writes, "Sex is so Politically Correct these days!" Well, check out their blog with the
full saucy story by clicking on the fundraising link or their poster above.
We Lammaites are hoping that they'll be making Lamma proud again this year,
winning even more than the
3 Gold Cups they captured last year in Cheung Chau, Boracay, The
Philippines, and Stanley (photo below by Lamma Ladies):
One more picture below, taken by myself on March 3, 2007: The Dragon Ladies
practising hard every Saturday afternoon in our harbour. They'll surely
prove again that they have "the fantastic ability to
OUT PINK, OUT PADDLE and OUT PARTY" all
the other HK teams!
Mar 11:
Birdo Breakfast
Miranda, the dynamic leaderess and cheerleader of the HK Photo Club, on the
right
The leader of the birdwatchers flock, Birdo Breakfast organiser/host and
Flora/Fauna Forum moderator, on the right
Once every 1-2 months, during the bird migration season, the very active
flock of Birdographericus Lammariensis assembles on a rooftop in the middle of
the forest in the distant and remote mountain village of Tai Peng - like birds on a wire.
They congregate for some socialising and
chattering about their favourite hobby. Some fly in from far and wide for
this event, even beyond Lamma Bird Island. They usually bring along their latest,
expensive hardware:
professional dSLR cameras (don't show up with a pocket snapshooter, you'll
be mercilessly ridiculed!), huge, long, heavy monster lenses that require
their own tripods, digiscopes, professional monopods and fancy filters. They
converse in their own language full of all the latest optical, electronical
and image processing techno babble, trying hard to impress and trump each
other. But in the end, it's just the quality of the resulting photos that
counts and Anonymous_Guy is still top dog, eh, bird! But he has some worthy
"rivals" and they're learning fast, eager to de-throne him!
But there are also a few non-birdwatching friends like L-G and ladies
are invited (see above) to lighten up this informal brunch of all-male
amateur birdwatchers. It's usually a very friendly, funny, light-hearted
event, where one can meet new friends, query the experts present, and even
learn a thing or two from each other.
If you're interested in joining in (no fees or membership required), just
email
me.
Mar 10:
Saturday Afternoon in Yung Shue Wan
Click on individual photos above to enlarge (all photos shot by L-G on
Sat, Mar 3)
Mar 9:
Temporary Footbridge on Main Street
Graffiti marking the location of the temporary footbridge (see below)
Several Lammaites, including myself, sent in
objections to the Temporary Land Allocation
of the Lands Dept. It was triggered by a public notice that the sandy beach
in front of the Green Cottage Rest. will be used for 3 years as a work site
for the drainage channel in progress coming from the Yung Shue Long valley.
We've all got a
reply from the Drainage Services Dept., including the
DSD project web page two illustrations below and a detailed Power
Point presentation (80MB, 2-3 minutes to download).
Temp. bridge outside Green Cottage Rest. during drainage channel
construction
The Drainage Services Dept. basically promises that there'll be no permanent
building or structure erected on the beach and no stockpile of construction
materials and demolition wastes will be allowed in the beach area/Yung Shue
Wan Main Street. The target dates are:
-
Handing over of additional land:
end March 2007
-
Diversion of traffic onto temporary footbridge:
May
2007
-
Re-opening of reconstructed footbridge to public:
August 2007
-
Reinstate and vacate from
additional land: September 2007
This is how it's supposedly going to look like after
the completion of the drainage channel and the bridge
reconstruction. We'll be holding them accountable to this
illustration and publish actual photos in Sep 2007 in our
Yung Shue Long Drainage Channel forum.
Restored permanent bridge and expanded drainage channel
Mar 8:
Free Money!
Mar 7:
Christie, Eric & My Mum
Mar 6:
Lamma Enduro
Next Sunday, Mar 11, expect many (120+!) cool dudes/dudettes with ultra-fashionable,
figure-hugging lycra outfits and those funny, grooved, mushroom-shaped
helmets on their ultra-high-tech, ultra-expensive, neon-coloured mountain
bikes in Yung Shue Wan and also in Pak Kok Village!
There's a nice sporting attraction happening on Lamma on the hills of Pak Kok
Shan (far end of Pak Kok Village). Our local mountain bikers have been
clearing trails up there for years, practicing hard on weekends for their
little mountain biking endurance get-together, the
Lamma Enduro!
Solo, mixed teams and women events will be held, informally and just for
fun, by the
HK
Mountain Biking Club, starting at 11:30am (not pm, unlike so many
other Lamma activities!). Just an
informal, non-commercial event for and by biking enthusiasts. Could be quite
some fun to go on a little hike up there and watch - without any accidents,
hopefully.
Click above for the
detailed map to print out, plus the
poster with the bilingual details. Click here for
more info and the biking forum. There's also a great, really
well-produced
video
of last year's Lamma Enduro!
Sounds like another great
opportunity for my Nikon D80 with a long lens...
Mar 5:
What's All This Commotion in Sok Kwu Wan?
 
in progress...
Mar 4:
Wind Turbine-Shaped Sweet Dumplings
Today is the last day of the 15-day Lunar New Year festival period, the
so-called Chinese Lantern Festival. HK Electric volunteers celebrated by
hosting a party for single-parent families, teaching them how to make sweet
dumplings for the Festival. Very nice! So nice that they immediately sent
out a
media release and photos about it, of course.
Below, we can admire some sweet dumplings "shaped like blades of a wind
turbine". Yes, it takes a little bit of imagination to see it, but you
have to admire HK Electric's never-ending dedication to plug Lamma Winds in
almost every media release, no matter how little it has to do with Lamma's
favourite cute little windy tourist attraction. HK Electric writes:
"'Caring, Always' is Hongkong Electric's latest community programme aimed
at giving love and care to the needy, particularly during festive occasions.
As part of the programme, volunteers visit underprivileged groups and
prepare traditional foods for them using electrical appliances."
Awww, giving love and care to the needy, by using electrical appliances...
Hongkong Electric volunteers and one of the winning families proudly present
their "wind turbine" sweet dumplings.
Mar 3:
Singing Carnival
A yearly event for the local Chinese community, especially if you're over 65
years old, organised outside Ngau Kee Rest., in the so-called "VV Parking
Lot" opposite the Deli Lamma. It's a lion dance, Karaoke carnival with
presents for all Golden Oldies, or "Elderlies" as the HK Govt. calls them.
Photos below by Gilman, one of Lammadonna's two capable assistants:
 
 
 
Mar 2:
Swamp Monster
Mar 1:
Congrats to Award-Winning Prof Red Star
Lamma's "Photojournalist, Rock God and Biblical Scholar", Prof Red
Star, has just won the best science news reporting award in the annual
Hong Kong News Awards. The SCMP writes today (paid online subscription
necessary for
this link):
"Steve Cray won the best science news reporting award for his series on
British physicist Stephen Hawking. He also received an honourable mention
for another science story."
Pictures to follow after the awards will have been handed out in an official
ceremony in a few weeks!
In the meantime, sincere congratulations to Steve, who's now been officially
re-nicknamed to "Award-Winning Prof Red Star" for Lamma-zine
purposes!
Will we ever have the pleasure to hear
on Lamma again, or will he rest on his laurels from now on? It's been a
while since we've seen a picture in this august publication of his (now
award-winning) tonsils while singing his heart out on stage.
 P.S.
Steve just can't stop winning more prizes, it seems! He's just been
shortlisted for an amnesty press human rights award for his photo
series/video slide show (with original music) on Ma Cha lepers' village
up in Yunnan, eastern Himalayas. A truly amazing, warm and inspiring
feature story with interviews.
Steve actually flew back from that assignment the night before DickStock
2006 where
performed to great acclaim.
Click to view the slide show!
Read last month's stories...
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