Top winning entries of the two show categories.
|
HK Electric -
Press release, June 28, 2008
(text, photos & captions by HK Electric) |
|
A new and unique "green"
fashion show made its debut on the catwalk today when a
group of fashion designers recycled used clothing and
news- papers, discarded compact discs, and even mosaic
tiles to convey sustainability and energy conservation
messages.
This array of innovative designs captured the
spotlight at the "Go Green Fashion Design Contest",
organised by HK Electric under this year's Smart Power
Campaign, which aimed at encouraging people to think and
act green to achieve a sustainable future.
Over 40 finalists, short-listed from more than 100
entries from the "Secondary School Students" and
"Post-secondary School Students and the General Public"
categories, represented a vivid, lively and effective
demonstration of the "4R" concept to "recycle, reuse,
recover and reduce" as much waste as practicable in
daily life.
A blouse made from red-white-blue plastic bags, a
disco dress decorated with recovered CDs, knitwear
adorned with coloured electrical wires, and a dress with
light-bulbs were some of the eye-catching creations.
Equally innovative were a shawl transformed from a
mosquito curtain, a hat made of used aluminium cans and a
stunning pair of mosaic-tile trousers.
Other entries were designed to inspire people to care
for the environment and think about the importance of
renewable energy, particularly wind and solar. Wind
turbines featured in floral patterns as well as
accessories such as hair-dresses, necklaces and belts.
Renowned fashion designer, Mr. William Tang, a member
of the adjudication panel, said it was important for
designers to "think out of the box" and infuse their
designs with creativity and personality.
"Some ideas are inspiring, like the one that recovers
and reuses mosaic tiles, a kind of industrial waste, for
trousers. I never thought of it myself," Mr. Tang said.
 Mr.
Shaun Cheung of the Hong Kong Design Institute said many
of these designs were highly creative, turning otherwise
useless materials into good use. By utilizing materials
found in nature, the variety of their designs could be
further increased.
Chief Executive of the Conservancy Association, Ms.
Lister Cheung, added: "We can help protect the
environment by adopting green practices in every aspect
of our lives. This competition offers a good opportunity
for the public to pick up green habits."
Corporate Planning Manager of HK Electric, Mr. Sung
Shu-kwai, believed the entries effectively delivered
green messages. "While continuing with our energy saving
efforts, we encourage people to take a greener view
regarding life, such as clothing. I am delighted to see
some participants have made good use of used light-bulbs
and wires," he noted. |
Light bulbs, electric
wires, red-white-blue plastic bags and laisee packets
are used to convey messages of energy saving and
environmental conservation:
Designer Tsang Kin-kwan
won the championship of "Secondary School Students
Category" with his design using recovered mosaic tiles.
Red-white-blue bags &
bottle caps; Laisee packets |
A unique "green" fashion show performed by
more than 40 models & designers.
BEFORE:
Power Station beach
(by Pfelelep)
Green Cottage beach (by L-G) -- Tannery beach (by
Stine Baska)
AFTER:
Photo montage by Siuyu, click for
more of his pictures
Photo by Siuyu, click for
more of his pictures
2 photos by Wingman,
see more... --
Tannery beach clean-up by "Prince Caspian" & his mum
 
 
Tannery beach cleanup, photos by
Stine Baska
Stine Baska writes on Sat, June 28:
"OUR BELOVED TANNERY BEACH
"Personally, I love spending time on Tannery Beach. It is
a favourite for dog owners, parents and people who want a quiet place to
read or contemplate. I have used the beach several times as location for
family portrait shoots.
"Sadly, Tannery Beach has been devastated by rubbish; I
cannot begin to describe how bad it is!
"I started cleaning today with my 11-year old Cas. We
picked a few large bags of plastic and old shoes. We have cleaned a small
part of the beach and will do more tomorrow! If anyone wants to join us in
the clean up we would be very happy! For a cleaner world!
"Stine
9280 8730"
"Earthkeepers" conquering "Malcolm's Rock
Pile" on Power Station beach
(photo by Katie Flowers; her Earthkeepers story to be published very soon.)
Hong Kong Island has its monumentally impressive, humungous temples to
worship the
Money Gods, scraping the polluted skies. What does Lamma have to keep up in
terms of monuments with our neighbour island? They build skyscrapers, we
build...rock piles?
Yes, a new Lamma tourist spot and major sightseeing attraction has been
growing in the last few months, all thanks to one very dedicated and
hard-working man. Take a bow,
Malcolm Morris, Rock Pile Builder
Extraordinaire! Let's hear it from him in his own words, quoting his
fascinating blog Getting
past Leukaemia:
"I'm happy to report that my pile of rocks was unaffected
[Editor: after Typhoon Fengshan]. It's
getting to be quite a little monument at the far end of the beach. It's now
well over my height, and beginning to attract curious questions.
"When I started it, I was careful not to strain myself ("nothing larger
than my head"). Now I try not to use anything smaller than my head - because
the kids like to climb it and then start throwing the rocks down. Making
them bigger discourages casual vandalism. It also gives me a solid measure
of progress. I can now carry lumps to the top of the pile that I literally
couldn't even rock from side to side six months ago.
"Reasons I've given for building it so far include:
-
Exercise
-
To hide the bodies
-
The stones were looking messy - I'm tidying the beach
-
I like to sort things by size
-
I dropped my keys somewhere near here..."
Note the triumphant flag and the stone
figurine enjoying the view from the peak.
(Photo by Malcolm Morris, June 20, 2008)
I think this ecological sculpture, made from free, fully recyclable
and wholly natural materials symbolises not just Malcolm's indomitable spirit, but also Lamma's
spirit and attitude in general. An intensely personal landmark, symbolising
his hard-won triumph over devastating adversity, but it's open for
all to admire and enjoy! Born out of personal tragedy, it's become a highly
visible symbol
of optimism and victory. Malcolm's great reasons for building it mirror the
eternal quip of
mountain climber George Mallory that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest "because
it's there."
And how many sculptures in town can you climb up and enjoy hands-on, even
adding on and expanding them? Malcolm's Rock Pile is a real people's
monument, to be enjoyed and accessed by everybody. Think up new and
entertaining ways of enjoying it, but without doing any damage to it, please!
But who could come up with a better name than "Malcolm's Rock Pile?" Let me
know by clicking on Email to Editor in the header line of any
Lamma-zine story.
P.S.
"Publishable Response to the story" from Malcolm (who was happy to
see the story above: "Wow! Fame at last!" Photos by Malcolm):
|
Malcolm the Rock
Pile Builder & Balancer (new official Lamma nickname!) |
|
Thanks for publishing the pictures
and story about "my" pile of rocks. I'm not sure I can claim
ownership of the rocks - but I'll take responsibility for their
arrangement. All the other additions of flags, water bottles,
seaweed, graffiti, and wooden stools (2 so far...) have been
contributed by anonymous donors.
The question I get asked most is
"What are you doing?" and the serious answer is that I started
the pile out of frustration at my weakness when I came out of
hospital at the end of last year. After a while I had to ask myself
the next obvious question: "When are you going to stop?" and the
first answer that came to mind was - "When it's higher than my head"
- so that became my informal goal. I've reached that now and I'm
rather less obsessed with the pile than I was when I began so its
growth has slowed a lot. I fully expect it to be demolished by a
typhoon during the next few months and have no plans to replace it
when that happens!
At the beginning, I worked at it
several times a week and got twitchy if I missed a few days, and
irritated when people knocked large parts of it down. But as the
months have passed I've become more relaxed. After all the rocks
aren't going very far. If people want to roll them down - well go
ahead and have fun! I can just carry them back up to the top
tomorrow - it's good for my leg strength and for my balance....
All people are encouraged to
'decorate' Power Station beach! :)
In fact
over the past few days I've branched out into rock balancing
- just putting single rocks one on top of the other. It takes less
physical effort, and a lot more concentration. The results are fun
too, though they don't usually last more than a few hours! |
 |
|
Gisela - Moderator of
Lamma Ferries forum
(Her
blog and Facebook group
Concern for Lamma Ferry Service) |
|
Renew
your monthly ferry ticket for $531 for the
Yung Shue Wan route for the last time for July!
For
monthly ticket users, it's time for renewal again.
Starting from July, separate monthly tickets will
apply to the two routes. The new standard prices
will be:
YSW – Central: $580
SKW – Central: $621
HOWEVER,
for JULY only, you will still be able to renew the
YSW-Central and
Yung Shue Wan
- Pak Kok - Aberdeen
route at the old price of $531.
[Editor: You'll also still be able to use the
Central-Sok Kwu Wan route and get unlimited return
trips per day, but for this month only.]
State
clearly to the ferry company staff that you need the
$531 YSW monthly ticket to include the YSW-PK-ABD
route,
otherwise you might end up with the new, higher
price!
Renewal
will take place at the same 'offices' at Central and
YSW piers.
Renewal schedule( Jun - Jul):
Central Pier 4:
June 28, 30 / July 2: 8am - 6pm
June 29 / July 1: 9am - 6pm
YSW
Pier: June 28 – July 2: 5 - 11pm.
For more
info and questions, check out our
That Time of the Month forum. |
|
|
Cliff Goldthwaite - Lamma Newbie,
GotWebHK.com
|
|
Lamma BOG (Business Owners Group) had its
Third Meeting today, June 26th. Meetings to date have
started at 7am, but because of several requests we will be
running the meetings from 8-9am in the future.
As part of our regular agenda, we ask a member
of the group to present an in- depth look at what they offer as
services. At today's meeting, after our regular, individual
1-minute intros and business card exchanges for new attendees,
Debi Yeung, an experienced graphic designer and art director
presented her work.
She has had nearly 20 years experience in Hong
Kong and runs her own graphic design and advertising business,
Virgo68. Her presentation highlighted her work for a wide range
of clients from Shanghai Tang to Oxfam, and she spoke about the
particular aspects of doing graphic design work for the Hong
Kong market. Please visit her web site at
Virgo68.com.hk.
After her presentation, we heard from Julian
Harley who spoke about how search engines work (in
particular Google) and how to get your site listed on their
first page. Julian offers web site development services through
his company
Webhead.hk.
Fourth Meeting:
Thu, July 31, 8AM
10-minute presentation by Lamma-Gung
about his favourite topic and labour of love,
Lamma.com.hk.
He's promised to answer all, even embarrassing questions.
Carole Lewis will lead a discussion on
Networking for business - especially when you live on Lamma.
If you have a subject that you think will be of
interest to the group, please let one of our moderators know.
Again, start time will be 8am. Look for our posters
around town, or check on this website.
Just a reminder: We have to pay for the space we
meet in, so we are asking attendees to contribute $20 at
the beginning of each meeting.
Register for the next meeting with:
Check out this separate web page, updated before/after each
meeting and linked from a new free ad banner on the lower left
side of this page:
Lamma.com.hk/BOG |
Typhoon Fengshan has hit HK almost directly, causing a record
5 severe weather warnings to be issued at the same time (see above). I
braved the very "inclement weather"
 to bring you some stormy pictures of
Yung Shue Wan:
 
The evening before the typhoon -- Sampan
Beach in front of Green Cottage Rest.
  
"Welcome to Lamma Island" sign turned into an
island
The Public Library got flooded: "Wet Floor" sign
New Yung Shue Long drainage channel: more space for garbage
  
The Waterfront's guest & manager playing
catch-me-if-you-can
Take your seasick pills before boarding the ferry
Political banners torn asunder by nature, not protesters...
No eggs or chicks to be found, fortunately
  
The Heroes of the Day doing a huge &
difficult, but great & quick clean-up job!
The Democracy Wall needs a new coat of paint, definitely! -- Saved from the
fall
 
Oops, too close! -- Getting-splashed-zone
outside The Waterfront
 
Salad with your pizza, anyone? -- Only little
damage on my rooftop
 
Path
or row of ponds? -- Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder
SCMP columnist Andrew Sun used the typhoon aftermath to launch
another stupid slur at Lamma's expense: "Waves
of trash wash up on Lamma beaches...no, we're not referring to the drunks on
the weekend."
Nick the Bookman got mightily upset about this "niggly little dig"
and emailed me an unusually strong rant. Read it in our
Waves of Litter Crash on PSB forum.
Power
Station Beach Clean-up: Sat, Jun 28,
2-5pm.
Organised by
Yeung
Siu-yu (email him for more info,
photos and poster design by Siu-yu).
Here's the
bilingual poster, the
Chin. forum (where this topic originated), the
English forum, plus a
contact email for more info.
 
©
SCMP, Jun 24, 2008 --
© Yeung Siu-yu
The Planning Dept. has released the
Approved Lamma Island Outline Zoning Plan (pdf file, 48 pages) in
June 2007 (press release). It's a fascinating document and probably the most
detailed description of Lamma Island, her areas and utilities I've ever
seen. Discuss the various points of interest in this document in our
dedicated topic in our
Environmental & Political forum.
Points of interest in the Zoning Plan:
-
Planned bicycle
park between the ferry pier and the library (see above).
-
Comprehensive
Development Area of 2 hectares in the former Cement Works in
Sok Kwu Wan, plus two rejected applications (by local or off-island
developers?) a few years back to enlarge the area. Gross Floor Area
120,000 sqft is planned, 3 storeys high, like the Village Houses.
A
CDA means that basically anything for low-rise, low-density
residential use (house, restaurants, schools, churches, shops, public
utilities, etc) can be built in that area, after approval from the Town
Planning Dept.
-
Lamma Quarry is
still an "Undetermined" area and could later be zoned into
anything. "Potential for development of temporary tourism and
recreational activities."
-
Relocation of
Sand Depot close to YSW ferry pier to someplace else in YSW.
-
Population according to the 2007
by-census of all of Lamma Island was 5,150. But the plan says, "Is is
estimated that the planned population of the
Area would be about 12,000." The population has actually
been SHRINKING by 300+ persons in the last 5 years...
-
A Commercial
site on the "future reclaimed land" (0.37 ha) on the YSW
harbourfront, planned as a "small-scale commercial focal point", "to add
vibrancy to the locality." See the red, square C area in the map
above.
These are all just govt. zoning plans, of course, even
though they're "Approved" zoning plans. None of this has actually been
approved for construction and it might take many years, if ever, to actually
happen. But it all needs to be watched closely by whoever is interested.
Check out the interactive online map of Lamma:
After some limited input from ferry passengers, there have
been a number of amendments to the Yung Shue Wan-Central time tables from
July 1, plus the new fares, of course. See below. The monthly ticket will
still cost the current $531 for July,
increasing to $580 only in Aug. But only a single daily return trip YSW-Central
will be allowed from July 1. You also can't use the Central-Sok Kwu Wan
route with the monthly ticket anymore, but have to pay extra.
You can still use the monthly ticket for the Yung Shue
Wan-Pak Kok-Aberdeen route till Aug 14 when HKKF's license for the route
will run out. The successor isn't confirmed yet, but it might not be HKKF.
Whoever will run those ferries after Aug 14, the YSW-Aberdeen route will
cost extra for monthly ferry ticket users. Check out our regularly
updated ferry forum for details.
A warm and friendly welcome to
Gisela, the new moderator of the
Lamma Ferries forum I've just appointed. She also runs the very
informative bilingual
Concern for Lamma Ferry Facebook group and the Chin.
Aroma
Gisela blog.
The ferry links on the left of this page will be updated on July 1, of
course.
 
Life in Yung Shue Wan has just become quite a bit
more dangerous! After almost 7 years as a pedestrian on Lamma, as part
of my long-term weight loss/fitness plan, I've taken up riding a bicycle
again, after 30+ years of not riding one. Growing up in the countryside
- in an area not unlike Lamma Island, but with lakes and ponds instead
of the sea - we loved biking to school and everywhere else. Testing my
rusty skills yesterday, I rented a bike from our bike shop ($15/hour
only!). Wobbling, swerving and spinning through Main and Back Street, I
felt like a bowling ball out of control. Imagine yourself and all
fellow pedestrians as bowling pins...
For sun protection, I was wearing an extremely cheap, unfashionable,
hillbilly-style straw hat - so popular on Lamma - for sun protection. But
I'll have to look at one of these silly, streamlined bicycle helmets soon.
My noggin is
my most important asset and without it fully functional and undamaged, the Lamma-zine
would become even sillier, weirder and "incomprehensibler". Too late, some
of you might say...
But if I'd ever fall off a bicycle I'd hit the road so hard that
wearing a helmet might be the least of my worries, I'd need full body armour. Better
ride really carefully and reasonably slowly and ding-ding my bell a lot. Yes, I'm
starting to turn into one of these annoying bike riders who're ringing
their bell all the time, demanding that these obnoxious road obstructions,
called pedestrians, get out of their way immediately!
Getting on a bicycle, my attitude shifted
almost instantly from mild-mannered pedestrian to "Hell's Angels" mode. All these slow and annoying pedestrians
blocking my path, moving sooo slowly or not at all, rarely jumping out of
my way! Children running around randomly! Dogs! Huge strollers! Erratically
meandering hikers! Gaggles of off-island teenagers blocking the entire path! Aieeyaaah!
Bike Road Rage is fortunately rare on Lamma,
but it certainly wasn't a totally alien concept to me anymore during this
ride... An unfamiliar, even frightening feeling...
Sharing the narrow paths with hiking visitors
is no fun, better to stay off the only beaten path altogether, meaning the
Family Trail from the ferry pier to Hung Shing Yeh to Sok Kwu Wan. The entire rest
of our island is almost hiker-free, even on sunny weekends! It could be a paradise for bikers, if
there just wouldn't be all these *&^%$#! steep hills all over! But after walking up
one, you can roll down, free-wheeling, oh what fun! Riding the 2nd Cable Route from Power Station
Beach up the hill to the wind turbine. I made it up there almost halfway!
Afterwards, rolling down all the way, gliding all along the beach in this
high-visibility, amazing sunshine was definitely worth the steep ascent before!
But if you're not
really careful, you could end up in a really spectacular, high-speed crash,
like something out of AXN channel's "Whacked Out Sports". But as a
consolation prize, you'd be entitled to a free ride in one of Lamma's cool
mini-ambulances all the way to the Lamma Clinic, maybe even by helicopter to
hospital, if you got really, really whacked out...
But then I returned the rented bicycle and became a
mild-mannered pedestrian again, only occasionally annoyed about all the
obnoxious bikers, the pushy, constant bell-abusers and the
"Mountain bikers in ludicrously fashionable outfits in garish technicolour,
latest-fad sneakers, groovy, ribbed helmets and tight-ass spandex shorts"...
Might I be joining them soon? Looking for a new or used
bicycle now...
Barry O'Rorke, playing "Phil" (a drunken actor
who plays Mercutio, Paris and the Page) and Dee Cheung, playing "Chicky"
(Juliet) in "These Actors of Mine."
|
Nina Fussing - Co-director (Tel. 9180-8573 for
more info):
(L-G: Nina contacted the Lamma-zine for some publicity
for her "These Actors of Mine" theatre play. I asked a
few silly questions for Lammaite Barry O'Rorke (see above
left, not right!) Nina got them all answered for me, even
writing it all up in the fun little show promo below. Thanks,
Nina, for making the life of this editor so easy! I can take the
rest of the day off now.) |
|
As everyone knows Lamma is a breeding ground for many unique species,
including varieties of the thespian-type. Barry O'Rorke is one of the many
fine specimens which "Isla de Lamma" has produced and his latest endeavour is
a new comedy
"These Actors of Mine" showing at the Fringe July 10-12th.
Presented by
DigitalRev, this play within a play
follows the trials and tribulations of a group of misfit actors attempting
to stage Shakespeare's classic story of Romeo and Juliet on a budget. Of
course, every imaginable thing goes wrong, from missed lighting cues to
costume mishaps, a frustrated director, a pregnant Lady Capulet and actors
having nervous break-downs. The play culminates with a slew of hilariously
disastrous performances, lethal poultry and a kiss. Just another perfect day
in theatre, really!
We sat down with our dapper Mr. Barry to ask him about his personal
experience in this unique comedy:
 What is your role in this play?
We hear copious drinking is involved?
 Well, this one is a play within a play and the character is a total lush
playing Shakespeare, or trying to at least. Of course, Shakespeare wrote a
number of total lushes as characters into some of his plays, usually in
comedies or as comedic breaks in otherwise serious pieces - like in 'The
Tempest' for instance. This is the opposite; I'm playing a drunkard trying
to play straight Shakespeare so we'll see how it turns out.
How do you prepare for such a role?
I just rely on my instincts and amalgam- ate a few inspirational figures I
guess, and probably chuck in a few of my own particular nuances (of course,
I've never been as blind plastered as this guy gets in my life...ahem.)
Ever practice on a rooftop much to the
chagrin of your neighbours?
Declaiming on a rooftop and annoying my neighbours? No I haven't got
around to that. Even if I did I would be drowned out by the frogs round my
way, truly a deafening cacophony, even worse than me.
Can
we see you on Power Station Beach practicing your vocal chords
against the tidal waves crashing on the beach?
Forget
it! Too bloody hot or wet for trying that nonsense down there at
this time and I'm probably too lazy at heart.
How do you practice for the show and how's the reaction of the local
wildlife, of the 4- and 2-legged variety?
My practice sessions tend to be confined to my head (anywhere) or the
ferry journey, where if you watch me closely I can be seen mumbling
inaudibly to myself. I'm 'rehearsing', not losing my grip on reality, though I couldn't blame anyone for thinking the latter.
A few words about the deep appreciation and admiring looks from the
ladies (or ridicule?) that a Shakespearean thespian is receiving from fellow
Lammaites?
As for admiring looks, well, the above example would only merit concerned
looks - from anyone, I think. I'm past my best at my age, so those things
are but a fond memory. Still, as Oscar Wilde quipped, "The only thing worse
than being noticed is not being noticed."
In summary:
Join the rubber chickens and the rest of the audience for a
nice evening out and a good chuckle! See you there.
|
.jpg)
Show:
These Actors of Mine
Type: Comedy
Date: 10th-12th July, 2008
Time: 7:30PM
Location: Fringe Studio, Fringe Club
Click for more info
Presented by:
DigitalRev
Produced by:
Phoenixation Productions
Ticketing:
HK Ticketing
Price: $150 ($120 for concessions)
.jpg)
A very pregnant Lady Capulet
Yes, there are rubber chickens in this play!
.jpg)
One
more actor having a nervous break-down |
You're most welcome to call me an uncool old fogey, but even as a full-time
Internet professional since 1995 I admit to still enjoy reading newspapers,
print magazines and books every day; in addition to all the web surfing for
work and fun. So uncool for a self-confessed tree-hugger to like dead-tree
old media...
I've just finished the astounding, mind-blowing paperback
novels "Matter" and "The Algebraist" by
Ian M Banks, getting wholly immersed in these so
truly alien but also so familiar
worlds, peoples and stories that this Wonderfully Wordiferous Wizard
Wordsmith is
conjuring up. It's not often that you go "Wow!" while reading a book,
dazzled by an author's breathtaking virtuosity with words and his amazing
hyper-creativity in dreaming up and describing in great detail believable
and fascinating alien worlds, peoples, societies, empires...
Some of my neighbours must surely think me strange, sitting up there in my
rooftop garden, rain or shine, rocking quietly back and forth and then
suddenly going "Wow!", occasionally. Another "chee seen gwailo" for sure,
better to stay out of his way...
Enjoying print magazines in general, coming across a new issue that's publishing
some of my own photos is a special treat, of course.
The British Chamber of Commerce
has just published their June '08 magazine, using 3 of my photos, some from
my
Building a Cantonese Opera Bamboo Arena photo gallery. The credit of "Photo ©
Lamma-Gung, www.lamma.com.hk" below each of the 3 photos below make this
article a nice little addition to my "Published Photos Portfolio". I
consider having my photos used in more and more newspapers and magazines as
a nice recognition; occasionally I even get paid (a little bit.)
And yes, I use "Lamma-Gung" as my "nom de plume", a pseudonym for all my
work, paid or not, whether it's photos in the SCMP, an exhibition, a new
website or writing/photo-editing a Forbes magazine article...
 
Here's the BritCham story:
"Sichuan Earthquake: Help from Hong Kong" (pdf file, scroll down to
Page 7). It's about our 2 new Laudable Lamma Luminaries, Gavin & Hugh,
and their efforts to bring relief materials to the Sichuan Earth- quake
victims. The idea they've been promoting since their Sichuan visit is
building similar bamboo structures as temporary "field hospitals, relief
housing and interim schools", as they can be erected so quickly and
cheaply.
So, after this nice little publicity,
who needs fast professional photography at high
quality and really low cost? This website is almost a
full-time job, but doesn't pay my bills, so I'm always eager for extra work
in writing/editing, online marketing, website maintenance and photography...
For samples look around anywhere on this website - all unaccredited photos
are my own - but especially in the
Galleries section.
I'm very flexible, usually available on short notice and shoot everything
from portraits and events to architecture and travel subjects.
Post-processing and Photoshopping to make your photos look really special is
usually included for free.
The deep disparity between visiting a place and actually
living there comes to mind so vividly whenever I see a description of Lamma written for
tourists, like this one on the
HKTB website:
"Located less than half an hour by ferry from
bustling downtown Hong Kong, Lamma is an
eclectic velting-pot of arty
culture and Chinese tradition. Due to its proximity to town, it is one of
the most adored weekend getaways. Clean air, golden beaches, delicious
seafood and fantastic hiking are the main draws.
In fact, many city folk love the island so
much that they have moved here in recent years, creating a thriving
community of expatriates and commut- ing locals. Bicycles are the mode of
transport as there are no cars. Skyscrapers are not to be seen as the
buildings are all low-rise."
That's the first time I've heard any place being called a
velting-pot
- sounding so much more mysterious and intriguing than the slightly more common "melting-pot".
Actually, it is
indeed an absolutely unique term on the entire Internet, resulting in only
2
Google hits, the HKTB website and an Italian translation of the
same page. We always suspected, no, KNEW that Lamma is unique, didn't we?
Don't you just love living in a place with "Clean air,
golden beaches, delicious seafood and fantastic hiking"? Just
talking about it makes me want to leave my home office right now, do some
fantastic hiking through our clean air to a golden beach and enjoy some
delicious seafood... IF the rain would ever cease...
More Silly and/or Serious Stuff in tomorrow's daily blog!
Hey, one last thing before I sign off for today to catch a
movie off-island...
While Googling above, I got distracted (as one so often
does) in a chain of searches, discovering a neat little way of
looking at random images from this entire website. They look a bit
like an edited Lamma photo history of the last 6 years... Click on each
image to view the story that featured it. There are 21 Google pages full of
Lamma-zine images to choose from:
Eric Sampson writes:
"Thought you might like these pictures of a very colourful bug called
Cetonia aurata, known as the Rose Chafer, or more rarely as the
Green Rose Chafer. You can see the green tints on the legs and edges. It's
been around my garden for the last week or so."
|
Gaynor: "Can you please post this on the website? Thanks
:-)" |
Sunday, July 6th there will be a
DVD, book and magazine sale. Money collected will be donated to the
cyclone victims in Burma. This weekend -
Sunday, June 22 - we will start
collecting donations for the sale. So, please have a spring clean,
and let us have anything you no longer need.
Please make sure things are in a decent condition - i.e. no
missing covers, etc., please! There will be drop-off points at:
Cath's Bar - Banyan Bay Cafe - and the
Deli Lamma.
There will be further drop-off points organised nearer the time,
watch for notices on the wall. The sale will be held from
10am on July 6, near Spicy Island.
Your help is still desperately needed, as many people are still
living near to starvation point, every dollar helps.
Thanks to all who came to the quiz at
the
Island Bar last month - we raised over $5,000! |
Checking out the more and more numerous
Lamma Blogs frequently, you come across some great posts that are
worth to be shared with a much wider audience via this high-traffic
Lamma-zine. You've got a Lamma-related blog, get it linked! Here's a truly
beautiful and very inspiring post from
Wang Hong's bilingual blog which also shows her many wonderful
Lamma photos:
|
Wang Hong - "From Lamma Island 自南丫岛" - Sat, May 31, 2008: |
|
Metamorphosis
 In
the deeper part of North Lamma Island, up to the hills beyond Tai
Peng Village, there is a beautiful trail overlooking the sea. This
is our Morning Trail. Leading to the entrance of the Morning
Trail, a long pass winds through verdant woods and bushes. Now is
time for wild flowers and butterflies. Every year in early summer
and late autumn, many butterflies of different sizes and colors
flutter on one section of this pass, making it almost dream-like.
I remember once being asked by my then two-year-old son, "When
a butterfly dies, it changes into a flower, right?" I smiled and
said, "Yes, a butterfly is as beautiful as a flower, but when it was
young, it was a caterpillar." To me, the metamorphosis in a
butterfly's life is an impossible dream that comes true...
...To Chinese, butterflies symbolize freedom, conjugal love,
beauty and soul but at the same time death, vulnerability of life,
female vanity and transient joy. Its metamorphosis is the
extrication from flesh to soul and rise from the heavy, ugly reality
to the light and beautiful spiritual world. In traditional Chinese
culture, death is anyway not seen as an end, but a metamorphosis
into another form of existence.
Every time I walk along the butterfly section before the Morning
Trail, I have the feeling that I can raise my hand and touch a
dream. A thought often comes to mind. If I were a caterpillar and
could exchange my whole life for a day as a butterfly, would I be
willing to? When I became a butterfly, would I still carry the
memories of a caterpillar?
Continue reading in Wang Hong's blog... |
A picture really says more than a thousand words...
Click to zoom in on this photo, so you might easily recognise
the members of this flashy new Lamma Band with their multi-coloured hairdos?
This royal souvenir photo above has been submitted by KING
Dan who is sharing power equally, Narnia-style, with QUEEN Sharon, PRINCESS
Sascha and PRINCE Andrew. KING Dan writes: "A fun photo souvenir
taken by the paparazzi at the We Will Rock You rock musical here
today... offering some definitive evidence that aging rockers really do live
on, reincarnated as a younger set!"
The KING might have severe second thoughts about submitting
this photo by now, especially after he'll have to face the dire wrath of his
entire embarrassed family for doing so. Fortunately, all of them have
really great senses of humour (I hope!)
But this non-typical Lamma Band is so brand-new it's not even
got a proper name yet! Who can come up with a suitable band moniker? And
when will they rock Lamma in their first gig in The Island Bar (which the
KING and QUEEN co-own)?
Trying hard to come up with some potential band names:
Rock the Petersons? The Island
Barflies? Kings & Queens of Lamma?
The Lamma Royal Family? Queer Queens of Lamma? SPAM QUEENS?
SpammaLamma? Andy Spammer & the Petersonites?
Lamma Royalty Going Wild? Sassy Sascha & the Petersonians?
Flashy Sascha & the Canonites? Princess Sascha & the Island Queens?
Nah! I'm sure that you can come up with much better band
names and leave them in our
The Petersons Will Rock You forum, please! The best band names,
together with this photo, will be added on to
The Island Bar
website (which I'm running for this great and loyal Lamma-zine
advertiser.)
|
Dr Marcus - HK University of Science & Technology
Business School:
(republished with his friendly permission from
his blog)
(photo by Anonymous Guy, taken in his home. See
forum for more details.) |
Now is spring time in South China and all snakes come out of
hibernation, including the Chinese Cobra.
Local guides of the Hong Kong Government map South Lamma Island,
around Mount Stenhouse and Mo Tat Wan to be a habitat. Also on
North Lamma, at the pavilion north of the Yung Shue Wan Pier and
in the region of Pak Ko Village, individual encounters are
possible.
Cobras usually do not attack aggressively, but when they flee it
is obvious that they are incredibly fast. The venom they carry is
the strong neurotoxin Cobratoxin B. There are individual fatal bites
recorded in Hong Kong. The species is protected under Hong Kong Law.
All over Guangdong, restaurants offer it on the menu. I like
Cobra meat deep- fried after cutting them in pieces of about 10cm.
It is better to take the skin off because it tastes like a "fried
handbag".
Nanja Atra, the Chinese Cobra, only has a very brief entry
in Wikipedia yet. Unfortunately, what I found online outside
Wikipedia also does not enable me to refine the entry. This would be
a good evening work for a zoologist - either amateur or
professional. |
(Click posters to enlarge them)
There's so much happening in the Lamma Activities Centre on Main Street,
opposite the Deli Lamma, behind the Ice Cream Parlour, it's hard to keep up.
Above is the latest batch of new posters and there's a lot more listed on
their full schedule, from Junior Kickboxing and Movement Meditation to
Cantonese Shopping Classes and Lamma Business Owners Group meetings (incl.
Yours Truly).
What is the best way of keeping up, staying informed and not missing any of
these very interesting and free or low-cost activities? Subscribe to their
RSS Feed (click
here) to get the announcements in your own feed reader, or check out
their website www.Lamma.org.
Below is a little list of their recent new activities in the last 2 weeks
alone. For details check out their
calendar -
classes almost every day of the week, 4 today, 5 on Saturday,...
A non-bird picture by Lamma's Master Wildlife Photographer
Anonymous Guy. He posted it in our Flora & Fauna forum with his typically
modest & self-deprecating understatement:
"Yep, think it is this chap....... Some sort of Cicada, methinks...... "
I think it is one of his very best ever photos, a true
masterpiece, an almost unbelievably good shot, technically and visually
almost perfect. So I asked for some more details about it and how it was
taken. His response below confirmed the amazing patience, dedication,
experience and expertise that has to go into a single shot like this to come
up with such a fantastic result. And yes, it's the emotion of the little
tiny ant meeting this huge monster that makes this picture so special, in
addition to the great colours, tones, patterns, composition, sharpness,
timing, background, cropping, etc.
|
Anonymous Guy - Lamma's Master
Wildlife Photographer: |
|
Think it is a
Cicada.
I was sitting in front of my pond (after 1 year of work it still
leaks !!) and thinking it really is about time I started doing
some macro shots (have been thinking the D3 would really forgive
my shortcomings), when this green chap landed on my bare knee.
I wondered...., is this a sign ? I really should try & get a
shot. Nah, he'll fly off in a second.
Ten minutes later
of staring at one another...... I thought yes....., let's give
it a try. So I started crabbing my way through the French
windows into the living room in the direction of my camera,
trying not to disturb the little critter......... stumbled, and
realised how stupid I'd been.
I mean, really....., how was I going to get the 500mm lens off
the D3 & stick the 105mm on...., and then screw the ball head
mount on the camera, get the other tripod & set everything up
and photograph a Cicada on my knee....., as if I even wanted a
photo of a Cicada on my knee.
Old age & senility is taking hold quicker than I thought !!!
Then I looked down
& incredibly he was still there. So I went for it.
Gently picked him up, took him outside and placed him on the
piece of wood...... he didn't even blink an eyelid.
Went inside & set things up with the camera & tripod.....,
suddenly realising how different it is taking macro shots.
Didn't have a clue how to set up.
Went outside & incredibly he was still there.
Looked thru the
viewfinder & saw this random ant having a chat with my new found
friend.
Rattled off a few shots before the moment was lost & without
thinking too much about setup.
Spent the next hour trying to get better shots...., but no
matter what I did, they all turned out wrong.
Postscript.....
Last night we had a really heavy storm with thunder &
lightning......, stepped out this morning and there he was.....
still in the same position.
Think I could have crabbed my way half way round Hong Kong
shopping for a more suitable lens, and he would have stayed on
my knee.
Nikon D3 w/Nikkor
VR 105mm F/2.8 G
2008/06/01 14:18:04.3
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/60 sec - F/18
Exposure Comp.: -0.7 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 800
Optimize Image:
White Balance: Color Temp. (5000 K)
AF Mode: AF-S
Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
Processing. Crop to suit.
White spotter in curves (should've toned down the white bits on
the wood!!!!)
Contrast about +8, Brightness about +3, Noise reduction,
Selective Sharpening. |
Marc Anthony explained: "Great shot Guy. As you
say, it looks like a cicada. It might have just crawled up out of the ground
(where they live for several years) and shed its underground skin, so would
have clung to the same spot waiting for its 'new' skin to dry out (and
darken, presumably)."
| David Wilson, Sunday Post
Magazine: (© SCMP, June 8, 2008) |
|
Net pickings: Top 20
local [Hong Kong] websites
12. Lamma (Lamma.com.hk)
This citizens' forum presents stories and photos
from the island's "intriguing, interesting" inhabitants. The site
reminds us that there is more to Hong Kong than legions of careerist
go-getters. It also explores the antics of pagans, topless
sunbathers and all kinds of "ferals". |
Well, I'm flattered that my
little labour of love is listed in the top 20 of all of HK websites. The
descriptions are clichéd, true, but if they attract a few new curious
browsers and even some
new forum members, then I'm happy.
Lamma.com.hk seems to be in
pretty good company in
the list
(in reverse order):
Hong Kong
Disneyland,
Mister Bijou,
Hong Kong
Airport Shuttle,
Hong Kong Crawler,
Discover Hong
Kong, Web
Wednesday, Zorpia,
Xanga,
Glutter,
Hongkie Town,
Batgung,
Ordinary Gweilo,
The Underground,
Big White Guy,
aNobii,
Hong Kong Outdoors,
Cloudless,
Hemlock's Diary,
Bullpoo.
Another website - which I launched and webmastered for over 4 years - also made it into the top 20,
and several others are run by friends of mine...
The description of this website above also made
Nick the Bookman, an official and frequent correspondent, very happy when I
told him. Two of the 3 terms above used above to
describe the content of this website ("topless sunbathers" and "ferals")
were direct quotes from his Lamma 500 review. But he used these terms
to make fun of the trashy tabloid articles about Lamma, as
Alan pointed out in his
"Post Mag 'Net Pickings': same old same old" forum:
| Nick the Bookman,
Lamma-zine, May 13: |
|
"Blame Lamma-Gung, That's My Motto"
...You remember all those witless twitterings in the
News of the Screws Chinese tabloids like Next magazine. When they
claimed that drink and drug-addled deviants were doing day-glow
displays of Dionysian dementia. Rutting like feral hogs and
slaking their vile desires on naive young local girls, duped and
dosed into narcolepsy. I must have had dental
appointments all those nights, because this is the steamiest action
I've seen at the Power Station Beach since the topless sunbathing
fad late last millennium. How did I end up writing about this?... |
P.S. Dan Peterson writes:
"Huge congratulations on your listing among Hong Kong's top websites
in last week's SCMP Sunday magazine. I hope this feels like some reward/
vindication/ compensation for all the good work and creative energy that you
put into Lamma.com.hk on a continuing basis. Keep up the good work!"
|
Jay Scott Kanes - Official Court Pet Correspondent:
(Photo above - Power Station Beach BEFORE yesterday's deluge -
by
Kevin Bishop, all other photos by Jay) |
|
After Saturday's
violent "black" rainstorm, Lamma residents who like to romp in the
shadow of the Power Station discovered a new beach. Calm down!
That's a "new" beach, not a nude beach.
The friendly face of Power Station Beach frequently changes, its
contours and features remolded by the forces of nature, especially
wind and water. But with the latest storm, Mother Nature did a
massive redesign.
What used to be the main entrance became a large pond, like a
wading pool. Deep trenches zigzagged through the sand. New channels
drained into the ocean. In a "green education" move, vegetation
roots lay exposed for easy study. A familiar rubbish bin stood
precariously at the edge of a new precipice. Evidently, boats
stashed beneath the adjacent trees nearly had sailed without crews.
Deep
trenches cut across the sand.
Human and canine visitors marveled. Some remarked that workers
needed months to enhance a drainage ditch near The Spicy Island and
The Green Cottage. But a big storm builds multiple drainage routes
and more, all within a few hours.
 
The beach gains a wading pool. --
Vegetation roots lay exposed for easy study.
A soggy
theme prevails. |
A large pool replaces the main
entrance.
New channels drain to the ocean.
A rubbish bin hugs the edge of a new
precipice.
Boats stashed beneath the trees:
still there, barely. |
 The
Black Rainstorm Signal (the highest signal),
Thunderstorm Warning and
Landslip Warning this morning - plus a severe thunder- storm with
intense lightning directly above Lamma Island - have proven beyond any doubt
that my flat is NOT rain-proof at all!
Also, you should never ever leave any window
behind your PC open, even for just a little crack. My own stupidity
sometimes even surprises myself as I should know all about it from bitter
experience which should teach me a lesson occasionally. But no! Stupid and
stubborn go together so well, that's why they both start with "stu". Well,
my sturdy workhorse PC survived and no short-circuits so far... Otherwise
there wouldn't be any Lamma-zine story today!
The plants on my balcony and rooftop - which
is exposed to winds from all directions - didn't appreciate that the very
"violent gusts often occur in squall lines associated with thunderstorms"
(HK Observatory). The plants all survived, I think, but most flowers were
blown or washed off. But there'll be a wealth of
fresh, even more beautiful flower blossoming in just a few days! And no need to water them
today. In memoriam of the recent, abundant Blooming Boom in my rooftop
garden, below are a few snapshots I took just a few days ago.
Hard to believe that
my rooftop looked like this just a year ago! What an amazing transformation,
thanks to Lamma's Master Gardener Keren's initial expert setup and my almost
daily early morning work of tending and expanding it for the last year!
Frankly, I don't even know the names of most of the plants. Quite a few have
grown wild from wind-transmitted seeds or grown up from wild seedlings I
picked up in public areas along paths. There is a strict NO WEEDING policy
in my rooftop garden, everything is most welcome to grow and prosper (or be
eaten by bugs), without any pesticides or chemicals of any kind.
The one who can
name the most of these flowers (click to enlarge) will win a free dinner
in the YSW restaurant of their choice! Or would you prefer a pair of
grandpa/grandma mugs (see yesterday's story)?
Double Hibiscus -- Dianthus -- Portulaca -- Torenia fournieri
Clerodendron thomsoniae -- Poinsettia (local wild type)
Portulaca in various colours; also Vinca, Ruella & Coleus
Dipladanea (aka Mandevillea) -- Hibiscus single type
Unidentified - Ruellia malacosperma -- Plumeria alba (Frangipani)
Anthurium -- Portulaca & Tradescantia zebrina
P.S. The winner of the free dinner was
Jane Ram, the moderator of the
Gardening forum, choosing The Waterfront. Her names have been added
above.
|
Cassie - Organiser of Fundraiser for Burma, Thu, May 22,
Deli Lamma:
(Photo above by L-G) |
|
Some of Lamma's finest turned out to tuck in to their favourite
tipple on behalf of the good people of Burma. Prafull had agreed
that for the paltry sum of $35 a drink, 45% of the proceeds would be
donated to the victims of cyclone Nargis.
 Thanks
to Cassie for her amazing organizing, Prafull for his donation of
the bar percentage, and Sun's candles, Annie H, Best Kebab, the
Bookworm, the Lamcombe, Emily's, Green Cottage, the Lung Kong
Sichuan Restaurant, the Banyan Bay Café, and the anonymous donor (of
the vibrating duck) for the raffle prizes.
The cyclone ripped through the Rangoon an the Irrawady Delta a
month ago, leaving over 150,000 dead (and still counting) and
hundreds of thousand more displaced, homeless and starving. Without
food or clean water, it is almost certain that these people will
die.
Unlike China, whose government has openly appealed for help
following the devastating earthquake in the Sichuan province, the
Burmese government has done nothing. Instead they have sat in their
ivory towers, insisting on a referendum which they believe will
further prove their right to run a country they took by force, and
rule by fear.
Every cent you can spare can help to save lives. We raised
$11,397 that night through drinks
sales and the raffle, and the running total I have raised so far
through your generosity is: $34,565.
I bought 2,500 electrolyte mixes in Bangkok recently and gave
them to colleagues of mine who took them back into Rangoon
personally. My Burmese colleagues distributed them as they are able
to get to parts of the Delta region where no aid workers can.
All money raised goes directly to them in cash, there are
no charity 'admin fees' involved, everything is getting directly to
the people who need it the most. It's all going in right under the
noses of the military junta who are happy to watch their own people
starve.
On July 6th we plan to run a DVD, CD, book and magazine
sale – more details of how to donate your old unwanted items
soon. We will also be looking for
volunteers to help out. |
Photos by Cassie:
 |
P.S. by L-G:
Many thanks to the organisers for the raffle prize I won by buying 6 tickets
from Cassie when passing the Deli Lamma in the late afternoon. My prize was
a set of grandpa/grandma mugs:
 
A very suitable prize, as Lamma-Por had just unintentionally broken my
favourite coffee mug, used daily since my dotcom days, in the morning of the
day I won this prize above! No problem, it was just a mug, just "stuff", not
important for my happiness. Lamma-Por is a grandma and I'm a step-grandpa,
the mugs are perfect! And my lucky number was No. 16, a double 8! Should I
start believing in lucky 8s?
I also wouldn't have minded winning the vibrating Duckie above, but what to
do with it besides rubbing it? The mind boggles...
|
The Electric New Paper, Singapore: |
|
Chased by cops, boat pilot leaps into
sea, then...
Five prostitutes left alone on speeding boat
in pitch darkness
©
ELECTRIC NEWS, June 05, 2008
LIKE a rat ditching a sinking ship, the pilot of a speedboat
jumped into the water off Hong Kong when he found two police vessels
on his tail.
And he left five women - all prostitutes from China - screaming
in the dark on board a boat with no one to steer it.
The incident at 7.30pm on Sunday began with a high-speed chase in
waters south of the territory, reported
South China Morning Post
("Five saved as skipper abandons speedboat").
The 7m-long boat was heading towards Lamma Island without any
navigation lights on, Superintendent Ling Wai Po, head of the Marine
Police small boat division, told reporters.
Two police vessels were deployed to intercept the boat to find
out why.
But the speedboat's skipper ignored their repeated orders to
stop. Instead, he revved the engine and raced away.
Said Supt Ling: '(He) tried a number of times to outrun our
pursuit boats and created a dangerous situation in a bid to stop our
officers from catching him.
'Our boats also had to swerve or slow down to avoid a collision,
but there were minor bumps with our vessels.'
The police had to fire a flare gun nine times to light up the
area during the 10-minute chase.
When the runaway boat was about 5km from Lamma Island, the pilot
jumped into the sea.
The five women, clinging to the railings of the speeding boat,
started screaming for help.
ESCAPE ATTEMPT
Said Supt Ling: 'We believe the coxswain (pilot) deliberately
abandoned the speedboat in order to divert our attention and (keep)
our officers occupied with saving the speedboat so that he could
swim away.'
A police vessel caught up with the speedboat about two minutes
later and officers leapt on board.
The 28-year-old pilot, who was trying to swim away, was fished
out of the water by the other police craft.
The China national was arrested for endangering lives at sea.
The five woman, aged between 17 and 25, were arrested and
questioned.
This is the fifth time in four weeks that Hong Kong's marine
police have intercepted speedboats with illegals headed for Cheung
Chau, Lamma Island or Lantau.
Supt Ling said: 'In the previous four cases, the coxswains also
made aggressive manoeuvres to elude police.'
A total of 22 illegal immigrants - suspected sex workers and job
seekers from China and Vietnam - were arrested in the past four
cases. |
|
Bobsy - Organiser of the 11th year of Tree Planting in the
growing Lamma Forest project of ABLE CHARITY: |
|
dear one & all, this coming saturday (the 31st of may) we will be
planting 100 local, indigenous trees up in the lamma forest....
this year will be different from all previous tree planting
daze.... in that this one we ONLY plant 100 babes!! the idea being
that we take our time and consciously plant the trees with as much
love, care and TIME we need to bless them on their journey and
enhance our own energy exchange with not only the trees but the
entire forest... this tree planting event is also by invitation only
and you are all invited. you may bring a close friend, spouse, lover
or partner with you. please confirm this with me in advance.
this year is different, because there is no specific site or
location to be planted, rather it will be a free spontaneous
instinctive planting, where each team will go to a location of their
choice within the forest boundaries and plant... there will be some
guide lines to ensure that the trees have the best chances of
survival and these i will explain in our briefing before we embark
on our mission as well as have a demo on how to plant etc...
there will probably be about a dozen or so of us and that means
that we only have about 5 to 10 trees each which is easy peasy lemon
squeezy and give us more time to enjoy the experience...
the tree planting will happen come rain or shine, so please be
prepared for all weather conditions and bring the right footwear,
hats, sun screen, water, long trousers and anything else you may
need to make your experience more comfortable. i am even tempted to
even propose a picnic.... but i won't, although for those of you not
familiar with the lamma forest, there are some beautiful spots under
the shade of trees or on cliff rocks overlooking the sea... any
thoughts on this one, anyone? perhaps we just bring some snacks and
take it from there...
gloves, tools and all you need for planting the trees will be
provided on the day.
we will begin the day by meeting at 9.00 AM in GAIA VALLEY and
then we will walk up to the forest.
all those who are coming from central, please catch the 8.20 AM
ferry from central pier no 4 heading to Yung Shue Wan.
lawrence (yogi) will be on that ferry to lead you up to the
valley for those who don't know the way...
 |
Photos by Justin Curtin:
Photos by Dr Merrin Pearse
Ecopreneur and
Geodesist,
more in his
web photo gallery:
 |
The very first Laudable Lamma Luminaries this year
have been appointed, a very rare and prestigious honour! Take a bow,
Gavin Neale & Hugh Chow, Lamma
Dragonboaters and all-round good guys for their efforts in visiting the
Sichuan Earthquake zone and delivering much-needed supplies.
See the AFP story below for details. For other Laudable
Lamma Luminaries, search for this honourary title - appointed by
Lamma.com.hk - in the Search box at the top right of this page!
There's also an even better personal story written by
Lammaite Hugh Chow himself, published in the
SCM Post on June 1:
Click here to read "Quake relief on the fly " and comment on it.
|
Agence France Press:
(Photos by Gavin, from his Facebook account) |
|
Beneath official radar, foreigners offer
help to quake victims
LOD,
639 words, 23 May 2008, 12:45, Eng.
©
Copyright Agence France-Presse,
2008
All reproduction and presentation rights reserved.
CHENGDU, China, May 23, 2008 (AFP)
As China appeals to the world for
help in coping with the millions of earthquake survivors, a few
foreigners have been quietly arriving in the nation offering
whatever assistance they can.
They have brought medicines, tents,
fresh water -- even sniffer dogs -- to what remains of the
cities and towns buried beneath millions of tonnes of rubble
when the massive earthquake hit Sichuan province on May 12.
However with Chinese officialdom
refusing permission for other relief workers and agencies to
enter the country, they have arrived in Sichuan's capital
Chengdu almost surreptitiously.
Some have relied on the support and
cooperation of Chinese embassies and, once they arrive, local
people and organisations such as hotels have offered them
discounted or even free services.
To help in the search for the dead,
a three-man team from the Dutch organisation Signi Searchdogs de
Rips arrived in Chengdu on May 17 with four dogs after taking
vacation time to offer their expertise.
For almost a week, veterinarians
Esther van Neerbos, Janette Kruit and Saad Atta, with their
Labrador and three Belgian shepherds have been recovering bodies
in some of the worst-hit areas, including Hanwang, which was
almost totally flattened.
Van Neerbos told AFP their trip was
only made possible with the help of China's embassy in Amsterdam
and the Dutch embassy in Beijing.
"We have not been given official
permission to be here, we have to work around that," she said.
"We think they don't want any
criticism of what they are doing or how they go about the task
of recovery, and so we work quietly on the sidelines, out of the
way of officials."
Van Neerbos said it was very
important psychologically for the relatives of the dead people
to recover the bodies.
"Otherwise they can never truly
believe their relatives are gone, they never say goodbye. We do
get a lot of gratitude from people when we find their
relatives," she said.
Van Neerbos said that on Thursday
the dogs helped recover the remains of 11 people in the Hanwang
administration building, a day after finding 22 bodies in what
had been residences.
The group, which has worked
disaster zones worldwide, is staying free at one of Chengdu's
major hotels, which also provides transport to the disaster
zone, translators, and space in the basement for the dogs, she
said.
Hong Kong residents Hugh Chow and
Gavin Neale arrived in Chengdu Thursday carrying 150 kilograms
of medicines and food from two non-profit groups, International
Rescue Corps of Scotland and Hartech Rescue of Alberta, Canada,
that were denied entry last week.
Neale said they were waved through
Chengdu's airport by sympathetic immigration and customs
officials even though they were travelling as tourists.
"We have been offering the medicine
and tents to hospitals and medical groups, and we have hundreds
of British and Canadian military rations that foreign doctors
working out in the epicentre can make use of," Neale said.
The two organisations had brought
to Hong Kong high-tech search equipment, including endoscopy and
sonic search aids, which they had taken back with them, he said.
"But there's a real need here for
the drugs, sleeping bags and tents and it seemed the right thing
to do to bring it up and see who needs it," he said, adding
Chinese people seemed extremely grateful.
"The help we've had from ordinary
people who want to help us to help them in the few hours since
we got here has been amazing."
More than 80,000 people are dead or
missing following the quake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale,
and another 5.47 million people are homeless, according to the
government's latest figures. |
 |
Always on the lookout for new stuff to feed this insatiably
hungry daily blog, and trying to get away without creating all the content
myself, I've been doing some "online research" about "Lamma Island". I
stumbled upon this blog-aggregating website, quite similar to Google's
Blogger.com (the most popular blogging software/hosting website):
TravelBlog -
"a collection of travel journals, diaries and photos from around the world".
Searching through their wealth of travel-related blogs, I
came across some real gems of
blog comments about Lamma & Lammaites, all written by visitors, not
residents. This is what Lamma visitors are blogging about us behind our
backs, after they've returned home, far away from our wrath! The orange
highlights below are my own, added on for emphasis and for your quick
browsing pleasure to locate quickly the most outrageous quotes. Discuss
these quotes in our new
A Mad Village... forum.
|
Wanderingbri: "Is this really
Hong Kong?" |
|
...Arriving in Lamma, I saw
a mad village of stray dogs, and stray
ex-pats milling about in no discernable order. The
village itself contained a swirling mix
of hippies zipping by on bikes, Indian restaurants,
Chinese markets, and kids playing all sorts of games. All of
this in narrow, winding streets.
The "Family" trail lead out of town
and into the next village. I took this trail, and soon
discovered that I really was on a remote island. I mean I could
have been anywhere in California. It
was weird! Not a soul to be found, save the fellow
walker. And the occasional burst of school kids. And the
occasional biker.... |
|
Joseph Teo: "Visiting Hong
Kong - Day 4 (Lamma Island P3)" |
|
...Tourists
were moving around the island like worms and the only
thing that struck my eyes were
Caucasians wearing bikinis. Woohoo! But
unfortunately, they're too fast, cuz' they cycled! God dammit.... |
|
FreeReigner: "China - 3
Friends, 4 Corners, Pt I" |
|
...Middle
of nowhere in Hong Kong, you say? That's right,
because just a 30 minute ferry can have you on Lamma Island,
where the beaches outnumber the people
and you'd swear you were back in the 'nam with Beck fighting
Charlie, instead of right next to the most densely populated
city on earth.
Hanging out
with a bunch of emotionally unstable hippies on a deserted
island isn't an
experience you can get from every world class city. I had always
wondered where wealthy Hong Kongers could escape to from their
'barren rock' on weekends and if nothing else, this trip
certainly gave me a better appreciation for the many faces of
Hong Kong.... |
|
Velyaen: "Lamma Island" |
|
...And it was very, very hot out,
and I, being an idiot, didn't have sunscreen or a hat. It was
all paved, but I have to wonder if it would have been nicer if
it had been a dirt path.
Anyway, despite all the complaints,
the views were amazing. Except for the
giant power station on one part of the island, which I really
didn't expect to be there. That was just funny,
though, since all along the path there were these little signs
thanking the power company for making the path. There were these
really cool little altars all along the path that I climbed up
to. Took lots of pictures of everything.... |
|
AlandSarah: "Hong Kong" |
|
...Time to meet up with Max, Al's
friend who lives on Lamma Island. This truly is one of the most
relaxing places I have been to; we spend our days going from
beach to sea-side cafes for grazing and watching the sunset with
a chilled glass of wine in one hand.
It's fantastic to meet Max; not
only is he a bubbly entrepreneur/inventor who understands my
love for power tools and hardware shops but
he owns a sandpan which is a wooden boat
that the locals scoot around the waters in. Max has christened
it "Gung Ho" and his friend Ida has decorated it with
many colourful Chinese lanterns. We even get dropped off on our
way to the airport on Gung Ho, what fun!!... |
|
Appsie: "Greetings from Hong
Kong" |
|
...Lamma Island is a strange little
place; it is full of small restaurants and small corner shop
like places. There are no cars, but there are
crazy locals that drive these small quad
bike things down the narrow concrete pathways with worrying
speed. I had to pull Claire out of the way of one
this morning.
When we first got here, Josh took
us for a walk down to the local sandy beach, which is very nice
if you don't count the HUGE industrial power station over-
looking it. This must be where they get the power for all those
light bulbs.... |
|
Long hair and cliche beards:
"Kung Fo Fighting" |
|
...The most surreal episode of the
trip so far occurred yesterday...
I head over to Lamma island for a
break from the hustle and bustle of the city. This is a
beautiful little place and displays a massive contrast between
old and new China. On arrival, if you look to your left you see
a tiny little fishing village with fresh fish in tanks outside
of the restaurants. To your right there is
an enormous
industrial factory with huge steam towers.
I head through a village called
Wang Long (they have some cool names out here) and onto a beach
resort. The village is beautiful and
looks completely untouched by the Western world
although there is a commercial side to it as well.
The surreal bit...
Whilst sitting in a beach
restaurant eating spring rolls, this
beautiful Chinese "lady" does a semi-erotic photo shoot
about 20 yards in front of me! At the same time I am treated to
a lovely rendition of Kung Fo Fighting
by a group of drunk German people behind me!!
All this entertainment for the
equivalent of 4 bloody pounds!! I love
this place.... |
|
Anonymous Guy - Lamma's #1 Bird-o-grapher: |
|
Maybe it is the same the world over... Dad goes out
& provides the basics and together with Mum puts in the hard graft
and builds a household, but Mum is the one that provides that
certain "Je ne sais quoi".
Have on many occasions seen different species of
birds picking up & flying with various bits of plastic or brightly
coloured material for nest building. Can't be a historical
preference for nest building material. May be an example of the
natural world moving not only with their evolutionary process, but
keeping pace, to a degree, with human modernisation.
Perhaps plastic does make better nesting material,
and helps keep the drafts out of the nests and away from the young
ones, thereby insulating them better and increasing their chances of
survival.
Or, maybe just that extra little something that
makes it a home.
Who knows?
Read more of this photo story... |
Read last month's stories... |
