|
Submitted by Senior Inspector Woo-Woo, chief
of Lamma's Valiant Police Enforcers:
Lamma-Por and I are out flat-hunting once again,
so let us know when you know about a sunny 2/F+rooftop
flat, 600-700 sqft, max. $8K, max. 15 minutes
from the ferry pier. We're in no hurry as we can
move anytime with one month's notice. Our
current nice landlord welcomed us to stay for
"as long as you like" after the two-year end
contract will end on Jan 31. Two quiet
professionals, always paying the rent on time,
no children, no pets, long-time, "reputable"
Lammaites, we seem to be easy and "desirable"
tenants. ;-)
We found a great place in Po Wah Yuen recently,
but then Lamma-Por got a bad feeling from the
two big graves bordering the building. She got
worried about the Fung Shui of the place and
ghostly sightings, so she changed her mind about
renting it the next day. All these silly rumours
about ghostly appearances up there, but I've
never seen one yet. Wow, that would make a fine
story!
Asking friends living up there about this
particular address, one longtime female Po-Wah-Yuenian
commented, "Dead neighbours are quiet
neighbours!" This great quote sums up very
nicely the laid-back, relaxed attitude and
down-to-earth wisdom of many longtime Po Wah
Yuen residents & families, I think. Our
flat-hunt continues and we're open to discover
new areas of North Lamma Island!
Biking really extends your reach, for example
having lunch at the opposite end of our island.
A few days ago, I've been biking from Yung Shue
Wan to Sok Kwu Wan to Mo Tat Wan (half an hour
by foot, south of Sok Kwu Wan) and back. I was
enjoying a late lunch in The Bay Restaurant,
probably the most remote (and most expensive)
restaurant on Lamma. A fascinating experience...
in progress...
  
  
  
|
Mici - Christmas email: |
|
Subject:
Xmas Eve...
Dear friends,
Thanks for all your Xmas
wishes! We had a really good time with a big beach party
on Power Station Beach. We had fantastic weather and the
party started already in the afternoon. Chillin'........and
great music.
One couple got even married
on the beach and some of the Brits and Aussies got
really drunk very early.
We had a lot of fun until
late night and didn't miss the Xmas tree and snow at
all.
Hope we will have a similar
big fun party on New Year's Eve. Maybe some of you come
over and join us.
So enjoy some pics from
this great party. Look very carefully, maybe you can
recognise some of your friends. |
Animated e-card from Greenpeace,
click here if you can't see it. Wait for the unicorn!
Send
this "rainbow-coloured magic" e-card to your friends.
Chinese version of this e-card.
Treasure Hunt for
Operation Santa Claus, organised by
The Island Bar every year, with lots of
helpers, elves and volunteers. Thanks to
everybody involved!
Panoramic photo, stitched together from 2 photos
(click to enlarge any photo).
Find my major "stitching mistake" in the photo
above. The first one to email me the correct
answer will get a Lamma.com.hk Boxing Day Party
invite for their family!
Santa Claus Jim & elves in the Beer Garden outside The Island
Bar:
(from left) Sallie Shaw, Vicky Medcalf, Kelly Morgan and Andy
Griff,
all grinning happily for the SCMP photographer!
Click here for the
published story, Dec 30 (SCMP subscription needed) & the
published photo (no subscription needed) from the SCMP
photographer.
|
Dan & Sharon -
The Island Bar - press release (abridged): |
|
Operation Santa Claus 2008
The Treasure Hunt at The Island
Bar, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
21 December 2008 (Sunday)
Santa Claus – Jim Birkett
Elves – Andy Griff, Sallie Shaw, Vicky Medcalf, Kelly
Morgan
Much support from other people including
Rachel Hodgson who very ably marked the completed
Treasure Hunt Clues, and Amanda Levin and Andy Griff for
helping to set the trail. The trail takes approximately
25 hours of walking time to set. This has been
established over the past 9 years. Some great gifts were
donated from both local businesses on Lamma and from
Hong Kong.
Sponsors in alphabetical order:
Best Kebab, Blue Bird Japanese Restaurant, Cath's Banyan
Bay Café, Carlsberg, Curves,
Deli
Lamma, Diesel's, Emily's Ice Cream Parlour, New
Holiday Mood,
Lamcombe,
Lamma
Cricket Club, Limestone Wines, Lung Kong, Pizza
Milano, Stella Artois,
The Waterfront.
Eleven teams of four competed for this
year's honours. Team names included (in order of
registering):
The Ditzys,
Green Formica Tables, Hot Trackers, H K Team, Hamilton
Academicals, Carna Pies, The Solstice Santas, The Dirty
Two-thirds of 12, Lamma Dudes, Santa's Shoe Slingers,
Fact Hunt.
Carna Pies won the grand prize of
high quality wines, with every team winning a prize of
some kind. This year's Best Dressed Team award went to
the team with children in fancy-dress, who received
vouchers of ice cream from Emily's Ice Cream Parlour.
For the third year running, Santa and
his elves paraded through Main Street , arriving at the
sitting out area outside of The Island Bar in time for
the children of the village to have a photo-op with
Santa and receive sweets.
Overall, a really fun family day (with
perfect weather) which raised over $4,500 for
Operation Santa Claus, taking us well over half way
to matching last year's total of $20,000.
Still remaining are
Adult Carol Singing on Christmas
Eve when traditionally, Dan James leads the
caroling with his wonderful melodious voice as the
Operation Santa boxes are passed around for all those
participating.
January 10th will see The Island Bar
holding its first OSC Bingo
Night.
Other annual OSC events already
completed this year include the Christmas Music Quiz
(Nov 29th), a concert by local entertainers The Yung
Shue Wan Curs (Dec 13th) and the
Lamma Xmas Kids (Dec 19th). |
For all photos, click
here for
Santa's photo gallery - by L-G
(I'm now disqualified - due to lack of girth
- from ever playing Santa again,
like I did for my former company for years)
Another Lamma Christmas tradition, happening at
the same time in front of the "Beer Garden"
outside The Island Bar:
 
Show contains nudity & adult language -- HK's
Nicole Kidman? (in The Blue Room)
|
Adam West - Stylus HK Theatre |
|
Lamma resident Andy Fullard is contributing originally-scored
music to a forthcoming theatre production that is set to steam away
the post-Christmas blues. Splice
is a unique theatrical concept - it is actually two plays interwoven
so that they unfold together. And the theme? Human sexuality in all
its glory and the eternal struggle between love and lust.
The two
plays are The Blue Room by Sir
David Hare (which shot to infamy in London because of Nicole
Kidman's nude betrayal) and Steven Berkoff's
The Secret Love Life of Ophelia, a
fascinating exploration of the depths of feeling between Hamlet and
Ophelia beneath the surface of Shakespeare's text.
Splice runs Wed January 7th -
Sat Jan 10th (but the Saturday show is already sold out) in the
McAulay Theatre, Wanchai. Tickets are $200 and can be obtained
from www.urbtix.hk.
Also in January, don't miss a unique night of intimate theatre in
Wanchai's Flying Pan. Open All Night
is a collection of scenes and short plays all of which are set in a
diner. The action will unfurl in and around a moving audience to
provide a real sense of eavesdropping on slices of life - the comic,
the poignant and the real. Tickets are $190 which includes one
standard drink. The venue will provide happy hour prices all
night and food specials.
Tickets can be ordered from
stylushktheatre@yahoo.com.
(Advertorial) |
 You might have noticed
a few ads on this
home page, the cover page of the Lamma-zine.
These are the sole means of keeping this
magazine alive and paying all its various little
bills to run and update it 7 days a week. We need a few more advertisers to upgrade
and further develop this barely self-supporting,
not-for-profit (and not profitable) Lamma-zine further!
Can you help us out?
In contrast, our
separate, non-commercial, free-speech
forums
are hosted on
a different web host in the US and are supported by
just a handful of small, anonymous, private sponsors.
Posting your own Lamma/Lammaite-related
classifieds in the
Buy & Sell, Rent & Let forum has always
been free, with strict no-spamming rules applied
and enforced.
But for really wide and successful advertising,
the best option is this home page, of course! As
the #1 website for Lamma Island, #1 in Google,
with over 4 million hits/month and 3,600+ email
addresses, this is a great place to attract new
clients & customers for your products &
services! Have a look at our
rate card
in English and
Chinese, with special rates valid
only till Chinese New Year.
 All
ad design, production and unlimited updates are
included for free in the basic rates. I'll even
do a
free photo shoot for your business, if
necessary. The ad banners can be animated and
linked to your website, advertorial or email. If
needed, I'll create and host a web page or even
a small website for advertisers, all for free.
See examples:
Deli Lamma,
Bookworm Cafe,
Waterfront,
Island Bar,
Lambcombe,
B&B. Always wanted your own website for
your little shop, business or services? Here's a
really low-cost way.
Including an advert into our regular email
newsletter to 3,600+ active email addresses
is also available. I offer occasional
advertorials (always clearly marked as
advertorials.) Other advertising options can be
negotiated, like ad banner swaps
(Holistic Asia) and barter deals
(Movieflys).
Free ads are available for local
charities, religious/ welfare institutions,
non-profits and some good causes; see lower
right side (LAP, LAWC, HKDR, BOG, Lamma
Church,...).
If you know of any potential new advertisers for
Lamma.com.hk, tips and referrals will be most
welcome. My eternal gratitude will be yours,
plus 33% commission!
Click to enlarge menus & restaurant websites
of our advertisers below:
 
BOOKWORM CAFE, Dec 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 & 28
--
WATERFRONT Christmas Special
New Holiday Mood Rest. --
B&B Restaurant --
Waterfront Christmas Special
Bookworm Cafe's Christmas Nut Roast
Waterfront people behind the scenes
During my more and more frequent biker-hiker
tours of discovery into the rolling hills of Lamma I
rarely ever meet anybody. Almost all tourists
and visitors stick to the "Family Trail" from
Yung Shue wan to Sok Kwu Wan, with an occasional
detour up to Lamma Winds. The only people you
ever meet up there in our beautiful, green and
extremely peaceful hills are fellow Lammaites,
usually walking their big, fit & friendly dogs
or the occasional but rare mountain biker.
I was biking to the top of Cable Route and then
leaving my bike on the roadside (I don't dare to
mountainbike, yet.) Hiking the stunning
Project X mountainbiking trail
again, to the very top of Pak Kok Shan, I didn't
see a single biker
the entire time. But to my surprise I met an
artist - without a bike or a dog - up there the
other day, high above Tai Peng, close to Pak Kok
Shan, a Lamma Newbie I had never met before:
Welcome to Lamma, Daniel the Landscape
Painter! He's only been living on Lamma for
six months and he didn't even know this website
and the Lamma-zine yet! Hard to believe, I know,
despite all my promotional efforts.
;-)
Well, now he does know about this website, as I rarely
miss an opportunity for promotion, especially to
Lamma Newbies, even up there in our wild and
yonder hills. If you know or meet Daniel, let
him know where you saw his photo and painting.
Ask him to show off more of his landscapes in
the Lamma-zine!
  
Up to the top of Cable Route -- A steep climb up
to the dirt paths --
Who's that in the distance?
  
  
This was the
actual view he was painting. Obviously, he
started the painting on a clearer day, using his
vivid artist's imagination to complete it
haze-free.
|
Doug Netzel - Sgt at Arms, Mad Dog Motorcycle
Club
(text,
photos & collage by Doug Netzel,
more info:
mdmchk.com,
mdmc.org) |
|
Charity Toy Run for SCMP's "Operation Santa Claus"
Just like to say
"Thank-You!" to all who attended our Charity Toy
Run! What a great day, sunny and cool weather made
the ride perfect.
38 bikes and over 40
riders/pillions in total attended, with support from
members CruiserHongKong, MDMC Friends, and
Independent Riders. It was nice to see old and some
new faces out for the New Territories Ride.
With lunch break at
"Luca's Italian Restaurant", then back trough East
tunnel to tour Central Hong Kong's shopping district
circling back to end ride Wan Chai's Bull and
Bear Pub, where cold beers and snacks were
served thoughout the night...
We lost only two bikes
through out the entire day, due to one breakdown and
another one had to pull out due to other
commitments.
 
One of the most
memorable moments that day was when Big Tom, dressed
as Santa Claus [see above left], was pulled
over by police, questioned and warned about the
excessive noise we were all making thru Hong Kong
island with engines streaming at excessive RPMs to
the impressed thousand of shoppers who were taking
pictures and yelling "Mad Dog" in support.
Only wish we'd gotten a
picture of that...
We raised just over
HK$16,000
and still counting, as cash donation boxes are still
being added too, until next week sometime. The big
reason we do this is the toys for needy children,
and what can I say, we have enough high quality toys
for over 200 children (we split equality two large
groups of toys for beneficiaries Unison Hong Kong
and Chi Heng foundation.)
 
Lammaite "Rob the
President" (of
Mad Dog MC)
being interviewed -
Bull and Bear Pub Toy Run display
Special Thanks to Big Tom Arthur who was our Biker
Santa Claus and lead the pack and Road Captain Brian
Gillon, and help from Mad Dog MC hang-a-round Gareth
Roberts, who took pictures and collected money and
wrote down names of all riders, well done!! He also
rode with Mingo and Bill in Brian's wife Jayln in
the MDMC support car.
Another Special thanks to Andrew Miller from "SpinMaster
Far East Toy Company Ltd." for their large donation
of high quality toys.
Also thanks to MDMC members Jon and Dog and Keef for
coming over from Macau to ride and support MDMC -HK
events.
I regret now that I have stepped down as event
organizer, this event made me proud to be a member
of the best MDMC chapter... Good luck Mad Dog MC
Member Keef, as event organizer for 2009. He'll have
his hands full!!
Merry Christmas to all....
P.S. Link to all my pics:
Picasa photo gallery. |
(Photo by
SCMP photographer)
 |
|
Smile, you are beautiful |
I admit to enjoying HK Electric's press releases
quite frequently. Besides being informative and
newsworthy about Lamma Island's #1 employer and
supplier of all our stable & very reliable
electricity, their press releases are often very
amusing and even entertaining. Who else would
send a priceless picture like this one above,
titled "New experience for participants:
doing eye mask with sliced oranges and
tomatoes." It really looks like
Third Age Citizens Enjoy Christmas Party Fun.
These funny & friendly guys 'n' gals in HEC's
Public Affairs Dept. seem to have good fun
putting together releases like this one, about
40 members of the HK Electric-sponsored
"University of the Third Age" enjoying a
"Christmas party where they shared the fun of
learning skincare and roasting turkey."
In these pictures, aren't their pampered skins
just glowing and their stomachs feeling happy
and full with freshly roasted, yummy turkey? I
wonder if the turkey got some final skincare
before being roasted as the skin below looks really
tasty:
Christmas is fun
and joy for these retired senior citizens who
get tips from skincare and make-up to roasting a
turkey at a pre-Christmas party hosted by HK
Electric.
More good news from our good friends at HK
Electric who've helped to support this website
for years. They'll be soon adding an ad for the
Home Management Centre (which organised the
classes and party above) to their existing Lamma
Winds ad. They've also just won another major
award for their awareness-raising and
 innovative
Smart Power Campaign, featuring a
writing competition, a comic book, Lamma Winds
Naming Competition, Go Green Fashion Design
Competition, heartthrob Cantopopper Leo Ku as
"Smart Power Ambassador" and lots of other
"environmental education".
Congratulations for this award!
"The award winning Smart Power Campaign
2006/07 invited the Hong Kong community to
seriously reflect on the importance of a
reliable electricity supply and to take action
on conserving energy for a better future.":
HK Electric Smart Power Campaign Awarded for
Excellence in Public Relations
Finally, there are even more, even better news
for all of us Lammaites (and the few people
living on that other little island, called HK
Island):
HK Electric Announces Tariff Reduction for 2009
In short, it means that the electricity tariff
for us domestic domestic customers will go down by 6.4% from
Jan 1. In addition to the current 12 months of $300
electricity bonus per household from the govt., this might mean
$0 electricity for many of us during the aircon-free winter
months. Now that's really great news!
 Getting
up uncharacteristically early at 6am, biking
through a mostly deserted Main Street before
sunrise is a pleasure all by itself. Almost all
shops and restaurants are still shuttered
up...except for the delilamma bakers &
confectioners opening their glass doors at
the amazingly early hour of 5:30am!
They're getting ready for the first ferry
passengers at 6:20am, consisting of many
teachers, schoolchildren, parents/helpers,
office workers and other early birds. One single baker
has been hard at work all night, starting at 11pm,
to prepare all these delectable goodies above,
supplying most local Western restaurants with
their daily bread and baked goods.
 The
last patrons - ambling over occasionally from
the Deli Lamma and other bars after their
closing - have left well before sunrise at
around 7am. It's a fine place for your freshly
brewed morning coffee and - presented with a big
smile and friendly words - a wide range of pies,
pizzas, pasties,...but, alas, no croissants! Too
much work for a single baker, they say.
It's just so relaxing and peaceful to sit out
front any time of day, enjoying a freshly brewed
coffee, a delicious cake, burger, sandwich and a
good read, watching Main Street life passing by.
By the way, the above might sound like an
advertorial, but the bakery is not a Lamma-zine
advertiser. But it's run by Prafull whose other
establishment, the
Deli Lamma, is a loyal advertiser. I
just happen to like a lot what they've done with
the bakery, repainting, redecorating, reviving
and upgrading it a lot, making it into a real
little community bakery again. Great job,
Prafull!
Not having a single escalator or lift anywhere on Lamma (yet), we have to
take a ferry to enjoy escalating ourselves to new heights. Best and nearest
escalator from Lamma ferry pier in Central: Mid-levels Escalator, of course.
 Riding it all the way to the top (upwardly mobile) and walking down the
steps besides it is an amazing journey of discovery, especially all the new
and varied little shops, restaurants, galleries and other businesses that
have sprung up all along it, hopeful to take advantage of the never-ending
stream of jaded locals and excited tourists being escalated past them. But
my favourite part of this long uphill ride/downhill stroll are the little
side alleys that have been largely unaffected by the massive stream of
commuters passing them by non-stop. I couldn't resist a few quick snapshots
(click to enlarge):
   
   
 
 
 
   
   
 
 
   
 
 
Perfect weather for biking & hiking on Lamma -
warm, sunny and dry. As part of my on-going
weight loss/fitness regiment I've started to get
serious with almost daily excursions into Lamma's
lush & verdant hills. But sometimes I seem
to overdo it, going nuts and not being able to
resist my own self-imposed challenges. My
itinerary from the other day:
 Bike-hike
from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan.
Ferry from Sok Kwu Wan to
Central ($11 for the bike), find a parking
space at pier.
MTR (1 stop from ifc mall) to Elements
mall at Kowloon Station (view from Lamma
ferry pier).
1 hour speed walking through mall and rooftop
Civic Square, encircled by skyscrapers.
Catch a movie in the 12-screen multiplex (The
Day the Earth Stood Still - major disappointment).
MTR and ferry to Yung Shue Wan ($11 for the
bike).
Bike-hike up to Tai Peng after sunset, up
Cable Route, down to Hung Shing Yeh, back to
YSW.
Ouch, my knees were hurting and I went to bed
very early. Too much exercise can be hazardous
to your health, especially for a
Third Age Citizen.
Anyway, where to bike-hike tomorrow? Suggestions
are most welcome. Beware, here comes the
Intrepid Biker-Hiker, eager to overdo it again
and conquer all major mountain peaks - eh, more like
hills, actually - all over Lamma Island!
Sok Kwu Wan (Picnic Bay), former cement factory
and Lamma Quarry
Rest area opposite Lamma Quarry
Sok Kwu Wan ferry pier
    
Sok Kwu Wan (click to enlarge)
Elements shopping mall, above Kowloon
Station:
   
(click to enlarge)
Lammaite Mark &
friends in Kraftwerk attire, ready for the concert
|
Nick the Bookman - Official Court Music Reviewer
of Lamma-zine: |
|
Picture by gismopics
Kraftwerk in Hong Kong - Dec 5, '08
It's the summer of 1976 and The Tuesday Night Music
Club is in session at my tiny bungalow behind the
Stanley Temple, now obliterated by a mega Park N' Shop.
My bungalow, I mean, not the Temple which has a rather
threadbare, but authentic tiger skin hanging on a wall
behind a thick perspex screen. Anyway, there's
post-school mates, Gary, Rich and Ollie. There's Jane,
my then girlfriend. And me. We've had a regular dai pai
dong outdoor sitdown dinner. About $50 a head including
beers. Back to mine for dessert: vanilla ice cream with
a (generous) dribble of Southern Comfort. Coffee. A
little weed, ("Thai, like tied to the stick" - Cheech
and Chong). Some incense, dim the lights and the music
starts...
First choice is always "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk, a
mind-bending slice of melodic electronica and the
signpost to the multidelic digital sorcery that
encircles the globe today. Faster than a speeding
bullet, no less. Or a speeding Mercedes/Daimler on the
German superhighways. "Autobahn" puts you in the
driver's seat and the electronic traffic zooms past in a
barrage of Doppler effects. Then, there's some cool
electronic drums... The evening's would mutate after
that. Everyone got to choose something. Weird mixes of
"Phaedra" by Tangerine Dream. "Tubular Bells" by Mike
Oldfield. "Zero Time" by Tonto's Expanding Headband. Up
against "Space Ritual" and early Gong. Blue Oyster Cult,
live, with a side order of Mona" live by Quicksilver
Messenger Service. There'd be tangents into Fairport
Convention/Steeleye Span/Horslips. Lots of proggy
Genesis/Yes/Tull/BJH etc. Jane would usually play the
soppy stuff. Like Rice-Webber musicals and female
pianists. Rick rocked out, Gary was quirky and Ollie was
drums and horns. Lots of variety, except for the
constant opener "Autobahn"... I wonder if I'll ever see
them live (sigh).
continued in our Music forum... |
Our Music Reviewer in his Santa Kraftwerk attire
Picture by
Kraftwerk
Picture by gismopics
Picture by thedemos
|
Remember my recent Lamma-zine story about
Lamma Beach Rock Piles multiplying after
typhoon Hagupit? Another miracle of nature has
just been discovered where supposedly inanimate
objects on Lamma Island are giving birth to
healthy offspring, despite the widely accepted
laws of biological reproduction. Life works in
miraculous ways on Lamma, as we residents have
come to accept a long time ago, keeping us
living in "interesting times."
Our cute little wind turbine and beloved tourist
attraction Lamma Winds has grown up so quickly
since her birth in Feb 2006 - less than 3 years
ago - and has become a mother herself now! It
must have gotten a bit lonely up there on her
windy hill (Mt. Panorama) overlooking Yung Shue
Wan, as the one and only commercial-scale wind
turbine in all of Hong Kong. Very proud daddy HK
Electric has just announced the happy news in a
cheerful press release (see below).
The Group Finance
Director of HK Electric, Mr. Neil McGee (second
from left) and Director and General Manager of
Hongkong Electric International, Mr. Charles
Tsai (centre), picture at the wind farm together
with the project team.
It's a litter of 64 (!) baby wind turbines, wow!
Who's going to name them all? Baby shower,
anybody? So in another 3 years or so we can
expect each of them to procreate into another 64
wind turbines, we hope?
All the best wishes to all these healthy
offspring of Lamma Winds! May they grow and
prosper in their windy nursery in Dali, Yunnan
province, producing copious amounts of clean and
renewable energy! Hopefully, some day in the
not-too-distant future, will HK get some more
local wind turbines as well, we hope?
|
HK Electric -
press release (abridged), Dec 8, 2008
(text, pictures & captions by
HEH) |
|
HK
Electric celebrates completion of first wind farm
project in Yunnan
HK Electric announced today that its first wind
power project in China, a 48-megawatt (MW) wind farm
located in Dali of Yunnan Province, has been
completed and will come into commercial operation in
early 2009.
The Dali project, being the highest altitude wind
farm in the mainland (2,400-2,800 meters above sea
level), is jointly developed by Hongkong Electric
International (HEI) and its local partner,
Huaneng New Energy Industrial Company Limited,
with an investment of about RMB 500 million.
HEI owns 45 per cent of the joint venture project,
which comprises 64 wind turbines of 750 kilowatt
each. The project qualifies for Clean Development
Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol.
"This is an important milestone for HK Electric
as the project is our first completed renewable
energy (RE) project in the mainland," said Mr.
McGee after the ceremony, adding that it also
demonstrates the Company's commitment towards the
development of RE.
Wind energy has become one of the most important
renewable sources for power generation in the world,
with substantial development potential for wind
power in the mainland, Mr. McGee noted.
The project, he continued, is an example of the
seamless cooperation between HEI and Huaneng which
has made it possible for an on-time and on-budget
project.
HEI is looking forward to the commissioning of its
second joint venture project with Huaneng - a 49.5
MW wind farm in Leting, Hebei Province, in 2009.
Mr. McGee further said that the wind farm projects
would contribute to the Group's growing investment
portfolio outside Hong Kong, which includes
investments in Australia, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom, Thailand and Canada. |
Dedicated staff of
the joint venture company celebrates the completion
of the wind farm project at the ceremony.
Mr. McGee (left) officiates at the completion
ceremony.
The Dali project, being the highest altitude wind
farm in the mainland, comprises 64 wind turbines. |
|
Doug Netzel - Sgt at Arms, Mad Dog Motorcycle
Club
(President Rob and several members are
Lammaites.
See last year's
Lamma-zine story. More info:
mdmchk.com,
mdmc.org) |
|
 Charity
Ride for SCMP's "Operation Santa Claus"
Just to let you know, Mad Dog Motorcycle
Club Hong Kong is holding our Charity Toy Run 2008
this coming Sun, Dec 14 at 11am.
This is our 5th year being involved with
Operation Santa Claus, and last year we raised $25K and
a truckload of children's toys, all for donation.
Hopefully, we can beat or match that
amount this year, but due to world financial recession,
we have a big order to fill.
All bikers are invited to join this
worthy cause to raise money and children's toys to those
less fortunate, and are asked to strap a child's toy to
their bike, to be donated at end of the ride.
Ride meets at Granville Square, Tsim
Sha Tsui, at 11am. The ride will get underway at
about 11:30 am for a New Territories ride with a short
lunch break. After lunch we;ll be riding back thru
Central to end the fun ride at the Bull and Bear Pub,
52-58 Jaffe Road, Wanchai, who are the hosts of the MDMC
Toy Run.
A rider's fee of $100 is required and
you're asked to be generous as it's for the kids. Mad
Dog MC member biker Santa Claus 'Big Tom Arthur' will
lead the ride.
So far, we have collected cash and boxes
of toys from the general public, out of town members of
MDMC, and a large private donation from Spinmaster Toys
Far East Ltd....
And to our surprise we also received
many toys from the past visiting USA Warship 'USS Essex'
naval officers.
We thank them all !!
We hope to see many riders come out this
Sunday and join this fun ride event. All are welcome! It
does not matter what you ride, from custom Harley
Davidsons or Japanese race bikes or cruisers or even
scooters, the ride will be within maximum road speeds
and our road marshals will do their best to keep it all
safe.
Regards. Merry Christmas and thanks
again. |
Lamma.com.hk forum moderators, sponsors & major
content contributors (plus family) were invited to
"Lamma-Gung's Rooftop Jungle" on Sun afternoon,
Dec 7.
Quite a few couldn't make it (or arrived after
this photo was taken),
but they'll join our
next party at Christmas, I hope!
  
These are some of the numerous people bringing
this website to you every day. Many thanks to
everybody for all their efforts and
contributions in so many ways!
Lamma.com.hk's Surprising Survival and Sassy
Success owes it all to the many moderators,
volunteers, sponsors, advertisers, forum members
and all the people contributing photos, videos,
ideas, stories and feedback! More, more, please!
A few left-over promotional posters for this
website and my "high-end digital doodling",
decorating the party venue as a kind of
colourful wallpaper.
My pride & joy, my little unruly rooftop
jungle & pond, now 1.5 years old:
Our Chinese forum has grown into a
really friendly, good-neighbourly community meeting
place, thanks to our three moderators Samson,
nicole_kam and Yogesh. The latest
hot topic is Chinese, mostly Cantonese
home-cooking, even including photos, recipes and
advice on ingredients.
Especially forum regular CY Lo loves to
show off his wife's very tasty-looking dinners,
see below (click to enlarge).
This isn't fancy, decorated restaurant food, but
the real, down-to-earth, delicious food many Lammaites enjoy at
home. Lamma-Por's mouth is watering just looking
at the pictures and she hopes to be invited
there someday, like many forum members. For even
more home cooking photos by CY Lo, tomato,
Ahmee and other
Lammaites, recipes by nicole_kam and free advice, see our
Chinese forum.
|
Jay Scott Kanes - Official Court Pet
Correspondent: |
|
If H Is For Hong Kong,
as specified in a new children's book, then the next
letter of the alphabet represents the intriguing
illustrations inside. And "L" is for the Lamma artist
who makes the book special.
Written by Tricia
Morrissey, who lives in California, and illustrated
by Lamma's Elizabeth Briel, H Is For Hong
Kong, A Primer in Pictures (2008, ThingsAsian Press,
36 pages) is bilingual (English-Chinese) and makes quick
reading. But it should fascinate children (or adults)
keen on Asia.
On December 3, Elizabeth
presided at a book-launch party in the Karin Weber
Gallery on Aberdeen Street in Central. Many Lamma
residents attended.
For readers from beyond
Hong Kong, the book gives an irresistible invitation:
"Imagine visiting a new city today. Imagine flying to
Hong Kong! Journey through this wonderful, busy place
and what will you see? Soaring skyscrapers? Shiny, amber
goldfish? Ferry boats sailing on a sparkling bay? Turn
the page and imagine...."
Elizabeth's illustrations
highlight the journey. Initially photos, they're
transformed by a "blueprint" process to resemble
paintings. Each attracts readers' eyes, invites study
and pleases brain cells.
Interestingly, the book
focuses on big-city Hong Kong, yet Elizabeth captured
many of the published images on Lamma. For example, she
shot photos at the Sampan Restaurant, at the Tin Hau
temple and at Hung Shing Yeh.
There's a temptation to
pounce at Morrissey and scold her for failing to write
enough text. Each page has only a line or two, but the
few words often enhance the illustrations. A page
showing goldfish for sale in plastic bags reads:
"Carry home a sliver of gold swimming in a silver
bubble." That stirs the imagination, so maybe the
minimal wording works.
Elizabeth's work stresses
details: swords waved by a kung fu practitioner
and suspenders holding up his pants; smoke curling from
incense sticks; markings on wooden chess pieces;
contours of buns in a dim sum basket; and glass
jars in a Chinese-medicine shop.
A graduate in painting from
the University of Minnesota, Elizabeth processes her
"blueprint photos" using the sun and cyan chemicals. As
for the Kenyan-born Morrissey, she earlier had another
well-titled children's book: My Mom is a Dragon and
My Dad Is a Boar.
To quote more of the
author's best lines about Hong Kong:
--
"Buildings reach into high clouds like rockets ready to
launch."
--
"Inside a spider-web of bamboo cages, up grows the
city."
--
"Step, twirl, fold and unfold: an early morning dance
draws ladies to the park."
--
"Songbirds in cages swaying overhead serenade the
teahouse with warbling chatter."
At other times, Morrissey,
working by "imagination" from the United States, badly
misses the mark. She writes: "City streets rumble
with endless waves of shiny motorbikes." Unlike some
Asian cities, Hong Kong has no abundance of motorbikes.
Its people prefer Mercedes automobiles.
The illustrations alone
make this book worthwhile. For the most part, it's like
visiting Hong Kong – and much less annoying than
jostling with the crowds on city sidewalks.
For more information:
www.thingasianpress.com |
|
Historic photo from Agriculture & Fisheries
Dept.
"A short boat trip from the noise and bustle
of Hong Kong Island lies a car-free, bohemian,
green oasis. Harriet O'Brien sets sail
for peaceful Lamma."
That's the beginning of a pretty nice story,
titled
Lamma: Hong Kong's leisure island about
our home in the British
The Independent newspaper. We can live
with that description, can't we? For the full
story,
click here.
But that photo above, the sole photo of the
entire long story, showing Sham Wan "Turtle"
beach, looks mighty antiquated. There haven't
been any turtles spotted on that beach for over
four years, till a single track sighting a few
months ago. Let's hope that this nice photo from
Ag&Fish isn't just historic but also prophetic
and the Green Turtles will return to our shores
soon...
Examining this historic photo, do you recognise
some of the faces? But if you've been part of this wild
party about 15 years ago, you might not remember
much of it anyway. Below are some close-ups of
those wild-looking party animals (photos by Jerry
Sousa.) Thanks to Deborah Hosking and
clivus nondog for
adding this legend below to the photo above. No
guarantees for correctness as she was there,
too.
Contact her for any mistakes/corrections
or to confirm the ? marks:
|
1. Mark Reynolds |
6. Laura Faye, now in
LA |
11. Clive "clivus
nondog" |
|
2. Kumi |
7. Mike Brophy? |
12. Emma? (her son
turned 17 in March or Feb this year?) |
|
3. Jackie |
8. Dave Parker |
13. Helen (Mike's girlfriend) |
|
4. Alan English (the
Irish French teacher) |
9. Dave Wilkinson |
|
|
5. Colin (McSomething) |
10. Phil Reeve &
Niyati |
Between 1 &
7: Sabina (Dave Parker's girlfriend, a "wild Canadian vixen") |
   
Check out the
Corner Bar Veterans Facebook group ("Veterans
of the Corner Bar, Lamma, Hong Kong. Tragically
closed 11th December 1993"):
Nice
photo gallery, 44 members and quite a
number of them still living on Lamma! (These
Facebook pages are public, no need to be a
Facebook member, just click on the links.)
There were two parties celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the Corner Bar closing, one on
Lamma and one in London. See the Lamma-zine
story and photo gallery of those historic
parties:
Corner Bar Closing - 10th Anniversary.
There's also a
Lamma Oldsters forum. where you can
connect with old friends and meet other
ex-Lammaites.
But this year, for the 15th anniversary party on
Dec 11 2008, only London is organising a reunion
party. One of the organisers,
Rupert Winchester, contacted me
recently, asking "We'd obviously like to get
as many people along as possible, and with your
unrivalled access to Lammaites past and present,
I can think of no better way of reaching as many
people as you can. There's no harm in asking,
right? Thanks for your help with this. I think
you do a great job."
Well, all his sweet-tongued flattery gets him everywhere, so how could
I resist? Below you can find Rupert's little promo for this epic
party on Dec 11 2008 in
the Red Lion pub on Kingly Street, London,
W1 (nearest tube Oxford Circus).
To see more details and RSVP, follow this link:
Facebook event and
map.
|
Rupert Winchester - Ex-Lammaite & Corner Bar
Veteran: |
|
The Corner Bar was the heart of Lamma
life for lots of people for a while, and epitomised the
spirit of the place; relaxed, friendly, unpretentious
and dedicated to having a good time. And that's got to
be a good thing to remember, and celebrate.
Last time, at the 10-year reunion party
5 years ago, nearly 100 people turned up, and everyone
had a blast, catching up with like-minded people, many
of whom they hadn't seen for years.
We chose the
Red Lion because it's very central, and because it has
many of the virtues of the Corner Bar; it's cheap,
unpretentious, and subject to gravity pockets. But
there's no pressure on anyone to come along. It's not a
nostalgia-fest, just a reason to have a cheerful drink
or two or three with some old mates. I've attached a
picture of the pub.
RSVP, please. |
Picture by Kake Pugh:
The London pub where the Corner Bar Veterans reunion
party will take place on Thu,
Dec 11 2008, 6:30-11pm. |
P.S. After seeing this story above, Rupert's sweet-tongued flattery
continues unabashedly: "Sir, you are a genius. It looks brilliant. Thank
you very much for that; I'm terrifically grateful. Pictures and a full
report will certainly follow."
Thank you to such a sweet guy; but we expect a really detailed report of all
the wild party shenanigans and loads of most embarrassing photos, we hope!
|
Vivien Jones -
Banyan House (text & photos by
Vivien Jones) |
|
 Started
by a small group of Lamma parents earlier this year,
Banyan House is a new English language play space which
provides children with a nurturing and fun-filled early
learning experience on the island. We currently offer
three groups for babies and young children to the age of
5, plus a weekly art and craft session for primary
children.
Our Parent and Child sessions for
parents and carers with babies and young children up to
the age of 2 (every Thursday afternoon).
Each session is guided by an experienced
leader and is arranged with a balance of active,
outgoing activities and quieter, more focused
activities.
Our Bauhinia Group (afternoons of Mon,
Wed, Fri) offers an intimate, homely atmosphere within a
small group where children aged from two to
three-and-a-half are eased into the transition between
home and school.
Children move to the Bamboo Group
(weekday mornings) from three years onwards when they
are ready for the challenge of a larger group of
mixed-age children. This is a longer session, with many
varied activities and, like all our play sessions, is
planned and led by our trained teacher.
Banyan House will hold its first
Christmas Fair this coming Sun, Dec 7, 10am - 4pm.
There will be lots of children's activities on the day -
making Christmas decorations and cards, spin painting,
henna tattoos, and more - as well as storytelling and
lots of music. There will be hot food, mulled wine and
plenty of home-baked cakes, cookies and Christmas treats
from around the world, all baked by our lovely parents
and volunteers.
Plus we have
been busy sewing lots of wonderful toys and gifts for
Christmas. We will have a second-hand stall selling
quality children's clothes, toys and book, as well as
UNICEF cards and toys for charity. All in all, a great
opportunity to taste some delicious food, entertain the
kids, and pick up a few home made treats for Christmas -
while supporting early learning in our own community! |
The fair will be held from 10am - 4pm on Sun, Dec 7 at
Banyan House, 32 Yung Shue Long (past the Waterworks -
look for signs!). Click for
poster,
website.
If anyone has any questions, call Banyan House on 2982
2585 or
email. |
|
 |
|
Denzyl Allwright of
the Shanghai Dragons appeals for a caught behind off
batsman Tauseef Bukhari
during the Cup Final of the 2007 HK Cricket
Festival.
The Shanghai Dragons
were eventual winners of the Cup against
arch-rivals Lamma Simpsons.
© Alan Siu Mui Lun |
Did you ever hear of the Lamma Simpsons? The
Lamma Ups and Lamma Downs?
Me neither. Or maybe you're a cricket fan or a
good friend of a Lamma cricket player and will
cheer on the
Lamma CC teams this weekend in the
Ichor International Hong Kong Cricket Festival
2008?
The Lamma Simpsons won Cup Runners-up
last year! The Lamma Ups team will
compete against the Brickbats (10.20-11.40am)
and then Tokyo (3.30-4.50pm) this Fri, Dec 5.
On the same day, you can cheer on the Lamma
Downs vs the Shanghai Pirates
(10.20-11.40am) and then Frenz Club
(11.40am-1pm). This is FAST cricket and a game
doesn't take all day! The next games on Sat/Sun
depend on the outcome of these two initial ones,
of course, see below.
|
Mark Burns - Mark Burns, Director,
Asian Cricket Sixes Tour:
HK Cricket Festival press release: |
|
Teams
Flock to Hong Kong for Cricket Festival!
 Cricket
teams from Japan, Australia, Macau, China, the
Philippines and Korea fly into Hong Kong this week to
compete against local opponents in the 7th Ichor
International Hong Kong Cricket Festival being held at
Mission Road Cricket Ground from
5-7th December.
Seventeen teams in total, including the
defending champions from Shanghai, will compete for
honours in this award winning annual tournament designed
to celebrate the diversity of the sport with it's motto
of 'friendship through cricket.'
"There's hot competition on the field of
course, but friendship and camaraderie at the Festival
are as important as winning," said Tournament Director
Brad Tarr of
Lamma
Cricket Club.
"For seven years we've run our Festival
by this mantra of 'friendship through cricket' and the
strong support from cricketers who travel to enjoy Hong
Kong from all around the world is evidence of the
popularity of the message," Mr Tarr continued.
The action gets underway at
Mission Road Cricket Ground (Tin
Kwong Road) at 9am on Friday morning and
concludes with a trophy ceremony on Sunday evening.
Spectators are very welcome and entry is
free.
In addition to the cricket action there
are a range of social activities for participants to
enjoy including a Players Party and a Gala Dinner.
The Ichor International Hong Kong
Cricket Festival supports the
Make A Wish children's charity activities in Hong
Kong.
The Festival won major awards from the
International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council
in 2005 for contributing to the development of cricket.
For further information about the Ichor
International Hong Kong Cricket Festival 2008 and
directions to the ground see the tournament website
www.hkcricketfestival.com or call 9422 5907.
The Hong Kong Cricket Festival is
organised by
Lamma
Cricket Club and received an International Cricket
Council Award for contributing to the development of
cricket in 2005. The tournament is a part of the
Asian Cricket Sixes Tour circuit of events which
also includes Phuket, Philippines, Australia, Shanghai
and Bangkok. |
Being on a lot of mailing lists
keeps the voracious-for-news Lamma-zine constantly fed with new story ideas.
If you've got one with occasionally Lamma- or Lammaite-related content, add
info@Lamma.com.hk to your
subscriber list, please! Here's a press release from Lamma's #1 employer,
HK Electric, about
another one of their very frequent, on-going philanthropic
community services, ranging from
Major Community Programmes to
Donations and Sponsorships.
 What's
really astonishing about it is that I've just recently become a
Third Age Citizen myself, as they define it as anybody over 50!
Quite a bit like "Silver Age" in the West. But hey, recently I
feel more like half my age after all my weight loss and fitness
regiment! I'm not even sure if I have successfully completed my
First Age, not even talking about my Second Age which is
supposedly the "successful, high-flying career, saving up enough
for old age" stage?
Anyway, could I ever qualify for this "First
Ever Award to Recognise Outstanding Third Age Citizens" and win
one of the coveted
ten $5,000 scholarships HK-wide? The criteria
for this prize are:
"Nominees must demonstrate outstanding achievements and
contributions in all of the following aspects in their retired
life:"
-
Pursuing lifelong learning and knowledge sharing;
-
Enjoying and promoting a balanced and healthy lifestyle;
and
-
Active participation in social services, voluntary and
charity work."
Nah, definitely not me! I certainly aspire to
live up to these very worthy criteria in my own "Third Age", but
there must be hundreds of thousands of much worthier winners. I
think that quite a LOT of these worthy recipients live on Lamma,
fulfill all these criteria above and would have a great shot at
winning one of these prizes! Nominate them and get a piece of
the action as "their proposer will receive a Certificate of
Recognition and a $1,000 cash prize".
All you need to do for now is read this
bilingual
pamphlet and then fill in this
nomination form for a worthy Third Age Citizen. The form
is full of intriguing, thought-provoking questions like,
"Please describe in no more than 200 words how you find your
retired life rewarding and meaningful as well as your plans for
the future."
Anybody, not just Third Age Citizens, could fill
in this comprehensive, well-planned form, just for yourself and
about yourself, listing your own life's "achievements and
contributions", helping you to think seriously about your
own station in life, your direction and your future.
Try it!
"For enquiries or further details, please
visit www.heh.com/award,
or contact the Award Secretariat at 2876 2446, or email
el@hkcss.org.hk."
It's not every day that an Asia-wide project is
being launched from Lamma, especially such a
very
ambitious one. It's full of noble and worthy
goals, events, resources and products, subtitled "...where heaven and
earth meet..." I'll refrain (only this
time) from my usual ironical remarks about such
a "...lofty motto..."
Peter Lloyd, Senior Lammaite,
Earth Champion and Asia's first
Interfaith Minister, upgraded and relaunched his long-running website (even
a bit longer
than
Lamma.com.hk),
HolisticHongKong.com, for a
target audience of all of Asia. All the best
wishes from one
Lamma-based senior website to another. Let's
exchange free ad banners and add this new
website to our free
Lamma Links page as well.
May HolisticAsia's
reach, readership (and advertising revenue) grow
and prosper and surpass their wildest expectations!
To register for their newly launched forum and
biweekly email newsletter,
click here.
|
Holistic Asia - Press release: |
|
'Holistic Hong Kong' magazine
evolves into 'Holistic Asia'
Hong Kong's prime online gateway for
spiritual, green and health news and resources -
www.HolisticHongKong.com - is now becoming
Holistic Asia,
www.HolisticAsia.com.
Holistic Hong Kong has been providing
monthly news on the local holistic scene since its
inception in October 2001.
The magazine which has helped champion
the holistic world view in Hong Kong was described as
'excellent and comprehensive' by HK Magazine and acted
as the key inspiration for South China Morning Post 'Holistics'
column. Holistic Hong Kong has long had a section
dedicated to the region, including Asia Events and
Visitors, and now it is growing into a magazine for the
whole of Asia.
Peter Lloyd, the editor, added:
"Our aim is to be the ultimate
destination and solution when it comes to spiritual, eco
and health related information with inspirational
articles and videos, and holistic resources for a better
life in the Asia region, which is what we have been
offering here in Hong Kong for over 7 years already.
"Holistic Asia will have a completely
fresh look and expanded functionality, with extra
features such as a forum. Other new features include
Resources and Events for the region. So if you need to
know where to practice yoga, learn meditation, find a
good spa or eat organic food, in Hong Kong or the
region, Holistic Asia is the website to visit and access
is free."
Enquiries: Peter Lloyd, 2982 2807 or 9270 0654.
Email:
peter@holisticasia.com, Website:
www.holisticasia.com. |
|
|
Read last month's stories...
Lamma-zine Blog
started on Sep 1, 2004, and will be updated frequently with anything vaguely related to Lamma
Island or its residents, be it news, stories, events, photos, videos, etc.
Contact Lamma-Gung with anything relevant to Lamma or Lammaites that you'd like to see published on this home page!
 All
text, photos & graphics by Lamma-Gung, if not otherwise credited.
Click on button on left for Creative Commons license.
Twice a month, the Lamma-zine Blog will be promoted via an
email
newsletter to all registered subscribers and forum members, currently over 3,600.
Free subscriptions!
All former posts are stored in the Blog Archives, see below.
All materials and photos © 2008 Lamma-Gung.
Some rights reserved.
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Lamma-zine archives: all stories
2004: Aug,
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Oct,
Nov,
Dec
2005: Jan,
Feb, Mar,
Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2007: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2008: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2009: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2010: Jan, Feb, Mar
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