|
Super-Foods Sunday workshop in
JUSTGREEN, Jan 31,
2010,
hosted by Helen & her mum, presented by Lammaite
John the
LifeForceMan.
Check out his highly informative
Sketch Notes for this raw foods workshop.
Creating very tasty smoothies and
dips by blending raw "super-foods" like Goji berries, cacao,
seeds. Check out John's
Super-foods PowerPoint presentation.
The
Sleeves & Black Mariah:
Saturday, Jan 30, 9pm:
Island Bar:
Poster.
The former Spicy Boys and newish band
The Sleeves whooped it
up in The Island Bar today; see my Black Mariah photos
below. Photos of The Sleeves or a concert review would be most
welcome for publication!
Email me!
 Quick,
guess where in Yung Shue Wan is this shop?
Even long-time residents seem to have a problem
recognizing and finding this inviting-looking place and most
have probably never been inside. Quite a missed opportunity! I
hope to change that by introducing this little insider tip, a
real hidden gem, to a wider clientele, hoping that you'll check
it out soon! It's the
JUSTGREEN
natural & organic shop at the end of Main Street,
vis-a-vis the Bookworm Cafe.
This location has seen quite a bit of change
over the last several years, different types of businesses
trying to make a living, but not succeeding for various reasons.
But by now it's been fully developed into a most interesting,
friendly and welcoming place and I've become a regular customer.
Click on my recent photos below to see why I just love
JUSTGREEN:
 
View from Bookworm Cafe -- Warm,
welcoming smile from the shop's owner, Helen
 
An amazingly wide variety of
natural and organic products
  
Fresh organic vegetables from
Herboland --
European-style breads from La Rose Noire -- natural food and
treats for your pets
 
Helen's table at
Banyan
House Kindergarten's Christmas Fair --
 Super-foods
workshop this Sunday
Helen and her mom are running
JUSTGREEN.
She's just signed up as a brand-new advertiser, so you'll
read & see more about them in the Lamma-zine. She writes:
"JUSTGREEN
is the first natural, organic & fair-trade grocery store
in Lamma Island. We are proud to have the great selection of
products found in Hong Kong Island. Our goal is to do good every
day and make both Lamma and the planet happy and healthy.
"We are committed
to finding the products our customers really love, providing a
venue for seminars and community events, and supporting
other green and healthy businesses in Lamma. We carry everything
from organic produce, dairy and meat, to baby food, health
and beauty products and even food and treats to keep your
cats and dogs healthy!"
  
This
Sunday morning, Jan 31, 9:30-11:30am,
they'll have a "Super-foods Sunday"
workshop, teaching Lammaites how to prepare healthy
smoothies and dips for just $80/person, everything included.
Lamma-Por and I will attend.
 P.S.
While I'm promoting local events once again, I got this email
from
Banyan House's Vivien
& Catherine:
"Hi LG,
"We were hoping you might be able to give us
a bit of editorial coverage on your home page about the Ceilidh
tomorrow night? As you know it's a fundraiser for Lamma's only
English language kindergarten and we will be donating 20% of the
proceeds to Oxfam's Haiti fund.
"James (of Cath's bar fame) will be serving
up a delicious BBQ and there will also be a cash bar with wine,
beer, soft drinks and even Buck's Fizz (aka Mimosas). Tickets
are $150 a head, available at Emily's or on the door."
See what John found in an old house
in Yung Shue Wan. A historic photo of the harbour, the old pre-ferry
pier jetty, and Po Wah Yuen in the background, with almost no
buildings!
Gavin was amazed because
you can clearly see the standing stone which still stands in the
garden of the house he used to rent, up in Po Wah Yuen. Mr
DickStock took these two photos and emailed them to the
Lamma-zine. Thanks!
Can somebody approximately date
this picture? 1960s?
Same view in 2008, from roof of
The Waterfront
A few more "Old Lamma" photos,
collected/exhibited by the N. Lamma School:
This is the very best photo poster for a Lamma concert
I've published in quite some time, IMHO. Expert use of Photoshop to
combine numerous items into a most impressive and comprehensive
image, showcasing this major event of an (almost) brand-new
Lamma Band's performance in The Island Bar this Saturday! The
poster was designed by The Sleeves themselves who'll be
expecting a crowd like the one above for their very first Lamma gig.
Don't dare to disappoint them!
The very best non-photographical Lamma posters
are usually drawn and designed by
our Harry Harrison, of course! More about The Sleeves, from
Denis:
"The Sleeves are a dish best served live. Since switching
from playing indie covers to their own material a year ago, the
high-intensity five-piece have become regulars on the local
music scene with their energetic live shows that offer
'a
tasty blend of Blues, Rock and Britpop' and 'rock and
roll plus entertainment at its best'. They are currently
recording two songs that will be included on the latest
compilation CD to be issued by The Underground."
|
Dan Peterson -
The Island Bar, Yung Shue
Wan: |
|
 The
good folks of YSW have been busy doing more good things
of late, this time working hard to raise funds for the
much-needed rescue and reconstruction work in
earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
In addition to the canvassing of shops
and passers-by by Lucas and family in the high
street and local establishments (see
Jan 20 story), there were fund-raising efforts
in full swing at the Island Bar last Saturday the 23rd.
Kelly Morgan, assisted by a few
elves drafted in when needed, organised a book and video
sale which managed to raise an impressive $4,600 for the
relief effort. Big thanks to Kelly and congratulations
on a job well done!
Next came a music fest on Saturday
evening at The Island Bar. Initiated by Dave Green
and organised by John Hutton and Harry
Harrison, a host of musical prodigies pitched in
throughout the evening. Guest musicians included
Jacob Netel, Marcus Oleniuk, Neil Art and
dream-drummer-and-percussionist-par-excellence Magnus
Norberg, with guest vocals by Dan James, Lucinda
Williams, Mystery Mark (Happy birthday again, Mark!)
and Kelly Morgan (what, does she never stop when
she's on a relief mission?) – and last but by no means
least, Gareth Dunster, who also excelled himself
with some new audio gear and a great new sound for
performers and audience alike!
Standing by in the Green Room if needed
too were John Saeki and Chad, among
others.
The evening's effort equalled the
daytime takings to bring the subtotal to $9,200 and the
Island Bar topped that up to a nicely rounded $10,000
for relief in Haiti.
There were other activities too,
including a donation drive by the Lamma Island
(North) Rural Committee and a Sunday morning Bake
Sale. Well done everyone, and thanks for making a
difference for those in need. Once again, the people of
Lamma and Yung Shue Wan have risen to the occasion and
shown themselves to be a truly caring and generous
community. |
|
Press release from
Bookazine:
(Text & photos by
Bookazine) |
|
Temujin the Tiger
Pounces at Chinese New Year!
15 January 2010 –
Much-loved Hong Kong children's author
Sarah Brennan will
be launching her latest funny and fabulous Chinese
Calendar Tale, The Tale of Temujin, at Bookazine,
Princes Building at 1.30-3pm on Saturday 6 February
just in time for Chinese New Year.
|
 |
|
Harry Harrison &
Sarah Brennan
with young fans. |
Like his namesake the youthful Genghis Khan, Temujin
the Tiger is the Terror of the East. He's wrought a
trail of devastation and fine dining across the
Mongolian plains into China, right up to the gates of
the Grand Imperial Palace! Inside the GIP lives Princess
Precious - as awful as her name suggests, with a great
line in tantrums. Watch what happens when two
irresistible forces collide in this latest book in the
best-selling series, written especially for the Year of
the Tiger!
Temujin is the fourth zodiac beast in the series,
which to date includes The Tale of Chester Choi, The
Tale of Run Run Rat and The Tale of Oswald Ox all of
which have been best-sellers in Hong Kong, especially in
schools where Brennan conducts regular reading tours.
The books are now also being distributed in Singapore,
Beijing and Shanghai, and will feature at the Shanghai
International Literary Festival in March later this
year.
 "I
began writing The Chinese Calendar Tales to fill a
much-neglected gap in the children's book market in
Asia", explains Sarah.
"It's hugely important for
Chinese kids learning English – and English-speaking
kids living in China – to be able to read books written
in English which relate to Chinese culture and
traditions. But it's also important that those kids are
having a good time while they read! That's why the
emphasis in all my stories is on humour and fun both in
the text and the illustrations."
The Tales are all
illustrated by
Harry Harrison, the
renowned cartoonist for the South China Morning Post
whose hilarious style has proven a hit with Hong
Kong school kids. The series is published by Auspicious
Times, which also publishes Sarah's Dirty Story series
for children.
Bookazine, Shop 309, 3/F,
Prince's Building, Central
RSVP:
enquiries@bookazine.com.hk / 2522 1785
Language: English.
Suitable for ages 5 – 105!! Free entry.
Wine will
be served for the adults.
Snacks will be available for the children. |
(Photos by
DannyLO)
Searching the Internet for relevant info about
our island home turns up some really strange descriptions and
weird impressions, usually written by 1-day visitors, like the
ones pictured above. Did you realise that some of these visitors
clogging up Main Street on weekends regard us as a
"semi-lawless commune", "a bedroom community for...commuters"
or "a tropical retreat for artisans"?
Bah! Humbug! Click below to read more:
1. Lamma Island. No cars, delicious seafood and an otherworldly,
"I've fallen off the face of the earth" feel make Lamma a
must-see.
2. Sunday we met up to hit Lamma Island, the hippie, semi-lawless
commune accessible by a ferry from Central. It is a bedroom
community for expatriate and local commuters.
3. We visited Lamma Island, a vehicle-less, tropical retreat for
artisans.
I hope that this website will counteract some of
these impressions, after publishing over 2,000 Lamma-zine
stories over the last 7.5 years. Or maybe not...
Check out our
story archive to judge by yourself....
|
Jay Scott Kanes - Official Court
Correspondent,
CairnsMedia publisher:
(Text & photos by Jay) |
|
Snakes on Plates:
Slithering Down Throats
CENTRAL DISTRICT, Hong Kong – Usually
when encountering snakes, people back away, keen to stay
at a safe distance.
But this time proved different.
Everyone eagerly reached forward, chopsticks in hand.
Belly-pleasing prospects:
a ticket to the annual snake feast.
The occasion was an annual snake dinner,
exclusively for Lamma Islanders, organized by the
District Council, subsidized by the government and held
on January 21 at a difficult-to-find restaurant in
Central. Tickets cost HK$130 each, a bargain for an
eight-course feast with several snake dishes (two in
soup form), plus snake wine, eel meat (snakes of the
sea, presumably), pigeon (identifiable by the cooked
heads) and much more.
Twelve utilitarian stools surrounded
each table. Within moments, every seat had a person
perched on it – altogether about 150 folks nearly all
Chinese. Some took a ferry to Central for the special
meal. Others arrived from city workplaces. They filled
an entire floor in the remarkably unadorned restaurant
specializing in snake meat.
A sense of eager expectation filled the
room. Then wine flowed, food arrived and everyone turned
very busy.
Supposedly, snake meals have a healthy
warming influence ideal in cold weather. "During winter
the snakes don't carry poison," proclaimed one person.
"What?" asked a dubious dining
companion, digging into plates and bowls at the same
table. "Are you saying that if I'm bitten by a cobra now
that I won't be poisoned?"
Suffice to say that once cooked, the
snakes posed no threat. Indications were that the bits
of snake meat, of several varieties, some dark, some
light, floating in the soup or mixed with vegetables,
had been frozen and imported from southern China.
"It was pretty tasty, not too tough,"
said one enthusiastic diner, who often has worked as a
food critic. "Fortunately, there were no snake teeth in
the dishes, but lots of tiny bones. The snake wine was
pretty nice too!"
The countless bones, more delicate than
fish-bones, even included spines. Did the snake meat
resemble chicken? No, it tasted entirely different,
neither delicious, nor repulsive.
Plenty of guessing arose due to the
presence of other meats too.
"Is this part snake-meat?"
"No, that looks more like pork."
After an hour, the feast abruptly ended.
As Lamma Islanders always do, these diners, once their
bellies filled, began to fidget and ponder the ferry
schedule. When a few people stood, ready to stroll back
to the ferry pier, so did everyone else. (The restaurant
managers like to push customers briskly out too.)
These serpent-devouring diners must hope
that the poisonous snakes seen when out walking on Lamma
never learn about the yearly snake dinner. No one wants
slithery retribution. |
High expectations fill the crowded restaurant.
Remarkably unadorned, the snake-meat restaurant stashes
extra veggies within easy reach.
Slurp it up! Snake soup
tastes good, but largely thanks to the non-serpent
ingredients.
A bottle of snake wine
stands on each table.
Pigeons, identifiable by
the cooked heads, also appear.
Soon the feast ends as
diners depart for the next ferry home.
More and larger photos |
Talk on "Fight
Against Drugs"
Sat, Jan 30, 9:30-10:45am (Cantonese),
11am-12:15pm (English):
Main Hall, Northern Lamma Primary School:
Full Poster.
Talks and Q&A for parents &
children, by a doctor, a social worker and Lamma police's
Sergeant Chik will tell us about "Drug abuse - an offence".
There'll even be a "Display of drugs"....
News release from Hong
Kong Police:
Identity of dead
body sought
"Police are appealing for
information to identify the body of a man found floating in
waters near Tung O Wan, Lamma Island,
on January 7.
"The dead man was aged 30 to
50, was about 1.55 metres tall and of medium build. He had a
round face, dark complexion and short hair. He was wearing a
black long-sleeved T-shirt, a green jacket, grey vest and blue
rubber overalls.
"No identity document was
found on him. No suspicious circumstances have been found.
"People who may know the man
or who have information on the case should call Police on 2986
0231 or 2986 0200."
Plus an
urgent announcement from
HK Electric:
Emergency Drill at Lamma Power Station on
25 January
"HK Electric will conduct an
emergency drill in Lamma Power Station between 11.30 a.m. and
12 noon on 25 January 2010 (Monday) during which sirens
inside the power station will be activated. The drill is part of
a regular exercise to familiarize station personnel with
policies and procedures in response to emergency situations.
"Residents
nearby may hear the alarm go off during the period
and we wish to apologize for any inconvenience caused."
See what I came across in
 my
daily follow-up on Lamma news all over the Internet and other
media:
"LAMMA President Ray Larrington dies after a long illness.
The recent death of LAMMA President, Ray Larrington, marks
the end of an era in which the dramatic changes in farming over
a near 60 year career led him to establish three distinctly
different businesses within the agricultural industry....
"Ray's determination, forthright expression of his
opinions and dry sense of humour will be greatly missed by all
who knew him."
Read more...
This all sounds like a typical, multi-talented, humorous and
opinionated ("forthright expression of his opinions")
Lammaite to me!
But on further inspection, he was actually the President of
LAMMA, the Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers
Association! They're just finishing their huge, annual LAMMA 2010
show (Jan 20/21) today in "Newark and Nottinghamshire
Showground, Winthorpe, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG24 2NY",
"the UK's leading farm machinery show" with "Free parking
& Free entry". Website
Lamma.co.uk.
A few days before this annual show in January, it's usually
the only time of year when they manage to displace our website
from its almost permanent #1 position in all web searches on
Google/Yahoo/Bing for "Lamma".
Well, today is the last day of the show, there'll be press
releases for a few more days and then we're back to #1 in the
search engines. But some of these press releases sound pretty
fascinating, in an agriculturally geeky way:
LAMMA 10: US-built Haydryer makes an appearance
LAMMA 10: AFT Trenchers imports Tuchel-Trac compact loader
LAMMA 10: Austrian-built cultivator packs a punch
LAMMA 10: Landy launches large-capacity pto pressure washer
LAMMA 10: High-speed big bale collector-stacker from Big
Bale South
LAMMA 10: Simse Attachments launch BeastE cow catcher
 Wow!
Haydryers, cultivators, compact loaders, pressure washers,
high-speed big bale collector-stackers and even a BeastE cow
catcher (see right). Sounds all mightily impressive for this
boy growing up in the countryside, surrounded by farms, working
in the fields occasionally for pocket money while in primary
school. But our neighbour was still using a horse-drawn plough
instead of a mighty, all-powerful CULTIVATORRRRrrrr....
But it looks unlikely to find any of the few remaining Lamma
Island farmers at high-tech LAMMA 2010, I guess. Farming methods
here remain very basic and manual. There was one headline we'll probably never ever see on Lamma
Island:
LAMMA 10: Traffic chaos delays visitors
 
|
Susie & Flavio
- Lucas' adoptive Lamma parents:
(photos by Susie) |
|
 We're
organising collection boxes around Lamma for donations
for the folk in Haiti. As you know, the devastation is
mind-boggling and we want to do something to help,
particularly as our son is from Haiti which brings it
all very close to home. He still has family there.
(Well, we can only hope he still does.)
Lucas, our son, was out collecting in
the village this morning [Saturday] and very few people
made it past him without digging deep in their pockets!
He's already raised a significant amount of money, doing
an amazing job. There were few who could refuse him. By
the end of the afternoon he'd collected over HKD
3,000. Not bad for a 7 year-old kid! We're very
proud of him.
As Lucas is the only Haitian on Lamma,
and probably in Hong Kong, we wanted to get him involved
in raising funds for the earthquake appeal. He is fully
aware of his adoption story and is proud of his Haitian
roots. He knows that he still has family there.
The following establishments have
kindly agreed to 'host' the boxes:
 Green
Cottage, The Island Bar, Banyan Bay Cafe, The
Waterfront, Deli Lamma and Diesels. We plan
to leave them there for at least a week in the hope of
more donations.
The money will go to SOS Children's
Village in Haiti, a global charity that has been
particularly strong in Haiti since 1978. They mostly
work with orphaned and abandoned kids. Link to
their Haiti page for an idea of what they do
(pre-earthquake info).
P.S. I mentioned Lucas' efforts to his teacher at Kennedy
School. She posted the info and his pic to the senior management
and staff there. She (Donna Sloane) emailed me this morning with
the news that the staff at Kennedy have got together and
donated HKD 7,000...so far! |
 
|
Heather Paul
- Executive Director,
SOS Children's Villages - USA: |
 Today
SOS is moving ten tons of food, water, medicine and
tents to our SOS Village, 20km from Port Au Prince--with
good access to roads, near the airport. SOS Haiti
facilities despite being near the earthquake's epicenter
have not collapsed, and preparations are underway to
provide shelter for children who have lost their
parents. SOS is the first organization given legal
authority by government for the temporary care of
children until parents and family status is determined.
With close cooperation from SOS Dominican Republic and
its government, SOS is also setting up a Mobile Clinic.
This clinic will be staffed by SOS medical staff and
those trained in child trauma. SOS has worked with
children traumatized by war and natural disaster for
over twenty years.
Collaboration efforts are underway with World Vision,
UNICEF and Plan on the ground, as SOS brings the special
expertise of dealing with orphans and traumatised
children.
Getting help to as many orphans as possible is our
priority now. But we will continue to keep you informed
as reports come from Haiti. We are told that funding is
still a priority. The Haitians will need your support
well into the future. Thank you to those who have made a
donation. Click here to make a donation now.
P.S. Please help SOS to continue saving the
lives of those in need in and around our SOS Children's
Villages in Haiti.
Donate now. |
Piano Duet for Kids:
Sat, Jan 2, 2010, 7pm:
Bookworm Cafe.
Free entry,
poster,
website,
email, call 8108 9069.
 
Jan 15
2010, 5:48-5:52pm, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, Hong
Kong, China
A Laudable Lamma Luminary used
this top-Feng-Shui eclipse to launch his brand- new luxury yacht
from the Old Jetty with a magnum bottle of top-notch champagne
Replacing the former Spicy
Island, Mr Kebab - Turkish Rest. opened on Jan 16
Some of the first happy customers
today, giving a big Thumbs up!
Local celebrities/future
customers eagerly awaiting the opening a few days earlier,
jovial manager/co-owner Dogan front right, chef/co-owner Ali
middle back row.
 
Sold out on the first day! -- Ali
the Kebab Chef & cook
 
Our favourite so far: Chicken
Roll -- one of many future salads & veggie dishes
|
Jay Scott Kanes - Official Court Pet
Correspondent,
CairnsMedia publisher:
(Text & photos by
Jay) |
|
Canines Cavort in Doggy Version
of Lamma Fun Day
Dozens of Lamma's leading residents, the
fleet-footed, furry, four-legged ones, and their
two-legged assistants, held a special party at Power
Station Beach on January 16.
After several hours of frolicking with old pals and
sniffing out new ones, most guests of honour gave the
event a supreme signal of approval – wagging tails – as
they trotted home.
Film-maker Alba Rayton,
also from Lamma, organized the "dog party", complete
with food and drinks (albeit mostly for humans), as a
cunning ploy to create joyful scenes to film and to
attract pet guardians to interview for a new project.
She's working on a short documentary about Lamma's
people and lifestyle.
About 40 dogs attended – some brown, others black,
golden or white, some tiny, some humongous, but most
medium-sized – together with a similar number of equally
diverse people.
Under pleasant sunshine, the dogs chased
each other along the beach, churning sand with each
stride. Some leaped in and out of the ocean. Their
guardians sat nearby or mingled at the snacks table.
A few city dogs came to Lamma and participated. Their
humans had read about the party online or on posters.
Some keen people borrowed dogs from neighbours to
attend.
Sounds of barking dogs punctuated the murmur of human
chatter. Some folks feared that their dogs might fight
with rival guests, but no serious canine disputes
erupted. This wasn't a time for doggy bluster or
snapping at snouts.
Clever dogs used the "eye-appeal technique" to
convince their humans to share tiny sausages, bits of
chicken or slices of bread. Some pursued another
traditional activity – chewing on sticks.
Alba and her team aimed cameras at the dogs and asked
the people every relevant question. Two crew members,
including Alba's husband John, climbed a steep hillside,
while carrying a camera, to shoot down at the party.
They returned looking weary and tattered. John's jacket
had multiple rips from brambles and bushes. "It wasn't
easy getting up there," he said. "We didn't find a
path."
 
Alba plans the documentary as a companion work for
Masks, her short movie (about 55 minutes) set on
Lamma and finished last year. She screened Masks
at several overseas film festivals and hopes to do
likewise with the documentary. Soon, Masks and
the documentary may appear together on a DVD for sale on
Lamma and beyond.
For more pictures & captions,
click here. |
 |
(With credit and
apologies to ex-officio member John Cleese et al)
|
Text & photos by
anonymous, photo-editing/montage by L-G, click to
enlarge: |
|
The Secret Undercover Policeman's Ball
on New Year's Eve was well attended, with an
enthusiastic squad of 'undercover ops' dressed in an
assortment of colourful, inspired and sometimes
downright eccentric outfits.
Delightfully motivated by Harry's creative poster,
the group was well and truly drawn to the theme.
Alternate versions of dancing, posing and general silly-billying
were very much the order of the night. Congratulations
to everyone who put in so much effort to make the
evening and this year's New Year's Eve celebration such
a resounding success. It's a safe bet to say that great
fun was had by all – cop a look at the photo evidence
and see for yourself.
Thanks to all who
participated!
And a special thanks to Harry, of course! |
 |
 
What's fuelling me while creating an (almost) daily Lamma-zine
story? As an obnoxiously healthy-living, drugs-free individual,
my only stimulant permitted is an occasional, rare glass of
something alcoholic, preferably a glass of fine wine. But my
tiny stomach pouch - after weight loss surgery two years ago -
has reduced my alcohol tolerance dramatically. Even a single
glass of wine will make me tipsy, going straight to my head. So
it has to be really good wine to make drinking worthwhile and
enjoyable in very small quantities! Drinking like a Thirsty
Horse is out for me, I'm drinking more like a thirsty cat these
days, enjoying and savouring every precious sip.
But when Lamma Celebrity Brad Tarr, Director of
Thirsty
Horse, the high-profile and well-known cricket and
dragonboat promoters, presented me with a free pair each of his
own brand's Thirsty Horse red, white and sparkling wines,
how could a wine lover like myself resist! His only request was
that I write a few words about them, helping to promote local
sales. Yes, bartering goods & services is alive and well on
Lamma and always welcome on this website!
I've tasted his red, white and sparkling wines now and can truly
recommend them highly to all wine lovers! Brad describes the
Shiraz Cabernet as "a combination of two classic grape
varieties, with an aroma of dark berry and plum, hints of
raspberry and red currant over subtle oak – excellent
persistence of flavour with firm fine tannins, a good length and
a warm finish." Well, I'm not an expert and don't have the
experienced and sophisticated palate to confirm this highly
refined expert assessment, but me likey this winey a lot!
 Of
course, I shared the wines with friends - at New Year's Eve, the
Lamcombe farewell dinner, even giving away some bottles -
receiving some very positive feedback and great recommendations!
MESSAGE FROM BRAD:
"I went to South Australia, bought some
grapes, and produced my own wine. Buying wine in HK, I found,
was a 'hit and miss affair' with selecting a good cheap bottle.
We have done it!
"I can guarantee that my selection of wines
tastes fantastic, for the price!
I can also offer you a full 100% refund if you're not happy.
I've not had one complaint and they are selling really well,
just finishing the first shipment:
"Thirsty Horse 2007 Shiraz Cabernet HK$90,
Sparkling White HK$100, Chardonnay HK$80,
introducing a Sparkling Red and a Tawny Port to the Thirsty
Horse label soon!"
Happy to deliver on Lamma! Email
brad@thirstyhorse.com."
For a little while there, we've had FOUR vegetarian places
running in Yung Shue Wan: long-time favourite Bookworm Cafe, 2
Green Cottages, plus the new FaFa House in the former LAWC
thrift shop. They're open from Thu-Sun only and are serving "creative
organic food", basically tasty vegetarian snacks and desserts
of a wide variety. The Lamma visitors I met in there recently
gave it all a big thumbs up and Lamma-Po & I like them a lot!
Innovative, colourful, tasty AND low-priced!
 
 
Green Cottage closed quietly
and w/o farewell parties just a few days ago, another victim of
local landlords. A former staffer will take over the place and
make another go at it soon, probably reopening soon as a coffee
shop offering baked goods. In memoriam of Green Cottage and its
amazing seaview, my former favourite for a veggie English
breakfast (see below), the "largest coffee cup of YSW", and a
free newspaper. I'll miss the place....
Green Cottage Forum.
 
The former owners and most staff have transferred over to the
new Green Cottage 26
vegetarian restaurant in the location of the former New Holiday
Mood Grill & Rest. Whatever happened to Green Cottage 2-25?
Part of a future vegetarian restaurant chain all over HK? Ron
and his brother Dan (see below) should let us loyal customers
know!
  
  
 
The Portobello mushroom burger above is my absolute favourite so
far.
You'll find me in there frequently, meeting friends, even
conducting business!
Well,
it's back to three vegetarian places now and many more veggie choices
in most local restaurants. I wonder what percentage of Lammaites
are full-time or part-time vegetarians? I'd guess it to be an
unusually high number. But most of the regular and occasional
guests of our vegetarian restaurants are actually meat-eaters
like myself who do enjoy frequent veggie meals, for variety,
health and taste reasons. So go out tonight and try out these
veggie restaurants, giving them a chance to survive, grow and
prosper!
|
Eileen Weintraub
- USA representative for
VSPCA
in India
(on behalf of Pradeep Nath and all at VSPCA):
(photos above by Lisa
Warden) |
|
Dear Friends at Lamma.com.hk,
The below is a submission for your
website as we are very grateful to have this help from
your area. Much appreciated!
We at the Visakha Society for Protection
and Care of Animals (VSPCA) in Visakhapatnam, India
would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people
of Lamma for their generous donations. A special thank
you to Cath Hoe and the Banyan
Bay Cafe for hosting our donation box this
year.
For the price of three drinks, you
can sterilise a street dog in India and vaccinate it
against rabies.
As of mid-January, the VSPCA donation
box will move to The Island Bar,
so come on down and "Buy a Dog a
Drink!"
The VSPCA has thus far sterilised and
vaccinated over 70,000 street dogs in Andhra Pradesh,
India. VSPCA is a sanctuary for cows, dogs, cats,
turtles, horses, buffalo, many kinds of birds and other
small animals. We work mainly in the city of
Visahapatnam and its surroundings areas, as well as a
growing number of districts in Andhra Pradesh. The
number of animals that we rescue, treat and advise
others about is increasing each year. Please join our
infrequent email list at
www.vspca.org.
Thanks very much for your generous
support! Best wishes for a blessed holiday season and
wonderful 2010! |
One
more related item: Lamma's very first
(?) beach party for dogs (human companions welcome, too.) Lamma
filmmaker Alba (Masks, The
Birthday Party,...) is filming a documentary and is looking for
(human) volunteers to be interviewed. Our Official Court Pet
Correspondent Jay and photographer L-G will be reporting back to you
from this "Typically Lamma!" event this Saturday, 3-6pm.
There are already THIRTY SEVEN chapters in
Emily's semi-autobiographical
Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady on Yung Shue Wan Main
Street! It's becoming the Magnum Opus, the epic saga of Lamma, a
real "Love and the Village"! The most recent weekly chapter made
me laugh out loud several times. Check it out at:
GOOD GIRL OR BAD? WEIGH THE OPTIONS (Jan 1, 2010)
An illustration by Peter
Bolt who seems to know Lamma very, very well,
cramming so many "Typically Lamma!" items into a single
illustration. How many can you spot? I lost count at around 50.
Click to enlarge, as usual.
This illustration is available as a T-shirt from
Maria's Tigra da Lua shop, as I just found out today.
Her clothing shop is in Tai Wan, on the left of the path to Hung
Shing Yeh beach, opposite the glass-making shop. Adult sizes:
$85, children sizes: $80. I bought mine already, wearing it with
pride right now, adding it to my sizable and growing Lamma Tees
collection.
A new coffee table book with photos by five HK
photographers, including ex-Lammaite Artist/Photographer
Elizabeth Briel, is available now in HK bookshops. She
was covering the rural side of HK, including the Outlying
Islands like Lamma. She introduces her section of the book,
signing her autograph to me, her "Lamma Inspiration", a
"fellow eccentric at the edge of Hong Kong":
Read a book review by Lamma author
Jay Scott Kanes:
Lost&Found Hong Kong
What's keeping me fuelled while writing this
placeblog? This is probably the weirdest of my small, occasional
snacks; besides saltine crackers, fruits and nuts:
Would you move into a
great rooftop flat if there's a new house under construction
next door?
| 1.
Yes, no problem! |
|
0% |
[0] |
| 2.
OK, it that's really the only drawback |
|
11% |
[2] |
3.
Maybe, but I'd negotiate the rent down
and insist on a 2-year contract |
|
23% |
[4] |
| 4.
No way! |
|
64% |
[11] |
Total Votes : 17
These were the results of
a poll I put into our forum last June, right before we
made the decision to move in anyway despite the majority
negative feedback. We took option 3. above and have not
regretted it yet. Watching the building of a standard-issue
Village House - in which most of us Lammaites live - has been a
very interesting and entertaining experience so far, not noisy
and disturbing at all. A few photos from my balcony of the quite
slow progress so far:
  
  
{Shiver!*} {*Shudder!*} Soooo very cold these
days, especially at night!
It's got down to 10 degrees Celsius
outdoors here on Lamma Iceland, eh, Lamma Island. Indoor
temperature in our flat has dropped to 16 degrees these days! As
only few people have any heating installed in our usually
subtropical climate we need to get dressed up warmly in multiple
layers of clothing indoors!
Getting cold fingers and toes is
quite a new experience for me, after walking around in a T-shirt
in winter before, back in the days when I still had thick,
insulating layers of fat protecting me very well from any cold
spell. Well, that's a small price to pay for much improved
health and fitness.
It seems that awareness of HK and Lamma getting cooler is spreading on the
Internet. See what I just found on this link spam
website,
Euro Car Hire, listed as one of 12 featured main tourist
attractions in all of HK, a brand-new article:
"9.
Lamma Iceland – If you see a different Hong Kong want to
try, Lamma Iceland. It hosts several outdoor activities
such as swimming and hiking. And if you love the delicious fresh
seafood in Hong Kong Food tastes ambiance, Lamma Iceland
is always to be the preferred place to go."
Yes, swimming in Iceland sounds like really cool fun, literally.
  
More photos from some recent Christmassy happenings all over
Yung Shue Wan! I've had a few busy weekends last month,
exploring many of the markets and doing photo shoots of up to 3
events on the same day, running all over the place.
I've been relaxing for a few days with
Lamma-Por who was off work for a full 10 days between
Christmas and New Year. But the Lamma-zine will continue daily
all through the holidays - loads more events & Christmas dinners
to cover, see
Events Calendar. No day off from my labour of love for
this tired but tireless writer, editor, photographer, designer,
programmer, publisher and Lammaniac....
Banyan House:
Christmas Fair (Sun, Dec 6):
 
  
 
Fafa House:
Christmas Market (Sat/Sun, Dec
19/20)
 
Open Space:
Christmas Craft Workshop (Mon/Tue, Dec 21/22):
 
 
Jan 4:
Farewell to Lamcombe Seafood Rest.
Today is the very last day of this very popular
Chinese restaurant on Main Street, the #1 favourite of many
locals of all nationalities, including Lamma-Por & myself. Andy
& Elizabeth have been running this highly successful local
family business for over 13 years, getting an outstanding 46%
Excellent and 32% Good ratings in our
restaurant ratings.
But the off-island landlords want to try their
own luck in running the place, despite Lamcombe agreeing to a
massive rent increase. They landlords are hoping to reopen under
the same name in a few months. For details of this sad story,
see our
Lamcombe forum. For this top Lamma-zine advertiser's web
page with loads of my photos,
click here.
Staff family group shot,
"parents" Elizabeth & Andy in the centre, of course
Selling various
left-over T-shirts @ $20, all proceeds going to the staff.
Lamma-Por & I managed to get a signed one from our friends.
A huge farewell dinner was set up yesterday for the Lamma
dragonboaters & outriggers, around 45 (?) paddlers, as Lamcombe
Rest. has been a major long-time supporter, plus many other good
causes like the Lamma Fun Day. They're looking for a new
restaurant venue, several ideas but nothing concrete yet. Keep
your eyes on this website as you'll be the first ones to hear
about a potential reopening! Some photos from our several
farewell dinners with good friends over the last few days:
 
Celebrating New Year's Eve with
Chinese food and great Thirsty Horse champagne!
Just in, a few more photos, dragonboaters &
outriggers, by
Bob Davis:
 
 
Plus two more photos from a Lamma Dragon Lady,
Captain Dawn:
 
While you were sleeping this Sunday morning, who was venturing
out into the cold dark night after 6am to take these pictures of
Yung Shue Wan harbour at the lowest tide below? Yes, intrepid
Lamma-Gung is out and about again, exploring his home island at
any time of day or night, on foot or bike, after 3 months of
slow recovery from his double vision.
The tide was close to the absolute minimum of 0.2
metres this morning before sunrise - a very rare yearly event (Predicted
Tides charts) - so I grabbed my tripod and ventured onto
the exposed beach. Beware, these are NOT our usually pretty,
touristy snapshots:
 
 
 
 
Here are a few more of my best photos of an even
a bit lower tide at sunset, almost three
years ago:
 
  
Just in case you're wondering how much prettier our harbour
actually looks like during maximum high tide, here's an old
photo gallery of mine, including a 360-degree panorama:
Maximum High Tide in YSW Harbour - July 13, 2006
|
 |
Andy the Architographer
There are so many photo- graphers
calling Lamma home, but have you ever encountered an
architographer? |
 |
Carpentry, Glitter & Paint @ Santa's Workshop
"Volunteers
from Lamma were very busy last week, putting the final touches
to Santa's sleigh!" |
|
 |
A Latter Day Utopia?
"These nights
were part comical, anthropological, educational, historical,
whimsical, touching, reflective, hazy and hysterical!" |
 |
RIP, Jenkin Waldo Hiles
Memories & messages from his many
friends in our forum, including Mr DickStock's memorable
quote.... |
|
 |
Seeing Double
I spent the entire week in Queen
Mary Hospital, starring in something similar to a HK version of
House, the TV series. |
 |
The Detoxed Yoga Bunny
How to Lose 175 Pounds
Finally, after 1.5 years of strict weight loss diet and exercise, I've reached my goal of.... |
|
 |
A Spontaneous Mini-Vacation
How to enjoy a mini vacation on Lamma on a weekend but staying away from the often huge and maddening weekend... |
 |
We Are the Champions
So it is eight weeks on and I completed my mofo Bootcamp!! Wooohooo... It has gone fast and there have been many glaring... |
Many thanks to all our readers, sponsors, advertisers,
photographers, writers, content contributors,
cheerleaders, tipsters, supporters, and critics as well!
|
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month's stories...
Lamma-zine Blog
started on Sep 1, 2004, and will be updated frequently with anything
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