Red Star Rising @ The Island Bar - Sat,
April 29 2006
This is the first time I've seen Red Star Rising since
their brief and blistering performance at November's DickStock. Kevin
has quit (to concentrate on nude?) and his replacement Alex Katsumata
is more than capable. There's a new keyboard player, Francisco, while
Steve and Hugh on guitar and drums are the mainstays.
Hamada, from Over a Dogma,
jams with the band in the first set. Opener "Footsteps on the Stairs"
has a slinky world blues feel that gets this party started. About 20
people inside the bar and slightly more outside. Kerry is bopping away,
while Kevin and Matt (nude's keyboard player) are in evidence.
Fourth track in, the
eponymous "Red Star Rising" heats up the room with blasts of
feedback-laden blues riffage as Kumi and Linda join in the dance-floor
action. The final track is "Last Ferry To Lamma" in a pleasant country
rock style. It's sure improved from the rough video download jam on the
last ferry to Lamma last year.
The second set features more of the psychedelic antics
that I've grown to love. "Easy Come, Easy Go" opens with a riff that's
a kissin'-cousin to "Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix and isn't afraid to
funk out a little. Similar to Rare Earth at their extended jam peak.
Most of nude appear to be present, grooving away happily. Next song
"When Worlds Collide" seems to weld the boogie-choogle of vintage
Creedence with the fairground appeal of Jayne County and the Electric
Chairs. Francisco is coming to the fore. An irresistibly sleazy organ
style, part head-banging, foot-tapping Jerry Lee Lewis with the acid
jazz allure of the James Taylor Quartet doing "Mission Impossible" or
"The Prisoner". Alex does a passable Jaco Pastorious imitation with
some slap-happy bass.
At least 9 lovely ladies are
frugging away up front (and I'm sure at least 20 or so of those 9 will
be saying "I was there!")
Set 2 winds up with
"Escalator Girls" and "Shopping Malls" which is my favourite R.S.R
track. I told Steve later I think it's a neo-psychedelic classic.
"Escalator Girls" marries Hendrix' wah-wah with what sounds like some
Peter Frampton voice-box FX. "Malls" roars along like the Television
Personalities in full flight, Francisco's keys are fuzz-buzzing
furiously, while Hugh's drums merge Golden Earring with Can. Magnus
from Garoupa also plays in this circular style to good effect.
Alex has left for the last ferry
FROM Lamma, so Kevin is back on bass for the final set. More thunderous
blues rock on "Walking With The Devil" as Squinty John makes a belated
appearance. The highlight is a brain-melting cover of "Voodoo Chile"
played with the "heaviosity" of Cream or Blue Cheer in full peak mode.
Steve says it's their "first-ever cover". The set concludes with the
near-original version of "Ferry" and a more funkified, electro-sleazy
remix of "Malls".
A most enjoyable night
out! Probably equal to the fun factor of Jaggedy Ann at The Edge on
Thursday night and way more fun than Simple Minds at the Queen
Elizabeth Stadium on Friday night. Now, I'm off home for a nice hot cup
of cocoa.
After
a recent junk trip from the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier with excellent and
delicious catering, I've offered to give the catering co., Shamrock, a
little free advertorial in this Lamma-zine Blog.
There
are just a few local, small catering options in Yung Shue Wan, for
example New Holiday Mood.
Shamrock, a brand-new Blog advertiser, sent me the following company info:
"Shamrock sandwich and catering company has been
providing a food and catering delivery service to homes, offices and over
10 International schools since 1992. It currently services over 400 offices
daily and operates 2 food Kiosks at International schools.
"In
2004 the company under its
CRUNCH label set up a bakery and wholesale production facility,
manufacturing cakes, bakery and finished food products, for a number of
well-known food outlets across the city.
"The company continues to expand and is set to become the preferred caterer
for a number of event and public relations companies. For more information
visit us at www.Shamrock.com.hk
or call 28542180."
Plus a little testimonial
from Mr. Pyle:
"Thanks for catering our tram party. The food was great and everybody
commented on the assortment of items and sandwiches being unique, high
quality, and very tasty. Thanks again for your helpful ideas regarding
coffee and beverages. We'll definitely ask you to cater our next junk party
as well!"
The Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society (HKDCS)
presents campaign Help Us Help Them (HUHT)
The HKDCS is proud to bring you
photos, new information, and lots of fun and interesting games in order
to promote the conservation of Hong Kong's local dolphin and porpoise
species.
Children's games, adult relay races, auctions,
treasure hunts, raffles and talent shows will make this
event enjoyable for all ages to attend!
Each day begins at 3:00pm
Day
one (MAY 5TH) - To know them is to love them. This day
provides a photo exhibition, relay races, treasure hunts, and
children's games. Register five people per team for your chance to win
a free trip to see the dolphins!!
Day two (MAY 6TH)
- What threatens them threatens us. This special day gently introduces
up to date threats that the animals face and effective solutions to the
problem. A lecture from the director of HKDCS educates and informs the
public with ways that they can help us help them. Musical entertainment
from various local groups begins at 4:30 pm until you decide to go
home!
Collect dolphin point cards
throughout the day to exchange for auction items on Sunday!
Day three (MAY 7TH)
– Celebrate hope with HKDCS.
This day brings back the fun with auctions,
raffles, talent shows and prizes!! All
winners will be taken on a day trip to see the pink humpback dolphins!!
If you would like to participate in
all of the fun, register or volunteer for the event.
Call Lee-Ann at 9647-9505!
Friday May 5th – Relay races, treasure hunt, and
children’s activities.
Saturday – Free and fun for all!
Sunday – Talent show, auction and lucky draw
Registration closing
date: Thursday, May 4th
Cost: 50 HKD/person/event.
Call 9647-9505 now!!
How you can help from home:
Pick up discarded nets found on the beach and
dispose of them in designated trash bins.
Do not dispose of batteries, PCB’s, other toxic
items into the drainage systems. Several outflow valves dump directly
into the sea. Please keep the animals in mind when dumping waste.
Join our society as a member and/or volunteer.
Your ongoing support and commitment is needed.
Encourage others to attend our events. All ages
are welcomed!
Join or sponsor community events and dolphin
watching trips with HKDCS.
3 new
paintings from former Lamma Artist
of the Month, Carey! Click to enlarge. Her
artworks are now available as hand-made cards at very good prices at the
Annie H shop vis-ŕ-vis the Bookworm Café. Have a look!
I've
also updated Carey's
online Art Gallery. I've created it some time
ago for free, as I've been doing for many Lamma-based artists since the
beginning of this website. If you know a local artist eager for a free web
page to showcase and promote their artworks,
let me know.
The next Lamma Artist of the Month, Annie Knibb, is
almost ready for her big day out in the worldwide, shining limelights of
the Internet!
April 26: 'Another Analogue Night of
Music, Mistakes and Merrymaking with Minimal Mayhem'
Lamma's favourite bookman and Gandalf-impersonator has become the regular
reviewer of the biweekly Underground HK concerts in town. They're co-organised
by Lamma.com.hk's Music forum moderator and musical all-round talent (vox, guitar,
organising, promoting, etc.) bbChris. She's just recovering from a serious health scare and we
wish her all the very best!
Here are a few short quote extracts from Nick,
reviewing the Underground 25 event on April 21 in his very own inimitable
style, all posted on the Underground HK website:
My Stoned Playground: Opening act My
Stoned Playground soundcheck noisily. Scratchy beeps and alarms melt
into pounding drums, loudish bass and blasts of distorted guitar. The
sound is either great or grating, depending on your POV regarding the
noise vs melody issue... In some ways, they're the most "out there"
band of the night. In other ways, they're fuzzy and un-coordinated, but
the drummer rocks...
The Pliable: The
Pliable's opening songs are sorta mid-80's Bowie meets Franz Ferdinand
choppy chunka chunka bass/drum rhythms... The 2nd guitarist goes for a
pee and the other three promptly turn into The Who (well, except for
kicking over the drums, breaking the screen, microphone twirling and
fisticuffs).
Lazysusans:
...It's more power/punk/pop, some close harmony "lalala" vox, and a
Canto-rock ballad. The final tune, dedicated "for our bosses" is a real
piss-and-vinegar wake-up call...
Rusty
Cross: Rusty Cross bludgeon about 20 or so adoring head-bangers,
fingers jabbing skywards, into submission... Good theatrics too. R.C.
make a r.s.r. as well, speedslamming through their repertoire as the
fans turn the dance floor into mosh pit h.q. The singer exhorts
everyone to higher levels of response in what sounds like fluent
Goblin...
Willem smiles as he
snaps his final pix and promptly removes his earplugs. It's been
another analogue night of music, mistakes and merrymaking with minimal
mayhem and over 100 people in attendance.
The Clockenflap party up in Po Wah Yuen on Sat,
April 15, seems to have been a fun and wild event, judging from the photos
on their website. Being slightly over the usual rave party's maximum
admission age (25), I didn't even dare trying to enter, imagining them
shouting at me "Geezer, go home!" and then clockenflapping me down
the Po Wah Yuen hill...
Click
here for more of theirPeople-Misbehaving-
on-Lamma photo gallery. Click on Photo Gallery at the top
and then select "15/04/2006 - Easter Waster - Lamma Island". Then
check out how many of those people you know!
According to Jay (who
got the "Jay's Clockenflap" T-shirts printed - the ladies adding the word
"BITCHES" themselves - there'll be another party on Lamma soon! Jay
wrote:
"Cheers for the Clockenflap stuff on
your site - like the designs of the last house on the hill image!
Yeah, shall defo do another party on Lamma - still recovering from the last
one!
As for the deeper meaning of Clockenflap - only the fairies know!"
Jay
sent me the
poster for their next event on May 6. On it,
they're trying hard (and failing spectacularly) to explain the maddeningly
intriguing term Clockenflap. Anybody
got a clue? Their own origin story goes something like this:
"Once upon a time a pair of legs and a small
dog decided to inquire into the true nature of
Clockenflap. Donning
silver boots and a safety helmet they left the comfort of their bungalow by
the sea and headed into the crazy, vertical city of Hong Kong.
Word about town was that the mysterious Clockenflap appeared only
once a month, visible for a few hours,
suddenly vanishing amongst a flurry of clicks and clacks...
...and just as suddenly as it had appeared Clockenflap vanished..."Read
more...
Sheila -
Lamma Animal Protection - Fostering Harmony and Respect for Life
- Tel: 2982 4018,
www.lap.org.hk,
email.
Here
is a quick update on how Mimi is doing. I made her an apron from some
robust plastic tarpaulin. It protects her legs, tail and back-end while
she scoots around the house and garden. It was the work of a few
minutes and cost very little ... and has liberated her legs from
constant bandages and gives her a wonderful freedom. This is a
work-in-progress.
She had her first walk in
her prototype wheelchair. It needs some adjustments but she flew like
the wind, with her head forward and her ears back, down to the beach
today. For a dramatic moment I had to run to keep up with her.
She
adores the cats and they adore her - she is a fully fledged member of
the cat gang!
She is difficult to
photograph because she is so dark, the photos miss the Yippee Happiness
of her personality. Still, I think she looks pretty impressive.
It is a joy to see how she has taken to
the freedom the wheels give her!!
Meantime have a look at the
video
of her first few seconds in the wheeled cart. It was delightful
to see her so liberated and happy!! Today, on the way home, we popped
onto the beach. Even after all the interaction she was still happy to
play and move around delightedly.
Her wheelchair is covered and ordered, so
Mimi rolls her own. She also needs a few other accessories and, of
course, she still has running costs!
The immediate response of
people was very moving. LAP, on behalf of Mimi, would like to thank all
the wonderful people who expressed such generosity, concern and warmth
and are actively helping her.
Last night of the Cantonese Opera performances in the
Football Pitch today!
Click on first photo above above to view the
entire photo gallery.
Click to enlarge other photos (all photos above by L-G). Opera
details:
Plus one more
Yahoo! Photos gallery from Roz Keep:
Tin Hau temple, lion
dance, Dragonboat races,
sampan races and Cantonese opera as well:
It seems to have been a nice
QE II-80 bash at the Island Bar last
night. Sharon sent me the following on request:
Sharon - Island Bar co-owner and the "heart" of the place:
Since Lamma-Gung has been
side-tracked by his new AV acquisition [He's
still watching satellite TV much of the day - Deputy Ed], we
are offering to help out with the odd bit of interest for his site.
Can't wait till he is watching the fourth round of repeats and wants to
get back to work again! Anyway, here we go!
Happy Hour all-day Gin &
Tonic at the Island Bar on Friday 21 April 2006:
The Island Bar Members
celebrated the Queen's birthday amongst some confusion. Some variously
thought it was a different day, with the most going for Saturday Well,
if you look at the time difference from England through the bottom of a
pint glass, I suppose it could be.
Anyway, apparently some
thirsty types enjoyed their Happy Hour G&T's although some of those
hard and fast beer and wine drinkers could not be swayed. Sorry,
without Lamma-Gung to keep us on track we forgot to take any pictures,
although here are a couple of items we put up to decorate the windows!
From
EnchantedLearning.com:
The UK Flag: The Union Jack
The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland is sometimes called the Union Jack. This red, white,
and blue flag was first used in 1801.
The Union
Jack is a combination of the flags of England (the cross of St.
George), Scotland (the cross of St. Andrew), and Ireland (the cross of
St. Patrick).
If anyone can tell us where
to get an authentic Union Jack from we'd love to hear. I looked on the
Net for the measurements but they are so precise and it's so easy to
get it wrong it looks like we might need to try in UK.
Taipengshan - Long-time Lammaite, occasional Blog contributor and
Official Correspondent for Tai Peng:
Dear Deputy Editor:
In case you haven't heard, tomday (21 April 2006) is the 80th
birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The British Consul-General is
hosting a party for Brits and assorted guests on April 22.
Since our Island Bar started as a British
creation way back in 1980, any chance of it hosting a special bash
for QE II's birthday this weekend, even though the current owners are a
Canadian couple and a Brit (Peter Berry)? At least, they might consider
flying the Union Jack on this occasion.
Standard Chartered Bank who host so many quiz
nights at this speakeasy, surely, should be sponsoring this piss-up.
What do you think?
Maybe you could use this in your blog tomorrow.
[Done - Deputy Ed]
Commentary
by Deputy Editor:
Yes, good idea. I've forwarded
the suggestion above to the Island Bar. They called this morning that
they'll be delighted to take up this idea. For some strange reason, they
could NOT find a Union Jack flag yet! So they might have to print their own
today and add a googled photo of the queen as well. In celebration,
Gin & Tonic (the
Queen's favourite drink?) will be at Happy Hour prices ALL DAY! Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth II!
On the left, you can see some of
the many souvenirs for this momentous occasion. Unfortunately, all are NOT
available via this website, so we can't cash in on this big birthday. {*Big
SIGH!*}
Isn't it great that somebody is
still upholding the British flag in HK these days, despite the fast
dwindling number of Brits living in HK and on Lamma? Did you know there are
now more Australians living in HK than Brits? And a lot of other nations
have overtaken the sinking number of Brits, there are even a lot more
Canadians and Americans living in HK.
Entering some Lamma bars, it's
hard to believe, with all these often hard-to-comprehend British accents
surrounding and engulfing you...
April 20, Tin Hau
Birthday: Lamma
Day Celebrations!
Today, 10am and 2pm: Tin Hau
Dragonboat races, public pier in reclamation.
10:30am - 1pm: Lion Dance and
Fa Pau Parade, Tin Hau temple, Main Street.
Evening, Apr 19-23: Cantonese
Opera, Football pitch. Click
for details.
This is part of HK's 18-day Culture and Heritage
Celebration; more details at
DiscoverHongKong.com.
The main promotions are
staged at the Outlying Ferry Piers in Central which have been decorated all
over as a so-called Temple Fair: "The Fair (Apr 20-23, Apr 28 - May 1, May 5-7)
will feature a series of "Pai Lau" (traditional decorative billboards),
colourful lanterns and a gigantic bun tower, as well as traditional
cultural performances involving Cantonese Opera, Chinese orchestra, Chinese
dance and Shaolin kung fu. There’ll also be booths demonstrating arts and
crafts where you can learn Chinese grasshopper making, flour doll making
and calligraphy. Other features include fortune-tellers and stalls of
traditional festive snacks and delicacies."
Here are a few night
pictures, I took while walking from the ifc mall to the Lamma ferry pier:
Jay
Scott Kanes - Lamma Author and famous BBQ Chef. His third book will
be published soon and his rooftop BBQs have become famous as far as
Lantau!
Dear Lamma-Gung,
If new TV-viewing options have endangered Lamma's
main media-man, then your 'contributors' must pick up the slack. Hope I
can help. Here's something below, with two photos attached. As always,
I rely on your assessment of its merit:
Visiting Lamma Island no
longer appeals like it did thirty-plus years ago, says Hong Kong's
ultimate straight-talker.
"I go there once or twice a year," said
Leung Kwok Hung, age 50, an outspoken Legislative Councillor famous
as a street-protester nicknamed Long Hair.
"I accompany my friends to play football or to
hang out on Lamma, usually for a few hours on a weekend. But Lamma's
too crowded. You don't feel relaxed. There's a lot of restaurants and
commercial activity. People keep urging you to spend money. It's all
about consumerism.
"When I was a schoolboy, the place looked much
different. It was more fun and remote, countryside. You felt refreshed,
interested."
Long Hair made the remarks at his government
office in Central when Lamma author Jay Scott Kanes visited him there
on April 12. "We discussed plots to thwart Hong Kong's illegitimate
chief executive, the bow-tie boy, Donald Tsang," Kanes said.
"I tell you, Donald Tsang can't afford to
debate against anyone with a little political experience or training,"
said Long Hair. "He's a civil servant, a yes-man, who'll never say
'no' to the Central Government. He lacks the guts for that."
Except for two years in Europe, Long Hair, from
Kowloon Bay, has lived his entire life in Hong Kong. When not waving
placards or defending principles, he likes to study history, play
football or listen to music.
"People deserve to choose their own
governments," he said. "The Hong Kong public is mature enough.
We could hold real elections tomorrow without violence or corruption.
The problem lies in facing the tyranny in China and its regime
supported by Hong Kong tycoons to maintain their privileges.
"Without democracy, the lives of ordinary
people become harder. Gaining democracy doesn't end all problems, but
without it, no structural difficulties can be solved. It's very
simple."
Since 2005 when Tsang pushed forward
deceitful political proposals aimed to retard people power, rather than
to advance it, the goals of meaningful democracy and universal suffrage
have appeared remote.
Long Hair shrugs. "I've faced a lot of
obstacles before," he said. "Twenty years ago in Eastern Europe,
people believed that democracy looked very distant. Yet the Soviet bloc
collapsed within a few years.
"In Hong Kong, we're very lucky to stand south
of the Shenzhen River. Otherwise, we couldn't speak our minds. Hong
Kong's pro-democracy camp has a responsibility to make every effort to
support democracy in China."
All photos by Jay
Scott Kanes. Captions:
Above: Will the pro-democracy smoke fade?
No way, says Long Hair.) Right: Long Hair ponders a plot for HK's future.
Who'd like to be the next contributor to this blog?
April 17 - Easter Monday: Video Killed the Blog Star!
Could this be the very last story in this Lamma-zine blog EVER?
We
finally got a TV satellite installed. Now we've gone from 2 English & 2
Chinese channels to almost 52 additional ones, most of them in English.
It's like going from a severely limited diet to a more-than-you-can-eat
buffet. Lamma-Por and I are dazzled and mesmerised by all these new
channels, vegging out for hours in front of the tube, clicking away on the
channel switchers till our trigger fingers go numb. Multiple movies playing
at the same time! CSI every day, all three series! A 24-hour wine channel!
Discovery! National Geographic! AXN! Star World! Our favourite channels
from our past life on HK Island!
Who's got time left for
blogging every day? There's so much to watch, no time for work or play,
we've devolved into utter couch potatoes, transfixed to the screen for
hours on end, only interrupted by a few hours of sleep and fast food
intake.
As there are no other
commercially viable TV options on the island, no Broadband TV, no Cable TV,
no real Internet TV, the Philippine satellite Dream system is the only real
option available to Lammaites to receive more than ATV and TVB's 2 English
and 2 Chinese TV channels. Other satellite options, like the Thai satellite
and the Cable TV satellite, are way beyond the financial means of most of
the population.
While it's theoretically
illegal to install a satellite, owners are not prosecuted, so no problem.
Most of my neighbours got it long ago. People in the rest of HK got used to
Cable TV long ago and have managed to adapt to it, watch it extremely
selectively and still have time to have a life besides watching TV. But for
Lammaites to go from almost no watchable TV (TVB and ATV) to such a
smorgasbord of overwhelming choices... it can be overwhelming and lead to
serious couch-potatoism, like in our case...
So,
could this be the very last story in this Lamma-zine Blog EVER?
Searching for any symbols of Easter on
Lamma, this is best I could come up with, a traditional Easter cross-bun
from the Village Bakery. Sitting outside the Bakery - watching the
maddening, giant flocks of tourist meandering through Main Street - this
cross-bun filled with nuts, raisins and candied orange, enjoyed with a
tasty, freshly brewed coffee, is quite a delicious treat, reminding me of
Easter in Europe...
The only "Western" holidays
really celebrated on Lamma and in HK in general seem to be Christmas,
Halloween and Valentine's Day!?
Returning
from Easter shopping on that other, slightly bigger and slightly higher
populated island close to Lamma (called HK Island), the passengers got
treated to a impromptu concert by ancient Lamma band, Bahouki, with some
Irish tunes.
Being seriously sloshed and
constantly giggling and guffawing didn't stop John Hutton & Fiddler Dave
from belting out a few entertaining tunes to the general approval of the
captive crowd.
A
friend of theirs went round with baseball cap in hand, collecting donations
for, no doubt, a few more beers, to get the merry band members
incapacitated completely. It might take a lot, these guys are
battle-hardened bar veterans. Well, you've got the entire Easter holidays
to recover, guys! Great gig! Make this a regular feature on the evening
rush hour ferries, cheering up the office dwellers returning home! A big
thank you to the ferry staff for NOT interfering in any way! A little bit
of the famous Lamma spirit is still alive, I'm glad to report. I can't
imagine this happening, or even being allowed to happen, on the DbAY
ferries...
April 14, Good Friday: Looking for Abandoned
Clockenflaps?
Today, another stunning
event poster from Lamma's walls. I really love the design of this poster,
click here to see the bottom part with all the details of this free
party tomorrow, Saturday night, starting late. The organisers write:
"This Saturday night
we have a special impromptu event in an abandoned house on a hill on Lamma
Island (see
flyer details). This is a
free party, though expect to see a man with a bucket requesting
contributions towards the sound system.
"If you're not sure how to
get there, just arrive in Yung Shue Wan and follow anyone wearing tie-dye.
See you there!"
Admiring the graphical simplicity and elegance of the
poster design above, I couldn't resist once again to play around with it,
till it lost all its former simplicity and elegance, messing it up
creatively. This might reflect the spirit of the party?
But what the
heck is a Clockenflap???
Let's find out tomorrow night!
April 13: Best (and Only) Turkish
Restaurant in YSW
Cook Ahmet, Ms Anonymous and Hayri
The first Turkish restaurant
has finally opened in Yung Shue Wan in the location of the former Kiwi
Cafe. It already seems to be a smash hit with Chinese and non-Chinese
customers alike. They're enjoying their "honeymoon period" of most new
restaurants opening locally. In the first few weeks, everybody wants to try
a new place, especially if it offers something novel and not available
before locally. Word of mouth has been spreading like wildfire, it seems.
Their takeaways have become very popular as well, especially the pizzas and
Kebabs (see below). I love their juicy Lamma Burger, a meal by itself!
Every
restaurant on Lamma gets a free, basic forum on this website where
customers can post their reviews and ratings. After I opened the forum,
within a few days it attracted the best ratings we've ever seen for any new
place: 7 Excellent and 3 Good! ratings (see right), plus a number of
all-positive reviews from forum members! Check out the
forum! By the way, this story is NOT an advertorial, as "Best
Kebab" is not an advertiser on this website. Maybe someday, hopefully.
Turkish Kurd Hayri, the very
jovial, personable and outgoing manager, has been working in Kowloon for
two years before moving into the flat above that comes with this
restaurant's 2-year lease. He worked in London before - note his fluent
English - and came to HK "for love". Opening his own place was a personal
dream till he found this place. He called his friend, cook Ahmet, to join
them and he agreed right away.
From the standards of
Turkish cuisine, like Döner Kebab and Chicken Shish Kebab, they've also got
real Apple tea and even Turkish Delight. Ahhh, the sweet memories of a
great vacation in Istanbul and Turkey...
As a new regular, I'm still
waiting for them to offer REAL Turkish coffee (where they boil the coffee
grounds, leaving them inside the coffee served!)
What is it about The Island
Bar that attracts bevies of beauties to their parties, concerts and other
events, like watching this year's Rugby Sevens triumph of the English team
on Sun, Apr 3? Conveniently, there always seems to be a photographer at
hand to capture the assembled beauties - both male and female - at their
most silly, boisterous and sometimes even outrageous behaviour.
For more "Lammaites Misbehaving at
the Rugby Sevens" photos, especially the hard-working face
painters,
check out their photo gallery!
Roz Keep writes:
"The Face Painting is organised by Katie Flowers of Lamma Island who is an
art teacher at an International School by day. There were three face
painting tents this year and our team was made up about 10 people.
"I was lucky on day one to be in a tent near the stadium so
was able to see the odd second of a match here and there. The punters were
queuing thick and fast on Sunday though and we had to be organised about
when we took our breaks so that there were always painters. It must be a
record for Hong Kong to have had face painters working for 11 and a half
hours non-stop on two consecutive days?
"We
painted mostly children at two tents and very fun-loving adults at the
south stand tent. One man there was painted pink all over and others had rude
words written on their backs and fronts. Mostly though national flags and
colours were the most popular. I know for a fact that England won due the
huge number of England flags we painted! I am sure I am right.
"At
the end of the day the painters took a well earned rest, broke out the
vodka and watched the unbelievably exciting final when England scored their
winning points in the last second! Following the match we enjoyed a short
but spectacular fireworks display and lots of security guards tackling pitch intruders...
"Just hoping for a streaker when we saw him fly down the side of the pitch
to hurl himself successfully over the barrier, back into the crowd who then
helped him by covering him with an England flag... Well done, mate, maybe
you should join the England team, you run fast enough! All in all a very
enjoyable two and half days of being part of this great world class event."
And one last item to
conclude the extremely popular topic of Rugby Sevens for another year:
Forwarded to me by Mr DickStock, who
desperately denies to have originated this video, a musical slideshow of
"Best of HK 7s Babes 2006". He claims it was created & distributed
by an "anonymous" friend of his! Who'd believe that, knowing about Mr
DickStock's well-known, tireless admiration & appreciation of pretty
"babes"! Anyway, enjoy this
fun & sexy slideshow (no nudity).
It's already a couple of
days later than a week behind schedule, so without further ado, let's
get straight to it!
Eating Out… Still…
The ever-popular topic on
restaurants on Lamma continued to discuss the many changes at
Blue Bird (Japanese restaurant).
Meanwhile, new member sochri started an off-shoot topic on
vegetarian food outlets on our fair aisle!
Meaty Eat Out... and Veggie
eat-out…
The Only Way is Up? With
the announcement of another planned ferry fare increase, some
heated discussion was sparked on the Chinese forum!
Read more... and Read even
more...
Lost: As the
renovation of the Yung Shue Wan pier began, the members shared their
concerns for the safety of the temporary ferry pontoon, while
the Moderator of All Chinese Forums almost got lost inside the pier…
(Shhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone!)
Read more...
Lightning Flashes: Emuaisee complained of power
interruptions, and the guys from HK Electric Company fixed it all
by replacing her electricity meter. Check out the before/after shots! Read
more...
It's (almost) Show Time!
With Tin Hau Festival is looming, the annual Chinese Opera shows
are coming on, too! Hey, if you don’t appreciate the music, at least
appreciate the actors’ make-up!
Read more...
Out with the Chooks - In
with the Bunny: Since keeping backyard poultry has been banned
across Hong Kong, Herboland became a quieter organic farm –
but the new fluffy bunny is now officially the new attraction
of the establishment! Read
more...
Last Goodbye:
The Chinese forum paid tribute to the late great Ronnie Norton,
who was also known as "Snapper’s Owner". May God hold you safe
in the palm of his hands, Ronnie. Read
more...
The Next Station Is… In a complete spoof, TomCat wondered
the roadwork on the concrete road to the Power Station is related the
planned MTR Tai Wan To Extension!?! Read
more...
On that silly note, it’s
time to wrap up the Chinese forum summary for March.
Happy Easter, everyone!
More than a hundred "gardeners" comprising
volunteers from Hongkong Electric, Lamma residents and students pose in
front of Lamma Power Station before departing for their tree-planting
mission (click to enlarge).
Sitting
in Sampan Restaurant early yesterday - Sunday morning Dim Sum -
orange-polo-shirted, yellow-capped tour groups, complete with guides waving
flags with group numbers - were coming off the ferry, looking like
eco-tourists. A closer look revealed that they were HK Electric's
internal private army of volunteers.
They spend their weekends
going wherever the company sends them, spreading "community relations"
cheers and goodwill to the "overjoyed" population, promoting HK Electric's
green credentials to their customers (all of us) and the media alike.
Hooray, let's welcome these cheerful ambassadors, eco-warriors, grown-up
boy scouts and relentless tree planters to our green isle! (All photos
supplied by HK Electric, except above right by L-G).
They hiked uphill to the
pavilion on the Lamma Family Trail towards Sok Kwu Wan, where they
continued their commendable work on the 3-year "Green Lamma Green" project,
the 100 people planting 600 more trees along the Trail, including many
local children and adults, plus politicians like Lammadonna and even some
HK Electric management.
Click for photo gallery of very first
tree planting of the 3-year Green Lamma Green campaign.
Afterwards, HK Electric's
tireless PR guys - working 7 days per week, it seems - hurried back to the
office and put
the press release with brand-new photos (see below) onto their
website and emailed it to all their media contacts on Sunday evening. So
all of HK will know about their good deeds and environmental engagement and
dedication in Monday morning's papers. Or via this blog story, published on
Sunday night, way before the newspapers - once again!
I
personally welcome transparent, well-meaning, low-cost Public Relations
efforts like this "Green Lamma Green" campaign and our cute little
windturbine. This is all much preferable to CLP flooding local TV
screens with their expensive but stupid commercials trying to convince us
how "green" they are, with mere empty words and images, but not with any
real action. Invest all that advertising cash into real green and
renewable-energy initiatives instead of just clogging up the TV with even
more B.S. ads!
HK
Electric -
Press Release, 9 April 2006 (excerpts, highlights by
Editor):
Survey Calls for More Green Educational
Facilities for Lamma
A survey conducted earlier by Hongkong Electric and the
Conservancy Association (CA) on Lamma Island showed that most
visitors saw the Island’s rich potential in developing eco-tours.
Respondents agreed that the natural environment and green educational
facilities should be enhanced to further promote sustainable
development on Lamma.
CA’s Chief Executive Ms. Lister Cheung said,
"67% of the 370 respondents said they enjoy hiking along the
Lamma Family Trail and 59% agree that more trees should be planted to
provide shade for hikers."
"81% reckon that there should be more plants of
different species to enrich the natural environment, and that
information boards on plants and eco-tour guides should also be put in
place to make tours more educational," she continued.
"As 83% of the respondents said they visit
Lamma mainly for hiking, visiting historical sites and seafood
restaurants, it is obvious that the Island has high potential for
organizing eco-tours."...
(From right) Hongkong Electric’s
Chief Engineer (Projects) Dr. C.W Tso
joins CA’s Ms. Lister Cheung, Island District Council Member Ms. Yu
Lai-fan
and Hongkong Electric’s Mr. Francis Cheng in planting trees along the
Family Trail.
... Under the project, about 1,500 trees found their
home last year at a hilltop near the popular Lamma Family Trail running
between Sok Kwu Wan and Yung Shue Wan. Another 600 seedlings were
planted today by more than a 100 "gardeners" comprising volunteers
from Hongkong Electric, students and Lamma residents...
"... So far, we have planted close to
70,000 trees on the Island, including over 2,000 planted under
"Green Lamma Green", he said.
"This is already the second year of the
project. We will continue to work with CA in enriching the
bio-diversity of the Family Trail, and enhancing the educational
value and facilities en-route, including the erection of information
signages and the training of eco-tour guides."
Sheila -
Lamma Animal Protection - Fostering Harmony and Respect for Life
- Tel: 2982 4018,
www.lap.org.hk,
email.
Mimi had an accident when she was about 8
months old which left her paralysed from the waist down. She is a
delightfully good spirited mini-Pomeranian youngster, smaller than all
our cats.
She cannot use her back
legs, so she drags her body along using her front legs. She gets
sores on the parts which scrape along the ground. Despite her
difficulties, she is well-behaved and gentle.
She needs a custom-built
wheel cart to give her freedom to run and play, to protect her skin and
to let her go to the toilet. When she has a cart her chances of finding
the loving home she deserves, and wants so much, will be much higher.
Example cart
A cart
built by experts for her problem and her body will cost around HK$
2,500. Until she has a cart she also needs newborn-size diapers
to help keep her clean & dry.
Can you help her with any contributions?
Donations can be made
to:
Lamma Animal Protection,
Bank Account Number: 004-161-0-009787 (HSBC).
To meet her
or to learn more about her please call and leave a message on 2982
4018.
Thank you for anything you
can do to help her:
Wheeled cart: $2,500;
Newborn Diapers: $68/week; Medical costs: $900;
Coban/vet wrap/bandage and gauze to cover her open wounds and protect
her skin from scraping: $48/week; Hibiscrub;
Gentle shampoo to keep her comfortable in case she has accidents.
Reply from
LAWC (Lamma Animal Welfare Centre), one day later:
We are glad that LAP has
taken over Mimi. As explained in a pr
The HKDCS is proud to bring you
photos, new information, and lots of fun and interesting games in order
to promote the conservation of Hong Kong's local dolphin and porpoise
species.
Day
one (MAY 5TH) - To know them is to love them. This day
provides a photo exhibition, relay races, treasure hunts, and
children's games. Register five people per team for your chance to win
a free trip to see the dolphins!!
Collect dolphin point cards
throughout the day to exchange for auction items on Sunday! 
If you would like to participate in
all of the fun, register or volunteer for the event.
Call Lee-Ann at 9647-9505!
Here
is a quick update on how Mimi is doing. I made her an apron from some
robust plastic tarpaulin. It protects her legs, tail and back-end while
she scoots around the house and garden. It was the work of a few
minutes and cost very little ... and has liberated her legs from
constant bandages and gives her a wonderful freedom. This is a
work-in-progress.
She
adores the cats and they adore her - she is a fully fledged member of
the cat gang!
Meantime have a look at the
Her wheelchair is covered and ordered, so
Mimi rolls her own. She also needs a few other accessories and, of
course, she still has running costs!
We
finally got a TV satellite installed. Now we've gone from 2 English & 2
Chinese channels to almost 52 additional ones, most of them in English.
It's like going from a severely limited diet to a more-than-you-can-eat
buffet. Lamma-Por and I are dazzled and mesmerised by all these new
channels, vegging out for hours in front of the tube, clicking away on the
channel switchers till our trigger fingers go numb. Multiple movies playing
at the same time! CSI every day, all three series! A 24-hour wine channel!
Discovery! National Geographic! AXN! Star World! Our favourite channels
from our past life on HK Island!
Searching for any symbols of Easter on
Lamma, this is best I could come up with, a traditional Easter cross-bun
from the Village Bakery. Sitting outside the Bakery - watching the
maddening, giant flocks of tourist meandering through Main Street - this
cross-bun filled with nuts, raisins and candied orange, enjoyed with a
tasty, freshly brewed coffee, is quite a delicious treat, reminding me of
Easter in Europe...
Returning
from Easter shopping on that other, slightly bigger and slightly higher
populated island close to Lamma (called HK Island), the passengers got
treated to a impromptu concert by ancient Lamma band, Bahouki, with some
Irish tunes.
A
friend of theirs went round with baseball cap in hand, collecting donations
for, no doubt, a few more beers, to get the merry band members
incapacitated completely. It might take a lot, these guys are
battle-hardened bar veterans. Well, you've got the entire Easter holidays
to recover, guys! Great gig! Make this a regular feature on the evening
rush hour ferries, cheering up the office dwellers returning home! A big
thank you to the ferry staff for NOT interfering in any way! A little bit
of the famous Lamma spirit is still alive, I'm glad to report. I can't
imagine this happening, or even being allowed to happen, on the DbAY
ferries...
As the
renovation of the Yung Shue Wan pier began, the members shared their
concerns for the safety of the temporary ferry pontoon, while
the Moderator of All Chinese Forums almost got lost inside the pier…
(Shhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone!)
Sitting
in Sampan Restaurant early yesterday - Sunday morning Dim Sum -
orange-polo-shirted, yellow-capped tour groups, complete with guides waving
flags with group numbers - were coming off the ferry, looking like
eco-tourists. A closer look revealed that they were HK Electric's
internal private army of volunteers.
Mimi had an accident when she was about 8
months old which left her paralysed from the waist down. She is a
delightfully good spirited mini-Pomeranian youngster, smaller than all
our cats.
Example cart
A cart
built by experts for her problem and her body will cost around HK$
2,500. Until she has a cart she also needs newborn-size diapers
to help keep her clean & dry.
To meet her
or to learn more about her please call and leave a message on 2982
4018.