Lamma-zine 1 - 23

Lamma-zine 24 - today

Archives: all stories

'04   '05   '06

'07: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
 10 11 12  '08: 1 2 3
4  5  6

Apr 30:  Lamma People Make Memories

Ms. Maureen Frank has been visiting Lamma for an entire week recently. We've heard from her in the past, mainly as "Pinky Chan's #2 Fan". We've just seen her at the Lamma Ladies training and the wedding reception for Jim & Tania. So let's hear from her in her own words, about what made her stay most memorable: Lamma People!!

Maureen Frank - Lamma first-time visitor

(Text and all pictures by Maureen. Click to enlarge pictures):

Lamma People Make Memories

One Woman's Week Remembered

Since I grew up in a central Canadian tourist town, I know full well how a friendly atmosphere keeps people returning for their vacations.

Like Lamma, we have great fishing, beautiful sunsets, wildlife, pubs and warm sunny weather too. But when the local people make you feel so welcome that you hate to leave... it creates a warm feeling unmatched by any stuffy resort or amusement park. Bravo to Lammaites!! What I felt there was genuine and sincere.

One thing that stood out to me while being a stranger in Yung Shue Wan, was how many local people remembered my name once we had met. Such a welcome feeling is not often part of a traveler's world in such a short time. Lamma knows how to treat its visitors!!

From the magical, aesthetic talents of "Icy" , the voluminous smiles of "Taiwan", the early morning coffee ritual with "Emma", the wanderings and philosophical views of "Peter Ip", the beating of the Lamma Ladies Dragon boat drums, "Alice" the tour guide extraordinaire, the mouth-watering cuisine at the Deli Lamma and Water Front, and the generosities of Tom, Brian and Bob... my Lamma experience was incredibly awesome !!

The Talented Kitchen staff at the Deli Lamma speaks for itself. These ladies worked very hard and very late to please our group.

My wonderful friend Peter Ip who took time several days to tell me about many things: the temples of Lamma & prayer rituals, a recipe for a pork soup that I could make with a package of dried ingredients purchased on Main Street Yung Shue Wan, the philosophical side of "experiencing many trees in a forest", posing with me holding the "Advertiser Newspaper" from Cranbrook Canada, so we could enter a "paper goes everywhere" contest. Thank you so much for your time, Peter!!

Taiwan, a spectacular lady whose smile lights up the room, shown with friend Tania and her handsome sweetheart. I hope they come to visit me in Canada.

Then there's Alice; bubbly, happy, beautiful and very willing to walk with me all over Lamma Island one day to show me many more incredible sights, like the pavilions and the village of Shek Kue Wan. She & Tania also took me all the way to Lantau Island to see the Giant Buddha. I hope to be as good of a tour guide when she comes to British Columbia in Canada.

Derek, the most helpful and attentive employee of a shop in Stanley market, Hong Kong Island. He was the nicest person I met in such a hectic, crowded place. Any shop owner would love to pay him double what he is currently making to have his people skills working for them.

Finally, this unique statue, which I found propped up in a local person's garden as I was on my way to the beach. Someone is very creative - I love it!!

I wish I had a good picture of Tom, Brian and Bob, but no, sorry. They really made a huge difference providing our group with a wonderful boat tour in and around Victoria Harbour after Jim & Tania's wedding. I'm sure that most tourists wouldn't have this opportunity.

I also wish I had taken a picture of Emma from the bakery beside the Bali Hotel. She was a ray of sunshine every morning!

I only hope that some of these people might consider allowing us to show them some Canadian hospitality in return.

I'm certain I will be bringing my family to Lamma Island one day soon, so they can see for themselves.

Talented Kitchen Staff at Deli Lamma

Peter Ip & I with Canadian newspaper

Taiwan and her sweety

Alice introduces me to Dohfu

Alice & her beautiful friends

Tania & Taiwan

A creative garden mascot

 

Apr 29:  'Pushing the Boundaries of Promptitude'

Open letter to Daniel (Mo Man Tai) MomentEye:

Dear Daniel,

Many thanks for a new issue of your wonderful HK Copy News. The Lamma-zine has been happily promoting and linking the past 20 weekly issues. But recently you've been pushing the boundaries of promptitude - as you say so yourself at the end of the latest HK Copy News below - issuing your unique news & views on more like a monthly than a weekly schedule. Please let us and all your vast multitudes of fans know what's happening.

We frankly worry about the future of your feature. Since you've become famous HK-wide with that big SCMP story about you some weeks ago, even more people have been awaiting your weekly dose of satirical looks at HK events which are so often virtually crying out to be satirised. Have you gotten so busy with work flooding in from HK Copy News fans now that there's no time left for creating and producing HK Copy News? Or have you been offered a million-dollar-job as a high-flying multimedia producer/animation mogul and will be moving to DbAY soon?  ;-)

This month's HK Copy News, featuring patients, wills, litigants and even Lamma's very own famous couple of pet pot-bellied piggies, Sumo & Peggy, whose survival is in imminent severe danger right now:

Apr 28:  French Crêpes and a French Bagpiper

Emmanuelle, Banyan Bay Café's Cath, Laurent the Crêpe Chef, Hervé,
plus Lights-Out Alistair sneaking into the shot

Many musicians make Lamma their home, but did you know that we even have a bagpipe player living here? Introducing Frenchman Hervé, part of the fast-growing local population of French, who are most welcome on Lamma to counter-balance all those hordes of Brits swarming all over the village, especially the bars.

They're also introducing some famous French culinary traditions to Lamma, also most welcome in a place where you can get "Full English Breakfast" in almost every Western restaurant. Fine French Crêpes are finally making an appearance on Lamma, thanks to Laurent from Burgundy province and his friend. About once a month in Banyan Bay Café, they're hosting a Crêpe Night which has been running for several months already. Crêpes (French spelling with an ê) are these very thin pancakes, made very quickly on a large hotplate and filled with almost anything savoury or sweet.

What better place for a Frenchman from Brittany province playing Scottish bagpipes than a Café? In this case, the Banyan Bay Café which is managed so well by charming, ever-popular Cath, a very experienced "veteran" and "survivor" of the sometimes volatile local dining/drinking scene.

Below you can see part of the poster on the Democracy Wall that alerted Lammaites to this unusual event. Lamma-Por and I had to check it out yesterday - Fri, Apr 27 - and I took a few snapshots. By the way, Banyan Bay Café has never been a Lamma-zine advertiser, so this story is NOT an advertorial:

Click for closeups of the crepes.

Click above for the full 10-crepes menu

The unusual, dark colour of the savoury crêpes comes from the buckwheat flour used, a strong, unfamiliar taste that might take some people a bit of getting used to. I loved my tangy "Landaise" crêpe with smoked duck breast and mushroom sauce. But the buckwheat might be a bit overpowering for the more delicate taste of the salmon, leeks and lemon cream in Lamma-Por's crêpe. 5 sweet crêpes with regular flour make great choices for second course and a crispy dessert. Mais, zut alors! Aujourd'hui il n'y a pas de la Crêpe Suzette! No Crêpe Suzette today, the most famous of all crêpes. Maybe next time?

Hervé is playing his bagpipes very well and very melodiously, as far as I can tell. A friendly and amicable guy, Hervé has been on Lamma for over 5 years already. It's about time for him to join one of the many Lamma Bands! He's been playing in orchestras with up to 25 bagpipes and 25 other instruments, like drums. Could you imagine the number of noise complaints if this orchestra would ever be performing on Lamma beyond 11pm? Yung Shue Wankers & Friends, eat your heart out!

Next Crepe Night provisionally announced for May 26. Click photos to enlarge:

Yes, bagpipe playing requires good lungs and is really hard work!

People coming in from town for Crêpe Night - Applause for Hervé

Apr 27:  The Lamma Gazette - Issue No. 1, 1988

See what a great find I've recently been given by ex-Lammaite Lisa Jones, the original of the very first issue of "The Lamma Gazette", one of the local newsletter that were published on Lamma in the late 80s and 90s. Lisa kept if for almost 20 years, just to leave it behind on the Lamma ferry when visiting recently for the day. She writes, "I had to run back from Cath's bar to retrieve it!"

Here it is, all 4 A3-size pages scanned and re-published for your reading pleasure. It should be especially fun if you've lived on Lamma in 1988 and you might recognise many of the writers and contributors. For all of us other Lammaites and visitors, it's a really fascinating glimpse into the past of Lamma.

The original of this newsletter (1 A2-size sheet folded twice, page 1 and 4 in colour) is available now to buy, a real collector's item, the only one left in existence, as far as I know!

I'm auctioning it off for the Child Welfare Scheme charity. Email me with a bid! Starting bid $500. Auction closes on Monday, May 7, midnight, HK time.

Picture caption: The clash between traditional rural values and urban industrial development often causes great sociological problems.
So far, Lamma Island has been able to avoid them. Yet what will the future bring?
Will Lamma become another overcrowded city of commuters or will pastorality remain? Picture and caption by Jimmy Wing

This gazette makes for absolutely fascinating reading for Lammaites, especially for Lamma Newbies (less than 5 years on the island) and Lamma Juniors (5+ years), but also for regular Lammaites (5-20 years) and Senior Lammaites (20+ years):

  • Contributors: Jimmy Wing, John Grandy, Publisher & Editor Derek W. Blair, James Bayley, Social Editor Maggie Beale, Cynthia Hydes, and a "Strolling the hills" story by recently deceased Susan Sheers.

  • Ferry schedule from YSW to Central: 6:25, 7:45, 9:30, 11:30am, that's all in the morning! Last ferry to Lamma: 11:20pm, no Pak Kok ferries at all.

  • A paid HK Electric ad, a tradition fortunately remaining alive today on this website. Quite a few other ads from companies out of business by now.

  • Maps: Restaurants & bars that have closed down since then: Corner Bar, Lamma Kitchen, Capital Rest., Bak Hoi Doh, Sweet Sweet Bakery Cake Shop. But most of them are still around, plus so many new, additional ones.

  • Only 2 power station chimneys and no huge Extension.

  • The football pitch was on the water front and there was only sandy beach beyond it.

  • The Lamma Gazette was sold for HK$10, almost unthinkable today where people expect most newspapers and magazines to be free.

Click to read the pages above.

Apr 26:  Orange Paisley Bell Bottoms With Sequin Trim?

The spring season's social calendar is heating up and the numerous Lamma Bands are coming out of hibernation, one by one. There are all kinds of concerts and parties happening in the next few days and weeks, not just on Lamma, but also all over Hong Kong with events organised by Lammaites or featuring Lammaites, spreading cheer and goodwill (and our famous talent to party hardy) far beyond our little island.

So what's going on? Check out my regularly updated Events Calendar, listing all Lamma events I know about or I'm made aware of - send me posters! - plus any events off-Lamma organised by Lammaites. The best event promo blurb came from the Funkraiser ladies, the same enthusiastic group of marketing talents who organise the ever-growing Lamma Fun Day for charity every year:

"Fun Day Sonya" of Publissity - "Publicity is Bliss" might be their motto?

"Fun Day Sonya" has been declared a Living Lamma Legend by the SCMP for co-leading the great Lamma Fun Day organisation committee to new heights of fundraising success:

It's that time again... time to GET FUNK'D. Afro wig? Check. Over-size shades? Check. Orange paisley bell bottoms with sequin trim? Er, if you insist. If there was an occasion to dress like an over-keen extra from Shaft, it's definitely here. And everyone will forgive you ­ and admire you - because it's all for a great cause. Come and go clubbing for charity!

Yes, the 7th Annual FUNKRAISER is upon us, in support of The Child Welfare Scheme (CWS), to raise much-needed funds for its youth projects in Nepal.

Headlining Funkraiser for the 4th year in a row are those funkmeisters extra- ordinaires, NUDE. Last seen fighting off some slightly intoxicated rugby supporters at the Sevens Bollinger tent, and battling for final position at the World Battle of the Bands, as well as Rockit headliners, NUDE will be on set and on form on May 4, bringing their own unique blend of funk, ska and afro-beat to the party.

Also providing entertainment for the night will be DJs Simon Pang and Samuel Faction along with further performances supplied by the Cavern ensuring a funk night to remember.

Doors will open at 8pm with Happy Hour prices until 11.30pm. Tickets are $180 at the door which includes one free drink with ticket proceeds going towards Child Welfare Scheme Nepal.

Last year we raised HK$44,000 and this year we are hoping to top that ­ our 2007 goal is HK$50,000. So get the funk out and support us!

Let's promote a few more events in the next days:

Tonight, Thu: Quiz Night @ The Island Bar.

Tomorrow, Fri: Crepe Night @ Banyan Bay Cafe,
Transnoodle playing @ The Fringe Club.

Sun, April 29: Lamma Ladies Dragonboat race @ Cheung Chau Island; Kinesiology demo @ Sha Po.

Wed, May 9: LAMMA DAY: Tin Hau Festival, Dragon- boat & Sampan races, Cantonese opera (May 8-12).

Apr 25:  Lamma.com.hk Vandalised by Email Bomb!!

Yesterday, while the SCATTERED SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS were throwing Lamma Island into wet turmoil, a most sinister plot was brewing and a nefarious scheme hatched. The vile vermin and malodorous minions of cyberspace assembled and prepared for a devastating attack on Lamma's website! While the red rainstorm warning was up yesterday, a record 46 messages were posted in the Lamma forums in a single day, oblivious to the devastating doom and gloom of the big boom of an email bomb going off!

Yes, BIG TROUBLE has befallen this website yesterday!

ALL emails have been irretrievably lost at info@lamma.com.hk yesterday; all email folders like inbox, sent mails, even the draft emails have been terminated and eradicated in one fell swoop! And it was all caused by one single person, a foul fiend of the highest magnitude, you might suspect!

Unbelievably, it was a Lammaite causing all this woe for our community website! I was able to quickly identify the hacker-cracker-attacker! As much fun as a public shaming might be - or, even better, a public tarring and feathering - and however much I'm tempted to reveal his/her identity, s/he'll get the benefit of the doubt this time. I've been led to believe and finally convinced that the attack was not vicious and malignant, but just bad luck.

This is kind of a pity as I was already making up sensational headlines like these:

Community Website Defaced!
A Dark Day: Death of all Emails on Lamma.com.hk!
All Your Emails to Lamma.com.hk Got Terminated!
Lamma’s Hacker Extraordinaire Revealed!
Demise of Lamma.com.hk Narrowly Averted!
Perp Being Voted off the Island!
Harsh Punishment Demanded for Email Vandal!
et cetera, et cetera.

Hey, I’m getting the hang of this scandal rag business! If I could write Chinese, I might freelance for Apple Daily!

Well, it wasn’t actually the fault of the person, a valued and frequent Lamma-zine contributor who was just submitting some fine content to this Lamma-zine. No malice was intended. It was more kind of an accident revealing by sheer coincidence a massive security hole in the Lamma.com.hk's hosting company's email handling software, plus their absolutely ruthless policy of irretrievably and immediately deleting all emails that don’t fit into your in-mailbox limit. Anybody could launch the same attack, with the same results. "Thanks" to this incident, I know now how to wipe out all stored emails of all publicly known email addresses on all their hosted websites which must be thousands and thousands of email accounts.

Fortunately for them, I’ve never been a hacker in my 25+ years of computer experience, so I won’t take any advantage of this loophole, not revealing this deceptively simple method to anybody…

Basically, it was as simple as sending a simple, regular text email to info@Lamma.com.hk. As they were just close to a very specific size, for several complex technical reasons and sheer coincidences, this caused the mail server to wipe out ALL the old emails in the info account. If you overflow your mailbox with this hosting co., an automatic program will delete some of your overflow messages, in this most extreme case everything, except the single offending message.

The hosting co. also does NOT archive anything they delete – intentionally and as matter of policy - so all the messages were gone forever, no retrieval possible. The first time this has ever happened in the almost five years history of Lamma.com.hk. Congratulations to the perpetrator for finding this loophole in the server’s email software!

What upset me a bit was how easy it was to wipe out all emails forever. No virus, worm, Trojan, malware, malicious code or nasty computer bug was needed, just a simple text email! After all these decades of fighting hackers, spammers, thieves, fraudsters and other cyber attacks, there remain still massive security/safety holes, like this one. Their technical support has mentioned that their next software upgrade will get this glaringly obvious data safety hole fixed very soon.

Fortunately, there's a happy ending to this sordid tale of loss and desperation! I’m keeping multiple backups of everything important and have been forwarding all incoming emails from info@lamma.com.hk automatically to another server and my hard disk for years. The hard disk is also backed up weekly by a portable hard disk and CD-ROMs. No harm at all was done, nothing was lost, just a minor inconvenience and a valuable lesson learnt. Plus another little inspiration for this unscheduled Lamma-zine story...

You're most welcome to continue sending emails to info@Lamma.com.hk, the main email of this site! But for large attachments like full-size digital photos or videos, please use my LammaGung@gmail account.

Yes, it's not easy being a webmaster these days, so much work, effort and time goes into all this behind-the-scenes technical and admin stuff, all invisible to the website visitors, Lamma-zine readers and forum members. It takes a lot of time to prevent hacker attacks, fight off link and email spam and install frequent software upgrades and bug fixes; often more time than all the public stuff, like writing these stories, soliciting stories/photos, editing/formatting other people's submissions and editing/improving/archiving my own and submitted photos.

Well, who's complaining? Not me! If I didn't like it so much I wouldn't do it, it's as simple as that. The little and irregular advertising revenue is definitely far from enough motivation to spend up to ten hours a day on my new computer... There are many easier ways of making a much better living than my currently very modest one. But those "easier ways" would hardly be as much fun, enjoyable and suitable for a (theoretically) semi-retired dotcom dropout like me. Wow, way too much honesty today, I'll have to reduce my caffeine intake...

This little episode (webisode?) has truly reaffirmed my belief in strict multiple backups of everything important. That's why nothing was lost at all in the end and my work is always safe and protected, hopefully. What would happen if all YOUR emails were suddenly wiped out irretrievably from your email host? It happens every day to a lot of people. Maybe you should think about it and take action to safeguard your data and yourself.

Apr 24:  SCATTERED  SQUALLY  THUNDERSTORMS

Yung Shue Wan, today, 11am
(all photos in this story by L-G, except the three photos below, sent to me by Dave Kerr, Zep and Stine Baska. These clouds fascinated many Lamma photographers.)

HK Observatory (they like uppercase letters as it makes their notices look so much MORE IMPORTANT:

"RED RAINSTORM WARNING SIGNAL SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ISSUED BY THE HONG KONG OBSERVATORY AT 10:40 A.M. "THE RAINSTORM WARNING SIGNAL IS NOW RED. THIS MEANS THAT HEAVY RAIN HAS FALLEN OR IS EXPECTED TO FALL GENERALLY OVER HONG KONG, EXCEEDING 50 MILLIMETRES IN AN HOUR, AND IS LIKELY TO CONTINUE.

"FURTHER HEAVY RAIN COULD CAUSE, IF NOT ALREADY CAUSED, SERIOUS ROAD FLOODING AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND COULD DISRUPT NORMAL SCHOOL HOURS.

"THE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED AT 9:15 A.M. ON 24 APR 2007 HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 2:00 P.M. TODAY. SCATTERED SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER HONG KONG."

The first red rainstorm warning of 2007. Spring weather and the rainy season have truly arrived in style. The "SCATTERED SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS" have turned into torrential floods and loudly crackling radio reception, caused by the lightning flashes.

Here are two old photo galleries of Lamma in the rain. I like the rain personally and especially the aftermath when the air turns so clear, clean, fresh and full of wet scents and mysterious, botanical perfumes...

Click below for photo galleries:

High Street High Fashion for a Rainy Day, Lamma style. Click for photo gallery:

P.S. By the way, I've just updated and extended my two recent photo galleries below. Have a look, especially as Hog Heaven will have to close down soon and the Cantonese Opera performances will be on from May 8-12:

Apr 23:  Beer & Babble & Spectacular Seaview

Click any photo below for a fully annotated photo gallery:

Lamma-Gung (with some significant input from Lamma-Por,
all photos by L-G. B&B has finally also become a Lamma-zine advertiser, so this story is kind of an advertorial)

Coming from the ferry in Yung Shue Wan, the very first non-Chinese restaurant you're going to encounter on Main Street is B&B, short for Beer & Babble. You'll be warmly welcomed by Andy the Manager, usually greeting potential guests just outside the restaurant. B&B is one of our firm favourites, Lamma-Por and I patronize it at least once a week on average, often choosing their tasty daily specials.

This seems to be one of the most underrated places in Yung Shue Wan, almost an insider tip. With its consistently high quality of food, friendly, professional service and overall pleasant, relaxed atmosphere it deserves to be much more famous. B&B features several distinct areas (see photos below) with different design, seating and decorations separate this restaurant into various attractive parts, be it the bar area, family dining or the green patio with the stunning sea and sunset view.

The Western-style dining menu features a wide selection of starters, most including salad, soup and desserts. A fine and wide selection of soft drinks, beers and house wines are on offer, some by the glass. They do some really nice seafood, juicy steaks, pasta dishes. We love and recommend the braised lamb shanks and grilled tuna steaks. Mixed grilled vegetables come with many dishes and the perfectly-seasoned daily soups and crème brûlée desserts (a custard with a crust of caramelized sugar) are very popular. Mixed salad and dessert are included only on weekdays.

People-watching from the front tables is one of our favourite aspects of dining in B&B. You can clearly oversee the major corner of Main Street between the Lamma Kiosk, Spicy Island and B&B. Within minutes, so many interesting people will be walking by, coming off the ferry in the evening. They can't see you as you're sitting inside, so it makes for great, undisturbed people-watching while you're enjoying a fabulous multi-course set dinner and a glass of wine! Village living in truly fine style.

The bill, without the usual 10% markup, is actually considerably lower than in many other competing restaurants on Main Street: usually just between $50-100 for a set meal, including a drink. A really good deal!

But check B&B out yourself one of these days and make up your own mind. You might be in for a very pleasant surprise and might soon become a regular like us! See you there?

Apr 22:  Boost Your Appreciation of Electricity

Smart Power ambassador, Mr. Leo Ku, pictures with students during his visit to Lamma Winds. He is accompanied by Hongkong Electric's Director and General Manager (Corporate Development), Mr. Wan Chi-tin, and General Manager (Generation), Mr. Francis Cheng.

Today on another warm and humid Sunday, dear Lamma children, let's talk about appreciation of electricity, while we huddle around the TV and our home theatre systems, the aircon blasting at full power. Let's look at the example of all those children above and commiserate with them. They only have one single but quite big fan running behind them to cool them down!

These poor kids also seem to be outdoors somewhere in the horrible wilderness up on a Lamma hillside, all hot and sweaty! It's probably full of pesky mosquitoes, flu-threat birds and other very bothersome wildlife! Aren't you lucky to be probably inside right now instead and read this Lamma-zine story, using loads of electricity for your computer, broadband, video games and aircon, feeling cozy and comfortable?! Conserving energy? Why???

There seem to be a few grown-ups in the group above as well, probably HK Electric executives. They're broadly smiling as well, and with good reason after recently announcing their latest annual results full of amazing group earnings figures (HK$6.842 billions for 2006).

But I digress, back to our topic of today: Boosting Your Appreciation of Electricity! Boost your appreciation, not your aircon! Let's just quote from HK Electric's recent press release (Visit to power station boosts students' appreciation of electricity [14 April 2007]). They're the true experts in generating and appreciating electricity (especially appreciating its amazing money-generating capacity. Sorry, I digressed again.) A small fraction of one thousandth of one percent of this amount helps to support this website, by the way.

"Electricity is vital to everyday life. But all too often people take it for granted, particularly in Hong Kong where disruption to power supply almost never occurs.

"Some 500 young schoolchildren had the opportunity to appreciate the importance of electricity at firsthand today when they visited the company's power plant on Lamma Island and the wind power station at Tai Ling.

A model of Lamma Power Station has drawn the attention of many students.

"The children, from 15 primary schools, saw at close range the stations’ state-of-the-art facilities, the awesome machines there and the hardworking people who operate them to bring power to consumers on Hong Kong and Lamma Islands. They also learnt that Hongkong Electric's reliability rate of supply stands at an extraordinary 99.999 per cent.

"The company's Director and General Manager (Corporate Development), Mr. Wan Chi-tin, who was on hand to welcome the young visitors, said he hoped the visit would help them better appreciate the hard work and huge investment involved in providing a reliable supply of electricity to everyone.

"Mr. Wan pointed out that many of the things people enjoyed or were vital to their existence would not be possible without electricity. He urged the young people to use electricity wisely and properly and to treat it as a precious commodity...

Students take part in a vote for the things they would like best to do when power is available.

"Singer and teenage idol Leo Ku said that as a student he enjoyed singing and surfing on the Net – things he would not have been able to do if there was no electricity. He joined Mr. Wan in urging young people not to waste electricity and to practise the smart use of power.

"Open Days at Lamma Power Station and Lamma Winds are held annually. Another 500 secondary school students are scheduled to visit on 21 April, bringing to 1,000 the total number of students to visit the facilities this year."

A game booth on wind energy is a major attraction of the day.

Yes, switch off the aircon right now, dear children, and go play outside!

Apr 21:  'Leafy Lamma Island's Seafood Restaurants Regularly Attract Celebrities'

A story in our forums has made it all the way into a printed newspaper, the Taipei Times. Quoting several of the posts in our "Ayumi Hamasaki on Lamma" forum, they made a sensational story out of the comments. I published the story from an Alert Reader who had been dining close to Ayu's table on Easter Sunday night at the Rainbow Seafood Restaurant in Sok Kwu Wan, a celebrity magnet of sorts (see photos on the fancy Rainbow Rest. website). See story:

Taipei Times - Thu, Apr 19, 2007, Page 17:

Ayumi Hamasaki makes scene with bodyguards in restaurant  濱崎步與保鑣引人側目

Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki poses in Taipei while kicking off her Asian tour, Mar. 22, 2007.  今年三月二十二日，正在亞洲巡迴演唱的日本流行歌手濱崎步於台北留影。PHOTO: AP

Japanese pop queen Ayumi Hamasaki upset locals in a Hong Kong fishing village when she made a surprise visit for a seafood meal with 22 aggressive bodyguards and flunkies, witnesses said.

Hamasaki, known as "Ayu" to her fans and the biggest-selling solo pop star in Japan, was cocooned by her entourage who prevented locals from getting near her table or fans from taking photographs.

She popped over to Sok Kwu Wan village on Lamma Island, about 3km from downtown Hong Kong after she had completed a series of sold-out concerts at the city's Coliseum arena.

Contributors to local Website forums complained that the diminutive singer, whose unusually large round eyes and fair hair are believed to have sparked a fad for eye-lid cosmetic surgery among Japanese girls, had upset locals.

"The most famous J-pop star of all time was having a post-concert bite accompanied by no less than 12 bodyguards and another 10 strong entourage," wrote one anonymous subscriber to Lamma.com.hk, the blog for island residents.

"(I) didn't have a phone to photo with and the table next to me was prevented from taking pictures anyway," the writer added.

A spokesman for the Rainbow Restaurant, where Hamasaki ate, confirmed the singer had dined at the eatery but wouldn't comment on her entourage's behavior.

"She had lots of bodyguards with her," he said. "She came over on her own chartered boat."

According to her Website, Hamasaki has had 27 number one hits in Japan, more than any other solo artist.

Leafy Lamma Island's seafood restaurants regularly attract celebrities including Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat. (AFP)

日本流行天后濱崎步惹火了香港某魚村的居民，目擊的民眾表示，她突然帶著二十二個粗魯的保鑣和隨行人員來訪，說要一啖海鮮。

歌迷稱「Ayu」的濱崎步是日本最暢銷的流行歌手，當時她被隨護團團包圍，以防當地居民接近她的餐桌，或歌迷照相。

她結束在紅磡體育館一連串爆滿的演唱會後，突然造訪離香港市中心三公里遠的南丫島索罟灣村。

當地網站論壇的網友抱怨這名身型嬌小的歌手惹惱了當地人。據說濱崎步異常的大圓眼和金髮在日本年輕女孩中掀起了一陣割雙眼皮的狂熱。

南丫島居民的部落格Lamma.com.hk有匿名網友寫道︰「史上最受歡迎的日本流行之星在演唱會後小吃一頓，隨行十二多名保鑣，和十名高大的隨從。」

這名作者補充︰「(我)沒有可以拍照的手機，反正我旁邊的桌子也不能拍照。」

濱崎步用餐的彩虹餐廳發言人證實，濱崎步的確在店內用餐，但是不願意對隨行人員的行為做任何評論。

「她有很多保鏢跟著她，」他說︰「她自己包船過來的。」

根據濱崎步的個人網站，她在日本有二十七首冠軍單曲，比其他日本歌手還多。

綠意盎然的南ㄚ島上的海鮮餐廳，常吸引如成龍和周潤發等名流前往。

（法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀

Apr 20:  What Is Kinesiology?

From left to right > Hermas, Lilian, Eliane, Riyah, Brett, Vivienne & Yolanda,
shot by L-G during a Kinesiology Class in Sha Po Old Village.

Brett Scott - Kinesiology Expert, Practitioner and Teacher:

Kinesiology Asia website, email, tel. 6114 8871.

Free demo and introduction next Sunday, Apr 29, 3pm in Sha Po Old Village.

(Kinesiology Asia is a Lamma-zine advertiser. All photos by L-G):

What is Kinesiology

Conventionally, the word kinesiology (kin-easy-ology) means the study of motion, in particular the study of how muscles act and coordinate to move the body.

However, in the natural health field the term kinesiology is seen and used in a different way.  Here, muscles become monitors of stress and imbalance within the body where the “Muscle Response Technique”, the key technique in kinesiology is used as an effective and versatile tool for detecting and correcting various imbalances in the body which may relate to stress, dehydration, pain, allergies, nutrition, learning difficulties, injuries, etc. 

Kinesiology combines Eastern medicine philosophies and Western understanding of anatomy and physiology to promote physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Kinesiology can help improve the effectiveness of the Immune system

The role of the immune system is to protect the body from foreign micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.

It is now commonly accepted by most scientists that stress reduces the effectiveness of the immune system because it causes the levels of B-cells and T-cells to drop. Studies have shown that when an individual faces a stressful situation, the adrenal glands release Cortisol, a stress hormone, into the blood which suppresses the Immune system. 

What may decrease the effectiveness of the Immune system?

  • Chemicals: pesticides, herbicides, pollution

  • Nutritional deficiencies, food intolerances

  • Substance abuse: tobacco, alcohol, recreational drugs

  • Hormonal imbalance

  • Stress mental/emotional

  • Chronic infection

  • Medications

Kinesiology can detect what may be causing a problem in the Immune system and can help increase the effectiveness of the Immune system.

Allergies

Symptoms of some allergies will often dissipate when the Immune system is working effectively. Kinesiology techniques can also detect environmental sensitivities that may be creating an immune response, for example certain people may become sensitive to certain chemical products such as soaps, shampoos, washing powder, air fresheners, deodorants, glues as well as certain foods, food additives and colourings.

Kinesiology and Brain Function

Kinesiology can assess and address blocks that may inhibiting access to integrated brain functions. These blocks may be environmental sensitivities, allergies, emotional/mental stress, inappropriate activation of the fight/flight system, heavy metal toxins and marginal nutritional deficiencies.

These stresses can cause long term or contextual loss of brain integration. Candida (yeast overgrowth) and heavy metal toxins can result in long term disruption of flow of information across the Corpus Callosum (communication between left and right sides of the brain), whereas an emotional stress or allergy may cause loss of brain integration only when in that specific situation or eating that particular food.

Anxiety can be activated by inappropriate activation of the fight/flight survival response, therefore blocking access to the thinking area of the brain (as thinking is too slow for survival), allowing only reactions to take place, which are inappropriate for the situation and happen at a sub-conscious level, therefore no conscious control of your actions, which then adds to the feelings of anxiety.

Marginal nutritional deficiencies may not be noticeable, but when we need to think in stressful situations the brain requires extra energy and nutrition. If there is not adequate nutrition to function under stress the brain will not be able to make enough neurotransmitters, resulting in a loss of integrated brain function.

Addressing these functions can permanently improve brain function for children and adults alike.

Benefits of Kinesiology

  • Correction of Specific Learning Difficulties.

  • Relief from Anxiety & Phobias.

  • Relief from Depression & Emotional Stress.

  • Identify food & environmental sensitivities.

  • Improve Immune function and have relief from Allergies.

  • Relief from Chronic Pain and Headaches.

  • Increased Energy and Flexibility.

  • Enhanced gross and fine motor skills.

  • Enhanced balance & co-ordination.

  • Enhanced memory, concentration and brain function.

Brett Scott - Kinesiology Practitioner

Appointments available at Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, tel. 6114 8871.

Apr 19:  'Enticing lustful, opiatic-like, sodden dreams on
                  warm, balmy nights'

Gina Miller - Captain of Lamma Dragons Dragonboating team (2nd from right above). (This story has been republished (with small edits) with friendly permission from the very informative and entertaining Lamma Ladies blog.)

"Enticing lustful opiatics" and our "tight, dampened shorts"

It is with overwhelming shame that we, the Lamma Ladies have recently learned that our outrageous, immoral behaviour is offending the sensibilities of the more principled members of Lamma society.

In a recent photo essay on Lamma.com.hk, Lamma-Gung posted some snaps of the Lamma Ladies getting ready to begin a training session on Saturday, Apr 14, 4:30-6pm:

Apr 14: Getting Ready for the 1st Race of the Season

According to the "Dragon Boat Noise" forum, the loud, violent drumming and the "Too much of shouting shouting," was particularly loathsome to some of the more morally upstanding denizens of the Lamma community.

In addition to our "Too much of shouting shouting..." the Lamma Ladies Harridans have been urged to stop this disgraceful exercising in public and do what proper ladies of exemplary dignity have done for centuries: stay home.

"Maybe machine for rowing is better," opines one gentleman.

"The ladies dancing on tables after consuming alcohol, it is not suitable for these ladies to behave in such a manner. Too much of excitement. Staying home is better and having [home rowing] machine will give the exercise," he concludes.

We are delighted that exercise remains on the agenda - with all the jackboot polishing we will likely be doing (as befits proper, dignified ladies) - we'll need to keep up our strength.

Our greatest shame came from the febrile pen of Mr tjungarayi who wrote:

"Not only (do the Lamma Ladies harridans have) loose morals but they look they are all on drugs.
Steroids that is! Just look at the shoulders and forearms on some of those... er... 'ladies'. Popeye, eat your heart out!"
[Editor's note: Popeye was a pussy wuss, as are all men who are perplexed by muscular women.]

"At last the voice of the moral stalwart can be heard among those in this forum. Bring back the morals of Queen Victoria and the quiet, dignified ladies and gentlemen of yesteryear.

"Get rid of the smut and scantily clad women in pink lycra swim wear. Enough of the grunting echoes in Yung Shue Wan.

"These women should be setting an example to the young ladies on the island not parading about in tight dampened shorts riding up their suntanned thighs. What effect will those women have on the young men on the island, I ask?

"They will lead young men into the ways of wickedness and depravation. Enticing lustful, opiatic-like, sodden dreams on warm balmy nights. Blinding our young men to upright, meaningful Protestant occupations. Alas, what has this island come to!"

If we had known that parading around Lamma, with our "tight dampened shorts riding up our suntanned thighs" would lead to "enticing lustful opiatic-like sodden dreams on warm balmy nights," well - we'd never wear anything else!

We do, however, apologize for the "sodden dreams."

Perhaps some "Young Men" on Lamma should consider rubber sheets? Nocturnal emissions are nothing to be ashamed of, certainly, but they do make your bedding a little funky after a time.

In conclusion, the Lamma Ladies (reborn, harridans no more!) would like to offer our since apologies to those people we've offended with our crass, unfeminine behaviour. Should you care to discuss the matter with us at a future date, please drop by after a training session.

We'll be a little tired, but we'll still be happy to kick your sorry, whinging asses!

Apr 18:  Cantonese Opera Bamboo Arena

Cliik below for comprehensive photo gallery:

Apr 17:  OzArt - Australian Artists Set to Sample
Lamma Lifestyle

Jay Scott Kanes - STBWFLA  (text and photos by Jay Scott Kanes):

Seaside at the Deli Lamma, Elsie soaks up Yung Shue
Wan's soothing vibes.

Lamma Island's reputation as an inspirational refuge for Hong Kong artists has taken a new twist. Two artists from Australia plan to make Yung Shue Wan their temporary home during OzArt 2007, an exhibition of Australian art at the Fringe Club Gallery in Central from April 25 to May 9.

The event's organizer, Elsie Edenhall-Ip, art director for the Melbourne-based company Hong Kong on Board, has booked the ultra-innovative David Edward Conolan and free expressionist Derek Erskine into rooms at a guest house on Main Street. They'll arrive soon.

"People always think of Hong Kong's shopping and tall buildings," said Elsie, who visited Yung Shue Wan on April 9. "I want to show these artists something else.

"Lamma's a lovely place with fresh air and without claustrophobia. I want my artists to experience the freedom and pleasant surroundings, the absence of cars, the abundance of friendly faces and the relaxed situations. They'll probably find new inspirations, go home and do more paintings.

"These Australian artists are used to open spaces and lots of freedom. Living in Central might upset them a bit. It's just too busy."

An abstract expressionist, Conolan, from Broome in Western Australia, is vibrant and highly motivated. He often uses pearls and gemstones in unique paintings, including some of dragons and with Chinese script. "I wanted to do something that has never been done before," he said.

Erskine relies on simple forms and precise execution to capture diverse moods, often in charcoal or acrylic abstracts. He describes his style, with its abstract shapes and big impact, as "free expressionism". Originally from Scotland, he moved to Tasmania and later to the Melbourne area. Multi-talented, he also thrives as an actor, film director and poet.

OzArt 2007 also offers paintings, boomerangs and delicately crafted didgeridoos (musical instruments) by the aboriginal artist David Dryden, but a family illness prevents Dryden from visiting Hong Kong.

P.S. For info on the exhibitions and samples of the artists' works, click here.

Elsie (left) and an assistant show works by artist Derek Erskine in preparation for OzArt 2007 at the Fringe Club in Central.

Strolling on Lamma's Main Street brings a smile to Aussie art director Elsie Edenhall-Ip's face.

Elsie plans to introduce "her artists" to the most pleasing place, Lamma Island.

Apr 16:  Lomo Lamma

Today, we've got a new way of looking at our island home, via the cheap, non-digital, all-manual, fixed-focus, no-flash, plastic Lomo cameras, this one with a fisheye lens. It's actually quite amazing what kind of interesting photos have been produced by the large community of low-tech Lomo enthusiasts around the world.

Guess where on Lamma these photos have been taken by long-time forum member KoalaKoala:

Apr 15:  Living with Frogs on Lamma

Nancy Karraker Ph.D. - Lamma Newbie, expert on amphibians and reptiles.

(text and photos by Nancy Karraker, click to enlarge!

Check out our frogs forum):

When I first heard about a job opportunity at the University of Hong Kong, I wondered how I could possibly study amphibians and reptiles (my area of research) in a huge city. Believing, along with my friends and many other ill-informed Americans, that Hong Kong was only a city, I couldn’t imagine finding much more than an urban toad or two.

I soon learned that about 40% of Hong Kong SAR was protected in country parks, that Hong Kong had 24 species of amphibians, and that a small island called Lamma permitted no cars, buses, or high rises. Given all of this, I thought Hong Kong might be just fine.

I moved from New York in mid-February after finishing my Ph.D. in conservation biology and having spent the past 15 years studying amphibians and reptiles in California, New York, Ecuador, and Panama.  Throughout Hong Kong, including on Lamma Island, I will be researching the basic ecology of and threats to some of the amphibians, including the endemic Romer’s tree frog and the Hong Kong newt.  If you see someone with a headlamp in a drainage ditch at night, it will probably be me.

What better place for an amphibian lover to live than on Lamma Island?  I still marvel at my good fortune to have landed here.  On my fourth night, I was standing behind my flat in Yung Shue Long New Village and I heard a great cacophony of frog croaks up the hill.  I ran down to the path, up a set of stairs, and at the top sat my first Asian common toad.  He (like birds, only the males ‘sing’ in most frogs) was puffed up, seemingly challenging a smaller toad on the step below.  I grabbed the upper toad and looked for the black spectacle around its eye so be sure who he was.  Shortly, I learned that I needn’t burn calories running up stairs like that because in a few days with a bit of a rain, I began seeing toads everywhere.

A week later we had our first balmy night with a light rain, so I set out with my headlamp hoping to see some new frogs.  The path up Yung Shue Long Valley to the Old Village appears to be an amphibian hotspot.  There I saw an ornate pygmy frog - a tiny gray or brown frog an inch or less in size with a triangular snout.  You only get one second to look or grab before the miniature creature with great leaping skills is gone.

Further down the path clinging to a thin stem of grass was a brown tree frog.  This frog had large eyes, a faint X on its back, and toe discs for climbing.  These frogs make a low, deep, rattling sound, at times reminiscent of an old heavy door hinge.  I hopped down into the drainage channel and tossed out a number of toads that were stranded there.  The snake that was hunting toads in the channel was not pleased with me, I suspect.  On the way back, I saw a confused paddy frog, with a grayish body and bright green dorsal stripe, trying to mate with a toad in the lily pond.

Now that we have had a bit of rain, I see all of these species often, as well as the bellowing Asiatic painted frog which began calling this past week.  There are a number of good habitats remaining here for frogs, including the cultivated area in Yung Shue Long and the swampy area near Pak Kok, the intact forests on the paths to the wind turbine and Tung O beach, the few perennial streams, and of course all the human-created water bodies that some species don’t mind using.

All is not perfect for the frogs on Lamma Island, however.  I suspect that scores of frogs die in the concrete drainage ditches every year, either by not being able to get out or becoming easy prey for the snakes that hunt there.  As another concrete ditch is currently being built, I wonder if it will be the last.

I suspect that much of the water in low-lying areas is polluted with herbicides, fertilizers, and household chemicals.  After a burst of breeding activity by toads in the lily pond, there seemed to be zillions of tadpoles.  Very quickly the numbers of tadpoles began to dwindle, and I wondered if snakes were feeding on them.  When there were very few left, I scooped some up to take a look and many were deformed and listless, resembling others I have seen exposed to chemical contaminants.  For those of us who appreciate the songs of frogs at night, we could try to use fewer chemicals in our homes and workplaces and certainly other species, such as birds and fish, would benefit as well.

In general, though, Lamma is a fairly safe haven for amphibians.  I feel fortunate to live in a place where native wildlife is still quite common.  Sometimes I overhear people on the ferry mention the racket of some bird that wakes them up every morning or the horrible sound of the frogs that keeps them from falling asleep at night.

For me, I think I would rather hear the birds and frogs than buses and car horns.  I guess we make that choice when we live “out in the sticks,” as we say in America.  We risk a nip from a centipede in the night or sometimes having to ford the Yung Shue Long stream to get to the ferry, but I will take these ‘hazards’ over living in the city any day.

Asian Common Toad

Toad Tadpole Habitat

Asiatic Painted Frog