|
Mrs Santa Claus – aka Sharon of the Island Bar (Picture
by Lamma-Gung): |
Mrs Santa Claus would like to clarify
that this is NOT her real face colour! It has been digitally
altered by L-G to make it look more "jolly"! |
|
Calling Lammaites!
Help Needed
for Operation
Santa Claus 2007!
This year The Island Bar is actively seeking a
few new ideas to add sparkle to the run-up to Christmas.
So, if you feel like
helping out, or making suggestions as to how to raise more funds,
please stick your head in the bar and let someone know your
thoughts!
Many thanks,
Sharon & Dan
2982
2800, 9030 2888 |
Sorry, that's all the pictures I could take of this fun
yearly event. Within just a few metres of entering the tent I was stopped
twice by vendors and organisers who didn't like photos being taken of
anything being sold - even very wide, no-detail, purely promotional shots
like the ones above - as their "competition" might "copy" their precious
products from my photos!
It dampened my cheerful Christmas spirit quite a bit and I
left without buying anything. Leave your camera at home or hidden before you
enter the tent. Loads of colourful, artsy and generally very nice Christmas
gifts, though!
|
Norman Martel -
HK Gardening Society, republished from
their monthly newsletter, with 3 additional
photos provided by Paul Lau the Butterfly Man
of Lo So Shing. The HKGS visited his amazing
butterfly garden: |
|
In much the same way as fine
weather brings out butterflies, it also seemed
to boost attendance on 29 September. Nearly 40
of us traveled to Sok Kwu Wan, where we were met
by Jackie Simpson. Anticipation seemed to be in
the air with many of us were wondering what was
in store, surely all aware of their beauty and
their voracious appetites during the caterpillar
stage, but few of us knowing much more.
 A
pleasant and leisurely stroll took us around the
bay to Lo So Shing where Paul Lau awaited us
outside a charming and colourful traditional
single storey village house. His home is a short
distance away near the beach.
He
had kindly made green tea and it was passed
around while he began explaining the correlation
between the types of plant in your garden and
the visiting butterflies.
To be most successful, you need
a balanced selection of plants because the ones
that attract butterflies for food, primarily
nectar bearing, are not necessarily the ones
that their larvae feed on. Butterfly feeding
plants are mostly self-evident, large colourful
ones, like Mexican Sunflowers, that attract and
support the larger species while small ones,
like Lantana, are favourites of the smaller
butterflies.
As an introduction, Paul
illustrated their life cycle by showing us two
eggs and a caterpillar of the Common Sergeant on
a nearby plant. The first surprise – how small
they were. It was just possible to see them with
the naked eye but to appreciate the detail you
need a hand lens or a magnifying glass. A little
practice with the hand lens revealed that it was
a multifaceted spherical shape seemingly made up
of tens of minute interlocking domes.
At the tip of the leaf a 5mm
long dark skinned young caterpillar was rapidly
chomping through the leaf having already eaten
the domed egg casing from which it had emerged.
It will apparently eat non stop until it is 2cm
long and turns into a pupa before finally
emerging as a butterfly with a beautiful 5cm
wing span.
It
was at this point that most of us became aware
of Paul's wonderfully illustrated reference book
"Butterflies of Hong Kong". Several of these
were available at $100 and were quickly snapped
up. The book is superbly laid out and ideal for
the uninitiated observing butterflies and their
larvae. The inside front and back cover pages
consist of thumbnail photos of all the species
in the book together with the number of the page
on which they appear. Thus it is relatively
simple to quickly and easily refer to what you
think you have seen.
Most of us were now armed with
the book and easily able to follow while he
explained the habits and various lifestyles of
the different species. How they vary their
lifespan, particularly during the pupa stage, to
suit the climate at different times of the year,
how the ‘skippers' cut and roll up leaves for
protection using silk like threads to bend the
leaves. That some, like the ‘tigers' eat
poisonous plants and become poisonous to
predators, while others copy their markings so
they too seem to be poisonous, yet others can
control the amount of poison they eat by
‘pruning‘ the veins of the leaves.
Some butterflies are nervous and
difficult to approach but others seem oblivious
and will even perch on you to feed on
perspiration; however, if you want clear
photographs, you will need a good 35mm camera,
preferably digital because you will have a lot
of deleting to do, some macro lenses and mostly
a lot of patience!
After answering several
questions possibly the biggest surprise awaited
us. Inside Paul's village house was the most
amazing collection of photographs of the extreme
regions and in particular the minority people of
‘Greater China'.
Those of us that saw this
collection will always remember them; several of
us had visited some of these regions, marveled
at their quality and are envious when compared
with our own photos. Paul holds exhibitions all
over HK, do not miss the chance to visit one if
you can. We will all testify that he is a
gentleman in every sense of the word and a great
photographer.
Thanks to Jackie too for
arranging this very informative visit and
pleasant lunch.
Paul was on RTHK's Radio 3
recently talking about his butterfly garden and
you can hear the
programme on the website. |
A Mexican
sunflower for lunch!
Photo by Simon Jennings
Paul Lau
Amy Newbery
enjoying Paul's book
Egg of Colour Sergeant
Glochidion eriocarpum
(Hairy-fruited Abacus Plant)
Food for Colour Sergeants
Plain Tiger larvae which is eating the poisonous
Blood Flower and pruning the leave vein to
reduce the poisonous sap flow. |
|
|
Paul Lau's stunning new coffee table book has just been published, amazing
portraits of butterflies with flowers! Our book review will be coming up
soon...
Click here to learn more (PDF file, 1MB);
website,
forum and
email.
|
Gina – aka Captain Bligh or Bullhorn Face -
Lamma Outriggers Canoe Club:
(Photos by LOCC and comic by Gina!): |
|
Here is a PDF (click above,
2.41MB!) of the Lamma Outriggers Canoe Club at the Round Hong
Kong Island Race, which is run through the
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club with the Loro Piana RIR Race.
The men's crew entered the race
for the first time as a dedicated men's team and were absolutely
fantastic throughout. As the photos will attest, it was an
exciting day, between running the surf off of the Big Wave Bay
rocks and Cap D'Aguilar and some of the guys almost becoming
by-catch for a local fishing boat, it was all very crazy.
For myself, you will be
hard-pressed to pull a bullhorn or VHF radio out of my claws
ever again. The feeling of bullhorn and radio power: I don't
know if I can let it go!
Page one of the PDF is from the
outrigger sprint races, which were held at middle island the
Saturday before the BIG Round Hong Kong Island Race. The men's
time around the island was 4:35.31 – rather spectacular for a
44km race, we think, and it will only improve in the coming
seasons. The men are completely giddy with their success (as
noted, it's the first time we've had a dedicated men's crew, and
they are all full of beans after a couple months training for
this race), and have insisted that we enter the next big
outrigger event, the 3 Peaks race, scheduled for December 8th.
This too, is like a conventional sailing race, except we PADDLE
to each designated "peak", send 2 runners up a mountain and down
again, and then paddle on to another peak.
The women are joining this event,
since they are equally mad, and can only be expected to act as
cheerleaders once every 10 years. (Next cheerleading time
scheduled for November, 2017).
I will be sending more
information along asap.
But, the important final note is
the TUNG O BEACH CLEAN-UP is
scheduled for THIS SUNDAY, Dec 2.
Delayed to mid-January!
Details to follow and all
volunteers to help are most welcome.
Hawaii-Five-0 party results and
beach info coming next! |
(Photos by JAX)
Phil Stride and Peter Bolt write:
"Pete and I are just getting over the trauma of going
around Lamma Island in a 2-man kayak. Pretty heavy swells down on the South
side last Saturday - still managed it in 4 hours though!"
|
Grahame Collins - Lamma-based photographer -
Website: |
|
"I think a photography class should be a
requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see
the world rather than just look at it."
Author Unknown
My experience behind the camera
began as a teenager when I was given several old cameras by
relatives who no longer made use of them. I now have a
collection of some 50 cameras, all different ages and makes.
Some may be of value in years to come but to me the pleasure
comes from collecting them.
I have used all types of camera
for my photography and have no particular favourite make or
format. My 'pro' camera is a Nikon D200, which is a fantastic
piece of equipment that is built to last. However, I never leave
home without an Olympus compact camera. It is easy to use,
lightweight and gives decent picture resolution. I would advise
anyone new to the art of photography to study in detail the
workings of their camera. Read the book play with all the
functions, practice using all the different settings and then
switch to an auto mode. Knowing what the camera is capable of is
good practice. You should spend as little time as possible
adjusting settings and as much time as possible looking for a
shot. Many of my pictures look as though a lot of time went into
setting up the subject and making adjustments. This is rarely
the case. Most of my favourite works were taken 'in the moment'.
Coming from a generation of 35mm
film photographers I have a sense of the cost of every frame
taken. This makes me less likely to waste a single shot. Digital
cameras have given us the freedom to take almost unlimited
photographs and in a way have taken away the value of each
image. I use digital cameras for the freedom and flexibility
they offer but I still try to keep the amount of images I have
to process to a minimum.
Knowing how your camera works is
essential, but having an eye for an image is what makes a
photograph. |
-
This poster above
is a little free promotion for the upcoming Lamma Artist of the Month,
Dec 2007 - Dave Parker, an
internationally well-known artist and professional illustrator who has
returned to live on Lamma recently. He's also still looking for a
short-term place to stay. Contact him!
-
For wonderful traditional pet paintings,
you can also talk to Annie Knibb.
Click here for some of her pet paintings.
-
Also, for a
"computer art" picture of your pet (or other family members), you can
talk to me. I've just started to work on personal commissions, for
example for a unique Christmas present for a relative of my first
client. For samples,
click here.
While we're talking of Christmas presents,
The Cyan Studio
will feature a group show and sale of several Lamma-based artists on Sunday,
Dec 9, 2-6pm. Most of the artists are former
Lamma-zine Artists of the
Month (select from the "ART GALLERIES" drop-down menu). All original
artworks will cost only up to a maximum of $188, quite a bargain and
a major good deed to support the quite often struggling Lamma Artists. Check
out The Cyan
Studio website in early Dec for more details.
For more cheerful Christmas crafts and generous genuine
gifts, check out our latest, new advertiser, the
HK International Christmas Fair in IFC. From Nov 27-29, 10am-8pm,
it'll be located just below the fly-over from the Lamma ferry pier into IFC.
Enter it by going down in the lift or the elevator just BEFORE entering IFC.
Here are two stories of last year's fair:
Unexpected
Discoveries...
|
Eric Masson – Chair,
The Hong Kong Petanque Club, writes: |
|
Dear friends of Petanque,
For the third year in a row, The Hong Kong
Petanque Club is honoured to invite you on December 1st at 12pm
for a training session and on December 15th between 11am and 6pm
to a petanque championship, for both beginners as well as
experts.
Join us for celebrating the 100 years of this
noble game by throwing some boules and enjoying good company,
food and drinks.
The fee for joining the event is HKD35 for
members of the Hong Kong Petanque Club and of HKD80 for
non-members. You can download the registration form at
http://hongkongpetanque.sportsontheweb.net.
For more information, contact Eric Masson at
2982 0185 or 6104 5977 or by e-mail
ericlibraire@hotmail.com.
HKPC, 71 Tai Peng Old Village, Lamma Island,
Hong Kong
Bring your friends and family as well, looking
forward to some good games!
Bonjour a tous,
Cette annee pour la 3eme fois consecutive, le
'HONG KONG PETANQUE CLUB' a le plaisir de vous inviter le 1er
decembre 2007 a partir de 12.00 pour un grand entrainement, et
le 15 decembre 2007 de 11.00 a 18.00 pour un concours de
petanque ouvert a tout les niveaux.
En effet, pour l' anniversaire des 100 ans de ce
jeu et du Noel de la petanque, vous aurez le plasir de jouer et
de jeter la boule.
Un buffet sera organise le 15 decembre pour
combler les petits creux de la journee.
Une participation financiere vous sera demande
de 35,00 HKD pour nos licencies et de 80,00 HKD pour les non -
inscrits au club.
Un bon de preinscription est a votre disposition
sur notre site:
http://hongkongpetanque.sportsontheweb.net
Pour en savoir plus, vous pouvez contacter Eric
Masson, soit par telephone 2982 0185 ou au 6104 5977, soit par
mail
ericlibraire@hotmail.com
HKPC, 71 Tai Peng Old Village, Lamma Island,
Hong Kong
N'hesitez pas a en parler autour de vous.
Amis de la petanque, je vous souhaite une bonne
journee. |
|
Caroline Biebuyck - Resident of
Lamma Island for 13 years when she and her husband, John
Newson, decided to relocate to Europe. John has been in
Slovenia, on and off, for just over a year (Oct
28: Slovenian Mountain Village Morning).
Caroline joined him there in April 2007. |
|
"Em, I think you'll find that bend's best tackled in second gear. PLEASE." As these words escape from the barely open lips (his eyes aren't too wide open either) of my husband co-passenger, I'm once again left to ponder on the wisdom of driving round hair-pin bends in the pouring rain within months of passing my driving test. Oh, and of learning to drive in my 40s.
It's not as if there haven't been enough other new things going on in my life this year. The early months of 2007 were spent winding down my business in Hong Kong and upping sticks to a new home in Slovenia. Once we'd helped a few key people (like the travel agent and movers) locate the country on the map and explain that it wasn't Slovakia and was in the EU, the logistics of moving us and our stuff went pretty much OK. Getting the dogs across international borders was more of a challenge. And saying goodbye to our friends and neighbours in our home of so many years was not easy.
But once we were in our new home there was so much to do. One of the things I had been looking forward to was having our own vegetable garden. Never having been a serious gardener before, I envisaged hours of gentle pottering round the small holding, digging a few weeds here and there, inspecting new growth, tutting over a few pests, sitting back and drinking a glass of wine as the sun went down behind the apple trees and generally enjoying myself in a very understated, English country garden kind of way.
Instead on the day after arriving in my new home I was curtly informed that our plot was a disgrace and well behind the neighbours' so we'd better get moving. The following days became a blur of endless digging up weeds in an area that seemed to have trebled since I had last seen it – and all during the hottest April on record. There was no time to plan so planting was a bit of a hit and miss affair, the seedlings wilted as the weeds thrived and all water had to be brought by hand from a village tap some 50 metres away. You could say I was not a happy gardening bunny.
Then there's the issue of the language. Slovene is famous for being archaic and unnecessarily complicated. Unfortunately I only found this out after starting to learn it. The people here are proud (proud, for heaven's sake!) of the fact the language is one of only three in the world to use something called the dual, a form of plural used for two people only. As one friend helpfully explained, it's a romantic way for couples to express the idea of "me and you against the world". Let's face it, who'd offer any linguistic resistance to that?
But … we now live in a beautiful part of the world, in a great house with oodles of storage space (remember storage?!) and we're full of plans for expanding and improving our living area. Our second property is being transformed into holiday apartments and the project is, so far, going well. Every day I run or walk the dogs along the most stunning Alpine paths and trails. My asthma seems to have all but disappeared; within three days of arriving I stopped my nightly coughing ritual, hopefully for good.
We've been getting to know people, both in our village and the nearby town. While I have my bike-riding friend and neighbours whose houses I'll pop into for a coffee, John has his
"let's sit in the workshop and drink beer and talk about the great construction project buddies. The bar/number of inhabitants ratio is even better here than on Lamma and there's always someone who you can convince (with very little arm twisting) to go for that euphemistic coffee.
Meanwhile all the older villagers and townspeople insist on talking to me in Slovene so my language skills are, very slowly, improving. While the nouns and adjectives are a huge challenge to someone not used to declining cases (think Latin or German) the verbs are reasonably straightforward. Much to my astonishment we had a decent crop of various fruit and veg this year, when I had finally got the garden under control. I'm fully prepared for next year's war of the weeds. Oh yes, and I now have a hosepipe.
And the driving? Getting better by the day. At least I think so… |
Glorious early autumn
colours on the mountain pass
A group of intrepid
ex-Lamma residents set off into the woods
Snow levels at
different years on a 1400m mountain pass
The amazing
emerald-turquoise colour of the Soča river
The valley we now call
home |
|
Director & General Manager (Engineering), Mr.
Francis Lee, receives the Green Innovative Practice Grand Award from the
Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Director of Environmental
Protection, Ms Anissa Wong, at the 2006 Eco-Business Awards Presentation
Ceremony.
Yes, it looks like a rock, a real rock!
It's a really ecologically-looking trophy for the Eco-Business Awards
awarded yesterday! HK Electric, our major sponsor, took home three major
trophies, "including the prestigious Grand Award in the Green
Innovative Practice category."
"The Grand Award winning initiative involves the use
of oil-free technology which adopts vacuum, air or gas in place of
conventional oil as the insulation medium for transmission and distribution
equipment (see below).
 "While
the technology enhances safety performance of substation facilities by
reducing potential fire hazards, oil-free equipment is considered
cost-effective and environmentally friendly as it eliminates routine oil
treatment and subsequent disposal of waste oil.
"Two other green initiatives - the innovative micro-excavation technique
adopted for fault location of underground cables and the smart use of
wastewater/ rainwater scheme at Lamma Power Station – received
Certificate of Merit Awards at the ceremony for their outstanding
environmental performance."
Sincere congratulations to HK
Electric from the Lamma-zine!
Read all about it:
HK Electric swept major eco-business awards with innovative green
initiatives [20 November 2007]
There are customised versions of the
MonopolyTM board game (remember board games?) for many places in
the world, why not yet for Lamma? Foxy got the ball rolling with a unique,
non-commercial, one-off version of
Lammopoly. He's soliciting the text for the Chance/Community
Chest cards players need to pick up occasionally and follow their
instructions. I'll help out with the design and the resulting game will be
published in due course on this website, just for fun.
Here's a little sampling, contributed so
far by the creative minds of Foxy, Soulkitchen, Yogesh, Toddy, Alan,
Dunshagin and Granola Eater. All of these Chance cards are
completely fictional and bear no relation whatsoever to recent real-life
events on Lamma Island, of course!!!
-
Lost your ID card, spend several hours in
the Policebox. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.
-
Trod on a dog turd in Tai Peng, slither
back to Pak Kok Village.
-
Barred from the Deli for throwing chairs.
Spend a night in the Seats of Shame.
-
Found a nearly full pint. Collect $25.
-
Missed the last ferry on drunken night
out. Pay $250 to get sampan back from Aberdeen.
-
Kung Hei Fat Choi, your children collect
$500 Lai See money.
-
Ching Ming fire
sweeps through your garden. Pay $150 to replant.
-
Red Tide prevents swimming on Hung Shing
Yeh beach. Collect $200 in compensation.
-
Chased by pack of dogs, advance to Luk
Chau.
-
Bitten by bamboo snake, advance to Lamma
Clinic.
-
Use "sound magnifier" without permission.
Pay $1,200 fine.
-
Busking on the
Lamma ferry. Collect $5 from each one.
-
Busted for organising a rave on Power
Station beach. Go directly to Policebox.
-
Bitten by centipede, go to Lamma Clinic.
-
Deafened by Chinese New Year fireworks,
pay Clinic $150.
-
Stuck under the trees drinking Carlsberg at Granny
Chan's, miss a GO.
-
VV runs over your dog. Pay driver $100
compensation.
-
Sewers finally connected. Pay $200 per
house and $500 per hotel.
Please participate and add your own
creative input, click on
Lammopoly.
If you like this website, help it to survive and prosper!
The only source of income for this website is advertising banners and they
hardly cover the quite considerable costs of running such a large website
and updating it on a daily basis, not even talking about something imaginary
like a profit. We have some loyal, long-term advertisers, but we need more
to make this site financially stable, help me paying all the monthly bills
and even improve it by adding some long-overdue, not-free software and
functionality.
How about becoming a private
sponsor at only US$5/month (HK$480/year)? If you're a regular
reader that would be a wonderful gesture and ensure the continuation of this
site for a long time!
Contact me!
Or maybe your company wants to reach an increasingly
affluent demographic of Lammaites with your products and services? This is
the only local media on Lamma Island and it offers several low-cost, but
very effective advertising options to reach Lammaites plus a HK-wide
audience interested in Lamma for many reasons:
English ratecard --
Chinese ratecard
P.S. Within less than 24 hours, 3 sponsors have
come forward already and paid up for 1 year each. This money will be
directly invested in this website, of course. This wonderful gesture of some
great people, all of them Lamma-zine subscribers, means a lot more than just
the cash. It's an expression of real support beyond mere friendly words
(which are also always welcome!) and it's deeply appreciated. Many thanks
to all sponsors for really making my day even sunnier!
Anybody else eager to make my day today...and tomorrow as
well? ;-)
P.S. II Loyal forum member Chuckm in
Vancouver has issued
A Challenge to Support Lamma-zine and This Forum! Do you dare
to take him on? ;-)
It's really quite difficult to find postcards of Lamma
Island. You could use your own photos, but you wouldn't get the annotated
Lamma map and the touristy captions that go along with these great
panorama-sized postcards above. Photographed, designed and published by
Lammaite Robert Hope-Jones, he's donated ten sets of these 6-card packs to
my Fun Day stall. I've sold most of them already, the ENTIRE sales price
going to the Fun Day's Children Welfare charity. Thank you, Robert!
I've got a few sets left, at the original retail price of
$65, no charity markup, same price as in the Green Cottage and Bookworm Cafe
where you can also buy them, but without making a 100% charity donation when
buying one of these remaining postcard sets.
Contact me!
Notice the list of artists on the middle left
of the poster above?
The lotus pond on the way to Tai Peng has been a local landmark for
literally decades. Even the current drainage channel construction has taken
great care to protect it. But it relies on a steady, minimal flow of water
running down from Tai Peng Village. So it needs a little dam at the end of
the pond where the pond water overflows into the little stream through the
Yung Shue Long valley.
But several months ago, a vandal has started demolishing the dam on an
almost daily basis, trying to destroy the pond by drying it out. Lamma's
"Gentleman Eco-Warrior", Jenkin, has been repairing the dam for several
months now and has been trying hard to spot the vandal. He's been telling
everybody about it and even
posting in our forums has not helped to find out who's responsible
for this eco-vandalism and convince them to stop doing it.
Help to save the Lily Pond by keeping an eye out for suspicious activities
around the pond and inform Jenkin - usually easy to find sitting in front
the Spicy Island Restaurant - about it,
contact me or post in our anonymous forum,
Help to Save the Lily/Lotus Pond!
The newly fortified Lily Pond dam in
question. Even putting in really heavy stones hasn't stopped the almost
daily attacks of the vandal(s)!
(click to enlarge)
Something I've always wanted to do is circling Lamma in a
boat on a beautiful day, camera at the ready, discovering some of these
secluded little bays and amazingly beautiful nature areas usually accessible
only to committed hikers or people with boats. I definitely don't have the
amazing and admirable level of fitness displayed by our Lamma Outriggers
Canoe Club who circled Lamma in a canoe race recently (see
Lamma-zine, Nov 1) and organising a
sampan for the trip around Lamma can be complicated and expensive. How about
doing it soon, with all of your nearest and dearest, on a convenient
Saturday afternoon, with an English-speaking tour guide, all organised and
arranged and FOR FREE?
Sat, Dec 1/8/15, 2-6pm, Yung Shue Wan ferry pier:
Cruise circling Lamma with 1-hour stop in Sok Kwu Wan for teatime sponsored
by the "Lamma Island Wai Chow Clansmen Association Ltd", English- and
Cantonese-speaking tour guide, Nov 24 cruise is full already. Get your free
ticket from our "City Hall" (G/F of the Rural Committee building, opposite
HSBC) during office hours (9am - 5pm). Here's my own ticket with all the
relevant info:
For more info in English and Chinese, click below:
 
A nice, pinkish (her favourite colour) banner has just popped
up overnight on the Main Street fence outside the VV Parking Lot. There
won't be any District Council Elections on Lamma this weekend, unlike the
rest of HK, incl. all the other Outlying Island Districts. Lammadonna (Ms.
Yu Lai Fan) has won already as she's uncontested this time.
At least she's graceful and grateful about it, thanking us
all via this cute bilingual (!) banner in which she pledges "to continue
my best endeavours to serve the community and reflect residents' opinions in
order to maintain the district's well-being" and she "is ready to
join hands with all of you to development a better community." Let's
really hope so!
Hey, how about a handshake and a free drink to thank all the
new potential voters who went through the trouble of registering and would
surely have voted, if there'd have been an election? Or would that be
against the strict election rules?
The last, hotly contested DC election 4 years ago generated
quite a buzz in our forums and generated several big, colourful Lamma-zine
stories and interviews (search for "District Council Election" at the top of
this page). I remember well Lammadonna actively avoiding my camera outside
the voting venue. This was before we've become good friends nowadays, good
friends who agree to disagree on many political issues.
Well, anyway, warm
congratulations to your easy but fair win, Fun Tse!
So this will be the last little DC election story this time.
I'll have to dig up some other hot and newsworthy political issues in the
near future. Any suggestions from our many Alert Readers?
A - B - C
(click to enlarge)
D - E - F
  
G - H - I
 
J - K
 
L - M
All the artworks by Lamma-Gung above are A3-size, printed on very heavy
paper stock, signed and limited to a maximum of 5 copies worldwide. The
pictures are for sale at $888. A quarter of the price will go to the
Children Welfare charity, a quarter to the gallery and the rest to cover my
exhibition costs. My priceless eternal gratitude will be included for free!
The first picture has just been sold!
If you want me to create a customised picture of your friend, a family member or
even your pet, contact
me. It would make a great and absolutely unique birthday or
Christmas present!
Or you can win a picture for free! Just match the 13 pictures above
with the 14 picture titles below. One exhibition picture, showing the
artist, is intentionally missing above. The titles do not have any real names (too
easy!), just descriptions or nicknames of the Lammaites featured in the
exhibition. You might have seen most of these people around the village, but
some of them haven't even seen their own picture up here yet.
Let them
know!
Email me with a list like A5, B12,... before coming Monday, Nov
19. Who gets the most matches correct can choose any free picture above!
To view ALL of them in full detail (10 megapixels) and see the picture
titles, plus some of my former works, you can get a viewing by appointment
only in The Cyan Studio by calling Elizabeth Briel on 6252 6839 or
emailing her.
P.S. The contest is over now. Toddy won with
only 2 incorrect matches and she's chosen
The Lock-Less Ecopreneur as her prize, as "the centerpiece of the
Bobsy shrine" (her words, not mine!). Congratulations!
The correct matches are
listed here.
The turn-out to my first gallery exhibition in quite a few
years was wonderful and so many friends and Lammaites turned up. I sponsored
the wine and some people even liked some of the artworks! It was a major
confidence boost for the oh-so-frail ego of the shy artist full of
insecurities...not!
There were 14 brand-new artworks, plus an extra room showing some of my many
former computer artworks from the last 25 years. Here are a
few pictures from Roy McClean who was recently featured in a TVB Pearl
Report about HK martial arts:
  
Andy Maluche signing the guestbook -- Vernon
and Elizabeth --
Picture of a photo model and her picture
 
Nick the Bookman, another photo model -- A great crowd turning up...
I love guestbooks as visitors are often so over-the-top complimentary!
P.S. But my favourite feedback on my pictures came
from Elizabeth, the gallery owner herself and she's given permission to
publish her words here:
Elizabeth Briel:
"I know lots of people have seen them and loved them
online!
"Have wanted to mention that it's been a real pleasure to
have all these colorful images on the studio walls. I've been working on my
prints mornings and evenings while surrounded by them.
"They're full of life and detail and personality, both
yours and the subjects', and I think it'd make someone feel just as good to
take one home!"
|
Lamma Outrigger Canoe Club writes: |
|
Hawaii Five-0 Party & Tung O Beach
Cleanup Raffle
Join the Lamma Outriggers Canoe Club
this Saturday night (November 10) in the Island Bar, Main Street, to
celebrate the fine sport of outrigger canoeing – you remember those
big, cool, ass-kicking boats from the opening of the immortal
Hawaiian cop-show – and to raise sponsorship fund for the Tung O
Beach Cleanup.
 On Saturday night, the draw for the
Tung O Beach Clean-up sponsor will be drawn from the box of ticket
stubs, and one lucky prize winner will to be Named the Sponsor of
this glorious environmentally friendly event (scheduled for Sunday,
December 2!).
Imagine: the winner doesn't have to
lift a finger, rather; they can point their finger at bits of trash
and the Lamma Outrigger Canoe Club team – and assorted recruits –
will scamper on over and pick it up, while the raffle-prize winner
takes all the credit!
For the rest of the ticket-buyers –
those unlucky schlubs who don't win the MAIN TUNG O SPONSORSHIP
PRIZE – there will be an assortment of lucky-dip raffle prizes,
sponsored by many of the fabulously generous businesses and people
from lovely YSW.
These include:
1 table for 12-18 ppl $1900 of the
bill..from Holiday Mood Grill
2 bottles of white wine..................from
The Fountain Head
2 persons Blue Bird Set $198.............from Blue Bird Japanese
1 Free bottle of wine for 4 pax dinner...from Deli Lamma
1 Amber Necklace.........................from
Lamma Amber shop
2 persons set meal.......................from Lamcombe Seafood
1 Essential oil..........................from Green Cottage
1 Box of Beer................. ..........from B&B Seaview
Rest.
1 bottle of red wine.....................from
Lam Hoi Kee Store
1 box of bottle water....................from
Kai Mei Frozen Food
Sunday Roast for 2.......................from
Diesel's
$100 Gift Voucher........................from Annie H. boutique
$100 Gift Voucher........................from
Main Street
2 Big Pizzas.............................from
Pizza Milano
1 months free gym membership.............from Train & Tone gym
8 gifts....... ..........................from Artlab
1 x 1/4 yr membership to LOCC............from
Lamma OCC
1 x Diana Ross personally signed framed photo w/certificate
verifying it as authentic................from Thirsty Horse
10 x Dragonboat shirts...................from
Thirsty Horse
1 x Dolce & Gabbena neck tie.............from Thirsty
Horse
1 x Terry Ward's new music CD, 7th Endeavour - Mabel's
Daughter
.........................................from Thirsty Horse
1 x FCC 2008 Diary with the winner's name on it
.........................................from
Thirsty Horse
Finally, there will be Hawaiian music, games, drinks, music and
food.
More importantly, there will be fantastically gorgeous Lamma men and
women there, all dressed in ghastly floral shirts or slinky little
bikinis and grass skirts.
Come support the Lamma OCC and the TUNG O Beach Cleanup at the HAWAII
FIVE-0 party this Saturday night.
(And remember: you just might get leied.) |
It's been a few years since I've had a computer art solo
exhibition in an art gallery. It's about time for another more, this Sunday
afternoon in Lamma's only art gallery, The Cyan Studio on Back Street:
|
The Cyan Studio - email invitation: |
|
LammaCelebrityCam - Lamma-Gung @
The Cyan Studio
Sunday, 11 November, 2-6pm, 2/F, 21C Back Street, (opposite
Best Kebab Turkish restaurant,
map),
Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island.
Swiss wannabe artist Lamma-Gung is an (almost)
professional photographer, overqualified web guru and has been
tinkering with computer art for 25 years. He's exhibited in
group shows in the HK Arts Centre and the Cultural Centre lobby,
created a series of computer art calendars and magazine covers,
won a few computer art prizes and had a number of solo
exhibitions in Switzerland.
While studying and babysitting mainframe
computers in an IBM Research Lab, he met an
amazing HK-Chinese lady on the Internet 22 years ago. He moved to HK,
married her and has lived here for almost 20 years now, the 6
last years on Lamma Island.
He's running the local community website
Lamma.com.hk, with lively forums and the daily
Lamma-zine. After a multi-award-winning career before and during
the dotcom boom, he
involuntarily dropped out and semi-retired,
finding some time to renew his passion for photography and
creating artworks. He's usually the only one to appreciate them,
but this doesn't stop him, quite the opposite! Due to a serious
lack of any manual artistic skills, he's using his PC (can't
afford Macs) to do most of the work for him, by simply clicking
the "Create Art" button in Photoshop, his favourite toy. Just
kidding...or is he?
He's the Featured Artist for November at
The Cyan
Studio, and will exhibit all-new artworks. He created
them by playing around with some of his thousands of photos of
Lamma Celebrities, some of them taken at the Lamma Fun Day (the
weekend before the exhibition - deadline pressure gets this lazy
artist going!) He placed his fancy camera on a tripod on the
street, tagged as "LammaCelebrityCam", and shot pictures of
willing passersby. Then he Photoshopped them to bring out the
character and nature of each subject.
This event is the latest monthly second Sunday
open studio featuring Lamma artists. It's an opportunity to
visit an artist's workspace, see work in progress, and get a
break from the city on a Sunday afternoon. |
For
a selection of former artworks w/o people, click below. The exhibition will
only show brand-new, never before published artworks showing "Lamma
Celebrities":
|
Cornelius Rahn (Stud. FdCW) writes: |
|
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
I am doing a feature story for a news
reporting class at HK University. I want to find out how life on
Lamma has been changing in the last couple of years. From what I
gather, the introduction of easy access via the fast ferry services
has had a marked impact, and new residents tend to be more
"upscale".
In order to answer my question, I
want to interview a number of residents, both expat and local, on
how they perceive these changes. Are any of your teams available to
share their version of the story in a short interview? Any input
would be helpful - maybe you know some long-term resident who has a
strong opinion on this? |
Please answer directly to Cornelius
or post your reply in the
Interview... forum.
Would our MANY "long-term residents
with strong opinions" care to come forward to share their strong opinions in
public, outside the pub, please?
Click above to get a close-up seat if you enjoy this sort of
thing happening in our forums recently. It started harmless enough with a
message about the new Batman movie filmed in Hong Kong:
HOLY WONTON!
But beware, these occasional online flame wars are like
mudwrestling with pigs... Everybody gets dirty, but the pigs actually enjoy
it...
Are you a Lamma Celebrity? Almost anybody
can be a Lamma Celebrity for a day and hundreds of them have been featured
over the 5+ years since this website has been running. Running a stall for
charity at the Lamma Fun Day left me with some free time to set up my
camera, flashlight and tripod and stick a sign on it:
The reactions of the passersby were quite fascinating. Some read the sign,
wondered about it and wandered on. When asked for a picture, many were shy,
"I'm no celebrity!", hurrying on down Cable Road. Some were easy and
accommodating when asked, smiling for the camera. But my favourite group
were the EAGER ones who rushed in to have their picture taken, young and old
alike! Here's a sampling of the photos, all taken at the Lamma.com.hk stall
at the Fun Day. Click to enlarge.
Some of these people might find their pictures - dramatically digitally
developed - in my photo art exhibition next Sunday afternoon,
Nov 11, in The Cyan
Studio on Back Street...
Lamma Celebrities pictures in progress...
Comparing the Discovery Bay market with the Lamma Fun Day...
In progress...
|
Nick the Bookman - Official Court Music Reviewer:
(All photos by L-G, click to enlarge. More photos in the
photo gallery.)
Here's
the
official video shot by Hong Kong Photographers
WhiteBox
Studio! |
|
Lamma Fun Day
Well, Sunday is proving to be Fun Day at
last. The weather has cleared up (maybe God wanted to make
sure Bobsy's hai | |
