May 28:  Wanna Buy an iPod Sampan?

May 27:  Lamma Mamas Charity Day

Outside the Village Bakery. Have you noticed the new 4th Power Station chimney?

Looking for some coins to donate?

Baby stuff and shoulder/neck massages at the Deli Lamma

Never too young to be a volunteer or to get a temporary tattoo for charity

Today, Human Welfare instead of Animal Welfare

Biggest donation of the day, by the smallest donor??

Wow, so much loot! Counting the takings of the day...

May 26:  Aberdeen, Across the Lamma Channel

May 25:  'New Eco-Trails Boast Lamma's Natural Beauty'

A major event has been happening in the YSW Football Pitch today from 2-3pm, covered by TVB and ATV (see right) and a motley horde of invited photographers/photojournalists, including yours truly:

The 3-year Green Lamma Green campaign by HK Electric and the Conservancy Association ended impressively with the launch of 3 new Lamma eco-trails which will "afford hikers the opportunity of espying the Wood Spider, Painted Lady, Little Egret, Fiddler Crab, Mudskipper and other Lamma 'residents'" - according to HEC's press release.

Some of these 'residents' even took to the stage, see above. Aren't they oh-so-cute, their parents were so proud! On this hot and humid day, the children's brave endurance to wear these heavily padded costume should be admired and praised. But it was all for a fine cause, of course.

Then it was speeches by celebrities like the Tourism Commissioner, a LegCo member, the Conservancy Association CO, and even an "Outstanding Eco-Leader and Lamma resident", Ms. Sally Lam. Awards, trophies, prizes and plaques were handed out generously to almost everybody involved, except me (harrumph!) Here's the full press release:

New Eco-trails Boast Lamma's Natural Beauty [25 May 2008]

All considered, it was a real PR fiesta with very cute and colourful cartoon illustrations, great photos, a hyper-chatty MC and broad smiles all around for the TV and newspaper cameras.

Plus some of the best souvenir hand-outs I've seen in a long time, packed in a Lamma Winds eco- bag, of course. For example a battery-powered hand fan, flashing an animated GREEN LAMMA on its whirling soft blades (see left). It's made from green plastic, but I'm not so sure about its eco-credentials. But it'll be welcome eco-cooling eco- relief during an eco-friendly eco-walk on one of the 3 new eco-trails set up by HECO, eh, HEC.

Several "media handlers" were making sure I got all the infos and contacts I'd ever want, even a comfy T-shirt covered in logos and a real media kit with a photo CD-ROM and colour printouts of all the eco-trail info panels; all very professional, expensive and definitely very rare for a Lamma-based event. But where was the media bar with eco-booze? Anyway, 3 cheers to HECO's, eh, HEC's Public Affairs Dept. for putting on such a fine show and promoting "eco-tourism" on our Green Lamma Green for the last 3 years!

One of 20 bilingual info panels along the 3 eco-routes
(click to enlarge, all 20 panels will be uploaded to this website within days)

Hopefully, we can lure away a few weekend Lamma visitors/eco-warriors away from the Family Trail to the other 2 eco-trails in Pak Kok and South Lamma. Putting the informative, well- designed Lamma Island Eco-Tour Maps (see right) in schools, at the Lamma ferry piers and in HKTB info centres very soon will help. Lamma- zine stories about the Map, the 3 eco-trails and an interview with a Lammaite "Outstanding Eco- leader" (see below) are in progress.

There'll be guided Green Lamma Green Eco-walks (in Chinese) on June 15 & 19, July 13 & 27. $20/person, register at www.cahk.org.hk. Call 2728 6781 to help persuading them to arrange some English tours as well!

May 24:  Pristine Mountains of Childhood Playground

Media interest in Lamma Island has been heating up considerably over recent months, several film crews and writers visiting the island, somebody's even writing a book about Lamma.

Julia Steinecke, "Special" to the Toronto Star newspaper (www.JuliaSt.net), contacted me a few months ago via this website, having lots of questions about Lamma, well before her actual visit. She was especially looking for interesting people and especially LGBTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/ Transsexual), as she's the author of Pink Planet, a monthly travel column in the Toronto Star. She found and interviewed quite a few, spending several days here in February, but she couldn't locate the "Lesbian Village" she had heard rumours about before her visit.

She actually interviewed me (not being one of the extremely low-key members of the LGBT Lamma community) in hospital, just before my weight loss stomach operation. Finally, her first Lamma story has appeared today in the Toronto Star, tracking down the roots of movie superstar and native Lammaite Chow Yun-fat. It's one of the best researched and most insightful Lamma stories I've ever read. Check it out here, it even has a prominent link to this website ("Information on Lamma Island can be found at www.lamma.com.hk. Click on "links" for accommodations and restaurants."):

Peaceful origins of actor Chow Yun-Fat  (May 24, 2008, 04:30 AM)
Action movie star still cherishes pristine mountains of childhood playground.

Another HK story by Julia has been published on April 12, 2008:

Still challenges for Hong Kong gays
But Chinese rule has brought progress and night life is evolving.

May 23:  Tin Hau Festival in Sok Kwu Wan

May 22:  Charity Sales, Raffles & Rides

Fundraiser for Burma @ Deli Lamma

May 21:  Greening Your Life?

May 20:  Clean Energy Fund Applications

Dr. Tso and two green ambassadors demonstrate how to generate electricity by riding three bicycles fitted with dynamos to supply power to two mini-houses.
(All photos supplied by Hongkong Electric)

Hongkong Electric writes: "How can keeping fit generate electricity? How can generating electricity help keeping fit? And how do these contribute to a green cause?

"Students at CCC Kei Wan Primary School (Aldrich Bay) will be able to find the answers through an educational project funded by the HK Electric Clean Energy Fund. Under the project, they will generate electricity by riding 3 bicycles fitted with dynamos to supply power to two mini-houses.

"The HK Electric Clean Energy Fund was established in 2006 to encourage initiatives in promoting better understanding and application of renewable energy in Hong Kong. All locally registered primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities are eligible to apply for the HK$1 million Fund available each year. In 2007-08, the Fund sponsored 12 schools to implement their renewable energy projects, including Kei Wan Primary School."

With bicycling so popular on Lamma, should we take inspiration from this Clean Energy Fund above, retrofitting our bikes for power generation? We could charge batteries fitted to our bikes which we could then use at home to power household appliances, saving some electricity and reducing our often sky-high electricity bills, especially in the coming summer months?

Or could we convert some of the old, unused bikes at the ferry pier - instead of the police confiscating them and carrying them away at yearly intervals - linking them together to generate power for the ferries? People might be encouraged by getting free ferry rides for 30 minutes of pedaling. As the Lamma Gym still hasn't reopened (announced for later this month), this might be a great way of staying fit, doing your bit for the environment, avoiding city gym fees and saving money on ferry rides which might soon increase by up to 30% from July 1.

How about it, Lammaites? Use your leg muscles instead of only your mouth muscles to support clean energy and energy conservation! Should we apply to this great Clean Energy Fund to make some of these ideas happen?

Details and application forms for the Clean Energy Fund are available on Hongkong Electric's website: www.heh.com/cleanenergyfund.

Click above for Lamma-Gung's
complete photo gallery.

For more info on this new Kung Fu school on G/F, 25 Ko Long Village, contact Wong Wai at 9805-8691 (Chin.) or Lucy Wong at 9325-3268 (Eng.).

Click on English and Chinese posters on the right for more info on the Grand Opening yesterday.

Click photos below to enlarge.

May 18:  Earthquake Search & Rescue Team Leaving Lamma

You might have noticed the UK search and rescue team in Yung Shue Wan's Main Street, bars and restaurants in the last few days? Arriving last Tuesday night, they were awaiting their China visas to rush to the Sichuan Earthquake to save lives. They returned home to the UK last night, unsuccessful in being permitted to enter China, unlike other rescue teams from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Russia. What a great pity and a waste of effort, time, love and money! This sad news made it into many newspapers around the world:

China Blocks Entry to UK Rescuers  (BBC)

Foreign rescuers at work in China quake area  (AFP)

Rescuers sent back from earthquake  (The Press Association)

Saddened Broch mercy man back from China  (The Press and Journal)

British disaster rescue charity says it was prevented from entering China quake zone  (International Herald Tribune)

Picture below of the International Rescue Corps team and Lammaite supporters, taken by Felix Wong of the SCMP at the beach outside the Bookworm Cafe - our ferry pier in the right background - published in the South China Morning Post on Friday, May 16, as part of another story about the IRC team. Paid registration is required to read this story on the SCMP website, republished here:

Liz Heron - © SCMP 2008, May 18, 2008  (paid registration required)

Foreign rescue teams refused visas in HK SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE Liz Heron, © SCMP, May 18, 2008 Two international disaster response teams that flew to Hong Kong and tried to join the Sichuan earthquake rescue effort have been refused permission to enter the mainland. The Scotland-based International Rescue Corps, which specialises in earthquakes, was set to fly back to the United Kingdom last night. A Canadian rescue team from Red Deer, Alberta, is planning to leave tomorrow after they were told yesterday that they were not required. The two volunteer teams, run by independent charities, brought state-of-the-art location and rescue equipment, for which Beijing last week issued an international appeal. The 10-member British team, which arrived on Tuesday, had an ultrasonic location device, a carbon dioxide probe that tracks the living by their breath and two tiny, flexible cameras that can be inserted through holes in rubble. The eight Canadians, who arrived on Thursday, brought a special search camera and an acoustic searching device. Neither team was aware the other was coming. "We are very frustrated that we have been unable to get to the disaster zone and help those people still trapped," corps team leader Willie McMartin said. "This equipment can make the difference between somebody being located alive or dying. The official reason that we have been given is that the Chinese government cannot co-ordinate the foreign teams on the ground." Mr McMartin said they had learned from the United Nations website before leaving that no official request had been made by the central government for help from foreign rescue teams, but had been advised by a travel agent in Hong Kong that mainland visas could be obtained in the city. "We would normally have a verbal indication from the embassy of the affected country that they want us to come before we leave," he said. "We offered our help to the Chinese embassies in London and Edinburgh and initially received no reply. But the scale of the earthquake appeared to justify a decision to travel. "We were stalled because of the visa problem. We were asked to provide return tickets and hotel vouchers in advance. But in a disaster, we are in tented accommodation." He said the group had spent at least £30,000 (HK$456,000) on the trip. Marcel Schur, the leader of the Canadian team, said it had spent US$30,000. Lu Xinhua , commissioner of the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, said China had adopted an open attitude to overseas assistance for the quake victims. He said rescue teams from Japan and Taiwan had already been allowed to get to the quake-stricken area. A range of new restrictions on mainland visas, including a requirement that applicants obtain a return ticket and hotel voucher in advance, were confirmed last month by the ministry.

John W - International Rescue Corps, posting this message in our forum:

A Huge Thank You Just wanted to give a big thank you to the people of Lamma for assisting the International Rescue Corps during the stay on the island. Especially to Gavin, Jess and Dan for their hospitality and assistance thru frustrating times. We will not forget your help! Thanks, IRC

GlobalSteve - Technical Search Specialist, Canadian Rescue Team:

A Huge Thank You From the CRT On behalf of my team, I would like to extend a huge thanks to the people of Lamma. We were treated like royalty. There was not a moment we didn't look at each other with the same understanding that we have been incredibly fortunate to have met Gavin and Jess, and been introduced to the beautiful people of Lamma island! Thanks so much: Gavin and Jess Waterfront and Staff Ricky Choi and Shirley Ko @ New Holiday Mood Grill Paul and Terry and so many more. Our time on your island was one that none of us will ever forget.

May 17:  Hamada's Funk Jazz Unit 08

Yep, this mouthful is the official name of a brand-new Lamma Band, performing live in public for the first time on Saturday, May 24, 9pm, in A Mini Store & Gallery, 16-18 Mosque Junction, G/F, Hong Kong (near Mid-levels Escalator, Tel. 2522 9860, mobile 9239 0866, email).  For gig info, email, poster, or call 6901-2916.

This new Lamma Band features local celebrity/ member of numerous Lamma Bands Hamada El Mansour, bass/guitar/vocal;

Rie Wada - flute/vocal;
Matthew Steele - keyboard;
Malte Noack - drums;

Kevin Voigt (of NUDE/ Transnoodle fame) will be a guest player - bass.

They'll play standard funky jazz tunes and Hamada's originals (Moroccan Jazz, similar to his previous band "Over the Dogma"). They'll welcome people with instruments to jam together after the concert.

(Photos from recent rehearsal submitted by Rie Wada)

P.S. Photo by Malte's wife from the actual, very successful concert on May 24:

May 16:  Policebox Relocated?

While checking out Google's satellite maps of Yung Shue Wan, I found this intriguing map with the location of our Police Post, nicknamed "Policebox", after the time and space-travelling device in the long-running Dr Who TV series. This official Google map, accessible worldwide, shows the Police Post off the ferry pier in the Yung Shue Wan bay! I've always been in the mistaken belief that it was located opposite HSBC, between B&B Rest. and our City Hall. Has it been secretly relocated? What's really going on here?

But as I always trust Google (They're extremely successful, so they're always right! Right?), this map must be accepted as true fact. Rejoice, another one of our many local mysteries has been revealed by the mighty Google empire! It permits you - via simple searches with the right keywords, like magic keys - to unlock even the deepest, darkest secrets!

What possible explanations could we come up with for this local mystery revealed?

Is our Policebox on Main Street really just an unreal, virtual one, a holographic projection to hide the *REAL POLICEBOX* on the bottom of the bay, just off the ferry pier? The water is murky enough for the Policebox to stay hidden in the shallow waters forever. Who'd be crazy enough to actually go swimming and diving unprotected in those waters!

Thinking about this, have you ever been inside the virtual Policebox on Main Street? Ever? Nobody I remember has been in there! Well, except myself, but who'd believe me, a wannabe journalist, anyway. But our numerous local policemen can be spotted frequently entering the virtual Policebox and they seem to spend long stretches of time in there hiding from us common citizens and potential troublemakers.

To fit so many people into this tiny, virtual Policebox, is it "much bigger on the inside", like Dr. Who's Policebox, the Tardis? Do the policemen use it to travel trough time and space to while away the often long and boring hours of their duty shifts? What's going on in there anyway? Mahjong parties? Wild orgies? They've even blocked the door windows now, to be safe from our prying, curious eyes. Senior Inspector Woo-woo has to tell us the truth and nothing but the truth! After all, he's even been nicknamed after the woo-woo sound of Dr Who's Policebox.

But why is the *REAL POLICEBOX* located off the ferry pier? Are the underwater policemen constantly protecting our bikes parked all along the pier, or, more likely, are they preparing for the next bike raid, eh, clearing operation, emerging from the underwater *REAL POLICEBOX* in the dead of night, sneakily snatching some of the bikes and dragging them to the bottom of the bay, never to be seen again? Has your bike ever gone missing from the ferry pier? It might not have gone far...

As the off-pier location of the *REAL POLICEBOX* has now been revealed to all Lammaites, these questions remain:

• Is our valiant local police force adept at scuba diving in and out of there?

• Do they transfer in and out of the police boats - often seen on the same side of the ferry pier as the *REAL POLICEBOX* - through an underwater access hatch in the police boat?

• When will HK's first underwater hotel open for business? Another major, permanent tourist attraction for Lamma, adding to our cute, little windmill!

We need to know! Could anybody with a boat, maybe even a dragonboat, go exploring the area indicated on the map above, maybe with a long pole? But be careful, don't hurt any scuba-diving policemen down there!

May 15:  An Incredible, Awesome, Fantastic Day? Definitely!

Mark C Burns - Director/Organiser of The Lamma 500 (Mark was inspired by Nick's write-up on May 13 and "broke thru the barriers of the typically turgid media guff" with this post event wrap story): (Photos by Grahame Collins)

'Laracy Gall Lamma 500' Truly Arrives on Dragon Boat Scene Sunday May 11th 2008 was a day to remember at Tai Wan To beach where the newly christened 'Laracy Gall Lamma 500' Festival truly arrived on the dragon boat scene. What a difference a year makes. Perfect racing conditions - fast, flat water, light wind, warm and slightly overcast skies - spurred the 33 teams to some fantastic competition over the challenging, international standard 500-metre course. Over a 1,000 participants and spectators crowded the lush Lamma Island beach creating a constantly changing, living mosaic of colour and energy. To an aural landscape of top retro and new music supplied by hongkongfm.net and against a physical backdrop of industrial power and natural beauty, the teams constantly prepared, exerted and recovered in the perpetual ebb and flow of competition. Fuel for the athletes and supporters was never in short supply from the Island Bar and Shamrock catering stalls which were kept busy all day. Race organisers Thirsty Horse, under the leadership of Tournament Director Brad Tarr, prepared showers, changing rooms, St John's first aid, team marquees, free water, even 16 Toi Toi portaloos to provide a paddler and spectator friendly Festival. The volunteers, most from the HK Sea School, Lamma Dragons and Lamma Fishermen's Association, worked tirelessly all day arranging the boats, keeping score and officiating the races. By 4.30pm, after 23 races at the Laracy Gall Lamma International Dragon Boat Festival, it was time to dish out the plentiful trophies and medals to the deserving athletes. In his speech Mr Damien Laracy praised the teams for providing a wonderful day of dragon boat racing over the challenging 500-metre distance. As the sun went down after the presentations, the music was cranked up, the paddlers replaced adrenaline with Carlsberg and the beach party continued late into the night. The best dragon boat race ever? Maybe. An incredible, awesome, fantastic day? Definitely. See you at The Lamma 500 in 2009!

More Lamma 500 photos by Donna Foreman

May 14:  Last Lamma Show @ The Cyan Studio

Elizabeth the Cyanotypist - The Cyan Studio:

Elizabeth Briel, Barnaby Bruce, and Darren Hayward Featuring: Three Photographers Sunday, April 27th, 2-6pm 2/F 21C Back Street, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island. Stop by and visit the last show at The Cyan Studio's Lamma location! The exhibition will take place in the studio and on the stairwells and rooftop of a village house near the sea. We'll feature Hong Kong's urban architecture reflected in diverse ways, through the work of three Lamma Island-based photographers: Elizabeth Briel, Barnaby Bruce, and Darren Hayward. From slick Central high-rises and the ruins of Kowloon's Wedding Card Street to voyeuristic balcony scenes printed on silk, the show will feature a new take on the "everyday scenes" familiar to many Hong Kong residents. See them before they go the way of Queen's Pier! The Cyan Studio was a year-long project, run from my artists studio space on Lamma.  Initially I signed the lease because I was unable to make my sun-prints from our flat at the time, and the 1-bedroom flat I discovered one sunny spring afternoon was perfect: an affordable studio with a rooftop for printmaking, in the center of Yung Shue Wan village.  During the first and last of our monthly openings I featured my work, and happily hosted a dozen other Lamma-based artists in between. The studio was a fantastic spot to focus on my work, and to discover local talent as well.  It looks like the space may continue to be a creative hotspot, as the talented filmmaker Ivy Lam will be renting it for awhile.  She hopes to host occasional arts events, though with less frequency than The Cyan Studio. After a year and a half in HK, I've become much more familiar with the city's art and social scenes, and am looking forward to whatever comes next!  Currently I'm working on hand-tinted cyanotype illustrations for a kids book on HK with ThingsAsian Press (http://www.thingsasianpress.com); teaching lots of art in Aberdeen (http://www.colour-my-world.com); am working as a muralist and promoting the HK Mural Society (http://www.hkmuralsociety.com), and have just shot hundreds of photos for a series on Macau. This fall, I'm looking forward to a trip to Vietnam to do some arts writing, research, and photography for ThingsAsian as well. While we love Lamma, my husband and I are both considering employment options abroad - if we are offered the right package, we may have to leave the island for awhile. But if we are lucky enough to stay here, I'll eventually be looking for a studio space to share in HK, ideally in an older building with rooftop access in Sheung Wan. Any highly motivated artists with a professional attitude (i.e., you can pay the rent and sleep at home, not at the studio) are welcome to contact me. Calendar of Events March 16, 2008, 2-6PM Photographs of Butterflies by Paul Lau February 24, 2008, 2-6PM Photographs of 70s Hong Kong by Bob Davis January 13, 2008, 2-6PM Paintings by Lamma Artists December 9, 2007, 2-6PM Photos & Prints by Lamma Artists November 11, 2007, 2-6PM Computer Art Photos by Lamma-Gung October 14th, 2007, 2-6PM Wild Teenage Beatnik Ghost Dancers by Spinoza September 9, 2007, 2-6PM Northern Beauties. Paintings by Marilena July 8, 2007, 2-6pm Open studio with featured Sri Lankan political cartoonist, Sara Sene June 10, 2007, 2-6pm A New Kind of Blue, Cyanotypes by Elizabeth Briel

Photos by Royal Roy, more photos, click here, captions by Elizabeth: Admiring Barney's photos of Hong Kong Checking out Barney's work My Cyan corner Damon provided fantastic musical accompaniment   Four cyans in the stairwell, clipped onto a laundry line The kids corner Youngest signer of the studio's guestbook

May 13:  "Blame Lamma-Gung, That's My Motto"

Nick the Bookman - Official Court Music Reviewer:

The Lamma 500 May-11-08. (or Sex, Drugs & Rock n' Roll) Part 1:  Sex It's (not) getting near dawn when night closes a tired eye, but it is past twilight and we're into the final hours of 'The Lamma 500' Laracy Gall Lamma International Dragon Boat Festival 2008 on Power Station Beach. I'm sitting with Parksy, Lizzie, and Dave Parker on the corner of the stage watching a rather steamy clinch develop in a tent some 30 feet in front of us. The sight has momentarily stunned us all into silence. The protagonists are "She" and "He". There's some serious groping, gripping and grabbing taking place, which makes me recall a couplet from T.S. Eliot. Something about "...and I will show you fear in a h