But how old is this map? Can anybody date it purely from the details? It was formerly located just beside the Tai Peng Sitting-out Area, found in a rusty metal box half buried in a pile of scrap metal and chunks of broken concrete. See the big, red YOU are here marker. Looking at the map close-up:

• There's no Lamma Winds turbine, no Power Station Extension, no YSW-Pak Kok-Aberdeen ferry, indicating the map's minimum age.

• The Lamma Quarry was still in operation with a pier and buildings, the tannery buildings in Nga Kau Wan were still standing, replaced by the Lamma One luxury development now.

• A 7-digit contact phone number, but all HK phone numbers have been switched from 7 to 8 digits on Jan 1, 1995.

• Comparing this map to the Lamma 1965 map I've published on July 22 might also give good clues to its age.

I really like this historic Lamma map, a really unique and very rare artefact, but if somebody would like it, maybe for a public place, like a bar or restaurant or a proud Tai Peng resident, offer a donation! I'll happily use it for the upgrade of this website, currently in progress! Anybody?

P.S. Having a closer look at the tourist steel map on the Yung Shue Wan ferry pier the other day, see right:
It looks very similar to mine, but it has one major addition, not on my map, a date: 1993! So that would make my map almost 20 years old. This also means that they really should update the ancient map displayed to Lamma visitors in a very shabby, rusted, discoloured case at the ferry pier!

Jul 30:  Who Delivers to Your Home?

Selina & Becky outside Sha Po's Red House - Coffee Run Megan's bike delivery.

Today, let's shine a spotlight (or my camera flash) onto some of Lamma's large number of small entrepreneurs and startups serving our community in various ways. Let's give them a spot of all-free publicity to attract more customers to their new, fledgling business ventures. After all, Lamma.com.hk was just a small startup 10 years ago, but it has managed to (barely) survive and grow till today.

Today, let's highlight home deliveries! I've tried & tested these 3 services personally and can highly and warmly recommend them:

Selina & Becky Sunday newspaper delivery:
Any newspaper available at the Main Street shop or ferry pier. $100 for 6 weeks of Sunday Post. Email them or call/text 6979 7781.

Becky can also be spotted on Main Street occasionally, selling baked goods on Sat with her friend Emma. I took their photo the day before after buying from them, not knowing yet that I'd meet Becky again the next day delivering my newspapers. Sorry, no home delivery of baked goods yet. Maybe soon?

Coffee Run: Freshly roasted coffee beans or ground to your specifications, bike-delivered by ultrafit Personal Trainer Megan. She's the best advert for her coffee: hyperactive, fast-talking and quick-witted whenever you meet her!

My personal favourite so far from the varieties I've tried: Sumatra ground for French Press, fuelling the Lamma-zine at the rate of 1/2 pound per week! Facebook page, email, call/text Megan at 5331 2886 or tweet her @lammacoffeedeli.

Ryan's Y2O Yogurt: Homemade in Hung Shing Yeh. Call or text 6574 2549 for home made yogurt.

Who else delivers in North Lamma? No pizza or cooked food deliveries, as far as I know?

Jul 29:  Sunday Morning at 6am

There are surprisingly few Lamma bloggers out there in the HK Blogosphere, and just a few of them blog about Lamma occasionally. I love to feature them to attract some additional readers to their musings and photos, so if you know of a new (or old) one, let me know, please.

Kenixfan, a Lamma Newbie (less than 1 year of living here) has been featured before, even as a Lamma Website of the Day, with his "A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed" blog. Covering mostly music-related topics, it publishes the occasional Lamma-related gem of a story or photo shoot, for example his Dinner at Lamma Grill review. Another case in point, a pictorial gallery without any words, because no words are needed:

Lamma Island On A Sunday Morning At 6 AM

Just a few hours later, all these the featured locations around Yung Shue Wan would look so completely and utterly different, swarming with local and Mainland visitors, plus a sprinkling of miscellaneous other nationalities. Anybody would like to do a photo gallery of the day-tripping, sometimes maddening weekend crowds?

Jul 28:  Verdant Gems & Frog Choirs

Chief Executive of The Conservancy Association, Mr. Ken So (left) and Public Affairs Manager (Corporate Communication) of HK Electric, Ms. Catherine Sing (right), announce the details of the on-line voting campaign, pictured with eco-leaders and their individual favourite spots.  (all text, photos & captions by CA & HK Electric)

The Lamma-zine has been invited by HK Electric and The Conservancy Assoc. to a media briefing re: the latest news from the Green Hong Kong Green campaign, an extension of the still-active Green Lamma Green campaign. They're developing 5 new eco-routes (3 on HK Island, 2 on Lamma), adding soon to the existing 3 Lamma eco-routes launched a few years ago (see Eco-Tour Map, linked from this website's extensive Tourist Info section, see left column).

Introducing My Favourite Top 8 Eco-Heritage Spots in Hong Kong, the online voting campaign will take place Aug 1-31, 2012. Choose 8 out of 24 eco-heritage spots as your favourite at www.ghkg.hk/vote, or on Facebook, and you could win one of numerous cash coupons for hiking gears. The 5 new eco-tours will be launched on Oct 14, 2012.

Dated back to 1932, Mo Tat Village School is the only village school relics left on Lamma Island. [Editor: not counting the Lo So Shing village school relics, abandoned just a few years ago] -- The frogs choir is one of the most interesting spots found on the only night safari route on Lamma Island.

The 2 new future eco-routes on North and South Lamma

I sent my summer intern Chili_Bean_ Sauce to this Chinese-only media briefing, to take a few pictures (see right) and ask a number of questions:

Are the current Lamma eco- routes identical to these 3 old ones? Any new ones?

2 new ones, Lamma Eco-heritage Route 4 & 5, northern & southern Lamma, respectively.

Any details of their new Sok Kwu Wan night tour? Could we go along with that tour together sometime soon?

The night tour will be available next year April, since the tour is only open from Apr-Oct, and the all-new routes will be open late Oct.

How to become one of the 150 volunteer eco- tour leader, leading their regular Chin. or English tours?

No English-language tours yet, sorry. Currently they are not looking into training new tour guides, since it takes around a whole year to train one. But they'll mostly recruit more people when more routes open in the near future.

As they're still busy in planning the tours of the new routes, they'll keep us informed of their progress later.

Another concern is if the tours will affect Lamma Island's eco-system and peace?

The tours only happen once a month on Sundays, and every tour only consists of 20 people with 2 guides (1:10 ratio); Officials are also open to suggestions and questions concerning the tours' effects. Night tours would be safely administered, and night gear equipment will be provided (for example red-filtered flashlights).

Spot the 8 'Verdant Gems' and be a Winner
(HK Electric media release, 26 Jul 2012)

The Standard: Blazing trails with new eco routes

Forum: Lamma Night Safaris?

Jul 27:  Fifty Shades of Grey on Lamma

Nick the Bookman - Official Court Music Reviewer: (Concert review by ntb, edited by L-G):

The Stone Roses in HK - 24/7/2012 ("Sometimes I fantasise..." - The Stone Roses) I'm sure you've all heard of this three-volume bawdy, brutal bonkbuster called Fifty Shades of Grey. All about a billionaire and his submissive mistress and the fun they get up to. It seems that something similar has been taking place on Lamma recently. Sexcapades and shenanigans, partly impinging on my life. So I thought, I'd use the above quote for a chance to try something fictional. See if I have any flair for writing in a fictive manner. Dip my wick in this smutty cesspool, so to speak. The first fateful face to face of our appalling antagonists, AKA The Cocky Cuckolder and The Toxic Trollop, might have gone something like this... He: "You have a grizzled fading beauty and lips that look like you could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. Who are you and why this torrent of tears?" She: (buckets of boo hoo hoo) "You are too kind, you silver-tongued devil. In truth, I am an addled drug slut whose venal excesses and willful misbehaviours have left me homeless and alone. I now depend on the kindness of strangers for succour and sustenance". (squalls of sobs). Read more... What do you think? I'm thinking that I prefer to stay in my chosen métier of mostly music-based ranting and raving reviews. And so, with one final sexual segue, it's on to the Stone Roses Live in Hong Kong 24/7/2012. Have you heard what the hurricane said to the palm tree? Hang on to your nuts, boy. This ain't no ordinary blowjob. The hurricane, or more correctly, Typhoon Vicente, was threatening a major case of concertus interruptus when it blew past, by and over Hong Kong some 24 hours before the Stone Roses were due to take the stage at the AsiaWorld Arena. I think there were about 100 Lamma residents with tickets and everyone was panicking. Some wise old-timers were convinced that there was no sweat. Everything would blow over in by lunchtime of the 24th and it would be business as usual. Anyway, signals 8, 9 and 10 were raised - the last one for the first time in the 21st Century. Lots of trees, branches and leaves all over Lamma. More serious damage in town with thousands of people stranded overnight in remote, but protected areas. The recent Beijing floods caused more damage and a higher death toll. At least 37 compared to none(?) here. Read the concert review...

Jul 26:  T10: The Great Lamma Tree Massacre

Photos from T10-strength Typhoon Vicente's aftermath, killing hundreds of trees all over Lamma, part 1.

Constantly looking for local correspondents from the various and diverse neighbourhoods all over Lamma, let's hear from our brand-new Official Court Correspondent for Lo So Shing, Adam (text & photos):

Adam writes: "We got slammed hard on this side of the island. Locals say worst in over ten years. Several windows smashed, trees tossed.

We spent the morning sawing away trees that crushed several roofs and blocked paths. Most to the fishing village washed up on shore, so around 730am Dog Beach (the one facing the Sok Kwu Wan seafood restaurants) turned into a free for all, a little like a flea market.

I actually missed the last boat back to Sok Kwu Wan (I didn't realize it was a T8) and ended up taking the other ferry to North Lamma. This was a total rookie mistake. I should have stayed in The Island Bar for a few drinks, but ended up making the trek home over the mountain. It seemed a lot longer than I remember (and darker). Although, I met all sorts of people along the way, sort of like a traveling circus. Very strange....

... and I am starting up the island's first Aquaponics system on my rooftop... I will send some photos as it comes together... haha."

A LOT more T10 aftermath photos are on Facebook, being flooded with photos mere hours afterwards, but surprisingly not a single photo taken DURING the typhoon! Click only if you're Friends with any of these Lammaites:

Nicole Budinski's 177-photos album - Deb Lindsay's Rooftop Carnage - Gareth Dunster's Typhoonery - Jamie Wilde Wading in the Deep - Simon Kay hearing chainsaws - and more Typhooniness from Julie Hannaford....

Jul 25:  Lamma: A Haven to Heal

Thomas in Limbo - Lamma visitor: (Photos by Thomas, edited by L-G):

Many Lammaites choose to live away from the city to be in a peaceful environment surrounded by nature. They have grown weary of the temptations and distractions of city life. By distancing themselves on this remote island where time is rumored to pass slower they get more hours for inner reflection and what they deem to be more important in life. Unknown to most Lammaites, they share their little haven with a group of 25 young ladies that are trying to shake off their drug addiction. The all-female drug rehabilitation centre is run by a Christian organization Barnabas Charitable Service Association and has been on Lamma Island since 1990. Despite its long history, few Lammaites know of its presence as the centre keeps a very low profile. Effort is made to keep the residents of the centre away from negative influence from the old days and drug dealers. Drug rehabilitation centres often face difficulty in finding a suitable location due to the Not-In-My-Backyard mentality of some locals. It was only a few years back when Mui Wo residents fiercely opposed the relocation of Christian Zheng Shen College, a school for drug addict youths, into their neighbourhood. As such, Lamma-zine will not disclose the location of the centre. Lamma-zine was introduced to the in-house pastor Cora who was very kind to arrange a visit on a Saturday morning. After meeting Cora at an easy landmark in Lamma, the reporter walked with her to the entrance of the centre – a high metal gate without any signs. They walked into the ladies sitting around a few tables outdoor having their breakfast. There were curious looks and questions to Cora about the male visitor followed by cheerful greetings. The small centre is in the middle of lush vegetation close to the coast. There are two standard three-storey village houses sitting side-by-side with an unblocked sea view that most Lammaites can only dream of. These houses contain the three bedrooms, staff office, assembly area, and music room. In front of them at a lower terrace is a basketball court while on the side is a small garden with some sunflowers and vegetables. The entire premises are surrounded by high fences that cut contact with the outside world. The centre houses only female drug abusers and most of them are below the age of 25. There was even a girl as young as thirteen some time back. All residents go through a nine-month rehabilitation program during which they adhere to a strict timetable daily. They wake up at 7am for a full day of exercising, cooking, bible studies, vocational studies, and cleaning. This is a sharp contrast to their previous lives where things begin to happen only from 7pm. Sundays are slightly more relaxed, waking at 7:45am with the afternoon free time typically used to complete homework for vocational studies. The residents do not get access to the internet and mobile phones. Any substance that can be used to satisfy a craving is also banned or locked up - alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, menthol/mint, cough syrup, etc. Cora recounted an incident where a cigarette substitute was created with a straw and menthol. As an attempt for the reporter to understand the extent of the urge, Cora pointed to a passing ship far out in the sea and said that a resident once told her that she will swim to that ship if she is aware that the ship is carrying drugs. At that point in time, the reporter almost blurted out that there are Lammaites who have swam even further, to Cheung Chau, for no particular reason! The centre is run by a team of female wardens that the residents tend to grow very close to. There are two wardens who live onsite at any one time. Stepping into the centre from their pampered city lives, the residents rely on the wardens to teach them the daily chores of cooking and washing. The wardens even act as alarm clocks; it is no easy feat to wake someone up at 7am when that person is used to waking up only in the afternoon! The wardens and residents eventually become family to one another. It is hard not to after spending day and night with the same people in the same place for many months. In the evenings, when they are not too exhausted from a full day's work, they gather on the rooftop singing to the guitar and watching the fireworks at Disneyland. After completing the nine-month stay, a resident will be transferred to the halfway house at Ma On Shan for a three-month stay. This halfway house is also run by Barnabas. The three months will be a huge challenge for the residents as they slowly integrate back into society and are no longer protected by the high walls of the centre at Lamma Island. Their old friends, ex-boyfriends, relationship issues of the past, and access to drugs will all present themselves again. Only those with determination of steel will make it. In fact, Cora remarked sadly, around 40% of the ladies who complete the one-year program will take up drug abuse again. Lamma Island is a magical place that has helped many people exorcise their inner demons, big or small, over the years. We wish the ladies, Cora, and Barnabas the best in their journey. Special Thanks: Lamma-zine was fortunate to get the scoop on the centre through a friend at Bonham Strand (http://bonhamstrand.hk/social-enterprise-custom-suits), a startup that tries to restore the legacy of Hong Kong's fine art of tailoring and suit-making. Bonham Strand strives to employ individuals from at-risk and marginalized communities. As part of their recruitment outreach, the Bonham Strand team spent a day at the centre teaching the ladies to handmake ties as gifts for Father's Day. This activity on the most basic level provides something that these ladies can use to help them through rehabilitation with it purpose, structure, repetition and lessons in some basic life skills. On a more advanced level it provides a project that gives them an opportunity to consider a dignified career in tailoring after their rehabilitation program is complete.

I've been announcing to do a bungy jump from the Macau Tower today to celebrate the 10th anniversary. But they've almost doubled the price of the bungy jump package in the last few years since my SkyJump to HK$3,188! So I cancelled it a few weeks ago and I'll put this saved cash to better use for a free public party:

10^th birthday party of Lamma.com.hk - The Island Bar - Fri Sep 7, 6pm
1-2 free drinks per person, plus snacks buffet, everybody welcome.

By Sep 7, most Lammaites might have returned from their current long summer breaks and travels all over the world. The  Macau Tower bungy jump co. just informed me that they're cancelling all jumps today anyway, due to the approaching typhoon. So we might have a Typhoon Party instead tonight?

Is this 10^th birthday a reason to celebrate? If yes, why? Please let me know!

P.S. To celebrate our 10^th birthday perhaps, a T10 typhoon signal was hoisted just a few minutes after midnight tonight....

T-shirt I found and bought recently in the Lo So Shop  (click to enlarge)

My Lamma-zine Summer Intern did some online research. He found out that this illustration has been scanned from a fold-out map in the "Today's Lamma" visitor's guide, by Ng Bah Ling, published in 1965! It shows how much (and how little) Lamma has changed in the last 47 years. A few major highlights discovered on this fascinating map above:

• The YSW-Central ferry running only 5 times per day!

• A ferry route YSW to SKW, 5 times daily, plus a regular connection from Luk Chau to Aberdeen.

• No Power Station, obviously, but a Cheung Po-tsai pirate cave with bats. I've heard stories that Lammadonna, Chow Yun-fat and his siblings were exploring this cave back in their school days.

• No Family Trail, just a dirt path connecting Hung Shing Yeh and SKW.

• No path over Ling Kok Shan, unlike all the concrete steps now; no path from SKW to Mo Tat Wan either.

• A coastal dirt path running from Lo So Shing around the South of the island all the way to Tung O Wan, plus many more abandoned paths.

• A second Turtle Beach close to Lo So Shing beach.

• No Lamma Quarry, showing that a lot of land has been reclaimed in that area, most of the flat land in the Quarry, including the entire lake.

• A secret cave where gold was rumoured to be hidden from World War II, close to the future SKW Sewage Treatment Plant.

Have a closer look at the map and the book!

Jul 21:  Discovery Bay Ferry Visiting YSW

Several people coming off the 6:40pm ferry from Central yesterday, Fri July 20, alerted me on Main Street that a Discovery Bay ferry was anchored at the YSW Waste Transfer Station, just in front of the helipad! A first for Lamma, I think?
I quickly snapped a photo and this "Discovery Bay 5" ferry was actually empty.

My friends and I had absolutely no idea of what it was doing here and if it's still here now, the next morning? Does anybody know more? I could probably go and find out the facts, or we could just speculate, making up wild and silly stories?

Yes, let's speculate! It's the Lamma way, a highly popular local pastime and way more fun than the probably trivial and/or boring facts of this matter:

1. Is it a silent invasion from DBay, preparing a takeover of our island to turn it into another DBay lookalike? Lamma Invading Disco Bay has been rumoured since 2003, so maybe this is a revenge reverse takeover?
2. A test run for Discovery Bay ferry's future running of the YSW-Central route and jacking up the fares to heights similar to the Central-DBay route?
3. Are DBay ferries now being used to collect our waste from the Waste Transfer Station, maybe the record 1+ tonnes of glass now being collected for recycling here every Fri and Sat afternoon?
4. Emulating HKKF's highly popular daily night cruises for Mainlanders from Central to Sok Kwu Wan, maybe this is a night tour for DBay residents to check out YSW's old and new (Lamma Grill, Andy's Seafood) restaurants? Maybe they are getting tired of all the vastly overpriced, but often mediocre fare offered in many of DBay Plaza's D Deck restaurants?
5. Let us know YOUR speculations!

Jul 19:  Cockroaches in a Melting Pot

Emily - Renowned English-Language Author - aka The Ice Cream Lady: (Photos by Lamma-Gung):

On the cover of the leaflet promoting the Hong Kong Book Fair, it reads, "Meet Renowned English-language Authors". I was stunned when I saw the word "renowned". Although I know the meaning of the word, I still needed to look it up in the Oxford dictionary to make sure that there was no printing error or misunderstanding. Here it is: "adjective: known or talked about by many people; famous". Well, maybe I have been talked about by some people on Lamma, either in a good or a bad way, but famous? Definitely not. In Hong Kong, you are not famous unless you are rich. On the tiny island where I have lived for over 12 years few people know of the existence of their neighbour who goes grocery shopping on the Main Street in her flip-flops and complains about the high price of food these days. So when the gentle-speaking moderator of Oxford University Press, Mr. John Thompson, introduced me to the nearly 100 members of the audience at the forum that was held on July 19, saying that I had won my "local celebrity status" as an ice-cream lady, I nearly passed out. However, even "an ugly bride eventually needs to come forward to meet her future father-in-law", so I pretended to look confident and comfortable as much as possible while on the stage. The theme of the forum was "Narrating Hong Kong – What Does One Know about Hong Kong by Reading Its Stories?" True, Hong Kong is a city well-known around the world, especially for its success in finance and real estate development. But, other than that, most foreigners know very little, at least from literature. By comparison, foreigners appear to have a more comprehensive understanding of Mainland China because of the many books about the Mainland, especially on subjects such as the Cultural Revolution (1967-76) and the Tiananmen Square Crackdown (1989). Much of what foreigners know about Hong Kong is based on tourist guide-books or colourful postcards with images of The Peak, Stanley Market, Victoria Harbour, Lan Kwai Fong, and so on. Only a relatively small number of books have been published in English using Hong Kong as the background, notably "Gweilo" (2004) by Martin Booth, which is my favourite, and "The World of Suzie Wong" (1957) by Richard Mason. However, those were about the "good old days" in the 1950s, more than half a century in the past. In fact, Hong Kong has undergone many changes during the so-called "post-handover" era, during which it has won its special identity in the world, politically and culturally. Since the foundation of the colony of Hong Kong just over 170 years ago, Hong Kong people have worked very hard to survive, thrive and to succeed. They are incredible survivors. As I said at the forum, Hong Kong people are like "cockroaches" because they are able to survive under very harsh conditions. So "never say die" is, in fact, what we call the "Hong Kong Spirit". I can easily prove it: when I was a child I smashed numerous cockroaches, but they still survive in my place today! Hong Kong is undoubtedly a colourful city – chaotic, noisy, busy and fast-paced, interwoven with identity struggles. People still converse in Cantonese, regardless of the fact that the city was once ruled by the British, who spoke English, and is now back in the arms of the motherland where Putonghua is the national language. However, it is still quite difficult to have a good understanding of the city and its people without knowing the Chinese language and the ability to speak in Cantonese. Like New York city, Hong Kong is a "melting pot" – although less than 5% of the population are non-Chinese. What I normally observe in the city is that the locals and the non-Chinese "melt" separately, unlike on the island where I am living. There, people of more than 60 different races (source: www.Lamma.com.hk) are really "melting" together (and not just because of the summer heat). Lamma Island truly is the "melting pot inside the melting pot". As a writer who was born and raised locally, I feel I have a mission to record the collective memories and the outlook of the people here in my trilogy – "Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady" – of which the first part has been recently published by Proverse Hong Kong, with two further parts hopefully being released in less than two years' time. The "Memoirs" are in English so that international readers will be able to obtain a glimpse inside the world of the "cockroaches in a melting pot"! Disclaimer: I am not personally responsible for any discomfort caused to people who suffer from "cockroach phobia"!

Jul 18:  Interviewed by Ming Pao Reporters

Chili_Bean_Sauce - Lamma-zine Intern & Junior Lammaite (photo by L-G):

Comments on being interviewed by Ming Pao Lots of people come to Lamma Island; we know that, don't we? Tourists, friends, relatives, friend's friends, friend's relatives, relative's friends, and relative's relatives. OK, yes, the last one was rather odd, but you get my point, I hope. Yesterday I've had a rather interesting experience, since 3 young reporters from Ming Pao came over to Lamma Island to do an interview with Lamma.com.hk Webmaster, Lamma-Gung. I tagged along, not only with the mindset of doing interpretation, translation or whatsoever, but also a vow to my American friends, that wherever there are attractive young girls around, I'll (most likely) be there. The interview was aimed at students in Hong Kong, an extension of the usual Ming Pao news they order in middle school, students doing a wide overview of Hong Kong and her main attractions. Lamma-Gung will post the article once it's out in Sep the earliest. Being a reporter and programmer for most of my grown-up life, I'm usually the one doing the interviews, asking questions, etc; but being interviewed was a first for me, not counting the time on June 4th this year, when I was interviewed on NOW TV news, which I believe was a total wreck. I was split between two opposite directions when I was being asked questions about Lamma Island, either play the sugar-coating card, or play the honesty & truth card. I played the honesty & truth card. Please do keep in mind that I like Lamma Island's uniqueness, and I mean that I hope things stay the same and no big, huge changes will happen. After the interview (and lunch), we decided to walk around Yung Shue Wan to let the reporters know a little more about our community and neighbourhood, introducing them to places and people. I forgot to mention, one reporter had never been to Lamma Island, one has been here once and the final one has been visiting Lamma a lot, but all of them grew up in Hong Kong. In general, it was an interesting experience, I had fun, and I hope they had as much fun as I did as well. P.S.: Dear Ming Pao reporters, if you're reading this and you would like any clarification, additional notes or simply want to hang out, I'm reachable either through email (randy@netvigamer.net) or phone (you've got my number).

Jul 9:  Northern Lamma Primary School Graduation

Click for photo gallery by Lamma-Gung & Randy

Jul 6:  Share Lamma and Win a Room @ Concerto Inn!

Concerto Inn Hotel at Hung Shing Yeh beach - a Lamma-zine advertiser - is rolling out their many enticing summer special offers:

Summer Spectacular, wedding packages, Fun Fun Kids Party, afternoon tea sets, Happy Hour, Dinner packages: Candle Light, Seafood BBQ, Seafood Hot Pot, etc. Click on posters below for details and their extensive list of Summer Specials & Packages.

You can also check it out on their fun & up-to-date website and their very active Facebook page, or in this Chin. feature story/video from Apple Daily, or in June's Cosmopolitan Bride HK.

But my top favourite among their many promotions is this very creative one:

"Share Lamma and Win a Room

Share your Concerto Inn or Lamma experience and win a free room!

Share your stories happened at Concerto Inn Hotel, Palm Tree Cafe, or Lamma Island! We will select ONE winner end of each month and winner can win One Night Complimentary Room!".  A few entries and winners (Facebook links):

Jul 5:  Sean's Pan-whoa-ramas

Photos by Sean Creamer - Facebook, Flickr - click to enlarge.

Jul 4:  Lamma Grill Opening

18E Tai Yuen Village - Back Street - Yung Shue Wan - Lamma Island, Hong Kong.

For more information and photos, please contact Caroline or James:
T: 2982 1447 / 6625 1972
Email - Facebook.

Lamma Grill is opening today, July 4, 2012, with a lion dance and suckling pig.
The very first day of serving customers - from 11am- 11pm, 7 days/week - will be tomorrow, July 5.

They've already issued an official media release, by Glen, a first for a new restaurant in YSW, I think:

"Lamma Grill Opens in Yung Shue Wan

Contemporary takeaway raises the stakes when it comes to food choices on idyllic outlying island

(JULY 4, 2012) Lamma Island's newest eatery is a takeaway that delivers a dash of the extraordinary, as well as soft ice cream served in a cup or cone. Lamma Grill Directors Caroline Collins and James Glatzmayer officially opened the doors in early July to the delight of the island's residents and visitors.

"The Lamma food scene has a lot of places serving meat on a stick to attract the visitors, but not the people who live here and love food", says Sonya Yeung, a Lamma resident for 15 years. "Having a new restaurant open up is great, especially one that strives to provide high-quality food like you'll find in the city. This is even better, actually."

Read more ...

(Photo above by Simon Kay, rest. photo & SMS screen shot
("The Verdict of the Critics!") by Dina B Knight,
plus more photos below by Lamma-Gung, click to read their temp menu.)

Jul 3:  Vote for Lamma's Basketball MVP

Vote for your favourite to become Most Valuable Player by noon, July 11.

There are quite a few other famous-on-Lamma players in our Basketball League so far: the leaders so far in scoring (Makha Diop), rebounds (Kerwin Yu & Anton Marsh), blocks (Anton Marsh), assists (Kerwin Yu) and steals (Alvin Diego):

Basketball League Tournament forum

Video of Aqua Sharks vs White Stallions, July 8, 2012, Q1

Season final games on Sun, July 15, Basketball Court, YSW!

Jul 2:  Shark Off Lamma

Triggered by an SCMP story today - "Family tells of terror after shark shuts down beaches" - a discussion erupted in our forum - Shark Off Lamma - including beach visitors, kayakers, surf-skiers and hikers all out during and after these shark sightings yesterday, taking advantage of an absolutely glorious, clear, not-too-hot summer day.

I've shot some photos myself of the area, Hung Shing Yeh beach and beyond, 3:30pm, while hiking the Family Trail on my way to shoot the Sok Kwu Wan Dragonboat races, snapping a few random throw-away shots on the way. It pays off to have a good camera always accompany you everywhere you go.

I wasn't even aware of the shark sightings at the time, but was only surprised about the large number of pleasure boats just off the beaches. Looking at the photos in more detail, there's a police launch going from boat to boat, probably warning them of the recent sharks sightings. It didn't seem to bother the pleasure boaters too much, see below:

P.S. A great subtitled video of the encounter with the whale shark just off Turtle Beach has just been posted on YouTube: Shark in Hong Kong - July 1st, 2012.

Jul 1 - 15th SAR Day:  Gloomy About Future of Lamma?

400,000 (60,000 according to police) demonstrators on HK's streets today, airing various grievances and demands, voicing their hopes and dreams for the new HK administration of HK CEO C.Y. Leung, taking office today. Read all about it ... in other medias, as the Lamma-zine is tightly focused on Lamma- or Lammaite- related content, as the one and only media of any kind devoted wholly to Lamma Island matters only. It's a big enough, but manageable area to cover as a one- man full-time band, plus a fantastic army of content contributors and volunteers.

But many Lammaites joined the protest march yesterday, so let's hear from some of them, please! First one up to the task, Lammaite Knacky Chops, take a bow! We got talking for like 1.5 hours on and off the ferry back from Central today, about him participating proudly in the march, his impressions, worries and hopes for the future of our home: Lamma, Hong Kong.

He sent me this email afterwards, permitting it to be published. Kudos for that courage. More, more!

Email from Knacky Chops about yesterday's demonstration relevance to Lamma:

"I was really impressed by your knowledge of Lamma after speaking to you last night. I also felt a bit gloomy about the future of Lamma. The rising rents, unnecessary engineering projects. Also the picture of tribalism, nepotism and entrenched privilege. e.g. only indigenous, well- connected types can get licenses to drive village vehicles.

So I'm glad I went on a demonstration yesterday! You can see the photos which I took here: July 1, 2012 Demonstration."

Plus a few words from Chili_Bean_Sauce attending the same rally:

"Unlike my previous articles, where my involvement is highly just for social interaction and human observing, 7.1's rally is different since this is one of those events where I know I'm involved (deeply) since I've lived in Hong Kong (for a while).

I went to the 7.1 Rally with 2 of my friends, both first timers. It was my 2nd time this year (was with my father last year). I don't know whether it was due to the fact I was rather near the end of the line, there seemed to be more people than my previous rally.

The rally in general was like any other rally, expressing one's idea in a large group with a bunch of people side by side while government officials choose to ignore and hope for the best. there was also a lot more "selling" involved in this rally from minor groups (custom t-shirts, towels, stuff easily made honestly), apparently people already found a business way of using the rally.

Crowd control from the police was rather typical also, doing their best to control huge, uncontrollable crowds, making people feel uncomfortable under the blazing sun and hope they'll leave mid-way, reducing numbers (my rough guess is around 200,000, but again, who's ever sure?)

Interestingly, when I finally arrived to the new government office building, it was time for the 7.1 fireworks (8:00pm, wasn't interested).

P.S. by L-G:
Just for the record, I'm not personally gloomy about the future of Lamma myself. Many good people on all sides work hard on improving Lamma, they just don't agree what "improving Lamma" actually means, coming up with opposing solutions to actual and imagined problems. Occasionally, they might even have a civilised and well-reasoned discussion about the way forward (or become enemies ignoring each other for years or even decades).

It's fun and very rewarding for me to play the role of observer, photographer, reporter and archivist of local developments, events and people, feeding the community with news, facts, updates, photos, stats, any information, anything to hopefully feed and support a friendly neighbourhood community that might disagree on many issues, but lives together on the same small island in relative peace and harmony.

After about 3,000 Lamma-zine stories published in the last ten years (anniversary party coming up!), I still haven't run out of ideas and new materials, actually having a backlog of at least 100 non-urgent story ideas. You're most welcome to grab me anytime and add some urgent, top-priority ones!  ;-)

The Lamma-zine welcomes views from all people passionate about Lamma (in a positive or negative way) and will always try hard to remain a community platform for dissenting opinions, happy to publish views that I might personally agree with, or not at all (Remember the notorious "Why I hate Lamma!" stories?) Lammaites are usually a highly intelligent and savvy bunch, able to make up their own opinions, no need for any media to tell them what to think.