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Jul 31 - Dr John
Wedderburn: Open Letter to Ms Yu Lai Fan, Islands
District Councillor -
in English and Chinese.
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Jul 30 -
Ferocious strongman,
proud PhD scholar and cheerful beer keg delivery man,...
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Jul 26 - 1st person
perspective of the Young Dragons team racing in DbAY,
GoPro-ed by the drummer!
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Jul 25 -
Did you realise that 3
new restaurants have (re)opened in YSW in the last few
weeks and 3+ have had major changes?
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Jul 24 - Same, same,
another happy, healthy, semi-retired Lammaite; still
doing small moves (2982 0525),...
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Jul 23 - 12 Years of
Lamma.com.hk!
News, Events, Stories,
Forum, Pictures, Classifieds...
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Jul 22 - "Try
Outrigger Canoeing on Lamma. Recruitment Day Saturday
9th August, 103pm."
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Jul 21 - Yama Girls
Go Hiking
(TVB travel programme)
- TVB J2 HD channel, Fri, July 18,
in Chin.
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Jul 18 - "Lamma
Sprints July 1st:
Power Station beach saw the first ever Lamma Outrigger
Canoe Club Sprints Race."
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Jul 17 - To find out
more details, click above (topic #15,054 in our 12-year
old forum)
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Jul 16 - This is a
photo of Lamma-Por's ferry on her way to the office, 8am
ferry YSW-Central on July 11, passing Pak Kok.
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Jul 15 - The hardest
part is getting up at 5:30am; sunrises are occasionally
more amazing and colourful than sunsets.
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Jul 14 - "James, my
son (the naughty one), won our sweepstake!"
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Jul 13 - Check out
Lamma Gung on Facebook for more (almost) daily news &
pictures!
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Jul 12 - Send me YOUR
best Lamma-related photos, videos, websites, wildlife,
artworks to be featured on home page/Facebook.
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Jul 11 - This is one of
the best reasons I've got so far, from ex-Lammaite
Hunter who lived on an ancient, traditional Chinese junk...
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Jul 10 - The ongoing
Bike Park construction works at the YSW Ferry Pier have
become an involuntary "tourist attraction".
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Jul 9 - "Most humans
live for today and dream for tomorrow, but... cherished
yesterday?"
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Jul 6 - Sorry, I just
can't stop taking pictures of sunrises these days!
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Jul 5 - LegCo Panel on
Development - Special meeting on Mon, 7 July 2014, at
2:30 pm...
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Jul 2 - "Lamma Gung
added 5 photos to the album Lamma Highlights of the
Week.
5 minutes ago"
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Jul 1 - Finally, I got
around to design and print a new promotional poster; a
simple one this time, all sunrise photos:.
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Dr John Wedderburn: Open Letter to Ms Yu Lai Fan,
Islands District Councillor - in English and Chinese.
Ferocious strongman, proud PhD scholar and
cheerful beer keg delivery man, he's a real renaissance man, and he's got the
looks (and locks) to pull off all these super-tough jobs.
Another multi-talented and *real* Lammaite!
Warm congrats to Dr. Justin Gregory, who
just received his PhD (they call it DPhil) from Oxford University! In something
called Cognitive Anthropology. But I could be
wrong as I might have misheard him over our long lunch where he
tried his very best to get me to join the expanding
Bear Camp up on Cable Road. Can we expect some
cognitive-anthropological insights into our unique Lamma
community from him soon, I hope? Google it, a most fascinating
research topic!
This is actually the very first picture of
Justin the Bear on this website where he's actually wearing
a shirt! Photos by Peng Pan, a fellow Bear Camper, and
Kathryn Carpenter of Oxford Brookes University.
Justin is also known locally, colloquially
and ironically simply as Buff Jesus; ever since he became a
major target of friendly ridicule by several stand-up comedians at a
Prime Comedy Night. If you call after him on Main Street,
"Hey, Jesus!", he'll actually react to it and turn around. I
tried and succeeded.
One more Lammaite with a PhD. There's quite a
surprisingly high number of them living here. Should we open up
a PhD Club, or at least a LamMensa chapter?
1st person perspective of the Young Lamma Dragons team racing in DbAY, GoPro-ed by
the drummer,
Claudia McGregor Tarr, thanks!
She's swinging a really big stick in this video and sounds like a tough
taskmaster.
I got vertigo and a bit sea-sick just by watching this fish-eyed video.
Lamma Video of the Week next week! Send me YOUR Lamma-related
videos!
The Official Court Glutton is back, finally! He's just submitted his
first new review, hopefully the first of many more to be published here:
 "I
have again been frustrated, annoyed and hugely disappointed by
the restaurants on Lamma. Last week, I got zapped for $40 HKD
for a single pot of Chinese tea. I have been going to this
particular restaurant since 1996, so I cannot be confused with a
weekend tourist. Total bill was $198 HKD for soup, main dish and
tea. In my opinion, the perfect way to drive away a customer.
After serious thought and consideration as how to eat and
review in such a hostile environment, I decided that I would try
to focus on dishes at around the $100 HKD price point, with 10%
variance. This does not include beverage as some would choose a
coffee, soda or alcohol. By taking out the beverage, I can focus
on the meal itself.
 Fortunately,
fitting my criteria, is the Chicken Parmesan at Jing Jing,
on Main St. $78 HKD for chicken done in a cheesy marinara sauce
that comes with a salad. Salad itself was fresh and crunchy,
with a dressing that was not overwhelming. Chicken + cheese +
sauce combo worked out well. Chicken was properly cooked, not
greasy, nicely done. Sauce was not watery and the cheese quality
and quantity was about right. Pleasantly surprised and will
definitely return to test out their other items.
Pro: Good price. Air conditioning. Not cramped.
Con: Just a bit too small. Bump the price and add more
chicken.
Recommended: Yes."
P.S. Did you realise that 3
new restaurants have (re)opened in YSW in the last few weeks and at
least 3 have undergone major changes? Welcome and all the very
best to Lamma Chimneys, Lee Ocarina, and Lamma
Grill's reopening!
Bar & Restaurants News
(Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Cappellin,
Documentary filmmaker, 21st Century Odyssey,
1st asst. director,
HUMAN-the movie, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand)
For all you ex-Lammaites, who might have been wondering:
Same, same, another happy, healthy, semi-retired Lammaite; still doing
small moves (2982 0525), frequently sitting on "Nick's Corner" on YSW
Main Street, always available for a snapshot with passersby (Buy a book
first!), or a long chat about almost anything, from the news, sports, local
gossip, the Bush Reich to the very latest conspiracy theories.
Contact him via Gmail to say hi or send him a photo like these two,
or check out the little website I built for my friend:
Lamma.com.hk/nick.
(Photo courtesy of Sunsnow)
P.S. Aug 7, 2014: Yuri Malkov
in Moscow liked Nick's photo by Emmanuel Cappellin so much that he
created a digital artwork from it. Enjoy:
For a nostalgic look at Lamma a decade ago, check out the days of our
former, monthly e-newsletter:
The e-Magazine For Our Island Community.
 More
about the Lamma Outrigger Canoe Club:
Lamma-zine: Jan 6, 2013: Early Riser Lammaites
Sep 17, 2012: The Dolphin Quest
Dec 26, 2009: Santa Paddlers on Boxing Day
Nov 27, 2007: Lamma Outriggers @ Round HK Island Race
Yama Girls Go Hiking (TVB travel programme)
(North Point, Yung Shue Wan, Family Trail, Sok Kwu Wan)
TVB J2 HD channel, Fri, July 18, 2*10:30 minutes, in Chin. only)
feat. interviews w/Green Cottage Ron (6:00 min), Tofu Lady,
Mrs. (Pak Kok) Chan, SaRa (4:28, in Eng). 21 minutes of travel
program about Lamma, with some very impressive drone shots added
in.
 Besides Ron of Green Cottage, my next-door neighbour Sara has been
interviewed at the Pak Kok ferry pier. She lived on Lamma for only one month
and then moved off to HK Island with her sister. Her main reason for leaving
Pak Kok Village was the time-consuming and infrequent ferry schedule (almost
3-hour gaps each morning and afternoon; last Sunday/holidays ferry from YSW
at 8:35pm!). This is a very common Pak Kokian complaint that has prevented
most people from moving here and driven out quite a few residents over the
years.
Well, it's less than half an hour to walk or bike to Yung Shue Wan, over 2
steep hills, my main exercise these days. It usually takes me a lot longer
as there are just too many photo opportunities along the way, wild flowers &
fruits, spiders lurking in their webs just above your head, occasionally
close snake encounters, creepy crawlies of all sizes and colours, simply
beautiful...
TVB interviewed SaRa, who saw her first of 2 snakes on her very first
day in Pak Kok. No wonder it's such a popular
Lamma Snake Sightings location:
"A lot of butterflies,... and snakes... Snakes, it's OK, no problem,
because they're scared of you! ... The people are so nice here."
 
Telegenic SaRa being interviewed @ Pak Kok ferry pier ~ Coming home
 
Nice red/yellow poster on wall behind Ivy's YSW Main Street fruit shop!
Drone over YSW Harbour (Click to enlarge)
  Louise
Thomas writes:
"Lamma Sprints July 1st 2014
Power Station beach saw the first ever Lamma Outrigger Canoe Club Sprints
Race. Teams from all over HK entered the competition with over 150 paddlers
from clubs including Lamma, VRC, South Lantau Paddle Club, Lantau Boat Club
and the HK Outrigger Canoe Club. It was a marvelous day of racing both
sprint and medium distances and ended up with a lamb spit roast and
barbecue.
A very big thank you to everyone who contributed to the day, both
paddlers and non paddlers, especially those who helped with the beach
cleanup both before and after the event.
If you are interested in joining the team please come and have a go!
Email Gloria on
gloriachang129@yahoo.com."
Here are the results:
To find out more details, click above (topic #15,054 in our 12-year old
forum)
An old friend has just suggested that I like to show off being an early
riser with all my recent sunrise photos. Hmmm, maybe, perhaps,...
But I'm not really an early riser at all, only getting up at 5:30am if
Lamma-Por shakes me awake excitedly when noticing a rare, colourful sunrise
from our bed.
Usually, she lets me sleep till the late hour of... 6:30am, when she'll wake
me (with a smooch) to prepare breakfast for her, before her leaving to a
brand-new job. I've got my personal alarm clock, but she needs to be fed
well after waking me, otherwise she might get rusty, err, cranky.
Afterwards, I start work in my home office after 8am, much earlier than her
Central office.
 This
is a photo of Lamma-Por's ferry on her way to the office, 8am ferry YSW-Central on
July 11, passing Pak Kok. So fitting that she's at the end of a
rainbow. I found my "pot of gold" over a quarter of a century ago, moving to
HK for her.
Most of my sunrise and sunset photos are shot in automatic HDR or Panorama
modes on my Samsung Note II smart-phone. It lets me do most of my daily work,
even manage the forums, or update this site from anywhere with a 4G
connection, even on top of Mt. Stenhouse.
It's really not about the camera anymore these days. Even mobiles can shoot
acceptable photos, like a fast-growing number on this site. Experience,
experimenting, basic photography knowledge, being in the right spot at the
right moment and LOADS of patience are much more important to get good
shots than a fancy, expensive camera. I still have so much to learn...
Early morning rainbows are a good place to start during these amazingly
clear weeks. Look out for bright, early-morning sunshine right after a rain
shower, see my recent examples from different days:
  
 
P.S. on July 17, 6:01am:
Can I do one better? Yes! Sunrise AND rainbow in the same photo, a first for
me:
"Super Moon" over Pak Kok Village
All these photos have been shot with a Samsung Android mobile phone. I've
been sweeping the panoramas slowly by hand in "Panorama" mode on my rooftop.
Easy, even I can do it after a bit of practice. The hardest part is getting
up at 5:30am; sunrises are occasionally more amazing, colourful and lasting
longer than sunsets.
One more tip: Try shooting sunrises and sunsets in "HDR" mode, see above!
Being all Swiss, but a quarter German grandparents-wise, I'm pretty happy
this morning, at least a quarter happy! Some bars in Yung Shue Wan were very
busy this night, showing the Football Worldcup Final in Rio. The bars have
been preventing our surprisingly numerous German Lammaites and
their many friends from ever getting thirsty tonight!
But some of the REAL action
happened in our Village Houses, where families and friends got up to some
serious cheering... and gambling, of course:
Marcus writes: "James, my son (the naughty one) won our
sweepstake!
We sold all 32 teams at $100.
 Third place gets money back, runner up $500
and winner $2,600! Lucky James."
That should sort out his pocket money for the rest of the year... or maybe
just enough for his long summer school vacation full of village kid
activities?
P.S. Our German Lammaites are over the moon today, celebrating in
ways more imaginative than downing one of their excellent beers. This is the
most creative I've come across so far, a hairy flag on part-time Lammaite
&
former Official Court Artist of Lamma.com.hk, Herr Andy Maluche.
Check out
Lamma Gung on Facebook for more (almost) daily news & pictures!
Send me YOUR best Lamma-related photos, videos, websites, wildlife and
artworks, to be featured on the Lamma.com.hk home page and on Facebook,
with full credits and link, of course!
Every 2-4 weeks, the Lamma-zine e-newsletter goes out to almost 6,000
subscribers. Besides all the "Mailbox quota exceeded", just a few
people unsubscribe each time. I take them off my absolutely confidential
email list right away. But occasionally, somebody gives a good, valid reason
for unsubscribing.
This is one of the best reasons I've got so far, from ex-Lammaite Hunter
who lived in an ancient, traditional Chinese junk in Yung Shue Wan harbour
last century and has been featured quite a few times in the early days of
this 12-year-old site, mainly in relation to the historic "Hunter's" art
space in Kam Lo Hom and
Hunter's Beach (see below, courtesy of Bobsy; reclaimed now: waste
transfer station):
 "Hi;
Could you please unsubscribe us from your Lamma-zine as we are trying to
disconnect from this very addictive technology.
Mostly for my daughter's sake, with her little-screened companion, but I
also find myself being so drawn into so many important issues that I spend
more hours than I feel comfortable giving up while being bombarded with more
and more ads and propaganda.
Besides, the expense of access to the internet, like most everything else
in the EvilEmpireSA, is often more than we can afford. So we are cutting the
cable to our home and will try to just use the library's computers when we
get to town a few times a week.
Thus the necessity of unsubscribing to almost everything (over 150,
mostly issue sites that put up petitions and gave me the illusion of
democracy here). I'm sure I will still not have enough time for research and
email that's left. Best of luck to you all.
Love; Hunter & Willow"
 
 
The ongoing Bike Park construction works at the YSW Ferry Pier have become
an involuntary "tourist attraction", the first thing that the swarms of
visitors notice when coming off the ferry. So why do our authorities and/or the
construction company try to prohibit us from taking pictures with these
silly signs above?
The typical Lamma reaction to this is to take MORE pictures, or to make fun
of the signs, see above left. I've got quite a nice, growing album (plus
comments) of the construction progress:
"Cycle Parking Platform"
Today, another rare guest blog from the
Blog of Baroque. Everybody is most welcome to their opinions about
the Baroque on Lamma's controversial development plans for South Lamma. But
their little blog stories about South Lamma are generally well researched,
pretty informative and often interesting, I think. I'll pick the "best"
ones. Blog of Baroque writes (plus their photos):
"Most humans live for today and dream for tomorrow, but have we ever
cherished yesterday? As time goes by, the city is changing everyday while
lots of historical architectures and stories remain abandoned and forgotten
by modern society ironically.
Today, we are heading to Lamma Island to
explore some schools with historical values, where they are
collective memories of local residents. Sadly, the existence of
these schools has been slowly fading out of people's mind.
The upper part of
Mo Tat School is engulfed under the mantle of trees.
Northern Lamma Island
The earliest private schools began their operation soon
after 1912, one at Tai Peng Tsuen and the other at Lo So Shing.
48 students were enrolled in the former, and 17 in the latter.
An interesting fact to point out is that all students were boys!
In 1949, the first public school, the Northern Lamma School, was
opened; and at the same time, marked the close of private school
at Tai Peng Tsuen. The increasing number of students led to the
opening of new public schools at Tai Peng and Pak Kok in 1964.
Students from Mo Tat School had to get water
from the well every day in the past.
 Southern
Lamma Island
Mo Tat School was built in 1932. With inadequate resources
and facilities, students had to get water from a well everyday,
and the open space nearby was their only playground. Today, the
upper part of the building is engulfed under the mantle of the
tree and her name "Mo Tat School" can hardly be seen, which is
really disappointing and frustrating.
These historical schools nurtured children of
the last generation and obviously they do not worth being
forgotten by people. If conservation and revitalisation can of
historical architectures are implemented, we will be practicing
'cherish yesterday, live today, dream tomorrow', giving our next
generation a chance to explore Lamma Island and even Hong Kong
history."
More stories...
Want to become a Lamma-zine guest blogger?
Contact me!
Sorry, I just can't stop taking pictures of sunrises these days! It's only a
few weeks per year that we're getting such fantastically clear and pristine
weather. So I'm trying to make the most of it, even though I might become a
bit sleep-deprived, even grumpy after getting up at 5:30am quite frequently?
But it's definitely well worth it and this live show is all free! See below:
 
  
 
Self-portrait, taking a picture of my shadow! That's about the closest you
might get to finding a captioned picture of me on this website, not
just a cartoon. ;-)
OK, my work on this Sunday is done, time to get ready for a sunset BBQ on
one of these pictured rooftops above....
P.S. on the next day: Two sunset rooftop BBQ pictures:
LegCo Panel on Development - Special meeting on Mon, 7 July 2014, at 2:30 pm
in Conference Room 1 of the Legislative Council Complex
"Planning and Engineering Study on Future Land Use at the Ex-Lamma Quarry
Area at Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island - Feasibility Study: Stage 2 Community
Engagement and Draft Recommended Outline Development Plan"
The final, official decision to build a brand-new town for 5,000+ people in
the ex-Lamma Quarry in Sok Kwu Wan is getting closer, almost doubling
Lamma's population. Check out our long-running forum for more info and
background:
Ex-Lamma Quarry
Finally, I got around to design and print a new promotional poster; a simple
one this time, all sunrise photos:
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Lamma-zine
started in 2002, and will be updated (almost) daily with anything
vaguely related to Lamma Island or its residents, be it news,
stories, events, links, photos, artworks, videos, etc.
Contact Lamma-Gung with
anything relevant to Lamma or Lammaites that you'd like to see
published in the Lamma-zine, Events Calendar, Photo Galleries, Links
or in our Eng. and Chin. forums!
 All
text, photos & graphics by Lamma-Gung, if not otherwise
credited. Click on button on left for
Creative Commons license.
Twice a month, the Lamma-zine Blog will be promoted via an
email newsletter to all registered
subscribers and forum members.
Free subscription.
All former posts are stored in the
Blog Archives,
see below.
All materials and photos © 2014 Lamma-Gung.
Some rights reserved.
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