Alexander Grantham and the Northern Emperor

It was one of those rare days in Hong Kong; little smog or haze, blue sky and a force four breeze from the north that kept the temperature in the low 20s. We set out walking along the Eastern Promenade from Quarry Bay towards Tai Koo, a 30 minutes (very) gentle stroll.

 

The occasional jogger passed us, eyes fixed on the horizon, breathing heavily. Anglers were out in force and we paused to watch them. Their equipment was much lighter than I'm used to; slender 11-foot rods with fixed spool reels, mono-filament lines of only a few pounds breaking weight and a single tiny hook on a twelve inch snood below a round weight. Clearly they were after small fry. Indeed, we passed one angler with a plastic bag of small fish, none more than four inches in length – I'm assuming they were his catch and not his live-bait! Other anglers had simple hand lines but seemed no less successful at catching fish.

Former fireboat Alexander Grantham was housed in a small dry dock museum beside the Promenade. Built in 1952 she saw service for 43 years when she was 'one of the world's most advanced fireboats' according to the museum's description. Visitors could walk onboard and inspect most areas (except the crew's sleeping quarters and, sadly, the bridge). She undoubtedly made a huge contribution to Hong Kong, fighting fires at sea, in docks, on the waterfront where there were no fire hydrants, rescuing people from typhoons and floods etc.

Probably the two most famous incidents she was involved in were two fires that took place on successive years; the 1971 fire at the Jumbo floating restaurant (just before its official opening) that killed 34 workers; and the 1972 fire that destroyed the British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth in Victoria Harbour. The QE had recently been renamed Seawise University and was completing a major refit to equip her as a floating university before several mysterious fires broke out simultaneously and she was soon completely destroyed and capsized and sank in the harbour despite the fireboats' best efforts. 

The museum has a number of interesting displays of photographs, equipment, models, insignia etc as well as videos and is well worth a visit. During the hour that we spent there it was almost deserted, less than a handful of visitors; shame really, it should be better advertised.

In the afternoon we went to the Blue House, a 4-storey balcony-type tenement block pained blue colour, a Grade 1 listed building from the 1920s, one of nine Chinese-style pre-war buildings in Wan Chai that was recently preserved and renovated by the government. Unfortunately, little of it was open to the public – and the little that was open was not open today!

Not to waste the opportunity we walked on 100 yards and visited the Pak Tai Temple, also Grade 1 listed, the largest temple on Hong Kong Island, just over 150 years old, and with two large and impressive ficus (Chinese banyan) trees outside.

Pak Tai or the Northern (or Dark) Emperor was supposedly a prince of the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago who successfully commanded 12 heavenly legions against the Demon King. Even though the Demon King enlisted a large tortoise and a huge snake to help him, they proved no match for Pak Tai (and images of him often show him crushing a tortoise and a snake under his feet). He is still worshipped by people for his power, courage and devotion and is believed to be able to avert disasters and fight evil.

Inside, there are three halls and two of them have large images of the main deity, Pak Tai, the main hall also has giant size effigies of four of Pak Tai's soldiers, ready to do battle.

Although Pak Tai is a Taoist deity and most of the images are Taoist, Hong Kongers are not averse to a 'pick and mix' approach to their religious observances and I was not surprised to see other images, such as Kwun Yum, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. 

 

 

New to me where the 60 'year' gods. Apparently, there is a particular god assigned for each year so the idea is that people worship the god of the current year and also the god of the year in which they were born, in the hope of enhancing the future...

As with most temples in Hong Hong, red and gold colours predominate, incredibly intricate lanterns hang from the ceiling, coils of incense burn incessantly, dozens of small lamps flicker, bamboo jars of fortune telling sticks stand ready, bells toll, supplicants bow three times holding burning joss sticks which they place in a holder before the god, attendants replace the food offerings before the shrine...and so on.

Pearl of the Orient

It's been almost two months since I last updated the blog – apologies! A mixture of serious infections chased away by multiple doses of antibiotics (one month) plus extra-busy commitments to various volunteering roles (another month) explains the gap.

Now, I'm on extended holiday in Hong Kong, true pearl of the Orient (the other contenders for the title are Manila and Sri Lanka). No question, Hong Kong is my favourite location on planet earth.

My last visit to Hong Kong was nearly two years ago and there have been a few changes, including two unfortunate developments in areas that particularly interest me – books and photography. Before every trip I salivate at the prospect of browsing in the city's excellent range of English-language bookshops and window-shopping at the dozens of excellent photographic stores, freshly stocked with the latest offerings from Japan.

...However, Dymock's, the Australian-owned chain of English-language bookshops, has closed down, as has the massive Singapore-owned Page One bookshop in Times Square mall. Why? Because expensive up-market restaurants and fashion retailers have offered more money – up to 30% more allegedly – for the rental space when the bookshops' current leases expired...and that's the story of Hong Kong, money talks - in fact it roars.

To compensate, the Taiwanese-owned chain Eslite has opened two massive bookshops, in Causeway Bay and TST. The vast majority of their stock is in the Chinese language, which guarantees a much better footfall and is also in line with the city's gradual Sinoization after 1997. The stores also house a variety of third-party merchandise, such as fashionable crockery, high-end luggage and niche electronics in a bid to attract the wealthy illiterate or those whose money is burning a hole in their pockets. (Those searching for new English-language books still have Bookazine, Kelly& Walsh, Hong Kong Book Centre and Swindon Books...but that's about it.)

The other sad development is the decline of photography outlets. Camera sales have fallen off a cliff since people discovered that their mobile phones could take perfectly decent photos. The latest data on Japanese camera exports that I have seen from the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) is for September 2015, when 3.2 million units were exported, which is less than the same month in 2014 (4.0M) 2013 (5.9M) 2012 (7.4M) 2011 (13.6M) and 2010 (12.9). Imagine: in five short years camera exports during September have fallen by 75%.

That fact is not particularly evident in Brighton where camera shops continue to sell a variety of cameras. However, in Hong Kong many camera shops have closed down; there used to be several in Stanley Street in Central - now there are just one. The large department stores near where have I live (APiTA and Sogo) have given up selling cameras, the Broadway and Fortress chains no longer sell compact cameras, numerous other independent camera shops are gone and the malls that specialised in photographic equipment now only sell high-end DSLRs or the like.

Nevertheless, there is hope for the industry in that CSCs (compact system cameras) continue to innovate and introduce new technology at a bewildering rate that has flummoxed the complacent duopoly of Nikon and Canon. (No mobile phone can hope in the foreseeable future to match the output and convenience of the new Sony A7R ii).

Apart from these two 'blips', Hong Kong is functioning quite well. Tourist numbers are down and the mainland tourists' propensity to fill suitcases with expensive watches has been tempered somewhat by President Xi's war against corruption. Rental prices are slowing and there are warnings of a pending housing 'correction' in the mainland but that has not quietened Hong Kong's national bird – the jackhammer; construction continues at its usual frantic pace.

A housing correction is overdue. PwC's recent 'Building Better Cities' report of 2015 ranked Hong Kong only 11^th out of 28 cities in the APEC region that were evaluated for 'livability.' The telling statistic was the comparison of housing costs versus income; incomes have risen by 42% since 2007 but home prices have soared by 154% over the same period. Someone has done well – but clearly not the one million of Hong Kong's 7.1 million population who live in poverty.

While, for many, the city is a materialist heaven where any conceivable desire can be met – at a price – for others, particularly the elderly, unemployed and homeless, it must be hell. I am reminded of these lines from Charles Kingsley's poem 'The Buccaneer':

'Oh England is a pleasant place for them that's rich and high;

But England is a cruel place for such poor folk such as I...'

There is a trend to renovate shops and restaurants to make them increasingly up-market and appealing to wealthy mainland tourists but, at the same time, there is resentment of the mainlanders' voracious appetites for housing and schooling, driving up prices and reducing supply; for consumables such as baby milk, causing shortages; and for creating mayhem, trailing their suitcases and failing to queue politely in the Hong Kong way.

What do you do when the mainland authorities forbid dissent and demand compliance as proof of patriotism? Well, the Hong Kong response was Occupy Central, an audacious but naïve student-led mass demonstration for freedom, democracy and the Hong-Kong-way-of-life that lasted for about nine weeks, morphing into the Umbrella Movement before it petered out. The spirit of Tiananmen Square inspired many but, as the demonstrations dragged on, the transport gridlock infuriated others, particularly businessmen and taxi drivers, dividing the city into two camps. The city is increasingly divided as this week's District Council elections showed with pro-democracy and pro-mainland parties both making gains at the expense of arguably more moderate parties.

So, is the rebellion completely over, have the mainlanders steamrollered all visible dissent? Not quite...this week the Chinese national team played the Hong Kong football team in a qualifying match for the World Cup. Officials let it be known that there should be no repetition of previous occasions when Hong Kongers had loudly and unpatriotically boo'd the Chinese National Anthem. This time all was quiet as the anthem played...except that quite a few Hong Kong fans held up placards that read 'Boo!'  

This is a city and a people to love, like no other!  

Hoist With My Own Petard

For students who are learning English and are puzzled by the use of idioms...here’s an example using the idiom ‘Hoist With My Own Petard.’

Last night I said (jokingly) to Mrs R, ‘Be sure to waken me up to see the ‘supermoon’ eclipse. This was due to happen when the earth’s shadow fell across the moon during the early hours of the morning - when every sensible person should be fast asleep.

At 3.00am the alarm went off. In response to my grumpy ‘What’s happening????’ the response was ‘Well, you wanted to see the moon!’

So, from 3.00am to 3.45 am I was crouched by the open window trying to photograph the moon, which was a reddish colour and slowly diminishing in size as the earth’s shadow passed over it. To make matters worse, the battery on my main camera was not charged, I was battling sleep, handholding a small camera, trying to work out what shutter speed I could get way with, in combination with the largest possible aperture at a modest telephoto that would give me an ISO where the image quality was not drowned in digital noise. Of course, if I had any sense, I would have set the camera up on a tripod...but then I don’t have much sense at the best of times and none at all at 3am.

 

 

Scratching That Itch!

The last time I went fishing was just over four years ago...but every so often I look out at the sea and wonder what people are catching.

Breaking my arm a year ago, followed by two operations on it made me change my habits. For example, I sold my heavy Nikon cameras and replaced them with a lightweight Fuji X mirrorless system. And of course I would not be able to cast a fishing line with a weight on the end like before...or could I?

Tonight I snuck out of the house with a light spinning rod and some mackerel flies to see if I still had the ability to cast.

The likelihood of catching anything was not good. There was a bit of a fresh breeze, a force five from the west-south-west, the sea was full of moderate waves - lots of whitecaps – with occasional waves breaking over the west arm of Brighton Marina, which was closed to visitors as a result... but the east arm was still open.

However, late September is definitely close to the end of the season for mackerel. Exactly five years ago, on 24^th September 2010 according to my fishing records, I caught four decent-sized mackerel during a morning session (when the weather was a force two light breeze). Also, clutching at hope I know, but three days ago they were still catching late-season horse mackerel (aka scad) from the marina, again during morning sessions.

 

The east arm was deserted. I tackled up and cast – no problem. Admittedly it was only a two-ounce weight with a string of feathers but it flew out some thirty to forty yards before vanishing into the waves. The next cast was even better, lifted by the wind. It was a strain at first jerking the rod back but I soon got into the rhythm. The wind shifted to the west so I was better sheltered and the sea seemed to become smoother as well, although the surface was littered with strands of long thin weed that caught on the hooks, feeling like faint bites.

It was getting dark now, the white chalk cliffs that stretched into the distance in the direction of Eastbourne were becoming a light pink colour and the sky behind the Roedean girls’ school was turning pearly-crimson. Near the shore a few black heads of surfers bobbed about like seals. Lights started coming on and it was hard to distinguish the line between sea and sky. It was also very quiet; the only sound was a faint murmur of distant traffic. A tiny wren came down and settled on the concrete wall a few feet away from me, inquisitive and unafraid. For a second it was like being back in meditation; disassociated, but at the same time aware of all the senses.

It did not matter if there were no mackerel in the sea, just being there was reward enough. Supposedly there is a Babylonian proverb that says ‘The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.’ Or as Washington Irving, the Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow author said ‘There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.’ I can buy that!   

SVP Festival Meeting at Corpus Christi Church and Hall, Henfield

The Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) Society from A&B Diocese held their annual Festival Meeting at the Parish of West Grinstead and Henfield.

It began with Mass at the Parish Church of Corpus Christi, celebrated by Bishop Richard, assisted by Rev. Seamus Mahon, who is also Spiritual Advisor for the Society in the Diocese.

In his homily Bishop Richard spoke of how the Society works with the disadvantaged in ‘a quiet, unassuming and unpublicised way.’ He went on to say that the SVP is rooted in a deep spirituality that recognises the good in everyone. It can have a special place in the Year of Mercy, which begins shortly, bringing to the marginalised and weakest the mercy of God.

As we exited the church there were a couple of charming ladies with collection bags at the door, reminding us that no opportunity to help the needy should be passed over.  

Afterwards Bishop Richard and Deacon Seumas greeted SVP members and joined them in the parish hall for a discussion of the Society’s work accompanied by tea and an impressive selection of cakes.  
   

President Ingrid Phillips makes a point to the gathered SVP members 

The SVP was founded more than 180 years ago and has around 10,000 members in England & Wales, including more than 400 in this diocese. In addition to its regular work of visiting the needy, sick, housebound and elderly, the activities of the SVP in A&B include soup runs; a furniture scheme; a holiday caravan; community shop; meals and transport for the elderly; support to the homeless over winter and more. A particular feature of its work is ongoing support - both spiritual and financial - for overseas SVP Conferences in developing countries like India and the Sudan through what is referred to as the 'Twinnage' system, whereby each UK SVP Conference is linked with one or more overseas ones. The money sent overseas provides food and shelter to the starving and homeless, pays for eye camps and medical centres, helps train nurses and plumbers, aids widows in finding work, funds education for children and does lots more good work. 

 

The SVP National Meeting in York

I thought if I set off at 6am in the morning the roads would be quiet – wrong! The A23, M23 and M25 were as full off traffic as during normal working hours. However, there were no breakdowns or accidents and by midday I was parked at the University of York.

York University is a ‘plate-glass’ university - as opposed to the earlier ‘red brick’ universities – and was established in the mid-1960s. Its strong focus on research and its outstanding teaching reputation led to it joining the Russell Group a couple of years back. There were few signs of student life as we made our way to our rooms; it was still vacation time and, apart from the foraging ducks and geese, the campus was largely deserted. Heslington West campus, where our meeting was held, is beautifully landscaped, its man-made lake (the largest plastic-bottomed lake in Europe), slightly rippled, reflecting the blue sky and the striking half-octagonal Central Hall.

The biennial meeting of the Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) Society for England & Wales, with the motto ‘Called to Serve’, attracted about 230 attendees for each of the two days. It began at 1.00pm with a welcome from National President Adrian Abel, followed by the traditional SVP prayers and the first keynote address on ‘The key role of civil society in Catholic Social Teaching’ by Clifford Longley, the famous author, broadcaster and journalist. As might be expected, it was erudite, well researched, quite enlightening...although somewhat dense at times. The auditorium got increasingly stuffy and remained so for the following 24 hours – until someone found the air conditioning controls!

Next up were Ann Coleman and Kieran Knights to talk recruitment and showcase the recruiting package ‘Strive for Growth’ that will be delivered to more than 1,000 Conferences throughout England & Wales in the next couple of weeks.

The next speaker, Claz Gomez, National Young Vincentian Coordinator, lived up to her reputation as dynamic and spirit-filled. In her first six months she has achieved a huge amount for Minnie Vinnies and Youth SVP (now split into Youth and B-Attitude categories) and, if she only had the time, I’m sure she would set the Group 1833s (students and young workers) alight too! Sadly, she is virtually a one-woman-band. (That is one of the drawbacks of the SVP; funding is very scarce and central administration is run on an extremely miserly budget; I know there is a need to balance spending on administration with supporting the needy but unless we invest more in central support and infrastructure, we will miss many opportunities to reach people).

Ann Harris OBE, Senior VP of the SVP, was visibly (and audibly) suffering from flu or a bad head cold but she soldiered on and gave a most informative and useful presentation on the subject of Health Checks for Conferences. A former head teacher and education consultant, she pulled some tricks out of her satchel and had us doing groupwork for much of the time while she rested and dosed herself - clever.

A most welcome guest was Dr Michael Thio, SVP International President, responsible for SVP operations in 150 countries, involving 800,000 members helping 30 million poor people around the world. He gave a talk on the Vincentian Family (FamVin), which includes those organisations that share the charism of St Vincent de Paul, such as the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission. When one questioner at the end expressed amazement at Dr Thio’s frantic schedule – including an annual meeting with the Pope – and asked ‘how do you do it?’ Dr Thio attributed his stamina to the influence of the Holy Spirit – and confessed that he also serves on the boards of seven other charities in his native Singapore in his spare time!

The second day, Saturday, should have begun with a Holy Hour at 7am then a Walking Rosary at 7.30am followed by breakfast at 8am. However, I made the mistake of walking 400 yards in the pouring rain to carry my suitcase to the car park and, on returning to my room, had to take off my soaking trousers to dry them on the radiator. I was suitably attired by breakfast though - and devoured fried egg, scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms and black pudding...ah well, it doesn’t happen more than once a year.

Saturday’s keynote address was ‘Compassion and prophetic witness’ delivered by John Battle, politician and social activist, former Minister of State and Privy Counsellor. A spellbinding speaker, forthright, fuelled by righteous anger at discrimination and injustice, replete with interesting and sometimes heartrending stories - and with a great gift of mimicry -  John had the meeting straining to hear his every word. The thunderous and prolonged applause at the end was a tribute to both the presentation and the character of the speaker. It was no surprise to hear that he was a long-standing member of the SVP.

Three SVP members then spoke on different groups of people who are being helped: dementia sufferers; asylum seekers; and those without enough to eat. If anyone ever had doubts about the value of the work that the SVP does, just listening to these members for five minutes would dissolve their doubts. It struck me that two of the speakers were not practiced or experienced public speakers, their presentations seemed a slight ordeal for them - however, their passion, their obvious experience and credibility, their caring natures, their inventiveness when faced by officialdom and their determination to overcome obstacles in order to help the needy told their stories admirably.

Community Support Projects was the topic for the CSP team and in 45 minutes they described the work of the SVP’s two supported accommodation buildings; two approved premises; two advice and support centres; eight furniture stores and 42 shops. These activities employ about 200 staff and 470 volunteers. Obviously there was so much to describe that the community shops were the subject of a separate breakout session. The overall impression was of invaluable and wonderfully caring support being given to people who desperately needed it. Again, a great feel-good moment and a reminder that the volunteers throughout the SVP are very unique and special people.

Because the CSP presentation overran, and lunch could not be hurried, the next presentation on Twinnage was rushed and reduced from 45 to about 30 minutes. The SVP helps fellow conferences in India (1534 conferences), Grenada (31), Guyana (15), Romania (33) and the Sudan (148), providing them with financial and prayer support each year. The financial support enables the overseas conferences to do things like feed starving babies and infants;  build water wells, health clinics and homes for the street homeless; provide training for nurses, plumbers, electricians and a variety of trades; launch small businesses for women etc etc. The need is overwhelming – 4.5 million displaced by war in the Sudan alone – but the SVP is doing what it can. Another feel-good moment.

Elizabeth Palmer

National President Adrian Abel and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Palmer shared the last formal session, an overview of the work of the Society and the headquarters’ contribution. Elizabeth shared the relevant data and Adrian gave the key messages.

I am quite familiar with the statistics of the SVP and had expected this session to be rather dry. I was wrong. Both Elizabeth and Adrian spoke with passion and unearthed a few statistics I was unfamiliar with; for example, the average age of members is 68 and it has not changed over the last five years; for example, the number of staff of National Office is only 18 FTE – and with that, they manage the activity of 10,000 members.

Adria Abel

There was also much detailed analysis of financials, membership data, attrition, support to international Conferences and much more. There was also two underlying themes that kept recurring: the need to grow the membership through recruitment, and the need to ensure that all compliance requirements – particularly reporting ones - were adhered to by members, including the timely submission of secretarial and financial returns.

Then it was the final session, a Q&A when the trustees of the society answered questions from members. The day ended with Mass in the dining room celebrated by Bishop Terrence Drainey, Bishop of Middlesbrough.

A summary of the two days?  Inspiring, educational, moving, enjoyable and a real validation of the reasons why I joined the SVP just over five years ago.                                   

  

‘Tis the Season for Erupting Towels (and Orders from the CDF)

At the weekend we visited a newly-opened small Italian restaurant called ‘Seasons’ in Portslade, which is a slightly less glamorous locale than its easterly neighbours of Hove and Brighton.

Although there seems to be more than the usual number of charity shops, fast food outlets, chemist’s shops, convenience stores, hairdressers and supermarkets in Station Road, Postslade, there is also a decent number of specialist and owner-trader shops – and it has not yet been swamped by student residents; in fact, it reminds me of London Road ten years ago (but that’s another story).   

Seasons Restaurant is smallish, about 50-60 covers, but it has received very positive reviews from Trip Advisor (94% of the 102 reviews in its first six months rated it ‘excellent’ or very good’.) While Trip Advisor is far from an infallible guide, the combined weight of positive voting and the modest prices are a persuasive combination.

The menu was extensive, the house wine quaffable and the single waiter was loudly chummy – even the cook stopped by our table to check everything was all right; he was on his way out the front door to have a smoke break in the street outside...

The food was good, seemingly fresh, well-cooked, generous proportions, but not delivered particularly promptly. In a nod to local tastes, the restaurant even offered a roast Sunday lunch – and the beef was quite tender, juicy and tasty, although it arrived swimming in gravy.

We had ordered mussels and langoustine so the usual finger-washing bowls arrived – accompanied by a large pill like nothing I had ever seen before. Was it a giant Alka-Seltzer? Surely not!

Looking closer, I saw the word ‘Towel’ printed on the side.

The waiter had to tell us what to do with it – dump it in the water – and voila, there appeared a decent sized wet towel.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was the first time that I’ve seen such a thing so I thought I would share it.  (Apparently, they are on sale in Bookers, one of the city’s cash and carry stores...).

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A couple of days ago, The Deacon’s Bench website   The Deacon's Bench(http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2015/09/vatican-cracks-down-on-medjugorje-visionaries-prohibits-spreading-messages-in-local-parish/) copied a report from the Italian website Rorate Caeli.

This states that the CDF(Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) had issued an order that ‘prohibited the Parish Priest, Fra Marinko Sakota and the six supposed visionaries who claim they have been seeing the “Gospa” for 34 years, from delivering testimonies or spreading the “messages” inside the Parish of Medjugorje.’

I have not seen this report on any other website; much of the current internet chatter concerns the Pope’s recent announcement of what is said to be an expedited annulment process, and the barring of transgender people as Godparents.

However, when we were on pilgrimage in Medjugorje, just three weeks ago, we were advised that the visionaries had ceased allowing pilgrims to attend when they allegedly received their messages, apparently so as not to prejudice the forthcoming decision from Rome. It may still be some weeks before Rome rules.