Barking deer on South Lantau Road



Muntjac Deer



This Sunday morning, as we were driving over to Tong Fuk from Mui Wo for mini rugby we were lucky enough to spot a Muntjac deer run back into the undergrowth from the road side. 

Although apparently common in the woods and hillsides of Hong Kong, (a fact we can vouch for at Man Kok Tsui as they are partial to digging up Nuch's sweet potato crops) and often heard "barking" they are seldom seen.   Our first sighting ever.    

Chinese New Year at Man Kok Tsui

At long last we have electricity we can rely on, lights that work, fuses that are safe and switches that no longer look like something from a Frankenstein horror movie.   So not wishing to waste an opportunity we packed up the boat and headed off for a weekend of isolation.  It was brilliant.  No phones, no internet, no TV and no crowds.  The weather was warm and sunny and the winds were calm.  The boys were over the moon as they could now power up their infernal Nintendo thingys and I was happy as I could now get back to my ham fisted DIY and the obligatory random power tool use.  Nuch of course was in seventh heaven as she could now boil water, use the microwave and put food into a fridge that worked.

Mini Rugby - Lantau Style

As Chinese New Year approached, the normally vacant footie pitch has been commandeered for the Tong Fuk village party.  So the boys had to endure mini rugby on the beach.  It was pretty cold but noone seemed to mind and as luckily the tide was out, noone had to fish the balls out of the sea (or children come to think of it).

Birds we have oggled this month at Man Kok Tsui

Two buzzards (possibly paired) soaring.

A very fast peregrine falcon that screamed as it flew round and round in circles over one of the headlands

Possibly a buzzard being mobbed by a crow

Also two kingfishers and loads of blackbirds (Not the same as UK versions).  Spring seems to be early this year for the migrations.  Maybe I need to start looking at getting a decent camera to sanp the smaller birds too.

Oh yes and Nipper the dog discovered her terrier instincts when she was introduced to a rat that had been caught in next doors rat rap.   It took her a while to work out what to do, she knew she was meant to do something but the sly old rat kept stopping moving which seemed to phase the dog.  Once the rat mad a dash for cover, it was the last thing it shold have done.......

The renovations continue

This month will see a big leap forward for our little house.  All the electrics will be completed.  All the plumbing will be completed and all our savings will be depleted!   All we have to do now is clean up the paintwork (thank you electricians and plumbers) chuck in some furniture and sit back and relax.  

Not all true actually.   The potable water connection will take some time as the wheels of burocracy churn slowly.  We now have the mountain water piped in from the "clean" well, so we can at least flush the loo etc.  Once the water services department trot along and add in their meter we will have potable water to the kitchen and the bathroom.  Alas we still need to wait for the electricity board to also trot on over and reconnect our shiny new 3 phase circuits.   Once they have done that we can all make use of a rather fine electric water heater.   A hot shower!!!!!!.   A shave with hot water!!!!!!   Oh joy, oh joy.

Any how pictures to follow once we have tidied up a bit more.

HK Mini Rugby Tournament

Both Arthur and Matthew took part in the annual mini rugby tournament on Sunday.   Matthew was not too interested and gave up after two games.  As he put it "They kept catching me so what's the point?"   Arthur on the other hand seemed to enjoy it immensely and thanks to the eager coaches he ended up playing twelve games and scoring four or five tries.  

The South Lantau Buffalos' Mini Rugby Team, 2010 season opener

Year ten, month ten and day ten and how better to celebrate the unusual date than with a resounding victory at mini rugby over the blue team?  Here Jak explains what happened, while Arthur remains content to let him do the talking while he gets on with the more tricky task of perfecting the "down in one" routine.

 

And here, Arthur puts in some spirited defending much to the frustration of a rather desperate blue team parent who can be heard attempting to direct his son from the sideline.    Who was it that said its not all about winning? 

A politically incorrect python

Now would this be best used as shoe leather or should it grow a bit more and become a belt? 

Star Ferry

This weekend we went up North to the New Territories to visit our pals, Pat & Karen and their clan, Harry Ruthie and Bop.  Ferry to Hong Kong, Star Ferry to Kowloon, then train to Tai Po Market then a taxi to Plover Cove.  Its a a trek and we must remember never to feed young boys with chocolate cake before putting them into a taxi, driven by a taxi driver who seemed to only be able to see 10 feet in front of him!  



Matthew spies on the ferry
captain through the window. 



Whoops, he may have seen me?

I wonder how many times that steering wheel has steered the ferry across the harbour?

Eating ice cream, no problem

Apparently this is a smile



A few photos



Matthew and his new bike.
One very, very happy boy





Nuch getting the ceilings ready for painting



Next job, the electrics, urggh



Heading back, Matthew takes the helm.

 







Waterproofing completed.

This was takin in March or April.  It had been raining for two weeks and we had been back to see if the slope renovations had held out.  Thankfully the works have proven to be a complete success and the house is cured of damp completely.   YoOu can see that the land in front of the house is a mud bath. 

Lightning never strikes twice (we hope)

Last week we had some pretty severe thunderstorms.  What we did not realise is that our little house had house had been the victim of a lightning strike.   When we arrived there yesterday it only became obvious when we opened the fridge.  The aroma of rotting food was rather piquant to say the least.   Anyhow, we checked the fuse box and all the fuses were in the right place.  We tripped the fuse box and nothing happened.  We reset the fuse box and nothing happened.  We checked the meter outside and could see it was not moving but other than that all seemed fine.  So we called the China Light and Power company.  Can you believe it.  They sent two workers to check the line who arrived within two hours.  Amazing, a Sunday and they had walked out from Mui Wo carrying all their gear in a rucksack.   Any how, pleased as we were to see them, they announced that the power was fine up to and including the meter so any fault further on was up to us to sort out.  Knowing nothing about electricity we stood there open mouthed, so they took pity on us and traced the fault to a circuit breaker or something that had been fried.   All we have to do now is find a commercial electrician who can come and suck air through his teeth, give us an estimate, over charge us and then fix the damn thing.  Ah well, they say lightning never strikes twice.  Maybe we need to think about a lightning conductor or having a bag full of spare bits that get fried.   The good news is the house is now painted, inside and out, the bad news is the fridge is off so no cold drinks and we need to wear head torches of a night time.

Its been a while

It has been ages since the last post.  Mostly due to work and more work. 

We have moved house.  Not too far from the old MW8 house but this time into a flat.  

I have set up a new office, a stone's throw from the flat so cmmuting is a cinch.

The boys have had their summer holidays and are now back at school. 

Nuch has a new job as a medical interpreter (Cantonese, English and Thai) working mostly in the government hospitals.

Poor old Garfield the cat has gone to that special cat place in the sky.  Sadly missed but not to be replaced. 

Man Kok Tsui has been somewhat sidelined due to lack of cash for renovation works but the inside and the outside of the main building are now paiinted and clean and rather fortunately there is no sign of any water leakage so hopefully all the digging and repairing of the slope abehind the house has been worthwhile.  In the pictures here you can see the lemon grass has grown and established itself as has the kafir lime trees (just inside the garden area).

Next on the list is to brick up the open roofed area to make a more sheltered stitting out area, then add a canopy roof to the front of the main building.  Once that is done we can finish off the electrics and the plumbing and we are done. 

We have discovered a fresh water spring right outside the house wher the water literally comes out of the rock face.  Sweet, clear and cool to drink. 

What else?   Nope, that's about it.