It's the law

It's the law in Hong Kong that cyclists must use a cycle path when one is there.   This classic piece of engineering is in Tung Chung.   How on earth did this pass approval?    Surely a sign of qa country with just far too much money if you ask me.

The swallows are back

Summer must be on the way as there are swallows and swifts zooming all over the place.   They were not here yesterday.   I wonder if they are en route to somewhere else or have reached the end of their journey?

Look out Mr. Bolt

Arthur (second from right) and his school pals celebrate their win in the Island District school athletics competitions.   Well done boys.

The Rosemary Bush

Our Rosemary bush that we planted as a few twigs a couple of years ago has thrived and thrived, so much so that it has sprouted some rather pretty flowers.  I never knew they flowered...

Pond Digging Time

Although it doesn't look like much what we have here is the Lantau equivalent of the Peckham Spring! (a la only fools and horses).
It actually is a natural spring and the water seeps out of the rock face.
This pond was about 1 foot deep with about 2 feet of thick mud.
After tipping the water out with buckets and having our toes bitten by the fresh water crabs, some of which were a fair old size we got down to the gloop.  A few hours later and the pond is as close to its original shape as we can figure.  There are four more ponds to sort out!!!!!!

And what we have here is the newly cleared stream bed at the bottom of the garden.   Thank you Mr. Government for doing this for us!    Next some gabion walls to stop the sides collapsing, a little bit of digging and hey presto we should have a fully functioning stream.

Man Kok Tsui towards Hong Kong

Heard some sad news today.    A work pal in UK on his way home from work had to learn from his daughter that his wife was gone.  He had spoken to her on the phone earlier in the afternoon and everything was normal.  By the time he reached home his whole world had been turned upside down.  I cannot imagine how he and his children must be feeling.   How would I cope if it were to happen to me?   I have absolutely no idea.   I just know I would be devastated as I am sure he is today.    

How is it and what is it that makes some people tick along I wonder?   The proud gent in the pictures is in his nineties, yes, nineties and just keeps on trucking.   He lives a simple life and always has a smile and time for anyone who cares to give him time.  He clambered into the boat from the pier virtually unaided and was telling jokes and larking about with the boys as the boat bounced over the waves.  Where is he going?   To his younger sister's funeral.   OK he's a bit mutt and jeff but other than that he's as fit as a fiddle.   It all makes me wonder about what is actually important and what is just irrelevant.   Be brave Jonny!




  

Neolithic stoneware fragments

How exciting, a few months ago the boys appeared with some pieces of broken pottery that they had found in the sand down on the beach.   We never gave them much thought except agreeing that they were quite unusual.   In fact we just let the boys play with them and then left them on a shelf.   Anyhow, curiosity got the better of me and after a little bit of research on the internet I discovered some archaeological reports of an archaeology  dig done in the 1960s by HK University and blow me, there are pictures of nearly identical pieces of pottery found in Man Kok Tsui that were dated back to the late Neolithic and Bronze ages.   That means the boys have stumbled across pottery that is some three or four thousand years old!!!   Any one know what we should do with the pieces we have found?

Percy Thrower shows off the garden

River Silver (Mui Wo)

A quick walk around the garden in Man Kok Tsui, before the typhoon came along.

Typhoon Signal 10 and Eagles

A real bumpy night of wind and rain.   Trees down all over the shop in the morning.   The tide was surging too.   Luckily Man Kok Tsui seemed to weather the storm and the beach remained intact.   Last time the beach was trashed and covered in debris.   I suppose this time the winds must have been from another direction.   5 in the afternoon and not much happening but by midnight it was a very different place.

When Nuch and I took the boat round to Man Kok Tsui to check the house we counted six or seven kites soaring over the headlands.   As we looked closer we noticed the birds seemed to keep diving down onto a slightly larger bird with broader, wider and fingered wings and a distinctly rounded tail.  The bigger bird seems to be about 25% bigger than the kites.  The kites seemed to line up and take turns to mob the bird, occasionally locking talons and tumbling over and over before letting go.    Too far away to properly ID I guess it was a stranger to the shores that had been blown off course by the typhoon winds that had swept up from the Philippines.

Matthew turns 7

   
A birthday celebrated with a party on the beach is always fun, especially when there is an home made cream cake involved.   How we managed to serve it up without sand in every mouthful is beyond me.   Succeed we did though.   The cake was gone in less than five minutes; his new bike we hope, will not be so quick to disappear!  It is hard to imagine that seven years ago, on 4th July, we (that is Nuch and I were getting a free helicopter ride to the hospital.)   

Black Drongo

Yesterday spotted a fine black drongo.  The first I have clearly been able to see the elongated tail feathers.   I first noticed it as it flew up to an overhead cable, its tail feathers seemed to bounce along behind it.

News snake sighting

Over at Mui Wo I was lucky to meet my first Copperhead racer snake.  Alerted by our neighbor who was franticly ringing our doorbell .  I eventually worked out what was wrong when the snake made a dash for freedom by zooming off towards the undergrowth from its hiding place behind the plant pots.   I guess it was between 1 and 1.5m long and its markings were clear and bright.   The dark stripes down its sides were in high contrast to its lighter shade skin.  Although not venomous the snake is known to be quick to strike out in defense.   The photo below is not the actual snake but lifted from the internet.

Helicopter action on the beach

We had some excitement on the beach today. A Government Flying Service helicopter appeared hovering over the beach and then lowered down three crew members who then uplifted our neighbour to hospital. The old fellah was in a bad way and looked quite unwell. Although apparently this si not his first helicopter journey and according to some, it will not be his last!