After graduating in 1982 Ben worked throughout the UK before an unlikely adventurous disposition led him to Nigeria, India, Japan and Hong Kong. Between each of those overseas assignments he had attempted repatriation with varying degrees of ‘success’; the last of which occurred in 2004 when he and his partner returned from Hong Kong for what they considered to be a permanent move, only to return to Hong Kong years later. The exotic misdemeanours inherent in that first expatriate period (1984-2004) together with various Asian sojourns and activities, contributed to a series of travel journal scribbles which eventually morphed in to the book Chartered Territory – An Engineer Abroad.
In Hong Kong, we recently celebrated the Ching Ming festival, an annual commemoration of ancestors and, consequently, a poignant time of year when family memories are foremost in our thoughts. Thus, delving filially into the past, I often find it tricky to rationalise the circumstances which took hold right from when my parents first arrived … Read more
One very intriguing aspect of living in a place like Hong Kong is that you often find yourself treading niftily between parallel cultures; and never more so than with language. For example, I recently learnt a new Cantonese expression – the above title – while daydreaming on a bus. I kick-started my knowledge of Chinese … Read more
…and the livin’ is, well, not exactly easy but manageable with the requisite forbearance needed when living in these parts. Yes, after a few weeks of very pleasant spring weather we were instantly swamped by the sweat-inducing, energy-sapping ambience of a Hong Kong summer, trademarked by sweaty armpits, sodden back and an unfortunately damp seat, … Read more
Forget the likes of Lagerfeld, Gaultier, and McQueen, for this year’s Spring Collection has been effortlessly upstaged, of course you all know this, by something a little less glam. Indeed, influenced by a pumped-up, purple pathogen with suckers, not unlike a psychedelic Sputnik or WW2-era sea mine, the world’s facial fashion-sense this season seems all … Read more
One of the odd things about living in Hong Kong is that I get the chance to wish you all a happy New Year not once but twice, second time being for the Chinese version which we are celebrating at the moment. So there you have it, New Year with a double dose of happiness!Well, … Read more
Although several nations have endured a bout of election fever recently, we in little Hong Kong have enjoyed our moment in the media spotlight too. Nothing quite as grand as a full-blown general election for us however, no, ours was a much more humble affair in the form of a territory-wide district council poll, one … Read more
Well, since my last missive we appear to have become the world’s capital of protest and riot, edging out the good people of Santiago, Catalonia and Baghdad who seem intent on giving us a run for our money. But, you know, such events are intriguing as they often seem worse if viewed out of context. … Read more
Protest march, rally, riot, violence, revolution of our time, liberate Hong Kong, democracy, f**k the po-po, are not the sort of words or phrases I ever thought it would be necessary to learn in hitherto peaceful Hong Kong, indeed my Teach Yourself Chinese book is starkly lacking in this area. But, with the past weekends, … Read more
Growing up in 1960s England, the term Umbrella Movement could only mean one thing: The Avengers TV series and its suave hero, secret agent John Steed, effectively disarming many an assailant with a swiftly yielded British brolly. Today, courtesy of Hong Kong spirit, the humble brolly now stands as a worldwide symbol of peaceful defiance … Read more
Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a teeming conurbation and wondered, somewhat despairingly, where on earth do all these people come from? Well, here in densely populated Hong Kong you can find yourself contemplating that little conundrum on a quite regular basis. And from where indeed is a wonder, for when the … Read more