Friday, December 01, 2006

Ma On Shan #2

A second attempt to get to the real summit of Ma On Shan and a spectacular day to do it. Low cloud and low temperature made the hike cool but still hard. The slog up was tough ... as it said ...
















(Below) The mountain in the middle is where we're heading ...















(Below) and it got even tougher. More experienced hikers before us had anchored ropes in to the hill as the high humidity and low cloud made the clay and sand very slippy.
















The picture below shows ridge-walking at it's best. Ma On Shan is in the middle. Due to the weather conditions, the cloud collected on the left side of the ridge; you couldn't see anything. It's a steep drop too, so it probably was a good thing.


Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Curry Watch



Good value and quality curry house in Tsim Sha Tsui. Popular lunch buffet with at least 3 meat dishes, typically fish, lamb and chicken, for around HK$50. Chef specialities include tandoori prawn , mutton rogan josh and tom-yung-kung. Opening times are 11.00-2.30pm Mon-Fri, 6.00 pm-10.45 pm Mon-Sat. Closed Sundays.

www.zaikahk.com

7/10

Monday, November 13, 2006

Hong Kong Scenery

View from our balcony at sunset.















(Below) Mobile barber in Sha Tin.















(Below) Junk Beach, Sai Kung














(Below) View over the mountains towards Yuen Long.














(Below) View of Tai Po at night.

John Gardner Leaves

John Gardner, Company Secretary at RTHK held a leaving bash - one of many to come - at the Fringe Club, Hong Kong. From left to right, Agnus, John, Forever, Tom, Tabs and Bryan Curtis, Head at Radio 3.














(Below) Tom and Steve James














(Below) The RTHK Crew in all their glory. From right to left, DJ Simon, Sarah Passmore, Tabs, John Gardner, Cliff Bale and Agnus.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Hard Hike

Sunday 11th and a hard hike to brush the cobwebs away. A little known walk, we only came across a handful of people on the whole route. Starting off in Fanling, it was up, up and, er ... up. The mountain in the background is where we're headed.






























(Below) Stopping for a breather on top of an old British Army bunker dug into the hillside.































(Below) The top ... still a long way off ...















Despite the sun, there was a good breeze on top that helped keep the temperature down.














(Below) Cliff makes it to the top marker first - naturally.






























The way down towards Yuen Long area ...mostly ridge walking with a fairly steep drop each side. Here the haze and pollution was most obvious as the sun moved lower into the sky as the day went on.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

UK Visit

We both went to the UK for my sister's wedding in October. It was a lovely time and the first holiday together since we met. Here's Tabs in my Mum's garden in Leeds.














After a night at Mum's we drove up to Ilkley where we'd have a night together and then meet my Grandma the next morning who would join us there for the night before the wedding. Each morning the sheep would come to the front lawn and join us for breakfast.














The next morning we walked up to the Cow and Calf, over- looking the whole of Ilkley. A spectacular bit of Yorkshire scenery.











































(Below) Me, Tabs, my Grandma, Mum, Lucy and bridesmaid Lee (Yes) the night before the wedding.














Tabs, me and Granny ready to go...














(Below) The church at Bolton Abbey, and a lovely day for the wedding.














And both emerge man and wife. Good on ya, Sook!










































(Below) Lee Dalley, Bridesmaid extraordinaire!

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Hot (Damn Hot!) Hike















Setting off .... a walk around High Island Dam with Cliff and Mike. It was hot. Too hot in fact. In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have done such a challenging walk. It must have been around 33 celsius, but with no shade whatsoever and the sun beating down, parts were a real struggle
















The first view we came across (above) and the first beach of many on the walk. Hard to believe we were still in Hong Kong, one of the most dense and polluted cities in the world.
















High Island Dam at Po Pin Chau (above). Now it's starting to get hot. Quite hot, actually. I didn't bring a hat, either.

Idiot.

To give you an idea, the picture above shows the breakwater on the left and the actual dam on the right. The picture below shows Mike and Cliff walking along the road on the dam to the left, with the reservoir behind them.
















(Below) One man's walk is another man's hike. Quite a stressful hike at that. Someone said at work afterwards ... "well, at least you could see the path".

We couldn't. And it was hot. Really hot.
















Below. Take a break.

















The next beach ... with seating arrangements.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Zippy

Zippy is our favourite children's character from kid's TV in the 1970's.
Well, that's not quite true. He's Tom's favourite character. This section is in honour of his unknown origins and status as a ... well .. a loud mouthed whateverucallhim.

Here he is in all his glory.






We've DJ'd together many a time and I thank God he managed to pull in the crowds and keep people dancing when my choice of reggae was lacking.



With both Tom and Zippy being great fans of David Bowie, it was only natural they hit it off when Zippy launched his Zippy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars Band.


Ok ok ok ... this is the one you've all been waiting for, the famous Twanger episode. Contrary to popular belief, it was NEVER aired. It was made as a Xmas party special for the cast and crew. Enjoy. And don't forget to pluck away ...



Don't let anyone tell you it was broadcast. It wasn't.

Shame, Huh?

This is Zippy and his cousin Zippo. Don't tell Zippy that you can't tell the difference. You'll never hear the end of it ...



"I'm ZIPPY!"





















Beware imposters (above right) .. they're easy to spot. Zippy only ever has one hand and is NEVER seen apart from waist level up. If you see more than one hand and anything from the waist down, you've been had, kid!

Finally, here's a quick test to see if you are Zipped up to scratch ...
Fake Zippy?



Or Genuine Zippy?


Real Zippy?










Or is this English actor George Cole in the UK TV 70's series Minder, trying to pull the wool over our eyes?