Saturday, 9 January 2010

Happy Hogmany etc

MUM etc - if the 'photo' has a small triangle/ arrow on it, click it to play a video.

Bet you haven't heard this before -


Jingle bells on traditional Chinese instruments! Crouching tiger stylee! One of the events on regularly down at Stanley Plaza - Fin was leading the clapping so was again the photo opp boy....
They have a thing every weekend where if you have a receipt from 1 of the shops you can swap it at the srt stalls for something. They have a 'face painter' (shudder - don't get me started I have to avoid that area) doing awful hand or cheek 'art' with dodgy acrylics. But they have colouring in, giant bubble making etc too, and a girl doing this.

She was very slow and not as good as the old man I saw whipping out truly lifelike crickets from bits of bamboo leaf a few years back, but its cute, isn't it? Sue had mentioned the Ukelele Association and Pete had been interested (but was as always at work on a weekend) so she had a lesson from the stallholder. And bought a ukelele for Pete - we had a tiny 1 on the catamaran that Heather loved when we sailed through the Philippines, but it was a cheapy and I don't think it survived the trip!

Its really quite amazing how fast Finley changes...
When Sue arrived he could just about get down the slide,with help.

2 weeks later and even although it's not something we do every day,
he's flinging himself up the steps and down the slide and even freestyling - this was him spontaneously going feet 1st on his tummy!

He's also decided now that he LIKES things being wrapped round him. He used to go beserk if you tried to put a scarf, necklace, etc on him. But suddenly he struts round the flat with the bicycle lock I keep in his buggy (so I can safely leave it at the steps to the ferry boat etc) hanging round him like a bandolier or one of those giant african necklaces.

And we have had to fill a kitchen drawer with stuff he's 'allowed' to take out and play with - like seives, plastic plates and giant spoons. He can reach anywhere on the table now too so nothing is safe!


Seive awe, originally uploaded by wildcatfin. Anyway we had a few days more of grey, horrible, cold wet damp weather. Very annoying as its not really meant to rain until March, Winter is usually sunny but cold, best time of the year. Drat.

Fun with clear plate fin smile dec 09, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Fin's still being a but fussy about eating any amount of food - gone are the days when I could get a bowl of porridge in him every morning and a good tub of something most other meals. He appears to survive on a couple of breadsticks and a bit of banana. BUT Sue did suggest chicken nuggets and he will stuff several of them down in 1 go. Or the steamed pork buns (sort of dumplings of sausage meat) the stalls sell at Ocean Park. Hmmm. Not ideal...he is positively anorexic compared to the other baby in Pete's office, but he's lively and healthy, I think. It has got a bit embarassing as we often pop into the dreaded MacDonalds in Stanley when we are at the supermarket, to pick up a few nuggets to make sure he eats SOMETHING. And he sort of begs food off people! He'll offer them his breadstick and happily accept chips, nuggets etc in return (whilst retaining his breadstick of course). Cheeky thing...keeps running off there when we are playing in the Plaza or watching whatever entertainment there is going on, as lots of the Chinese tour groups end up there and all wave at him to encourage him to come for photos where they are eating...

We went to Ocean Park quite often, as usual, and did nearly all the seasonal extras they had on offer. (Except the inner tube sledgeing down a fake ski slope). I had thought this weird plastic snowman was a statue but we realised it was a talking robotic (or remote controlled) thing. Yuk, creepy, like those Noel Edmunds/ Jeremy Beedle 'jokes' they used to have on TV. Fin was also freaked out by the 'strolling entertainer' this time a face-painted 'Nutcracker Prince' who kept sidling up to him...can't say I blame him!

They had been building a new bird arena as we went to watch a 'practice' show - they don't officially open the show until Chinese New Year but of course have to train the birds with audiences too to get them used to that. Quite interesting and very different to most bird displays I have seen in the Uk - very little education, all about impressions/ laughs, really. But we did like the fact that the birds were released from all around the arena to swoop over the public - 1 man was invited to sit and take a photo as an owl flew at his head, wow, what a shot! The finale was a bunch of macaws spiralling down from somewhere on the hillside, around the arena and settling for photos.

Parrot back rainbow, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Clement came round and cooked another yummy selection of chinese dishes. Finley ate lots even after deciding he LIKED the hot salsa dip we had for starters.

Dipping decisions - hot, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
We also tried an alternative to the rather pricey but very fun Smart Kids play centre. Sue, Fin and I took a bus round the west edge of HK past Pokfulam, to find a place called PlayVillage. Had to walk down 100's of outdoor, spiral stairs to get into a mall which housed it. Sort of like a giant hamster-tunnel/ ball pit funhouse for kids. Bit busy & VERY NOISY in the holidays, think will be better for titches like Fin on normal weekdays.

Playvillage end Dec 09 crawl thru, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.

And I want knee pads if we go again - too much crawling through giant suspended tubes for me! But the Mall was decorated with Sponge Bob which Sue loved :)


Spongebob Christmas decs, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
For Hogmany, I stayed in with Finley (after opening Sues champagne with them) and she & Pete went off to meet Clement in Kowloon. Having experienced 'events' and the crowds they cause I didn't think it was a good idea to take him out, even in his buggy, as Kowloon on a normal night (like his birthday was) is enough of a heaving, busy chore. They ate at a street cafe, walked 'miles' (I bet they did - police kept closing and openinf different MTR station entrances to 'control' the crowds).

Dancing with drink Hogmany.AVI, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.


Amnyway they finally got on a train but when they reached causeway bay they had no HOPE of getting to the tunnel under the road to the RHKYC let alone getting anywhere near the seafront. I read there were 600,000 people watching the fireworks along the harbour! But they were near the Midday (midnight in this special case) gun and got scared witless by the cannon - Sue thought it was a bomb I think. But all was well organised and unlike the sad New Year last decade, nobody was crushed to death - snd they got home easily. HK police are pretty impressive at organising crowds now, as I always say when the Rugby 7s are on.

Pete & Sue were a bit fragile after their late night out so we had a slow day wandering down to Stanley and chilling in the (at LAST!) sun. Fin, of course, paddled and I ended up getting soaked shoes after a surprise wave, doh!



Susan (friend - teaches her daughter to sail) had arranged to take our Sue to the stables whilst her daughter had a horesy 'experience' but Pete cancelled it due to the horrible weather. Instead, Susan asked me meet her at the Country Club to collect the very well preserved trike her (8?) yr old had finally agreed to let Finley have. Wow, just like the ones he'd loved at RHKYC, it was perfect! I took a trip to the famous (and totally overpriced) wherehouse she is currently converting into living & business/ wherehouse space. The government are pulling down the historic building they had been using as home/ shop until now so this new one is in Aberdeen, opposite where the new underground station will be. So Aberdeen is on the up. The building is striking - they had some world famed graphic artist - comic book style - come in and paint it all with murals, inside and out, but she and her daughter hate it. Plus some of the walls she is knocking out and has to replace the murals somehow along with the walls when their lease runs out! I met a very interesting bug drowning in a puddle on her roof garden, and the ungrateful sod turned out to be a stinky shield bug and sprayed me when I rescued it. So I had to tie my scarf up in a bag and wash my hands lots....

Anyway Susan gave me a lift back to Stanley, where we met the other 3 and introduced Finley to the trike. Immediate joy, much squealing crowing and happy burblings as we pushed him along. He's not quite big enough to reach the pedals even with the bike at its shortest, but the handle means we can push it and there's a strap to tow it too. Even a seat belt! Definite alternative to the baby buggy although the wee tippable hopper on its back only holds a few items of groceries!

The Sunday before Sue left she and Pete joined a distance sailing group and sailed to Po Toi for a fishy (I expect - all the restauraunts tend to be seafood) lunch. I took the buggy round to Repulse Bay and was attempting to meet them. Sadly Finley discovered his 1st stick so it took over an hour to walk the 10 min trip, with me trying to avoid him poking it into the more unsavoury items along the path side. And getting glared at by Chinese who do seem totally overprotective of their kids. A boy - with a stick!!!! Horrors.

Loooking to Poke things with stick Jan 2010, originally uploaded by wildcatfin.

We showed a man around our FOR SALE houseboat but he admitted although the hull was sound and it was a great space, his friend and he were looking for a far smaller project to keep them busy at weekends - ie a little dinghy to do up, I think! Drat. Well, stronger than drat - we are going to have to scrap the boat as we can't seem to sell it and its just costing us mooring rental at the mo. Its fine inside - I was surprised how little mould there was after nearly 2 years unlived on. (Yes, OK, all old dvds etc ruined but maybe its that micro-org the scientists got so excited about in Belize as it could break down cds etc). But we worry that as it now has no working engines and we aren't handy to drive it round to a typhhon shelter before storms (which also means renting more expensive moorings) it will come loose, or sink, in the next typhoon. And if that happens we are liable for BIG fines.... so as getting it scrapped is free, that seems to be the safe option. Gutted - all the savings we had are in it. Ah well, was fun while it lasted - but even just showing the guy around I got all dizzy again, always did take me several weeks to get used to the motion. Yuk am feeling ill as i type this :)


Then I filled up the buggy with some stuff left on the boat (it is nowhere near emptied but we still can't locate my missing face paints) and we headed home with a very chirpy Finley who'd been stuffed with rice and fish. Its a nice promenade; full of small kids on scooter and dogs in randomn outfits.

On Monday I had finally managed to get tickets to see Avatar in 3D Imax at the only place in HK showing it with the original english subtitles over the alien bits. It had been fully booked for weeks and we got the last 3 seats together for this showing. Don't get me started on the onlone booking system; STUPID. It was in Megabox, a large, red, cub shaped mall in Kowloon so we took a taxi to save faffing around and arrived an hour early. So Sue & pete had a quick go at ice-skating in the rink below the cinema.


Pete Sue skate Megabox Kowloon Jan 4, originally uploaded by wildcatfin. And that was Sue's last day before she went off to see Kate & Bully in NZ....
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