Mould.......

Is it just my bathroom that has this grotty mould growing across the wall?....this weather is just nasty...I am just wondering if the black fungus could be the cure for anything.

I guess cold and damp is better than hot and humid!

Link

What everyone else is up to......

A Discombobulated Mia made me smile with this....link. This link comes with no comment......it speaks for itself!

Why is the Platypus? discusses the entry of another blog Finicky Feline.. a lassie who seems to me to be a bit of a "tease", I agree with the Platypus in that the photo should not have been taken without her permission......but whether consciously or unconsciously she had 'dressed to impressed' and to bastardise another cliche 'talked the walk'.

Everyday Stranger has gone on holiday...she deserves a break from the Evil Rooster....nice duck!

And a new blog to add to my list The Great Wife Hunt..interesting to see the "Hunt" from the male perspective...shall follow with interest. Reminds me of a book I read recently called Date Expectations. Made me laugh out loud to see the rocky path to 'coupledom' from the other side of the fence!

Link

In the words of Thomas Jefferson....

In June 1815, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to John Adams...in the letter he wrote the immortal line 'I cannot live without books'.

This is so true for me. My whole life I have loved nothing better than to read. I will read most anything (excepting horror or scary stuff). I panic if I have nothing to read - anything will suffice. I have been known to walk a whole 20 minute detour in order to get something to read if I know that I will be sitting on the Star Ferry (all 10 minutes of the ride) with nothing to read!

I am able to read fairly quickly which can be an advantage at work but with regards to buying books (particularly in HK) can work out incredibly expensive - that's where The Central Library comes in.

So I have finally finished up the four books that were under "Currently engrossed in"....The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy was a great read, took me back about 20 years when Jean Plaidy was almost all I read for about 2 years. Jean Plaidy writes historical fiction as no one else has ever managed to (at least in my eyes), it's almost 'chick lit' based in Tudor Times. I remember at the age of 10 reading, with wide eyes and baited breath, about Catherine de Medici in her Medici trilogy; supplementing my Tudor history reading list with her Tudor series and my heart almost broke for Mary, Queen of Scots in the Royal Road to Fotheringay.

I thought I had grown out of Jean Plaidy's books a long time ago.....probably because they were just not on book shop shelves any more. Anyway, about three weeks ago I was in Dymocks at the Star Ferry and saw that a number of her books had been republished...I took the lot! I have worked my way through them and they worked their old magic on me... this time round my factual knowledge was far better, but that is the secret of Jean Plaidy...she takes the well known facts and weaves in the padding...the whispered conversations, the thoughts and the prayers of her characters making them more real than anyone else ever has.

It has been a good couple of weeks reading.

Link

A little later......

My mood has improved...mainly because in a few hours I shall be free to retire to my little pad and also because in about a weeks time I will be winging my way out of Hong Kong for some R&R in Thailand. What more could anyone want?

I realise that I am a little late in waying in on the discussion regarding HK's population issues and the incredibly 'intelligent' suggestions made by our fearless leaders. However, I do think that in this day and age of over population the HK government should really leave well alone. Anyway....three children living in the average HK flat, plus the education costs should be enough to knock this idea on the head.

On a more humerous note on the same subject David Webb's article did make me laugh, I particularly liked the line about the oysters at the Hong Kong Club and the use of the classic phrase 'Go forth and multiply'.

And finally......this........the most incredible tennis court in the world at one of the world's most incredible hotels - the Burj al-Arab has surpassed itself again. Not for nothing is it described as one of the World's best hotels (personally I prefer Raffles - but that's another story!)

Link

Things can only get better....

A spectacularly crap day at work..have not had one this bad for at least 2 years, something that maybe I overreacted to about 2 months ago has reared it's ugly head like some modern day Medusa....too many heads and when ever I think I have removed one, many more grow back to replace it.

It will get better.....It must get better.

Link

An interesting blog....

I found another good blog to read and have put linked to it on the right hand side of my blog. I found this via an article on the BBC about blogging (strangely enough!)which led me to an article about blogging about your work place and the dangers that entails. Random Acts of Reality is the blog of an English gentleman who works for the London Ambulance Service.

This is a job that I have always imagined to be fairly gritty and probably pretty gruesome, his writing is an excellent insight into his life, job and the ups and downs of working in such an environment and I spent an interesting and enjoyable few hours reading past posts.

Link

Cold bottoms

The weather over the last 10 days has been all over the place. Last week there were a couple of evenings that were so muggy and warm that I had the a/c on at night, this weekend it has been so cold I have been sleeping with a hot water bottle and my full winter sleeping gear (it's quite a fetching look, but wouldn't go public with it). I realised this morning that it is actually too cold to go to the loo (or I am using the wrong bathroom facilities) as I sat on the toilet (sorry - too much information, I know) I realised that my bottom was really, really cold...and that all the way along in the row of full cubicles must be a row of other really cold bottoms. Funny what one thinks about when answering the call of nature.

I like cold weather but only when the world I inhabit is prepared for it, heating instead of air-conditioning for starters!

Judging by the weather forecast (although I treat the forecasts from the HK Observatory with some caution due to past experience) it should start to warm up again - but of course that will bring back the fog and the mugginess. I guess I just have to face reality - I won't like the weather until October/November rolls around again. But I promise I shall keep the complaining to a minimum......

Link

My favourite men!

Only those in the public eye and in no particular order....

Bill Clinton
Alistair Campbell (UK Labour Party's Spin Doctor)
Angus Deayton (British TV's "Mr Sex")
Chris Noth (Mr Big)
George Stephanopoulos (Clinton's First Press Secretary, now host of 'This Week')
Vladimir Putin
John F. Kennedy

So - why do I like them

....a combination of looks, intelligence and with some of them it must be the 'power' angle!

Am I ever shallow!

Link

Dress Code: nudity compulsory

It seems that nudists are now wanting to come in from the beach and dine in restaurants whilst 'au naturel'. According to this report from CNN, a group of New York nudists decided that a naked dinner would be a fun way to spend an evening.

Personally Madame Chiang would rather have her dinner dressed and dessert elsewhere and naked....just a personal preference.

Link

And in Great Britain....

Well this has been a bit of a "blah" day for me, nothing really exciting happened, but managed to get a fair bit done at work - so something positive.

A quick glance through the British Media tells me a few interesting things....

The Tiffin Carriers of Mumbai will be stumping up for a wedding present for Charles and Camilla. The Dabawallahs are truly amazing - a lot of courier companies could learn from them.

Also on the royal wedding - I see that Chas and Camilla will be doing the deed at the Windsor Town Hall as the marriage licence for Windsor Castle would mean that for the next three years it would be licensed for weddings...not what HRH would want!....... According to the Sun newspaper the Queen is not happy about this as it all seems too "common". Nice photograph of Her Majesty!

Edinburgh Zoo has named a baby pygmy hippo after Ellen MacArthur...apparently because the hippo likes water, unusual for that mini breed! How charming! I am sure that Dame Ellen is flattered.

Well I think that is enough drivel for one evening....

Madame Chiang is signing off and going to wrap herself in something warm and toasty to see out this cold snap...probably my microwavable slippers (courtesy of my Mother) will be called into use again this evening.

Link

And so it continues

I cannot believe that the SCMP continues to print such drivel in the "talkback" section....yes...it is the Good Christian man from Tai Po again rearing his blessed head.

The busy scene way down below us at the China Hong Kong city ferry terminal is not a pretty one...the Catamaran that hit a cargo boat off Tsing Yi has limped home and has let off the injured. Judging by the damage to the front of the ferry I can only imagine the fright that the passengers had at the moment of impact.

So much for a quick morning snooze.

Link

I agree with Abe Lincoln

Is it just me that is getting more and more irate with the letters to the SCMP from a "gentleman" in Tai Po on the subject of religion.

The first letter (to the Editor)implied that as HK, since 1997, was no longer under British rule, Christianity was not being followed and the the Christian God was therefore not looking down and smiling on HK - hence SARS, Bird Flu, economic recession etc.

The second letter in Tuesday's talkback section stated that the reason the Wishing Tree in Tai Po collapsed is because the Deity responsible for the tree obviously does not exist and therefore the tree collapsed...this is regardless of the fact that the tree was over 80 years old, had been laden with oranges for most of that time and had been subjected to a number of typhoons. The "gentleman's" most irritating comment was "If this force or deity hasn't even the power to look after its own tree, then it certainly has no power to grant wishes".

The author's rather puritanical Christian outlook inspired such feelings of anger in me that I had a good mind to go out to Tai Po and beat the hell out of him with the remains of the Wishing Tree.

I was raised as a Christian, attended a fairly religious school and still write Christian on forms whenever asked for my religion. However, I have lived in many wonderful corners of the world and have experienced many different religions - the overriding sentiment in the majority of mainstream religions is to do good.

As Abraham Lincoln said "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.". I agree with Mr Lincoln.

Obviously the SCMP's correspondent in Tai Po feels good and feels that he is subscribing to his religion when he belittles and makes derogatory comments about other peoples' beliefs and customs. If this is the case, I may reconsider my Christianity.

Today I took part in our company Bai Sun ceremony to mark the new year and bring health, wealth and prosperity to all within our company. We stood and faced the harbour and had all the traditional accompaniments, I did my "thing" with the incense sticks and wished for all good things for everyone, I realise that as a Christian such rituals are "expressly forbidden in scripture", however, I enjoy such events and do not feel that partaking in such an event will bring death, damnation and ruin down upon my shoulders and the rest of the Hong Kong.

And a final thought, the American Physicist, Steve Wienberg, said "With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

Link

Beirut

I can't believe the news from Beirut. This is such a tragedy for the Lebanese. I hope that this is not the beginning of a descent into 'the bad old days'.

Link

Nothing like a little violence.......

Not being a great one for Valentine's Day and anything Pink...I thought I would do some quick research on what else happened on this date in history.....

In 1943 The Battle of the Kasserine Pass, The US' first major battle defeat in WW2

In 1929 The St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in Chicago

In 1779 Captain James Cook was killed in Hawaii (then the Sandwich Islands)

In 1556 Thomas Cramner was declared a Heretic.
A little personal background on Cramner.... he wasn't burnt at the stake until March 1556 - (I forget the date - sorry). Cramner came to fame as he managed to get Henry VIII's divorce from Katherine of Aragon finalised and in the process made all future British Monarchs head of the English Church.

I always thought there was some other violence on this day...in France....but can't seem to find it......not sure what I am thinking of.....maybe the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre........too many saints......too many massacres.......

Link

Only in Hong Kong #2

I have a found a new phenomenon, which must be particular to Hong Kong...."Escalator Rage"........this happens when you are in the last group of people going down the escaltor (removed the word 'on')at about 9:58am and there is a huge group of people waiting for it to be changed to its upward motion - these lazy gits cluster around the bottom of the escalator which makes it really difficult to get off without barging through with elbows sticking out..........hence "Escalator Rage".

I realise that going down the escalator is the height of laziness, but it does give one a good opporunity to catch up on reading....

Speaking of the escalator, I like POAD's advertising campaign with the grass, makes the whole area feel so much more rural and not as if you are in the centre of a concrete jungle....made my trip home last night far more relaxing, I could almost smell the freshly mown grass.

Link

The Year of the (frozen) Chicken

It seems that residents of Newcastle, Australia have been seeing in the Year of the Chicken in a rather novel way.

'Such was the damage to the roof that experts are convinced the carcass must have plummeted at least 1,600 feet (490 metres).'

Reminds me of that story/joke/urban legend about the British aeronautical engineers firing a chicken at a cockpit window to test the strength of the windshield....their French counterparts decided to borrow the 'technology' and when carrying out the test, completely destroyed the windshield and parts of the cockpit. When the French referred back to the British with their problem

...the British response was simple...."Thaw the Chicken". I am reliably informed by www.snopes.com that this is an urban legend.

Link

Favourite Cities

Was having a mental discussion with myself this morning in the shower on my favourite cities in the World....

Could not decide on my all time favourite....it was a strong tie between Washington D.C. and London.

The rest of my top ten list looks something like this....the order changes depending on my mood!

London & Washington D.C.
Hong Kong
Sydney
Beirut
Singapore
Vancouver
Edinburgh
Hamburg
Vienna

Link

With apologies to Samuel Beckett

"Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes....it's ghastly"

At work.....it is dull as toast....either everyone is still out of town or are just beginning to come back so in no mood to partake of our facilities!

Listening to Mike Oldfield .......or at least I was until my iPod froze....why does it do this when I am most in need of musical sustenance?

Have discarded my present reading material in lieu of a quick fix "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano.More of a celebration of simple eating and enjoying food than an actual diet book although some of her points could well be used by those looking to loose a few pounds.

And in other news.....Tony Blair is apparently going to warn the Labour Party against complacency. Does this include his Doctor of Spin, Mr Campbell?

Mr Campbell had a slight sleight of hand with his Blackberry the other day, sending an e-mail to the BBC (in error) about the BBC. The e-mail contained the following sentence charmingly describing the BBC's coverage of Labour's election posters "Now fuck off and cover something important you twats!".

My admiration for Mr Campbell knows no bounds.....particularly given his apology attempt..."Never known such a silly fuss since the last silly fuss but there we go. Must look forward not back.".

Link

A learning curve......

This has really been a learning curve for me.....have spent the better part of today messing around with the template - colours, fonts, location of text etc etc. Have found it very interesting....next project is to add a "Presently Reading" section into the side bar....this should be interesting.

Whilst I have been working on this I ate some left over curry from The Chedi (Thai Restaurant) on Elgin Street. One of the better Thai curries that I have had in HK.

Link

and in Jordan this week......

Over on Mental Mayhem I read the following post.....

Amman - A budding romance between a Jordanian man and woman turned into an ugly public divorce when the couple found out that they were in fact man and wife, state media reported on Sunday.
Separated for several months, boredom and chance briefly re-united Bakr Melhem and his wife Sanaa in an Internet chat room, the official Petra news agency said.
Bakr, who passed himself off as Adnan, fell head over heels for Sanaa, who signed off as Jamila (beautiful) and described herself as a cultured, unmarried woman -- a devout Muslim whose hobby was reading, Petra said.
Cyber love blossomed between the pair for three months and soon they were making wedding plans. To pledge their troth in person, they agreed to meet in the flesh near a bus depot in the town of Zarqa, northeast of Amman. The shock of finding out their true identities was too much for the pair.
Upon seeing Sanaa-alias-Jamila, Bakr-alias-Adnan turned white and screamed at the top of his lungs: "You are divorced, divorced, divorced" -- the traditional manner of officially ending a marriage in Islam.
"You are a liar," Sanaa retorted before fainting, the agency said.

Source: [IOL] via [Ameen's musings]

Link

It's all in the name....

This article from the BBC Dubai's 'Mohammeds' smash record", made me smile....I remember many years ago when I was working in the Middle East if you walked into the Staff Restaurant and called "Mohammed" you would be killed in the ensuing stampede.

A little similar to the result if you walked into The White Horse in Parson's Green and called Caroline or Fiona.

Link

Now, there's a thought.......

And this just in........

It has been estimated that one in 10 Europeans are conceived in an Ikea bed.

Link

A Lion Dance, Fireworks and a Wedding

Spent the early part of the evening watching a lion dance - two lions, with the poles and acrobatics - a very fine affair. Always feel sorry for the people who get hit by the shredded vegetables afterwards, although no doubt it signifies oodles of good fortune for the coming year.

Then the fireworks...I know I probably say this every year...but this year they really were fantastic. I would, however, like to see the sponsoring company one year, making a massive donation to charity in lieu of the fireworks - this is relevant particulary for the brown-nosing fireworks that occur on 1st October.

And finally, this.....the British Royal Wedding of 2005. The star crossed lovers are going to tie the knot, 34 years after they first met. If they had done this originally (virgin or no virgin) the Royal Family would probably be in slightly better nick and a certain Lady Diana Spencer may still have been frolicking around the English Shires. Who know...fate is a very strange thing.

Link

Have they nothing else to worry about

Surely the powers that be in the good 'ol US of A have more important things to be worrying about than the visibility of one's underwear?

Link

Impressed by Impressionism

I went to see the French Impressionist exhibition at the HK art museum. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

I have always loved the Impressionists.

My favourite painting of all time is by a painter who is credited with being one of the first and greatest influences on the Impressionists - Joseph Mallord William Turner.

My favourite of Turner's paintings is The Fighting Temeraire



My favourite painting from today's collection was by Claude Monet, entitled "Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Celebration of 30 June 1878



A wonderful collection of paintings and I would highly recomment a visit.

Link

Pepperoni thin crust......

My delivery pizza comes on a motorbike, this sounds like a better option.....I wonder if Wildfire would be able to start this.

I think the MOD are spoilsports not telling us what the toppings are.......

Link

Kung Hei Fat Choy...

And so another New Year begins....this is my year - the Year of the Rooster. Technically it shouldn't be a good year as we Roosters are offending the Gods by claiming it as our year. I shall wait and see.

When I got home last night I found a Lai See in my mail box from my parents all the way back in Blighty - how nice is that!

Made me come over little emotional, add in a few episodes of the West Wing and you get a general idea of the emotional level chez Madame Chiang last night!

Am off out now to enjoy HK at its best....quiet, no traffic, minimal people and wonder of wonders - classic French art!

Link

What's playing...

on my iPod........

True Faith........New Order

now onto the Ballad of John and Yoko........

.........One Wild Night......Bon Jovi


......Mr Williams...Let me entertain you

What a wonderful play list........well I think so anyway.....

Whilst listening to my usual hodgepodge of music, I have been reading all the archives over at Discombobulated Mia.

Very entertaining, quite a few things there struck a chord with me - the post that really made me laugh mentioned one of her cats peeing on a guy.......reminded me of one of my cats who systematically threw up in the shoes of one of my exes.......I would like to point out that our shoes were in a heap together (typical HK style) and said cat selected only his shoes.........I think that was the beginning of the end!!!!

Link

Posting diarrhea.........

I just seem to keep posting......this is almost addictive.....I am sure the novelty will wear off!

So.........In November I somehow got roped into setting up a profile on a computer dating service (not my normal thing - more a research venture) and never checked it until last week where I found some guy had posted a note to me at the beginning of December.......he sounded fairly normal so I figured I would answer......

anyway......one thing led to another and we ended up meeting for a quick drink at one of the nicer hotels on the island.

He seemed quite nice, although future geography would not deem us compatible. This was all last Wednesday.....waited to see if he would contact me, after 2 days with no contact, I realised it just wasn't happening - that's fine move on, no big deal.

So today I get an e-mail from him saying his computer had been up the spout, he had been working more than he expected blah blah fishcakes......

I am a great believer of the "He's just not that into you" school of thought; have been for many, many years.

The end result of this episode.....a nice "thanks, but no thanks" e-mail from myself will wing it's way through cyberspace.

Link

Surely it can't be that difficult...

Major screw up at work.........two senior people in my department had been charged (one in December and one on the 10th January)with organising a very simple product to be delivered to our work place........

"simple" means they already have the specs...they just have to call the supplier give the quantity (which I gave them) and then have it delivered........

They both failed......even with constant reminding and chasing......so here I am on CNY eve without the product I require and having to grovel to another department head for help........

Where did I go wrong?

This kind of thing really pisses me off.

Link

How I know it is Chinese New Year

After enjoying a few Chinese New Years in Hong Kong I have come to recognise the signs that the air will soon be filled with the sound of Kung Hei Fat Choy and the rustling of new notes.....my list of signs are as follows (in no particular order):

My colleagues all have their hair cut...male colleagues very short, female colleagues just a tad shorter than normal

The security guards in my building suddenly become my best friends

It is impossible to manouevre in any grocery store without knocking over a huge mountain of boxes of brightly (normally gold and red) wrapped chocolates - Ferrero Rocher are the main culprits

The price of fresh flowers could almost be listed on the world's gold market index

All the $20 notes disappear or only the oldest and mankiest are left in circulation

Wellcome starts to offer a gift wrapping service

Getting around Central by foot, taxi or bus becomes almost acceptable

The weather becomes damp and a little chilly, the sky becomes grey and murky

The laundry shop across the street from me becomes inundated with piles of laundry and (it seems to me) they work all day and overnight for about 3 days

.............Any other personal insights would be gratefully received!

Link

Only in Hong Kong

I have a feeling I will be using that heading a few times........

Don't get me wrong, I love this city that I have been living in for about 10 years. But, one of the things I love is the quirkiness and things that you see, hear and do that people living in London, DC, Sydney etc would never understand.

Last night after I had been shopping for groceries (pre CNY rush!) I came out of Wellcome onto Caine Road and saw the following scene......

A car parked haphazardly across half of the road lane and half of the parking area, a mother dragging her son away from the car shouting "No, No, No" at a level that surely only cats should have been able to hear........they were in hot pursuit by another woman hollering and screaming for them to come back.....

(Meanwhile all the traffic is being held up back down Caine Road and all the drivers are taking this as a God given opportunity to test their horns - just to add to the general cacophony)

As the pursuing woman passed me I noticed she was clutching something in her hand...........Lai See packets.........suddenly everything became clear!

I love this city!

Link

A HK view on an amazing accomplishment

I watched the news this morning in amazement as they showed a summary of Ellen MacArthur's record breaking single-handed sail around the world. I take my hat off to her, there are few people around the world with the drive, stamina and courage to undertake such a voyage.

On my arrival at work I raised the subject with my cubicle neighbour - her take on it "It must have been boring".........in all the words I was thinking of to describe this journey - "boring" was definetly not one of them!

Link

URL Links

It has just taken me over an hour (I kid you not) to write that last entry with three links...........WTF?

That can't be right......

Link

The Comeback Kids

Alistair Campbell has been brought back into the Labour fold (although one suspects he was never more than a phone call away) and has been given the responsibility of putting his own spin on Labour's campaign for the upcoming election

and.....(this is wonderful!).....the Tory party would view sympathetically any application from Lord Archer (disgraced former peer, author and general object of amusement) to rejoin the party.

Campbell's return I am quite pleased about - only because I do so enjoy looking at pictures of him in the news...sad to say, I find him one of the more attractive people in the British political arena!

Lord Archer......well.....my only assumption is that the Tory party is so lacking in colour; now that Boris Johnson (another of my political pin ups) has been relegated to the back bench ;that Jeffrey Archer is their only hope of injecting any excitement or colour into their election campaign.

Bill Clinton would be proud................

Link

Rice in the Middle East...and other stories

The BBC's spinning headline on BBC World's news report this morning was "Rice in the Middle East", either there had been a food shipment that had finally been delivered or the Warrior Princess was on her first ME errand. It seems to be the latter. I am not a great supporter of Bush and his cronies but I hope that between Rice's direct line to Bush (which Powell was so sadly lacking) and the installation of Abu Mazen, there is a glimmer of possible hope (note - I am not being too optimistic).

I see that Rice is not moving on to Sharm El-Sheikh for the summit - probably best, firstly it will let the leaders involved thrash it out as only they know best and secondly because if Ms Rice were to step foot in that lovely desert enclave she may decide that this is indeed "Heaven on Earth", particularly were she to stay at the Four Seasons.

Going back to the BBC...has anyone else noticed that their trailer for the programme "Reporters" can be a little disconcerting if you are listening but not watching (i.e. making a cup of tea away from the TV). The line that bothers me goes something like this......"Here are the Israeli observation posts across this vast region of Sudan" ; obviously if you are watching it you can see the change in scenery and even change in Male reporter.....if you are out of the room........I just was not aware that Israel had also taken over parts of Sudan - I guess given their past expansion plans - anything is possible.

Link

Hong Kong Island in the Mist

I love going home on the Star Ferry at this time of year. The island is lit up with CNY lights and the mist hanging low over the buildings giving the water front an air of mystery. If you didn't know any better you would think that the buildings on HK island did not reach over about 30 storeys.

Actually, I love going home on the Star Ferry at any time - the Star Ferry is the most amazing method of commuting I have ever come across.

Link

The end of the Weekend

Well the end of another weekend. So what did I achieve?.....
I learnt how to add links to my comments and to the "side bar"
Finished a couple of work projects pre CNY - a short month with a long holiday in the middle - adds to the planning issues for the month

Two monumental decisions (well for me anyway!). I must start going back to the gym - my good pre-Christmas routine has gone belly up (more like belly down!).
Second decision I want to buy a new digital camera, have decided on the Sony V3. However, I will need to start saving. Maybe sell off a few bits and pieces to earn some cash towards it.

Link

White House seeks new Chef

I can think of lots of people who would like to do this job for a variety of different reasons!

Link

This Weekend's FT

The article about Beirut's consuming party atmosphere and the general state of Lebanon's present status makes for excellent reading.

Personally I find it hard to stomach the concept of one of the theme bar's that is mentioned.

Called "1975" the bar's theme is the civil war, with waiters in army fatigues, bullet marked walls, sand bags and a general image of a far more unpleasant time in Beirut. Given the rebuilding that has been done and is continuing and the vibrancy of the life in Beirut, I can't help feeling that this is a step too far. Having said that, the picture in the paper shows that they don't seem to be short of customers.

There's no accounting for taste!

Read The Last Fling

Link

Madame Chiang re-thinks

Anyway, who am I kidding? How many people will read this?

Me and.....?

Not many others is my guess!

Link

Madame Chiang speaks

I wonder how many other people have struggled as I have when starting their blogs, first you have to think of a name, then what you want your blog to look like (I have taken the easy option and am using this site with its templates - but there is still a choice), then decide what you are aiming to achieve with your blog - personal thoughts, daily accounts, political commentary or just a running commentary of one's life. Then finally, the "big one", the "First Post"! What should it say, should it be a statement of who you are and what you would like to achieve - God alone knows!

Of course, it is possible that I am the only person to have these massive decision problems, possibly others have them in a different order. In retrospect, thinking about content should have been my first priority, but I think I have always been one of those people who jumps in feet first and thinks afterwards - something to do with a Rooster/Aries combination!

Anyway, here it is - the "First Post". I am not going to make any grand statements as to future content. I shall see how it develops naturally and let it grow from there.

Link