Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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Month: Jan 2007

  • Er, yes

    Well, this is quite something, I suppose. It’s apparently* a scene from the battle of Helms Deep, which is from The Two Towers, by that Tolkien chap.  It’s made from cardboard, glue, icing and a whole lot of candy: It clocked in at about 7 feet long by 3 feet deep by 2 feet tall.…

  • Now that’s what I call sneaky

    The Standard reports that consumers are not happy with pay-TV companies.  Tell me something I don’t know! Pay-television and telecommunication services top the Consumer Council’s complaints list for last year. Out of a total of 35,962 complaints received last year, 11,801 and 2,922 were about telecom and broadcasting services, respectively.  While the number of complaints against…

  • Stop stealing books

    From the SCMP: The government proposes spending nearly HK$200 million to upgrade computer systems at public libraries to meet growing demand.  The Leisure and Cultural Services Department plans a trial in six libraries of a new identification tag system to replace bar codes.  A paper to be discussed by legislators on Friday says it would…

  • Better late than never

    Just before Christmas, the SCMP’s Post Magazine had an article moaning about how long it takes for many top US & UK TV shows to make their way on to our local channels.  Which is true, but all things considered I think we should be grateful for what we get.  English is an official language…

  • Sacre bleu

    I fear I may be straying into Fumier territory here with tales of DH culinary woe, but never mind. I don’t eat steaks very often, in part because in my house they usually turn up dry and an un-appetising shade of grey.  Requests for them to be cooked properly are politely noted – but then ignored. When I asked why, I was told that “there…

  • Out with the old

    To mark the new year, I have updated my list of Hong Kong blogs.  I have added quite a few, some of which have actually been around a long time, and removed a few, mainly because they are no more (most notably Mia, who says she is moving on).    Check them out, as I…

  • 38 honeymoons?

    I felt a strange sense of deja vu when I finally got round to reading an article about the Maldives in the Christmas & New Year edition of The Economist: IN THE Seagull Café a young man is talking quietly to two others who are taking notes. He is describing how he was tortured in…

  • Disconnected

    Well, I’m back, but Internet access is still painfully slow. The BBC website has a “low graphics” option that helps considerably, but many other sites are very slow (or not available at all).  I know the BBC has a big advantage because it doesn’t carry advertising, but many web pages could be designed better to load faster even…