Tag: Hong Kong

Advent#5

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns

This time last year we were wandering the streets of Hong Kong looking for the location of the military hospital that Hannah was born in. On the way we walked streets with amazing neon signs.

Like so much in Hong Kong, a year has seen a lot of changes. Beyond the well publicised protests, there are other alterations to Hong Kong’s heritage afoot. Neons, in particular the ones that hang over roads are being removed. Health and safety and energy economics are the reasons given. Hong Kongers see it as another sign of Hong Kong culture being crushed by China. Their loss will alter the night- life street- life scene massively.

© Juliet Cornell Watercolour

Devon Slice and other baked goods controversy.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Food ( but this is not a food blog), Gustatory2 Comments

Yesterday’s Quickie#5 was a scone. A controversial food item, in particular in the borderlands of the Tamar Valley but also worldwide. Quickie#5 was a cheese scone for simplicity

Lively conversation occurs at theoldmortuary over baked goods as we are a mixed heritage household. One Hongkonger with Devon/Cornish genes, one Essex woman and two dogs from Bedford. Growing up in Essex I loved being bought a Devon Slice. A soft mound of sweet dough, glazed and split across the top and filled with fresh cream and jam. When I moved to the Tamar Valley I fully assumed I would reacquaint myself with the Devon Slice. I can’t say I was hugely diligent in searching them out but occasional enquiries were met with puzzled looks in the bakeries I visited. I have a vague idea I bought something similar, in the eighties, at Jacka Bakery on the Barbican in Plymouth, but it wasn’t called a Devon slice. As they are the countries oldest working bakery and must know their dough products I must assume a Devon Slice was an Essex or maybe even more locally a Braintree invention or,worse,a family made- up name.

Our much missed family baker, Jenny, part of the Cornish heritage had never heard of a Devon slice fitting my description.

This opening paragraph illustrates that there isn’t much of my bakery knowledge that is factually correct, and so with my lack of accurate knowledge laid bare I will make a small personal statement about the Scone/ Jam/Cream debate.

In my early Essex life amongst family we split a scone, spread the cut surfaces with thick cream and topped it with jam. We were all happy with this, I continued to be happy with it for 30 years until I moved to the Tamar Valley. My life since then has straddled the Tamar Valley, living in Cornwall and working either in Devon, or more recklessly and wildly, ‘ Up the line’ *

* Up the Line’ in Cornwall means anywhere beyond of where you are within Cornwall and to the East. It could mean Plymouth, London or, in reality, anywhere in the rest of the World.

Personally despite living in Cornwall I persist in my ‘Essex’ ways left to my own devices. In company I can go either way to be honest. I actually don’t have a huge preference. To say the spreading order of jam and cream or cream and jam is contentious is in itself contentious. Not having an opinion is entirely possible but will always expose the undecided individual to unlooked for advice in any group of people.I am hugely fascinated by other people’s views . Does Aberdeen side with Devon , cream first, or does it follow a Celtic lead and side with Cornwall, jam first? Where does Birmingham stand?

Essex I believe stands with Devon, but maybe that’s just my own leafy corner of North East Essex. Who knows?

Debate and more knowledge warmly welcomed.

The Last Dahlia- a pondering.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns, pondering

Yesterday was a day of garden clearing and tidying ready for winter. The last Dahlia was picked.

Google is a wonderful thing, we needed to know how to overwinter the dahlia plants. The trouble is, with Google, it doesn’t just stop there. Once I had discovered that a thick mulch of bark would do the trick, I set off on other Dahlia related adventures. Goodness there was a lot of sadness. The National Trust property, Baddesley has reluctantly decided to give up having a Dahlia border due to an infiltration of pests. 20 years of gardening tradition gone only moments after I had first discovered it.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/baddesley-clinton/features/the-dahlia-border-at-baddesley?campid=SocialShare_Central_MainSite_Email_1431758463791

Worse was to follow, Black Dahlia was the name ascribed to a murder victim in Los Angeles in 1947. Elizabeth ( Bette) Short was found dead in a parking lot. Her body dismembered and eviscerated and her face disfigured by something described as a ‘Glasgow Smile’, her mouth was cut from ear to ear.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38513320

Away from Google and still pondering Dahlias I remembered that while we were in Hong Kong ,in June, the very early style of the protesters was not only black clothing but also each protester carried a white flower, very often a Dahlia. Why did I not take photos? There was ample chance, peaceful protesters with flowers filled our trips to the city .Sadly things have escalated and the flowers have a different purpose now.

Photo from Sydney Morning Herald

Dahlia pondering, sadder than you might expect.

If you can’t paint, Podcast

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Food ( but this is not a food blog), over60bloggingLeave a comment

My painting and writing life is a little obsessive. Doing either thing I can lose hours, miss meals and generally lose track of time. This June I am spending the whole month in Hong Kong caring for my seven month old granddaughter. I only travelled with hand luggage and the travel painting kit did not make the cut. I thought I could stock up on arrival but it’s not been as easy as I imagined.

There has also not been a huge amount of time for me to twiddle my non-painty fingers. Other stuff to do. Let’s not pretend the care of a 7 month old is complex. Love, care and endless walks. The endless walks are a challenge in blistering heat or torrential rain. VV, my granddaughter likes to look outward whilst being pushed so meaningful babble is also denied to me, whatever happened to eye contact? I’m already a massive failure to her on the breast front, maybe not looking at me manages her disappointment . With no ability to create,my obsessive streak needs an outlet. Now my phone and headphones are my walking friend, inspiration, and recipients of my obsessive attentions.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=desert+island+discs+podcasts&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

I’ve been a life long lover of Desert Island Discs, but you can have too much of a good thing, so I searched for something similar but different. I was attracted to Jay Rayners Out To Lunch. I read his restaurant reviews because I love his use of language and honesty. He has a fabulous voice, accent and a laugh that sounds like it comes from a huge communal cooking pot.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=out+to+lunch+podcast+jay+rayner&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

Podcasts free people up to be themselves, his conversations, over food, include expletives and intimacies, just as any meal out with friends would. As I write this I’m fresh from his episode with Grayson Perry, this is, after all, an art and design blog. The premise of this podcast is that Jay chooses a restaurant that matches the culinary favourites of his guests and they chat over a three course meal.The topics range from the mundane to the sublime. Seriously if you want a dose of articulate laughing happy people, this is the place to drop your ears. At the end of the season Jay presents The Juicy Offcuts From Season 1. The aural equivalent of leftovers, what’s not to love.

Jays 4th guest was Jessie Ware, a singer songwriter and podcaster. Jessie’s Podcast, Table Manners, hosted with her mum, is my next listening project. The teaser, first broadcast in 2017 is five minutes of mother daughter bickering. Delicious already.

Two days later and I’m well into Table Manners and I’m already hooked. There is a huge archive so I’ve only touched the surface. I’ve really loved the episodes I’ve listened to. This podcast is based around Jessie and her mum Lennie cooking a meal, usually in one of their homes, for someone in the public eye or ear. I use this descriptive advisedly. Celebrity would be another title to describe the guests but it is such a superficial notion, Jessie and her mum bring out such depth from their guests it feels wrong.

Bickering between Jessie and Lennie is a bit of a thing in this podcast. Loving bickering is hugely relaxing. My grown up children say there is nothing better than dozing in a room with background family bickering, I probably had not fully understood this concept until I heard this podcast.

Currently my ears are being pleasured by Tim Dowling , he definitely does good nattering.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&hl=en-gb&ei=bVsCXZ6ECIri-AaBhYXYCw&q=table+manners+podcast&oq=table+manners+&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.1.0.0i67j0l7.48480.60749..62692…1.0..0.162.2720.40j1……0….1…….8..35i39j33i160j0i22i30j0i20i263j46j0i10j46i67j0i131j46i39j0i3j0i131i67.65cDTLNfjok

These podcasts open up so many world’s that I may not have ever experienced. I’ve got an ever growing list of music, literature, art and many other random things that need googling and then exploring further.

Was there life before podcasts?

Searching for the past

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Coffee Hunters, Home TownsLeave a comment

Hannah was born in Hong Kong, whenever we are there we search for businesses and places that have remained essentially unchanged since the 70’s. A tough ask in such a changing city. She is also a coffee addict and grecophile so Olympia Graeco Egyptian Coffee is a perfect match. No added authenticity or design needed. They’ve been grinding their beans since the 1930’s.

At 24, Old Bailey Street, Central. HK

Sun Life Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships 2017

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns1 Comment

IMG_9749Today the Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships are being held. Stanley is a very beautiful bay in Hong Kong. We visit there often as Hannah ( the coffee addict) was born near there and both her parents ashes have been scattered on a hilltop overlooking the harbour. We have family members who paddle in the Stormy Dragons team so we have a partisan interest in the results.

Hong Kong Style

#everydayinspiration Mido Cafe, Hong Kong

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home Towns2 Comments

IMG_8414On a recent visit to Hong Kong we visited the Mido Cafe on Temple Street, Hong Kong. There is a fabulous blog page about it already that I shared a few moments ago.

You will read how great this place is, but for me the thrill was in its windows. Beautiful 1950’s Crittall windows. Made in my birthplace of Braintree, Essex, UK. More importantly, for this everyday inspiration post, I was inspired to tell my children how their grandparents met when they both worked at Crittalls Factory in Braintree .Until this moment I had completely forgotten my family link with the factory and even forgotten why I love Crittalls windows quite so much.