City University of Hong Kong

My thanks to the wonderful City University of Hong Kong for a great lunch and a fun show. The University is very striking, and like Hong Kong is relatively small for the huge number of people it holds. Also, functioning as a day and a night University, it is just as 24/7 as Hong Kong itself.

At lunch, a man at my table told me a folk tale that people with allergies are angelic, put here to do good, and that bad spirits have given them defects to try and stop them. That was pretty cool. At home I’m just a geek that can’t eat a Snickers.

I had planned to have parts of the show recorded so I could make a video of my time here, but with the all the excitement and the meal beforehand, I completely forgot!

They were incredibly kind and gave me a fantastic engraved metal plate from the University, which will take pride of place in my home after the trip.

I had lunch recently with the entertainment organisers of the Aberdeen Boat Club at their Clubhouse on the south side of Hong Kong Island, and was very impressed with their attention to detail in publicity and the planning of the show on my last day here - details at http://www.abclubhk.com/event.aspx?eventid=78

I really must say how lovely everyone I’ve worked with so far in Hong Kong has been, they have all been very friendly and accommodating, so thanks to you all. Two weeks left here.

New Look Blog

Inspired by my recent photo session with Li Ka Yee Joey, the blog is looking sharp and new. Joey's a great photographer and we met up for a day's shooting around Hong Kong and on one of its outlying islands. Ma Wan is half an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong Island and is home to one of the most bizarre places I've ever been. On one side of the island was once a traditional fishing village, now deserted. The narrow streets are empty and the tiny houses abandoned, each fenced off by metal wire and signs saying 'Government Property'. Some of the buildings are missing their fronts, the trappings of what used to be homes still visible; a chair in the corner, coat hooks on the walls. On the water's edge, rows of long, thick wooden planks once used to sort and gut thousands of fish each day are empty, free of the life and the death they once supported, but still retaining the smell of many long years of use.

I realise now that I will have almost a year of Summer. Travelling East around the world from British summertime, I'm moving against the changing of the seasons. My Christmas, New Year and Easter will all be spent in the sun.

The territory of Hong Kong consists of 234 islands in addition to Hong Kong island itself, so I still have plenty of island exploring to do. Tomorrow it's Lamma, the largest of the outlying islands. With no cars or roads, it should make for a welcome rest from the craziness of the city.

I have a few good shows lined up - one the evening before I leave early the next day for Singapore - that'll be a busy night.

Feel free to check out Li Ka Yee Joey's pictures at

http://picasaweb.google.com.hk/zucca100mb

Bollywood in Hong Kong

Hello! I’ve now been in Hong Kong for a few weeks, I’m enjoying it so much and things seem to be getting better everyday.

The highlight so far was a night spent as an extra in a Bollywood film playing a croupier at a casino. I was approached by a guy looking for people for the job and it was an easy sell –‘we’re shooting out in Macau Island at the Venitian Hotel, the world's largest casino' – I’m in. The fourth largest building in the world, it was the most luxurious place I’ve ever been or could have imagined. We were dressed up by the costume people in the casino uniform and spent the night behind the tables dealing out cards and collecting up chips. It paid too, so we must be some of only a handful of lucky people to have left the Venetian with more money than we came in with.

I just came back from a show for the British Council of Hong Kong, an organisation that specialises in international education and cultural relations. A good show a great bunch of people.

At the moment Im arranging to meet with photographers and considering making a video for Hong Kong like the one for India, which has been remade to play a lot smoother.

That's all for now...