Category: History

Matthew Atkin records an endangered way of life in Hong Kong harbour

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Matthew Atkin recently took this photos of Causeway Bay typhoon shelter as the sun was going down in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour recently, no doubt with his current favourite camera, a FujiFinepix X100.

Here’s what he says about the shots:

At one time (at least up to the late 80s) this area was absolutely full of sampans with people living on them.

I think this lifestyle so close to the centre of Hong Kong is about to go, as the inhabitants of these boats are likely to be ‘moved along’, and so I have been keen to photograph them before they go.

The boats are very close to the financial district of Hong Kong, and there is an enormous amount of construction going on around the few hardy souls who remain living next to huge cranes and under flyovers. However, I should point out that living under a flyover is considered much more positively here than in the UK.

I rather liked the sampan next to the yachts, which creates a striking juxtaposition between the haves and have-nots, and the guy eating his dinner.

The expensive boats all belong to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club next door.

Also among this collection is the noonday gun, which is fired every day at noon – the idea used to be that it would enable sailors to know the time.  It is still fired by the property and investment group Jardine Mathieson, although it is now rather blocked from the harbour.

The gun was once fired by Noel Coward and is mentioned in his song Mad dogs and Englishmen.

Thanks for the photos brother Matt!

What they were reading on Christmas day 1936

Yachting World 1936

 

Yachting World 1936 2 Yachting World 1936 3 Yachting World 1936 4

Yachting World 1936 5 Yachting World 1936 6

Fowey traditional boat builder Marcus Lewis sent over these scans from the 1936 Christmas Day edition of Yachting World and Motorboating Journal.

Thanks Marcus! The pages are a great period document, as all issues of the popular sailing magazines always are.

I notice that the ‘new Hillyard‘ looks very familiar – is it the original of the double-ended boat that Hillyards went on making for many years? There’s also a characteristically tetchy but useful article about rowing tenders by Conor O’Brien. I’m not sure I’ll remember his helpful advice when I need it when I next alight in a tiny boat, but I did like the cartoons

I notice too that there are a couple of very familiar names in these pages, including Shackleton’s skipper, brilliant navigator and highly decorated war hero Commander Frank ‘Wuzzles’ Worsley and prolific sailor, racing skipper, author and editor Commander John Irving RN.

A sensational plaque seen in Abbey Street, Faversham

Michael Greenwood plaque

This plaque can be found on the front elevation of one of the many lovely old houses on Abbey Street, Faversham. What a story old Greenwood must have had to tell – I do hope he enjoyed dining out on it.

I do wonder whether there was a ballad about him – my only searches haven’t been successful, but there may be someone out there who knows better where to look…