Changing times and a welcome arrival
A couple of months ago, I again had the very enjoyable task of 'casting my eye' over David Bellis's latest book, Volume 5 of his Old Hong...
Forged in Fire - firefighting in Hong Kong's early days
'All hands to the pumps!' was a frequent cry heard in Hong Kong in its earliest days, before the administration had its own fire brigade....
OTD 1918 - from an inspirational library
Sitting in the unique and delightful Gladstone'sLibrary on a rather grey day, I've been aware that tomorrow is 104th anniversary of my...
"Fascinating ... authentic ... extraordinary" - a lovely surprise review of WCC
A couple of weeks ago I received a copy of the review written by Veronica Pearson, herself co-author of 'Women in Hong Kong', (OUP 1995)...
The Lure of the Skies
For some of Hong Kong’s more mechanically-minded policemen, the war presented an opportunity to work with that newest of technologies,...
High hopes end in the Belgian mud
On 29th November 1913, a group of four young men boarded the P&O steamer Nyanza in London, bound for Hong Kong and a career as colonial...
Vieille-Chapelle - the Hong Kong connection to a village in France - Private May & Corp. Clarke.
The quiet village of Vieille-Chapelle lies just a few miles south of the Belgian border. Its eight-hundred residents enjoy some pretty...
The Ox and the Irish
Kung Hei Fat Choi - its still the first day of CNY here in the UK, and just in time for the start of the Year of the Ox the excellent...
Long-distance book launch in lockdown
Friday 18th December 2020 turned out to be launch day for Women, Crime and the Courts. That took us by surprise, as the publisher had...
Ng Oi-san - a resourceful seven-year-old girl
I notice that it was on this day, back in 1933, that the reading public in Hong Kong heard about a plucky little girl whose actions...
