Clary - did you manage to hook up with any of the people from IceRed? I just got a notice from them a little while ago, about a get-together in HK.
On LA river, there is a flood plain to the south, called Long Beach. It's a long story. On the taking of water from the north and east, yep. (I am an LA person, but water is a serious subject not only there, where much has been done of questionable sort, but around the globe...)
sorry, digressing, carry on.
ehBeth, I couldn't contact icered when I tried from England, maybe I'll try again here. Acepoly got in touch from here but I haven't heard anything lately.
In another thread, i regretted not having an Ogden Nash opus on the subject of elephumps. But i was wrong . . . this evening i've been listening to a performance of Camille St.-Saens Carnival of the Animals on the radio, with the Ogden Nash narration.
In honor of Our Dear Peritpatetic Clary:
Elephants are useful friends
Equipped with handles at both ends
With moth-proof, wrinkled hides
Their teeth are up-side down
Outside
If you think an elephant is preposterous
You've probably never seen a rhinosterous.
Thank you for those few kind words, Setanta. Glad to know my wrinkles are moth-proof and teeth upside down.
Ogden Nash mentioned a rabbit in his poem about Custard the cowardly dragon:
Custard said, 'You know my habits;
You know I've always been afraid of rabbits;
So if this fierce fellow won't depart in peace,
Eject him yourself or call the police.'
'Oh', jeered Ink and Blink and Mustard,
'What a cowardly, cowardly, cowardly Custard!'
'I agree', said Custard; 'and I add to that
Craven, poltroon, and fraidy-cat.
Ol' Ogden was a "home town boy." I live near Columbus, Ohio. I'm not from here, so he's not my hometown boy. They preserve a fond memory of him, and i believe they preserve the house in which he was born.
So Ogden Nash was American, eh?
I never knew that, Sir, no way
I thought he was an English gent
Loyal to Queen and Parliament
For this info, Set I thank
I'll put it in my memory bank.
McT, you're up and about early, aren't you. I have taken inspiration from one your countrymen this a.m., and have a thread for important philosophical discussions, which is located
here . . . and now that you know, you can visit, or you can avoid it like the plague it will likely prove to be, as you list . . .
Clary, your son is welcome too, all ages welcome here.
After all, our site mentor is a wee lad, hard though that is for me to understand, given his smarts.
Uh, remembered, I think you have to be 13 to be here...
That's OK, that son is 25 and never seems to have time to write even his ancient mater an email - who is the site mentor of which you speak?
By the way if you want to sample the zing of HK, try
http://www.hkta.org
Hello, Clary. At last I'm up to date on your travels! (Have had computer problems for the last couple of days ... the damn thing kept cutting out on me!
)
So .... Hong Kong, hey? And you have to work!
Anyway, I hope this is but a short interlude & you're happily back in the heat & dust before long.
Thailand sounded wonderful! I can understand you wanting to revisit. How much time do you have before it's necessary to return?
It has been wonderful travelling with you, Clary. More, please!
I was speaking of Craven.
Claridge - at last I got my computer working and just went through the whole saga. Really a great trip, not that long in Cambodia though. Good know you having a nice time. I can understand why HK cause bottom of tummy to fall out. I hope you are getting to grips with it. Having useful stuff to do should be a help. Have to transport offspring to swimming now Tootle Ooo.
G'day acw - are you a mate of Clary's?
Welcome to A2K - I see you've been skating around the word games!
Yes, acw and I go back to schooldays together! How's Oz, Margo, better than here I bet, there's nothing to be seen from the Peak today, all grey. And I have a stinking cold, come from the change in weather. BUT I am meeting McTag's niece and sister for lunch today!!! Funny where these wandering threads will lead...
Overcast and occasional rain here - but still not enough to break the drought.
Melbourne next weekend - weather's always weird there!
Clary
I'll be meeting margo at last, this weekend. Just think, if you had decided to come to Oz we could have had a drink together!
Sorry to hear that you have a cold .... at least you don't have one of those horrible tummy things.
It is so good to see the huge improvement in your spirits, Clary! (At least before HK) A bit of travel was EXACTLY what you needed!
Well Clazza you'll have had your lunch by now, if I read these time differences aright, and by now you'll know they are my cousin & spouse and cousin's daughter, but who cares? I hope you all had a nice time...I also hope you had a chance to eat something, because these people could talk for England, Scotland and Wales. As you will no doubt confirm in your own good time.
Hope the cold did not put too much of a damper on things either.
Byee, McT
Hey McTag, yes I did sort out the relatives; great people and I love the way they talk, and eat, with hearty appetites and appreciation, good enjoyment of life going on, nice to see! We had a lovely meal in one of the new restaurant areas, tapas of generous size and good flavour. And they very kindly paid for me too.
They are off to Macau today and I am meeting an old friend in an even smarter area called Festival Walk. HK makes London look provincial!
Here's a soupcon of life as a tourist in Hong Kong. I had inveigled myself into 2 households to stay for a while, but between 13th and 25th of this month have a yawning gap. Mindful of the young travellers and the places they stay, I wandered down the crowded, colourful lanes of Tsimshatsui, past Indian tailors and Chinese noodle shops, until I spied a notice high on a lamppost 'Lee Gardens Guesthouse 8th Floor'. Now, the Lee Gardens Hotel was where I had first stayed, in 1979, as the wife of a newly recruited HK civil servant; it was a proper 3* hotel but since I had a 9-month-old baby life was hard, as they didn't bring boiling water to make the feeds for hours after they were ordered - etc etc. So this guesthouse, of which I had no expectations at all, might be fine. A narrow but highly polished marble lift lobby presented itself and I ascended in the less-than-highly polished lift. As is normal, there was an iron grille across the door, but a woman saw that I was, I suppose, a bona fide customer-in-waiting, and let me in. She showed me the 4 empty rooms, tiny squares with a queensize bed, TV, and shower/loo and airconditioning of course. Absolutely fine, I had no wish for more, and I booked one on the spot, even giving her the price of a night to show how earnest I was. She was smily and pleasant and delighted that I could speak about 4 words of Cantonese! Much nicer than the surly roomboys at the original hotel. It will cost around $30 a night, not too bad for this most expensive of Asian cities. And it's right in the heart of the city (though quiet enough on the 8th floor), near museums, restaurants, the underground railway, shopping till you drop, even a mosque should I need one. I think my smart HK friends will pity me, but if I have learned one thing in my life, it is to be flexible and enjoy what you have! On which sententious note, I will leave you in peace!
