Almost a year ago, South African novelist Gustav Preller launched his first book Icarus Over Hong Kong.
With a plot to rival the fast pace of life in Hong Kong, I really enjoyed Icarus Over Hong Kong and to get a feel for the main character’s exploits in Kennedy Town, I even read the final few chapters in the Kennedy Town public park.
Preller returned to Hong Kong this week to launch his second product, The Twelfth Delegate.
He was hosted by Bookazine in Central’s Prince’s Building this morning, and will return there on Friday for a second autograph session.
Our support for Hong Kong-based Cape Town artist Brigitte Mitchell is well-documented here on Howzit-HongKong.
We are happy to report that her album Don’t Explain is held is such high regard that it was recently nominated for a South African Music Award (SAMA) in the “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” category.
Said an ecstatic Brigitte: “I am thrilled and honoured to have been nominated in this prestigious event. Thank you All for your support.”
We’re thrilled at your achievement too Brigitte and wish you well.
Just in case you forgot, here’s Brigitte performing on RTHK:
We use the title “former Capetonian” with the utmost of care because we are so well aware of the Cape Town saying:
“You can take the Capetonian out of Cape Town… but you can never take Cape Town out of the Capetonian.”
As an expat for some 10 years, experience speaks for itself.
Brigitte recently released her debut album titled Don’t Explain right here in Hong Kong and it has since also been released back home in South Africa.
While Howzit-HongKong.com has been actively supporting South African bands, musicians and artists resident here in the SAR, Brigitte Mitchell has captured our special support as she has managed to transcend the industry obstacles and released her debut album on a scale not yet seen in the South African musicians’ community locally. For this we salute Brigitte as well as Gary Da Silva from Silva Records.
The Sunday Morning Post on Sunday November 28, 2010 featured the following review in their Blue Notes feature:
Hong Kongers celebrated the National Day holiday yesterday as only Hong Kongers can… spending $3,5million on a 23 minutes fireworks extravaganza.
The National Day fireworks display lit up the city’s Victoria Harbour on Oct. 1 to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The local police force started closing off key streets on the Tsim Sha Tsui side of the Harbour from early evening as well as re-directing bus-routes. All this happened as thousands of locals made their way to vantage points all along the Harbour. Die-hard amateur photographers started staking out their spots along TST’s Avenue of the Stars from as early as mid-day.
Dozens of pleasure-craft of all shapes and sizes started positioning themselves in the waters just outside my window from about 30 minutes before the start. This time around they were so close that I could clearly hear the off-shore merriment taking place.
The annual fireworks show started at 9 p.m. with over 23,800 fire shells being discharged from 3 barges anchored in the Harbour for the 23-minute display. The entire show consisted of nine scenes of different themes.
The first scene entitled “A Unified Heart” features colorful and spectacular fireworks of “Red Sun”, “Red Stars” and “Bauhinia” to celebrate the National Day.
In Scene Five, the harmonious display of silver, green, red, golden and orange fireworks represents the theme of “A United World“.
The fireworks display reaches its climax at the last scene “Our Prosperous Motherland” with fast and rhythmic firing of shells in the last 60 seconds, wishing all the best to the home country.
Happy Birthday China.
生日快樂!
This is how I experienced the show from my apartment in Hung Hom:
The picture on the right is normally a scene from a clip that regular folk would see as the closing clip of a Sunday news bulletin.
Some seemingly-beserk wannabe-fliers jumping of a ramp somewhere in the world and inevitably ending up in the drink.
Well, fear not Ye Regular Folk of Hong Kong (this Red Bull loving writer included) you too can now be part of the madding crowd (or far from it) who can experience some of the local flugtaggers strutting their stuff off a ramp somewhere in West Kowloon.
The Hong Kong edition of the popular water event takes place right here in West Kowloon on Sunday 10 October 2010.
Here’s a clip to wet your appetite:
Watch some creative individuals pilot their homemade flying machines off a 6-meter high ramp and into the blue yonder at the Red Bull Hong Hong Flug Tag:
Where: West Kowloon Heliport
When: Sunday 10 Ocotober 2010
Stay close to Howzit-HongKong.com for the latest on this mad event. In the meantime, read about AND vote for your favourite Flug Tag Team right here
Bruce Fowler from the Southern African Association in Hong Kong (SAAHK) is inviting all Springbok rugby supporters in Hong Kong to watch Victor Matfield celebrate his 100th Rugby Test today (Saturday August 28, 2010).
The Blue Bulls’ Matfield will become only the third-ever Springbok Rugby player to achieve this milestone after John Smit last week (number 2) and Western Province’s Percy Montgomery (number 1).
The Springboks will play Australia in their penultimate Tri-Nations Test at Loftus Verfeld later today.
South Africans in Hong Kong are urged to head to the ironically Aussie-themed WoolooMooloo Restaurant in Central.
WoolooMooloo is also the workplace of Bruce’s girlfriend so needless to say happy hour prices will probably prevail. Just turn up will you?!
The Springboks will take on the might of the New Zealand All Blacks during a historic rugby test at the FNB Stadium in Soweto.
Bruce Fowler from the Southern African Association of Hong Kong (SAAHK) invites all Saffas to join them at WoolooMooloo in Central. The test will be broadcast at around midnight (1 hour delay).
In addition to the fact that history will be made with the first-ever rugby test being played in a township, some other milestones will/may be reached on Saturday:
* Springbok captain John Smit is set to become only the second South African to play in 100 Test matches when he leads the Boks onto the field
* Should John score a try, he will equal the Springbok record for most tries in tests as a hooker
* John will be playing in his 26th Vodacom Tri-Nations test as captain, the most capped captain in the tournament.
* This will be the first Test match at this venue since the stadium’s completion in 1988. For the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament the stadium was known as Soccer City
* This test will be the 81st between South Africa and New Zealand and the 34th Vodacom Tri-Nations test between them
* South Africa’s Vodacom Tri-Nations record against New Zealand is: Played 33; Won 10; Lost 23. Tries scored 60 and tries conceded 84.
* Victor Matfield will play his 23rd test against New Zealand, the most capped Springbok against New Zealand. This test will also be his 40th Tri-Nations test, the third most capped player in the tournament with George Gregan (48) and George Smith (41) being the top two players.
* Bryan Habana needs one try to become South Africa’s most prolific try scorer in tests. Bryan currently shares the record with Joost van der Westhuizen with 38 test tries. Bryan will become the most capped Springbok wing (63) in this test.
Our sister-site, BlitzBokke.com made the following tribute video to Bok Skipper John Smit. The video was subsequently featured on Sport24.co.za:
The Canny Man‘s posters all read “An oasis in WanChai” but I personally like the one I saw on a video today:
“A football-free zone.”
OK, so South Africa just recently hosted a very successful football World Cup but man… a month of football is probably as much football as I can take! Truth be told, I’ve probably seen enough round-ball “action” to last me till the next World Cup. Which is probably a good thing, what with the RUGBY WORLD CUP in Zealand looming in 2011.
I am currently teaching a bridging course for new Secondary 1 students in Lok Fu and one of my colleagues is none other than the former Hong Kong rugby captain Semi Iafeta. Apologies to Semi, but I didn’t recognise him until I did a bit of “research” online today. However, in my defense Semi, your hair used to be a lot longer! Like most international rugby boys here in Hong Kong, Semi Iafeta is a semi-professional who makes his living teaching in Hong Kong.
Semi Iafeta with ball in hand, playing for Hong Kong
It seems that the big Number 8 is also quite the video producer, having produced the video about The Canny Man I mentioned earlier:
I am starting this category off with a young man from my “hood”… the Cape Flats of South Africa’s Mother City:
Cape Town.
His FaceBook Profile reads (sic):
Im a crazy guy who loves making muziq…thats right im a MUZO! Its in my bones and i cant shake it… Im a nomad,gypsy whateva you wanna call it…
Im Proudly South African…But now live wheva i can set up a stage!
Charl “BabyBoy” Pilwan is probably most known by those of you who used to frequent a quaint champagne bar in Central’s SoHo district called Soiree.
When I first got to know Charl, he was part of the resident band at Soiree called Choklit Soul comprising of Charl and Denver Damons from Cape Town as well as Rickie from Indonesia.
While the outfit has since disbanded with the departure (from Hong Kong) of Denver and Rickie, Charl Pilwan is very much partying up a storm, these days as part of a musical outfit playing at various party venues around Macao including the world-famous Venetian.
Choklit Soul’s Rickie, Denver and Charl partying up a storm at Soiree (Pic: Mike Jansen)
While they played mostly covers at Soiree, Choklit Soul has since recorded a successful album of original songs in Hong Kong. Here is Charl singing their song “My Home” included in the Choklit Soul CD. The video is made up of footage of his recent trip back home:
My Home. Charl & Zoe Pilwan on a recent trip back home to Cape Town.
Zoe & Charl atop Table Mountain with Camps Bay in the background (Pic: FaceBook)
Musical rebel with a Cause: Charl Pilwan and his Missus Zoe (Pic: FaceBook)
Here is a more recent video clip of Charl with an outfit he performed with at Soiree called The Mark Chapil Project:
The Mark Chapil Project consisted of Charl on vocals, Troy (hidden) on keyboards, Fernando on drums and guest artist Michal on trumpet.
Check out more of the Mark Chapil Project in England here
South Africa, and indeed Cape Town has so many talented, experienced and highly trained musicians and artists. Unfortunately, their ability to perform and make a living is very limited and many of them choose to seek employment abroad. This is a record of those musicians and singers who chose Hong Kong as their home-away-from-home.
For the love of Music.
If you liked this post about Charl Pilwan PLEASE nominate this blog:
One of my favourite hang-outs when I’m in the mood for some big-band jazz and a couple of big beers (not necessarily in that order) can be found in one of Tsim Sha Tsui’s food-districts: Ned Kelly’s Last Stand in Ashley Road.
In December 2011 Ned Kelly’s Last Stand will celebrate it’s 40th Anniversary. During this time, the entertainment business being what it is here in Hong Kong and indeed anywhere in the world, Ned Kelly’s Last Stand has become a true Hong Kong institution that is known and fondly remembered by patrons all over the world.
The small stage precariously perched on one side of the venue has hosted numerous bands over the years. These include: Sergio Mendez Band, Jimmy Rogers, Kenny Ball & His Jazzband, Winifred Atwell, Rosemary Clooney, Kay Starr, Matt Monroe, Charlie Barnet, Bob Wilber, The Imelda May Band, Kenny Martyn, The Tom Jones Band and many others.
These days, bandleader Colin Aitchison and the Colin Aitchison & The China Coast Jazzmen is responsible for entertaining the fans and the five or six musicians who do duty every evening do a grand job of entertaining the packed crowds who swarm in every evening around 9pm.
Ned Kelly’s Last Stand is open daily from 11h30 to 2am. and the live Dixieland jazz daily starts from 9:30pm until around 1am.
It serves Australian fare, including juicy pork sausages with mashed potatoes and onion gravy; beef stew; fish and chips; Australian sirloin steak; Irish stew; hamburgers; and cottage pie (baked bowl of minced beef, onions, vegetables, and mashed potatoes).
How they manage to feed and entertain so many hungry and thirsty patrons in such a small venue is beyond me, but who cares? They do a damn fine job!
Happy Hour is from 11:30am to 9pm, with reduced prices.
(Pictures below: Mike Jansen)
Here’s a taste of Ned Kelly’s Dixieland Jazz band, courtesy of alblurt06 on YouTube:
Additional video clips of Ned Kelly’s Last Stand/The China Coast Jazzmen can be found here
