So Hong Kong’s biggest-ever lottery (Mark Six) first prize was not $100 million.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club, incidentally the world’s richest sports organisation for obvious reasons, announced that unprecedented interest from Hong Kong punters pushed the first prize up to about $132 Million!
South Africa’s lottery slogan is “Tatta Ma Chance” and there went my chance. Tatta! (goodbye!)
Yes… I didn’t win.
Let me rephrase that: I didn’t win the first prize… only $400. That win amounted to only 3 numbers in plus the bonus ball. Three lucky so-and-so’s walked away with $44 Million each!
The Hong Kong Jockey Club, operators of the Territory’s Mark Six lottery, earlier this week announced the record-setting $75million for last night’s draw.
Unfortunately (fortunately?) no one won the first prize last night. This meant that a brand-new record was set for Friday evening’s draw.
In the meantime the Jockey Club announced that 8 punters last night walked away with the second-prize of around $1million each.
Hong Kong record-setting $100million Mark Six lottery has once again exposed the shortcomings of the English-language.
Just how would the Queen (Elizabeth not Elton) describe the 7-times rolled over $100million Mark Six?
Amazing?
Wow?
Fantastic?
Jolly Good?
Back home in South Africa, people will simply say: It’s a MOERSE amount!
In December last year, we wrote about the architecturally interesting St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Causeway Bay (on the way to Hong Kong Stadium).
The western church building is built in a mostly traditional Chinese style and even the pews sport Chinese and Christian characters.
I recently found an interesting programme on RTHK’s Hong Kong Stories series of television programmes, as a way of following up on my 2010 post. It deals with historical buildings around the Territory and includes the St Mary’s Church building as well as another beautiful building, the Catholic Cathedral in Cane Road, Central.
In addition to unpacking the relationship between Chinese religious architecture and western religion, the RTHK programme tells us more about the rich history of St Mary’s and how it came to being.
Click on the LINK to view it. (The part about St Mary’s is about 3/4 into the insert.)
In a ‘previous life‘ I used to run some recreation centres in Cape Town.
One of our services extended to the aged, which means we had to collect old folks from around our service areas, transport them to a recreation centre and keep them busy for the day. Some of the activities included skills such as embroidering, painting, etc.
After the day’s events, they’d be duly carted back to their homes.
Here’s in Hong Kong, however, I find that the aged are so much more active.
These are some of the activities I encounter on my way to work every day here in Hung Hom (the footage is from nearby Whampoa Garden):
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.
Those of you who are on my FaceBook Friends-list would know just how much I adore Jay-Z and Alecia Key’s “New York State of Mind” song.
Ever since I first discovered the song and seen the video, I immediately related to it and it’s relation to living in a big city.
To give you some perspective, I grew up in Strand, a small town on the outskirts of Cape Town… a city in itself still struggling to be a ‘BIG‘ city in world terms.
I have since lived in Taoyuan City in Taiwan, which is a huge industrial city just outside of Taiwan’s capital city of Taipei.
So I know about Taiwan BIG city living. I lived there for six years.
I have since relocated to Hong Kong and have been living here for the last 4 years; and a bigger BIG city you cannot find.
Having moved from the small town living of Strand, to Taoyuan City in Taiwan to Hong Kong, when I first heard Alecia Keys and Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” I immediately felt an affinity to the song.
However, it read “New York” instead of “Hong Kong.”
How about a local version, I thought.
I recently came across a local version of the song (Thanks to my pal Brad Moreland) and well chuffed, I would like to share it with all of you today:
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 used to be a member of (the old) Zoopy.com when they were still a user-generated video uploading site. They have since morphed into a 90-second news site and we like (and support) their new direction all the way.
Eish! They ARE South African after all.
So, in support of CEO Jason Elk and the rest of the amazing team over at Zoopy.com, we decided to feature some of their content right here on Howzit-HongKong.com for the benefit of all our South African expats here in Hong Kong (and all over the world where Howzit-HongKong.com is read). Hey, we get around, I’ll have you know.
Here’s the first instalment (below).
With the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPad2 so big in Hong Kong… reason for concern?
Those of you who are regular readers of Howzit-HongKong.com (and BlitzBokke.com) will know of my profound love affair with jazz and especially the genre called Cape Jazz.
This interest of mine is what moved me to start the Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions here on Howzit-HongKong.com (we should re-start that feature soon!).
The weekly feature showcased some of the Cape Town/South African/International music and musicians that I love and associate with home and that I like to play in my apartment here in Hong Kong, especially at sunset.
I have featured the likes of (my kids’ tick tock lady) Tina Schouw, Sankomota, Lesley Kleinsmith, Dave Grusin, Sadao Watanabe, to name but a few.
This past weekend, I had to visit my regular IT mall in Sham Shui Po because I had to upgrade my WiFi network in the apartment. I also went around to one of the stalls selling DVDs and as always I picked up 2 real DVD GEMS! (For HK$30/R30 each nogal!) You guessed it: both jazz and both groups have a connection with Cape Town.
The Fourplay DVD was recorded Live at the Cape Town International Convention Centre while Incognito (a British acid jazz band that was started 32 years ago) is a favourite among Capetonians of my generation.
The FourPlay concert, as I mentioned, was recorded live in Cape Town and it was a real treat to hear and see how my compatriots responded when the band played classics like 101 Eastbound (below) by Bob James (keyboards) Nathan East (bass) Larry Carlton (guitar) and Harvey Mason (drums):
I should visit Sham Shui Po more often.
FourPlay Live in Cape Town
Incognito - 30th Anniversary
————————————————————————————————————————————————Howzit-HongKong.com listens to the best Jazz with Eric Alan on The Detour only on The Taxi
