After winning his first Major golf tournament at St. Andrews on Sunday, Mosselbaai-native Louis Oosthuizen must have been hounded by the media non-stop.

Here in Hong Kong he made the sports section of the free daily newspaper The Standard on Tuesday (July 20,2010).

I’m not sure where the headline “Ooh-la-la he’s cool” fits in but after the successes of the 2010 World Cup, Louis did his bit to keep South Africa’s name in the hearts and minds of the world.

Cheers Louis.

(click on the newspaper page above for larger view)

With the World Cup currently taking place back home, everyone wants to have a piece of South Africa.

Including American comedian and talk-show host Jon Stewart who sent one of his reporters (John Oliver) to South Africa to look for, wait for it….

Race riots!

Oliver was rather despondent because at first he couldn’t find any racists.

Until he met Dan Roodt.

Do you think Roodt knew that this guy was essentially taking the mickey?!

My pal Kevin over at the Canny Man loves his footy.

His establishment, in the basement of the Wharney Guandong Hotel in Wan Chai is also one of the local watering holes that stock our very own Castle Lager Beer.

If you haven’t heard, or if you’ve been locked up by the PLA at their headquarters on Hong Kong Island for the last 2 weeks, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana national team plays France in a crunch-match in Port Elizabeth tonight. (Tuesday June 22, 10pm)

Bafana Bafana (or The Boys) has to win this game convincingly and hope that the other game between Mexico and Uruguay also go their way, in order for them to stay in the tournament.  If not (and it’s a very possible NOT) the South African team will become the first-ever host nation to be eliminated in the first round of a World Cup.

Back to Wan Chai.  The Canny Man is offering a free Castle Lager if you join them for the game (kick-off 10pm).  They will also be giving away bottles of Rooiberg Brut sparkling wine whenever Bafana Bafana scores.  If not they will raffle it.

Contact Kevin or any of the staff at The Canny Man on 2861 1935 to book a table.  Directions to The Canny Man can be found here

Yebo Yes! Not only does Saturday May 22, 2010 see the start of the England Sevens at Twickenham, back home there’s also the Semi-finals of the 2010 Super 14 featuring TWO South African teams in the Stormers & Bulls,while locally our Hong Kong Boys also has a crunch-match in the Asian5Nations Top 5 Competition.

Hong Kong’s rugby warriors will take on the might of Japan in the final game of the HSBC Asian5Nations.  That game takes place at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo around 1pm (Hong Kong time).

Victory for Japan’s Brave Blossoms will confirm their entry into Pool A of the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup alongside hosts New Zealand, France, Tonga and Canada.

Japan only needs a point from their final match and as such, even a draw will do. But this will be furthest from the mind of coach John Kirwan who is demanding a complete 80-minute performance from his team.

However, all is not lost for Hong Kong as they can still, mathematically clinch the RWC automatic entry spot from the Japanese team.  All the Hong Kongers have to do to finish top of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations standings, and gain automatic entry to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand next year, is to defeat Japan with a bonus point and deny their hosts a losing or try scoring bonus point.

That’s it. Done. Alles oor. Finish & Klaar.

How’s that for a reason to travel to The-Land-of-the-Silver-Fern next year but to (1) support the Springboks as well as the (2) Boys representing your home-away-from-home!

Now THAT’S Ayoba!

Howzit-HongKong.com will be checking out Hong Kong taking on Japan in this crunch-game at The Canny Man tomorrow.  If you’re in the area, do join us?!  We’ll be at the table enjoying the sponsor’s brew and haggis! S’true!

The Canny Man

B/1 Wharney Guang Dong Hotel

57-73 Lockhart Road

Wanchai

Carlsberg @ HK$22 ?!

Two-for-One main course Mondays ?!

Beer-and-Burger @ HK$88 ?!

House Cocktails @ 30 Bucks ?!

What’s going on in WanChai’s The Canny Man these days?

Well, Kevin over at Hong Kong’s “only authentic, traditional Scottish bar” mailed us to say that The Canny Man is going “Cannier!” with this promotion.

I must admit, I’ve never been, but after hearing this, I’m on my way!

Slainte Mhath!

Find The Canny Man online or if you’re on FaceBook, once you’re logged on, just search “Canny Man” and FB will hook you up.

Here’s The Canny Man’s mad promotion:

I’ve always been baffled by the response I get when asking tourists if they know where the Avenue of the Stars is here in Hong Kong.  The conversation often gets to that point when I try to explain to them where I live, where the Bruce Lee statue is or where the best spot is from where to watch the fireworks or nightly laser-show.

It has never really dawned on me that maybe they don’t know because they haven’t been able to find it!

Maybe I should also add that it didn’t  dawn on me because whenever I visit a new city, I always do thorough research about what to see and how I could get there.  Blame it on the Boy Scout in me.  I have spent many a year following the teachings of the good Lord Baden Powell.  I also have a ritual of “doing the walk.”

Huh?

Well, whenever I visit a new city, and I have the opportunity to wake up in said city, I make it my mission to take a pre-dawn walk to experience the city waking up.  It just gives one another perspective of the place and in my opinion, the early-morning experience makes exploring it during the day less daunting.  I had some memorable mornings in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Amsterdam, to name but a few, a couple of full-moon parties ago.  My early morning in San Antonio, Ibiza will (for obvious reasons) remain a BLURR! 

I had the opportunity to do the walk here in Hong Kong a few years ago, before it became my home-away-from-home.

But again, I digress.

Reading a story in this past weekend’s HK Magazine, it became clear to me just why tourists don’t know where the Avenue of the Stars is located.  It’s just so damn difficult to get there!

In short, the Avenue of the Stars is separated from the Peninsula Hotel/Nathan Road-side by Salisbury Road and other than the Star Ferry-corner, there is no above-ground way to cross Salisbury Road to get to the Avenue.

If you do want to get there, you have to take one of three underground routes which could be both time-consuming as well as baffling to tourists.

So what do the time-constrained tourists do?

They make their way to the Star Ferry area, watch the nightly laser-show from there and go back to their hotel, etc.  In the process they miss out on a great walk along the Avenue, right up towards Tsim Sha Tsui East where there are some great restaurants and entertainment venues.  (I know this area intimately because I live on the Eastern-end of the Avenue of the Stars.)

This it what they could miss during the day:

Or at night:

Nice movie, great soundtrack! (Video from trabeller on YouTube)

Continues below. SA readers please click on the banner to support Howzit-HongKong:

Please read the story that appeared in the HK Magazine on Friday April 16, 2010:

(You can click on the story to read it full-size)

Click on the pictures below to view HK Magazine’s 3 detailed routes to the Avenue of the Stars:

News24 today reported that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will kick off with a huge music concert featuring both local and international musicians.

Control Room, the world’s leading producer of global music events, and FIFA have announced the first group of musicians confirmed to perform at the FIFA World Cup Kickoff Celebration Concert.

Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, John Legend, Juanes, Shakira, The Parlotones, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré, and Vusi Mahlasela will perform at the historic event taking place the night before the first match at 8pm local time on June 10 at the newly-renovated Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

“We in South Africa are blessed to be hosting two first-time events,” said Lucas Radebe, former South African football international and participant in the Kick-off Concert. “The first FIFA World Cup held on the African continent and the first FIFA World Cup Kick-off Celebration concert.”

“I believe these historic events will go a long way towards uniting the people of our rainbow nation in South Africa as well as further strengthening our relationships with our brothers and sisters on the African continent.”

“After all, this is an African World Cup being staged in South Africa. Music and sports are the lifeblood of African culture, so to combine those in this historic event will be a true celebration of African Culture.”

FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke added:  “We are thrilled to have a concert of such magnitude and performing talent (to) raise the curtain on the first FIFA World Cup in Africa. It is testament to the universal and unifying power of football and music, and will start the competition off on the right note – of celebration.” 

Executive-produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Kevin Wall and his company Control Room, in partnership with local promoter Showtime Entertainment, the event will feature musical performances by major international superstars and popular African artists collaborating with one another.

There will also be special appearances by past and present football legends with all proceeds to benefit “20 Centres for 2010″, the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Billed as the greatest entertainment event to date on the African continent, the event will be televised to millions worldwide.

Music fans around the world can purchase tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime concert online at www.computicket.com or via phone on (27) 083 915 8000. Concert tickets are priced at R450 (Outer Circle standing), R650 (Inner Circle standing), R850 & R950 (Upper Level seated), R1150 (Lower Level seated). Ticket prices include VAT, Computicket Charges and Park and Ride for all ticket holders.

On a personal note, The Parlotones is one of Howzit-HongKong’s favourite local outfits and thoroughly deserve their place on the world stage.  While we adore Laurika Rauch (and even Koos Kombuis’) version of Lisa se Klavier, we love what the guys have done with this Afrikaans classic. Here is one of our favourite Parlotones tunes:

Cheers to my good friend Mark Anderson who introduced me to Afrikaans music (and Meyers Rum) way back in Taiwan.  I still have your signed copy of Laurika Rauch’s CD. 谢谢 Xie Xie Ni Mark.

Mike Jansen

(Hong Kong)

Nury Vittachi is a columnist for Hong Kong’s free English daily The Standard.  He wrote this delightful piece about the universal nature of latter-day Christmas:

I hate people who corrupt Christmas, my favorite holiday.

And I am NOT showing religious bias here. My father was a Muslim and my mother a Buddhist, but when it came to December, we all became fervent Christians, even our imam. You may say this shows a lack of respect to the beliefs of our forebears, to which I would reply: get real.

You give folk a choice between going to work as normal, or staying home and wallowing in an orgy of affection, food and gifts under a tree, and suddenly we are all into tolerance and understanding, even atheists.

But before fundamentalists from any faith burn down my house, let me make it clear that I believe all major codes of belief deserve respect, INCLUDING the silly ones.

I have been fortunate enough to have travelled extensively and, in my honest opinion, nobody but NOBODY does (commercial) Christmas better than Hong Kong!  The mega-corporates who own the mega-malls that dot the Hong Kong landscape leave no stone un-turned, no speck of dust around spotless mall-floors and no cent in their huge Christmas-promotion budget unspent come mid-November.  That is when the competition starts.  Malls in Hong Kong  do battle in an unofficial “Best Christmas Display of the Year,” vying for the hard-earned (sometimes the not-so-hard-earned) dollars of locals, Mainland Chinese and other visitors.

This is what I’m talking about:

(Visit this page regularly, I will update the pics throughout this Christmas-week)