tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post4516824513857859678..comments2023-10-22T02:31:42.812-07:00Comments on grit's day: In transitionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post-30253452383040101912011-02-12T20:30:03.569-08:002011-02-12T20:30:03.569-08:00you are right, sharon. i don't feel comfortabl...you are right, sharon. i don't feel comfortable taking photographs in some situations, because i feel like i'm turning people into my tourist objects, but i hope someone is photographing this ordinary everyday. for it to slip away without record would be too cruel.<br /><br />hi npv, and thank you. the government - whether british or chinese - has so very little political interest. they merely seem in place to balance out economic interests. that, i don't think, is changing from one generation to the next. my guess is that the family dynasties that rule hk do so regardless of the government in place. <br /><br />the way hk people react intrigues me; there is a lack of political questioning and certainly an absence of ministerial accountability, but people don't seem to pursue that. maybe they have a living to make, and they are mindful of the alternatives. china is close by. <br /><br />i think the shenzhen-prd development is interesting, and i wonder if hk will be overtaken by that huge megalopolis. the hong kongers have an idea that hk is the desirable place to come, and that maybe gives people here a sense of social superiority (have you been following the tour guide business?) but i'm not sure hk can hold that sense for many more decades.<br /><br />aw, bmf, get well soon. i had a terrible flu in the first week of travelling aunty's stay. she began to think surgical masks were a good idea.<br /><br />gweipo, thank you for that nugget. i see some architectural tours around the city. i've wondered about taking one. i bet if i do, i'll find them advertised in english then conducted in cantonese. then it's a lesson that i should learn cantonese, no?!<br /><br />on the masthead pic... there is a table in the children's zone at snibston discovery centre, leicestershire, that is transparent. in the tray underneath is a collection of toys, bricks, craft items, fabric, plastic junk. I photographed it, then played about with the facilities on my phone camera - frosting, diffuse, that sort of nonsense. i then transferred the pic to the computer and uploaded it to the blog. it doesn't fit across the width on my screen. i'm not very interested in the technology of the blog unfortunately, so it stays there. and i forget now how to change the letters from pink. i hope he likes it. it would be the first positive comment i ever got for the look of this blog!<br /><br />not off the topic at all rachel. i'm looking forward to hearing your observations. learning about this place is one reason why i'm here after all.Grithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022216340604423686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post-90773702808568653562011-02-12T18:13:12.668-08:002011-02-12T18:13:12.668-08:00It's so true, money rules in China! I agree w...It's so true, money rules in China! I agree with Dig on the issue that the people there seem skilled at reinventing themselves. Look at the youth today, they are quick to learn one trade in the sewing machines for garment factories but as soon as they find an electronics factory that pays more they jump ship. Now the only thing I'm really concerned about is the lazy youth that doesn't want to work and move out from their parents house. We've found factories filled with aging older folks who still have 30-40 year old's at home playing video games! Huh??? I guess there are the to extremes. I think I just went off topic a little bit.R. Molderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119986754283927453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post-50966613841593685722011-02-11T23:51:26.427-08:002011-02-11T23:51:26.427-08:00I went on a historical walk with Jason Wordie, and...I went on a historical walk with Jason Wordie, and one of the shops we looked at was a bone setters shop. His commentary from a commercial / historical perspective was that shops like this still exist in some areas which were developed in the 70's and 80's because at that time the ex-tenants were allowed to buy residential and commercial property back after the development. That means that this type of shop owner probably owns the property and is now in it free of rental. This is different to the redevelopment now, where the developers retain the commericial property rights and then lease it to the standard monopolies, leading to homogenous shopping experiences and any "quirky" shops get one short shot (perhaps) at a lease and then they get priced out of the market.<br /><br />On a complete aside, my son was looking at your blog mast-head and had a hundred questions about the picture. Who made it, and how it was made being the predominant ones.Gweipohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09377349664812948121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post-61279493649558068292011-02-11T11:21:45.827-08:002011-02-11T11:21:45.827-08:00Aw...I love your descriptions. I could almost be t...Aw...I love your descriptions. I could almost be there. (except that instead I'm here moaning about the grey British weather and the fourth cold we've caught since Christmas.)Big mamma froghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03006397435397636499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post-15781863057772346552011-02-11T09:28:00.387-08:002011-02-11T09:28:00.387-08:00Brilliant post, so true of HK. But it was always l...Brilliant post, so true of HK. But it was always like that. Stanley Market used to be full of grubby, quirky little stalls selling goodness knows what; some time in the late 80s, it transformed to little airconditioned shops all selling the same fashions. (God knows what it's like now -an extension of the Pacific Mall?). <br /><br />And so many lovely colonial buildings were just knocked down and replaced by high rise in the 70s - and that was under British rule.nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1686467686335484826.post-2514093221122520482011-02-11T06:44:17.060-08:002011-02-11T06:44:17.060-08:00All things change, some with enthusiasm, others re...All things change, some with enthusiasm, others reluctantly, but change they do. As to the girdle stall, enjoy it while it lasts ;-)sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03247276433803886670noreply@blogger.com