John's Birthday

Lunch at Siena One, 15th August (Jing at work)

Grandmotherly-grand-sonly kisses....

This looks like an App effect.  In fact, it's just smudge on the iPhone...

Mutti took us out to the Mandarin Grill for birthday dinner.
An absolutely fantastic meal, excellent food and service.... I should
have taken a photo at the table, but forgot; this in in the foyer.

Sweet Fighter

Anna, aka "Sweet Fighter", in the lead, as her team's jammer

Anna's team is the "Dolls of Hazzard", part of the Victorian Roller Derby League.  Pretty cool!  Info on Roller Derby here.  Seems pretty complex... also very physical and tactical...

Looking just like the Doll of Hazzard...

Hot days in Hong Kong

The Siena Pool yesterday.  A clear day in Hong Kong, looking East
to Hong Kong Island (the mountain is The Peak) and Kowloon.

That tall spike in the background is the ICC building, Kowloon, 108 stories
with Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the top 10 floors, the highest hotel in the world

Looking North, the new hotel to open before end year

Looking South, Discovery College building.  John went there for two years

The house covered for the septennial refurbishment...

.... so I can't get to the boat that I'm building.

Our technical adviser takes a rest

Basil Charles, the family Lab, and technical adviser on the Somes Sound family boat, takes a rest.
In background some Douglas Fir planks and the bigger plank is Batu, out of which I'm making the Transom.

"The case for naturalism"

Please see the wonderful Sean Carrol here.  And make sure you click onto the YouTube vid!

Hong Kong International Art Show

I just wanted to put some of these online and say that I was at the first of these shows in 2008 and found this one much bigger and better.  I thought there was much to admire and little to scorn.  All very professional, nothing undergraduate.  I was most taken by the Chinese stuff.  I found that the international community felt the same.  Eg, there's a New York Times article here, which says much the same. "It's much bigger and of very high quality", says one in the article. I agree.  It was really quite something and better than many a museum I've been to in Europe and even the US...

Old friends: Hua Yin and Nicole Schoeni, of Schoeni Galleries Hong Kong
Mother and daughter!

Stunning installation.

By Hong Bin, at the International Art Fair in HK which finished yesterday.

The building jig for a Somes Sound

This is the jig - still half-built, as held up by rain - on which I'm building a little Somes Sound picnic boat. The detail is here: mywoodboat.blogspot.com

PS: the painting is Yang Shaoming.

At the Hong Kong International Art Show

Me with Nicole Schoeni and her Mum Hua Yin of Schoeni Gallery. Have known them for many years since we first bought a painting from Nicole's dad, Manfred, in 2002: he was murdered in the Philippines in still unexplained circumstances. Nicole took over his galleries.
The show was fantastic. Much bigger and better than the first five years ago. Much to admire and little to scorn. All very professional, nothing undergrad.

Jing: 2:30 am on Mt Rinjani volcano in Indonesia

Camping just before going to the Rinjani summit at 2.30am

My guide for Rinjani (From Jing)

Rinjani in the background

There it is, the money shot!

Like for her last Volcano walk, this one is like the Wikipedia shot. The Rinjani caldera.

Rinjani photos

Jing's sms comments to me below. I've chosen a couple of the photos for posting via iPhone. I'll get to editing later. P.
Jing's SMS:
Sending in order of the village where the trek starts, then on the way to Rinjani, then the Rinjani summit, then sunrise, coming down to the volcano lake through steep hills of rocks, then went up again half way for 2.5 hours hard climbing before returning to the village via 4 hours hike through beautiful greenery ...

Rinjani Caldera

Near dawn yesterday. From Jing's iPhone to me Posted from my iPhone. P.

Approaching Mt Rinjani Volcano

This is from Jing and I'm sending via my iPhone to see how it works... P.

Jing climbing another volcano!

Jing is climbing this volcano today: Mt Rinjani, 3,726 metres in Indonesia.
I'll post her photos when she sends them.  This is from Wikipedia.

Some Photes

Another in the exciting series "Hedges of Hong Kong".  Note the sharp edge of this one
achieved with the Aussie-bought cordless hedge trimmer.  For Anne, who is considering mixed hedge.

Arlene holding up the cordless chainsaw that Mutti brought up to Hong Kong: risking profiling as a terrorist
as a result.... This is the Michaela tree, which has grown rather more than we thought.

Shot of Kowloon from the Central-DB Ferry.  The globe is a hot air ballon-type thing that you can tourist up

First day this season at the pool of Club Siena a couple of days ago.  Visibility 9km

Ditto above. Tall building on left is 108-storey International Commercial Centre.  On right 88-storey IFC2

A couple more piccies of Bromo

The earlier photos of the volcano are here.  A couple more from Jing's iPhone.  Great camera, that iPhone!

Hindu Temple in the clouds.  Note some of the hikers in the foreground

Sunset over the caldera

Bromo is the one in the foreground. The one at back is puffing out..
Don't know its name, must ask Jing...