The OlympicTorch Relay

3.15 pm: 

Sounds of drumming, cheering and dragon-dancing coming from the street below.  You know what's about to happen, don't you?  Let me show you what's outside our window:

Yup, rows of school kids lined up all along Hennessy Road waiting to wave their red flags as the Olympic torch passes by.  No, no, wait, there are blue flags as well, but I don't think those are for Tibet. No idea what those are about but so many school-kids have them it's obviously something the schools have handed out to them.

And I'm in a unique position to photograph it when passes underneath me. Also in a unique position to throw a jug of water out the window at the appropriate moment, but I think I won't.

Surprisingly, I'm with China on this one. Sure, we all know that they're like: a beautiful nation with beautiful people, a wonderful and long cultural history, and the most astonishingly gorgeous material culture ... and the most creepy-awful Government that really is to blame for the horrible things they do everyone else (should post some of my letters here about the awful things they've tried to do to Hong Kong - although they've backed off lately I'm pleased to announce.)

And, yes, I understand the protests ... but I think we should be seeing these Olympics as "Welcome Back to the World, China!" and be as nice as possible to them and hopefully they'll want to keep up the goodwill it'll generate, and that way the rest of the world can influence them a bit and they'll stop being such a fearful, creepy, fundamentally-shy, lacking-in-confidence, god-awful pack of Nasty Bullies!

3.45:  

Thirty minutes later 

and nothing has changed.

 

Still no sign of activity and the traffic is still running, and people are still using the skybridge down from us - they said they'd cut off access for when the torch passed under it to prevent protestors dousing the flame from above - but the police have lined up along the road to keep back the crowds (no, wait, if you check the earlier photo they were there already. Poor darlings. They really have some tedious jobs to do, don't they.), and lots of adults wearing red have joined the kiddies.

4.05

Still no sign but I'm guessing that the torch will set out from Victoria Park at about 4pm, and it'll take possibly half an hour to reach here. (Or is it going to Victoria Park? I really should check these things in the paper, shouldn't I!) I'm guessing that all the celebrations have just started early because the Cantonese are really into efficient organisation of stuff and always get stuff ready wwaaayyy too early.

4.20

Still no sign and the crowds have quietened. Traffic still running. Sky bridge still full of pedestrians, although Beijing Cadre Types have stationed themselves all along the railing.

4.24

Police are moving the Cadre Types along. You go, HK Police Force!!!

4.30

Still no sign. Guess I should turn on the TV and see what's happening! It's sure to be live-to-air, considering how we saw every single sodding second of the two pandas China sent to us last year, and have you any idea how compelling it is watching two enormous crates unloaded from an aeroplane and put onto trucks? Sincerely! There had to be subliminal messages in there saying "This is fascinating" because I kept watching, and it took more than three hours. And it wasn't until I'd watched the trucks travel slowly across the island to Ocean Park when I realised I was being wasting time in the most extraordinary fashion and turned it off! Right before the truly riveting bit when they unloaded those crates again.

And then I went out, but still couldn't get away from it because all the giant screens around the city had it on!! And thousands were watching, enthralled.  It's subliminals, I'm telling you! That's the only explanation!

4.35

Yup, it's live-to-air on all the Chinese channels. But I can't actually recognise where it is at the moment!  And talk about girly-running. HK really isn't a place that does much exercise so I guess no one has a lot of practise at this!

4.40

The signs behind the torch say "Admiralty" and that's the next suburb to us. And I guess it's coming in the opposite direction so it's going to Victoria Park (Later: it was actually going to Bauhinia Square on the waterfront). Whistles blowing, cheering ... and my neighbours are all hanging out windows. 

Ah, the loudest deafening roar imaginable is coming our way, so I guess this is it. Let me hang out our window myself:

Proof that the torch passed

beneath me

unmolested and undoused

4.45

All over bar the shouting, which continues down Hennessy Road like a Mexican wave of roaring.  Now I'll download the photos so you can share it too.

5.00

So, since I feel obligated to do something - anything - to show my disapproval of what China is doing in Tibet, here's my protest ... and please don't notice that it's actually someone else's protest I've appropriated and just note instead how quiet and dignified it is to protest this way, since there are no police kicking down my door:

"Tibetan Self Portrait"

by 

Norbu Tsering

8.00

Found this on-line news item and found it so hilarious I had to post it here:

‘Free Tibet’ flags made in China

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.