What Kills Us This Week!

Since I'm so bad at this game - predicting what HK Magazine thinks HKers are making the most fuss about this week - I'm going to take the opportunity to show you what's outside our window at the moment:

10.45 am

Isn't that the coolest thing you've seen in ages? Tres Venice, la?! Yup, we're in the midst of a flood. You wouldn't believe the storms we've been having lately! Amber Rain with bursts of Red Rain! (12.30 pm: Just found out the storm this morning was actually Black Rain. And that it began at about 4 am - although it didn't wake us until 9.)

HK weather grading is the cutest thing ever. We have Rain, Heavy Rain, Amber Rain, Red Rain and the killer Black Rain. With Black Rain the entire city shuts down. And then we get to Typhoons and their various levels, but those all are still encapsulated in the Black Rain category.

But the city is well equipped to cope with the water. Here, it's ten minutes later, I'll take another photo for you:

10.55 am

OK, not so much difference yet. Let's give it another ten minutes.

In the meantime, let's talk more about the weather. Macau uses the same system of Ranked Rain, but they've got such a cute way of informing the city. Let me go into my photos and see if I can find the codes for how they do it.

However, there's a problem with going through old photos. I always see stuff I want to share. Like:

Gratuitous parrot photo

Singapore

See!

OK, here we are. The Macau weather reporting system:

When I first saw these, I thought they were a modern art installation, however these are the things they hang from the highest point of the city to let people know what's happening with the weather. They still use it today, although I think it's now just a tradition.

OK, the ten minutes are up. Let me show you how well HK is equipped for storms with the best drainage system imaginable.

11.05 am

See, it's all starting to happen. I'll take another one in another ten minutes, and I promise it'll be all over.

Let me go make a cuppa and listen to some music in the meantime. Hush Puppies "Silence is Golden". Ever heard of them? Young French rock band. The Redoubtable Mrs Walker went to their concert during HK's French May, and loved them, and just raved about them to everyone, then later, by accident, bumped into them in a cafe and had the best chat with them and now she's lent us their C.D. And, yes, they really are great.

Ten minutes:

11.15 am

There, see! All over! Nothing to create a fuss about. Except now everyone's on the road and there's a huge traffic jam. Oh well!!

OK, going out now to pick up the HK Magazine and see if I've got it, knowing full well I haven't, because I never do:

Joke!!! The lifts were flooded and they've shut them down till they pump out the basement. I asked our sweet old doorman if it would be today and he laughed uproariously. Tomorrow? Laugh!! Next day? Shrug and giggle!!! So that's it for the weekend; and it's a long weekend too, dammit!!!

Later:

You'll be pleased to know I can walk up five flights of stairs without problems. Unfortunately, we live WAAAAYYY above the fifth floor ... so I'm not going out again without a damn good reason!

But I did manage to pick up a HK Magazine, and this week it's some nonsense about Viking DNA, so let's just ignore it, especially since there's a much better Threatdown that they haven't spotted, but is in the column right next to Threatdown.

This week we are most likely to be killed by:

HONG HONG AIRPORT DRUG POLICE

Seems they've been playing a game for months, where they put a large stash of drugs inside some random and unsuspecting stranger's luggage and then see whose dog finds it first. Such a fun game, la? Only last week the passenger got away before any of the dogs discovered the cache. Luckily, the person in question went to Japan where they're relatively sane about these things. Can you imagine what would have happened if the person had gone straight to, say, Singapore? Or one of the Islamic nations? It would be death row and no questions asked!!!

Anyway, Japan is furious with us over it, especially since we now all know that their dogs didn't pick it up at Nakita airport. And then the Japanese police had to do a vast man-hunt all over Tokyo to track down the bag in question, and when they found the guy he still hadn't found it but, boy, is he furious about it too, as he has every right to be!

Is this a level of stupidity that is in a league of its own, or what?