Random Photo Again!

It may be autumn here in HK but you wouldn't know that by the weather. Sure, it's not as bad as it has been this summer but it's still not yet in my comfort zone.  Let me check my computer dashboard and tell you what it is exactly:

 29c and 75% humidity. 

So that excuses me from having to think, right? That means that I'll throw it open to the universe, select a photo from my files with my eyes shut and I'll only talk about it if it's interesting:

Oh dear, that is both interesting and sad.  This photo was taken in HK's wonderful and much lamented Shanghai Tang, at their flagship store on Peddar Street, back in the days before it was gazumped by The Gap and forced to hand over its entirely beautiful building to those awful awful Americans.

But that's all now history and we should be talking about this photo: those charming ladies in purple were from Shanghai Tang's bespoke tailoring section and their main job was to fit you for cheongsams, while the lady in white ... well, she was entirely a legend.  She was the lovely dragon-lady in charge of the Husband-Seating Area. If ever you wanted to shop unhindered, you parked your husband with her and she'd feed him tea and oranges, just like Suzanne in the Leonard Cohen song, and keep him supplied with newspapers and magazines until you were ready to collect him again.  Nice, right?  And I recall she had the most exquisite little white songbird she kept in a little cage at her table.

Gosh yes, Shanghai Tang on Peddar Street was the most exquisite shop with everything done just right, and I'm so cross that David Tang went to all that trouble to save their wonderful old building just to lose it to some American multi-national.

I think The Gap has opened in there although I've never been and refuse to go anyway ... although perhaps I should if only to find out how much damage they've done to Shanghai Tang's perfectly wonderful interior.

Maybe that should be my project for today.  Anything to get out of this terribly hot room.