The Starting Gate

 I asked, and lovely friends said they would not be bored by news of my fifth sojourn working in Hong Kong. I do feel as if I know the small country of Hong Kong really well after numerous working trips. Somehow it is the ‘working ‘ thing which helps with knowledge of geography, culture and lifestyle of  people and places, and so here I am again, almost at the starting gate of the HKSMSA Singing Marathon of 2025.

I have 1 day left before I travel, some small purchases of suitably low carb diabetic foods and snacks must be made, and a little more work at reminding myself of the MTR directions to all those Urban venues, for classes to which I must find my own way, and then I will finally feel prepared. Going further into the New Territories is taken care of by friendly drivers and large sleek black cars, thank the Lord. On looking at the timetable, I am delighted to see many venues I have frequented numerous times before, but I need a reminder which of the underground lines I need to use for each one, so as not to end up in the dark depths of a Southern Chinese border town, where the authorities might not be too impressed by a lost and elderly ‘gweilo’ ! The slang for Westerner…..

We have now been informed of the hotel where we will all be ensconced for the duration. In the past I have only ever stayed at the Gloucester Luk Kwok Hotel in Wanchai on Hong Kong Island, but it seems the festival have very sensibly tendered out this year to other hotels and as I write they are down to a choice, or perhaps a negotiation, between two. The secretary told me in an email that she would be able to reveal the chosen one in the next week or so ! I secretly hope it will be the same hotel, so all my geographical key places do not have to be learnt anew ! ………and now I know, it is the very comfortable Gloucester Luk Kwok Hotel.  So my sense of place and direction is all good, and the trusty Marks and Spencer’s Food Hall is just around the corner ! For a singular diabetic in a rice led world this is gold dust. 

I have my timetable as of a few days ago, and whilst it is always intense work, it is looking very doable. The major change is that we singing adjudicators will be judging the newly introduced Vocal Ensemble classes, this should prove very interesting and I am sure the standard will be very high. The schools in Hong Kong take their choral singing very seriously. 

The other element of the 2025 festival is that the tiniest classes, ie under 10’s, 7’s and 5/6 years old will be done online upon returning to the UK, after a few days welcome recovery. I am slightly sad about this as it is wonderful watching these tiny souls performing live ! They are so confident, innocent and lively when singing,  it makes the work so joyful. Online must suffice this year, but perhaps in the not too distant future those classes may return to live performance. 

I am  flying almost direct from Newcastle to Hong Kong with Emirates, stopping in Dubai for a couple of hours. I was able to book all the way through from Newcastle to Hong Kong - this was a great boon, as after a simple, and quite ordinary taxi ride to Newcastle, I will be on my 5897 mile journey.  What a blessing that is !  Unless, of course, they lose my luggage....however, I will have two smart working outfits, pens and pencils and the all important festival bifocals in my cabin luggage just to be on the safe side. The big plus is my trusty Apple AirTag, discreetly tucked away in the checked case, so if it ends up in Peru I will, at least, know where it is, and perhaps pay an intelligent llama, or possibly Paddington Bear, to carry it to Hong Kong ?! 

Oh well we shall see….on the other side of the world.

PS Exciting update……I was offered an upgrade to Business from Newcastle to Dubai for a small fee which I grabbed with all arms and legs ! Sadly the Dubai HK leg will be back to cattle class 😂😂. Not sure how many business bookings have been taken from Newcastle, since the Emirates girl offered me seat 1A which I took !! A little trip jewel.