Catch me reading an excerpt from my short storyShitstormin theHong Kong Writers Circle‘s 2021 anthologyAfter The Stormat aHong Kong International Literary Festivalevent at theHong Kong Fringe ClubNov 12! Admission is free, but you do have tobookas space is limited. The anthology will be published the same day or shortly after (definitely in time for Christmas!) and available to buy from booksellers, includingBookazineandAmazon. Bring on the festive fun! (Halloween feels more of a trick than a treat now you have to wear two masks!!)
Clearly the person who wrote this had not read Shitstorm. 🤣
I received an unexpected early Christmas present this week! The South China Morning Post will be publishingTHREEof myhumorous short storiesin the Long Reads section of a festive edition of Post Magazine Dec 5th! 🙌
I originally posted that the stories were inspired by Sharp Pains before remembering that it was actually the other way round! Sharp Painsis back onRTHK Radio 3next Tuesday (Oct 25) with brand new episode,Cats (a yowler!) …
Transference keeps on keeping on surpassing mental milestones: the indie feature film I helped co-produce (through Mental Ideas) is fast approaching 3.7M views on YouTube! Thanks to everyone who has watched and supported it! Had we charged a cent a view, we’d have actually broken even! But of course the film’s purpose was to raise awareness of important mental health issues, not to make money (as I continue to console Raff…🤣 🤣 🤣)
Can’t WAIT to see Raff‘s latest ingenious film Little Boxes, shot entirely on Zoom in lockdown! It’s racking up an impressive array of awards nominations, despite still being in post-production! Congrats Raff, producers Lee Boardman (my old flatmate in London billions of light years ago!), his gorgeous wife Jennifer James and the talented group of actors they train and mentor at their Manchester-based acting school/ company Actor Tribe who star in the film!
I’m hoping to catch up with Raff and Lee for a chat (on Zoom – ironically…) about the film on S2 of Mental Ideas on RTHK Radio 3! You can watch Lee playing Arron Banks in Brexit: An Uncivil War on HBO in Hong Kong now!
Staycationers take note: you don’t need to travel to plan a trip. Why not torture your ears with my psychedelic poem instead? War of Voiceshas just landed on theVoice Your Passionpoetry channel! Thanks to wordsmith extraordinaireDr. Ahmed Elbeshlawyfor the kind introduction and for inviting me to read! His latest poetry book,Unappeasable Ghosts, is a precious gem and I can’t WAIT to interview him on S2 ofMental Ideassoon! The new series explores the mercurial relationship between mental health and imagination.
You can listen to me readingWar of Voicesfor VYP below and buy thepoetry anthologyin which the poem was first published here! All the other poets on the channel are phenomenal so please don’t forget to subscribe!!! And if poetry’s not your vibe, Sharp Pains will be debuting on VYP from Nov 18 in weekly episodes! That should sufficiently lower the tone! 🤣
I went Trick or Treating last Saturday delivering delicious home baked muffins to the elderly in a square in Kwun Tong and at their homes close by! The muffins were baked by Home Kong Kitchen‘s resident patissier, Alana Ho, and our most prolific home baker Chriz Abert! Thanks to my friends at Amigos HK who arranged this sweet treat! The trick part was that elderlies who’d been vaccinated received an extremely cheeky complimentary poodle! 😂
Episode 13 of my highbrow humor columnSharp Painsbroadcasted onRTHK Radio 3‘s123 ShowSept 28 @2.30pm HKT!Guest hosted by the relentlessly chipper Todd Harding, standing in for Noz, this one’s a windy one and calledPajama Farty…
Excited to have been invited to perform an episode of myRTHKhumor columnSharp Pains on Australian radio networkCBAA‘sBreakfast Show. I’ll also be chatting to the show’s presenters about fighting mental health challenges with humor. Big thanks toCBAA‘s Abe Killian for inviting me! We’ve not fixed a date yet so keep checking this space for details of how you can tune in live or download it as a podcast!
War of Voiceswill be on theVoice Your Passionpoetry channel on YouTube Oct 18! Thanks toDr. Ahmed Elbeshlawyfor inviting me to read and for sending me his latest poetry book,Unappeasable Ghosts. Looking forward to interviewing Ahmed onS2ofMental Ideassoon, which is shaping up to be a cracker with a stellar line-up of guests! This time the focus is on the mercurial, symbiotic relationship between mental health and imagination.
Home Kong Kitchen has been creating a difference for Hong Kong’s homeless collecting items you would find in a wash bag for a special Mid-Autumn delivery to ImpactHK! The project was inspired by a chat with Impact founderJeff Rotmeyerwho lamented that although HK provides excellent public showers, they don’t provide basic amenities like soap and shampoo. Thanks to HKK’s incredibly generous community, we collected enough amenities to fill over 100 bags!
The wash bags were designed and sewn using recycled cotton by a team of 7-16 year olds spearheaded by my aspiring costume designer 15yo niece, Mia Shroff! 🙏 Check out some of their incredible designs below! Thanks to fashion designerEvgeniya Menassafor providing guidance and allowing kids who don’t have access to sewing machines at home to create the bags using her facilities. Guess who we’ll be inviting to create this year’s Christmas Gift Socks? (Yes, I am already thinking about Christmas!!!) 😂 🎄 🧦 ✨
This was a stunning team effort by Homekongers aged 7-70! Thanks to all who contributed to our cutest project yet! 💜 💜 💜
My latestskewed humor column aired Aug 31 @ 2.30 HKT onRTHK Radio 3‘s fantabulous123 Show, where smooth-talkerJames Rosswas filling in for the legendaryNoreen Mir. Get well soon, Noz!!! 💜
Something magical happened to me today that illustrates that magic is real and all around us. I received an email from a former fellow inmate at the Priory Lunatic Asylum in Bristol, where I graduated with a First in bipolar disorder in 2011. He was an addict and I gave him my lucky token with Carpe Diem engraved on it because it seemed to me (rightly or wrongly because I was very manic) that he had an even bigger mountain to climb than I did. The token was given to me by a friend and mentor who passed away from an aneurysm some years ago. But his magic lives on because he gave it to me and I gave it to another who gave it to others. We all have magic but it only really works if you share it with others. Never forget that you are magic and to pay it forward with a simple act of kindness. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Another amazing accolade from my friends in the migrant community: a certificate of recognition from Bethune House for being Top Fundraiser canvassing for their Coins for Bethune appeal! Delivering breakfast to the residents of Bethune House is one of the highlights of my week and I could not be prouder to support their inspirational work sheltering migrants in need!🙏 🙏🏽 🙏🏿
Thanks to everybody @HomeKongKitchen (especially Mojo who did most of the dog work) who gave so generously to support this brilliant initiative raising funding for migrants in Hong Kong! 💜 💜 💜
Catch me hosting Mental Ideas spinoffMental Love StoriesonRTHK Radio 3‘s123 Showwith the brilliantNoreen Mirfrom September 2021! The weekly strand celebrates unusual love stories and explores the impact of the pandemic on relationships and mental health. The guest list is now almost complete and TBA soon! Catch up onSeries 1ofMental IdeasHERE!
The column first aired onRTHK Radio 3asScrub. You can hear the radio version below!
My latestSharp Painshumor column aired last Tuesday (June 29) on the 123 Show. If you missed it, please don’t fret, pet! You can still catch it onRTHKand all the usualpodcast places. This one’s a sticky one and called Bake Fail…
Episode 10 of my humor column Sharp Pains broadcasted June 29 on RTHK Radio 3‘s fantabulous 123 Show @ 2.50pm HKT! If you missed it, please don’t cry! You can still download it as a podcast by clicking any of the links below! This one’s a sticky one and called Bake Fail. (Although it was technically introduced by Noreen Mir as a Fake Bail. 🤣)
Home Kong Kitchen‘s cheeky mascot Mojo has been awarded 1st Place for his efforts canvassing for Bethune House Women Migrant’s Refuge with his Coins For Bethune appeal. Many generous individual campaigners and community groups took part in the fundraising initiative but Mojo (with a little help from Home Kong Kitchen‘s incredible community of human donators) somehow managed to raise the most cash! What a Pup Star!
4 legs are clearly better than 2 when it comes to enticing passers-by to part with loose change. Mojo himself is currently unavailable for comment as I just kicked him out to negotiate me a better mortgage with HSBC. He will be handling all my financial affairs from now on. But he did ask me to convey his delight at having been made a woofbassador for Bethune House.
Thanks to everybody who supported this brilliant initiative to raise funding for migrants in need! 💛 💛 💛
They never met.But if they had, they’d have looked like this… 💜
I have to admit I’m a little nervous about this. Not because I’m a nervous public speaker. Just because War of Voices is the first thing I’ve written where I don’t hear my own author’s voice AT ALL! Whose voice do I hear? Unfortunately, it’s Aled Jones’ voice, circa 1980s, when he sang the Christmas hit, Walking In The Air.
Why is this bad? Why do you think!!! Because I sound nothing like an 8 year old choir boy with an angelic voice. I sound, at best, like a cat that’s being strangled slowly to death by a python. So I guess my greatest fear is of breaking into song midway through the reading.
Your prayers that this will NOT happen on Thursday are very much appreciated at this difficult time.
So happy and honored to have been awarded a Happy Homes Award on behalf of Home Kong Kitchen by the Mission For Migrant Workers! 💜 🙏 💜 What an incredible way to celebrate HKK‘s first birthday! Doubly honored to be receiving this award at the same time as the inspirational Daisy Tam and our friends and collaborators at Breadline! Daisy and I intend to sink a cold one in celebration with our amazing volunteers at the earliest opportunity!!! Thanks to the MFMW and all our migrant friends!
You can read more about the Mission’s incredible work supporting and protecting the human rights of migrant workers in Hong Kong here: https://www.migrants.net 🇵🇭 🇮🇩 🇭🇰 Look out for an interview with me and Daisy on the MFMW‘s Facebook page to be uploaded soon!
You can now watch Transference for FREE on YouTube, where it has already received over 1.7M views!!! So proud of my involvement as a co-producer of this feature-length indie film to raise awareness of mental health! Congratulations Raff (director/ male lead) and to everyone who worked on it since its conception in 2019! 🙏 🙏🏽 🙏🏿
Episode 9 of my humor column Sharp Pains aired on RTHK Radio 3‘s fantabulous 123 Show May 25 @ 2.50pm HKT! This one’s a filthy one and is called Tea Bag…
Can’t believe Home Kong Kitchen has been baking, collecting and delivering bread and other treats to Hong Kong’s homeless, migrants in crisis and refugees for A YEAR!!!! That’s a lot of dough, amigos!
Whether you’re a keen home baker or would like to donate a shop-bought loaf a week, help out as a delivery driver or as an artist on our sustainable bread boxes, Home Kong Kitchen would LOVE to have your support! Please take a mo to fill in the form below or email hello@homekongkitchen.com! Thank you for your kindness and support! 💜💜💜
All the featured poets are incredible and I can only put my own inclusion down to a fortuitous accident or a moment of drug or alcohol relapse on the part of the editors. 🤣Mingled Voices 5is available inpaperbackand as anebook. It’s free to subscribers ofKindle Unlimited!
The2021 Proverse Poetry Prizeis now open for entries! This year’s theme is ‘Shielding’ open to interpretation any way the poet chooses. Submissions close June 30, 2021!
Also open for submissions by Hong Kong based poets is RTHK‘s annual poetry competition. This year’s theme is ‘White’ open to misinterpretation any way the reader chooses! Entries close July 12!
Last month’s humor column broadcasted onRTHK Radio 3‘s123 ShowApril 27! Apologies for the delay in getting it up! This one’s a messy one and is calledScrub…
Sharp Painswill be back onRTHK Radio 3TOMORROW @ 2.50pm HKT with filthy new episode Tea Bag. Look out for Scrub and Penguins as upcoming columns in the SCMP‘sPost Magazine!
Check out my new gig atClever Films!CEO James Dalyand his partners in horrific crime are producing a slate of intriguing horror movies following his horror producer debut with Let Us Prey, starring Liam Cunningham (‘Game of Thrones’) and Pollyanna McIntosh (‘The Walking Dead’). I am excited to have been offered a creative role as a script analyst and an opportunity to head the company’s ambitious social responsibility program – spending a generous portion of each film’s budget on social enterprise schemes that support marginalized people around the world.
Although Clever Films doesn’t accept unsolicited scripts, I’m happy to receive a one-page pitch! I rarely sleep and when I do, I tend to dream in horror anyway, so… 💁♀️
One little hit of dopamine I experienced last year was winning a place in the 2020 Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology for my first bash at writing a poem! War of Voicesis my little rant on social media, populism and propaganda.The anthology, called Mingled Voices 5, will be published by ProverseandChinese University Pressas an ebook and in paperback THIS WEEK (April 22), but is already available for preorder onAmazon!
I’m also writing a humorous short story for theHong Kong Writer’s Circle‘s2021 anthology. This year’s theme isAfter The Storm. I seem to have been mentioned in the same sentence as ‘storm‘ quite a bit recently, which is either profoundly disturbing or deliciously serendipitous. If I don’t blow myself out, the anthology will be launched at theHK Lit Festand published in Nov!
Transference, the bipolar love story I co-produced in 2020 with Contro Vento Films,was one of the first films to be shown at the 2021 Arizona International Film Festival, which kicked off April 14! Director and actorRaffaello Degruttolagave an illuminating webinar on his inspirations behind the film on Zoom @ 3pm PST on Saturday. If you missed it, please don’t cry! You can still catch it on the festival’s YouTube channel for at least another week!
Thanks to the festival for selectingTransference(originally for its 2020 film festival, which was cancelled because of COVID) and to theTuscon Weeklyfor mentioning our micro budget indie film in their article about the festival!
The @AZFilmFest is back, April 14-25! Follow the link to check out this year's lineup of 30 features and 78 shorts culled from 21 countries, plus some truly insightful webinars where you can get up close with the creative process. https://t.co/bA8inH8LJc@FilmTucsonpic.twitter.com/VG5hm94PK0
I flap about in my latest humor column forRTHK Radio 3, which aired March 30 @2.50pm HKT onthe 123 Show! This one’s cute, fluffy, walks funny, and is calledPenguins…
Is it my bipolar mind playing tricks on me or are there now more awareness days than unawareness days? What about an Unawareness Awareness Day? Has anybody had the awareness or unawareness to think of that? If there is an Unawareness Awareness Day, I am unaware of it.
NoooooooOOOOOOO! I missed Bipolar Awareness Day March 30! But I wish you all a happy Bipolar Unawareness Day today. To mark the unoccasion, I did some digging and found my elusive, best ever screenshot of Bipolar Express in Dropbox. You don’t get much more educaitonal than THIS!
Sadly, it was swiftly amended by somebody who doesn’t enjoy an amusing typo quite as much as I do. I guess I just didn’t see the point of subscribing after that…
Of course EVERY day is Bipolar Awareness Day if you have bipolar or care for somebody who does. And you shouldn’t have to face it alone!
Bipolar Hong Kong 躁鬱香港 started out as my humble blog in a some might say losing battle to try and keep myself sane. Over the past 7 years it has evolved into a leaderless movement of likeminded souls searching for enlightenment, empowerment and a platform to connect.
The group offers free, monthly support groups in Central and (since 2020) on Zoom for Hongkongers affected by bipolar disorder, their friends and families, including peer mentoring, the odd socially distanced social, and access to creative opportunities via Mental ideas. If you’re looking for peer support, a chance to vent and share ideas, join us!
Series 2 of myMental Ideas Podcast(Oddcast??) will be back on the air @RTHK Radio 3in weekly episodes with a new twist, a live studio format and an electric mix of local and international guests in 2022!
The new series explores the impact of mental health on relationships in a humorously irreverent, offbeat, poignant & uplifting way. Meanwhile, stay tuned for news of S1’s release on other platforms and a sponsored TV spin-off! ✌️
Larry is bestselling author of some 15comic booksand children’s book seriesThe Fart Brothers, the latter of which he wrote under the pseudonym MD Whalen (until I outed him on air). Presumably, he feared it was a stinker.The Flower Boat Girlis his first historical fiction novel and the culmination of over a decade’s work. You can preorder the book onAmazonand read the first rave review of ithere! 🙌
The Depressed Comedian – Mental Ideas Podcast – RTHK Radio 3
I am flattered to be mentioned in a few of his rants after casting him, aged 53, as a 16 year old boy in Miss Adventure meets Motorhead, which was shown on Funny or Die. Thanks to Chicago radio hosts WC TurckandKerri Kendallfor reminding me of our madcap little escapade gatecrashing a Motorhead gig @ Madison Square Garden in their preamble to an interview with Dan about the book last week!
Dan has experienced international success as an actor and screenwriter. He was a recurring guest in the Trolls Anonymous & Death & The Frozen Tundra episodes of S1 of my Mental Ideas Podcast and will be back again in S2! His debut book is really quirky, funny and the first in a trilogy based on his Facebook rants from 2008 to the present day. Enjoy!
My Lunar New YearSharp Painshumor column broadcasted onRTHK Radio 3‘s123 ShowFeb 23 @2.50 HKT! Based on a revolting true story, this one’s called The End of The Rat…
Thanks toSouth China Morning PostjournoAnthea Rowanfor featuring me in her article exploring the stormy creative highs and lows of bipolar disorder in Monday’sSCMP!
Thanks to SCMP photographerAntony Dicksonfor an hilarious impromptu photoshoot on my roof, where for no particular reason (other than the weather was nice) we decided to recreate classic scenes from two of my favorite movies with my new poo Mojo Hobo Kaye!
Sadie Kaye poses for a photograph at her house in Sai Kung, together with her dog Mojo, in Hong Kong on February 01, 2021. 01FEB21
[FEATURES]
SCMP / Antony DICKSON
I put my foot in it LIVE onRTHK Radio 3‘s fantabulous123 Showin my firstSharp Pain of 2021! My latesthumor columnbroadcasted Jan 26 @2.30pm HKT!Sharp Painswill be back in the Year of The Ox! Here’s hoping it will be a lot more lucky and a lot less plaguey than its Ratty predecessor!
The Year of The Ox is upon us and to celebrateHome Kong Kitchenwill be baking and serving cream teas for refugees @Refugee Union in Sai Yin Pun THIS SATURDAY (Feb 13) from 2pm! Thanks to our collaborators @ Breadline for arranging this opportunity for us to mark the Lunar New Year in our own little way: the Cornish way!
Cream teas have been steeped in Chinese mythology and tradition ever since 400BC when Confucius tried one, overdid the clotted cream and sagely proclaimed “You are what you… think I’m gonna barf!!!” (His publicist later shortened the quote to “You are what you think.”) Here’s hoping the Year of The Ox will be a lot more creamy and a lot less plaguey than its Ratty predecessor!
If you would like to help me serve teas to refugees on Sat or wish to contribute baking or other gifts of cooking utensils, oils, pasta, rice, old clothes or laptops/ phones/ tablets capable of running the Zoom app (for refugee kids to do home learning), please fill in the form below! 💜
Kung Fat Hei Choi & Sun Tai Kin Hong! 🐂
Incidentally, I did consider serving cow pies instead of cream teas, but living in such close proximity to these feral beauties is enough to turn even the most un-woke meat-stinking Gen Xer vegan!
Also, I’ve got no idea how to bake cow pies. Is it flour, eggs, clotted cream, bananas?
Episode 4 of my humor columnSharp Painsaired Dec 29 onRTHK Radio 3‘s123 Show@ 2.50pm HKT! This one’s dedicated to all the knackered people out there and is called Tired…
I normally pride myself on my ability to give at least a minute’s notice before a radio broadcast. But this one aired TEN WEEKS AGO, which is a dismal new record. This one’s calledFlex & the City…
More pandemic black humor from the Hong Kong Government this week when we were advised to open all the windows (COVID-dispersing ventilation) and not to go outside (air pollution). But it’s not all doom and fumes! This means two new episodes of Sharp Pains have already aired!
Last month, Iannounced my pie in the sky intention of making, collecting and distributing 100Christmas Gift Socksto the homeless! Thanks to the amazing generosity and support of bighearted Homekongers, I can only ever find one sock and that target was nearly trebled!!!
Thanks to everyone who donated their time, energy, creativity and baking to Home Kong Kitchen in 2020! It’s because of you that HKK is collecting and delivering bread, bagels, muffins and other gifts to homeless people living in unlicensed shelters and refuges most days! We are also making weekly deliveries toImpact HKevery Friday!
There are many ways you can volunteer forHome Kong Kitchen: you can bake a difference as part of our community of home bakers, you can make a difference as a bread donator, or you can create a difference as an artist on our sustainable bread boxes!
My virtual awards date wasHobo-dog Kaye (RIP 😢 – though he did at least wait until the awards show was over to do it). My attire was my dressing gown. The time was 2am. I’d run out of wine 4 hours ago so I toastedThe AIBs 2020with a cup of FUEL high protein instant porridge. It was an intense two-part awards program presented with unwavering gravitas. The lightest moment was when theAIBuploaded a mugshot of my leering face dementedly side-eying the award. Even I was scared my photo might glitch to life and shatter the screen of my iPad in a spontaneous smash and grab!
Hats off (because he has no hair) to the legendary Larry Feign, my guest in The Depressed Comedian episode, which the AIBs featured in their awards show!
You can watch the 2020 AIBs live TOMORROW (Fri 13 – ha!) and next Monday (Nov 16) in a 2-part virtual awards event webcast at 11pm HKT/ 3pm GMT on the AIB’s website and Facebook page! My cheeky little Mental Ideas Podcast for RTHK Radio 3 is a nominee in the Factual Podcast category. As rank outsiders go, we are the rankest. (The program booklet below certainly provides evidence of that!!!) But I am still giddy with bewildered awe just to be included as a nominee at all!
You may have caught me looking slightly guilty a few weeks ago in the SCMP‘s Post Magazine chatting to the hilarious Kylie Knott about my tasty little Home Kong Kitchen initiative: Baking A Difference (geddit?) for Hong Kong’s homeless!
Home Kong Kitchen in the SCMP
BLOWN AWAY by the response to this article, solidarity and generosity of Hongkongers mobilizing support to help the most vulnerable! This project has never failed to rejuvenate my spirits and restore my faith in humanity, bringing me together with so many inspiring individuals and organizations that epitomize the spirit of Hong Kong!
HUGE thanks to bighearted artist Juliana Kungfor designing Home Kong Kitchen‘s emblem! It has everything I love: character, beauty and flying bagels! (Actually, I think they’re meant to be orbs, but I saw bagels. I see bagels everywhere now. They’re plastered on every billboard, graffitied on every work of art. Mona Lisa’s smile? Bagels. Munch’s Scream? Bagels. Birth of Venus? Bagels. Map of the MTR? Bagels. The New Fragrance by Christian Dior? Bagels. Leonardo’s Last Supper? What else?? Bagels.)
I’ve discovered every homemade bagel weighs the same as a brick and that lugging vast quantities of bricks bagels around has really paid off in terms of honing my hump! (Sadly not the lovely lady lumps kind; more the Quasimodo kind…) If you’re interested in volunteering for Home Kong Kitchen, please fill in the form below! I’m especially keen to hear from volunteer drivers to assist with deliveries on a one-off or regular basis!
It took me 3 days to bake that plant…
If you’re unsure how to pronounce my name correctly, this is it!! 💜💜💜
For the next few weeks, up until Christmas, I’ll be posting an interview with a different author from the Writer’s Circle each week! Each writer will read a short excerpt from their allegory. Don’t miss it!!!
