My dog has had his short tail published in the Women in Publishing Society‘s anthology Imprint 21. Despite being male. And a dog. His story is a restaurant review called The Foodie Poo. The anthology launched March 9 at the 2023 Hong Kong International Literary Festival and can be bought from Bookazine, Vibe, Lion Rock Press and the Foreign Correspondents Club, which hosted the event.
Thank you to editor Carol Dyer and the Women in Publishing Society for inviting me to read Bake Fail at the 2023 Hong Kong International Literary Festival launch of Imprint 21! It was the first time I had performed it in front of a live audience and I had a blast!
Bake Fail was published as A Piece of Cake by the South China Morning Post in 2022, which meant it couldn’t be included in the anthology, but you will find two of my other humorous short stories tucked inside; Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow from Sharp Pains, which broadcasted on RTHK, and a restaurant review by my poodle, Mojo, which I helpfully translated.
Imprint 21 is available from bookstores including Bookazine, Lion Rock Press and Vibe. You can also pick up a copy from the FCC, where the event was held. Congrats to the Women with WiPS for putting on a cracking event and to the HKILF for curating such a literary feast!
https://www.hkwips.com/2023/imprint-comes-of-age-at-the-fcc/
Crazy scenes across Hong Kong for the past few months as the panic buying craze spread faster than the virus. Supermarkets and pharmacies stripped bare. Even things like toothpaste (?) Like brushing your teeth was going to put Omicron off! “Sorry, mate, your breath stinks like stale dog biscuits. I’m going to infect the woman behind you instead. Unlike you, she flosses, too,” Omicron didn’t say.
Last month, Home Kong Kitchen volunteer Mojo Hobo Kaye launched his campaign to ‘Make Hong Kong Barely Tolerable Again‘ by urging Hongkongers to ‘Stop the Woofing Panic Buying!’ He then stole and fraudulently used my credit card to purchase himself a new baseball cap emblazoned with his slogan. Yesterday, Carrie Lam announced that she would not be running for a second term as Chief Executive. Government sources refused to confirm or deny whether Mojo had influenced her decision. However, Junius Ho warned that Mojo’s hat might have contravened the National Security Law. Police are still investigating whether the poodle colluded with foreign forces when he purchased the cap on Amazon.
The empty shelves, soaring food prices and tough restrictions have been making things trickier at Home Kong Kitchen. But thanks to the dogged determination of HKK‘s incredible volunteers, we have somehow managed to keep operating and delivering home baked breakfasts, dry foods, canned foods and medical supplies to the homeless, migrants and refugees. Thanks to everyone who has generously contributed! Every humble delivery of just a few necessities has felt like a mini-miracle. We are now collecting gifts of food, clothing, books, toys and festive treats for our Easter Bun Run and would LOVE to have your support! Email hello@homekongkitchen.com to find out how you can help!
Double Trouble, Double Vision and Double Dutch collided today when my 3 Terrifying Short Stories about the deranged, sleep-deprived new parents of twins were published in a spectacularly festive edition of the South China Morning Post‘s Post Magazine! It was a deranged way to end a deranged year in which pumping out deranged humour columns for RTHK Radio 3 has been the only thing keeping me SANE (ish).
Thanks to the editors and the SCMP artist who brought the stories to life with eye-catching illustrations! The magazine version was waaaaaayyyyy cooler, but you can still read the online version here: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3159075/3-terrifying-almost-true-new-parent-stories-hong
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! 😂
Week 11 and my Cantonese is coming on thanks to the infinite patience of my tutor! In some ways, Cantonese is an easy language to learn because there are no tenses and everything is related to eating. In other ways it is fraught with flashing neon danger signs. Slight changes in intonation result in wildly different meanings. For example, ‘Gau’ is the number 9… and also dog… and also something too rude to mention.
Which totally explains the constipated expression on my vet’s face when I’ve been making innocent conversation about the welfare of my dog…
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! 💜 💜 💜
https://www.facebook.com/BethuneHouse/
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! 💛 💛 💛
