July 2021

A really busy couple of months. Hong Kong still subject to the social restrictions related to the COVID 19 pandemic. An appallingly low vaccination take up rate though our household has been doing its best: Dad, Tiffany, Alex and Marilina all fully done, the last named laugh and sang an hour after the first jab when she realised all the scare stories about side effects were nonsense. Only Fanny still holding out though she is seeking medical advice on when it would be safe.

Highlight of the period was of course Tiffany’s graduation from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Television. That news led to a stock taking exercise among Rowse children: Vincent has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography, PE and Sports Science from Loughborough (also an MEd in Curriculum Studies) while Victor has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford. Just Alex to go now – he will be off to Coventry in September for second and subsequent years on Sports. No pressure!

Life goes on: an old friend Tom Berry passed away and I attended his funeral service at St Johns Cathedral. One of the staff at Pacific Jade, Agnes, got married. At the lunch to celebrate we found out that another staff member there, Tan, had quietly married her boyfriend the year before. I got my WeChat fixed with the help of Twinkle Ye (the nice girl who originally installed it) so I could talk to and see Victor and Dan in Beijing. I also had a great outing to Peng Chau island, another place I hadn’t seen for 40 years. Unlike Tai O (see last diary entry) a lot had changed here.

Finally I should mention my interview with former LegCo Member and prominent Democratic Party member Emily Lau, live on her TV channel. I casually mentioned that I was exploring the possibility of running for the Legislative Council at the next election in December. I also had a couple of sounding out meetings, with former chief executive C Y Leung and current Democratic Party head Lo Kin-hei among others. Watch this space.

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