The Correspondent, Decemebr 1978 - January 1979

Foreign Correepondents' Club of Hong Kong

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Flublished monthlv as an Itorg.n of the Foräign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong. Offices at 15th Floor,

The Officers: President:

Anthony

Paul

COVER

First Vice President: Second Ùice President: Treasurer: Secretary:

Derek Davies

William Stubbs Tony Scott William Stubbs

setbacks

Managing Ed itors:

Photographer:

Advertising: Designer:

Bruce Maxwell Kevin Sinclair Saul Lockhart Hugh Van Es Nida Cranbourne Bessie Lee Pui-ling

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actually made it to the starting grid.

Both Jim and Herb Adamczyk had mechanical problems, but the

former recovered from

The Staff: Editor:

Veteran FCC member Jim Sweeney was one of two club entrants in the Guia 100 at Macau, but he was the only one who

IT

to

serious

eventually take third

place.

Sutherland House,

3

Chater

Road, Hong Kong. Tel:

5-

237734 and 5-233003.

Cables: CORCLUB HONG KONG. Address all correspondence to: Editor, Foreign Correspondents' Glub of

Hong Kong, 1sth Floor, 3 Chater

Sutherland House,

Road, Hong Kong. Adver-

tising: Nida Cranbourne, First

Floor,30 lce

House St., Hong

Kong. Tel: 5-248482.

Cover Photo: Hugh Van Es

Printed

by Yee Tin

Tong

Printing Press, Ltd., Aik

Factory Building,

San

Ground

Floor, Block A, 14, Westlands

Road, Ouarry Bay, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-622271-7.

3 e

Barry Simpson in his Macau Grand Prix press-on-course gear chats with racing great Jack Brabham-in Macau for the Race of the Giants-and Kevin Cogan of the Flying Tigers/Brittania Racing Team who placed third in the XXV Macau Grand Prix.

SWEENEY 12Ih in the GUIA 100

by Saul Lockhart FCC members could be forgiven

for thinking that the bar adjacent to the lower casino in the Lisboa Hotel was the FCC itself somehow transported to Macau for the XXV

Macau Grand Prix

weekend

18-19) from the turnout the bars in Southland (November

House must have been pretty

=

empty.

328 Mody Road (Corner Blenheim Ave I Tsinshatsu¡ 3-675252

{àeggp IÈopù Shoppr G/F,9 On Lan Stroet (Corner Wyndham St ) Central 5-221433

Two members, Herb Adamczyk

and Jim

Sweeney, both Macau Veterans, were entered in the Guia 100 under the German Motors flag.

They ranked among pre-race fav-

ourites

to

take the Guia in their

Porsche RSR's.

Unfortunately, Herb had engine

trouble (a connecting rod broke) during the second practice session

on Friday (Nov. 16). "A one in a thousand chance of it breaking",

troubles during the practice sessions that, in one case, necessitated the

spare engine. Sunday morning be-

fore thg race, the new engine

abandoning of his car on the course-and was one of the early leaders when during the third lap

checked out fine.

around statue corner he lost the fan

said Herb as he borrowed Sweeney's

But en route to the circuit from the garage just before the Guia 100, there was no oil pressure, Frantic last minute examinations of the car in the paddock could not

locate the fault and Adamczyk to pull out. For Herb, who has been racing in Macau since 1968, it was a great disappointment since he was driving a brand new Porsche, bought especially for this racing weekend.

Sweeney had better luck. He started the Guia 10O-after various was forced

belt pulley. Jim spent valuable time in the pits and never recovered

his early position, finishing the race in 12th place (the year wasn't

all bad for Sweeney who took first place in the Penang Grand Prix and

third place in Kuala

Lumpur).

The German Motors

team

manager was none other than everybody's favourite CBS cameraman Herr Udo Nesch.

Covering the race was Reuter's famous motor-racing correspondent,

Barry Simpson, and

a

bevy of 3

a4

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The Food Furore

s

BOARD'S PLANS TO MOLLIFY MEMBERS

È È

i, o

a.

by Anthony Paul, FCC President

our

(b) a revised menu on conservative lines for introduction within the

Hired a new manager and new steward Hired a number of newwaiters (to replace some strikers)

next few months.

At the same meeting, the Board voted, again unanimously, to freeze associate membership at the current level. (Currently, total membership

ln the past eight months, have been many changes

there

in

club. We have

o o

¡

is approximately 1,000 of whom some 807 are Associates.l Whatever the total associate membership is on November 30 will become the ceiling for at least the next three

Hired a new chef and (in a tradition invariably followed

such occasions in Hong Kong) an entirely new kitchen

on

o

staff

months. New applicants for

Changed the menu twice All this has been done, of course, with our club's best interests in

Herb Adamcyzk and the German Motors mechanics feverishly work on his Porsche RSR's engine. "mechanic" on the far left of the picture is leam manager Herr Udo Nesch giving advíce.

The

attractive "Reuters' assistants. My-

È

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self and Hugh Van Es could be seen dashing about the track draped in cameras with very long lenses while RTHK's Warren Rooke and Martin Tasker seemed to be all over the pits and paddocks with mikes and tape-recorders. The Asian Sources "sports editor" Merle Hinrichs was on the scene as were the dynamic

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duo from Off Duty Bob Kierner and Roger Boschman. lan Whalley held the fort for the SCMP alone most of the time while none of us there could ever forget Les Leston's golden voice broadcasting the oncourse commentary and interviews, Brigid Snow Chesney was the film coordinator for Formula One Films which was shooting a documentary on the Race of the Giants and the XXV Macau Grand Prix for British

Television and ABC

(in the

US)

Wide World of Sports.

The officials running the Silver Anniversary event on the "other side of the paddock" also had a sprinkling Jim Sweeney in a Porche RSR tearing around statue corneriustbefore his 4

pít stop.

of FCC

stalwarts-Peter

Carton, Barry Haselden, Derek Duggan, Stan Tobin and Vernon Yates.

membership (Correspondent

mind, and I believe that in the long

term the benefits of most

of

steps we have taken will become apparent. However, it has become clear in recent weeks that at least some short term interests of our club are not being served as well as they might. I refer mainly to

the l¡mited kitchen facilities. This, taken in conjunction with the increasing number of meals served, was believed to be a major cause of lowered restaurant quality, affecting all items served. Menu simplif ication, it was argued, would

the restaurant operations.

relieve pressure on the kitchen and

To some extent, we had anticipated a difficult transition with

pave the way

the

our kitchen staff. A letter sponsored by the Board and signed by the manager was distributed to members warning us of possible difficulties.

However, the transition has taken longer than we thought. ln what seem to me to be unprecedented

quality of the items when they

a new menu which would follow closely "the

affection among members regarding food service and quality." lt was agreed

that the latest menu was

possibly

too ambitious for

.

are

eventually delivered.

As its November 20 meeting, the Board considered a long and frank submission by Tim Rosi dealing with "the present wide-spread dis-

most

members' tastes and certainly for

considerable discussion,

which inter alia would have the

-

the structure of the menu, the prices, the size of portions, the

8(t( trQI Í

effect of o Creating

members,

mostly directed at the restaurant

for an immediate

Board Members voted unanimously in favor of a motion, proposed by Tim and seconded by Bill Stubbs,

numbers, complaints, written and

oral, have come in from

Sercrry 9etøø

improvement in quality.

After

and

will

have to wait for a vacancy to occur before they are admitted.

Other steps wflich have been or Journalists excepted)

traditional menus used in this club until the middle of the yeat" Instructing the manager "in

detail on the acceptable portions and quality that must be enforced with the

k¡tchen from the outset" lntroducing the new menu as soon as possible.

By the time you read this, the Club's House Committee will have

o

already begun working on (a) a slightly reduced no-frills menu for immediate implementation, and

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The Food Furore

RONK'S REBUTTAL OF PRESENT POLICIES )

The longest complaint of reænt months ws penned bY Asia Magazine editor Don Ronk on November 13. Here he outlines

will all be given a dtance to make our menu preferences

are about to be taken include o The placement of a Comment Book within handy reach

known and

(beside the 14th floor

to comment on

receptionistl. We are invited to write our complaints (and, of course, complimentsl in this book. The manager will

specific aspects of the club.

(We should not wait for the questionnaire to arrive, of course, if we wish to help the House Gommittee prepare

write a response beside

a new menu.

each

dishes

statement.

¡ The distribution of a questionnaire in which we

or

lf

there ate any

r¡tæ r¡vould

removed

of

like

added

dishes we have repeatedly found below

standard or for which Portions

have been too small,

o The frnest designed porcelain

The 1978 Plate is a collector's item and is available from the Rosenthal Studio shop in Ocean

Terminal (3-679285) or Prince's Building (5-238282)

As they will be in

great demand, please collect yours

early!

speedy, in'

expensive, one-course meal. ln this connect¡on, a fiesh study is being made of profit margins and a proposal that a "budget lunch" be offered is

Plate.

appreciated in value by more than 1,000 per cent.

to

who wants a

For the year 19?8 Bjorn Wiinblad has again designed the Christmas

The 1971 Christmas has now

should write immediately to the Committee.)

A study of what can be done improve service, especially at lunchtime, for the member

& crystal that money can buY

The German financial journal C apítal commended Rosenthal Christmas Plates as a "good investment", and described them as "shares in porcelain".

we

r

being considered.

MoreoYet, waiters have been ¡nstructed to hand both the main menu and snack menu to diners, (Some of our recent problems aPPear to have been cauæd bY members being made ProPerlY

not

aware

of the full

range of

items available.)

We have perhaps tried

to do too much too quickly on premises which cannot cope with anY more traff ic. For permitting so many changes to come on top of one another and for not having foreseen

the

consequences in October (traditionally one of Hong Kong's busiest restaurant monthsl, I hold myself largely responsible. At the same time, l'd like to point to signs that the worst of thetransition is behind us. For example, as the

kitchen has settled

in and the

management has dealt with specific complaints, the number of complaint cards sent in and oral protests made has noticeably fallen.

Also, despite the disaffection

most of ¡t fully

justif

ied

-

and

expressed in a friendly, constructive

way

-

we appear to be making use

of our dining

facilities in unprecedented numbers. ln October, for example, when we had 990

active members; the club

served 10,583 meals. The November f igures

are not yet complete, but early indications are that they'll be similar to October's. This is far above, say, another traditionally busy period, April-May. ln April (membership: 932l., we served only

6,176 meals; in May (membership: 933),6,661.

There are, of course, outside

factors which also affect club

- e.9., our central location and rising prices in public restaurants.

use

Nevertheless, the

to

traffic does seem

indicate members' continuing

loyalty. Let me assure you that your Board, management and staff are

taking every possible step to continue to deserve that loyalty.

reasons

for

the protest.

One month ago, and within course of one r¡veek, I was

the

approached by three members of the Board separately and asked

would be prepared to serve Board. ln each instance I replied that I would since I felt that the Board now const¡tuted largely did not represent active users of the "club," hence uære steering the "club" in wrong

if I

on the

directions.

About one week later I learned (inadvenantly)

that

someone else

had been asked to join the Board as an alternate member rather than myself, that this apparently had been decided before was asked

if I would join -

I

strange in that all those asking me appeared no to have known such a decision had been reached, and despite the fact

that two were active Board members.

However, so be it,

On November 9 I was told by

N. Ouin that he had

been asked

by the President on or about November 9 to join the Board,

a request he refused because of the press of work.

I

can only conclude that the

President does not feel my presence on the Board would be beneficial,

therefore

I

formally withdraw

offer to serve.

mY

This somewfiat embarassing situation for me does, I believe, point up how far the Board of this "club" has removed itself from

responsiveness

to the

membership

- and it takes little observation to see the most glaring reason it has been removed from responsiveness. is

At the

present time the Board

composed

in the majority

of

including its most ranking members - whose sole interest in the "club" appears to be membership on the Board. I say this based upon observations made virtually every night and weekend

members

since

the Board was elected

and

seated.

How members of the Board who almost literally do not use the "club" except to attend Board meetings can presume to govern

the

operations

of this "clLtb,"

which should include the effecting of their escapes me,

overseeing

governing,

The immediate defence of the persons would be, I assume, that the press of their work has first call upon their services. A second defence, I assume, vrculd be to make note of how often and at what lengths they have been absent from the Colony. I f ¡nd these excuses specious, I merely state that it should be considered presumptuous

of

them

and an indicator of the whys of their involvement rather than their genuine concern for the "club" that they have run for office or otherwise not resigned f rom the Board if their work-load was found to interfere too greatly. ln fairness to the "club" l respectfully suggest that Board members herewith examine involvement in, and ability to respond to 7

Strock, Raj Gupta. I add mY name to that list. Not that anY of

the work-load of Board membership, and resign immediately if found lacking after honest con-

us will, but it has come to that state of being a burden.

sideration.

Some further points to consider:

The following named Persons in my Presence either sent food back to the kitchen, refusing have

The FCC has become a "club" in name only. ln fact, it pretends to be a semi-elegant restaurant in

to eat it or eaten it with considerable bitterness rather than wait for a new order, and I don't believe anY

Central largely serving people who are strangers to the "club,"

New

of them

membership using the

have written a comPlaint

card:

premises as a restaurant frequently

(and as nothing more) has outstripped the space available. Distant rumblings are however finally being

Z. Cawthorne S. Eddy T. Williams N. Nash

heard about the need

K.

to

limit

membership.

Pricing has gone mad, to the point where eating on a daily basis at a modest price - out of one's

least

two (and probably more)

courses are necessary

to get a meal,

his "club" is now nearly pro-

I am not dealing in hyperbole to say that a better "deal" is to be had on Food Street, and that is

hibitive. To order à la carte in the

a damned poor commentary on

a

evening is to run up a bill nearing $50 since the portions have been

"club,"

own pocket

cut

back

-

as one expects from

to the point

where at

The number of adminstrative personnel involved in this "chrb"

has made an end-run on rationality.

May I suggest that someone on the Board make a comparision of what

employee costs

for this

"club"

were 2T' years ago with what they

are today? And l'm not making reference to simple increments for the old staff.

The

manager has made much

of

"giving the new k¡tchen staff a chance to break in." I am not alone in being at the end of patience and I heartily endorse Holger

Jensen's comments (last issue). l, among many, r,rould like to know for the record -

Why they did not immediately know how to fry a hamburger?

Why they have yet to learn how to make taco filling?

Why, despite Winslow's protest-

HILTON HOTEL VERANDAH lst FLOOR. f EL:5-246982

ations to the contrary, the following persist (Nov 13) processed cheese in sandwiches, halved ponions for sandwich fillings, canned ham in sandwiches, half the necessary sauoe on curry, walnuts

rather than ground nuts for curry, much reduced quantities (to say nothing of quality) on the Chinese dishes, processed cheese on cheese-

a much reduced salad bar, the quantity, quality and burgers,

FINE CRAFTS & GIFTWARE Tableware Tim Falkiner Pottery Stône & Silverwork Don Sheil

Wood & Bronze

UNUSUAL

-

Tseng D. Maitland Jackson M. Keats H. Jensen T. Ralf l. Leonard S. Weller P. Luffman T. Street B. OkuleY C. Strock E.

Sculptures

Argyle Glass Ets Bochram Lamps Bamboo Crafts Fur Teddy Bears

EXCLUSIVE

-

DIFFERENT

reasonableness of prices have declíned - and remained there.

The following named FCC Members have approached me very recently stating they are seriously

considering whether to drop out of

the "club" because it has become a financial extravagance - Zelda Cawthorne, James Kelly, Carl

J.

Hardie

I be so bold as to voice my very strong suspicion that May

Specially for E C.C. Members.

spending has been far more than the Board expected, to the point

Normally

where acceptable profit margins are

being sought by the simple expedient of raising prices and cutting both quantity and quality badly for the Board's benefit as they read the balance sheet?

Despite the Manager's indication to me that he has instructed the kitchen staff that this is "club" fare and not a straight commercial enterprise, hence portions should ref lect the

former, the"comme rcial

product.

The current menu of

Yellow Label Brut N.V.

$s0

$'ê5

Nectar Cteam Sherry

s19

$Ð4

Maison Sichel Entre-Deux-Mers A.O.C.

s16.s0

$Eþ

Gonzalez Byass

"

'situation persists. lt does not take genius to see that there ís a contradiction between claim and available would (80%l

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

Sole Agent: Gande Price (Importers & Disfribufors) Lfd.

food the

do

Sheraton, Hilton, Mandarin, Furama

grills justice (assuming quality), but

within our "club" definition is more a symbol of how far from being a club the FCC has moved than a reality. Summing it up: It's easier to get a $200 bottle of wine at the FCC than if is a decent

Available at: Gande Price showroom Wing On Centre, 27th Floor, 1l l, Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong.

Tel: 5-43431l-6

ham and cheese sandwich.

Ronk's letter continues, but here-

after does not directlY concern ítætf with lhe food issue - Ed.

Free delivery

for every 12 bottles or more.

I> o q

A]VD PROVING IT'S ALL ONE BIG CITY

c) q)

ù q

8

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l!

The lovely Shayne Hurran ælects the lucky winners during the Dutch Festival draw wíth Entertainment Chairman Saul Lockhart

THOSE SURPRISING

DUTCH The FCC turned into a fashionable Amsterdam restaurant November 11 when KLM, Heineken, Philips, British American Tobacco and Martinair all teamed up to help make our Dutch Festival one of the year's best parties.

Heineken kept everyone well lubricated with free beer washed down by potent Genever. Mrs Patsy Bebbington won the KLM return ticket to Amsterdam while Mrs Nancy Johnson walked away with the Philips radio+assette player.

The other nine prizes included three free Dial-A-Beer Services from

Tucking into the Dutch noslt (L-R) are Willem and Phoeníc Kemende and Hans Lodderc.

l0

Heineken (which translates into three chilled cases of Heineken's delivered to each winner's home just before his or her Þarty), three

KLM gift

packages

Martinair desk sets.

and

three

\r (!

The FCC's biennial German Festival held on October 21 was, as usual, a smashing success and many. thanks to Lufthansa German Airlines for making it so. With four

kegs of beer (200 liters) plus enough schnapps to whet all whist-

les, the Prosit Beer "Hour" lasted most of the night.

The beer and much of the food was flown in by Lufthansa which also helped in the preparation and even lent us a chef.

ROUND UP Xmas Book List

Tokyo, 1978. Y2600) Eighty eight black & white photos catching the

Looking for that special Christmas gift? What about a book? You

feeling of the Land of the Rising Sun in the Seventies, lntroduction

by Murray Sayle. Special FCC discount price of $50.

Great Cities - Hong Kong by Robert Elegant and Brian Brake

may not realise it but FCC members are quite a prolific bunch of scribes. What followers ¡s a very diverse

list (in

alphabetical order

through the club office at a special

(Time-Life Books, Amsterdam, 1978. $49) Elegant's words with Brake's pictures tell the modern tale of the'fragrant harbour'in

discount price.

this on-going series.

by title) of old and new books by FCC members (and in two cases, wives) some of which are available

On The Line by Ralph Pixton and Jim Shaw (Zebra Books, Hong

1978 Beleases

All Asian Cookbook by Jacki Passmore (Uri Smith-Paul Hamlyn, Sydney, 1978. $49) 505 recipes from 14 different countries ranging from lndia to Japan, including little known culinary treats from Laos and Vietnam.

Chinese Papercuts

by

John Warner (John Warner Publications, Hong Kong, 1978 $46) All you ever

wanted to know about the history and symbolism of the craft of papercutting.

Díver's Guide to Asian Waters by

Saul Lockhart, Michael Westlake and David Smith (Gareth Powell Limited, Hong Kong, 1978. $75) A scuba diver's guide to the Philippines, lndonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Guam

&

Micronesia. Avail-

able only through mail order c/Gareth Powell Ltd., 17 Thomson

Road, 11th

fl.,

Wanchai, Hong Kong. Special FCC discount price of $60.

Dynasty

by Robert

Elegant

Kong, 1978. $30) Eight years of tragedy and comedy. RTHK's popular "Open Line" reviewed by the programme's host,

Story of Government House by Katherine Mattock (Government lnformation Services, Hong Kong, 1978. $24) The life and times of the Governor's residence.

Triangie of Death: lnside Story of Triads - the Chinese Mafia by

Frank Robertson (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1978. Ê3.95) The tentacles of the triads traced from their origins in China to the present day Occident.

Old Favourites

War. One of the first and only ones.

Saigon by Dick Adair (John

Anthony Lawrence iGeorge Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1973. Ê2.95) Trials and tribulations of covering the news in Asia for the BCC for 16 long years.

Shopping in Hong Kong by Michele Kay (S.C.nn. Post Publications, Hong Kong, 1976. $15)

Foreign Devil by

Werner Hahn (Perennial Press, Hong

Kong, 1974 $100) A portrayal of life in one of the Colony's oldest settlements.

Alpha Experience by Derek & Co., London, 19741 A satire on brain Maitland (W.H. Allen

surgery and mind control.

Borrowed Place, Borrowed Time,

by Richard Hughes (Andre Deutsch,

early days to modern times.

Faces of Japan by Bob Davis (Kodansha lnternational Ltd.,

Kong's troubled times culminating

London, 1968 & 1976. $20) His Emminence's account of Hong in the riots of 1966 and 1967.

Richard

Hughes (Andre Deutsch, London, 1974.82.95l, His Emminence takes the reader on a trip through some of his adventures encountered while covering Asia since 1940.

Fragrant Harbour

by

John Warner Publications, Hong Kong, 1976. $401 A collection of early photos of Hong Kong.

Hacker's Hong Kong by Arthur Hacker (Gareth Powell & Ted Thomas, Hong Kong, 1976 $50) Arthur's unique visions of Hong Kong with text by David Perkins.

Larry Burrows

York, 1972.

-

Compassionate

(Time lnc., New $90) A posthumous

Photographer

tribute to one of the world's great photographers who was killed during the Vietnam War in 197 1.

Special FCC discount price of $+s.

Aberdeen by Dean Barrett and

(Fontana Books, London, 1978. $l¿) n novel set in Hong Kong ranging in time from the Colony's

12

Doing Business in Hong Kong by Michele Kay (American Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, 1976. $35) The businessman's bible for cutting through the red tape.

Foreign Correspondent by

Madame Mao

by Arthur

Weatherhill

& Co., New

Miller and Chung Hua-min (Union Research lnstitute, Hong Kong, 1968 $40) A profile of Chairman Mao's second wife, Chiang Ching.

Murder of a Gentle Land by Anthony Paul and John Barron (Reader's Digest Press, New York,

$50) An account of the genocide that followed the fall of Cambodia in April, 1975 (Sold in UK under title o1 Peace with Horror.)

Only War We've Got by Derek Maitland (Hutchinson & Co., London, 1970) A satire on the Vietnam

York,

1971. US$4.95) Adair's sketches of

Saigon capture

the

pathos

and

Forgot to send a Christmas card

to

someone? Want to send greetings

to a long departed

mate from the FCC? The new FCC postcard is the answer. The postcard is on sale for $1 across the bar, from the receptionist or through the office.

humor of the city at war.

A

compendium of where to find anything for sale in Hong Kong.

T-Minus Tower by Derek Mait-

land (MacGibbon 19721

A

send-up

&

tE FIGARO ilrc æ IL$(I)E

f

Kee, London,

on the American

mil itary-industrial complex.

Releases Already Scheduled for I 979

Asia

Magazine's Restaurant

Guide to Malaysia by Nancy Nash (S.C.M. Post Publications, Hong

Kong. 1978 $18)

All the

great

nosh houses in Malaysia.

Asia

Magazine's Restaurant

Guide to Singapore by Nancy Nash

(S.C.M. Post Publications, 1978. $18) All the great Nosh houses in Singapore.

Breakíng Out by Derek Maitland

(St. Martin's 19791

A

Press, New York,

comic novel on

life

in

Australia.

Gambler's Guide C.

New FCC Postcard On Sale

to

Macau by

Bert Okuley and Frederick King Poole (S.C.M. Post Publications, 1978. $20) With this tome under your arm, the authors hedge only on the amount you will win at the tables.

ln lndia Cookbook by Jacki Passmore (Eyre Mathaen, London, 1979) All you ever wanted to know about curries and chapatis.

Flashbacks by Mel C. Tobias (Gulliver Books, Hong Kong, 1979. $301 A collection of views, reviews and interviews of the Hong Kong cinema after Bruce Lee ('1973-78).

13

lived

Author's Address

in

Chess Ghallenge

Hong Kong from 1966-

1973 during which time he worked

Novelist John Gordon spoke

to a packed

luncheon

on

Davis

entertainment

November

21.

The

bestselling author of "Hold My Hand l'm Dying" and Leviathan"

C.H.

for the Hong Kong Government as a solicitor. "Years of the Hungry Tiger" was his first book on Hong

stalwarts

Raghavan, one of the of the FCC's 18th floor

brigade, looks intent as he (and 39 others of the Hong Kong Chess Federation) simultaneously take on grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi. The

results: Korchnoi 39 wins, 1 draw.

FCC member Les Collings, President of the Hong Chess Federation arranged the tournament.

Kong and its sequel is the recently published "Typhoon."

I

(ù

I

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c4

v

\ ¡

È

e o o È o a.

o Scanning the Minutes Ever wondered what your Board

of

Governors talks about at each fortnightly meeting? Few members realise there are no secrets. The minutes ¡

e.

I

ù0

posted

each board meeting are on the off ice's bulletin

board as soon as they are typed,

usually about t 1

q

l{t

È s

I

uptodate interior decoration & custom-made furn¡tur€ to f it both your taste & your pocket, as well as Hong Kong's best flat finding seruice.

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CLARA CHUNG REALTY Tel: 5-225089 5-225ß0

a.

e (J ò o

48

hours after

a

meeting. Don't listen to the gossip third hand, stop in and read the

is first come, first served and we are

sold out quickly. Champagne and special Yuletide-New Year drinks are at special FCC discount prices.

Going somewhere else for New Year's? Stop in after. The joint

will still

be

jumping.

official mínutes.

New Year's Eve

Have

you booked yet for

the FCC's traditional new year shinding?

For $100 per head you get a sum-

ptuous meal, dancing to the Wings Disco till dawn and an FCC pany for which we are so famous. There

need a festive pick-me-up sometime

duríng the rugged year-end

season.

Guests on the 18th Floor

Reminder to the 18th Floor Brigade: No guests are allowed on the 18th floor other than members' spouses. This is a decision by the Board of Governors at the request of members who feel the 18th floor premises are too small to permit guests. Also the behavior of guests in the past has caused problems for

Special Prices on Yuletide Drinks

s For more thân ¡ust a new flat, now we offer

of

will be a light breakfast served early in the morning for those that feel the pangs of hunger and the traditional Boxing Day bruncheon will also be served later. Book now. lt

both members and staff.

From December 18 to January

1

the FCC's traditional festive drinks are on "sale", Bullshots, Bloody

Library

Marys, Egg Nogs, Brandy Egg Nogs, Black Velvets, Buck's Fizzes and Champagne are available at special discount prices, just in case you

And while on the subject of the 18th floor, the reading area is for the use of all members (please

leave

the papers on the 18th floor

and 15

T: I

do not take them

downstairs).

However the working area is for the

use of the working press (both correspondent and journalist members) and is members

not for the

who wish to

use of

conduct

their business on the phones, hour after hour. Certain associate members have virtually set up shop in the library and it is this abuse we would like to stamp out.

Thanksgiving Thanks

My compliments to the Chef for the excellent Thanksgiving dinner served by the Club this year.

My family and I

thoroughly

enjoyed the turkey and the trimmings. As Thanksgiving dinners are supposed to, it took me back in memories to my childhood.

-

Al Kaff

Five of our seven first-round

Pool Titles

The FCC has Hong Kong's thirdbest pool player. And that's official.

Late in October Simon Holbeche,

one

players made it comfotably through to the second round, with the only

sEORE BOAR MERIEATT P O

casualties being Doc Miles, who narrowly missed out in his third

of the 18th floor regulars, frame and surprisingly, Kenny it to the semi-finals of the 'Mongolian' King, who played by

made

Hong Kong Open American

Pool

Championship and came within a hair's-breadth of making the final.

He eventually settled for third place after taking the other semi-finalist (another FCC player we might add),

in the best-of-five series.

The matches were played at the American Pool Centre in Hung Hom, üvhose team the club enterPeter 'Luffers' Luffman,

tained and defeated some

weeks

ago.

So when the invitations went out to join the championship we were able to provide seven of the 33 entries and in various stages of decomposition the group left Club Street on the bíg night, in convoy

his own rules and went down two straight.

By the time it

came

to

the

quarter finals, we found that the Club had provided four of the eight quarter.finalists and happily none were drawn against each other.

It would have been a lot to ask that we provided all four semifinalists, although at one stage it certainly looked as if we would have at least three. ln the end 'Knockynees' Sloan and the fast Aussie, Steve Eddy, bowed out of the quarter finals and left 'Luffers'

and

'Not-to-simple' Simon Holbeche to carry the Club banner.

'Luffers' drew the eventual runner-up, Lo Wing-kuen and went

P

/urr¿tw

2t

!' ^lílllAV

Car-seat covers,

Steering wheel covers,

Floor rugs, Baby+are rugs, Slippers and moccasins, Pure virgin wool blankets,

in çnuine lmported from New

Many other products Sheepskin.

Zealand. lst Floor, Minden Plaza, Causeway Bay,

Hong Kong.

Ph. 5-793810

while 'N.S.S.' Simon found himself

face-to-face with the ultimate champion Robert Leung. He did not give up without a fight and given a situation where the FCC rule-book coincided more closely with those played in the Championship, a little more familiarity

with the

regulations might

have

given a different result. But the best

man won and Simon eventually took on and beat 'Luffers', to the

delight of a

benignly-smiling

Holbeche senior, a relieved bookmaker and the gathered FCC sup-

porters.

fi

Club Lunches

I

Within eight days recently our kitchens catered for three professional luncheons and an entertainment luncheon.

Dr Harold Hinton, Professor of Political Science and lnternational

at

affairs

George Washington Un-

iversity in Washington, D.C. spoke on American policy in Southeast Asia on October 24.

The next day, Mr Kukrit Pramoj,

former prime minister of Thailand took the floor to talk about the problems of his country.

British comedian Díckie Hender-

son, who was appearing at the Mandarin Hotel's Harbour Room,

kept 1sth floor

luncheon-goers

laughing well into the afternoon when he took the guest spotlight on October 27.

And finally, on October

Dr Kim Assistant

to

Kyeong Won,

for

31,

Special

lnternational Affairs

President Park Chung Hee of South Korea gave an indepth look at his country's attitudes.

Mr Kukrit Pramoj

frich says. . .

The question you must ask yourself

is: should I trust my eyes to someone who is not qualified?

Anyone in Hong Kong - regardless of training or qualification - can open an optical business, conduct eye examinations, prescribe and lenses and eyeglasses.

fjt contact

Erich Schwaabe of Optica Ltd. is a professional optometrist. He graduated from the College of Optometry in West Berlin and has been in practice in Hong Kong since

fully qualified t9'13.

At

Optica you are assured that a - qualified in all aspects eyecare - is determining your

professional

of

eyesight requirements.

Kindly telephone for an appointment Erich Schwaabe (Optica) Ltd.

Rm. I106, l¡ne Crawford House 64-704 Queen's Road Cent¡al Hong

Kong

Tell. 5-256937 5-230234

Dr Harold Hinton

Dickie Henderson

Ø-";Tï; *",r,,åot{

new

theUSA of

minutes.

eheeü,

Cenhal and Ooean Terminalin Kowloon andtlrey will immediately'fax' ttrem to oenfres in New York, l{ashington or San Ftancisco for local deltvery by sp€dãl messenger, by donrestic 'fax' or by mail, dftpqdrng upon^the addreosee's pryfqence..

For more infonnation abou,t this important new s€n/ice cåll ã247382 or 3ó{i4063.

Arrd for onþ HK$45 a Sirnply tåkð A4 síze gr{ginals ø eittrq of C,able arid-l{ireleÃe counterò-in Ms,cr¡ry House

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