Look who came to Park N Shop

Here's why I love living in Hong Kong. You could be grocery shopping when, just as you reach for the milk, this happens:

Early Lunar New Year in Cheung Chau

Christmas is barely over and already the lion dancing has started in Cheung Chau.

BBQ dance party

Sounds fun. I like the "partners optional" bit. Hyuk hyuk.

Drunken lion

You can't live in Hong Kong without seeing quite a few lion dances during Chinese New Year. Most of them show off their acrobatic skills but this is the first comic lion dance I've seen. Maybe it's a special Mui Wo village skit?

The lion drank beer and got drunk. It staggered up and then recovered in time for the lettuce tearing and lai si. The crowd loved it.

How to invite a lion to dance

During Chinese New Year, there will be lots of itinerant lion dance troupes wandering the area in search of patrons.

If you want to invite one to perform in your home/shop, just hang a lettuce and a lai si above your door. The higher the better – in the old days, the dancers were so skillful they could extract the red packet from three/four stories up.

The lion will "chew" the lettuce, grab the red packet and unroll the scroll of blessing to ensure good luck in your premises all year round.

Kids just love them.

Lion dance drums

Woke up to the lion dance drums today. As Mui Wo is surrounded by mountains, it's impossible to miss the drumming as the lion troupe goes round the town.

The drummers decide the lion's movements.

There are two basic beats: The syncopated rhythm is for playing.

And the drum roll is for bowing and paying respects.

Once you know that, you'll know, without having to look, what the lion is doing.

Will upload photos in the next post.

Morris dancing

On a wet and gloomy Sunday, the last thing I expected to hear was perky accordion music and the jingle of bells.

Peeking my head out, I saw a group of folks in red, white and green skipping around the waterfront outside China Bear.

"A bit early for carollers, isn't it?" I asked Buffalo Wilbur. "They're morris dancers," he replied, rolling his eyes.

I'd never seen morris dancers live before so I grabbed a very reluctant Buffalo Wilbur out to watch them close up.

I must say it does look a bit silly but fun. And it did brighten up my gloomy Sunday afternoon.

Mui Wo has talent

I've always thought Mui Wo has an arty community. Now there's a new place to hone that creativity.

The Made in Mui Wo Workshop (Tel: 9324-3754) opened today at G/F, 52 Mui Wo Rural Committee Road – diagonally opposite the church.

The artist-cum-dance studio doesn't look like much – just an open space with a wooden floor that doubles as a dance floor – but at least it's a start.

The Workshop is mainly offering summer classes for kids at the moment but there are two classes – art and jazz – for adults too.

Owner Winky, a born-and-bred Mui Wo-er, says the lessons will be conducted in both English and Cantonese. Prices start from HK$480 for five classes.

Enter the lion

We were going out for our usual hike today when we heard the sounds of drums getting louder and louder. Turns out a lion dance troupe was going around Mui Wo bestowing Chinese New Year blessings on all the businesses (for a big fat lai see of course).

Told you there's always something happening in town.