All back home
Altho zvezda and qasr were missed, we were delighted by the surprise appearance of airoli on Tuesday night at Enoteca on Elgin where the red wine referred to by GK in the post above was liberally consumed (altho I managed to get a nearly full glass of it on a new for the first time worn shirt).
We all got to reacquaint and catch up with each other over a tapas style dinner (with loads of Aussie Shiraz) while GK gave us some directions on shopping, etc. Those who were not able to make a stop in Hong Kong after Singapore really missed something here.
GK then gave us a kind of idea of what we were going to see on Wednesday evening. None of us had seen a Panto before and he instructed us to get completely into the spirit, reacting verbally whenever it seemed appropriate (and even when somewhat inappropriate). GK piped up a few times during dialogue and was gently countered from the stage. The rest of us were too busy being flabbergasted by the proceedings to be able to get creative with our heckling, and simply joined in when the rest of the audience reacted.
It was great, great fun. The cast was wonderful and enthusiastic and since they were having such a good time doing the show, how could we not have a great time watching it. It was also a treat to see Sean performing at such a high level with this group that obviously worked well together. GK had said that the first few performances were a bit rough, but this one was almost letter perfect.
After the show we got to chat with some of the other cast members at an Irish bar not far from the theater and then the next evening we and belle3388 and SeeYa had a Peking duck dinner with GK, Sean, Pip (who was working with GK) and another FTer (I believe that his handle is studio76) who had just gotten in to HKG.
We learned that GK had been posted to Beirut but to our surprise this, rather than March, was his last week of work in HKG before spending a week packing up and then decamping to Lebanon the following weekend. The move seemed not to faze him at all and he was wondering as to whether there would be any kind of a turnout for an FT DO in Beirut. You can bet that there will be plenty of nostalgia as he makes his last go-rounds. All of the proprietors and managers of the eating and drinking places know him very well and he and Sean (as one who knows them will surely believe) have made quite a few friends in HKG whom they will miss and who will miss them.
The rest of our time was spent shopping and eating soup dumplings and HongKong noodles. It was a wonderful stop in HKG.
Last edited by monitor; Jan 24, 2006 at 8:06 pm