STAR FERRY Options

[Cybele]

STAR  FERRY -HONG KONG

Laden down with passengers, assorted and gregarious,
Star Ferry -  Hong Kong is ready to depart.
Carrying these people to their destinations various.
Seven minute crossing, so the Captain needs no chart.


Brightly garbed children hustling and bustling
on their way to picnic at the lovely Sheko Bay.
Disturbing fellow shipmates with their rustling and tussling.
except for one small dapper man reading through pince-nez.

Coolies all with bare feet sporting blue pyjamas,
amahs sitting quietly, relishing the rest.
Watching with an eagle eye, the actions of their charges.
off to see their Grandmothers, dressed in Sunday best.

Tourist snapping happily. “Left a bit more Elmer,
I wanna get ya centered in the foreground of the Peak!
They sure are cutesy children -  can I take their picture?
Gee, I wish we had more time here but we do Japan next week”

All around small boats abound, skiffs and junks and sampans
and over there, together tied they form convenient rafts,
whilst heading for its mooring place there glides a stately liner.
and onshore, stick-thin rickshaw men await between the shafts.

The railway from the Peak top is sliding down the mountain,
its windows twinkle gently in the golden light of morn.
A high-pitched screech from seagulls as they tag behind the fishing boat;
the passenger in front of me lets out a mighty yawn.

The scents and sounds and sights abound, a jumble of cadences,
the hubbub and cacophony that fall upon my ear.
Thank God this journey’s over soon,  the pace is far too frantic,
and though I know I’m not at sea, - I’M FEELING RATHER QUEER!

"All rights reserved by Grace Galton as an unpublished work."

[Zeus²]

Grace,
what a delightful word trip you have taken us on. Have only seen documentaries of the scenes you described, but nothing is left out. Being familiar with ferry rides here in NYC, I can appreciate the hustle, bustle, the fun and the antics with kids. Including the pix takers trying to get the NY skyline in the background.
Am I detecting a hint of sea sickness for the landlubber
Larry Z man

[Cybele]

Greetings O Great one

So glad you like this. These are a collection of wonderful memories of the Star ferry, which according to a Holiday Programme I saw last week is still operating despite the new tunnel.  I loved travelling across from Kowloon to Victoria on these grand old ladies.  As you can judge there was always so much to see. No, the seasickness was pretended, more to account for all the hustle and bustle going on around.  Never was a place so alive! I spent a total of eighteen months in Hong Kong and loved every minute of it.

Love

Grace

[Arnfinn]

Ok Grace Come............Kowloon clean.......Some sorta form to the piece.

Ya had to be either........an air hostie.....or a diplomat oooooor somthen...............

Anyway the second line in each stanza, from the undressed eye.............seems to have less........bulls in them

I'm not going ta say the piece is a lot of junk.....cause it aint......thats ifn yo get the right slant on things

Whyzzzzzzz ...it called the Star Ferry........big eyes on the front?


Oh1......  Yeah!......The poem seems a sortove......A narrative........Yeah!

[Guest__*]

Hello our Gracie.  

The only thing missing here was a pen picture of Marlene Dietriech standing at the top of the gang plank, with a long cigarette holder, poised and ready to be lit by ten eager male attendants. (The cigarette I mean, not Marlene Dietriech)
Although... on reflection.....

There are so many other little vignettes here that even the great Marlene would be superfluous. The children are adorably noisy and excited. The hustle and bustle of sea and land traffic round off the sense of impending departure.
Then once we get under way. Well!!
Grace, that caricature of the tourists had me in stitches. It doesn't get any better.

Hugz
(Keep that cider chilled for me)

A

[Cybele]

G'Day Arnie me old cobber

Well... ya certainly know how to confuse a girl (BIG euphemism here!!!)    I found it hard to tell... whether or not ya like the bludger.. till I waded through ya shorthand to the end...

OK guess yer did then. good on yer mate

Have a nice cold tinny for me.

Love and stuff

Grace    

[Cybele]

P.S Arnie,

What was I doing in Hong Kong?  Now, promise not to be too rude with your reply but the first time round I went out as a Physical Training Instructress in the Women's Royal Army Corps (I know, I've heard ALL the Jokes...  :drill: strewth!!!)    :laugh:

Second time went out with my ex and children for a tour of the Far East ...Singapore.. Hong Kong .. and Malayia.    

Loved it!!

Grace  :wave:

[Cybele]

Good day Akh  :wave:

Lovely to hear your thoughts on this one.  Yes, the tourists were great fun.  I find them very amusing and charming - and oh, so enthusiastic and friendly. Like me, I'll talk to anyone I meet. You can learn so much, rather than having to guess about them.

Hong Kong is one of my favourite spots on earth.  The Hong Kong Chinese are much more outgoing and friendly than those in Singapore. They are not quite so obsessed with money and love to talk to anyone who will listen.

How coolie is that?

Love

Grace

[the_ghost_of_tom...]

Hello Grace,

           Love the image of the railway, "sliding down the mountain."
This was a very enjoyable read. And I love your use of the word, "whilst."
When I was in college, I remember my English professor`s reaction to my use of the word, "whilst," in a poem. Grinning like a madman, he thrust his hands into an open palm like gesture, and and wild-eyed, he spit the word back to me: "WHILST!" Never again have I ever used the word for fear that his wild eyes might might come get me in my sleep. Thank you for allowing me to release that fear. WHILST!!!!!!!....WHILST!!!!!..... It feels goooood. And I`m not even British.

                                          Love,

                                                Keith  :dance:

[Cybele]

Hello Keith  :ghostface:

I give up! Who was Tom Joad? I am totally intrigued  

I am pleased you enjoyed this one. Yes the light shining from the Peak funicular reflected the rising sun over the whole of "Fragrant Harbour", (a very outdated translation of Hong Kong, believe me!!)      

I'm glad you liked WHILST. My motto Keith is that if it is in the dictionary, use it. If it was good enough for Shakespeare, it's good enough for me!!     Purists would have us lose all the most poetic words and replace them with modern dross. I. on the other hand will fight to keep them alive.

Come on now - 'fess up who was he?

Grace

[the_ghost_of_tom...]

Hello Grace,

Tom Joad was the main character from John Steinbeck`s famous American novel, "The Grapes of Wrath." If you were not born American, you were probably never forced to read that one in school. It is a long narrative work about the plight of displaced and poor migrant workers in the 1930`s. Moreover, Tom Joad was a down-trodden character who, in the face of unjustice and against all odds, learned to stand up for his people, family, etc.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" was the title of a Bruce Springsteen recording which drew upon many of the same lyrical themes presented in Stienbeck`s great work. Although I am not a huge fan of Springsteen`s, I found myself drawn more and more into the melancholy of this very uncharacteristic collection of acoustic songs, and just as I was drawn to the Steinbeck novel, so was I drawn to the lyrics of, "Ghost."

So much was I absorbed with GoTJ that some of my friends started to call me GoTJ and it sort of just stuck. It never occured to me that people here might wonder about the origin of the moniker because I`ve used it for so long at other sites on the internet. Most of the time, people just see the name, and in turn, call me, "Ghost," without asking where it came from. Many disinfranchised spellers have typed in, "gost." You would not believe how many times I`ve actually seen that word spelled that way.

Hope this clears the air about the origin of the name for others here who have also inquired. Take care, Grace. See you back here soon.

                                                                         "Gost"  :sun:

[Cybele]

Hi Keith,

Well, I guess senility is at last settling in. John Steinbeck - my favourite author and I didn't recognise the name Tom Joad    

In my defence it has been forty odd years since I read that one. I do remember specifically the character Rose of Sharon.

Favourite Steinbeck (if forced to choose) would be Of Mice and Men - although I loved everything he wrote.     Many thanks

Grace