Old story

Do not look too closely at the photo. I know it is very poor but it is there just to show you how close the sea was to the Army Camp in Hong Kong, well the New Territories really.

I write this because my American friend told me that to live where he does is Utopia as the weather is near perfect.

I think I have mentioned it before but when I had to do my National Service, I was eventually posted out to Hong Kong. Most will not realise this but it is on the Tropic of Cancer line and the weather was generally great. Mind you, I was so young as most of us were. most under 19 virgins and very immature. I wished many years later that I had been a few years older. I would then have appreciated things more.

I arrived in Hong Kong in April 1956. The summer was almost upon us. I do believe that we were wearing Olive Greens (OG). In the winter we wore Battledress as normal. In the summer months morning Parade was about 8.00am. Work then commenced until noon. The afternoon was free. Most either went to the sea, less than 50yds away or we just lay on our beds.we called the beds, pits. The photo just shows you how near the sea was to our Camp. Although the weather did get hot at times, we really never seemed to notice it. All I can remember about the heat was that if you left anything metal in the sun e.g a spanner, after about 5 minutes it was not possible to pick it up without a piece of cloth. There also seemed to be no dangerous insects about although we had to take an anti malaria tablet every day. Every morning we did bang the heel of our boots just in case anything crawled inside them but never heard of anything being caught. Where we were stationed was on the mainland. Hong Kong itself was so small. In 1897 I think G.B leased Hong Kong and the New territories for 100 years. The New territories was part of mainland China. The border was heavily secured by I think 3 lots of barbed wire. I never saw any patrols though. Anyway we were stationed on the Mainland about 17 miles from the Capital of the Mainland called Kowloon. Very Americanised it was. We were at a place called Castle Peak Bay. A lovely place. The South China Sea was as you can see very near to us. The tide hardly moved much at all. The water was very clear and during the summer months very warm. There were no Chinese people at all , whether they were allowed on the beach I very much doubt. It really was almost a perfect climate. Diseases were not common although a rash called Tina which was controlled by the use of Gentian Violet. No need to tell you what colour the cream was. Another irritant was Hong Kong ear. Not serious at all but if you caught it, three or four days out of the sea cured it. The worst was Prickly Heat which a few managed to get. Uncomfortable for those who had it. Thankfully only a few did. All the time I was there which was about 16 months we only had one alert about a typhoon. We put all the lorries and jeeps in a big circle, just like the wagons in those westerns. We tied them down but the next morning all we seemed to have was what we would call here, a gale. The sea was a little rough though. Still that is not bad at all. Yes we had rain but it was seasonal and I did not notice any prolonged dry spells. To be honest taking all into consideration, I think the weather was almost perfect. In the winter it did turn cooler. I know a few lads went into the sea on Christmas Day just to say they had been for a swim on that day. To be honest, I think that perhaps an electric fire would be handy on the coldest of days but I guess it would not be used more than half a dozen times in a year.

Just a little more about the camp. I guess there would be 120 or so guys there we were a squadron so anybody who knows about Armed Forces would know how many there would be. The Camp was adjacent to the main road, which if one looks carefully one can see. Crossing the road led to a dirt path and led to the beach. Most of us didn't wear plimsoll's(the official issue) until the weather got too hot for us to walk barefoot.

About once a fortnight we would go into Kowloon. The cinemas were all Air Conditioned and in the more modern Cinemas the seats would recline. On entering you would be given a synopsis of the film. If you read it, you knew exactly what the plot was and the outcome was written down. So if you read it there was no need to see the film. It was always a funny leaving the Cinema. I always found it a little hard to breathe properly for a minute or so. The difference in temperature was rather large.

I think I have rambled on long enough. really it was only to tell you about the great climate they have out there. Mind you, now in Hong Kong and I guess Kowloon too pollution is a huge problem. Over 50 years ago, no such problem.

This is the last blog of 2010 so I wish all who bother to read my rubbish a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2011. More hopefully next year.