Page 8 - A4 Journal 2019

The Master’s Year

The Master’s Weekend in Hong Kong

The Master’s weekend in Hong Kong was attended by many
members of the Company including the Senior Warden, Sir
Vivian Ramsey, who wrote:

“When the Master first suggested a weekend in Hong Kong
it was thought that a few intrepid travellers might join him
and the Mistress in this far flung part of the former Empire.
In fact they were overwhelmed when all the Wardens and
their partners accepted and, as the numbers swelled to 27,
the capacity of the venues was reached.
The weekend started on the Thursday evening (11 April) when a reception was held in the International Commerce Centre
(ICC) which dominates the West Kowloon skyline. With 118 floors, it is the tallest building in Hong Kong and the 11th tallest
building in the World. CA Deborah Pullen and the Building Research Establishment Trust assisted the Company in presenting
interesting topics from the Built Environment professions working in Hong Kong – including the importance of Feng Shui in
the design of buildings. After the event many of the group decided that the night was still young and tried out the other
attractions of Hong Kong. Some retreated to recover from jet lag!

The assembled company at the Hong Kong Jockey Club
The next morning, as smooth as clockwork, a coach arrived to take the
group to prison. Not a result of the previous evening but a visit to the Tai
Kwun Heritage buildings which were formerly a prison and police station
(which the Senior Warden remembers – don’t ask!) but now house a new
centre for the arts and museum, after the Hong Kong Jockey Club
refurbished it for HK$3. 8 billion. Friday was completed by a formal dinner
in the splendid surroundings of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Happy Valley
where we were honoured to have Mr S Lam, Permanent Secretary for
Works and Mr Robin Lee, Chief Asst. Secretary at the Hong Kong, SAR
Government who provided an interesting insight into the state of the Hong
Kong Construction Industry and its health and safety record. We also
welcomed guests from Ap Chau Island at the dinner.
Saturday morning saw another early start. Some decided to take a day to explore parts of Hong Kong, whilst others joined a
tour to Lantau Island. After crossing three bridges which are feats of British Engineering we arrived at a crowded cable car
station. We were whisked past the crowds and embarked on the cable car ride to the peak to see the Buddhist Monastery
and giant Buddha. The deluxe cars obligingly had glass floors for the faint hearted and the ride was made more exciting by
startling sideways movements as the cable cars swayed in gale force winds. After gaining land legs, people identified
statues to match their years of birth (pig, rabbit, tiger etc) and ascended to the Buddha. Then a charabanc took us to the
Tai O fishing village, a quaint fishing village with dried fish, narrow streets and many street sellers. We embarked upon a
speedboat for a trip round the houses on stilts before heading out to sea at great speed and a lively soaking of sea spray,
seeing the islands on the Hong Kong to Macau causeway and a police station converted to a hotel – perhaps the Hong
Kongers are very law abiding.

Page 8 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | Autumn 2019