It is about 30 years since I last had no column being printed anywhere. This leaves a steady supply of words rolling around my head waiting to be unloaded or uploaded somewhere. So they will go here. More learned and thoughtful minds than mine have probably discovered all sorts of finer points which differentiate the writing of blogs from the writing of columns. But on that point, dear reader, you have to take your chances.
A surprising number of people seem to visit this page – WordPress are very generous with the statistics – so I thought I would put in a bit more about the history of this enterprise. I first wrote a column when I was a student politician at the University of Lancaster. We did not have a union, we had a Federation of College Junior Common Rooms. And it did not have a president. It had a chairman, who for a year was me. Our two office ladies used to put out a weekly publication called SCAN (Student Council and Admin News), which was printed on that smelly old system which involved typing accurately onto a stencil, which was then mounted on a machine which whirled and spout out pieces of A4 printed on one side. Photocopiers had not been popularised. In my first week they asked me to write a piece for this thing, and it became a habit. Most of SCAN was given over to very functional stuff about meeting times and grant applications. But I had no real need for a factual outlet once a week so I wrote anything which came into my head. At the end of the year I received no job offers from Fleet Street — or anywhere else. My successor, an avid Marxist, happily announced that my column had been consigned to the dustbin of history. And that was it.
Regular effusions resumed only after I came to Hong Kong. I had a weekly column in the Standard for three years. It then moved to the TV Times while I was at the Post the first time. It returned to the Standard when I did, and when I departed from regular employment to work as a freelance it became a monthly in Hong Kong Business. It conmtinued there until the magazine closed last year, a tribute to their generosity and optimism, because I never felt qualified to write about business and told the editor this regularly.
I was recruited at the outset of its strange career by Window, and heppily continued to appear there fortnightly until that magazine closed. Generally I did not sympathise with Window’s political view, and wrote about other things. The only article which produced problems was a funny one about a mainland official posted in Hong Kong. He had promised reporters a “big news” which turned out to be a speech by himself and I had some fun with this. This column was not used. The proprietor personally phoned me to apologise and explain that the gentleman concerned ” had no sense of humour”.
Eventually I achieved the height of respectability, the op ed page of the Post, where I nestled weekly for, I think, about a decade. Then an American lady took over the page and purged it of everyone who did not have a degree from Yale, of which university I suppose she was a graduate and knew I was not. I returned to the pages of the Post for a further short period after the sad departure of Kevin Sinclair.
Main change over the years? You get a lot more feedback. In the 80s someone might, once in a blue moon, send you a letter. If you had your picture on the column you would, also very rarely, be accosted by strangers in public, which I always found rather nerve-wracking though they all turned out to be harmless fans. In the last Post period they would put my email address at the bottom of the column and this produced a steady trickle of two or three a week, with predictable peaks when I annoyed sensitive groups, to which I tried to write sensible replies, at least if they were polite.
On this piece of machinery you can comment. I do not generally comment on the comments. But I do read them all. And it is nice, after years of one’s words dropping with a soundless plop into the bottomless well of public indifference, to get feedback of any kind. Well almost any kind.
Words of wisdom, Tim! I enjoyed both your offerings. Hope many other “Dear Readers” will discover your new online presence! Best!
Was hacked off to say the least to see your column disappear without explanation. Scump insiders say the “decks were cleared” for more news to go on p2 of City, and you were simply in the way. Why the column couldn’t have been relocated to op-ed is beyond me and perhaps even the new guys at them who, basically, probably never thought much about it.
Conspiracy theorists would say it’s one less government critic. Either way, it’s good to see you have resurfaced here.
Hi Tim, I discovered your writing on HKFP only today – being ill is allowing me lots of online time on my phone. I wish I had come across you sooner but now that I’ve found you, I wanted to say Thank You for your great and insightful articles, particularly on the roots causes of the Fishballs Riots. Sue, Cardiff. UK
hi Tim, I discovered your writing (and your outstanding sense of humour) today through your article published on Hong Kong Free Press on 12 October (https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/10/12/violence-symptom-hong-kong-govt-disease-cure/).
I literally laughed out loud at, “The photographers present all obligingly flash away. I am not sure why – most media outlets have plenty of pictures of these people as individuals and the group shot is very uninspiring.”
Very glad to have found a journalist who has a decent sense of humour and a head on his shoulders – looking forward to more of these gems; will follow your blog!
Venus Park,
HK resident since 1986
Hi Tim, I have enjoyed your writing and sense of humor since I discovered it a few years ago. Thanks so much for the insights. – Tom Baer, only once visited HK in 2003, from the other side of the Pacific Rim
Thank you Tim, another great piece.
Keep it up!
Hi Tim,
I recently came across your article about “HK Exam Star are all scientists”. It really struck a nerve as I am a former high school History teacher and I feel that most students only major in STEM studies for the big bucks. Liberal Arts teaches a person critical thinking and the use of imagination. Many students today lack the ability to think outside the box. Thank you for validating my observations! BTW, I am a big fan of your articles!