133
commemorative book plate. Another of Y F's gifts to me, was a tape recording of his recitation of Chinese prose and poetry from his former school textbook, the Kwu Man in the manner taught in his schooldays at a private academy in Hong Kong. This unique recording is now in the Museum of History, and was used as audio background to a recent exhibition there on the history of education in Hong Kong. "Y.F" had joined the Society in its early years, but was later made an Honorary Member in recognition of his interest and personal services to it over a long period. Until increasing debility made it impossible for him to attend, he used to accept our invitations to be a guest at the dinners that followed the Annual General Meetings,
Local Tours
During my long years as an office bearer of the Society in Hong Kong, I have organized many local tours for members and their friends. This was - and when I get the chance, still is – a labour of love. Year in year out, the "Local Tour Programme" has exploited the wide variety of topics and locations available for visits. In my time, they were made possible by the contacts generated by my government posts, and by the friendliness of the local people, who never hesitated to make us feel welcome. Always popular and well-attended, they have provided opportunities to view places and things of historical interest and see people in their home surroundings. In addition, some of the tours have enabled visitors to learn something of Hong Kong's modernization and progress over the years, especially in the New Territories where there is still an opportunity to see the new and the old side by side. On my regular visits to Hong Kong since coming to live in Sydney, I have been glad to see that the tradition continues and that the Local Tours Programme goes from strength to strength, with good attendances and the occasional need to repeat the more popular visits. This has reminded me of some "monster" visits, like the Hong Kong Island tour of November 1989, when I took four coach-loads to many locations one Saturday, and had to give members time to return to the buses at each location as, with such large numbers, "whipping in" was impossible.
To convey the flavour of such visits, I have included a few notes of tours that took place in the last twenty-two years. They are included here to illustrate the scope and variety of the RAS programme, and may also bring back some happy memories of readers who took part.