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and too friendly, and the Americans think the British are stuffy and class conscious," said Smith, chuckling. "But I don't think there was any conflict [before]... Some of the members would say, 'Oh, Smith is at it again, but that's Smith...'(chuckles). I don't make a big point out of it, but I do speak my mind and say what I think.
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"A member made a statement at the AGM - I won't go into detail 'cause that will go into personalities anyway, saying the society is sort of fading away and ten years from now there would be only a few old people sitting here at the meeting...and I said (using an old man's voice), 'Yes, and I'm going to be one of them.'”
Smith bursts into laughter. He's more endearing than ever.
"I don't think that's true. When a society is no longer fulfilling a function, well, societies die as they have in many parts of Asia, so we need to keep abreast of changes, we need to keep looking at our programs."
In the Heart of the Metropolis...
Earlier, a group of us made the trek to lunch for dim sum. Tim Ko sat next to me talking a bit about himself, but more about the food. He is fluent in English, but slightly accented, and is very much at home among mostly native English speakers. Today, however, he is a bit nervous because he has to give a slide presentation soon and lunch is taking an awfully long time. He begins wondering if he'll have enough time to prepare. Finally, he leaves, before dessert red bean soup...
For his slide presentation, Tim Ko has changed into a beige shirt and rust coloured tie. His "Living in Hong Kong, 1960-1980” focuses on the city's diverse housing estates and features more than 100 photos, including some that have never been publicly shown before. The crowd seems to appreciate them.
Ko is a semi-professional photographer who has been snapping Hong Kong history for the past 20 years. He "accidentally" discovered many of his presentation slides while doing research at the Housing Authority office.