Tatler Tales
Heard around Hong Kong
All Smiles
It’d be hard not to be won over by Po Leung Kuk’s rugby-playing, art-jamming, hiking-loving leader “Chairman Ma”, who is playing his part to make the world a brighter place. “A lot of people call me a philanthropist, and I don’t particularly like that word,” says Ma Ching-nam. “I think you just have to do your bit. The culture of giving needs to be instilled. It’s not about the amount. It doesn’t have to be big. If you’re nice to people, if you smile at people, it’s a good deed already. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering.” Is there an award for Hong Kong’s nicest man?
A Blunder with Brad Pitt
Embarrassing slip-ups: we all experience that toe-curling sensation of remembering that one social faux pas that still makes us sweat. “Oh gosh, I don’t want to remember this!” Francis Cheng, founder of
Number One PR, says with a laugh. “I was leaving the Aids Concern Fundraising Gala Dinner a few years ago, and it was a very cold night. I was trying and failing miserably to tie my long scarf around my neck, but it kept falling off. Without realising, I very nearly whipped Selina Tsang (wife of former Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang), right in the face with it. Luckily she dodged my runaway scarf, but I’ve never sweated so much in my life.” Don’t worry Francis; we’ll keep that one under wraps. Cathy Chon, meanwhile, cringes at a star-studded encounter with a certain Hollywood A-lister at— where else—the Golden Globe Awards. “Usually everybody uses the commercial break to run to the loo. I did the same and, on my way back, the show had already started. You usually aren’t allowed to take your seat while the show is running, so I waited in the aisles before I could sit down again. I remember leaning on somebody’s shoulder while waiting, and unbeknown to me, it was Brad Pitt’s. I think the second question you should be asking me is if I took a bath or washed my shoulder after that. No, I probably didn’t.” We’d love to relate, Cathy.
Haunted House
What’s going on at Dragon Lodge these days? Having been a ruin for decades, that austere mansion on Lugard Road with a killer view of the harbour is beginning to show signs of life. It says a lot about superstition that perhaps the city’s best real estate plot sat abandoned after being sold for a song back in 2004. Grisly stories of crying ghost children, a deceased owner and executed nuns swirl around the house like The Peak’s famous fog and—at least so far—have kept developers at bay. Government sources say no new planning permission applications have been made, but the plot is looking tidier and proper security has been installed, deterring curious wanderers. Anyone who takes on the Lodge, which turns 100 next year, will have to grapple with bad feng shui, which isn’t easy to cleanse, says expert Raymond Lo, who explains that restless spirits can stubbornly lurk around for up to a century causing havoc. Now that’s a housewarming we’d like to be present for.
Escape It All
A bunker on New Zealand’s south island is looking rather last decade. When the world is embroiled in chaos, only a private island will do—preferably one with all the mod cons. Jacques C Menahem, who takes care of the French Polynesian portfolio for Sotheby’s, says he has begun to hear from clients who are looking for a safe haven from viral outbreaks. Instead of frenzied buying of consumables, an island actually might be a solid contingency plan. “An island is like having a huge boat that doesn’t move and costs a lot to maintain. It is very costly but everyone dreams of having one. The advantage is the value of the land does go up every year, so you’ll get your money back in the end.” We’ve got our eye on Blue Island (formerly the less romantically named Hog Cay), the only private plot in the entire Caribbean with its own landing strip. Blue Island also boasts three miles of white sand coastline, several luxury properties, a pier and a lookout point. Now where’s that delivery drone with the rum? For more on living the private island life, turn to page 186.
“Oh gosh, I don’t want to remember this!”—francis Cheng