Articles from the original happyjelyfish.com website

Hainan Highlights and Playing on a Swing

Last night I had a wonderful time in Central with my friend formerly known as J. Yes, I said ‘formerly’! For that was her name in the many South China Morning Post columns she appeared in. But that column is no more, and it IRKS me. No, not irks. Hurts. I miss my column so much. What’s the point of even going to the mainland now?

Anyway, J is still here – thank God! – and sometimes available for a spot of VV (vite vine, as some people think we say in Norwegian) and we had it last night sitting on a swing. Fun! Especially because the swing was inside a bar…

No, not this bar. A completely different bar. With a swing!

Anyway, she told me about a trip she was planning, to Hainan. And suddenly I felt myself transported back to the Christmas before last…

Hilarious island, great people, beautiful and slightly surreal. I want to go there again right away.

打鞦韆 - Da tsin tsau (play on a swing)
海南島 – Hoi Laam Dou (Sea South Island/Hainan)
南華早報 – Laam Wah Jou Bou (South China Morning Post)

The Eagle has Flapped Away

Do you live in Hong Kong? Have you lived here for a number of years? (Any number higher than, say, one?) Then you must already be starting to get sick of people leaving.

Now it’s Frank’s turn (Frank is also known as Fei Yeng, Flying Eagle) and last night he was sent off in style in a karaoke bar.

I had to go home early but not before I had shown him my going-away song, called oh, Fei Yeng or something:

I am pleased with this song and every word in it is true. Big thanks to Quentin, Linda, Jo, Alan and all the other who contributed their time, ukulele, and voices (although these, sadly) were dubbed.


Frank admiring a beautiful painting by Alan complete with Flying Eagle, Honolulu and Jo and me singing away. Excellent art.

But don’t anyone else dare to leave, you hear? I’m getting sick of it! Sick, I say.

唱歌 – Cheung go (Sing song/to sing
唱 K – Cheung Kei (Sing karaoke)
卡拉 O.K. – Ka La Ou Kei (karaoke)

Mainland Improves Everything

Come with, come with on a Cantonese language seminar to Guangdong province! Before it disappears.

Celtic Canto Extravaganza

A Nog, bored with being from Norway Who wanted to be born in Galway Bought dog collars green From an Aussie colleen And went to the St. Patrick’s ball, wei! What kind of poem is

The Skype’s The Limit

Chat chat chat – now you can learn Cantonese without going through the nasty and potentially violent experience of being in the same room as me! Namely through the wonderful medium of SKYPE. Hook up

Sojourn in Bangkok

What do you do in Bangkok? Look for Chinese food, obviously!

Chinese New Year Extravaganza

羊年, yeung nin. Year of the sheep, goat, ram, lamb, ewe, sow What? Why not keep it simple? Cantonese is simple and easy. YEUNG! Start taking Cantonese lessons with Happy Jellyfish People’s Democratic Language Bureau

Crash Course on Saturday!

Saturday February 14: You’ve had chocolate and romantic meals so many times in your life. Why not spend this Valentine’s Day morning on something useful? Like learning Cantonese through the excellent medium of dim sum?

From Deepest Despair to Highest Happiness

Had a terrible shock in Shenzhen earlier this year when the food hall in Lo Wu Shopping Centre closed down with little or no warning. Then I remembered a comment from wise shopper Andrew and

Old Granny New Posting

I love you, kung fu! As the famous bluegrass composer Hank Scraggsville always said. What, didn’t I post this only a few days ago? Yes, but this time I have included the sound or transliteration

Down With Simplified Characters

In a country where the government is so hysterically set on everybody doing everything the government way, for example by banning beautiful, normal Chinese characters on buildings (it must be ‘crippled’, i.e. simplified characters or

Back By Popular Demand: Classifiers

Photo: 四個靚女 (sei go leeng loy, 4 beautiful girls) Classifiers, measure words, counting words, whatever you want to call them, they are a vital feature of Cantonese. Here you can learn some of them through

New Canto Adventure

It’s happening! I’m upgrading this website so you can download films and podcasts. There will be two long videos to begin with, and the above is the ‘for total beginners’ one. One hour and 14

Wild Shenzhen Extravaganza

I always have a good time in Shenzhen’s famed Lo Wu Shopping Centre, even after several hours of “missy missy looking, you buy sunglass okay.” Still, I could really do with less nagging. My student

Different For Chinese

As I was looking through my old columns from South China Morning Post trying to get some other newspaper gigs (do newspapers even exist anymore?) I found the above story from Norway. Allowed only 450

How Now, Guangdong Prov?

I’m just about to write my last column ever for South China Morning Post; ever! When I was told the page would be discontinued, I was so sad. How now would I be able to

WHAT????

Last Friday I was so happy, because I had a trip to Shenzhen all lined up. Probably only a day trip, but still! Shenzhen is Shenzhen. Sichuan food, having some shirts made and foot massage.

Learn Sichuan Cooking!

Woo-hooo! WE did that! the happy cooks A, K and D are beaming, so pleased with themselves after studying Sichuan cooking for only two hours. (Chuanxing village spicy potato cake) Now you can also learn

Sichuan Food … So Yummy and Right Here in Pui O!

There are as many types of Chinese food as there are people in China; approximately 1.3 billion different dishes at last count. That's more dishes than you and I go through in an average month!

Stimulate All Your Senses on Lantau. Yes, all! Sichuan Cooking Course

Chinese New Year saw the Lo Uk Tsuen Country Club full of people coming to learn the basics of Sichuan cooking. Mature and younger, Lantau people and people from as far away as Britain –