Picture of the Day: Bizarre Bench Bump

A "bench bump" on the Granville Street Bridge

We like the new upgrades on the Granville Street Bridge, but what the heck is this?

On the the bridge is a protected biking and walking path, and there are periodic so-called "bench bumps", a kind of ramp made of asphalt outlined in bright yellow and a bench on there.

People have commented that they look like last-minute additions because they stick out and not clearly thought out. Others say when you sit on the bench, you see the railing, not the northwest view of the Burrard Street Bridge and English Bay.

One person said they have a friend who needs the opportunity to rest their legs periodically and this fits the bill despite the slap-dash appearance of the bench.

Apparently these bench bumps are temporary, but that could last between a few months to a few years.

After spending $54 million, they can't get bench bumps right? Why aren't they fully integrated with the sidewalk for pedestrians, and why so low that people's views are blocked by the railing?

Why can't our taxpayer dollars be spent in a more aesthetically-pleasing way?

Indigenous Art Statement

2000, a totem pole made of golf bags

Yesterday we visited the Vancouver Art Gallery, and one of the exhibitions on now is called Postcards from the Heart: Selections from the Brigitte and Henning Freybe Collection. The Freybes are art collectors who began this expensive hobby in the 1970s, and continue to today.

It's an eclectic mix of artists, the ones shown were mostly Canadian.

Skeleton of a whale made from plastic chairs

One piece was by Brian Jungen called 2000 that he completed in 2007.

At first glance it looks like a totem pole, but upon inspecting it closer, the work is made of golf bags.

Several years ago his work was exhibited at the VAG, where he took everyday objects and turned them into art, from plastic lawn chairs into what looked like the bones of a whale, and taking Nike shoes and making them into striking Indigenous masks.

BC artist Jungen is known for transforming mass-produced commercial goods into sculptures and installations. 

Indigenous mask made from Nike shoes

In 2007 when this piece 2000 was made, Jungen was interested in land-use in Vancouver, particularly where some local Indigenous nations leased their land to golf courses. 

For him, this recalled the Oka Crisis of 1990, where there was a land dispute prompted by the expansion of a golf course on Mohawk territory in Quebec. 

His works are bold, making a strong political statement and at the same time executed flawlessly. Jungen has thought out what he wants to say in his work and makes them into exciting and fantastic art pieces which in a way is ironic in itself.

Picture of the Day: Scallop-flavoured Chips

Pan-fried scallop-flavoured chips, anyone?

This afternoon we had to pick up some groceries at T&T Supermarket, so my relative wandered the snack aisles while I went to stock up on some food we ran out of.

She came back with this bag of Lay's potato chips -- in scallop flavour.

Actually it's pan-fried scallop flavour. So precise.

We came home and she promptly opened the bag for us to try.

Sniffing the contents inside was a sweet seafood kind of aroma.

The thin chip also had a seafood taste, a hint of shrimp crackers, not specifically scallops.

Would we specifically buy this one? No, but it was fun to try!

 

Visiting Capilano Suspension Bridge

Hold on as you walk across the shaky bridge!

With a relative in town I did a very tourist thing today -- we went to Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver. I can't even remember the last time I went, so this was a good refresher with many new features since 2004.

Tickets aren't cheap -- $72.95 for adults plus tax it's $76.60 -- but if you can get downtown, you can catch a free shuttle bus to the tourist landmark.

Stunning views of the bridge at various points

We caught it at the back of Hyatt Regency Vancouver and about 15 minutes later we had arrived -- along with another busload of people.

As we bought tickets in advance, we were able to walk in right away and soon join the relatively short line to cross the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

The bridge was originally built in 1889 and was made of hemp ropes and a deck of cedar planks. It was later replaced with a wire cable bridge in 1903. 

It doesn't look daunting at first, but once you step onto the bridge, held up with steel cables, it's unsettling because the foot bridge sways a bit. You have to at least hold onto the steel cable handrail, and traffic coming from the opposite side also adds complications to the steadiness of the bridge.

My cousin was pretty freaked out and held on for dear life. I just held on with my right hand and clutching my iPhone for dear life. I didn't dare take pictures!

We made it over to the other side of the bridge. and began exploring the massive park that is filled with Douglas Firs, Cedars and Hemlocks. You can hear a few birds here and there, and some running streams. 

We learned a lot about the banana slug today

At the Raptor Ridge, we met three people who had a different bird attached to their left hand glove. They sat there and rested their hand on an arm rest, the bird attached to the glove.

The expert trio fielded people's questions about a Great Horned Owl that is nine years old, and likes to vocalise; a 21-year-old Saker Falcon, and a Bay-Winged Hawk that is used to scare away seagulls from sports venues. They don't live in Capilano but Maple Ridge and come out periodically on rotation with several other predator birds.

We also learned about banana slugs. What? They are yellow slugs with two pairs of antennae, 27,000 teeth, when handled release a numbing agent, and would take 15 hours to slide across the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

There isn't just the bridge, but two other nature walks that take you up into the trees. One is called Treetops Adventure, where you walk along narrow wooden bridges between trees, and another called Cliffwalk, where you walk along a path secured onto the side of a rock face!

By the time we went through the entire park, it was just over two hours. We went through the gift shop which is very big, and sells a bunch of nice stuff including Herschel knapsacks, retro CBC T-shirts, honey and maple syrup products, fudge and ice cream.

Cliffwalk had scenic views too

As we were leaving there was a massive line to get onto the suspension bridge and I got a certificate certifying that I had survived the Capilano Suspension Bridge! A fun souvenir.

We encountered tourists from Taiwan, The UK, South Korea, and United States and luckily we didn't have to wait too long to get onto the shuttle to get back to downtown. 

The logistics of the park was very well managed and most of the staff are cheery and informative. They have an activity booklet for kids, and if you hang around for some informative sessions, you will be rewarded with a sticker or stamp.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

3735 Capilano Road

North Vancouver, BC

604 985 7474

Chinatown Meat Store Hosts Barbecue

Chinese ham being air dried in the store

Dollar Meat Store has been in Chinatown for 54 years and today it hosted an interesting event -- at the back of the store they set up some barbecue grills and had a chef from Michelin-starred Kissa Tanto grill some A5 wagyu beef steaks, a meat spice brand to make some Maui ribs, and showcase its own brand of Chinese sausages, and a local chilli sauce brand, Holy Duck Chili Oil.

Local brand Holy Duck Chili Oil

For free.

We just filled out an online survey, followed Dollar Meat Store on Instagram and then we were in!

The meat was donated by Dollar Meat Store and was delicious, including prawns and scallops each wrapped in bacon, and there was coleslaw too. Drinks were provided by Maxim's Bakery, Hong Kong style milk tea, cold brew coffee, and iced lemon tea.

We tried the Hong Kong style milk tea with half the sugar added which was actually just right.

As we arrived soon after the event started at 11am there weren't too many people, so we were able to chat with people and comfortably move around in the back of the lot. 

Afterwards my relative who is visiting Vancouver not only bought a pack of Chinese sausages but also two jars of chilli sauce! Win win!

It is very generous of Dollar Meat Store to invite people to come eat for free -- they could have charged admission and people would have come anyway. Nevertheless it's a great way to bring people down to Chinatown, check out the neighbourhood and support local businesses.

Bottles of Hong Kong-style milk tea

 

Shanghainese Restaurant Salty Disappointment

Eight treasure duck too salty for our tastes

Earlier this week we went to a Shanghainese restaurant in Richmond that we'd never been to before, and won't be going back to anytime soon.

It's called Yuan's Garden Restaurant, and when we arrived we hoped it would be a suitable substitute to Suhang, a very good Shanghainese restaurant that closed recently.

Inside, the decor of Yuan's Garden is clean, tidy and contemporary; we were surprised when the waitress told me the restaurant has been around for about 10 years.

Looks good, but tough meaty texture

As we waited for our fellow diners to arrive, we perused the menu and the prices, particularly for the set menus looked very reasonable, featuring ingredients like lobster and steamed fish. Peking duck two ways is $86.98, while eight treasure duck (they call it "duck stuffed with eight delicacies") is $84.98. We had preordered the latter dish.

We ordered the rest of our dishes, many standard Shanghainese ones and then waited for them to arrive, while the restaurant quickly filled up.

One of the first dishes to arrive was the appetiser of ma lan tou with minced tofu. It was OK, but the vegetable was not very fresh, more on the older side so it was tougher. 

Xiaolongbao is usually a good test. With eight of us we ordered two servings and they came freshly steamed. Picking it up, the dumpling looked good, the skin practically see-through as you can easily see a lot of soup inside.

The skin was thin at the bottom, thicker at the top, but the pork filling was more on the leaner side, with not enough fat to make the texture smoother. This was surprising for a Shanghainese restaurant that should know better what the ratio of meat to fat.

Stir-fried egg white and broccoli

Next came the shrimp stir-fried with green tea leaves, and honestly the shrimp did not have much of a tea flavour and this dish was left mostly untouched throughout the dinner!

Next came our pre-ordered eight treasure duck and it arrived with quite the procedure. The waitress used a knife to slice it down the middle and then along the sides to make about 10 pieces. 

It looked very promising, with a moist, tender appearance, but the initial taste was salt. It was much too salty and the filling inside was not very discernible except for baby shrimps, a few lotus seeds and mushroom with the salty duck meat. Disappointing.

However, we had a bit of a reprieve from the saltiness with a hot pot filled with napa cabbage, tofu, mung bean noodles, fish balls, ham, and pig skin in a soup. We also ordered broccoli stir-fried with egg white and a raw yolk in the middle. None of us wanted to try the yolk and ate around it.

For dessert, something a bit unusual -- black sesame glutinous rice balls that were studded with crushed peanuts. 

In the end the dinner was $37 per person including tip which made it great value, but quality-wise we weren't persuaded to come back again.

A hot pot filled with ingredients

Yuan's Garden Restaurant

101 - 8077 Alexandra Road

Richmond, BC

778 297 6098

 

Therapy Ponies Ease Pre-Flight Stress at YVR

Magic (left) and Tinkerbell (right) with their handlers at YVR

Anxious about flying?

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has therapy dogs or ambassador dogs to help soothe pre-flight jitters, as part of the airport's Less Airport Stress Initiative (LASI) program that started in 2017.

And now YVR is trialling miniature therapy ponies, making it the first airport in Canada to do this.

"At YVR, we're always looking for creative ways to bring new solutions and amenities to the travel experience, so when we thought about what's the next evolution of the LASI program, introducing therapy ponies... was a great fit," explains Eric Pateman, chief experience officer with the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Magic is three years old, and Tinkerbell is 17, and they are from Green Acres Therapy Horses, which trains the ponies to be experienced in high-traffic public areas like shopping malls, schools and seniors' homes. 

The trial period this summer will see how Magic and Tinkerbell do in the stressful airport environment and the feedback from passengers, though so far it's pretty positive. If all goes well by the end of the pilot, Magic and Tinkerbell may be hanging around YVR more often, along with the therapy dogs from St John's Ambulance.

Therapy llamas a Portland International Airport

Other airports have used different kinds of therapy animals. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has a "wag brigade" that has calmed passengers since 2013. The team includes 27 dogs and one hypoallergenic pig named Lilou.

Meanwhile last year Portland International Airport started having therapy llamas and alpacas in its terminals to ease passengers' stress levels.

Guess these llamas and alpacas don't spit on humans! Otherwise that would add another stress level to people in the airport!

HK Government Doesn't Entertain Benefits of Reusable Cups

So far, Kai Tak Sports Park will be using single-use cups

The Hong Kong government prefers using single-use cups at Kai Tak Sports Park, saying reusable plastic ones will "undermine" efforts to promote carbon reduction and resource recycling.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said that research by the park's operator compared local and overseas practices showed that using reusable plastic cups in Hong Kong would generate more carbon emissions and consume more resources.

But environmental NGO Greenpeace Hong Kong called on the authorities to consider using reusable plastic cups for sporting events like the upcoming Hong Kong Football Festival, and urged Law to look at other international sports organisations like the English Premier League, where 65 percent of clubs use reusable cups.

Reusable cups used at HK Sevens since 2019

However Law was not to be persuaded.

"As reusable plastic containers are not biodegradable, they do not support the plastic-free initiative and undermine Kai Tak Sports Park's efforts in promoting carbon reduction and resource circulation," she said.

"In contrast, the use of biodegradable paper cups aligns well with and makes good use of the above-mentioned waste decomposition system at Kai Tak Sports Park, leading to a better overall carbon reduction outcome."

May we point out that single-use paper cups would not decompose because they have a plastic lining on the paper so that liquids don't soak through it? Not to mention how much garbage it creates after each event?

It has been demonstrated that reusable cups at sporting events make much more sense.

A marathoner named Kristina Smithe took part in a marathon in California in 2019 and was horrified thinking about how much waste paper cups generated in one race. She calculated with 9,000 runners, some 150,000 paper cups were used once and then thrown away.

Smithe with her reusable silicon cups at a race

She went about designing a lightweight, pliable silicone cup that could be reused many times. In 2021 she launched Hiccup Earth, where she rents out 70,000 silicone cups to race organisers. 

Smithe drops off the cups by the thousand, collects them after and then washes them in her proprietary dishwasher that uses less water than a household dishwasher. 

While it's a bit more expensive to rent these cups, there is much less garbage accumulated and wouldn't people feel better using these reusable cups?

It was a proven concept at the Hong Kong Sevens in March. Greenpeace noted the sporting event used reusable cups from 2019 to 2024 and saw a 90 percent return rate of the containers.

Surely it's not too hard to implement at sporting events and concerts?

Vancouver to Extend Drinking Hours

Vancouver bars and nightclubs can extend serving drinks 

Vancouver city council has approved extending business hours of bars and pubs to as late as 4am. It is not just limited to the downtown core, but to the City of Vancouver, and business owners are elated.

These businesses can apply to extend its hours; not all bars and pubs need to do this, only if they think they can make more money from it. There are 209 licensed bars and nightclubs in Vancouver.

"This is changing the perception of 'liquor primary license" to 'vibrant gathering places' for communities to meet in real life," said Cameron Bogue, owner-operator of Mount Pleasant Vintage and Provisions, a cocktail bar disguised as a thrift shop.

Will there be an uptick in alcohol sales?

"I've opened one of the most successful restaurants in the city, with staggering year-over-year growth, because we're providing [what] the community wants -- a place to socialise, rub elbows, simply stand with a drink and dance where they can meet people in an engaging high-volume cocktail bar."

Not everyone is for longer hours for drinking, like Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer, Vancouver Coastal Health.

"Increasing alcohol consumption into the late night or early morning hours is particularly risky, and the risk increases as you get later in the evening," he said.

"It's not so much that more people drink into the evening -- it's just the type of drinking that's done in that timeframe is more risky, it's more likely to result in problems," he said, referring to a risk of injuries, violence and the potential for harm to others compared to allowing earlier opening hours.

It seems counterintuitive to the trends of alcohol consumption and partying habits these days. Gen Z are drinking much less alcohol than previous generations, and people in their 30s and 40s would prefer to party during the day (again with less alcohol) than at night. 

Perhaps bar and pub owners are hoping longer hours will lead to more business? It's probably marginal. 

It'll be interesting to see how many bars actually apply and report back the increase in alcohol sales, and how many more incidents the Vancouver Police report in the wee hours...

Keep Those Elbows Up

Hoekstra said Trump says Canadians are "mean and nasty"

Canadians not traveling south to the United States or buying American goods has irked US President Donald Trump, who claims Canadians are "nasty" to deal with.

But BC Premier David Eby says the US leadership has "very little awareness" in how offensive his remarks are.

"Do they think Canadians are not going to respond when the president says, 'I want to turn you into the 51st state and begger you economically unless you bow to the US?" Eby said in Huntsville Ontario, where the premiers are meeting this week.

Eby hit back, saying US boycott is working

"Obviously, Canadians are outraged."

US Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra was asked in Bellevue, Washington how to encourage Canadians to start traveling to the US again and this is part of what he said:

"Canadians staying home, that's their business, you know. I don't like it, but if that's what they want to do, it's fine. They want to ban American alcohol. That's fine," Hoekstra said.

"There are reasons why the president and some of his team referred to Canada as being mean and nasty to deal with, OK, because of some of those steps," he said.

So Eby pounced on the "mean and nasty" bit, and said Hoekstra's remarks show Canadians' efforts to stand up to Trump are "having an impact," and he encouraged people to "keep it up."

Festival Funding Going up in Smoke?

The team from Yukon lit up the skies in Vancouver last night

Last night was the first of three kicking off the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks festival at English Bay, where tens of thousands flocked to see team Yukon showing off their pyrotechnic skills.

However, there are concerns that this year may be the last one for the fireworks competition because government and corporate funding has dropped significantly.

Federal funding fell from $450,000 in 2023 to $250,000 last year and nothing next year, while provincial support has dropped from $250,000 to $100,000 next year.

There may not be enough funding for next year

The City of Vancouver covers police overtime, traffic control, and sanitation, worth about $1 million.

The annual event draws more than 1.5 million visitors and generates $40 million in economic activity for British Columbia, mostly through tourism and hospitality spending.

It costs about $3million to put on the event, and since 2010 a special ticketed area for VIPS to have a prime viewing spot with food and drink brings in about $1 million.

Organisers believe corporates are in a shaky position with the economic situation at the moment and can't commit financially at the moment, while another reason could be a lot of resources -- around $740 million -- have already been promised for next year's FIFA World Cup in Vancouver.

But it's not just the Celebration of Light that's hurting. Other events like the Vancouver International Jazz Festival has seen reduced sponsorship, while this year's Pride Parade is just barely going ahead later this year, with corporate funding slashed from $900,000 to $500,000 and provincial support from $115,000 to just $45,000.

How are festivals supposed to do more with less? There's only so much they can do, particularly when a lot of the budget is spent on security and traffic control. It's a sad situation when Vancouverites and visitors look forward to participating in these events that are big ones in the city's calendar...

Blueberry Season in British Columbia

A blueberry bush can have 6,000 berries a year

It's blueberry season in Metro Vancouver, and you can find these round dark blue gems for sale in supermarkets.

Some interesting facts about blueberries:

Blueberries on waffles with whipped cream

In British Columbia, they are only available from July to September;

The province is the largest highbush blueberry-growing region in Canada, and one of the top blueberry producers in the world! BC exports to more than 30 countries, making blueberries Canada's most exported fruit.

Blueberries contain a lot of antioxidants, Vitamin C and fibre;

The majority of BC's blueberry farms are family-owned and operated, some for several generations;

A single blueberry bush can produce as many as 6,000 blueberries per year! BC producers more than 150 million pounds of blueberries annually. This makes the province one of the top 10 blueberry-producing regions in the world.

A decadent homemade blueberry pie

Just wash and eat them fresh, or add them to ice cream, into pies, muffins and pancakes, or into smoothies, or use them to garnish salads.

Coldplay Inadvertently Exposes an Affair

Martin inadvertently exposed an extramarital affair 

If you're having an affair with someone, don't go to a Coldplay concert, as one couple was found out in Foxborough, Massachusetts the other day.

Frontman Chris Martin wanted to perform to a few select fans, and after singing a happy birthday song to one person, the camera swung to a couple, the man standing behind his date, his arms around her chest area.

Byron and Cabot reaction as camera was on them

But they were not married to each other.

When they realised all the attention was on them, she flew out of his arms, covered her face and turned around, while he sunk as low as he could out of the camera's range.

"Wow, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just really shy. I'm not quite sure what to do," Martin said to the crowd.

The video was posted on TikTok and immediately went viral with over 77 million views.

Meanwhile people online went to work to identify the couple as Andy Byron, the married chief executive of a tech company called Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the firm's chief people officer, or head of HR. 

Needless to say there were a lot of questions around the company's water cooler in the office the next morning.

The incident is now nicknamed "Coldplaygate"

While the identities of Byron and Cabot were confirmed by Astronomer's spokeswoman, Byron was placed on leave. The company said in a statement it would launch an investigation into the incident.

People wondered if Byron's wife would be launching a divorce suit.

The pair became the fodder of many morning talkshow conversations, when they had suffered more than enough humiliation.

The moral of the story is, don't go to a concert to carry on your affair, unless you want the whole world to know about it.

High Levels of E. coli in Waters off Vancouver Beaches

Kitsilano Beach is one of several with high levels of E. coli

Summer in Vancouver is going to be long this year, it's really hot already, and now you can't cool off on the beach because the water has been tested with E. coli.

Several beaches including Second Beach, Third Beach, Kitsilano Beach, Sunset Beach, English Bay, and Trout Lake have a no-swimming advisory after being found with high levels of E. coli.

It's a bacteria commonly found in the intestinal tract of animals and humans, but it can also be found in swimming water that has been polluted with untreated waste. In this case it could be because of leaking septic tanks, discharge from boats and storm water runoff after heavy rains.

While Vancouver Coastal Health is not prohibiting people from going to the beach, they are strongly advised not to go into the water.

Health officials say if you swallow water with high levels of E. coli, that could lead to vomiting, infections and diarrhea. E. coli can also irritate skin, and seniors, children and people with compromised immune systems are most susceptible to it.

Eeeeek!

Another reason to stay home in air conditioning!

Poilievre Frustrated by Long Ballot in By-Election

Poilievre is running in a by-election next month to win a seat

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is gearing up for the upcoming by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot Alberta on August 18, hoping to win the seat to get back into the House of Commons after losing his seat in Carleton, Ontario in the April federal election.

Even though the riding is expected to be a solidly Conservative one, Poilievre may not have it so easy.

An electoral reform advocacy group called the Longest Ballot Committee, has plans to run a whopping 200 candidates in Battle River-Crowfoot -- more than double the 91 who ran in Carleton. It's known as a long ballot protest that causes delays in voting and confounds voters.

There might be some 200 names on the ballot

Poilievre doesn't want these long ballots in the upcoming by-election.

"We have to take action because this is a scam. It is unfair, it is unjust and it must stop," he said recently at a town hall in the riding where he is running.

He suggested that nominees require 1,000 signatures to run to prevent such protests. 

"That would make it impossible for 200 people to go out and have their names piled onto the [candidate] list," Poilievre told the town hall.

"There are a number of other things that you could do that would make it so that only real candidates who are truly running to put their name forward in our democracy that are on that list."

Currently candidates only need 100 signatures to secure a nomination and electors are not prevented from signing multiple forms.

Race for Battle River-Crowfoot got interesting!

The Longest Ballot Committee rejected Poilievre's suggestions, saying needing such a large number of signatures would have a "negative impact on Canadian democracy."

"This ill-conceived and self-serving electoral reform proposal by [Poilievre] is downright dangerous, and reinforces our conviction that politicians are not well-suited to decide the rules of their own elections," the group said in a statement.

It added it would continue to use the long ballot as a form of protest as "long as we are legally permitted to do so."

So the by-election on August 18 has become much more interesting! We can't wait to see the names of the candidates on the ballot!

Influencers Abound in Vancouver

What are your eyeballs looking at?

After three years of moving back to Vancouver, I'm finally getting more invitations to food tastings at restaurants. 

While it's a good exercise to get to know the chef, the restaurant and the dishes, eating with influencers is quite the experience.

Some lean into their physical assets

In Hong Kong this was already a trend that was happening before I left, but it seems to have gotten worse? Or crass across the Pacific.

The KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) here dress up in slinky dresses, the lower-cut the neckline the better. In some cases viewers can't help but look at the women's chests than the dishes...

Others don't have tiny figures but have big chests to compensate.

And then their knowledge of food in general is... poor.

This evening I sat with one influencer who couldn't discern flavours very well. She tried a creme brulee and thought it had a ginger taste. I confirmed the initial flavour was lime. 

She also had no idea what a pavlova was, but maybe I should cut her some slack since she has a degree in political science that she doesn't use in everyday life.

In general influencers post videos that make the dishes look good without any critical commentary because well, they think the food tastes great or don't want to jeopardise their opportunity for more invites.

Taking pics of a (good) tiramisu

And then when regular people dine in these restaurants, they may not get the same quality of food... 

Perhaps what's worse is that the entry bar to becoming an influencer is extremely low. And who doesn't want free food and treated like a VIP?

World Cup Tickets Sky High

Vancouver and Toronto are the two Canadian host cities

The news about the World Cup in Vancouver is garnering less and less excitement.

As a host city, Vancouver taxpayers are not thrilled about the $600 million bill to have seven games -- and we don't even know which teams. If they are not the big contenders who is going to buy the exorbitant tickets?

The first ticket packages that Canadians can buy are out now, and they aren't cheap. Organised by On Location, FIFA's official tournament hospitality partner, the packages start at $2,500 for one game, which includes access to the so-called FIFA Pavilion which is outside the stadium. 

Vancouver games will be played at BC Place

Packages also include access to the lounge three hours before kickoff, during half-time and two hours after the game ends with all you can eat and drink...

And of course the more money you're willing to spend, the more benefits you can have, like private suites and flying in by helicopter.  

During next year's World Cup there will be 104 games played in 16 venues in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Toronto and Vancouver are the Canadian hosts.

On Location has started selling packages for games in the US.

"And I've got to tell you, they are already flying off the shelf," said Leah Linke, senior vice-president of event production for On Location.

The hype is real.

Changing End-of-Life Care in Hong Kong

People no longer have to die in hospitals in Hong Kong

About 10 years ago when a relative was nearing the end of her life, my uncle told me that she could not die at home in Hong Kong -- it would have to be reported to the coroner's court, complicating things, particularly in terms of paperwork and getting a death certificate.

Instead it was best that she passed in a hospital, which sounds like a horrible place to be, taking your last breaths surrounded by loved ones in a sterile room shared by other patients in a similar situation.

But things are slowly starting to change. Last year the Legislative Council passed amendments in the cases of where residents who died in care homes for the elderly and met certain criteria are no longer required to be reported to the coroner. 

There are suggestions on end-of-life care

Legislation was also passed in 2024 to legally empower patients to state their medical care wishes for their last days in advance directives.

Now a think tank says Hong Kong has come up with a financial reason why seniors should be allowed to die at home or in care facilities.

Our Hong Kong Foundation released a research report on end-of-life care and suggested the city could save more than HK$90,000 per patient in medical expenses if dying patients spent their last days outside a hospital setting.

"If we have a comprehensive end-of-life care system, it could help reduce the usage of hospital services," foundation vice-president Ryan Ip Man-ki said.

That could hep the healthcare system save HK$91,460 per individual in medical expenses, the foundation said, citing data from a Hong Kong Jockey Club program supporting end-of-life care in the community.

Death doulas help people have "good deaths"

As a result that would help reduce hospitalisation by 11.91 days, accident and emergency admissions by 0.95 times, and intensive care unit stays by 0.29 days.

While these statistics are admirable, what about bringing some humanity to someone's last days on earth?

In North America there are some people who are "death doulas", who help others or their loved ones to prepare for "a good death". 

They educate and empower people on how they would like to die -- would that be at home, who would they like to be there, what kind of music would be played, and so on. It would also include what kind of funeral or service they would like and if they would prefer cremation or burial. 

This is a relatively new concept, but it is something Hong Kong should also consider. We should be giving our end-of-life patients the dignity of choosing how they want to spend their last moments, not in a hospital setting (if possible).

While my relative had planned everything else, from what she wanted to wear in the casket to the music played in her funeral, I'm sure my relative would have appreciated the chance to die in the comfort of her own home.

Remembering Live Aid 40 Years Later

Tens of thousands watched the Live Aid concerts in person

You know you're getting old when it's the 40th anniversary of the Live Aid concert.

40 years!

When I was a kid and I didn't want to finish the food on my plate, my mom would ask if we should take those leftovers and send them to the starving children in Africa.

Geldof organised the ambitious live concert

And several years later sadly the children were still starving in Africa, Ethiopia to be exact.

But Bob Geldof wanted to do something about it after seeing the news footage of children with bloated stomachs, too weak to swat the flies swarming them.

He and Midge Ure of Ultravox wrote Do They Know It's Christmas? and the song quickly became a hit. I went out and bought the single in a record store downtown. It was probably one of the first times I contributed to a fundraiser like that.

A few months later Geldof together with musicians to organise Live Aid, and not just have a massive concert at Wembley Stadium, but also at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on the same day. Phil Collins had the distinction of performing at both concerts -- he traveled via British Airways Concorde to New York and then via chopper to get to Philly.

Jagger and Tina Turner performed together

I remember being a teenager and watching bits of the concerts on TV in the living room in the summer heat, thrilled to see all these musicians like Madonna, Duran Duran, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and U2 performing together, mixing genres and styles. 

Not only was it a logistical challenge but technical too for TV networks to broadcast live from two different cities at the time using 13 military satellites. Apparently there was no plan B in case the live broadcast failed. Now live broadcasts in various cities are done all the time, but back then it was only for a few minutes for a news story.

Around 1.5 billion people watched over 70 artists and bands performed over 16 hours of live music from London and Philadelphia. 

In the end Live Aid raised US$127 million ($370 million in 2024) for famine relief. It demonstrated that individuals could indeed make a difference, even if us kids couldn't vote yet. 

Madonna on stage in Philadelphia

Ure was asked recently if he thought something like Live Aid could be done again today. He seemed to think people had too many distractions.

"Technically, you could organise it easier, but these days you have so many distractions. Forty years ago, music was the be all and end all. You didn't have smartphones. You didn't have the internet. You didn't have 24-hour anything at all.

"There were no distractions. You had no video games. You had none of that stuff. So, you could focus."

But isn't it cool we're still talking about it, 40 years later? 

The OG Birkin Bag Goes for $10M

A picture of Birkin and the original bag in HK

It turns out the OG Birkin bag, the first one co-designed by actress and singer Jane Birkin and Hermes CEO Jean-Louis Dumas in 1984 is worth US$10.1 million and was sold to a lucky collector in Japan at a Sotheby's auction the other day.

The price crushed the most paid for an Hermes bag, a Kelly bag made of white Himalaya Niloticus crocodile skin that was sold at auction in 2021 for $513,040.

Unlike most auctioned Hermes bags that are practically in pristine condition, this original Birkin bag is scuffed up, still has the outlines from political stickers that were placed on the bag for its owner, Birkin, to display her stances on issues, and has the initials J.B. stamped on the bag.

Dumas helped design the Birkin bag in the 1980s

The story of how the bag was created is practically legend, but true: In the 1980s she was on a Paris to London flight when Birkin, who was carrying a tattered woven wicker basket as her handbag, tried to stow it away, when items fell out and onto the floor.

She fortuitously sat next to Dumas, and Birkin asked him why Hermes didn't make bigger handbags. He proceeded to take an air sickness bag and sketch out a bag design for her. 

Their discussion of the bag continued well after the flight until he finally presented Birkin with the bag with the now signature clasps and handle and Dumas asked if the bag could be named after her.

Women today don't use their Birkin bag like she did -- to preserve its value and condition, most people only bring it out for show; after all they had to wait years to be able to purchase it!

Back in the 1990s I was fortunate enough to meet Dumas. He came to Hong Kong several times not only to visit the Hermes shops, but also meet up with his son, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, who was based in the city.

The original Birkin sold for over US$10 million

The elder Dumas was very charismatic, suave and had lots of stories to tell. He was the one who started the idea of setting a theme for every year and artisans at Hermes would create products and designs related to those themes. Basically a clever way to keep customers coming back to their boutiques.

When Dumas took over Hermes in 1978, the company's revenues were $50 million. By 1990 it was $460 million. The year before Dumas died in 2009 it was $2.5 billion.

Birkin kept the bag until 1994 when she donated it for an auction to raise money for an AIDS charity. It was auctioned again in 2000 until now, where it was estimated to be worth around $1 million.

The estimates were wrong by ten-fold.