Going up....25th Floor please
It was remarkable in that it is a club made up of lady Rotarians only. The President is Emilia Li. They are the ‘Sunshine Girls’ of the District and PP Joseph told me that the club has some very devoted lady Rotarians who, according to him, are District Governor material. They meet, just like Port Shepstone RC, for lunch and dinner on alternate weeks. They also meet at the Lusitano Club, same as the RC of Queensway that we visited a few weeks ago.We did a presentation to them and it was very well received. One of the ladies PP Amy Leung, told me about a project they started in the District, where each participating club is asked to adopt and mentor students in a High School. They meet with the school to find out what sort of mentoring they require and then they put a programme in place for that school. All the Rotarians in the club get involved. PP Amelia is going to send me details of this programme by email. It sounds like a fine project to me and maybe we could look at something like that in our District. This programme is conducted with the co-operation of the School’s Interact club if they have one, but is not limited to Interact members.
After lunch we were taken by PP Joseph for a vocational visit to TVB, the largest TV station in South East Asia. It is a Public Broadcaster which is subsidised by Government. We were guided by the Production Liason Officer, Amy Chan. It was a fascinating visit and after we had been through the studios, make-up rooms (where some really beautiful and handsome TV announcers were being made up), wardrobe rooms etc, we visited some indoor studio sets where soapies and game shows are recorded.
Santosh (alias Jamie Oliver) on a kitchen set
The speed with which they can build a set is amazing and they have a full complement of tradesmen who work as set-builders. Shanghai in the 1920's
Then we went outside to the outdoor sets. One of them is an exact replica of the streets and buildings of Shanghai in the 1920’s. The movie “Shanghai” was shot on this set. From old shops, to temples, cobbled streets and even the Emporer’s Palace – this set had it all. Really interesting.
Nivs on the Prinsess's balcony
We were then shown the Outside Broadcasting Unit. They provided live coverage to the world of the Beijing Olympics. Apparently each unit, which is a self-contained truck and contains some amazing equipment, costs the equivalent of around R40 million to build and equip.
Inside the mobile outside broadcasting unit
There is obviously a lot of cash in TV broadcasting. They have a Cantonese channel, and English Channel, a news channel and two High Definition channels – atechnology that is only coming to South Africa now. According to Santosh however, the TVB set-up is not as vast as the SABC’s set-up for television in Auckland Park, JHB.
There is obviously a lot of cash in TV broadcasting. They have a Cantonese channel, and English Channel, a news channel and two High Definition channels – atechnology that is only coming to South Africa now. According to Santosh however, the TVB set-up is not as vast as the SABC’s set-up for television in Auckland Park, JHB. The "Manne"...
It’s good to know South Africa is right up there with the technology required to broadcast something of the magnitude of the FIFA World Cup next year. Brendan keeps reminding us in his part of our presentation that by 2010 we will have one of the most sophisticated internet, broadband and digital satellite broadcasting systems in the world.
At supper time, not having a presentation tonight, Joseph offered to take us for supper to an Indonesian Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Nivashni begged off and so just the three of us and Joseph had an Indonesian dinner. We have now tasted tons of Chinese food, Western, Indian, Macanese, Italian, Portuguese, Thai, - you name it – we are gourmet experts of the first order. My waistline is beginning to show it.
We have three days left before we come home. We are looking forward to our last two days – two presentations each per day. Thank you Rotary Foundation for this fantastic opportunity.
It’s good to know South Africa is right up there with the technology required to broadcast something of the magnitude of the FIFA World Cup next year. Brendan keeps reminding us in his part of our presentation that by 2010 we will have one of the most sophisticated internet, broadband and digital satellite broadcasting systems in the world.
At supper time, not having a presentation tonight, Joseph offered to take us for supper to an Indonesian Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Nivashni begged off and so just the three of us and Joseph had an Indonesian dinner. We have now tasted tons of Chinese food, Western, Indian, Macanese, Italian, Portuguese, Thai, - you name it – we are gourmet experts of the first order. My waistline is beginning to show it.
We have three days left before we come home. We are looking forward to our last two days – two presentations each per day. Thank you Rotary Foundation for this fantastic opportunity.
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