Growing up we were mostly led to believe that Mecca was in the East. I am not sure I know why this mattered and clearly its location really depends on where you find yourself standing. Living in Hong Kong, Mecca is firmly to the West. Of course these geographical constructs reflect the history of British imperialism, the location of London and Greenwich Mean Time. Mecca would be in the Middle East and Tony would be living in the Far East. What is really interesting is when folks in the US describe Hong Kong as being in the Far East, when it is most on the other side of the world, being North, South, East and West at the same time.
Without letting these geographical anomalies weigh too heavily on my mind, I returned from Europe and back to the rigors of work, training and daily life. Thankfully the weather has improved and after a long summer we now have relatively cool weather. Sending season. Maybe, but certainly its nice to be able to get back out and about. Since returning two weeks ago, we have managed a lap on Fog of War, Hong Kong's longest climb (160m, 6a+), a trip over Lantau Peak, one of Hong Kong's three Munros, and a bit of sport climbing at Lingnan Slabs.
The better weather, combined with some upward movement in the equity market has resulted in a greater feel of optimism around the City, after arguably five difficult years. For me, I love this time of year as it means I can drink coffee on the terrace, walk to work and spend more time outdoors. This is very similar to how I used to feel about January when I lived in Scotland. November and December were always long months.
One thing that always amazes me in the autumn is just how much the jungle reclaims of the outdoors every summer. This has created a bit of an issue at many of our crags and outdoor spaces where the jungle in now encroaching. This has been made worse by many of our most stalwart gardeners moving overseas or giving up the fight. Without a new generation of garden shear wielding climbers, we will have problems. For my part, I am working like Edward Scissorhands.
I was quite disturbed to read that they have found Sandy Irvine's foot on Everest. It all feels quite macabre and I am not sure what it matters beyond providing attention to a group of people. I do however hope that no-one is running around with my foot in a shoe an a hundred years time. Unless its a Jack Russell. In which case that would be quite funny. "F'sake Fido, put that manky foot down".
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