Months of preparation have gone into today’s Dragon Boat Regattta. I suppose it can be called that. Employees of Hong Kong International Resorts have been busy all week erecting flags and gazebos around the promenade and on the beach. Friday’s Dragon Boat Bank Holiday came and went with several local inhabitants wandering around with paddles and some taking their boats out for a practice – we’ve seen photos of people enjoying other Dragon Boat Festivals around Hong Kong – and yesterday was quiet too, but the Big Event at Discovery Bay is today, coinciding with our regular Farmers’ Market Day. Of course!

We’re lucky enough to be renting a house that overlooks the bay so when we heard the honking drums at breakfast, we rushed up to our roof terrace vantage point. I need a bigger zoom, I think, the sort that I’ve seen people brandishing all weekend, a bizarre competition of photographic virility.

I only know a couple of people who do this, so I have no idea of the participating teams or who won but, watching now from the air-conditioned comfort of my sitting room sofa – it’s 30deg out there -, they all seem to be having a jolly time.