Oh Hey, Stanley.

So, one of my biggest regrets from our holiday to Hong Kong was not being able to get out to the seaside. It wasn't really our fault, it was mainly due to the last few days of the trip being awful.


Sadly, Hong Kong's blue flag beaches remain elusive to me, that said, we did make it out to Stanley.




Never in my life have a seen a dog in shoes, other than in this great video, obviously, I thought they were a joke...


There are Goods of Desires all over Hong Kong but of course I had to stop in each one we encountered. They have so much nice stuff and do so many great collabs, it was hard not to come away with something every time.









I would argue that Stanley is one of the most westernised parts of Hong Kong, at least of everywhere I've ever visited. A lot of ex-pats live there and there are quite a few Brits-abroad-style pubs. We did get it on a cloudy day so I probably would have had more fun if the sun was shining but there are some great shops there and we had some amazing food at Xia Fei Shanghainese, even if it was served with a slight snarl, rather than a smile.

The market in Stanley is must-go but due to its windy, enclosed paths, it can all become a bit samey and it's not too dissimilar to the kinds of things you can pick up in Mong Kok.

Mong Kok Afternoon.

These are from an afternoon wander around Mong Kok after we slept in late. We decided to head to Goldfish Street (Tung Choi Street), it's honestly like nowhere else, they would never have animals for sale in the same way they do here, I'm not saying it's good but it's very Hong Kong, and wild, and interesting, and photogenic.

My mum has since said she doesn't get how they can have so many fish surviving in such small bags, my mum's a goldfish fan so it's certainly not something she would condone but even she is fascinated by it.




Terrapins are available for as little as £1.50, they're great for feng shui and people often put them in the ponds in local parks.

Central Adventure.

Hong Kong already feels like a lifetime ago, this year has swept over me so quickly it's hard to even think about everything that's happened but I thought it would be a shame to have so many photographs from such a great trip and not get around to sharing them with you. At first I put it off because I didn't have time, then it was because my old laptop was too slow, now, I guess I haven't really got an excuse.

Because I have so many pictures, I always had an idea to blend these posts in with other content but when I didn't get around to writing much else, I just put them on the back burner.

These are from a long day in Central, the main part of Hong Kong island. It included a visit to a temple, discovering my new favourite place in Hong Kong, the PMQ, taking in street art and hiking up to the Hong Kong Zoological & Botanical Gardens before taking it all in again by boat.


[Man Mo Temple, 126 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong]
There are lots of Man Mo Temples across Hong Kong but the one on Hollywood Road is the largest. It houses hundreds of huge incense coils which were great to photograph, we did have to mind the falling ash though!









I love that despite being so dense and urban, there are still nods to Hong Kong's almost-tropical roots and rather than chopping some trees down, they're still there, making themselves known.

YFC Berkshire Country Fayre 2014.

I can't believe how terribly miserable the weather has been recently. We were lucky enough to spend at least one day of the Bank Holiday in the sunshine, Moon's poor forehead even got sunburnt, similar to when we were at the same fair last year, will he ever learn?






We headed over towards Theale with our friends Tim and Laura for our second go at the Young Farmer's Club Berkshire Country Fayre. I'm afraid I have to start by saying that the weather really did make a difference and we enjoyed it a bit more last year, just because it was actually warm then and we found ourselves getting a bit chilly.

Also, since the fayre moved this year just a little way up the round the the Englefield Estate it didn't have as much going for it as when we attended the previous year. That said, I was mainly excited that every other person seemed to have a dog and spotting dogs is one of my favourites, especially when their owners are more than happy to let you pet them(!) ♥






I picked up one of those mice for Doll, it's her new favourite thing.



The Flyball was the best thing.















Last time we were a little sad that we missed out on a few of the events but this year there wasn't all that much to miss. Most of the displays consisted of a rushed 'interview' before whatever was on display was swiftly whisked out of the main arena before the 'next act' - no over-the-top 4x4 display for us this year!

The craft and food tents seemed much smaller too, and I think that's a real shame given that was the main reason I was excited to go. I guess there were parts of the day where we found ourselves getting a bit bored, even if it was nice to get out in the sunshine and pet all the dogs. I'm more looking forward to the grand event that is the Berkshire County Show in September now, as well as being excited for the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair in a couple of weeks thanks to winning tickets from Cider with Rosie.