Saturday, December 16, 2006

Letter 19 - Party Princess's & Poopers

Posh parties - each time I think I have seen the tip of party-ness, I work at the next one!
Dec 2nd I painted on Hong Kong's 'Party Tram', a beautifully restored Victorian style tram that can be hired out.
The bottom just has the benches along each side like normal, but upstairs the back half is a luxurious padded sofa-stylle sitting area, and the front is open topped dancing/ viewing space, all covered in shiny paint, brass and fairy lights. It was for a Japanese boys 6th birthday, zoo-themed, so was decorated with animal print balloons and all sorts of wild-animal sugar-stuffed foods.

I had warned it wouldn't be my best work and I would be avoiding eyes like the plague, but she was keen! As it was I realised the tram had to stop so often for lights etc that I could do as much of the fiddly bits then and the less important stuff when we were moving. Slight misunderstanding as usually its for adults so the driver forgot the (much needed!) toilet stop at a hotel for all the screaming kids! What a racket though - Hong Kong certainly hear us coming - we cruised as far as the turning point near the library and then back again.
Quite awkward and knackering, twisting sideways to the becnh downstairs to paint the kids & stop my gear sliding off the bench! I got the ferry from Central back to Sok Kwu Wan, where Pete met me (didn't get off at our beach) and we got the next ferry to Aberdeen back to our beach. I fell asleep which apparantly amused the other travellers.



Sunday was a "Glitter and Glam' party for a rather awkward lady in the posh Repulse Bay area near Petes work island. Waiting for our ferry on the steps, my iffy ankle went again and as I was holding the granny shopping trolley full of gear as well as carrying my table & chairs, the weight dragged me head first down the step and towards the water. PANIC. Unimpressed as the entire boat load just WATCHED and only 1 old granny stood up to help me open the ferry sliding door at the last minute, after i had recovered all my gear. So I spent the trip sponging glitter & pearly pale paint over bruises!! I arrived at the party flat early so wanted to hang out in the lobby but amused the securtiy guards by walking face first into the plate-glass window which overlooked the towers main patio. Oops and OUCH but maybe the imprint of my fairy face would stop anyone else doing the same ....? Anyway, I went up when the ladies arrived who were running jewellery making, and was very pleased I remembered/ knew to take off my shoes at the flat door and they didnt when they had lived here for years! (Think I said that doctors party was when I realised that like in Japan guests wear bare feet, socks or are given guest slippers when visiting homes! I invested in pink shoe-socks so I can keep my cold smelly feet to myself & still look fairy-outfitted in oriental homes.) Very glam wife, looked like she was/ is a model; HUGE flat with several maids, cook, etc, all decorated for the party - never seen so much sparkle & pink! Included huge professional welcome banner of the girl, and 100's of pink gas filed balloons floating near the ceiling & trailing their ribbons all over. I got set up & started, after the 3rd girl (all wearing beautiful sequin crusted dresses & tops a bit like the black & green sparkly thing Sammy & I wore in Africa) the mum came storming over and demanded to know why I wasn't doing grown-up make-up on the girls. Who were all under 6. Um. Shades of the hideous american kiddy beauty queens (and that poor wee one who was murdered) - YUK. Queue wibbly bottom lip on the half finished 'mermaid' (as her dress was blue with shell sequin) in front of me. I had had this 'arguement' with the mum via emails, including why I couldn't/ wouldn't do hair and nails (her maid was going to instead), and thought it was understood I won't, it looks awful, I don't aggree with it and ANYWAY the kids don't want it! She plumped down on the antique sofa beside me and HISSED whenever I asked what the girls wanted to be or if the wanted 'make up'. One wanted to be a tiger, I thought the mum was going to explode. Luckily the professional photographer & all the parents had started to go mad photo-ing the 3 I had finished, so after that mum was all sweetness and light etc. Urgh. The other highlight (after the rather good but rude english clown/ juggler/ unicyclist etc) was the glitzy, crystal coated (not edible they were removed) cake. The 'lotus' candle burst into flame, playing music, then successive layers of 'petals' containing mini candles flipped down as she blew, wow! Have bought some myself now.........scary yet cheesy yet fun!

MOST annoyed about taxis. I have to keep all my receipts for my accounts and the one thing I had none for was transport - buses don't issue tickets, and we mainly use the Octopus card that you just add value to, so it has no record of what/ where etc. As most buses won't allow lots of luggage on I usually get a taxi to my gigs anyway. The first time I asked a taxi driver for a receipt there was a long involved non-conversation and I gave up but had been noting costs, which won't cut it with accountants. Then Pete sees me trying to do my accounts and says all taxis have an automatic receipt printer built in to the taxi meter - grrr!!!! So NOW I have receipts for the last few jobs - annoyed with that first driver for losing me all that claim/ receipts!!!!

I nearly forgot the one I had to do on Wednesday,(realised on Monday thank gods) had to get a taxi to the very tip of the Peak for it. Extremely pricey area, so we drove into a gated community of mini 3 story modernist glass houses with MARBLE floored & walled private garages under them. I had to step across solid stone flags with deeply incised channels that big goldfish were swimming in (linked to a pond at either end) to get to the front door. No one answered so I took off my shoes and entered a very designer apartment, all open plan stone & wood, until I found the nanny, the baby's nurse (both in clinical uniforms) and one of the maids in the massive kitchen. I got shown to the 'public' garden which looked out over HK to Kowloon, where I had to set up first.


It was covered in fairy lights, giant animal helium balloons...... and plaster pigs. In tutus . With wings. Um. Old Mac Donald theme.
I painted till the (crap) english clown arrived - allegedly from HK's top entertainment company but he & his games were rubbish. The kids (all under 3!!!) and the very glam Victoria Beckham clone mums (although they were ALL blonde!) were more interested in the animatronic life sized like-like PONY the birthday girl's dad gave her! Wow. It neighed, nodded, snorted and stamped - only thing it didn't do was poo! I moved to their 'private' garden,
with the old-fashioned ice-cream cart and candy-floss as well as designer food and kid-sized barn, and kept painting till the end.


Sat 9th Dec I had been booked 1st by another entertainer come organiser, Zani, a french clown/ stilt-walker etc, for a VERY posh do, but first I had managed to squeeze in an hour for a lady I really like that I met at the Rockit Festival. She works for Art Angels/ HK Youth Arts Foundation, getting big business to pay to provide free arts for schools etc. I'll be doing the HK Rugby 7s with her, and this was the launch of the Rugby 7s ticket sales. I was NOT impressed with the kit her painting team had - unknown, crap paints and the few that were OK brands were so old and curdled the looked like gloppy melted cheese with glitter in! So I set up my own kit and then had a TV crew film me for 30 mins & ignore her team. She & the Rugby bunch are delighted though, as I'll be painting with/ teaching (she thought they only needed tips but I think I will be trying to show them from scratch!) her crew for the 7's in spring. Only if she lets me replace all their gear too tho!!!! Seemed to be a riot outside as I left, they ran out of tickets with 100's still waiting after only being open an hour, I think?

Zani met me at the mansion house dressed as a 14 foot tall Christmas Tree! Private party, me painting, an art teacher doing crafts, Santa, clowns, magicians etc for the kids whose parents were being wined & dined. The whole place was decorated inside & out with massive works of art, including a lot of intricately carved, full size tribal canoes hung on walls & as widow boxes etc - gives an idea of the uheard-of in HK size of the place! Felt sorry for the hosts youngest boy tho - awful red bow they had him in, hehe!
I got annoyed as after the 1st hour I realised some of the girls who couldn't decide which face they liked would wear my work for an hour then wash it off & come back for a different one. Kept me so busy some kids didn't get a go & I had no breaks!!!! At the end the lovely chinese house-keeper dragged us off to the buffet and tried to stuff us, but I couldn't really as it was between jabs for me & I'd promised to eat with Pete at his club before we caught the plane. And I'd turned down all the drinks they kept offering as I was working then flying & was already knackered.oh well!
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