Traditional British Fish and Chips I am continuing my tortuous path to international fame and stardom. Under advice from people who should know better than me I am trying to raise my profile on Goodreads (well, they are in bed with Amazon, so it cannot hurt to be in bed with them – three in a bed? – maybe next weeks blog topic!)
Good reads is complex, but quite fun. Even an internet Neanderthal like me can usually manage to work around it – and once you get used to it it’s quite comforting to see people putting your book on their shelves, voting for your book on lists and participating in one of the thousands of discussion threads. I suspect that there will be increasing co-operation and integration with Amazon, so a presence there can only be a good thing.
My readers (yes, both of you) have liked the snippets I have put in about life in the Philippines – where I lived for eight years and where my book is set, so I will try to put something in each week to help you build up a picture of life in these idyllic islands.
The lawmakers are rushing through a bill to prevent people keeping small change! Yes, thats right – it will soon become illegal to hold large quantities of small copper coins. Why? you may ask.... Well, go on then, ask..... Ok, I’ll tell you anyway. The currency has such a low value that the small copper coins are worth more than their face value if melted down and sold as scrap metal. Apparently this practice is so widespread that there is now a shortage of small change...... only in the Philippines!
Now, the price of fish is a subject that I know is on everyone’s mind these days. Here in Hong Kong fish supply is abundant – excellent piscean delights of all sorts can be acquired in the markets quite cheaply – then taken home, usually still flapping. However, when it comes to the staple diet of an (expat) Englishman, it is difficult to find Fish and Chips in the various eateries for less than $80 – ($10 US) – even in the supermarkets, English battered fish is nearly $100 for a box of four. Are shopkeepers and restaurateurs profiting from the perception that expats are wealthy and do not care about the price? Oh well, never mind. It is a great place to live, so I do not mind too much.
Good reads is complex, but quite fun. Even an internet Neanderthal like me can usually manage to work around it – and once you get used to it it’s quite comforting to see people putting your book on their shelves, voting for your book on lists and participating in one of the thousands of discussion threads. I suspect that there will be increasing co-operation and integration with Amazon, so a presence there can only be a good thing.
My readers (yes, both of you) have liked the snippets I have put in about life in the Philippines – where I lived for eight years and where my book is set, so I will try to put something in each week to help you build up a picture of life in these idyllic islands.
The lawmakers are rushing through a bill to prevent people keeping small change! Yes, thats right – it will soon become illegal to hold large quantities of small copper coins. Why? you may ask.... Well, go on then, ask..... Ok, I’ll tell you anyway. The currency has such a low value that the small copper coins are worth more than their face value if melted down and sold as scrap metal. Apparently this practice is so widespread that there is now a shortage of small change...... only in the Philippines!
Now, the price of fish is a subject that I know is on everyone’s mind these days. Here in Hong Kong fish supply is abundant – excellent piscean delights of all sorts can be acquired in the markets quite cheaply – then taken home, usually still flapping. However, when it comes to the staple diet of an (expat) Englishman, it is difficult to find Fish and Chips in the various eateries for less than $80 – ($10 US) – even in the supermarkets, English battered fish is nearly $100 for a box of four. Are shopkeepers and restaurateurs profiting from the perception that expats are wealthy and do not care about the price? Oh well, never mind. It is a great place to live, so I do not mind too much.
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