Today is the 76th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Hong Kong, 4 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor on the other side of the Pacific and on the other side of the international date line. Even though the tension had been rising for weeks, there was no real sense of the imminence of the Japanese attack. Dad wrote this on Sunday 7 December 1941:

“As I went home after dinner everything seemed quiet and normal.  There were the usual Saturday night crowds in the main streets and on the ferries.  Hong Kong was illuminated as usual. This morning when I went to the office, I found that the situation had worsened.  I don’t really believe that anyone thinks that it will come to anything.  We have had so many flaps and lived in a state of tension for so long that we have become blasé.  We live only for the day when the rather annoying precautions that interfere with our private amusements are once more considered unnecessary.  This is more serious than most.  The Hong Kong Regiment have been ordered to get their ammunition onto their mainland positions”.

In other news, I have gone through the edit and have resubmitted a new, much improved draft. I expect to get comments back from the editor before Christmas. I am loving the process and really learning a lot about the craft of writing. I am also making progress on getting reviews and am hoping to be included in a couple of Literary Festivals next year. More news when I have it. Please do invite your friends and relations to join in this project - becoming a patron of the arts makes a unique Christmas present!