Lockhart Road, Wanchai 1972
A romp of a read has hit the shop shelves joining the long list of books by former British police officers*. Victor Blair’s “Made, Laid and Betrayed in Hong Kong” is subtitled “The Scandalous Tales of Two Young Colonial Policemen”. It’s a trifle over-written and a little jolly hockey sticks but nevertheless an entertaining read that would make a good gift, especially for people nostalgic for the Hong Kong of the 1970s.
Two young Brits discover the bright lights and hedonistic pleasures of the East and soon get the naivety knocked out of them. They meet Richard “Clusterfuck” Clutterbuck, Martin “Dogs” Dinner, Marvin “The Perve” Purvis and Bandy Yat-ding Lam. That’s not too bad. But then they discover Lily of the San Francisco Bar, Tina and Dee Dee of the Popeye bar and, after a gallon of San Miguel each, the gummy old ladies of the Red Lips Bar.
After eight months at the Police Training School, the young “bombans” are thrust out onto the street to start learning. They encounter connivers, skivers, triads, good-time girls and the notoriously corrupt, even Peter Godber, the first high-ranking Brit copper who went down for having assets he could not account for.
To give you a flavour of the book, here comes Maggie “Pigswill” Pickersgill:
“Her big bouncy tits, sparkling eyes and jolly smile more than made up for the perceived insult, and between throwing arrows, and chugging down pints of rough cider with Pony chasers, she made it clear to everyone, both verbally and by demeanour, that not only was she well pissed, but that she was also after a boyfriend and was not fussy whom it might be. AV, to tell the truth, had no experience of women as sexual entities, nor of any woman so brash and bold, but he had one hell of an inquisitive nature, at 19, to see what the sex business was all about . . .”
Author Victor Blair spent 10 years with the RHKP before moving on to tourism, oil and gas and engineering. He now lives with his family in northern Thailand.
“Made, Laid and Betrayed” is published by Troubadour Books. You can also order from the Bookazine chain.
- Released: 28th November, 2023
- Format: Paperback, eBook
- ISBN: 9781805141464
- eISBN: 9781805147138
*Chris Emmett is outstanding. He also appears in “Tales From a Barren Rock”, a collection of stories by long-term Hong Kong residents compiled by Roger Medcalf, SAI KUNG BUZZ founder, and Rod Olsen, a successful businessman.
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