The Monday Project: Marrying Left Your Maiden Name Disused

I signed up for the Monday Project in order to work on my creative writing skills. However, the first project, "Marrying Left Your Maiden Name Disused" really got me stumped.

So instead, I went out with my trusty Canon EOS D500 and made a photo essay. Hope you like it.

As you probably know, Hong Kong was a British Colony from 1841 to 1997. I've taken a few photos of relics from the colonial past and show how the old Crown Colony of Hong Kong can still sometimes be seen beneath the shiny new Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

I saw these signs in the now abandoned Central Police Station compound on Hollywood Road in the centre of Hong Kong. The premises have been vacant for years now, but these signs still point the way to long gone offices and club houses that form part of the compound.

An old cell in the Barracks Block of the Central Police Station still bears the badge of the Hong Kong Police Force, several years after any policemen ever passed though these corridors.

Even the names next to the doors are still evident after the police have left. This one is to the Personal Secretary to the Regional Commander, Hong Kong Island.

This is the old Magistracy, built in 1919 and an integral part of the Central Police Station Compound that also includes Victoria Prison (seen behind the Magistracy). When built, it was the only Magistracy in Hong Kong, so the facade still says "The Magistracy". There are now seven magistracies all over Hong Kong, so this building was vacated several years ago and stands dark amidst the shiny highrises.

The Cenotaph still stands in the centre of Hong Kong, but no longer bears the flags of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force unlike it's counterpart (on which it was modelled) in The Mall, London. With the departure of the British, the flag poles are bare except for the one or two days a year when remembrance ceremonies are held, during which the Chinese National flag is flown underneath the Royal Crest still surmounting the flag poles. I'm not sure if the Chinese government has ever noticed the symbolic irony of this.

Justice still stands blindfolded over the cornice of the old Supreme Court, which bears the Royal Arms. The building now houses Hong Kong's parliament, the Legislative Council. Overshadowing the building is the old Bank of China, and overshadowing that is the headquarters of Cheung Kong - owned by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing. This photo clearly shows who wields the real power in Hong Kong.

And I found this rather poetic. The governor's limousine, still in black over Royal Claret, now reduced to a curiosity gawked over by children. Currently owned by a local auto collector, the car still has the blue light over the windshield denoting this is a Royal Car. However the flag staff and royal insignia have been removed, and standard licence plates have replaced the gilt crowns at each end of the car that gave it real status on Hong Kong's roads.

The Crown Colony of Hong Kong

(1841-1997)

R.I.P.