A personal Magical Mystery Journey With The Beatles

Was it all the music they created or was it everything else and more that came out of the music that made these four knights, plucked out of obscurity by Brian Epstein from a cellar full of noise, along with those with whom they chose to ride, become something like a real life Arthurian round table full of knights, different Guineveres, wizards and romance and everything shrouded in mystical mixed messages?

Of course, this is something that we, who grew up with their songs and might have been lucky enough to somehow get into the Court of Beatledom, will forever be thankful to John, George, Paul and Ringo- the Lords Of The Ringos, who, together with the two Merlins in their midst- Producer George Martin and the strategic brilliance of publicist extraordinaire Derek Taylor- took us on different magical mystery tours that filled us with inspiration, motivation and more importantly, happiness even in our darkest hour.

This is when they came together to give us hope that there would be sun, sun, sun because they knew the Sun King.

When thinking about the Beatles even today, there’s no time to catch one’s breath. It’s a helter skelter rush not unlike Paul singing about being in a hurry to get outta bed and needing to grab a bus, and which then slows down into John’s much deeper and darker look at a day in the life punctuated with that dramatic final chord.

We were happy to travel wherever they took us, whether down Strawberry Fields, up to Penny Lane and then maybe take a Yellow Submarine down to that Octopuses Garden.

Along the way, we met Mean Mister Mustard, that Paperback Writer, Lovely Rita, those ugly Piggies, the Fool On The Hill, Rocky Racoon, Billy Shears and that Nowhere Man, who’s suddenly everywhere and nowhere today more than when first introduced to us.

We didn’t realise back then just how much John’s Nowhere Man was more than a little you and me and lives in what’s known as social media.

We didn’t realise that Eleanor Rigby keeps her face in a jar by the door and is still there where all the lonely people congregate in all those deep pockets of the often anonymous online world.

We didn’t understand how the irony of John singing that happiness is a warm gun would haunt many of us years later just as believing how much Yesterday means today and that the gift to Imagine often helps us Get Back to where we belong.

Well, that’s part of their Magic- the magic of the Beatles, where through their music, we continue to see things from back then that take on greater and new meaning today. We’re always discovering something new about them...

We understand better characters like Sexy Sadie who are still selling goodness and wellness with a smile.

We understand why dear Prudence still refuses to come out to play.

We also now know where that long and winding road leads and when to just let it be.

Their love songs reminded us about the importance of romancing those special ladies who came into our lives and became different versions of Guinevere.

They weren’t without their flaws, but who is? They were four young lads who had to grow up quickly and whilst doing this changed the world- and many of us- forever.

Nothing lasts forever, but the Beatles and their music will. It’s magic.

Copyright © Hans Ebert 2022

#beatles #magic #music #arthurian #life #merlin

Of birthdays, rebirth days and Hong Kong coming together

Maybe it’s just me, but the Road Runner and Wile E Coyote have been giving us life lessons for decades. Beep beep. So have Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck and almost every cartoon character one can think of.

Most of all, they’ve been teaching us resilience, and, no matter how bad things might be, nothing is so insurmountable that it means giving up. Just think of Wile E Coyote.

Their thinking reminds me of the city with the funny name called Hong Kong, my Hong Hong racing photographer friends Wallace and Donald, and, in his own way, the man many of us know as E.B and the CEO of the Hong Hong Jockey Club.

It’s E.B’s Birthday today, and it makes perfect sense that he should have his party at Shatin Racecourse on the biggest day in the Hong Hong racing calendar and surrounded by what he’s truly passionate about.

Despite his frustrations when things don’t go exactly as planned because he’s a perfectionist and cannot tolerate imperfections, well, one becomes a good listener and agrees things were perhaps not nearly fine. We know that he wouldn’t trade any of this for the world.

As for my friends like Wallace Wan and Donald Lee, they travel down a different road by documenting everything happening on course with their cameras and quick thinking and working to make things happen despite various hurdles in the way. It’s part of meeting the challenges head on.

Here’s where the very different worlds of horse racing come together and a one team support system is formed. This shouldn’t be neglected or allowed to get lost by those in the corporate world.

Me? Like music or movies or the thought processes of different women, I write about everything I observe, have learned over the years, and try to make sense of it all.

Sometimes, I get it, many times, everything goes over like airplanes, but in the end, it’s about how, in life, everyone has a role to play in today’s Looney Toons world.

Here’s where we’re constantly trying to make sense of it all. It’s where there are always lessons to be learned and a reminder how we never ever stop learning about and from each other.

It’s about keeping an open mind and realising that if everyone fell in line and did the same same thing every day, this would be Groundhog Day and there’ll be no point getting up. Just let the alarm clock ring and to hell with it all.

This is when resilience magically kicks in along with creativity, motivation and inspiration.

It’s realising the importance of not living and getting lost in the past and making one good thing happen every single day we’re here in the real world.

Happy Birthday, Winfried, and here’s to the best ever Hong Hong International Races. It will be more than nearly fine.

To Wallace and Donald and the others who have enormous pride in their home and understand the importance of having the world class horse racing taking place today in Hong Kong, do what you do best. It’s very much needed and appreciated.

Remember that for those who can’t be at the races, your photographs will take us there and live on after today becomes tomorrow.

It’s not just about horse racing. That would be too easy.

It’s about giving Hong Kong something to cheer about-win, lose or draw.

#HKIR #hongkong #life

But who and what’s going to make Hong Kong rattle and hum again?

It’s going to be a very tough task for the Mauritian Magician Karis Teetan to ride three winners tonight.

This is what he needs to do to overhaul and take Alexis Badel’s position as one of the four riders representing Hong Kong at the upcoming International Jockeys Championship next month. Of course, as Yoda would say, Impossible is nothing.

Being the fierce competitor that he is and with even more challenging daddy duties ahead, the very popular rider will no doubt be singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to himself. We wish nothing but the best in all his endeavours along with those of Alexis Badel.

Alexis Badel is a success story that’s still not fully appreciated or understood by many. He’s consistently riding winners and is in demand by almost every stable.

What’s most impressive is how seamlessly he has settled into Hong Kong racing.

Whereas so many others have found it tough to break into what is, more often than not, a quirky racing jurisdiction rather than a competitive one, the Frenchman shows all the signs of being a stayer- IF he wants to stay the distance.

These days, more and more even longtime residents are leaving these shores. Plus with little or no international tourism, the one-time cosmopolitan and vibrant vibe of Hong Kong is pretty much MIA.

Horse racing carries on, but until this city is finally unshackled from so many restrictions on having fun, and somehow becomes a tourist destination again, we’re pretty much surviving in a Deliveroo driven world watching Adam Sandler reruns and thinking these formulaic cornballs to be funny.

Unless one has grown up, down and sideways in Hong Kong and made it here without a silver spoon up their backsides, they will not understand just how this city came to rock the casbah and the world in the Eighties, Nineties and early 2000s.

These were times when strong friendships were formed. There were strong and supportive women who some of us married- and not because they were a designer brand handbag from the five and dime.

There were brilliant restaurants and every type of club imaginable and with everything and everyone needed to pack out these pleasure domes.

If this wasn’t enough, a helicopter ride to Macau for dinner and a walk through the Mandarin Bar after midnight was a distinct possibility and Tuesday turned to Friday.

The thing is this: People- fun loving people-make any city. They give it their DNA whether it be London, New York, Copenhagen or Ibiza.

Without good people needing better people, it’s either living in fear and in a Blade Runner and Orwellian society or being part of a Facebook scrapbook family reliving the past with “Traces” by Classic 1V playing in the background.

Tonight, there’s an eight race card at Happy Valley. For those interested enough to watch these races, this will either be while channel surfing on television or streaming them ‘live’ while having dinner and if one’s partner is au fait with these table manners.

Looking at the card, but with zero interest in the first few races, Joao Moreira looks to have the chance to ride 3-4 winners.

It’s a well-known fact that his usual flair and magic somehow disappear at the city track. Zac Purton is certain to chip in with at least a winner and that that man Alexis Badel seals his position for the Hong Kong International Jockey Championship.

Personally, far more important than who wins what and how much is where my next port of call might be. There aren’t a helluva lot of choices.

Better yet is to see Hong Kong once again rise like a Phoenix from the ashes and be the multi dimensional city it once was with talented entrepreneurs young enough to make good things happen.

Where instead of being ruled and drooled by money when there’s nothing worth spending it on, Hong Kong stops being the pathetic superficial plastic fantastic bubble it often is today.

Bubbles are soulless. They burst and disappear.

Remember Bubbles, Michael Jackson’s chimpanzee bestie?

#HKracing #hongkong #life