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25 A New Home / [ t had been arranged that I would remain as Sir David Wilson's adviser for si x months afte r hi s arrival, but w e needed t o move ou t o f th e house provide d b y th e government int o a home o f our own . I ha d earlier said to Sir Edward Youde, when he told me that I must follo w the rules and retire at sixty, that I intended to stay in Hong Kong. Few, if any, civil servants had had a career similar to mine. For us it had bee n normal to be posted from on e appointment t o another, not to spend to o long i n an y on e place o r post. Mos t civi l servants worked i n th e urba n offices o f the government and lived in apartment blocks scattered aroun d the city, and moved into larger, more comfortable apartments as promotion came their way. We, on the other hand, had spent years living in the New Territories wher e ther e wer e house s wit h garden s fo r Distric t Officers , close to the people in their district care. (Things have changed. None of the houses are now lived in by District Officers, which tells the story of a changing society: one became an education centre and nature trail for the World Wide Fund for Nature; one became a centre for recuperation fro m AIDS; one bungalow has been demolished for multi-storey redevelopment; and another is the viewing platform fro m which visitors photograph th e great bridges spanning the islands to lead to the airport. ) We were fortunate t o have lived in the country as it developed fro m market town, ancient villages, paddy fields and vegetable farms to satellite towns, highway s an d railways , sorrowfull y acceptin g th e planne d obliteration o f a way o f lif e an d a livin g environmen t an d workin g t o 25 A New Home t had been arranged that I would remain as Sir DavidWilson's adviser for six months after his arrival, but we needed to move out of the house provided by the government into a home of our own. I had earlier said to Sir Edward Youde, when he told me that I must follow the rules and retire at sixty, that I intended to stay in Hong Kong. Few, if any, civil servants had had a career similar to mine. For us it had been normal to be posted from one appointment to another, not to spend too long in anyone place or post. Most civil servants worked in the urban offices of the government and lived in apartment blocks scattered around the city, and moved into larger, more comfortable apartments as promotion came their way. We, on the other hand, had spent years living in the New Territories where there were houses with gardens for District Officers, close to the people in their district care. (Things have changed. None of the houses are now lived in by District Officers, which tells the story of a changing society: one became an education centre and nature trail for the World Wide Fund for Nature; one became a centre for recuperation from AIDS; one bungalow has been demolished for multi-storey redevelopment; and another is the viewing platform from which visitors photograph the great bridges spanning the islands to lead to the airport.) We were fortunate to have lived in the country as it developed from market town, ancient villages, paddy fields and vegetable farms to satellite towns, highways and railways, sorrowfully accepting the planned obliteration of a way of life and a living environment and working to Feeling the Stones ameliorate some of the deleterious effects o f development. No w in 198 7 we needed ou r own home and once more looked to the New Territories. In th e years before an d immediatel y afte r th e war, th e ambitio n o f many o f Hong Kong' s Chines e manager s an d professional s ha d been t o own a bathing pavilion along the shoreline stretching out from Kowloo n to th e west, an d fo r th e wealthy t o build a country retrea t fo r weeken d enjoyment, t o entertain their friends...

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