Hong Kong's coastal waters are an environmental horror. So it is comforting to know there are men and women committed to protecting our waters from oil spills, reclamation nasties and sewage mishaps.
The Marine Department pollution control unit is the rapid-reaction force charged with cleaning things up when calamity strikes.
The effects of water pollution were amply demonstrated by last week's oil spill off Lido Beach which left local fishermen claiming $90 million compensation for their ruined livelihoods.
Hence our surprise when a mid-morning call to the capped crusaders of the local waterways yielded a recorded message informing us they were not there, would we leave a message and they would get back to us later.
Why were an estimated 300 people queuing outside a Tuen Mun 7-Eleven store on Saturday? Hong Kongers are suckers for a fad and Coca Cola has been conning 'em longer than most.
But even the behemoth soft-drinks supplier was caught off-guard by the response to its special Olympic promotion that asked Coke fiends to save up pull-rings in return for prizes.
