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Charlotte Parsons

If you're planning to commit a crime over the next few days, Lai See  has a piece of advice for you: don't do it in Wan Chai.

A mole tells us that soon, the place will be crawling with undercover cops.

On Monday, Wan Chai officers received a notice about the special duties.

Excellent, thought Lai See.

It's heartening to see such a prompt reaction to all the outcry over understaffing.

Clearly, the death of lone beat cop Leung Shing-yan acted as a wake-up call that galvanised our police commissioner into action.

Um, not quite, our insider said.

We're told those extra bits of thin blue line will only be covering a small amount of space for a small amount of time.

Lai See  asked the police public relations people how many extra agents they plan to assign.

We got the usual 'as it is a security matter, we can't comment'.

But according to our spy, the aim of the operation is not so much security but to ensure that nobody's day is ruined by car theft or damage.

So officers are creating a sort of safety zone around a certain swanky hotel.

The occasion is a wedding banquet.

And as coincidence would have it, the groom is the police commissioner's son.

Gymnastic linguistics:  We hear on the grapevine that City University's Division of Language Studies is hosting a seminar.

It's a lecture on Linux. Company reps will be waxing lyrical about the competitive edge the operating system brings to all who use it.

The event is 'organised by our final-year project group from the Higher Diploma in English for Professional Communication'.

It will be conducted in Cantonese.

Food for thought:  Yum, airplane food.

Lai See  has been reading the latest survey on the stuff.

The poll of 30,000 American passengers found that budget carrier JetBlue outscored all major US airlines.

Its meals rated higher than any of the main carriers for quality, presentation and taste.

Which doesn't say much for those others.

JetBlue only serves biscuits.

Bar sales: It's the end of an era. Make that a beera.

Whitbread, one of Britain's biggest pub owners, is to auction off its entire 3,000 pub estate.

Said the firm: 'We have been moving towards an exit for some time.'

Lai See  understands. She has trouble getting out of pubs, too.

When riding in Shanghai: A reader sent a typed, five-page tongue-in-cheek list of 'The Shanghai Highway Code'.

Here are a few of the rules for cyclists:

Traffic lights are there to create a 'big city' ambience and have no other function.

If you find your load has shifted and could be considered a danger, you can rely on the public to watch your futile salvage efforts.

Loads such as transformers, anvils, etc should be secured with the correct grade of brightly coloured twine.

Fridge/freezers, washing machines and other white goods should be carried empty if possible.

Discourage cycle thieves by maintaining your machine in unroadworthy condition.

Participate fully in the fun sport of domino parking.

When carrying steel or timber products, remember to allow for increased turning circles when the load is longer than six metres.

Graphic: whee22gbz



Wedded bliss in police safe haven